Latest News
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Reports from RIA: Russia arrests teenager suspected of helping Ukraine to target the Ryazan Oil Refinery with drones
The Russian news agency RIA reported that Russian authorities detained a boy aged 17 for gathering intelligence in order to assist Ukraine in targeting the Russian oil refinery at Ryazan with drones. RIA reported law enforcement officers had arrested the boy under investigation for "terrorism and treason", which can carry a sentence of up 20 years in prison. RIA reported that the boy (whom it did not identify) was accused of collecting information and painting graffiti in exchange for money for Ukrainian intelligence since the fall of 2024. The report said that he confessed his crime when questioned. He was quoted as saying that the Ukrainians had asked him to go to Ryazan in January to collect information about the refinery. Three industry sources have confirmed that the Ryazan refinery in Russia, located 240km south of Moscow has suspended operations following an attack on Monday by Ukrainian drones. Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian infrastructure for energy to try and undermine Moscow's funding of the war. Around 10% of Russia's refining capacity has been affected by the strikes. reported Earlier this month. Reporting by Felix Light, Editing by Andrew Osborn
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In Q1, Uniper will repay $2.7 billion in state aid to the bailout company
Uniper announced on Tuesday that it will pay the German Government 2.6 billion Euros ($2.7 billion) during the first quarter. The utility, which has been bailed out by the German government in Europe's energy crises, is now preparing to return to the stock exchange. In 2022, Uniper's total value was 13.5 billion euro. Sources have said that Berlin is preparing to sell its 99.12% stake as early as this year. Uniper, the German utility, is still in dispute with its former principal gas supplier Gazprom from Russia. Gazprom first curtailed and then suspended deliveries, bringing Uniper to the verge of collapse and forcing the German government into action. The conflict has had a number of repercussions. A Russian court ruled that Uniper must pay over 14 billion Euros to Gazprom. This was a decision which the German company disagreed with. Appealed Uniper said on Tuesday that its affected entities have exhausted all legal options available to reverse the decision "however, without success". Uniper said that the Russian ruling will allow Gazprom assets to be seized in Russia, and possibly even outside of the country. It also stated it would defend itself against any enforcement efforts. Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Editing by Miranda Murray, Ludwig Burger.
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Nippon Steel president: Nippon Steel will begin discussions with US Commerce Dept about US Steel bid
Nippon Steel's President Tadashi Imai said that talks will begin with the U.S. Department of Commerce on Tuesday as they aim to revive their bid to buy U.S. Steel. Imai stated that the previous merger agreement between U.S. Steel and Japanese Steel, which was blocked by former President Joe Biden's administration, would serve as a basis for discussion. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said earlier this month that Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion offer for U.S. Steel was an investment and not a purchase. He made the comment in the Oval Office, with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru shiba by his side. Imai, the CEO of Nippon Steel, said that financial and capital investment are linked to its acquisition of American company. Imai stated that "we will be discussing with U.S. Government and I believe the basic starting point is the current merger agreement," adding that the Japanese firm will speak with the U.S. about what it can to do get President Trump's consent. (Reporting and editing by Tom Hogue, Christopher Cushing and Rocky Swift)
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Hurriyet: Minister tells Hurriyet that Turkey wants to extend the gas supply agreement with Turkmenistan
Alparslan Bayraktar, Turkish Energy minister, told the Hurriyet newspaper on Tuesday that Turkey and Turkmenistan are negotiating a deal to extend the natural gas supply contract for five years. He added that the deal should be finalised by the end of the year. Later in the day, Turkish President Tayyip Erdoan and Vice President Cevdet Ylmaz will meet Turkmenistan officials in Ankara. Bayraktar announced earlier this month that Turkmenistan and Turkey had signed a contract for Turkmen gas to be supplied to Turkey. The Turkmengaz and Turkey's BOTAS pipeline operators have signed an agreement that will begin March 1 with 1.3 billion cubic metres of gas flowing via Iran. "We are committed to this for the long term. Our long-term objective is to reach a swap agreement. We are currently working on a program that could extend to a 5-year swap agreement by the end of this year," Hurriyet reported Bayraktar. Turkey uses more than 50 billion cubic meters of gas per year. It relies on gas imported from Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran and liquefied gas. Bayraktar stated that the Turkish government aims to sign an oil and gas exploration licence in Somali land block on March 1. As part of a deal with its East African allie, Turkey conducts exploration off Somalia.
