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Bloomberg News reports that Five Point is in negotiations to sell Northwind Midstream for $2.3 billion to MPLX.
Bloomberg News reported Wednesday that private equity firm Five Point Infrastructure was in discussions to sell Northwind Midstream Partners to U.S. Midstream Company MPLX for approximately $2.3 billion, citing sources familiar with the situation. Five Point had reported in May that it is looking into a possible sale of Permian Gas Infrastructure Operator. Any deal would be valued at upwards of $ 2 billion including debt. Bloomberg reported that a deal could be struck in the next few weeks, but the talks could still be stalled or delayed. The pipeline sector is booming with deals as companies seek to reduce costs, increase scale or gain access to attractive oil and natural gas producing regions. MPLX announced in February that it would purchase the remaining 55% of the BANGL pipeline from affiliates WhiteWater and Diamondback Energy, for $715m. The company is looking to expand its operations in the Permian basin. Five Point Infrastructure MPLX, and Northwind Midstream Partners have not responded to comments immediately. Northwind Midstream, a company formed by Five Point 2022, has built a pipeline system, compressor stations, and a treatment plant in New Mexico. (Reporting and editing by Sahal Muhammad in Bengaluru, with Pooja Menon from Bengaluru)
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The Dutch court found that Stellantis, the company now in control of Stellantis Diesel brands, had cheating software dating back to 2009.
On Wednesday, a Dutch court ruled that diesel cars sold in the Netherlands by Opel Peugeot Citroen DS from 2009 had software to cheat emission tests. The court, in its interim ruling on a class-action suit brought by Stellantis against the car companies targeted, did not decide whether compensation was to be paid. Stellantis has denied the allegations and stated that it is considering "appropriate steps" to protect its interests. Stellantis said that it was "firmly convinced" that the vehicles met all emission standards and that the court had made the wrong interim considerations. In Europe, the car brands, as well as several other automakers have been investigated in light of Volkswagen's Dieselgate scandal. The Dutch court stated that it was obvious that the diesel cars sold by four different brands from 2014 had software installed that controlled their emission control systems, resulting in artificially low nitrogen oxide emissions during official tests. The same was suspected for Peugeot, Citroen, and DS diesels from this generation.
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Newcleo Energy has announced that it will no longer be developing UK lead-cooled reactors.
The energy firm newcleo announced on Wednesday that it will suspend its programme for developing lead-cooled fast nuclear reactors in Britain, and wind down substantially its UK activities because of the lack funding and support from the government. LFRs is a type advanced nuclear reactor which can be constructed in factories, assembled on-site and provide heat to industrial processes or hydrogen production. The company, founded in 2021 in Britain, has said that it plans to build up to four reactors of this type in the UK. This would produce a total output of 800 megawatts - enough to power 1.6 million households - and represent an investment of around 4 billion pounds. The company stated that it had been in contact with successive UK governments regarding access to stored plutonium, which it planned to recycle and use in reactors. Stefano Buono is the founder and CEO at newcleo. He said that despite numerous attempts to engage political stakeholders, the UK Government has decided not to make its plutonium readily available in the near future. Instead, it will lend its considerable political backing and funding to other technologies. The firm stated that although funding and support were made available for other small modular reactors, they had not been provided to LFR developers in Britain such as newcleo. It will instead focus on other markets. In Slovakia, newcleo announced that it had formed a joint venture, with the state-owned JAVYS, to build four LFRs, powered by spent nuclear fuel from the country. This has been endorsed by government officials. A similar strategy was used to sign an agreement in June with the Lithuanian Government. The company stated that "newcleo believes these markets, by comparison, offer better prospects than UK at this point in time, and this decision has driven it to focus its attention on territories more aligned to its offering."
