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Reliance and Adani lead India's AI drive with plans to spend $210 billion
Reliance and Adani, two of India's largest conglomerates, are increasing their investments in?AI infrastructure and data. Reliance has committed about $110 billion while Adani has pledged $100 billion. Both companies want to establish India as a hub for AI. India offers tax breaks to foreign companies operating out of domestic data centres. It also takes measures to attract more AI talent. Mukesh Amani, chairman of Reliance Industries, said that cheaper computing would spur innovation. His company wants to apply the same strategy it used in 2016 to disrupt the telecom industry by slashing prices for data and expanding access. The plans were announced as executives from Google, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft gathered at a major summit in New Delhi. This was in response to the increasing investment in India's AI ecosystem and cloud by Google, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. Reliance and Adani both benefit from data centres powered by renewable energy, since their own assets reduce their reliance on expensive grid power. By placing facilities near power plants, transmission losses are reduced and they're protected from rising electricity costs. Ambareesh Baliga is an independent analyst. He said that renewable-powered data centers are the most cost-effective option for companies in the long term. BETTING ON DATACENTRES India's role in the AI boom is limited, due to the lack of large-scale chip production. Data centres are the most viable entry point into the rapidly growing infrastructure market. Jio, a Reliance unit, is building multi-gigawatt AI-ready data centers, including one in Jamnagar, a western city, that is expected to add 120 megawatts in capacity by the second half of 2018. Adani Enterprises announced on Tuesday that it would invest $100 billion in data centres powered by renewable energy and AI. Aishvarya dadheech, chief investment officer and founder of Fident Asset Management, stated that Reliance is aiming to build an integrated AI stack in India. However, execution and monetisation are still key risks. $1 = 91.0870 Indian Rupees
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Investors react negatively to Fed minutes as TSX futures decline
Gold and oil prices rose on Thursday as investors assessed the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve. As of 5:30 a.m., March futures for the S&P/TSX 'composite index' had fallen 0.37%. ET. Toronto's benchmark stock index rose 1.5% on Tuesday as shares in technology companies rebounded following a easing of concerns about AI disruption. Miners also gained due to the strength of precious metals. In their January meeting, Federal Reserve policymakers had a split opinion on the next steps. "Several" were open to rate increases if inflation remains high and others would support more cuts if it declined as expected. Further clues on the Fed's policy trajectory will be provided by the weekly jobless claims report due later today, as well as the Personal Consumption Spending report, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation. Apple, Nvidia, and Meta Platforms all traded lower in premarket trade as the focus shifted back to AI concerns. The spot price of gold rose 0.1% on Thursday and the silver price increased 1.4%, amid tensions between Iran and the U.S. On Wednesday, the White House stated that although some progress had been made in talks with Iran earlier this week at Geneva, there was still distance on certain issues. Satellite images have shown Iran strengthening and repairing military sites. Brent futures, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate - Crude rose more than 1%. Nutrien, a fertilizer manufacturer, missed its quarterly profit forecasts due to lower crop nutrients volumes in the after-market earnings on Wednesday. Teck Resources and Kinross Gold, among other miners, beat their quarterly profit estimates. CLICK CODES TO GET CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS TSX Market Report Canadian Dollar and Bond Report Global Stocks Poll for Canada Canadian Markets Directory (Reporting and Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri; Reporting by Utkarsh T. Hathi)
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Teck Resources' quarterly profit beats expectations on the back of higher copper prices and output
Teck Resources surpassed fourth-quarter profits expectations on Thursday. The Canadian miner was helped by a surge in production and copper prices as it advanced its merger proposal with Anglo American. The beat highlights Teck's increasing reliance on copper, a key metal for electrification and the energy transition, as the company works towards completing a merger which would make it one of the largest producers of copper in the world. Teck and Anglo shareholders approved the merger in December. This paved the way for a "copper heavyweight" and left regulatory approvals to be the final hurdle. Teck and Anglo announced their merger plans in September. The $53 billion deal would be a stock-only, no-premium merger. This would result in the fifth largest copper producer in the world. Both companies have been undergoing significant restructuring over the past few years, largely due to previous takeover attempts. Teck reported that realized copper prices increased 22.5% to $5.11 a pound in the fourth quarter, while production increased nearly 10% to 134,000 tonnes. The company stated in a statement that "Copper production increased when compared with the same period of last year, supported by higher throughput, grades, and throughput at?Highland Valley Copper. Antamina also produced higher grades, and Carmen de Andacollo had a higher throughput." The company developed its tailings facility, which improved production at the Quebrada Blanca mine (QB). The fourth quarter copper output at QB reached 55,400 tonnes, a lower figure than last year but the highest quarterly performance since 2025. According to LSEG, the miner reported adjusted earnings per share of C$1.37 for the 'quarter ended December 31. This was above analysts' average estimates of 91 Canadian cents. Teck's copper production forecast for 2026 was kept at 455,000 to 530,000 tons. (Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
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As AI fears fade, tensions between the US and Iran simmer but global stocks remain flat.
