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Bunge and grain handler Viterra complete long-delayed mega merger
Bunge Global, a global agribusiness, announced that it had officially closed the long-delayed $34 billion mega deal with Glencore-backed Viterra. This announcement was made two years ago. The merger creates a global crop trading and processing giant that is poised to rival agribusiness giants Archer-Daniels-Midland and Cargill, at a time when slumping grain prices, weak crop-processing margins and geopolitical tensions have eroded profitability in the sector. Bunge closed Wednesday's trading 1.4% higher. Bunge, based in Missouri, has experienced a dramatic turn-around since the deal was announced. In April 2019, Greg Heckman took over as CEO of the company after Soren Schroder was forced to resign by investors. The Chinese market regulator approved the merger on conditional terms last month, clearing the final hurdle. Bunge announced on Wednesday that Heckman would remain as CEO of the combined business, while Bunge's Chief Financial Officer John Neppl would also retain his position. Viterra CEO David Mattiske, and Bunge co-president Julio Garros will serve as co-chief operational officers. Analysts say that the merger with Netherlands' Viterra will enhance Bunge’s grain exporting business and its oilseed processing business in the United States. Bunge has a smaller US presence than rivals ADM or Cargill. Bunge will also be able to expand its export capacity, as well as their grain storage and handling capabilities in Canada and Australia. (Reporting and editing by Jamie Freed in Chicago, with Karl Plume reporting from Chicago)
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Former Jan. 6 defendant sentenced to life for plotting to kill FBI agents
According to court records and the U.S. Justice Department, a man who participated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 was sentenced on Wednesday to life imprisonment for conspiring to murder the FBI agents who were investigating him. Court records indicate that Edward Kelley, a former federal employee, was convicted of conspiring to murder federal workers, solicitation of a crime violent and influencing an official of the federal government by threats in November. The prosecution claimed that Kelley and another man planned to attack an FBI field office located in Knoxville, Tennessee using car bombs, incendiary devices, and drones. According to a Justice Department release, he was recorded discussing his plans to "take their office out" if arrested. The prosecution alleged that Kelley had compiled a "kill-list" of federal law enforcers based in the region and discussed assassinating FBI agents in their homes or in public places. Austin Carter, his co-defendant in the plot, has pleaded guilty and will be sentenced by August. Kelley was found guilty of several charges in a separate trial, including assaulting police officers, for his involvement in the storming of the Capitol. This case was dismissed in January, before Kelley was sentenced. It was part of the sweeping clemency granted by President Donald Trump to all 1,600 criminally charged individuals in connection with the attack. The attack on Capitol Hill was a failed effort by Trump supporters in order to prevent congressional certification that Trump had lost the 2020 presidential elections to Democrat Joe Biden. Kelley said that Trump's pardon of the Tennessee case should be extended because it related to his behavior at the Capitol. The Justice Department during Trump's second term opposed this effort, and a later judge rejected it.
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Greek firefighters fight wildfires on the island of Crete
Greek firefighters fought a fire that raged in the popular vacation destination Crete on Wednesday, burning forestland, threatening homes, and forcing the evacuation of tourists and residents from at least four settlements. The Greek fire brigade said that at least 155 firefighters were battling the flames along the southeast coast of the largest island of Greece, in the municipality Ierapetra. They were assisted by 38 engines, water trucks and other vehicles. The fire, which started in the afternoon was exacerbated by strong winds, which hampered efforts to fight it and reignited its fronts. The fire brigade reported that more reinforcements would be arriving by Athens via boat and plane. The fire is still burning and is very difficult to control, a fire brigade officer said under condition of anonymity. He attributed the difficulties of the operation the strong winds as well as the terrain. Local TV stations reported some houses had been damaged. No injuries have been reported so far. The authorities had ordered the evacuation earlier of Achlia, and three other settlements within the area. Local officials reported that 3,000 people who evacuated villages earlier were moved to temporary shelters. Greece, located at the southernmost tip of Europe, is frequently hit by wildfires, especially during its hot, dry summers. However, authorities blame a rapidly changing climate for the more destructive fires that have occurred in recent years. On Wednesday night, Greek firefighters also tried to control a wildfire that was raging uncontrollably in the northern Chalkidiki region and on the island Kythira. (Reporting and editing by Jamie Freed; Renee Maltezou)
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Stocks reach record highs, gilt yields soar on Finance Minister uncertainty
