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Shanghai copper hovers just below the record high, as Chinese demand increases and dollar weakens
Shanghai copper hovered just below a new record high on Thursday as Chinese demand increased and the U.S. Dollar weakened. The most active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended daytime trading up by 1% at 96,210 Yuan ($13732.51) per metric ton. Shanghai copper reached an all-time record of 96.750 yuan per ton on Tuesday, while?London's benchmark also hit a high at $12.282, close to the $12.300 mark. The London market is closed over the Christmas Holiday. The rise in copper was due to a surge in Chinese demand as the holiday season approached. Yangshan Copper?premium The price of seaborne copper units has been rising since the beginning of December. It reached its highest level since late September, $55 per ton. Prices had been hovering around $40 since mid-October. China's top copper smelters, in a Thursday meeting, decided to not set guidance on the processing fees of copper?concentrates for the first quarter 2026, due to historically low prices and a shortage of raw materials. Investors bet on further interest rate cuts by the U.S. Fed Reserve next year to continue the?weakening of the U.S. Dollar. Aluminium and lead were also up in the SHFE base metals. Zinc fell 0.56%. Nickel's six-day rally ended with a decline of 1.22%. Tin lost 1.18%.
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Japan's lobby leader says China's export licenses will not reduce excessive steel exports
Tadashi Imai, Chairman of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, said that China's proposed export-licence requirements would not be effective in curbing export volumes or supporting a recovery in prices. China, the world's biggest steel producer, will implement a licensing system in 2026 for export regulation. This is because robust shipments of metal have fueled a protectionist backlash around the globe. Imai said at a press conference that the permits are aimed at controlling quality. China's steel exports have become a global concern. Japan is among the countries that criticize Chinese firms for receiving government subsidies which?encourage exports at low prices and overproduction. The Federation forecast that Japan's domestic demand for steel from the construction and manufacturing industries will remain flat during the fiscal year beginning in April. Crude steel production is expected to remain unchanged. The Japanese trade and industry ministry forecast this week that Japan’s crude steel production for the current fiscal year will fall by 3.2% to 80.33 millions metric tons, which is the lowest since fiscal 1967. Imai, also the president of Nippon Steel and the CEO of the company, was asked about the impact that U.S. Tariffs will have on his company. He said the tariffs could cut the profit by about 20 billion yen (130 million dollars) this fiscal year, while exports to the U.S. would be halved from the previous year. He said that the total impact of the tariff, which included indirect effects such as the 15% on automobiles was less than what he had expected.
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Dalian iron ore continues to benefit Beijing's home buyers
The prices of Dalian Iron Ore Futures rose for the?second straight session on Thursday as Beijing relaxed its restrictions on domestic?buying. The day-traded price of the most traded?iron ore? contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange closed 0.58% higher, at 778.5 Yuan ($111.10) per metric ton. Singapore's market will be closed on Christmas Day, Thursday. Beijing's municipal officials further relaxed curbs on home purchase on Wednesday, lowering the qualification thresholds for home buyers, as part of the latest effort to?boost the demand amid the worsening prices of homes in the Chinese capital. Chinese officials pledged earlier this week that they would step up their efforts to stabilize the property market by 2026. Market participants were watching to see if other large cities would ease up home buying further. China's property industry, which used to be its largest steel consumer, has suffered a steady decline since mid-2021, with falling home prices and shrinking sales. The property market slump has had a negative impact on steel consumption, but robust exports and growing demand in the manufacturing sector have helped to offset some of the decline. Analysts also said that the expectation of steel mills booking more seaborne cargoes during the Lunar New Year holiday, in February, to "meet their consumption needs" was another factor supporting the prices. The price gains were curtailed by high portside inventories of?iron ore and seasonal slack demand for steel. The coking coal, the coke and other ingredients used in steelmaking are largely unchanged. The benchmark steel prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange are mixed. The rebar and hot-rolled coil grew by 0.03%. Wire rod jumped 1.21%, while stainless steel fell 0.08%. ($1 = 7.0074 Chinese Yuan) (Reporting and editing by Amy Lv, Ryan Woo and William Mallard).
