Latest News
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UK data center spend will soar to PS10billion a year, Barbour ABI
Barbour ABI, a construction data company, has conducted an analysis that shows the spending on new UK data centers will increase to 10 billion pounds per year by 2029. This is a five-fold rise from 2024. In the UK, data centres cost a total of 1,75 billion pounds last year. This is expected to rise to 2,38 billion by 2025. Data centre investments are driven by AI-driven demand. Barbour ABI estimates that tech giants will invest 25 billion pounds in the UK within the next five-year period, and there are plans for almost 100 new data center projects. Government initiatives, such as AI Growth Zones, which streamline the planning of new digital infrastructure. According to Barbour ABI, London and its surrounding areas dominate the data center sector. However, development is expanding across the country. Blackstone, a private equity firm from the United States, has proposed a "hyperscale" UK data center project worth $13 billion in North East England. Last month, Britain, the United States and other top U.S. companies, including Microsoft, Nvidia, and Google, pledged to invest in the UK. Since ChatGPT's release in late 2022 the global data centre market and projects planned have risen as governments and big money bet that generative AI would revolutionise how we live and work. (Reporting and editing by Ed Osmond, Lucy Raitano)
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Hungary begins talks with United States on nuclear fuel purchase
Hungarian Foreign Ministry Peter Szijjarto told state news channel M1 on Wednesday that Hungary would start discussions on buying nuclear fuels from the United States in order to diversify its supplies. Szijjarto has been in Washington, D.C. since Tuesday. He said that Hungary needed more nuclear fuel for its expanding nuclear plant to meet its energy needs. It would continue buying nuclear fuels from Russia. Szijjarto said to state broadcaster M1 that "alongside the existing Russian suppliers relations, we are beginning consultations on purchasing nuclear fuel from the United States" in order to be capable of serving our increased nuclear capability safely. Szijjarto's reporter said that the foreign minister would be meeting with the Department of Energy, and the U.S. nuclear supplier Westinghouse later in the day to discuss this topic. Szijjarto didn't provide any information about when Hungary might be able to import U.S. nuclear energy or how much it could use. The Paks nuclear power plant in Hungary currently has four VVER-440 small reactors built by Russia with a total capacity of 2,000 megawatts. It is currently supplied with Russian fuel. Hungary is planning to extend the life of its current reactors for 20 years. It will also expand the plant. Rosatom, a Russian company, is building two additional VVER reactors of 1.2 gigawatts capacity each. The "Paks II." The "Paks II." Hungary's government said last year that it will buy nuclear fuel from Framatome starting in 2027. (Reporting and editing by Hugh Lawson; Anita Komuves)
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USTR Greer and Treasury's Bessent to travel to Malaysia for discussions with Chinese counterparts
U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer announced that he and Treasury secretary Scott Bessent would be heading to Malaysia on Tuesday to meet with Chinese officials to discuss what Greer called Beijing's "extremely aggressive" and "disproportionate measures" to curb the exports of rare-earth minerals. Greer said on CNBC's SquawkBox program that President Donald Trump could still meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, but the decision would be mutual if it took place at the sidelines an economic conference in South Korea. The U.S. negotiator stated that China's actions violated an agreement their officials made months ago, to continue supplying rare Earths for high-tech. However, there is still a "good land zone" where the U.S. can trade with China in a balanced manner. After months of relative calm, trade tensions have flared up between the U.S., and China. Trump imposed 100% additional duties on China, which are set to go into effect on November 1, after China announced its export controls on almost all rare earths. Greer and Bessent insist that the United States must rebalance its trade with China following decades of limited access to Chinese market. Greer said, "Greer also added." There was still time to calm tensions. Greer said that there is "a notional good landing zone" for the United States to trade with China, where they can do so in a more balanced way, where we are trading non-sensitive products, and where both countries have a positive relationship. "The U.S. was always quite open to Chinese companies, but it is really driven by Chinese policies which exclude U.S. firms and cause overcapacity in China. "None of this works for the United States", he said. We can't continue to live this way, so we must find an alternative. Greer said Trump, along with other U.S. officials, would also discuss agriculture issues, such as China's decision to stop buying U.S. sorghum and soybeans, which, he claimed, was meant to intentionally hurt U.S. Farmers. "Obviously, the president will raise. "We all... raise this issue with them," said he, noting China's unfulfilled obligations under a deal signed during Trump’s first term to purchase agricultural and manufactured products. Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Susan Heavey, Editing by Andrew Heavens & Sharon Singleton
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Gold continues to fall as investors take profits before US inflation data
Investors booked profits before the U.S. key inflation data that is due this week, which will determine whether gold prices are still rising or falling. As of 9:22 am, spot gold was down by 1.7%, at $4,054.69 an ounce. After reaching as high as $4,161.17 in earlier sessions, ET (1322 GMT) saw gold fall 1.7% to $4.054.69 per ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.9%, to $4.072.10 an ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index rose by 0.2%, reaching a new high of one week. This makes dollar-priced gold more expensive. Gold prices are at multiple record highs this year and have gained 54%. This is due to geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty as well as expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts. Prices dropped 5.3% on the Tuesday after hitting a record-high of $4,381.21 during the previous session. David Meger is the director of metals at High Ridge Futures. The 21-day moving median at $4,005 is a technical support for gold. The core inflation rate is expected to remain at 3.1% for September, according to Friday's U.S. Consumer Price Index report. This report was delayed because of the U.S. Government shutdown. Investors are almost fully pricing in a rate cut of 25 basis points at the Federal Reserve meeting next week. In low-interest-rate environments, gold, which is a non-yielding investment, tends benefit. In the meantime, Russia announced on Wednesday that they were still preparing for an upcoming summit between U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Investors also await clarity regarding the potential meeting next week between Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping. "We maintain a bullish outlook for gold and silver into 2026, and following a much-needed correction/consolidation, traders will likely pause for thought before concluding the developments that drove the historic rallies this year has not gone away," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, in a note. Silver spot fell 1%, to $48,27 an ounce. Tuesday, it fell 7.1%. Palladium fell 1.6% to $1,430, while platinum dropped 0.1% to $1.549.85.
