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JSW suspends talks on restructuring with unions
The Polish coal miner JSW suspended important restructuring talks with unions on Tuesday, it said. This put a government-backed plan for rescue and vital funding into doubt, after what the company called a "significant" change in the unions’ stance. Why it's important JSW is unable to obtain the 3 billion zlotys (854 million dollars) of liquidity it requires for 2026. This puts the European Union's largest coking coal producer in financial danger as losses continue to mount. CONTEXT After media reports about comments made by Wlodzimierz?Czarzasty, a left-wing Polish politician and speaker of the lower house of the?Polish parliament? Czarzasty - who is also the leader The New Left - one of the parties in the current ruling coalition – called for the ruling alliance to discuss JSW’s “very difficult” situation on Tuesday, citing the "poor" management, according to the?Polish Press Agency. BACKGROUND State-controlled miner struggles with low demand, increased competition by cheaper imports and high operating costs. It reports a 7.24 billion Zloty net loss for 2024. The fragmented system of "dozens" of unions has historically complicated talks. What's Next? JSW announced that its management would be analyzing "alternative restructuring forms". The report said that the deal collapsed despite Grzegorz Werona, Deputy Minister of State Assets, having attended talks a day before. $1 = 3.5116 Zlotys (Reporting and editing by Matt Scuffham in Gdansk)
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Sheinbaum, Mexico's Sheinbaum, does not deny that oil shipment to Cuba has been halted
When asked on Tuesday if Mexico had stopped oil shipments to Cuba due to pressure from Washington, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that the decisions regarding the shipments were made by Mexico and not based on U.S. pressure. Sheinbaum, however, appeared to acknowledge the fact that Mexico had stopped a planned shipment for Cuba. Sheinbaum was asked at her morning press conference if she denied media reports that Mexico had stopped the shipment. She replied: "It's a sovereign decision, and it's made when necessary." Sheinbaum avoided a question on whether Mexico would resume oil deliveries to Cuba by saying: "In any case, this will be reported." Bloomberg was the first to report the suspension of oil shipment. Exclusively reported last week, the Mexican government was evaluating whether to continue sending oil to Cuba amidst growing fears in Sheinbaum's Administration that Mexico might face reprisals by the United States over this policy. Mexico's oil exports to Cuba are under scrutiny after U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to stop the flow from Venezuela of oil and money to Cuba in the wake of the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3, by U.S. Special Forces. According to internal documents and shipping data from the state-owned company PDVSA?cargoes were falling off because of a U.S. ban even before Maduro was captured. Mexico was the island's second largest supplier in 2025 with 5,000 barrels of oil per day. Pemex shipments are now the only lifeline available to the island, as Venezuela is no longer online. Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex has exported to Cuba 17,200 barrels per day of crude and 2,020 barrels per day of petroleum products in the nine months ending September. Sheinbaum said that Mexico's decision to give or sell oil to Cuba has a?long history and is influenced by economic blockade of the island nation. Sheinbaum explained that "the decision as to when and how (oil is) sent is a sovereign one, and is made by (Mexican State Oil Company) Pemex, based on contracts, or, in any event, by the Government, who decides it's humanitarian to send oil under certain conditions." (Reporting and editing by Emily Green; Additional reporting provided by Mexico City Newsroom)
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Wash Post reports that US national parks are being asked to remove signs about climate change and mistreatment of Native Americans.