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Sources: China's smelter group does not set copper TC/RC guidance for Q1
Sources said that the top copper smelters of China did not set a guideline for copper concentrate processing fees for the first quarter 2026. This is the fourth time in a row the group has refused to do so, as feedstock shortages have pushed charges to new lows. Two sources familiar with the discussion confirmed that the decision was taken at a quarterly China Smelters Purchase Team meeting. The CSPT is a group of sixteen leading smelters whose advice is often used as a standard in spot concentrate transactions. When concentrate supplies are tight, treatment and refining fees (TC/RCs), which miners pay to smelters in order to refine copper concentrates, tends to fall. Antofagasta, a Chinese copper-smelter and the World Bank reached an agreement on 2026 TC/RCs of $0 per metric ton or 0 cents a pound. This was the lowest price ever negotiated in annual negotiations. A source familiar with the situation said that Antofagasta had reached an agreement with its Chinese clients to set annual TC/RCs equal to zero. The CSPT did not set a benchmark for the previous three quarters either, because China's copper smelters were struggling with negative charges on the spot market. This meant that smelters had to pay miners in order to?process the concentrate. CSPT members agreed last month to reduce 2026 production by more than 10% in order to offset falling processing fees, after China's Nonferrous Metals Industry Association stated that it was "firmly against" zero and -negative processing charges. China is studying ways to control its ever-expanding capacity to smelt copper and to counter negative TC/RCs. Copper concentrate is expected to'remain tight' next year due to mine disruptions. This includes the suspension of Freeport’s flagship Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia.
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Shanghai copper hovers just below the record high, as Chinese demand increases and dollar weakens
Shanghai copper was below its record high Thursday, as the Chinese demand increased and the U.S. dollar weakened. dollar weakened. As of 0330 GMT, the most active copper contract on?the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased 0.40%, to 95,640 Yuan ($13.651.55) per metric ton. Shanghai copper reached an all-time record of 96.750 yuan?a ton, and the London benchmark?also hit a high at $12.282, which is near the $12.300 mark. The London market is closed over the Christmas Holiday. The rise in copper was due to a rise in Chinese demand as we approach the holiday season. Yangshan Copper Premium The price of, which measures Chinese demand for seaborne units of copper, has been rising since the beginning of December. It is now at its highest level since late September, $55 per ton. Investors bet on further interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve in 2013, leading to continued weakness of the?U.S. dollar. dollar. Aluminium and lead were the only two metals that changed little in SHFE. Zinc?dropped by 0.75%. Nickel's six-day rally ended with a decline of 1.79%. Tin lost 1.48%. (1 Chinese Yuan = 7.0058 Renminbi)
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Dalian iron ore continues to benefit Beijing's home buyers
The prices of Dalian Iron Ore Futures rose for the second consecutive session on Thursday, as further relaxations in Beijing on home purchases boosted sentiment. As of 0251 GMT, the most-traded contract for iron ore on?China's Dalian Commodity Exchange(DCE) increased 0.26% to $776 yuan (US$110.76) per metric ton. Singapore's market will be closed on Christmas Day, Thursday. Beijing's municipal officials further relaxed curbs on home purchase on Wednesday by lowering the threshold of home-buying qualification, in their latest effort to boost demand amid worsening prices for homes in the Chinese capital. This came after Chinese officials?promised earlier this week to increase efforts to stabilize the property market by 2026. Participants in the market were watching to see if other large cities would ease home buying even further. Since mid-2021, China's property sector has suffered a steady decline, with falling home prices and shrinking sales. The protracted downturn in the property market has had a negative impact on steel consumption. However, robust exports and a growing demand for manufacturing products have helped offset some of the decline. Analysts said that the expectation of steel mills booking more seaborne cargoes in order to meet their consumption needs over the Lunar New Year holiday, which is February, also supported the price of the main?steel making ingredient. The price increase was tempered by a?high iron ore stockpile at the port and a seasonally low steel demand. The coking coal, as well as other ingredients used in steelmaking, remained largely unchanged. The Shanghai Futures Exchange has seen a rise in the majority of steel benchmarks. Rebar gained 0.26%; hot-rolled coil gained 0.24%; wire rod increased 0.66% and stainless steel fell 0.58%. $1 = 7,0060 Chinese Yuan (Reporting and editing by Amy Lv, Ryan Woo)
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Sources say that China's first batch fuel export quotas for 2026 are stable year-on-year.
Three sources familiar with this matter late Wednesday said that China issued 19 million tonnes of export quotas, including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, in the first batch for 2026. In this batch of export quotas, the world's second largest consumer of oil gave out?8 millions tons of low sulphur marine fuel. Both volumes were stable compared to a year ago. China's refined fuel exports are managed by a quota-based system that balances the fundamentals of supply and demand in its domestic market. The main recipients of the quotas were the state-owned oil companies Sinopec and CNPC. They received 13.76 millions tons of allowances for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel exports – more than 70% of the total volume. Zhejiang Petrochemical, a major private refiner, was allocated 1.56 million tonnes?of export quotas in this first batch. Almost 85% of the 8 million tons of low-sulphur fuel allowed for marine use went to Sinopec and CNPC. China's oil refinery exports, including aviation fuel, marine bunker fuel, and diesel fuel, totaled 52.65 millions tons in the first 11 months 2025. This is a 3.2% decrease from last year.