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Titan targets a 20% increase in its jewellery business by fiscal 2026. Gold rally threatens margin
Titan expects revenue growth up to 20 percent for its mainstay jewelry business in the coming financial year. This is due to demand from Indians who are wealthy. However, rising gold prices could pose a risk to margins. Even though the gold price has increased, Indians of affluence have continued to spend lavishly on wedding ornaments and gold as an investment. This is despite middle-class Indians cutting back on their discretionary spending. Ashok Sonthalia, Chief Financial Officer of Titan, said on Monday that the jewellery division, which accounts for almost 90% of the company's total revenue, will grow by a mid-teens percentage to 20% during the year starting April 1. Segment growth was 20.2% last year, and 20.4% for the nine-month period ending December 31. Sonthalia stated that Titan's revenue is mostly from Indians who are affluent, and whose buying power and desire to indulge in luxury goods are not affected by inflation or higher interest rates. Titan faces a challenge in achieving its forecasted core profit margin of between 11% to 11.5% due to a rise in gold benchmark prices. Sonthalia stated that "if gold prices continue to rise like this and it does not normalize,... 11%-11.5% could be difficult." The price of spot gold is expected to rise by 27% between 2024 and 2025, as the demand for gold will increase due to increased economic uncertainty and inflation concerns under President Donald Trump’s second term. Titan said that the surging gold prices were encouraging more customers to purchase coins, which are a less profitable investment for Titan. The core profit margin of its jewellery business fell 100 basis points in the quarter ending December 31 to 11.2%. Sonthalia predicted that the group's revenue would grow by double-digit percentages in the current quarter. $1 = 86,7550 Indian Rupees (Reporting and editing by Eileen Soreng in Chennai)
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ET reports that India's Tata Digital TV and Airtel Play are nearing merger.
Economic Times reported that India's Tata Group, and Bharti Group, are on the verge of merging their satellite television businesses. The merger will create a $1.6 billion entity, with the goal of stemming the steady migration of subscribers towards digital streaming. Sources said that the merged entity will be managed by Bharti Airtel, who is likely to hold between 52%-55%, with the remainder held by Tata play shareholders, including Walt Disney. Bharti Airtel Tata Play, and Disney have not responded to comments immediately. A government report states that Tata Play (a 70/30 joint venture between Tata Sons, Disney and Airtel) and Airtel combined had 35 million paid subscribers in September last year, which is more than half of the 60 million subscribers across the industry at that time. ET reported that the two companies are valued at between 60 billion rupees ($690.76 millions) and 70 billion rupees (805.89millions) each. Their revenue will exceed 70 billion rupees by fiscal 2024. This is the second big deal in the sector after Dish TV and Videocon d2h merged in 2016. It follows the $8.5 billion merger of Reliance Industries' streaming media assets in India with Disney media assets in 2017. Bharti Airtel's shares rose 1.7% in the last trading session.
