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Substantial Russian fuel depot blaze put out, drones strike near Ukraine border
Firemens put out a huge blaze at a fuel depot in Russia's Ural mountains on Friday, and a series of drone strikes were reported in locations close to the Ukrainian border, among which likewise began a little fire at a. fuel depot. The emergency situations ministry said it was still investigating the. cause of the fire in the Perm area, which remains in the Ural. mountains 1,500 km (950 miles) away from the Ukrainian fight. zone. Individually, Russia's Defence Ministry said in a. statement that its air defences had shot down or intercepted 18. Ukrainian drones overnight, consisting of six over the Belgorod. region, six over the Voronezh area, one over the Rostov region. and five over the Azov Sea. All are near Ukraine. Voronezh regional guv Alexander Gusev stated air. defences had ruined numerous Ukrainian drones and no one had. been harmed. He stated firefighters had put out a small fire at an empty. tank at a fuel depot, which he said on his authorities. Telegram channel had actually not been damaged.
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Asia shares tentative, oil set for weekly gains on Mideast dangers
Asian stocks increased on Friday while oil rates were headed for their sharpest weekly gain in more than a year, as intensifying stress in the Middle East kept markets on edge. Investor focus was also on the key U.S. nonfarm payrolls report due later in the day, which would offer additional ideas on the Federal Reserve's rate outlook. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.16% and was set to end the week with a. 0.5% boost. It was assisted by a 2.2% dive in Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index. on continuing optimism over China's huge stimulus. procedures. The Hang Seng Index is heading for a weekly gain of. more than 9%. S&P 500 futures increased 0.04% while Nasdaq futures. added 0.1%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures also included. 0.1%. Oil costs are on track for strong weekly gains, driven by. concerns over prospective supply disturbances in the Middle East. U.S. President Joe Biden stated on Thursday that the U.S. was. discussing strikes on Iran's oil centers, when asked whether. he would support Israel's strikes in retaliation for Tehran's. missile attack on Israel. Biden's comments stimulated a rise in oil prices, which had. currently been on the rise today. Brent crude futures alleviated 0.14% to $77.51 a barrel. on Friday but were headed for a weekly gain of about 7.7%, the. largest considering that February 2023. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) unrefined futures. eased 0.12% to $73.62 per barrel and were on track to advance. 8.1% for the week, the most because March 2023. I think we're most likely nearby from getting an Israeli. response, stated Tony Sycamore, a market expert at IG. If we got up on Saturday or Sunday morning to discover. that there had actually been a reaction, that wouldn't amaze me at. all. So quite cautious trading ahead of that. We understand it's. coming, it's just developing uncertainty since we don't know. what the timing is, and obviously we do not know what they have actually. chosen in regards to the targets. In other places, care capped gains in local share markets. In Japan, the Nikkei increased 0.27%, but was set for a. weekly loss of about 3%. Japanese stocks have actually had a choppy few sessions today as. investors weighed rising geopolitical tensions versus the. domestic rate outlook. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stated this week that economic. conditions in the country were not ripe for more rate hikes by. the Bank of Japan (BOJ), reversing the hawkish tone he struck. prior to his election success. The remarks, paired with more dovishness from other. authorities, sent the yen weakening past the 147 per dollar level,. though it traded 0.46% higher on Friday and last stood at 146.27. per dollar. Still, the Japanese currency was headed for a weekly fall of. 2.8%. In some great news, U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. started reopening on Thursday night after dockworkers and port. operators reached a wage deal to settle the industry's most significant. work interruption in nearly half a century. FINANCIAL DURABILITY The dollar hovered near a six-week high ahead of the. payrolls report that might choose the course of interest rates. Expectations are for the U.S. economy to have included 140,000. jobs last month, a little below August's 142,000 increase. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was last. at 101.88. A variety of data releases this week pointed to a U.S. economy. still in strong shape, after the nation's services sector. activity jumped to a 1-1/2- year high in September amidst strong. development in new orders, while a different report from the Labor. Department on Thursday revealed the labour market gliding at the. end of the 3rd quarter. That sent traders paring back bets of another 50-basis-point. rate cut by the Fed next month, with futures pointing to simply a. 35% possibility of such a scenario. The U.S. services ISM beat highly on the benefit,. surpassing all projections. It certainly points to a robust U.S. economy, said Alvin Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at RBC. Capital Markets. Our base case presumption remains that the U.S. labour market is normalising instead of failing. The euro was bit altered at $1.1029, though it. was set for a weekly drop of 1.2%. Sterling edged 0.02%. greater to $1.3129, nursing its losses after moving more than 1%. on Thursday. The British pound had actually been weighed down by dovish comments. from Bank of England Guv Andrew Bailey, who stated the. central bank might become a bit more activist on rate cuts if. there is further great news on inflation. Somewhere else, spot gold increased 0.34% to $2,665.15 an. ounce.