European stocks fell from a record-high on Thursday, and U.S. Futures?flatlined? as fears of AI disruption abated. However, tensions between Iran and the United States kept markets 'on edge' and supported oil and gold prices. The U.S. dollar found its footing overnight after the minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting revealed that policymakers are not in a hurry to reduce rates. The STOXX 600 Index in Europe fell 0.24% after Airbus and Rio Tinto reported their earnings. The index reached a new record on the previous day, as investors were able to shake off concerns about AI disrupting businesses with a rally of banking and defence shares. The futures of the U.S. S&P 500 index and tech-focused Nasdaq index were not much different. The MSCI index of Asian-Pacific Stocks excluding Japan rose by 0.38% despite the fact that trading was light as markets in Hong Kong and China were closed for Lunar New Year. The US economy is resilient Chris Turner, global director of?markets for ING, said that risk assets are generally OK. He said, "The Fed is talking about an economy that's resilient in the U.S. and good for global economic growth." "Equities are doing well in Asia." Wall Street rose on Wednesday,?driven by Nvidia's announcement that it had signed a multiyear agreement to sell millions of artificial-intelligence chips to Meta Platforms. We needed some good news. "I think there's been a general sense of malaise among the tech industry," said Tony Sycamore. He was referring to a sharp selloff that occurred earlier this month. He said Nvidia could potentially save U.S. stock prices when it reports earnings next Monday. FOCUS ON GEOPOLITICS, FED AND FEDERAL IMPROVEMENT Oil prices continued to rise after a surge in the previous session as investors priced potential supply disruptions due to fears of a war between the U.S. The?New York Times, CNN and other U.S. media outlets reported on the building up of American forces in the area of Iran. However, they stressed that President Donald Trump has not yet decided what course of action to take. Brent crude oil futures rose 1.5% to $71.42 per barrel, the highest level since late January. They had risen 4.4% during the previous session. U.S. crude oil rose 1.6% to $66.26. Michael Every, senior strategist at Rabobank said that the balance of risks is now tilting towards a U.S. attack after Friday's market close. He added that such an attack would likely last for weeks, rather than being "over by Monday morning". Gold, which is traditionally considered a safe haven, increased by 0.8%, to $5,017 per ounce. The dollar fell after rallying on the back of better than expected U.S. data. Minutes of the Fed’s January policy meeting also revealed that several policymakers are open to raising rates if inflation continues to rise. The 'dollar index, which measures the currency in comparison with six major peers, fell 0.11% last after gaining?0.59% Wednesday. Charlie Ripley is a senior investment strategist with Allianz Investment Management. He said, "From our perspective the minutes of the Federal Reserve confirm our belief that rate reductions are off the table in the near future." "Policymakers noted specifically that disinflation may be on a slow path." Reporting by Harry Robertson, Rae Wee and David Holmes in Singapore. Editing by Kim Coghill and Shri Navaratnam.
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Gains in refining for energy group Orlen offset impairment losses, lifting shares
Orlen, a Polish energy group, reported adjusted core earnings higher than expected on Thursday. This was helped by a stronger downstream result which overshadowed the?net profit miss caused?by asset impairments as well as lower oil and natural gas prices. The shares rose 2.2% as of 0849 GMT. This boosted Poland's blue chip index WIG20 which rose by 0.5%. Analyst Tamas Pelser at?Erste Group said that the 4Q25 period was a positive one for the Polish energy giant, highlighting "the very strong contribution" of refining in a margin-friendly environment. Orlen's model refinement?margin increased in the fourth quarter, as sanctions and Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian infrastructure curbed diesel exports. This boost in downstream prices cushioned the impact of a wider commodity slump. Brent crude fell nearly 15%, and gas prices have fallen from their highs of last year. EBITDA LIFO (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and?amortisation) adjusted for the value of inventories and impairments fell 15% in the third quarter to 12.15 billion Zlotys ($3.40billion), but still beat the analysts' consensus estimate of 11.4 billion Zlotys. Orlen's net quarterly profit of 3,13 billion zlotys was below the 4.8 billion expected by the analysts polled before the results were published. In the fourth quarter report, net impairment losses totaling 3.34 billion zlotys were recorded on non-current assets. The fourth-quarter report showed a net impairment loss of 3.34 billion zlotys on non-current?assets. Orlen announced that it would spend?36.3 zlotys on capital expenditures in 2026. This is up from 32.6 zlotys spent last year. The first Polish offshore wind farm will be completed this year on the Baltic Sea. A gas-fired energy plant is also planned for the northern city of Grudziadz.