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Odesa Zoo saves birds after Russian attacks
Volunteers lift a dead bird from the wind-swept beach of 'Odesa. The Black Sea port town where an oil spill, blamed by Ukrainian officials on Russian attacks, has left wildlife fighting for survival. Odesa is a Russian target, and has been since the Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 20, 2022. However, the attacks are more intense now. Wildlife is also among the victims. Russia hasn't commented on the spill but previously denied targeting civilian infrastructure. Odesa Zoo is determined to save birds that survive after being coated with oil. Birds can no longer move due to their feathers becoming coated. "They can't fly or swim," said zoo director Ihor Bilyakov outside a rescue point to rehabilitate the birds. They lose their mobility and freeze quickly because it is cold now. The spill, which was caused by Russian air strikes that damaged storage tanks of sunflower oil in Pivdennyi Port last week, killed dozens of birds. Regional governor Oleh Kiper blamed the incident on Russian attacks. The birds screech indignantly when volunteers clean them of oil from their bill to toe. Biliakov said that the two most elegant species, the great crested and horned Grebes, were the worst affected. He said that the great crested Grebe is a waterfowl species that is particularly vulnerable to contamination by oil. The port administration reported that emergency crews deployed floating barriers and specialised vessels to contain spillage, and temporarily closed the channel. The oil will degrade organically, according to authorities. However, monitoring and cleanup efforts are ongoing in order to prevent any further spread. Reporting by Iryna Nazaarchuk, writing by Ron Popeski and editing by Howard Goller
Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway at a glimpse
10s of countless people descended on Omaha, Nebraska to attend the yearly investor weekend for billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.
Buffett, 93, and Vice Chairman Greg Abel, 61, are expected to respond to five hours of shareholder concerns at Berkshire's. yearly meeting on Saturday. Vice Chairman Ajit Jain, 72, will. join them in the first 3 hours.
Abel is anticipated to be successful Buffett as chief executive. The. conference is the very first given that long time Vice Chairman Charlie Munger. died in November at age 99. It will be relayed on CNBC and. livestreamed on cnbc.com.
Here are some truths about Buffett and Berkshire.
REALITIES ABOUT WARREN EDWARD BUFFETT
Born: Aug. 30, 1930, in Omaha
Education: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Columbia Company. School
Family: Buffett has been married to Astrid Menks since 2006. His very first spouse Susan Thompson Buffett passed away in 2004, and he had. three kids with her: Susan, Howard and Peter. Susan Buffett. and Howard Buffett are Berkshire directors.
Net worth: $132.5 billion as of May 2, ranking 8th. worldwide. Bernard Arnault, who leads high-end products business LVMH. Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and his family ranked. first. (Source: Forbes)
Berkshire ownership stake: 15.1% since March 6
Berkshire voting power: 31.2% since March 6
How Buffett took charge: In 1965, Buffett was a shareholder. in Berkshire, then a struggling New England textile company. He. consented to sell back his shares for $11.50 each, but management. provided a term sheet that showed $11.375. That outraged Buffett,. and he decided to buy all the shares he could. He won control of. Berkshire on May 10, 1965. The textile service closed in 1985.
Famous Buffett quote: Lose money for the firm, and I. will be comprehending. Lose a shred of reputation for the firm,. and I will be ruthless. - Sept. 4, 1991 congressional testament. about Salomon Inc, where Buffett ended up being interim chairman to. restore order after a Treasury auction bidding scandal.
Philanthropy: Buffett has actually since 2006 contributed about $39.3. billion to the Costs & & Melinda Gates Foundation and $12.7 billion. to 4 household charities. He has said 99%- plus of his fortune. will go to philanthropy over about a decade after he dies.
Home: Buffett has lived since 1958 in the same home on a. well-trafficked Omaha street and does much of his work there. Integrated in 1921, the five-bedroom, 2-1/2- bath home on 0.72 acres. was examined at $1,224,500 in 2024, up from $1,003,500 in 2023. Annual taxes are $21,172. (Source: Douglas County, Nebraska)
Diet: Buffett likes steaks and consumes candies from See's,. which Berkshire owns. He approximates that one-fourth of his. calories originate from Coca-Cola, a long time Berkshire financial investment.
Buffett on Berkshire's objective: We wish to own either all or a. part of organizations that enjoy good economics that are. fundamental and withstanding ... We especially prefer the unusual. enterprise that can deploy extra capital at high returns in. the future ... We likewise hope these preferred businesses are run by. able and reliable supervisors, though that is a harder. judgment to make, however, and Berkshire has had its share of. dissatisfactions. (Shareholder letter, Feb. 24)
FACTS ABOUT BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY
Leadership: Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive. officer; Greg Abel and Ajit Jain, vice chairmen; Todd Combs and. Ted Weschler, financial investment managers.