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After the Ukrainian attack, Russia will ask its reservists for help in defending refineries
The top brass of the Russian army said that it will use reserve soldiers to protect civilian infrastructure, such as oil refineries, after an increase in drone attacks from Ukraine deep into Russia during recent months. In the midst of a conflict with the West regarding Russia's involvement in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin ordered that the regular army be increased to 1.5 active personnel, making it the world's second largest army after China's. Putin said at least 700,000. Russian legislators say that there are another 2,000,000 men in the active reserves - those men who signed a contract as reservists but don't usually serve. According to Vice Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyansky of the Russian General Staff, the deputy head of its main organisational and mobilization directorate, Ukraine's use long-range drones has increased the danger for critical national infrastructure as well as residential areas. He said that to increase the security of critical infrastructure and other important facilities for the wellbeing of citizens it was decided to include the most trained patriotic citizens to implement measures to protect civil facilities deep in Russia. The Russian military could free up regular troops to fight in the deadly war of attrition if it sent more reservists behind to protect infrastructure. Tsimlyansky stated that the proposed changes do not constitute any sort of mobilization. The Russian defence ministry made it clear that the reserve forces would not be deployed outside of Russia, nor in the "special military operations" the Kremlin refers to in Ukraine. According to the ministry of defence, reservists will serve in their region. (Reporting and editing by Andrew Osborn, Guy Faulconbridge)
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Draft shows that EU leaders are open to lowering the new climate targets in the future.
Draft conclusions from a summit held on Thursday revealed that European Union leaders wanted a revision clause to be included in the new climate change goal of the bloc, which could allow them to slacken it in the future. Diplomats expect a heated discussion on the EU’s new climate goal for 2040. This has raised concerns in certain capitals about how to finance the low-carbon transformation alongside other priorities such as defence and revitalising the local industries. The draft conclusions of the meeting were seen by. They stated that leaders would agree to allow EU countries and legislators to move forward with setting the 2040 Climate Goal. They also laid out the conditions to achieve this. The draft said that "revision clauses are needed in light of the latest scientific evidence and technological advancements, as well as the evolving challenges to global competitiveness for the EU." It could change before the leaders approve it Thursday. Poland, among others, has argued that a clause of revision is necessary in the event green technologies do not develop as planned or economic conditions prevent countries from making the necessary investments to meet the climate targets. This move reflects the concern of countries like France and Latvia, that agricultural land and forests will not be able to absorb enough CO2 to meet the target - partly because wildfires are becoming worse due to climate change. The EU Commission said that the target for 2040 should be to reduce net emissions by 90 percent compared to 1990 levels. This would be among the most ambitious goals of any major economy. The Commission said that it is important to stick to ambitious climate goals to ensure European industry can compete with China in green technology and to protect countries against costly extreme weather. It has also proposed weakening certain EU green laws including the EU corporate sustainability law, and a upcoming carbon pricing scheme for heating and transport fuels. This is an effort to curb the pushback of some governments that want to rollback climate measures. The draft conclusions of the leaders also called on the European Commission (EC) to create more "enabling conditions", which could be policy changes or financial support, to help industries and citizens meet climate goals. Reporting by Kate Abnett, Andrew Gray and Andrea Ricci
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Russia assumes the new owner of UGC, a gold producer, will buy out small investors
An official of the Russian government said that Moscow assumed on Wednesday that the new owner, UGC, the gold producer would be required to buy out minority shareholders. This was after the Central Bank ruled that state had violated the rights of small investors. In January of this year, the state took a majority share in Russia's fourth largest gold producer from Konstantin Strukov. State prosecutors claimed that Strukov had acquired property "through corrupt means". The central bank has taken a rare stance against the government's 50 billion dollar asset grab spree that began shortly after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine. In a ruling earlier this month, the court ruled that the state violated the rights and interests of UGC's minor shareholders by failing to make an offer in accordance with the law. The central bank has asked the agency for state property, which is under the Finance Ministry's jurisdiction, to make a buyout proposal. The agency previously stated that it was working on a solution with the shareholders. Alexei Moiseev, Deputy Finance Ministry, told reporters Wednesday that the new owner of UGC would have to resolve this issue. This will be a topic of discussion with new investors. "We assume that the investor must make an offer," Moiseev told a crowd of investors in Moscow. Moiseev claimed that the situation is more complex than the central bank has presented, since the property agency cannot be considered as a voluntary purchaser and was required to comply with the court order to transfer assets to the government. "I believe that the situation is not as simple as it appears here. The spirit of law does not match this situation." Moiseev said that it was clear there were problems. According to sources, the secretive copper producer UMMC is the likely buyer of UGC's seized stake. Moiseev stated that the ministry aims to sell its stake in UGC before the end the year. (Reporting and writing by Elena Fabrichnaya, Editing by Andrew Osborn).