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At the AI summit, tech majors pledge billions to India
This week, senior executives from artificial intelligence companies around the world joined world leaders for an AI summit in?India. Here is a list of the major deals that were struck during the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. JIO INVESTS $110 BILLION IN INDIA'S RELIANCE INDUSTRIES Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire chairman of Reliance Industries, said that Jio and Reliance Industries will invest $109.8 Billion over the next seven-year period to build artificial intelligence infrastructure and data infrastructure. INDIA'S ADANI GROUP WILL COMMIT $100 BILLION?FOR AI-DATA CENTRES THROUGHOUT 2030 Adani Group, a port-to-power company, announced on Tuesday that it would invest $100 billion in renewable energy AI data centres powered by 2035. Adani stated that it is expected that the investment will trigger $150 billion in additional investments across related industries including server manufacturing, cloud platforms and sovereign cloud. It added that this would create an ecosystem of $250 billion in AI infrastructure for India within the next decade. MICROSOFT?TO INVEST 50 BILLION DOLLAR IN THE 'GLOBAL SURF' BY 2030 Microsoft announced on Wednesday that it will invest $50 billion in the next decade to expand AI across 'Global South countries'. Last year, the firm announced $17.5 billion in AI investments to India. YOTTA, AN INDIAN DATA CENTER FIRM, COMMITS TO $2 BILLION FOR AI HUB Yotta Data Services announced on Wednesday that it would build one of Asia's biggest AI computing hubs, using Nvidia Blackwell Ultra chips. The project will cost more than $2 billion. INDIAN EXPORTER OF IT SERVICES TCS SIGN OPENAI AS A DATA CENTER CUSTOMER Tata Consultancy Services announced on Thursday that it had signed up OpenAI, parent company of ChatGPT, as its first customer under Stargate's global AI infrastructure initiative. INDIA’S L&T AND?NVIDIA WILL BUILD THE LARGEST AI FACTORY IN INDIA Infrastructure giant Larsen &Toubro announced a joint venture with Nvidia. The two companies will work together to develop AI-ready data centres, advanced computing platforms and ecosystem enablement to support large AI workloads. (Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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Cricket-Marsh leads Australia to a crushing victory over Oman in T20 World Cup Dead rubber
Australia thrashed Oman in Pallekele by nine wickets, winning the final Twenty20 World Cup group match in Pallekele. Both teams had already been eliminated from the competition. Mitchell Marsh, who was given a modest target of 105 to win, wasn't in the mood to wait around. He ruthlessly sent Oman's bowlers all over the place, reaching his half-century within the first powerplay. Shakeel Ahmad, from Oman, collided with Vinayak Shukla after he caught Travis Head and bowled him for 32. The 38-year old spinner was overjoyed that he performed Cristiano Ronaldo's trademark celebration. Marsh, who scored 64 runs with seven boundaries and 4 sixes, led 'Australia to victory with 62 balls left to spare. This was a record-breaking chase for a T20 World Cup total of over 100. Australia placed third with two wins, two losses and no points. Oman was the only team without a win. CLINICAL BOWLING DISPLAY FROM AUSTRALIAN Adam Zampa finished with 4-21. Australia had earlier produced a brilliant bowling performance to dismiss Oman in 16.2 overs, after winning the coin toss and choosing to field. Fast bowler Xavier Bartlett started the game with a wicket on the first ball. He removed Aamir Kaleim when his delivery crashed against the stumps. Bartlett's movements troubled the batters, and Jatinder Singh also bowled his next over. He finished with two powerplay?strikes which put?Oman in the backfoot. Oman tried to rebuild, but none of its batters were able to convert their early scores into significant ones. Wasim Ali was the standout with his gritty 32 from 33 balls. He provided the only significant resistance to the steady wicket-taking at the other end. Oman's spinners struggled to keep up with Australia, often misjudging the length of their pitches and playing the wrong line. Zampa took his fourth four wicket haul in T20 World Cups, while Glenn Maxwell, whose first over was marred by a dropped catch, also contributed with two wickets. (Reporting and editing by Alison Williams in Bengaluru, Rohith Nair from Bengaluru)