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Angola reports 22 deaths in protests against fuel price hikes
Angola’s government announced on Wednesday that violent protests against an increase in fuel prices had resulted in 22 deaths, up from four the day before. Minibus taxi associations began a three-day walkout on Monday to protest the government's decision to raise diesel prices by one-third as part of its efforts to reduce costly subsidies and stabilize public finances. The looting, vandalism, and clashes between police began in Luanda's capital, then spread into other provinces. On Wednesday, the President Joao Lurenco's Cabinet met and received an updated on security and police response. In a statement, the presidency said that 22 people had died and 197 others were injured. It also reported 1,214 arrests. The statement stated that 65 shops, 25 vehicles, and a few supermarkets and warehouses had been looted. Angola gradually removed fuel subsidies from 2023 when an increase in petrol prices sparked deadly protests. The International Monetary Fund, among others, was also involved. According to the finance minister of this oil-producing nation in Southern Africa, subsidies amounted up to 4% GDP last year. Investors closely monitor the move to phase out subsidy. Pieter Niesten is the portfolio manager of emerging market debt for Neuberger Berman. He said that fuel subsidies are estimated to be 1.8% GDP this year and contribute to fiscal pressures. He said that investors and international financial institutions view subsidy reforms as proof of Angola’s commitment to structural changes. Reporting by Miguel Gomes, Luanda; Colleen Goko, Johannesburg; Writing and editing by Alexander Winning
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Scientists say that EU climate goals are at risk because ailing forests absorb less carbon dioxide
Scientists warned that the damage to European forests caused by increased logging, fires, droughts and pests reduces their capacity to absorb carbon dioxide. This puts European Union emission targets at risk. The European Union is committed to achieving net zero emissions in 2050. This target also includes the expectation of forests to absorb hundreds of millions tonnes of CO2 and store them in soil and trees, compensating for pollution from industries. This assumption is no longer valid. According to a study led by scientists at the EU's Joint Research Centre, its independent science-research service, the amount of CO2 Europe’s forests removed annually from the atmosphere was almost a third less in 2020-2022 than it was in 2010-2014. Nature published a paper that stated that forests in the latter period absorbed approximately 332 million net tons of CO2 equivalent each year. Recent data from EU-countries suggest that the decline is even more pronounced. The paper stated that "this trend, coupled with the declining climate resilient of European forests indicates that the EU’s climate targets which depend on an increasing carbon sink could be at risk." The land and forest sector in Europe offsets around 6 percent of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions. This is 2% less than the EU's estimate of what it will take to achieve climate goals. The gap is expected to grow by 2030. Agustin Rubio, professor of soil science and ecology at the Polytechnic University of Madrid said that it would be "wishful" thinking to rely solely on forests to achieve climate targets. He said that while forests can be helpful, they should not be given a specific number to balance carbon budgets. These findings will be a headache for EU government officials who are currently negotiating a legally binding 2040 climate goal. This target is intended to offset the pollution from industries that cannot be eliminated by using forests. Some have already warned that this will not be possible. Last week, Sweden's Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari asked a question at a press conference. "What can we do about factors we as countries or governments cannot control, like forest fires and drought?" The carbon stored in forests is being depleted by over-harvesting and climate-change-driven wildfires, droughts and pest outbreaks. The paper stated that some of these risks could be managed, for example by reducing intensive logging or planting more tree species. This may increase CO2 storage, and help forests to withstand extreme climates and pests.
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U.S. Steel names three American directors to its board of directors following the Nippon Steel deal
U.S. Steel announced on Wednesday that it has appointed three American board members to its company. This comes more than a week after Nippon Steel completed its $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel. The company is now a Nippon Steel subsidiary and its board has seven members, of which four are U.S. Citizens, including three independent U.S. Directors. John Donovan is a former CEO of Lockheed Martin and Robert Stevens was formerly a member of U.S. National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. Timothy Keating was named as a member of the board. He is a retired admiral of the U.S. Navy who served previously as director of the Pentagon's joint staff as well as commander of United States Pacific Command. Nippon signed the agreement last month to gain approval for the acquisition of U.S. Steel, after high-level opposition. It also Pledged A board with a majority of Americans and a CEO from the United States would help to calm down any concerns. The agreement granted U.S. president Donald Trump an economic golden share as well as the right to nominate a board member. It was not immediately apparent if any of the members of Trump's board were appointed directly by him. The deal gives the U.S. Government a unique level of control over the companies, allowing it to veto a range of corporate decisions from shutting down plants to reducing production capacity and moving jobs abroad. Reporting by Utkarsh shetti and Aishwarya jain in Bengaluru, editing by Pooja desai
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Gold drops as US data is strong and fuels expectations for rate cuts to be delayed
Gold prices fell on Wednesday, as strong U.S. data confirmed expectations that the Federal Reserve would hold interest rates at their upcoming meeting. This also increased the likelihood that any rate cuts for the rest of the year could be delayed. As of 9:34 am ET, spot gold was down by 0.6%, at $3,306,57 per ounce. ET (1334 GMT). U.S. Gold futures dropped 0.6% to $3.303.40. The recent economic releases are quite encouraging. The surprise was the GDP. The same goes for the addition to the labor market. Both indicate that the Fed may continue to delay cutting rates", said Nitesh Sharma, commodities strategist at WisdomTree. ADP's National Employment Report showed that private payrolls in the United States increased more than expected during July, despite signs of a slowing job market. Separately, the Commerce Department reported that second-quarter GDP increased by 3%, exceeding expectations of 2.4%. It is expected that the U.S. Central Bank will leave rates unchanged in the afternoon, despite President Donald Trump's repeated requests for rate cuts. The traders now see a 60% probability of the Fed reducing rates in September, compared to 66% prior to the data. Market participants will parse Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments, due at 2:30 ET (1830 GMT), for any nuance about the timing and trajectory policy shifts. Shah said that the higher the gold price, the louder an administration's displeasure with current policies will be. Gold is more likely to perform well when interest rates are low and there is uncertainty. After two days of constructive discussions in Stockholm, the U.S.A. and China have agreed to extend their 90 day tariff truce. Spot silver dropped 1.5%, to $37.61 an ounce. Platinum fell 1.1%, to $1380.25, and palladium fell 0.5%, to $1251.88. (Reporting and editing by Vijay Kishore in Bengaluru, Sherin Elizabeth Varighese from Bengaluru)