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US chemical companies set to have another poor quarter due to China's supply glut and tariffs
The U.S. Chemical industry is likely to report another quarter of low earnings, as tariffs and Chinese overcapacity continue to squeeze margins. LyondellBasell, Dow, Sherwin-Williams, Celanese, and Eastman Chemical will likely post lower profits following a difficult second quarter, marked by weak automotive and manufacturing demand. Analysts said that the commodity chemical producers face a cyclical downturn which has now lasted for 38 months. We'll see continued pressure on their earnings in Q3. Seth Goldstein, Morningstar analyst, said: "I don't believe there will be any relief or difference based on the guidance given during Q2." China's rapid ramp-up of ethylene production – a key component for plastics and packaging, as well as construction – has exacerbated a global glut, pushing down prices and margins in the U.S., Europe and other markets. High energy costs, an aging infrastructure, and strict environmental regulations have put pressure on the petrochemicals industry in Europe. This sector relies on imported feedstocks. As a result, several plants were closed after years of losses. RBC Capital Markets' Arun Viswanathan says that the demand for commodity chemicals has been "somewhat tepid". Dow and Eastman are projecting earnings lower than previous guidance midpoints. The near-term volume pressure is due to a combination of sluggish building and construction activities, coupled with the ongoing uncertainty surrounding tariffs. However, some improvements could be seen in the near future, he said. The U.S. tariffs on European goods of at least 15 percent have dampened the demand for key consumers, including automakers and machinery manufacturers as well as consumer goods producers. The recent Carlyle deal to purchase BASF's Coatings Business highlights the continued portfolio reshuffling in spite of industry headwinds. As trade and geopolitical tensions continue, investors will be watching earnings calls to get signals on cost-control, recovery prospects, and demand trends. Dow will report on October 23, LyondellBasell October 31, and Eastman Chemical November 3.
Kazakh Minister says fuel prices will remain frozen until at least the spring and blames Ukraine War Fallout
The Kazakhstani economy minister announced on Wednesday that a price freeze would be in effect until "at least next spring". He said that this was due to the rising fuel prices in Russia - Kazakhstan's main trading partner and neighbour.
Serik Jumangarin said to reporters in Astana: "What is important now for us is to wait. At least until next Spring." We must wait until the neighbouring countries stabilise."
He said: "The situation has to do with the events that are unfolding because of the conflict between Russia, Ukraine and other countries. The petroleum prices in this country have been rising rapidly."
Kazakhstan, the world's second largest producer of minerals, and a country that produces 2% of all oil in the world, introduced last week sweeping price controls for fuels and utilities, amid an accelerating inflation rate, which reached 12.9% in September.
In the first half of this month, central bank rates were raised to an all-time high 18%.
Fuel prices are a sensitive issue in Kazakhstan. The sudden increase in the price of LPG in January 2022 sparked the worst unrest in Kazakhstan since 1991, when the 20-million-strong country gained independence from the Soviet Union.
The fuel price protests in that year grew to be a widespread unrest. Hundreds of people were killed, and Russian troops were deployed as part a regional peacekeeping mission to restore order.
A drone strike by Ukraine on the Russian Orenburg gas plant that processes gas from Kazakhstan’s Karachaganak gas field severely reduced its capacity for several days.
Astana is treading a fine line in its diplomatic approach to the conflict in Ukraine. It has maintained warm relations with Moscow while also expressing its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Reporting by Tamara Vaal, Tbilisi. Writing by Felix Light. Editing by Andrew Osborn.
(source: Reuters)