The global stock market rose to record levels on Wednesday, after U.S. labor data revealed an unexpectedly low reading. Meanwhile, British government bond yields soared amid speculation over the future of Britain's finance minister. ADP's National Employment Report shows that private payrolls fell by 33,000 last month, after a downwardly-revised 29,000 job increase in May. This is well below the 95,000 jobs expected by economists surveyed by. The data is released ahead of the government's payroll report on Thursday, but there is very little correlation between them. On Thursday, we will also see the weekly initial claims for unemployment. According to CME's FedWatch Tool, market expectations of a rate cut in July by the U.S. Federal Reserve increased to 27% following the release of the data. This is up from 20,7% the previous session. Jim Awad is the senior managing director of Clearstead Advisors LLC, New York. "An employment softening that induces the Fed to lower interest rates would be positive. But if it softens excessively, then this would be negative for growth and profit," he said. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow closed at record levels on Wall Street. This was boosted in part by a rebound in Tesla stock after it dropped 5.3% Tuesday. Tesla shares closed at 4.97% higher after the electric carmaker announced its quarterly deliveries. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 10.52 points or 0.02% to 44,484.42, while the S&P 500 rose by 29.41 points or 0.47% to 6,227.42, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 190.24 or 0.94% to 20,393.13. The MSCI index of global stocks rose 3.84 points or 0.42% to 921.24, after reaching an intraday high of 922.27. Meanwhile, the pan-European STOXX 600 closed with a 0.18% gain, boosted by renewable energy stocks and luxury stocks. The yields on longer-dated U.S. Treasury notes rose. The benchmark U.S. 10 year note was up 3.4 basis point at 4.283%. British government bond rates surged at one point, jumping almost 23 basis points. This was the highest since October 2022. The jump came after Finance Minister Rachel Reeves, who appeared visibly upset in parliament a day after announcing a sharply reduced plan to cut benefits, spoke out. The yield of the 10-year government bonds, or gilts, last increased 16.8 basis points to 4.621%. The pound fell 0.83%, to $1.3631. It had dropped as high as 1.35%. This was the biggest percentage decline since June 17th. The dollar index (which measures the greenback versus a basket currency) rose 0.13% to 96.7 and was on course to end a nine-day decline streak. The euro fell 0.03% to $1.1801. Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the U.S. will impose a tariff of 20% on Vietnam. This is lower than what was initially announced, as investors wait for progress in other deals. He said previously that he would not consider extending the deadline to negotiate with countries, despite negotiations with Japan failing to progress, but he still expected a deal to be reached with India. The Vietnam-U.S. deal announced today is a positive step in reducing uncertainty around trade. Not only does it have a direct impact on the market, but may also be viewed as indicating that more deals will follow over the next week. Investors also viewed Trump's massive spending and tax bill, which was expected to add $3.3 billion to the national debt and cut taxes. Republicans in the House of Representatives set up a vote that would reveal whether they have enough support to pass the bill out of Congress. U.S. crude rose 3.06%, to settle at $67.35 a barrel. Brent settled at $71.11 per barrel. This was up 2.98% for the day after Iran suspended its cooperation with the U.N. Nuclear Watchdog.
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Vale reduces forecast for iron ore aggregates production amid market weakness
Vale, a Brazilian miner, has lowered its projections for the production of iron ore pellets in 2025 due to concerns about oversupply and decreased demand for high quality products. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said that its decision was based on "current market conditions." Analysts say the move is not surprising, given that pellet prices are under pressure. Executives at the miner also emphasize the fact that their portfolio is competitive and flexible, allowing them to adapt to changing market dynamics. Vale's strategy to reduce carbon emissions is based on high-quality iron ore agglomerates. These include both pellets as well as briquettes. "Vale's choice is in line with the current market conditions." Artur Bontempo, Wood Mackenzie's analyst, said that producers are becoming more cautious and some have shifted to fines sales. He said that the steel industry's tightened margins has led mills to prefer cheaper ore of lower quality over pellets with high costs. Samarco's also impacted the market conditions in this year. Growing output . As production ramps up, the joint venture between Vale & BHP will add 8,000,000 tons of pellets & pellet feeds to the market. Vale's revised 2025 outlook was a result of its decision to perform preventive maintenance on the Sao Luis Pelletizing Plant in the third quarter. Production was suspended during this period. RBC Europe analysts said that at mid-point Vale's revised guidance would reduce seaborne supply of pellets by 7 million tonnes, or 6% of the market. They added that the move would benefit Rio Tinto, as it could help to improve premiums in the future. Vale's shares traded in Sao Paulo were up by 4% on Tuesday, boosted by Iron ore prices rise . (Reporting from Gabriel Araujo, Sao Paulo; and Marta Nogueira, Rio de Janeiro. Editing by Andrew Heavens and Natalia Siniawski. Marguerita Chy).