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Gold Fields increases shareholder returns after profits more than doubled
South 'Africa's Gold Fields announced on Thursday that its full-year profits?more than doubled. This was due to record bullion prices, increased production, and a boost in dividends. Gold prices are expected to rise by 60% by 2025 due to geopolitical and financial uncertainty, the expectation of U.S. rate cuts, and increased purchases by central bankers amid a trend of global dedollarization. Gold prices have risen 15% this year. Gold Fields increased production by 18% in the last year, to 2.438 millions ounces. The miner's headline earnings per share grew to $2.88 from $1.33 the previous year. Gold Fields announced a final "dividend" of 18.50 Rand per share, an increase from 7 Rand. This brought the total payout per year to 25,50 rand, up from 10 rand in 2024. In addition, the company will distribute an additional $353 million to shareholders in the form of special dividends worth $253 million and share buybacks worth $100 million. Gold?Fields' CEO Mike Fraser stated that the company is engaging with the Ghanaian government, which has proposed doubling of the gold royalty?rate as a response to the bullion prices rally. The talks have been?constructive. Fraser said in an interview that while he understood the social needs of Ghanaians, he wanted to make it clear that all governments should take a stance against creating uncompetitive, structural?situations. Gold Fields' Tarkwa Mine in Ghana will be its most productive mine by 2025, out of its entire portfolio, which includes assets in South Africa, Australia, Chile, and Peru. Tarkwa mine produced 475,000 ounces gold last year, which is about a fifth the total Gold Fields output.
Russian refineries targeted by Ukraine's drones
Ukrainian drones assaulted Taneco, Russia's third largest oil refinery, on Tuesday about 1,300 km ( 800 miles) from the cutting edge, hitting a core system which procedures about 155,000 barrels daily (bpd) of crude.
As of the end of March, around 14% of Russia's main oil refining capability had been knocked out by Ukrainian drone attacks, according to calculations.
Which refineries have actually been targeted, what damage have they sustained and what do they produce?
TANECO
A fire broke out at the refinery and was extinguished within 20 minutes, state news firm RIA said. Production has not been interfered with, RIA news firm said.
The drone hit the refinery's main oil refining unit, CDU-7, one of two, according analysis of images published on media.
The unit accounts for around a half of the plant's overall annual production capability of more than 17 million tons (340,000. bpd).
In 2023, it processed 17.030 million lots of crude oil, the. third biggest volume amongst Russian refineries after Omsk and. Kirishi.
In March it processed 47,000 loads (344,000 bpd) of oil per. day.
KUIBYSHEV
Regional Governor Dmitry Azarov stated a fire broke out at the. Kuibyshev refinery after a Ukrainian drone assaulted it on March. 23, according to Interfax news company. The blaze swallowed up the. main oil refining unit, he stated.
According to market sources, the Rosneft-owned refinery. near the city of Samara on the Volga river halted all production. as an outcome of damage from the Ukrainian drone attack.
In 2015, the Kuibyshev plant was Russia's 29th most significant oil. refinery by output, representing 1.34% of total oil refining. throughput, having actually processed 3.687 million lots of crude oil.
It produced 624,000 tons of fuel (1.42% of Russia's. overall), 1.187 million tons of diesel (1.35%) and 1.040 million. lots of fuel oil (2.56%).
RYAZAN
Russia's Ryazan oil refinery, likewise owned and run by Rosneft,. was fired after a drone attack on March 13.
The plant, with set up capacity of around 350,000 barrels. daily, refines about 12.7 million metric tons of Russian crude. a year (around 317,000 barrels each day), or 5.8% of Russia's. total refined crude, according to market sources.
It had actually at first closed down 2 damaged main oil refining. units after a fire, two sources knowledgeable about the scenario informed. . Rosneft did not respond to a request for comment.