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7 & i to start sale of bulk stake in supermarkets by year-end, Nikkei states
Japan's 7 & & i Holdings strategies to look for purchasers for a majority stake in its supermarket businesses, including its flagship ItoYokado, with the procedure to begin as early as completion of this year, Nikkei organization daily reported on Friday. The retail chain wishes to sell the businesses to overseas investment funds, to name a few possible buyers, the Nikkei reported without pointing out sources. It may reveal the plan at an earnings statement on Oct. 10, the newspaper stated. A Seven & & i spokesperson, responding to the Nikkei report, said: It is not something officially announced by our company, and there are no realities that have actually been chosen at this time. Earlier on Friday, Bloomberg news reported that Seven && . I Holdings has actually approached private equity funds and other celebrations. about a potential sale of Ito-Yokado and supermarkets, mentioning. individuals acquainted with the matter. Based upon earnings multiples, the sale worth could reach 320. billion yen ($ 2.19 billion), Bloomberg stated, pointing out one of the. sources. That follows a report on Thursday that 7 & & i was. thinking about selling part of its Seven Bank system. Last month, the moms and dad company of the 7-Eleven convenience. store chain rejected a $38.5 billion offer from Canada's. Alimentation Couche-Tard that would have been the. biggest business foreign buyout of a Japanese business. Seven & & i has actually been under pressure from investor ValueAct. Capital in the last few years to enhance its possession allowance and has. offered down stakes in other lower-performing properties. The company stated in April it was thinking about a listing of. its superstore business, which primarily comprises supermarkets, as. part of a strategy to maximise business worth.
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Oil prices little changed as Middle East conflict, sufficient supply outlook weigh
Oil costs were little altered on Friday, however stayed on track for strong weekly gains, as financiers weighed the prospect of a broader Middle East conflict interrupting crude circulations against an amply supplied worldwide market. Brent unrefined futures ticked down 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $ 77.54 a barrel as of 0415 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate unrefined futures were down 6 cents, or 0.08%, to $73.65 a. barrel. Both benchmarks were headed for weekly gains of about 8%. Bearish bets on oil have actually found some room to relax this. week amidst mounting issues over possible supply disruptions in. the Middle East, in addition to optimism that China's recent. financial stimulus efforts may use some uplift in need, said. IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong. The concern now is whether there will be an actual. disruption in crude supplies, and that must keep costs in a. waiting game over the weekend, Yeap added. The U.S. is going over whether it would support Israeli. strikes on Iran's oil facilities as retaliation for Tehran's. missile attack on Israel, President Joe Biden stated on Thursday,. while Israel's military hit Beirut with brand-new airstrikes in its. fight against Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. Biden's comments added to a 5% rally in oil costs on. Thursday, as Israel weighs its options after its arch-foe Iran. released its largest-ever assault on Tuesday. Supply dangers are back in focus as stress in the Middle. East rises, but we anticipate the impact to be limited, ANZ. analysts stated in a note. While the region represent more than a 3rd of the. world's oil supply, a direct attack on Iran's oil centers. appears the least most likely response amongst Israel's alternatives, the. analysts stated. Such a relocation would upset its worldwide partners while a. disturbance to Iran's oil profits would likely leave it with. little bit to lose, potentially provoking a more relentless. action. Concerns over oil supply that drove up rates earlier in the. week have also been tempered by OPEC's extra production capacity. and the truth that international crude products have yet to be interfered with. by the Middle East discontent. Libya's eastern-based federal government and Tripoli-based National. Oil Corp revealed on Thursday the reopening of all oilfields. and export terminals after a conflict over management of the. reserve bank was solved, ending a crisis that had greatly. reduced oil production. Iran and Libya are both members of OPEC. Iran, which is. operating under U.S. sanctions, produced about 4.0 million. barrels daily of fuel in 2023, while Libya produced about 1.3. million bpd last year, according to data from the U.S. Energy. Details Administration.