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Stocks reach record highs, and gilt yields soar on uncertainty about the Finance Minister
Global stocks rose on Wednesday, after U.S. labor data revealed a surprising soft reading. Meanwhile, British government bond yields soared amid growing speculation over the future of Britain's finance Minister. ADP's National Employment Report shows that private payrolls fell by 33,000 last month, after a downwardly-revised 29,000 job increase in May. This is well below the 95,000 jobs expected by economists surveyed by. The data is released ahead of the government's payroll report on Thursday, but there is very little correlation between them. On Thursday, we will also see the weekly initial claims for unemployment. The market's expectations of a rate cut in July by the U.S. Federal Reserve increased to 27% following the release, from just under 20% the previous session, according CME's FedWatch Tool. "You throw it into the 'doesn’t look good' section and then look forward to tomorrow, which will arguably be much more significant," said Jim Baird. Chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, Southfield, Michigan. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones all rose on Wall Street. This was partly due to a rebound in Tesla stock after it dropped by 5.3% Tuesday. Tesla shares rose 4.7% last after the electric carmaker announced its quarterly deliveries. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 56.43 points or 0.13% to 44,438.51, while the S&P 500 climbed 19.17 points or 0.31% to 6,217.23; and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 163.36 points or 0.81% to 20,365.78. The MSCI index of global stocks rose 2.62 points or 0.29% to 920.02, after reaching an intraday high of 920.24. Meanwhile, the pan-European STOXX 600 closed with a 0.18% gain, boosted by renewable energy stocks and luxury stocks. The yields on longer-dated U.S. Treasury notes rose. The benchmark 10-year U.S. note was up 4.9 basis point at 4.298%. British government bond rates surged at one point, jumping almost 23 basis points. This was the highest since October 2022. The jump came after Finance Minister Rachel Reeves, who appeared visibly upset in parliament a day after the Government dramatically scaled back its plans to reduce benefits, spoke out. The yield of the 10-year Government Bond, or gilt was up 16.8 basis point at 4.621%. The pound fell 0.84%, to $1.3628. It had dropped as high as 1.35%. This was the biggest percentage decline since June 17. The dollar index (which measures the greenback versus a basket) rose by 0.19% at 96.82, and was on course to end a nine-day decline streak. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced on social media that the U.S. had reached a deal with Vietnam. He said previously that he would not consider extending the deadline to negotiate trade agreements, even though negotiations with Japan, his top trading partner, had failed to progress. However, he still expected to reach a deal with India. Baird said that the announcement of a Vietnam-U.S. Trade Deal "clearly alleviates a piece of the puzzle of uncertainty around trade. Not only because of its direct impact but also as an indication that more is to come in the next week or two, which will all help to relieve what has been causing uncertainty over the past three months." Investors also watched for progress on Trump's massive spending and tax bill, which is expected add $3.3 trillion to national debt and cut taxes. Republicans in the House of Representatives have scheduled a procedural voting on the bill, which could reveal if the party has the support it needs to pass the bill out of Congress. U.S. crude rose 3.09% to $67.38 a barrel while Brent soared to $69.10 a barrel, an increase of 2.98% in one day. This was due to Iran suspending its cooperation with the U.N. Nuclear Watchdog.
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Development bank chiefs insist that climate change and women's empowerment must be given priority.