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that U.S. officials ordered this month national parks to remove hundreds of signs and displays about the mistreatment by settlers of Native Americans, as well as climate change. This is part of Donald Trump's effort to change public spaces and museums, which rights activists say could reverse decades of social progress. Last week, the National Park Service removed an exhibition on slavery from Philadelphia's?historical site, in accordance with Trump’s claims of "anti-American ideologies" at historical and cultural institutions. The Post reported citing documents that Trump administration officials had ordered that this month signs in at least 17 more parks, including the Grand Canyon and Glacier Parks, Big Bend, Zion, and Big Bend, be removed or modified. The Post reported that the'removal orders' included a display about the forced'removal of Native Americans at the Grand Canyon, while officials from the Trump administration flagged a climate change brochure and sign at Glacier National Park. The U.S. The Interior Department, which oversees National Park Service in a press release, stated that they were implementing Trump's Executive Order on "Restoring Truth to American History". All federal agencies must review the interpretive material to ensure accuracy, truthfulness, and alignment with national values. The National Park Service has completed the review and is now taking the appropriate actions in accordance with this Order. In?September, the department announced that all interpretive signs in national parks were being reviewed. The department announced in?September that all interpretive signage in national parks was being reviewed. Civil rights groups claim that the Trump administration is reversing social progress and denying recognition of important phases in?American history. Last year, the Republican president alarmed civil right advocates with an executive order in which he said that he was fighting "a false revisionism of history". He complained about the "excessive focus" on slavery. (Reporting and editing by Daphne Psaledakis)
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Andy Home: The Zinc Market continues to defy expectations
Zinc did not perform according to script in 2018 and the galvanising material continues to surprise 2026. The London Metal Exchange (LME) is trading at its highest levels in three years this week. A market that was expected to move to an oversupply by 2025, was instead rocked in October by a fierce squeeze. The global mine production is increasing at a rapid pace, but the flow through to the refined metal segment is taking longer than expected. This is because the'surplus' is all stuck in China. LME zinc inventories have increased from the depleted levels of October thanks to an influx of Chinese exports. The inventory rebuild has slowed in recent weeks. This suggests that the Western market requires more consistent Chinese supply. Mine Supply on Track Zinc's bear story is based on increasing mine production, and things are going according to plan. According to the International Lead and Zinc Study Group, the global mine production grew by 6.5% in the first ten months of 2025. Boliden’s Tara mine, located in Ireland, has reopened after being closed in mid-2023 because of low prices. Ivanhoe Mines’ Kipushi operation is also ramping up in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Russian mine Ozernoye has also begun full production following a?one-year delay due to a combination between a fire in November 2023 and a shortage of spare parts because of Western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine. China's dramatic increase in raw material imports is a clear indication of the impact. The volume of zinc concentrates imported into China increased by 30% on an annual basis, reaching a record high of 5,33 million metric tonnes in 2025. According to ILZSG, the latest figures show that the turnaround in the market for zinc concentrates allowed China to increase its output of?refined Zinc by 8.4% during the first 10 months in 2025. CHINA TRADE SHIFTS The global refined zinc production however, only grew by 2.9% during the same period, because smelter output outside China decreased by 2.2% compared to 2024. The closure of Toho Zinc Annaka and the temporary suspension at the Seokpo Smelter in South Korea have contributed to the lower metal production in Brazil, Kazakhstan and South Korea. The Western markets are now dependent on Chinese exports in order to fill the gaps in their supply chain. China's refined zinc trade began to shift in the fourth quarter last year when it became a net importer for the first since 2022. Exports rose to 42,800 tonnes in November, the largest monthly total in nearly 20 years. Chinese smelters sent metal to?LME storage facilities in Hong Kong Singapore and Taiwan in order to benefit from the historic increase in the cash premium, which reached over $300 per tonne. Exports fell to 27,000 tonnes in December as LME tightened up. REBUILD OF PARTIAL STOCKS China's late year export surge helped the LME warehouse stocks recover, from less than 50,000 tons in November to 131,000 tonnes at the end December. The upward trend has slowed down since then. Exchange inventory, both registered as well as?off-warrant is currently at 138,000 tonnes. The amount of metal that has been earmarked to be physically loaded out, as indicated by the number of cancelled warrants, has steadily increased to 12,100 tonnes, or almost 11%, of the registered tonnage. This suggests that the Western market?is still running short of zinc, and needs more Chinese supplies to meet the demand. On paper, the global zinc supply is growing. However, with the excess metal in China it will require higher LME prices in order to get it out. Last year, the disconnect between zinc prices in the east and west was a surprise to bears. The LME's three-month zinc is now trading at over $3,300 per tonne for the first since January 2023. Bears may have to wait before this market catches up to expectations. Andy Home is an author and columnist. These are Andy Home's opinions. Check out Open Interest, your new essential source for global financial commentary. Follow ROI on LinkedIn and X. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast daily on Apple, Spotify or the app. Subscribe to the Morning Bid podcast and hear journalists discussing the latest news in finance and markets seven days a weeks.
