Latest News
-
BP Lines Up Noble Rig for North Sea CCS Drilling Job
BP has hired Noble Corporation’s Noble Innovator jack-up rig for a drilling job related to carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the North Sea.Under the contract, Noble Innovator will drill six firm wells for the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) project in the North Sea.BP provides operatorship services to NEP, with project partners Equinor and TotalEnergies. The contract is expected to start in the third quarter of 2026.It also contains an option for two additional wells, and is in direct continuation of Noble’s current contract with BP.To remind, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) issued its first carbon storage permit to NEP for the CCS project off the coast of Teeside in December 2024. The partners also reached a financial investment close for the execution of the project.Permits and Funding in Place for UK’s First Offshore CCS ProjectThe project has the potential to store up to 100 million tonnes of CO2. The first CO2 injection could come as early as 2027, according to NSTA, with a permitted injection rate of 4 million tonnes per year.Averaged over a duration of 25 years, this could reach a total of 100 million tonnes, equivalent to taking 58.8 million cars off the road for a year. "Supporting the Northern Endurance Partnership advances our role in delivering the well infrastructure behind the UK’s net-zero ambitions. This award reinforces our leadership in offshore carbon storage, and we value the continued trust that bp places in our crews,” said Blake Denton, SVP Marketing and Contracts at Noble Corporation.
-
Trump praises Nippon Steel for being a 'great partner" of U.S. Steel at a raucous rally
At a Friday political rally, U.S. president Donald Trump praised an "agreement", between Nippon Steel & U.S. Steel. He did not clarify if he intended to approve their diplomatically sensitive merger. Trump announced that the American Steel Company would remain American on a Pittsburgh stage, Pennsylvania, decorated with signs praising "American steel." He also praised its new Japanese partner. It's unclear if he has given his approval to a merger that would give Nippon ownership as requested by the companies, or if he has formally approved the deal. Trump said to more than 1,600 people wearing hard hats, "We are here today to celebrate an agreement that will ensure that this storied American Company remains an American company." You're going stay an American business, you know that right? We're going have a great partnership." The Japanese company's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel in 2023 divided Pennsylvania, a politically significant state, and its heavily-unionized blue-collar workers. It also brought tension to the otherwise friendly relationship between Tokyo and Washington. The transaction's supporters hoped that Trump's trip would bring an end to a turbulent 18-month attempt by Nippon Steel, which was plagued by opposition from the union leadership and by two national security reviews. Trump stated that the company will be "controlled" by the USA, that there would be no layoffs and that Nippon Steel would invest billions in modernizing U.S. mills to increase their production. He announced a new plan that will be implemented by next week. Tariffs are being raised Import steel duty increased from 25% to 50% Trump's comments on Friday did not shed any further light on whether or not he would give a formal approval to a deal. Trump added, "I will be keeping an eye on it and it's going be fantastic." Requests for comments on the current status of the deal negotiations have not been responded to by the White House or the companies. Trump announced the rally last Friday and appeared to endorse this merger in a post on social media. This pushed the share price of U.S. Steel up by over 20%, as investors bet that he would give the merger the green light soon. He sowed doubt on Sunday by describing to reporters the deal as not the takeover Nippon seeks but an investment, with "partial ownership" and control located in the United States. U.S. Steel's headquarters is located in Pennsylvania. This symbolized the strength of the U.S. manufacturing industry at one time, but also the decline as steel factories and plants along the Rust Belt lost business to foreign competitors. In presidential elections, the state that is most closely contested is often a prize. Takahiro Muri, Nippon's Vice-Chair, said before Trump: "We wouldn't be here without President Trump. He has ensured the future of our company by approving this partnership." Ryosei Acazawa, Japan's chief trade negotiator told reporters Friday that he couldn't comment yet on the deal. "I'm aware of all the reports and posts made by President Trump in social media. There hasn't been any official announcement by the U.S. Government," Akazawa said, who was in Washington to negotiate