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India launches NASA-ISRO Satellite to Track Climate Threats from Space
India launched a radar imaging satellite worth $1.5 billion on Wednesday, the first of its kind. It was built in collaboration between NASA and India to improve global monitoring of natural disasters and climate change. NISAR, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite, is the result of the first collaboration between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation. The rocket took off at 1210 GMT from India's Satish Dhawan Space Centre atop a medium lift rocket. This marks a landmark in space cooperation, and enhances India's image in low-cost missions with high impact. NISAR, according to the space agencies, is the first radar imaging satellite in the world to use two different radar frequencies, the L-band from NASA and the S band developed by ISRO, to track minute movements on the Earth's surface. These changes can be as small as centimetres. Satellite, about the size and weight as a full-loaded pickup truck was placed in a Sun-synchronous near-polar orbit 747 km above Earth. The satellite will map the Earth every 12 days, using a 240km wide radar swath. This data is available to disaster response agencies and scientists to monitor anything from glacier retreats in the Himalayas up to possible landslide areas in South America. After the launch, ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan stated that "the potential applications of the satellite are enormous and the scientific community around the world is eagerly anticipating the satellite data to use for their research and purposes." It will not be used by just one or two nations. This great achievement will benefit the entire world," he said. He added that the mission brought the two space agencies closer together than ever before. Casey Swails (NASA's associate deputy administrator) called the mission "a pathfinder". She said, "This Earth Science mission is unique and shows the world just what our two countries can do." NISAR will operate for at minimum five years. Data collected by NISAR will be freely accessible to all users around the world. This is a step that aims to increase transparency and accessibility for environmental research and hazards response. The launch coincides with India's wider push to establish itself a space power following its Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing and its Gaganyaan programme for human spaceflight. India said that it plans to build its space station and send astronauts on the moon by 2035 in partnership with other nations as part of an overall vision to expand scientific and commercial activities in space. (Reporting and editing by Nivedita Battacharjee, YP Rajesh, and Ros Russell).
Noem calls for the elimination of FEMA 'as currently constituted' as it aids flood victims in Texas
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi NOEM called for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's elimination in its current format on Wednesday, while the agency was sending specialists and supplies to Texas as part of the response to the devastating floods.
Noem's remarks were a restatement on her thoughts about FEMA's Future but noteworthy given FEMA’s critical role currently in central Texas.
Flash floods on 4th July
At least 119 people have been killed, and scores more are still missing.
Noem, who spoke at a meeting with a government review panel looking for ways to reform FEMA noted that the agency provided resources including personnel to assist state and local officials leading the response in Texas.
Noem also used the occasion to criticize FEMA's past failures. She claimed that the agency is too slow and bureaucratic, and it ties state and local officials up.
She said that federal emergency management should be led by the states and local governments, not as it has been for decades.
It has been slow at the federal level to respond. Even the delivery of resources to Americans who are in crisis has been delayed. This is why it's time to restructure this agency and make it more responsive.
FEMA's defenders claim that President Donald Trump, and his aides, have tried to politicize an agency vital for helping states prepare for disasters such as hurricanes and flooding and clean up afterward.
Michael Coen, FEMA chief-of-staff for former presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, called Noem’s remarks “disappointing” and pointed out that people affected by the floods in Texas are "still searching for their loved ones, with the help of the federal government."
FEMA's fate is not clear
The Texas floods were the first major disaster to kill many people since Trump assumed office in January, vowing to abolish or gut FEMA. They served as a stark reminder to how much states rely on FEMA during disasters. Trump and Noem are yet to specify how FEMA would be remade, and how its operation would differ from the way it currently operates.
Local officials in Kerr County have been questioned about their role, especially since the majority of victims were from that county.
Do more
Residents should be warned as floodwaters rise.
FEMA's daily operation briefing states that the agency has sent search and rescue teams to Kerr County from five different states, as well as experts and supplies, to help the state's emergency headquarters located in Austin. The Army Corps of Engineers was also activated.
Trump announced last month that he will "phase out" FEMA following the current hurricane season which runs through November. He said that states would receive less federal assistance for disasters with the White House controlling funding distribution.
FEMA continues to play a role in the funding of state emergency capabilities. FEMA provided Texas with nearly $20 million in the fiscal year prior to pay for emergency management operations that are now the frontline of flood response.
Trump has often said that he believes the states should be responsible for disaster response, but he was more reserved in his remarks following the Texas flooding.
Trump said that he would "talk about it later" when asked by a reporter if he planned to phase out FEMA.
Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, was equally guarded on Monday. She told reporters that the federal government's disaster response is a "policy conversation that will continue."
Coen stated that he found Trump and Leavitt encouraging.
He said that both seemed to be aware of the significance of the moment, and hoped that the Texas disaster could serve as an "opportunity to look at things in a different way." Reporting by Nathan Layne, Maria Tsvetkova and Ted Hesson in New York and Courtney Rozen and Ross Colvin in Washington. Editing by David Gregorio and Ross Colvin.
(source: Reuters)