Latest News
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Trump unveils $700 million coal support program using emergency powers
A White House official said that President Donald Trump is expected to announce Thursday that he would use his Cold War emergency powers to send nearly $700,000,000 to the U.S. coal sector to ship the fuel to Asia, and to power companies in the United States to burn the fuel domestically. The official and industry source confirmed that Trump intends to use the Defense Production Act, a law passed in 1950 that granted presidents broad authority to oversee industries considered critical to national defense, to finance?upgrades to more than a dozen power plants powered by coal, as well as to help finance two coal plants and to support the construction of an export terminal on the West Coast. The White House public schedule shows a 3:00 p.m. ET (1900 GMT), Trump's announcement about "Beautiful, Clean Coal." The Trump administration has framed the energy policy as an issue of national?security to ensure that electricity is available for AI data centers, and to reduce reliance on foreign countries. POLLUTION CONCERNS Environmentalists condemned the plan. Patrick Drupp of the Sierra Club's climate policy department called the plan a taxpayer-funded subvention for a polluting business and said that the group would challenge the initiative in court. Drupp stated that it was "disgusting and reprehensible" for the President of the United States to "give away our taxpayer dollars in order to build deadly and expensive coal-fired plants." Rich Nolan said that the National Mining Association's CEO would use the funds to increase production of a fuel that will help insulate energy consumers from price volatility and support the rising demand for electricity. Nolan stated that "the?administration supports that strategy by taking decisive actions at home to ensure upgrades are made to existing energy assets, and in?our ports to make sure that U.S. Coal can meet the needs of the world." As utilities shift to cheaper natural gas sources and renewable energy sources, coal, which accounted for more than half the electricity generated in the U.S. in 1990, is now responsible for less than one fifth. The official stated that more than half of this funding would be used to upgrade thirteen coal-fired plants. Additional money will also go towards coal facilities in Alaska and Maryland, as well as the West Gateway coal export terminal, which has been long planned in Northern California.
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Gold prices rise as hopes for a Middle East ceasefire pressure bond and dollar yields
Gold prices rose more than 1% on Thursday, as oil prices fell due to optimism about a possible end to the Iran Conflict. This led to a fall in bond yields and a pressure on the dollar. As of 11:50 am EDT (1550GMT), spot gold was up by 1% to $4,474.07 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery gained 0.8%, to $4$4,501.90. Independent metals trader Tai Wong says that reports of a ceasefire agreement between?Israel? and Lebanon? have pushed the dollar and bond yields up, allowing gold to hold above?the 200-day moving aver?, which is an important indicator. Israel and Lebanon announced late on Wednesday that they had agreed to implement ceasefire. This raised hopes of a deal being reached between Washington and Tehran. Oil prices dropped by more than 3% in response to the news amid hopes of a reopening of 'Strait of Hormuz. Gold's appeal was boosted by the lower yields of U.S. Treasuries including the 10-year bond, as well as a 0.2% decline in the dollar. Wong stated that "record highs in gold prices this year are unlikely to happen unless there is a lasting, clean ceasefire between Iran and the West, which opens Hormuz. This will allow energy prices to fall, and for markets to stop worrying over possible higher rates." Gold, the traditional "safe-haven" asset, reached a record of $5,594.82 an ounce on January 29. Since the start of the Iran conflict, in late February, it has lost about 16%. The high interest rates are a burden on non-yielding gold. Investors will now be focusing on the release of the May U.S. Employment Report. The data may shed light on the health of the labor market, which will help determine the direction the Federal Reserve takes in the future. Silver spot rose by 1.4%, to $73.74 an ounce. Platinum gained 1.7%, to $1890.40. Palladium increased 1.3%, to $1318.75. (Reporting and editing by Paul Simao in Bengaluru, Shalesh Kuber and Anjana Anil)
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European stocks rise, Wall Street is mixed as Broadcom drags down tech; oil prices dip
Investors weighed the impact of a snag on AI and a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon on oil prices. The S&P 500, Dow and Dow Jones were all higher. However, the Nasdaq was down. Technology shares drove the losses while healthcare stocks led the gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.70 %, the S&P 500 rose 0.25 %, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.17%. Broadcom shares fell more than 14 percent, pulling down semiconductor stocks, after disappointing results from the chipmaker disappointed investors who had bet on a surge in demand for its AI chips. Europe's stock exchanges increased by 0.42%. MSCI's global stock index fell by 0.01%. James St. Aubin is chief investment officer of Ocean Park Asset Management, Santa Monica,?California. "Today's tech action is emblematic of how fragile sentiment can be for a group that experiences massive gains in a short period of time." Brent crude prices fell?3% to return below $95 per barrel. The U.S. president Donald Trump's attempts to stop the fighting in Lebanon were undermined after the pro-Iran Hezbollah group?rejected a new ceasefire, and Israel announced that it would not be withdrawing troops from the country.