tariffs. Trump has to make a decision by Thursday, after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. completed its second review last week. The timeline may slip. The road leading up to the rally on Friday has been bumpy. Nippon Steel made an offer of $14.9 billion to U.S. Steel for December 2023. They wanted to take advantage of the expected increase in steel sales due to the bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The tie-up was doomed from the beginning, as both Biden and Trump insisted that U.S. Steel be owned by Americans to win over Pennsylvania voters ahead of the presidential election in November. Biden, after the review in December 2008, blocked the deal on grounds of national security. The companies filed suit, claiming they had not received a fair review, an accusation that the Biden White House denied. Steel giants saw an opportunity with the Trump administration. The Trump administration opened a 45-day review of the proposed merger. Trump's public remarks, which ranged from welcoming the Japanese company to "invest" in U.S. Steel to suggesting that Nippon Steel should have a minority stake, did not do much to boost investor confidence. Last week, it was reported that Nippon Steel has proposed plans to invest up to $14 billion into U.S. Steel operations. This includes $4 billion for a new mill. If the Trump administration approves its merger bid. Reporting by Jeff Mason and Alexandra Alper, Writing by Trevor Hunnicutt, Additional reporting by Makiko Yazaki in Tokyo, and Nathan Layne, in New York, and Editing by Chizu Nomiyama Alistair Bell, and Chris Reese
-
Trump plans to double steel tariffs from 50% to 100%
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, announced on Friday that he would increase the tariffs on steel imports from 25 to 50 percent. This will put more pressure on steel producers around the world and intensify his trade war. "We will be increasing the tariffs by 25%." "We are going to increase the tariffs from 25% to 50% on steel imported into the United States of America. This will further secure the American steel industry," he stated at a Pennsylvania rally. Next week, the new levy will come into effect. Steel tariffs Trump's return to office in January saw him impose levies and tariffs on aluminum. Tariffs of 25% were imposed on steel and aluminum imports to the U.S. in March. He had threatened a 50% tax on Canadian steel, but eventually backed down. The import tax is imposed under the Section 232 authority. This includes both raw metals as well as derivative products such as horseshoes or aluminum fry pans. According to Census Bureau Data retrieved by the U.S. International Trade Commission Data Web System, the total import value of the 289 categories in 2024 was $147.3 billion. Nearly two thirds were aluminum and one third steel. Trump's two first rounds of punitive duties on Chinese industrial products in 2018, during his first term, totaled $50 Billion in annual imports. (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese; Jeff Mason)
-
Rosneft, a Russian oil company, says its Q1 net income was $2.2 billion less than a half-year ago.
Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, reported a net profit Friday of 170 billion Russian roubles (2.19 billion dollars). This is less than half the level from a year ago due to higher interest rates, sanctions, and a stronger ruble. Igor Sechin has been a staunch ally of Vladimir Putin and Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin. He has often criticised the Russian central bank's tight monetary policies. Since October, the central bank has maintained its key rate at 21% as it has fought against persistently high inflation. The rate has increased since the early 2000s when Russia was still recovering after the chaos of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Sechin stated in a press release that "during the reporting period the company operated under conditions of a further deterioration in the macroeconomic climate, including a decline in the price for Russian Urals oil, an expansion of discounts to global oil benchmarks, new sanctions as well as the strengthening of the Russian rouble." Rosneft reported that interest costs increased by 1.8 times in the first quarter. Rosneft didn't provide a comparison to the net income of the previous year, but it did report last year that its first-quarter net income for 2024 reached 399 billion Russian roubles. The company reported a net profit increase from 158 billion Russian roubles during the previous three-month period. The company also reported that the revenue for the quarter of January-March decreased by 8.5% compared to the previous one to 2.3 trillion Russian roubles, due to the lower oil prices in roubles. Rosneft reported that the EBITDA (earnings before taxes, depreciation, and amortization) fell by 15.5% compared to the previous quarter, falling to 598 billion Russian roubles.