2023 earnings: $96.22 billion, consisting of $58.87 billion of. investment gains
2023 running income: $37.35 billion, up 21% from 2022
2023 profits: $364.48 billion, up 21% from 2022
2023 share repurchases: $9.2 billion
Stock price: $606,413.45 per Class A share as of May 2. Class B shares are worth about 1/1,500 th as much.
Market price: about $867 billion as of May 2, 2024, based upon. reported shares impressive
Intensified annual gain from 1965-2023: stock price: 19.8%;. S&P 500 including dividends: 10.2% (pre-tax)
Total gain from 1965-2023: stock rate: 4,384,748%; S&P. 500 including dividends: 31,223% (pre-tax)
Chosen services: Alleghany, Benjamin Moore, Berkshire. Hathaway Automotive, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Berkshire. Hathaway Specialized Insurance Coverage, BNSF, Borsheims Fine Jewelry,. Brooks, Business Wire, Clayton Residences, Duracell, Forest River,. Fruit of the Loom, Geico, General Re, HomeServices of America,. IMC International Metalworking, International Dairy Queen,. Jazwares, Johns Manville, Lubrizol, Marmon, McLane, National. Indemnity, Nebraska Furnishings Mart, NetJets, Asian Trading,. Pampered Chef, Pilot Travel Centers, Accuracy Castparts, See's. Sweets, Shaw Industries
Selected acquisitions: See's Candies, $25 million (1972 );. Geico, $2.3 billion (1996 ); Dairy Queen, $590 million (1998 );. General Re, $15.9 billion (1998 ); NetJets, $725 million (1998 );. Clayton Residences, $1.7 billion (2003 ); PacifiCorp, $5.1 billion. ( 2006 ); Iscar, $6.1 billion (2006-2013); Marmon, $8.9 billion. ( 2008-2014); Burlington Northern Santa Fe, $26.5 billion (2010 );. Lubrizol, $9 billion (2011 ); NV Energy, $5.6 billion (2013 );. H.J. Heinz, $12.1 billion (bulk stake, 2013); Van Tuyl (now. Berkshire Hathaway Automotive), $4.1 billion (2015 ); Precision. Castparts, $32.1 billion (2016 ); Duracell, $2.9 billion (2016 );. Pilot Travel Centers, $13.6 billion (2017-2024); Alleghany,. $ 11.5 billion (2022 ). (Sources: Barclays, Berkshire)
Major stock financial investments: American Express, Apple, Bank of. America, Chevron, Coca-Cola, Kraft Heinz, Occidental Petroleum. Berkshire likewise has around 9% stakes in Japan's five. largest trading houses.
Staff members: 396,440
Employees in primary workplace: 26, including Buffett
Annual meeting participation: 12 (1965 ), about 24 (1979 ), 1,000. ( 1986 ), 4,100 (1995 ), 13,000 (2000 ), 21,000 (2005 ), 42,000. ( 2015, Buffett's 50th anniversary running Berkshire). (Sources:. Omaha World-Herald, Berkshire, )
REALITIES ABOUT MANAGEMENT, OUTLOOK
Succession: Buffett has not openly signaled any plans to. retire. Abel is anticipated to end up being CEO when Buffett retires,. can not continue or passes away. Combs, who has also been Geico's chief. executive because 2020, and Weschler may prosper Buffett as chief. investment officer. Buffett's eldest boy, Howard, is anticipated to. end up being non-executive chairman.
Management duties: Abel and Jain have day-to-day. oversight of Berkshire's non-insurance and insurance coverage units,. respectively. Combs and Weschler deal with some stock financial investments. Buffett deals with major capital allotments and investments.
Buffett on handling risk: It's my job to consider dangers. that nobody else thinks about. (Interview with CNBC, April 12,. 2023)
Buffett on outlook for investors: Berkshire must do a. bit much better than the typical American corporation and, more. essential, need to likewise run with materially less danger of. permanent loss of capital. Anything beyond 'somewhat much better,'. however, is wishful thinking. (Investor letter, Feb. 24)
Abel on stock buybacks after Buffett's departure: We really. don't see that framework changing. When the opportunity presents. itself, we'll want to be an active repurchaser of Berkshire. shares. (Berkshire yearly meeting, May 6, 2023)
Jain on reinsurance exposure to a significant Florida hurricane:. We could lose, across all the units, as much as $15 billion. And if there isn't a loss, we'll make several billion dollars as. profit ... Given that we have about a little less than $300. billion of capital, we think of that as a 5% exposure that we're. ready to take on. (Berkshire annual conference, May 6, 2023)
(source: Reuters)