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Boston Fed paper: Fed should focus on inflation risks amid energy crisis
New research by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston suggests that a change in the way Americans use energy could allow the Federal Reserve to concentrate monetary policy decisions on the inflationary effects of the Middle East oil price shock. In a report published on Thursday, economists at a bank said that U.S. exposure to global economic growth has changed "fundamentally", since the 1970s. This is due to increased energy efficiency and domestic production. These changes mean an increase in oil prices has less of an impact than it did before. In the meantime, the increased production of domestic energy means that higher prices are able to spur employment, and offset the job losses in the sector that would have occurred in the past. The job market is less affected by the energy crisis, which would normally lead to a large number of job losses. This would also reduce the impact on inflation. The economists concluded that "the U.S.'s economy's vulnerability to shocks from oil has fundamentally changed. It has not been eliminated, but rather reconfigured." These findings suggest that monetary policies should be more focused on the inflationary effects of oil shocks, rather than the employment effects. The paper stated that although the current shock was notable, it had a smaller economic impact than either the 1973-1974 OPEC Oil Embargo or the 1978-1980 Iranian Revolution. The authors said that "the diminished aggregate employment impacts of oil shocks decrease the likelihood of'stagflation style tradeoffs between unemployment and inflation which characterized the 1970s." The Boston Fed paper came out as Fed officials struggled to decide the future of monetary policy. The Fed will meet on 16-17 June in a meeting where policymakers are almost certain to maintain their 'interest rate target range' between 3.50% - 3.75%. Officials are trying determine if the increase in inflation pressures caused by the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran will have to be tempered with a tighter monetary policies. Officials are largely in favor of keeping rates steady, while they wait to see what the long-term impact of the war will be on price pressures. The longer war continues, the more likely it is that inflation will continue to be high. It has been consistently above the Fed's 2% target over the years. Fed officials are speculating that interest rates may need to be raised later this year, if inflation doesn't start to ease. Boston Fed research indicates that such a path would not likely lead to significant job market problems. (Reporting and editing by Andrea Ricci; Reporting by Michael S. Derby)
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Helion, a nuclear startup, has raised $15.5 billion in its latest funding round
Helion, a nuclear fusion energy firm, announced on Thursday that it had raised $465'million in its most recent funding round. The investment was led by Thrive Capital. The round nearly triples Helion’s valuation from its last Series F round of funding in January 2025 when it raised $425m at a valuation $5.4bn. The financing highlights the increasing demand for electricity in massive data centers that are dedicated to artificial-intelligence operations. Helion now has a total funding of $1.5 billion. The company stated that proceeds from this latest round would be used to?accelerate commercial deployment, increase manufacturing capacity and support the delivery of clean electricity to customers. Helion is a company backed by OpenAI founders Sam Altman & Greg Brockman. They are among the many?public and private firms working on fusion's main challenge: generating more energy from a?reaction that is needed to initiate and contain it. Alta Park Capital and Ford Motor CEO Bill Ford were among the investors in the latest Series G round of funding. Lightspeed Venture Partners and Mithril Capital, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 as well as Good Ventures Foundation, all existing backers, also participated in the funding. The funding was announced after Helion's Polaris test machine reportedly used fusion fuel, and reached temperatures of?above?150 million degrees Celsius. The company has signed agreements in 2023 with Microsoft for the supply of electricity by 2028 and Nucor to build a 500MW Fusion Power Plant. OpenAI's Sam Altman left Helion's Board earlier this year as the two companies began to explore collaborating "at significant scale". Helion was founded in 2013 by David Kirtley, John Slough Chris Pihl and George Votroubek. Orion, its first power plant is currently under construction in Malaga (Washington). (Reporting and editing by Ditta Pujara in Bengaluru, Pranav Mathur from Bengaluru)
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After Ukrainian strikes, Russian-held Crimea tightens up fuel restrictions
Russian-controlled Crimea tightened rationing on?fuel supplies Thursday. It suspended all cash sales of gasoline, and issued a 'new coupon' to buy it. The peninsula is grappling with a shortage of fuel linked to Ukrainian drone attacks. In recent days, drivers in the Crimea region, which was annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, faced long queues at gas stations after Kyiv's attacks restricted supplies from adjacent Russian-controlled territory in southeast Ukraine. Sergei Aksyonov - the Kremlin's appointed head of Crimea - announced the new measures, which tighten restrictions on petrol sales imposed a month ago. He said that the sale of gasoline in cash would be suspended for several days. No new coupons will be issued either. The maximum amount of fuel that can be purchased with coupons is 20 litres. He blamed the rationing on "difficult conditions" without giving further details. Ukraine has been attacking fuel infrastructure near Crimea and elsewhere for a number of months, in an attempt to limit Moscow's financial ability to fund its four-year-old?war against Ukraine during a period of high global oil prices. Local Russian authorities said that Ukrainian drones attacked the Black Sea peninsula on Thursday, killing 4 people and damaging buildings. This was a day after Moscow & Kyiv exchanged strikes in each other's cities.