-
Moody's raises Nigeria's rating from 'B3' to 'B3' due to its improved external and fiscal position
Moody's, the credit rating agency, upgraded Nigeria's ratings by a notch from "Caa1", citing significant improvement in the country's fiscal and external positions. The World Bank announced earlier this month that Nigeria's economy had achieved its highest growth rate in about a decade, in 2024. This was due to a strong quarter and a better fiscal position. It warned, however, that high inflation is still a problem. Moody's stated that the recent overhaul of Nigeria's Foreign Exchange Management Framework... had markedly improved the CBN's reserves of foreign currency and bolstered its balance of payments. Moody's says that the inflationary risk in Nigeria has decreased due to policy changes. The nascent signs that inflation and borrowing costs will be easing are boosting confidence in these policy changes. The agency revised Nigeria’s outlook from “positive” to “stable”, as it expects the recent progress in external and fiscal areas to continue at a slower rate if oil prices drop. Moody's stated that "the stable outlook reflects Moody's expectations that external and fiscal improvement will decelerate, but not reverse completely." (Reporting and editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi in Bengaluru, Nishara K.P.
-
Stocks end lower but still post a strong gain for the month despite tariff concerns
The global stock market ended Friday with a loss, but it also recorded a gain for the week and the largest monthly increase since the end of 2023. This was despite the markets being roiled by the uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration's policies on tariffs. At the beginning of the week, sentiments were initially boosted by signs that trade tensions had eased between the U.S. Investors then focused on the earnings of artificial-intelligence chipmaker Nvidia which posted better-than expected results mid-week. The markets were temporarily shaken by an unexpected ruling of the U.S. Court of International Trade that struck down Trump's so called Liberation Day Tariffs. This triggered a court drama which saw an appeals court temporarily reinstate these tariffs. Trump claimed on Friday that China violated an agreement between the U.S. and China to roll back trade restrictions and tariffs for essential minerals. He also issued a new, veiled threat of getting tougher with Beijing. Mark Malek is chief investment officer of Siebert. "Within four day we got a compressed edition of what we had for an entire month - the tug-of war between forces that drove the markets higher last year, and the year before - namely AI and technology growth stock - and this looming problem we have with these administration tariffs." Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index and Nasdaq ended lower due to weakness in consumer discretionary, technology and energy stocks. The Dow finished higher after erasing its early losses. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes registered their largest monthly percentage gains since November 2023. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.13% to 42,270.07; the S&P 500 dropped 0.01% to 5911.69 and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.32% at 19,113.77. European shares ended the week with a gain of 0.14%. They also added 4% to their monthly total for May. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan closed higher overnight by 0.74%, ending the week with a lower closing price but adding nearly 5% to the month. This is the largest monthly gain since September 20,24. MSCI's world index fell 0.07%, to 879.63. However, it gained 1.32% in a week and 5.53% for May - its biggest monthly gain since Nov. 2023. Malek continued, "We thought that the markets would be numb by now to all of this tariff talk and that it had been factored into a great deal. But that is not true." The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, closely watched, rose by 0.1% in April. This was in line with expectations. Trump and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell met for the first time on Thursday. A Fed statement stated that Powell did not mention his expectations regarding monetary policy, except to emphasize that the direction of policy would depend on the incoming information about the economy and its implications for the future. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes dropped 2.6 basis points, to 4,398%. After reversing previous losses, the 30-year bond yield increased 0.2 basis point to 4.9254%. The dollar rose against other major currencies, including the euro. It is on course to gain a month-long amount against the Japanese yen. The dollar fell 0.15% against the Japanese yen to 143.95, while the euro dropped 0.12% to $1.135050. The dollar index (which measures the greenback versus a basket including the yen, the euro and other currencies) rose by 0.14%, to 99.394. Tariff uncertainty was weighing down the market, and it was heading for a fifth consecutive month of losses. Investors are weighing the possibility of a larger OPEC+ production increase for July. Brent crude futures ended the day down 0.39%, at $63.90 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate finished at $60.79 per barrel, down by 0.25%. The dollar rose as gold prices fell. Spot gold dropped 0.7% to $3.292.78 per ounce. U.S. Gold Futures closed 0.9% lower, at $3315.40.