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French and Benelux stocks: Factors to watch
Here are some company news and stories that could impact the markets in France and Benelux or even individual stocks. EUROPEAN CAR SALE/RENAULT: According to industry data released on Tuesday, new car sales in Europe fell by 2.1% during January. This was due to a decline in petrol and diesel sales and a rise in the number of fully electric and hybrid-electric cars registered in Europe's main markets. CLARIANE expects organic revenue growth of around +5% in 2025. FRANCE/MACRON/TRUMP/UKRAINE U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron displayed stark differences on Monday in their approach to Ukraine, exposing a divide between the United States and Europe over Trump's bid for a quick ceasefire deal with Russia. TotalENERGIES to decrease share capital by cancelling 5.32% share capital VASTNED The FY operating result is EUR 14.7 million Pan-European market data: European Equities speed guide................... FTSE Eurotop 300 index.............................. DJ STOXX index...................................... Top 10 STOXX sectors........................... Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors...................... Top 10 Eurotop 300 sectors..................... Top 25 European pct gainers....................... Top 25 European pct losers........................ Main stock markets: Dow Jones ............... Wall Street Report ..... Nikkei 225............. Tokyo report............ London report ........... Xetra DAX............. Frankfurt items......... CAC-40................. Paris items............ World Indices..................................... Survey of global bourse outlook ......... European Asset Allocation........................ News in a glance Top News ............. Equities.............. Main Oil Report ........... Main currency report .....
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Australia's Treasurer meets US Treasury Bessent in response to a bid for tariff exemption
The Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers and his U.S. counterpart Scott Bessent will meet on Tuesday in Washington. Canberra is seeking to have the 25% tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on steel and aluminum imports removed. Chalmers and Bessent will hold talks ahead of the second of an investment summit, where ten top Australian pension funds will discuss closer economic ties to the U.S. Chalmers stated in a press release that trade and tariffs would be a part of the discussion, but not the entire conversation. "I will not pre-empt the discussions on steel and aluminum, except to say that they are ongoing and I do not expect to conclude them during my visit." Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated this month that he is confident of a deal being reached with Trump. He cited the "tremendous" start to Australia's relations with the new U.S. Administration. Australia, a key U.S. ally for security in the Indo-Pacific region, is the world's biggest supplier of iron ore - the raw material used to make steel. During Trump's first term, he exempted Australia of U.S. Tariffs on Steel and Aluminium. Australia is keen to highlight its position as a top 10 foreign investor in the U.S., largely due to its institutional retirement sector, also known as superannuation funds or superannuation. Chalmers and Bessent are both scheduled to speak at the Superannuation Summit, which will be held Tuesday in the Australian Embassy in Washington. The summit is attended by the largest pension funds of the United States, the CEOs of the major U.S. Banks, and the governors and members of Congress of five states. Chalmers stated that the super summit was a chance for Australians to reap greater economic benefits from closer ties with Americans. $1 = 1.5778 Australian Dollars (Reporting and editing by Alasdair pal in Sydney)
Viva Energy, Australia's largest energy company, drops 25% after weak results and forecast
The shares of Viva Energy Group plunged by 25% on Tuesday to their lowest level ever as the Australian fuel retailer missed its full-year profit forecasts and warned that challenging trading conditions will weigh on first-half earnings.
The stock price dropped by nearly A$1 billion (635 million dollars) after it was listed in July 2018. This wiped out almost A$1 billion of the market capitalisation for the company, which is now A$2.86 Billion.
Viva Energy’s underlying profit fell 20% to A$254.2 in 2024. This was below Visible Alpha’s consensus estimate of A$260.6, which had been provided.
"Group performance has been negatively affected by lower demand in our convenience business, due to rising costs of living and illegal tobacco trade. This is coupled with high inflation that increases the cost of doing businesses," CEO Scott Wyatt stated.
For the first half fiscal 2025, the company expects combined earnings before interest taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), which together represent over 90% of its total EBITDA. This is expected to range from A$270-A$330 million.
This is also below Visible Alpha's estimate of A$380m.
Jefferies analysts said that the results were "another disappointing result, with material consensus estimates downgraded implied by commentary."
Viva shares were down 25.2% to A$1.79 at the last close, and ranked second on the ASX 200 benchmark index which was down just 0.6% by 0441 GMT. (1 Australian dollar = 1.5743 dollars) (Reporting and editing by Nikita Jino, Bengaluru)
(source: Reuters)