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Gold prices rise as hopes for a Middle East ceasefire pressure bond and dollar yields
Gold prices rose more than 1% on Thursday, as oil prices fell due to optimism about a possible end to the Iran Conflict. This led to a fall in bond yields and pressured the dollar. As of 9:05 am EDT (1305 GMT), spot gold was up by 1.7% to $4,505.35 an ounce. U.S. Gold futures for August delivered gained 1.5%, to $4,532.80. The dollar and bond yields have been pushed up by reports of a?deal for a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, according to independent metals trader Tai Wong. This has helped gold hold just above the 200-day moving averge. Israel and Lebanon announced late on Wednesday that they had agreed to implement ceasefire. This raised hopes for a possible deal between Washington?and Tehran. The news prompted oil prices to drop by more than 3% amid hopes of a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Dollars fell by 0.3% making greenback bullion cheaper for holders of other currencies. Lower yields on U.S. Treasuries including the 10-year bond also boosted gold's appeal. Wong stated that "record highs in gold for this year are unlikely until we have a lasting, clean ceasefire with Iran, which opens Hormuz and allows energy prices to fall, as well as markets not worrying about possible higher rates." Gold, the traditional safe-haven, reached a record of $5,594.82 an ounce on January 29. Since the start of the Iran conflict, in late February, it has fallen by 16%. Interest rates are high and this weighs on bullion that does not yield. Investors will now be focusing their attention on the U.S. Employment Report for May, which is due to be released this Friday. The data may shed a little?light on?the health of the?labor market, which can help to?guide Federal Reserve's future policy. Spot silver increased 3.1% to $74.96 an ounce. Platinum gained 1.9%, reaching $1,895.29. Palladium rose 1.6%, to $1.322.01. (Reporting by Anjana Anil in Bengaluru; Editing by Paul Simao)
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Mozambique tightens its grip on mining by imposing a 15% stake for the state and local processing
Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo?signed a law requiring 15% state ownership in?all mining and processing ventures, tightening its control over resources at a time when demand for battery materials is growing. Mozambique ranks third in the world for graphite production, which is used to make batteries and energy storage systems. According to a government notice from June 3, the mining law approved by Parliament in may aims to improve Mozambique’s “management of strategic resource in defence of national interest”. The new law, which was seen on Thursday, states that the state will have a minimum participation of 15 percent, "free and non-dilutable", in all mining projects. The 'new rules' did not apply immediately to existing mines that are covered by long-term contracts. The Mines Ministry was not available for immediate comment. Mozambique joins a growing list of African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the continent's top producer of lithium, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the world's largest producer of?cobalt and a major copper supplier to the global market, who are tightening their control over raw commodity exports in order to gain greater economic benefits from their resources. Syrah's Balama operations in the north of the nation, Mozambique, has a graphite deposit that is one of the largest in the world. According to the U.S. Geological Survey China and Madagascar are two of the world's top graphite producers. Rio Tinto and Brazil's Vale owned significant coal assets in Mozambique, including the?world's biggest ruby mine?, Montepuez. The new regulations prohibit the export of semi-processed or unprocessed minerals, unless they are covered by an approved plan to process them locally, and are covered by specific ministerial authorization. Reporting by Custodio Cosse and Manuel Mucari; Writing by Nelson Banya, Editing by Elaine Hardcastle
Trump pivots on new 10% global tariff and new probes following Supreme Court setback
U.S. president Donald Trump moved quickly on Friday to replace tariffs that were struck down by the Supreme Court, with a temporary 10% worldwide import duty for 150-days and ordered new investigation under other laws which could allow him reimpose the tariffs.