Ryazan also halted its main crude distillation system AVT-6. with a capability of 170,00 barrels of crude each day (47.5% of the. plant's overall crude consumption capacity), and a smaller CDU AVT-4. capable of improving about 84,000 barrels of unrefined per day (23.4%. of the plant's total intake capacity), the sources said.
The plant consequently resumed operations at CDU AVT-4 this. week, increasing total crude consumption to 60% of typical capability or. 169,000 bpd, 3 sources told on Wednesday.
NOVOSHAKHTINSK
The Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery, in Russia's southern Rostov. region, suspended operations on March 13 after downed drones. crashed onto the website, but resumed later on in the day. However it. is not known whether the normal processing level was maintained.
Oil processing at the refinery in 2023 balanced around. 96,000 barrels daily, according to industry sources. The plant. produces no motor fuels for the domestic market. Its production. is restricted to straight-run fractions for exports.
NORSI
A fire broke out at NORSI, Russia's fourth biggest refinery,. after a Ukrainian drone attack, Russian officials said on March. 12. It is located near the city of Nizhny Novgorod, 430 km (270. miles) east of Moscow. Owned by Lukoil, its formal. name is Lukoil Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez.
NORSI improves about 15.8 million lots of Russian crude a. year (317,000 barrels per day), or 5.8% of overall refined crude,. according to industry sources.
Its primary crude distillation unit (AVT-6) was damaged, which. means that at least half of the refinery's output has actually been. halted, market sources informed .
In 2023 NORSI produced about 4.9 million tons of gas -. 11% of Russia's overall, 6.4% of diesel fuel, 5.6% of fuel oil and. 7.4% of aviation fuel, market sources said.
Lukoil said in January that it had halted a system at the. refinery due to an unspecified event.
Market sources stated before the March 12 drone attack that. one of 2 catalytic crackers stayed out of action at the. plant.
KIRISHI
The governor of the northern Leningrad region, Alexander. Drozdenko, said on March 12 that a Ukrainian drone had been. destroyed on the outskirts of Kirishi, home to Surgutneftegaz's. Kirishinefteorgsintez (KINEF) refinery.
The Kirishi complex is one of the leading two refineries in. Russia. It refines about 17.7 million tons per year (355,000. barrels per day) of Russian crude, or 6.4% of the total,. according to market sources.
It produces about 2.3 million lots of gas - 5.3% of. Russia's total, 7.6% of diesel fuel, 16.3% of fuel oil and 3.4%. of air travel fuel, according to market sources.
SYZRAN
Russia's Syzran oil refinery, managed by Rosneft, burned. for hours on March 16 before it was brought under control after. a strike by Ukrainian drones. Among its 2 CDU systems was. damaged due to the fire, according to sources.
The Syzran refinery has production capability of 8.5 million. metric tons of petroleum a year, or 170,000 barrels daily. ( bpd), however its real runs have been lower. In 2023 it processed. just 5 million metric lots of crude oil, about 100,000 bpd.
The refinery produced about 1 million lots of fuel in. 2023 - 2.2% of Russia's overall, and 1.78 million metric tons of. diesel fuel, about 2% of overall, according to market sources. and estimations.
A Ukrainian source told that drones launched by. Ukraine's SBU intelligence firm had targeted 3 Samara. area Rosneft refineries: Syzran, Novokuibyshev and Kuibyshev.
The attack on the Novokuibyshev plant was prevented,. according to the local guv.
SLAVYANSK
On March 18, the Slavyansk refinery in the southern. Krasnodar region caught fire after a drone attack. The blaze was. extinguished and there were no casualties, the district. administration stated.
Roman Siniagovskyi, head of the Slavyansk administrative. district, said on Telegram refinery employees had been evacuated. and there was no risk to neighboring populated areas.
Slavyansk refinery is a private plant with a capacity of 4. million metric lots of oil annually, about 1 million bpd.
KALUGA
Ukraine attacked an oil refinery in the Kaluga area south. of Moscow with drones early on March 15, triggering damage in an. operation that was conducted by the GUR military spy firm, a. Kyiv intelligence source informed .
The privately owned Kaluga refinery, some 65 km (40 miles). from the borders of Moscow, is not one of Russia's essential. oil centers. It states its primary processing system's capability. is 1.2 million tons annually - roughly 24,000 barrels daily.
Vladislav Shapsha, Kaluga's local guv, stated on. Telegram that air defences had actually shot down 4 drones in the area. where the refinery is located which there had been no. infrastructural damage or casualties.
(source: Reuters)