-
Northern Manitobans fleeing wildfires head south
Winnipeg, Canada's provincial capital, scrambled Friday to provide housing and care to the thousands of people who fled areas devastated by wildfires. Fires have erupted across large areas of the western part of Canada's North due to unusually dry and hot conditions. The flames are devouring hundreds of thousands hectares (hectares) of bushland and forest that is as dry as tinder. "It's hard on everybody," said school maintenance technician Richard Korte, who had fled to Winnipeg from Flin Flon, a regional centre of 5,000 people on the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border, and wondered where his family would sleep that night. Both the neighbouring provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan in western Canada have declared states of emergencies to combat the fires that have spread across remote and sparsely populated areas. Chris Schultz, an evacuee, sat in the cab with his dog Stella and hoped to see friends and family arriving at a Winnipeg temporary emergency shelter in a hockey hall. Korte, his friend, had spent hours in the center trying to find housing for his entire family, which included his son with special needs, who cannot remain in an arena. As fires approach, people from Indigenous communities in the north are fleeing and their few routes south are blocked. Several communities have evacuated the most vulnerable members of their community by air, but at least one airport has been closed due to smoke. Manitoba Premier Wab Knew stated that about 17,000 Manitobans have fled the fires due to the hot, dry weather. Kinew said in a Friday afternoon press conference, "We must stay calm." He thanked the U.S. and Quebec for sending 125 firefighters to Manitoba. We cannot thank other jurisdictions for their support enough. George Fontaine, the mayor of Flin Flon, said that the weather forecast indicated that the fire would likely blow into the town. Fontaine told CBC News Network that such a scenario could be "very catastrophic". According to data from the provinces, there are currently 23 active fires burning in Manitoba and fourteen in Saskatchewan. Alberta, which is a province that produces oil, also has 51 fires active. Oil companies are evacuating their workers. Wildfires destroyed Jasper, an important tourist destination in the Canadian Rockies, last year. Schultz warned that he could cry in his truck. He hoped that Stella, his dog, would bring a smile to the faces of his fellow evacuatees.
-
US Approves Environmental Review for Michigan Nuclear Plant Restart
The U.S. on Friday said Holtec's planned restart of the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan would not harm the environment, a needed step in its plan to become the first such plant to return from permanent shutdown. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission conducted the environmental review of the Palisades reactor restart with the Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office. Opponents of the restart had expressed concerns that steam generator tubes at Palisades are degraded because standard maintenance procedures were not followed when the plant went into shutdown. Holtec says it is plugging the tubes. The LPO, which supports nuclear projects that are unable to get bank loans, closed a $1.52 billion loan guarantee for the Palisades restart in September 2024. President Donald Trump's administration provided the third disbursement of that financing, nearly $47 million, in April. Power company Entergy shut the 800-megawatt Palisades reactor in 2022, two weeks ahead of schedule over a glitch with a control rod. It had generated electricity for more than 50 years. Holtec bought the plant to decommission it, but now hopes to reopen it. U.S. power demand has been rising for the first time in two decades on the boom in data centers and artificial intelligence. Holtec says Palisades could reopen as soon as October. But it needs additional permits from the NRC. "Pending all federal reviews and approvals, our restart project is on track and on budget to bring Palisades back online by the fourth quarter of the year," said Holtec spokesperson Nick Culp. Alan Blind, engineering director at the plant from 2006 to 2013, said in an editorial this month that if steam generator problems lead to a shutdown, it would "erode public confidence, damage investor trust, and raise serious safety concerns." The NRC is reviewing Holtec's proposed repairs, said Scott Burnell, an agency spokesperson. "Holtec must demonstrate the Palisades steam generators will fulfill their safety functions before the plant restarts," Burnell said. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by David Gregorio)
After DeepSeek's defeat, Europe's AI bulls are pinning their hopes on the 'Jevons Paradox.