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Wash Post reports that US national parks are being asked to remove signs about climate change and mistreatment of Native Americans.
The Washington Post reported?on Tuesday? that U.S. officials ordered this month national parks to remove hundreds of signs and displays relating to the'mistreatment of Native Americans in the past by settlers', as well as the - climate change and - environmental protection. This is part of Donald Trump's effort to change public spaces and museums, which rights activists say could reverse decades of social progress. Last week, the National Park Service removed an exhibit about slavery from a Philadelphia historical site, in accordance with Trump's claims, which were rejected by civil right groups. The Post?reported citing documents that Trump administration officials had ordered this month for signs to be removed or edited in at least 17 more parks, including the Grand Canyon and Glacier Parks,?Big Bend, Zion, and Big Bend. The Post reported that the?removal order includes a display about the forced removal Native Americans at the Grand Canyon, while officials from the Trump administration flagged a climate change brochure and sign at Glacier National Park. The National Park Service didn't?respond immediately to a comment request. The U.S. Interior Department, the department that oversees National Park Service, announced in September, "all interpretive signs in national parks were under review." The interpretive signage in national parks and other places provides written and visual information on their history and culture. Civil rights groups claim that the Trump administration is reversing social progress and undermining recognition of important phases in American history. Last year, the Republican president sparked alarm among civil rights advocates with an executive order in which he declared that he was fighting "a false revisionism of history". He complained of what he deemed as an excessive focus on the "how bad slavery was." (Reporting and editing by Daphne Psaledakis)
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India's Vodafone Idea Q3 losses narrowed on higher premium data usage
Vodafone Idea, an Indian telecom operator, reported on Tuesday a smaller fiscal third-quarter profit. This was due to increased data consumption and a higher number of users upgrading their plans to 4G or 5G. The debt-ridden telecom operator's loss after tax narrowed from 66.09bn rupees to 52.86bn rupees in the December 31st quarter, down from 66.09bn rupees one year ago. Vodafone Idea has invested in its 4G/5G infrastructure over the past few years in order to improve service quality and reduce subscriber losses. The average revenue per user (a key industry metric) rose 7.3% on an annual basis to 186 rupees. The increase was a result of a 2% rise in subscribers to 4G and 5G, and a 26,7% jump in the average data usage by these users. The ARPU of?Vodafone still falls behind rivals Reliance Jio's 211.4 rupees and Bharti Airtel's 256 rupees. In a recent announcement, the government set a cap of $13,79 million per year for the six-year period on the long-pending revenue adjustments due to Vodafone Idea, which eased the immediate cash flow pressures. The company said on Tuesday that its AGR debts were frozen at 876.95 trillion rupees by December 31. It added that the amount is still subject to reassessment. India's third largest telecom provider, owned 49% by the Indian Government, was formed in 2018 after a merger of the Indian arm?UK's Vodafone Group with Aditya Birla Group?s Idea Cellular. Since then, the company has lost money every quarter and ceded its market share to Jio and Airtel. It is struggling with a debt of more than $22 Billion and a network rollout that is behind larger competitors. Analysts had predicted a revenue of 112,77 billion rupees. However, the actual figure was 113.23 milliards rupees.
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Goldman Sachs raises its first-half 2026 Aluminum Price Forecast and adjusts surplus Outlook
Goldman Sachs raised its London Metal Exchange aluminum price forecast for the first half of 2026 to $3,150 per tonne, up from $2,575. The investment bank cited a balanced global market that had supported investor confidence, without triggering an explosive production increase. Goldman Sachs also raised its forecast for the fourth quarter of 2026 to $2,500 from $2350, but kept its projection for 2027 at $2400. Goldman has revised its forecast for 2026 surplus from 1.1 million to 0.8 millions tonnes, but kept the 2027 surplus unchanged at 1.6million. It also raised its 2028 forecast to 2.3million, anticipating a higher supply of solar panels and reduced demand in China. LME aluminium was trading at $3180 per tonne by 1517 GMT, after reaching a nearly three-year high Monday. Metal is widely used for transport, construction and packaging, as well as electrical applications. Goldman Sachs attributes the increase in forecasts to three key factors: low global aluminum inventories; doubts about power availability for new Indonesian smelters, and strong global demand growth, driven by electric vehicles and grid expansion. The bank said that "we don't expect the price of aluminium to stay above $3,000" and that in 2026, they forecast a?acceleration of the growth in the supply of aluminum to coincide with the slowing down in the global demand growth. Goldman stated that the slowing growth in automotive production and a contraction of solar module production will further impact demand. (Reporting from Anmol Choubey, Bengaluru. Editing by Paul Simao.)