The heads of the two largest MDBs from Asia and Europe said that they need to focus more on climate action, and empowering women. They are being urged to be bolder and more inclusive. Nadia Calvino and Jin Liqung are the presidents of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), respectively. They spoke at the United Nations Development Financing Summit, which takes place every decade in Seville. The event has been overshadowed both by criticisms that it showed a lacklustre ambition, and by the United States' absence. They were the largest international donor of aid before Donald Trump took office in the United States at the beginning of this year. Trump also pulled the United States out of U.N. efforts against climate change, and tried to revert policy on inclusivity. This has made many companies and organizations around the world hesitant to champion diversity and sustainability. Jin, AIIB's Jin, welcomed the civil society's call for MDBs do more about climate change as "positive force for greater impact and innovation". He said that the AIIB supports "climate resilient" infrastructures under a broad definition, which includes digital, education, health and health infrastructure. Calvino, of the EIB, said that high-level climate pledges must be translated into concrete investments and projects. He cited as an example a project for climate-related clauses in debt agreements which allows countries vulnerable to disasters to suspend repayments. In the pre-summit agreement, U.N. member states pledged to triple multilateral loan capacity. The U.S. claimed that this crossed one of their red lines, as it interfered in the MDBs independence. Jin suggested that rating agencies use different standards for MDBs than those used by commercial banks or private companies. Calvino said that the current system was working well. The EIB's rating of AAA enabled it to make higher-risk investments, and leverage EU guarantee. The U.S. objected also to the use the word gender in this document, saying that it did not support the "sex-based preference". Calvino, EIB’s first female president, stated that empowering women is "both the right choice and economically smart... no brainer". Jin said that the AIIB was putting a lot of emphasis on female empowerment. He cited a project in Ivory Coast which connected female farmers in isolated villages with main markets for selling products like cashews or coffee beans. (Reporting and editing by Aislinn Laing, Barbara Lewis, and David Latona)
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Oil futures and options traded at record levels during Q2 as investors navigated volatility
The total oil futures lots and options traded on the Intercontinental Exchange reached record highs during the second quarter as U.S. president Donald Trump waged a global trade war, and the geopolitical conflict in the Middle East intensified. Why it's important LSEG data show that there was significant volatility in the second half of the year. Brent crude futures dropped to a low of $60.23 a bar on May 5, and then surged to $78.85 a barrel on June 19. This is the highest level since January. CONTEXT Trump announced sweeping import duties on April 2. China's retaliatory actions stoked fears of a recession and led to a selloff on April 4, 2019. Brent prices fell to their lowest level since February 2021 on May 5, after producer group OPEC+ increased output. Brent reached a six-month peak on June 19, when investors were on edge due to the conflict between Israel and Iran. By the Numbers Investors traded 219,323,730 lots of oil futures, options and forwards from April to June, a record compared to the 181,520,640 lot previous record set in the first quarter of 2025. This new record includes 99,541,065 Brent futures lots and 20,333728 Brent options. The traders also traded 30,056,174 Lots of West Texas Intermediate futures and Options (Cushing), and 3,211,194 Lots of Midland WTI Futures (HOU). KEY QUOTE The analyst at UBS, Giovanni Staunovo said, "I believe hedging activities played a part. When oil prices dropped to $60 per barrel in Brent oil, oil consumers like airlines began to hedge. And when oil prices spiked mid-June oil producing companies decided that they would hedge." Staunovo continued, "At the time, investors were looking to either hold positions that are inflation-conscious (long) or growth-conscious (short) in oil due to the tariffs." (Reporting and editing by Stephanie Kelly, David Gregorio and Georgina McCartney from Houston)
Kazakhstan cancels plans for Karachaganak Gas Processing Plant with Foreign Shareholders
The Kazakhstani energy ministry announced on Wednesday that it had canceled plans to build a processing plant for gas at the Karachaganak Field with the project's major foreign investors.
It stated, without going into detail, that they were looking to work with domestic companies.
Central Asia has been in a dispute with oil companies for many years over cost. In 2023, the country will bring multi-billion dollar claims against these companies.
Companies claim that the government simply wants to increase its share in major oil and gas projects, which amounts to "resource nationalism".
Kazakhstan's authorities rejected this criticism and said that their goal was to reduce costs, which were inflated by Western companies.
The Karachaganak Petroleum Operating consortium (KPO), which includes Eni (29.5%), Shell (29.5%), Chevron (18%) Lukoil (13.5%) and KazMunayGaz (10) operates the field.
Last year, the shareholders and local government agreed to build a processing plant for gas with a capacity of up 4 billion cubic meters per annum and start operating in 2028.
At present, the raw gas from Karachaganak crosses the border and is processed at Orenburg in Russia.
The ministry has not stated the reason why the Karachaganak project was halted.
Sources in the industry have linked the problem to legal disputes that exist between the government, and foreign companies.
In an email response to questions, the energy ministry said that the arbitration case between Karachaganak shareholders and the Energy Ministry was "confidential". (Reporting and writing by Tamara Vaal, Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin, Editing by Emelia S. Sithole-Matarise & Mark Potter).
(source: Reuters)