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Copper edges up at end of see-saw week
Copper prices rose on Friday, after having actually seesawed in holidaythinned trade through the week as profit booking kept costs from gaining on hopes of a rebound in need after top consumer China's stimulus measures. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME). rose 0.4% to $9,909 per metric ton by 0402 GMT,. aluminium increased 0.4% to $2,640 and nickel. climbed up 1.8% to $17,900. LME zinc advanced 0.7% to $3,145.50, lead. was up 0.4% at $2,151.50 and tin edged up 0.1% at. $ 33,750. Copper rates might climb even more as China tends to follow. through with their financial stimulus pledges, and prices will. most likely peak at around $10,500 where physical need may struggle. to keep up, said a metals trader. Bad information releases can activate sell-offs in the. extremely short term, the trader included. On a weekly basis, however, LME copper fell 0.8%, on track. for the first decrease in four weeks, as the market waits for more. cues after a strong rally triggered by the China's stimulus. strategies. China is closed for a public holiday from Oct. 1-7. Tin is set for the 4th straight week of gains, having actually struck. its greatest given that July 11 earlier in the week. Indonesian tin exports have picked up in September however some. major manufacturers have reached their export quotas and require to. renegotiate before exports can resume, while exports from. Myanmar continued to decrease, stated expert Freddie Mitchell of. the International Tin Association. Belief amongst tin consumers is positive, with market. participants expecting a general demand recovery in 2024,. Mitchell said in a note. SHFE tin stocks was up to 8,698 heaps, the lowest since Feb. 2,. while LME tin inventories were last at 4,565 heaps, the most affordable. since Aug. 23. For the top stories in metals and other news, click. or
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Korea Zinc shares rise ahead of $1.7 bln deal deadline as battle for control heats up
Shares in Korea Zinc , the world's most significant fine-tuned zinc producer, rose on Friday, the last trading day before a due date to accept a. $ 1.7 billion tender offer from its biggest shareholder Young. Poong and personal equity firm MBK Partners. Run by the Choi family, Korea Zinc has been in a bitter. fight for control of the $12 billion zinc empire with the. co-founding Chang household, whose electronic devices conglomerate Young. Poong made the joint offer with MBK in September. Each side in combination with their most likely supporters holds. about a one-third stake in Korea Zinc, according to computations. by Meritz Securities, though the groups have actually declined to. comment. Both have actually made tenders to minority investors to gain. control, with Korea Zinc on Wednesday announcing a higher offer. than the one from Young Poong and MBK. The battle has actually gotten global attention because Korea Zinc. products basic materials for a variety of cutting-edge industries. such as semiconductors and electrical automobile batteries, as. concerns over securing supply chain control mount in the middle of. increased U.S.-China trade tensions. Korea Zinc shares increased as much as 8.6% to a record high of. 774,000 won on Friday. They were up 6.2% at 758,000 as of 0238. GMT, above the tender deal price of 750,000 won per share. The. broader market was 0.8% greater. The outcomes of the deal. will be announced on Oct. 10 in a regulatory filing, MBK stated. Korea Zinc's competing offer is to redeem about 2.7 trillion. won ($ 2.02 billion) of shares together with Bain Capital, which. provided to buy another 430 billion won of shares, at an optimum. price of 830,000 won per share. That deal closes on Oct. 23. Korea Zinc, whose clients consist of metals traders Glencore. , Trafigura and Sumitomo, stated on Friday in a. regulatory filing that it would purchase shares even if the amount. disappointed its targeted stake of approximately 18%. Young Poong has said its deal was focused on taking part in. Korea Zinc's management and improving its governance. CORE NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY The fight for control comes at a crucial time for South. Korea, which is trying to carry out business governance reforms. to give a boost to its capital markets that have actually long been. stymied by the influence exerted by its sprawling corporations. Minority shareholders, who owned about 27% of Korea Zinc as. of end-June according to a company filing, will play an essential. role in determining the outcome of the takeover battle. South. Korea's National Pension Service, a long-lasting financier that. holds a different 7%, did not respond to a request for discuss. its plans. Korea Zinc last month asked the South Korean government to. designate its battery element innovation as a nationwide core. innovation that would require federal government approval for a foreign. acquisition to proceed. South Korea's market ministry is set. to hold a meeting later on Friday. The United States and its allies are seeking to lower. dependence on China for critical metals. There are concerns that this takeover by a venture capital. firm may be a precursor to an on-sale to bulk Chinese. interests, said Ian Satchwell, an accessory teacher at the. University of Queensland's Sustainable Minerals Institute. MBK and Young Poong said last month they had no plans to. sell Korea Zinc to China. A joint endeavor established by Korea Zinc and LG Chem. in South Korea is set to produce precursors, a crucial EV battery. material. Precursors produced by the joint endeavor will be utilized. in LG Chem's cathode plant in the U.S. that is slated to start. mass production in 2026 to provide EV battery cathodes to General. Motors.