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Vanda Research reports that US retail traders are buying silver ETFs more quickly than other tech favorites.
Silver demand by retail traders is not slowing down in the U.S.?stock?market. In fact, it has now surpassed popular technology trades. The?analytics company said that individual investors bought iShares Silver Trust for?about $171 mln on Monday. This is nearly twice the $93 mln one-day high set during the silver squeeze of 2021, when investors banded on Reddit in order to push up GameStop's stock and silver. Ashwin 'Bhakre', Vanda Research's Head of Product, noted that the turnover for iShares Silver Trust had increased by more than 11 'times' its normal pace. This was more than seven times the increase in Nvidia. LSEG data shows that a combination of?retail' and?institutional' interest has pushed the volume in iShares Silver Trust several times higher than the popular SPDR S&P ETF Trust. Investors also bet against the rally. Vanda noted that trading activity for ProShares Ultrashort Silver, which tracks the double inverse of an index of silver, was four times higher than usual. This showed a strong interest from retail investors in betting on a fall in silver prices. The retail frenzy is also spilling over into mining stocks. According to Vanda, Hecla Mining and Coeur Mining are among the 50 most active names. Silver prices tripled over the last year and now exceed $100 per ounce. This was due to retail speculation, momentum buying, and persistent shortages of physical supply.
Insurance giant AXA XL, Enosis Capital seal 'debt-for-nature' tie up
Enosis capital, a credit fund, has signed an agreement with AXA XL to have the insurance company provide vital cover for a $3 billion wave of debt for nature' deals. The first deal is expected to be in the next 6 to 9 months.
Debt-for nature swaps are designed to help countries with lower incomes spend more money on ecosystems that are under threat, such as coral reefs or rainforests. They do this by substituting expensive government bonds for cheaper alternatives.
Belize, Barbados, and Ecuador's Galapagos Islands are examples of places that have seen their popularity grow. But there has been something of a drought in the past year, as Donald Trump, a climate-change skeptic, has returned as the president in the U.S., leading to some changes in key institutions.
Specialist finance and insurance firms have stepped in to help the market for debt-fornature swaps 'take off'.
Ramzi Issa co-founded Enosis capital in late 2024, after pioneering the debt-for nature-swap structure at Credit Suisse.
He said that the tie-up between Enosis and AXA XL, which provides political risk insurance and similar products, was key. It is also part of Enosis’s $3 billion pipeline for debt swaps and developments deals.
Issa anticipates that the first of these dozen or more deals will be finalised within the next six-nine months and a second by the end of this year.
Issa declined to identify the countries due to the sensitive nature of the debt markets.
He said that the first deal will not follow a traditional structure of debt swaps, but instead would make use of many "credit enhancements", such as risk insurance, which are essential to keep borrowing costs low for countries.
SPEED UP PROCESS
The partnership is part of a larger?collaboration, including Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund and Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio?s Re:wild?group.
AXA XL’s Jeff Abramson, Stuart Barrowcliff and Stuart Barrowcliff stated that debt swaps are an area for growth at the insurance company.
It has insured $30 million out of $300 million in loan that was at the heart of one of the latest swaps in the Bahamas, which took place in late 2024.
Abramson stated that the partnership would reduce the complexity of debt swaps, which can take years to finalise and agree upon.
Abramson noted that these deals tend to take a while to develop. The hope is to make it more systematic... so that the wheel turns a bit faster. (Reporting and editing by Jan Harvey; Marc Jones)
(source: Reuters)