Artificial intelligence bulls are dusting off an old economic theory that dates back 160 years to explain why stocks in the sector may still have more to offer, despite China's new cheap AI model DeepSeek.
The tech stocks fell on January 27th after DeepSeek was launched. DeepSeek, which costs a fraction of the rival AI models but requires less sophisticated chips and is cheaper than the other AI models, raised concerns about the West's massive investments in data centres and chipmakers.
The biggest one-day decline in market capitalisation of any company in history was caused by the U.S. advanced chips maker and AI poster child Nvidia. It lost 17% of its worth, or nearly $600 billion.
Since then, the tech stocks have recovered, European markets are at new highs and an economic theory from 19th century is now on everyone's tongue: The Jevons Paradox.
The Jevons Effect is named after English economist William Stanley Jevons. It posits the idea that as a resource's price drops, the demand for it can actually increase.
Helen Jewell is the Chief Investment Officer of BlackRock Fundamental Equities EMEA. She said, "I had not discussed it until last Monday, and suddenly, it was everywhere."
Jewell said that "this paradox highlights one of the current uncertainties" and that European stock pickers should be asking themselves whether the demand for data centres will decrease.
How much energy will be required for the AI revolution? This was one of the biggest questions raised in the news (last) monday.
The selloff affected both direct and indirect AI players. ASML (Dutch semiconductor equipment maker), ASMI, BE Semi, and ASMI, sector peers, all fell between 7% and 12% on January 27 before recovering losses later that week. Siemens Energy, which supplies hardware for AI infrastructure, also recovered its losses.
"Jevons Paradox strikes once again!" Microsoft's chief executive Satya Nadella wrote in a blog post on X.
As AI becomes more accessible and efficient, its use will skyrocket. It will become a commodity that we can't have enough of.
THE NEW BUZZWORD
Tomasz Godziek said on Friday that lower AI costs may be an example of the Jevons Paradox. He is the portfolio manager for the Tech Disruptors Fund at J. Safra Sarasin Sustainable Asset Management.
Godziek stated that "ultimately, this could spark a new wave in AI investment and create fresh opportunities in particular in software and inference technology."
Thematics Asset Management (an affiliate of Natixis IM) portfolio managers cite the Jevons Paradox among other reasons why they think demand for AI chips will remain strong.
Mark Hawtin of Liontrust's global equity team said that the news from Jan. 27 highlighting the paradox reinforced his investment thesis.
Kunal Kothari is the portfolio manager at Aviva Investors, and he manages an equity income fund in the UK with assets of around 2 billion pounds ($2.5billion).
The GenAI's improved productivity will benefit UK companies as they are the main consumers of this technology. He pointed to names such as RELX and LSEG as well as Experian, Sage and Experian as likely beneficiaries.
DATA CENTRE NEEDS IN FOCUS
Data centres and the enormous power needed to run them have already driven AI investments in Europe, as there are no homegrown competitors to Nvidia whose share price has soared by 200% in less than two years.
Kasper Elmgreen is the CIO for fixed income and equity at Nordea Asset Management. He said: "There's an implicit assumption about AI adoption and usage requiring more and more chips and data centres, as well as more power consumption."
DeepSeek has questioned what's required of that route, and what can be achieved by creating much better software.
Jordan Rochester, the head of FICC Strategy at Mizuho EMEA, is not convinced by this new rationale.
He wrote that "while many Nvidia Optimists pointed out the Jevons Paradox as a way to sleep better at nights, it was less convincing over the short-term after what had been a meteoric increase in Nvidia's shares."
(source: Reuters)