Trump signed an executive order late Friday night to begin imposing new tariffs on Tuesday under Section 122 of Trade Act of 1974. This will replace tariffs of up to 50% that were imposed by the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which the Supreme Court declared to be illegal. It also ends the collection of these now-banned tariffs.
The orders continue exemptions that were already in place, including for aeronautical products; passenger cars; some light trucks; goods imported from Mexico and Canada which are compliant with U.S. Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement; pharmaceuticals; and certain critical minerals; and agricultural products.
Scott Bessent said that the new 10% duties, and possibly enhanced tariffs, under Section 301 of the unfair practices statute, and Section 232 of the national security statute, would result in almost unchanged tariff revenues in 2026.
"We will return to the same level of tariffs for the countries." Bessent, a Fox News reporter, said that it will be less direct and a little more convoluted. The Supreme Court's decision has reduced Trump's bargaining power with trading partners.
Section 122, which has never been used before, allows the president to impose up to 15% in duties for up to 150-days on all countries in order to deal with "large and significant" balance of payment issues. This authority does not require any investigations or other procedural limitations. After 150 days the Congress would have to approve their extension.
Trump said, "We have great alternatives." "Could mean more money." Trump said that the alternative tools would allow us to take in more revenue and make us stronger.
The 10% tariff order justified the use of Section 122, noting the U.S.'s "large and serious balance-of-payments deficit" and that the situation was worsening.
The Section 122 Tariffs will expire before a final decision can be made. This is according to Josh Lipsky, International Economics Chair at the Atlantic Council in Washington.
Trump also said that his administration was initiating a number of new?country specific investigations under Section 301 of 1974's Trade Act "to protect our nation from unfair trading practices of foreign countries and companies."
The executive order instructed the U.S. Trade Representative to investigate "certain unfair and discriminatory policies, practices and acts that burden or restrict U.S. Commerce," but it did not specify any specific 'targets.
USTR has opened investigations on China, Brazil and other major trading partners such as Vietnam and Canada.
FASTER INVESTIGATIONS
Trump's move to other statutes including Section 122 while initiating new investigation under Section 301 was widely anticipated. However, these investigations have taken an average of a year.
Trump has said that the 10% tariffs will only last for five months.
When asked if the rates would end up higher in the future after more investigations, Trump replied: "Potentially." It depends. "Whatever we want them to become."
He said that some countries, which "have treated us badly for many years", could face higher tariffs. For others, "it will be very reasonable" for them.
In the wake of this ruling, the fate of dozens trade agreements to reduce IEEPA-based tariffs and negotiations with U.S. major trading partners remained uncertain. Trump did say that he expected most of these deals to be continued. He said that he expected many of the deals to continue.
Tim Brightbill of the Washington law firm Wiley Rein said that this is unlikely to have an impact on reciprocal trade agreements with our trading partners. "Most countries prefer the certainty of a deal over the chaos last year."
U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer stated that details about new Section 301 investigation would be revealed within the next few days. She added that these investigations are "incredibly durable legally." Trump used Section 301 during his first term to impose tariffs on Chinese imports.
REFUNDS TO Be 'Litigated'
Penn-Wharton Budget Model's economists estimate that the Supreme Court's ruling could result in a refund of up to $175 billion collected as tariffs over the last?year.
When asked if he'd refund the IEEPA duty, Trump replied that the matter was likely to be litigated between two and five years. This suggests that a fast, automatic refund is unlikely.
Bessent, speaking in Dallas to business leaders, said that the Supreme Court had not provided any instructions regarding refunds. He added that those were "in dispute" and that it could take weeks, months or even years.
MORE PROCEDURES
Trump chose IEEPA last year to impose tariffs in part because of the 1977'sanctions statute', which allowed for fast and wide action with little or no restrictions. He had used it to punish countries for non-trade disputes such as Brazil's prosecution against former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was a Trump ally.
Janet Whittaker of Clifford Chance, Washington, says that while Trump's investigations may prolong tariff uncertainty, it could also bring more order to his tariff policy by forcing him rely on laws with well-understood processes, requirements for public comments and research, as well as longer deadlines.
Whittaker stated that "the administration will need to follow these processes and conduct investigations. This means for businesses more visibility in the process."
Robert Lighthizer was Trump's first-term trade chief. He said that he wanted Congress to revise old trade laws so Trump could have new tariff tools.
Lighthizer stated, "I hope they will use this opportunity to change the system." Reporting by Gram Slattery in Washington; additional reporting by Doina chiacu. Writing by David Lawder. Editing by Deepa Babington. David Gregorio, Diane Craft, and Deepa Babington.
(source: Reuters)