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7 & i exploring sale of retail, supermarket systems, Bloomberg states
Japan's 7 & & i Holdings has approached private equity funds and other parties about a potential sale of its ItoYokado stores and grocery stores, Bloomberg News reported, citing individuals familiar with the matter. Based on earnings multiples, the sale value might reach 320 billion yen ($ 2.19 billion), Bloomberg said, mentioning among the sources. That follows a report on Thursday that Seven & & i is considering selling part of its 7 Bank system. A 7 & & i representative, responding to the report, said: It is not something officially revealed by our business, and we do not talk about market rumours. Last month, the parent company of the 7-Eleven benefit shop chain turned down a $38.5 billion offer from Canada's. Alimentation Couche-Tard that would have been the. largest corporate foreign buyout of a Japanese business. Seven & & i has been under pressure from activist financier. ValueAct Capital in the last few years to improve its possession allocation. and has actually offered down stakes in other lower-performing possessions. The company said in April it was considering a listing of. its superstore company, which mainly comprises grocery stores, as. part of a strategy to maximise business worth.
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First Turbine Blade for Sofia Offshore Wind Farm Sees the Light of Day
RWE has unveiled the first 108-meter turbine blade, made at the Siemens Gamesa factory in Hull, which will form part of 100 offshore wind turbines, each rated at 14 MW, set for operation at Sofia offshore wind farm.On target for completion towards the end of 2026, the 1.4 GW Sofia offshore wind farm will be capable of generating enough renewable electricity to power the equivalent of approximately 1.2 million typical UK homes once fully operational.Siemens Energy will manufacture, install and commission all 100 of the SG 14‑222 DD turbines. Each turbine will stand 252 meters tall, have 108-meter-long turbine blades and a 222-meter rotor diameter.The total size of the wind farm will be 593 km2, approximately the size of the Isle of Man.RWE has also confirmed that working with Siemens Gamesa, it will deploy recyclable blades on 44 of 100 turbines - a record 132 individual blades.This follows the successful installation of recyclable blades at RWE’s Kaskasi Offshore Wind Farm off the German island Heligoland.The Sofia offshore wind farm project is located on Dogger Bank in the central North Sea, 195 km off the north east coast of England. Offshore installation began earlier in 2024.Van Oord’s Brand New Calypso CLV Set for Debut at RWE’s Offshore Wind ProjectRWE Installs HVDC Converter Platform at Sofia Offshore Wind FarmVan Oord Installs First Monopile Foundation at RWE’s 1.4GW Offshore Wind FarmOperations and maintenance activities for Sofia will be managed from RWE’s new offshore wind operations base, the Grimsby Hub, which also services RWE’s Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm.RWE is also developing in the region its two Dogger Bank South projects which, together, would have a potential installed capacity of around 3 GW.“To see these impressive turbine blades being produced, ready to be installed at our flagship Sofia offshore wind farm, is a fantastic demonstration of the true value that offshore wind brings to coastal communities, such as Hull,” said Tom Glover, RWE UK Country Chair.“At our offshore wind blade factory in Hull we’re powering the energy transition. We now employ over 1,300 people at the site, after recruiting more than 600 new employees over the last 12 months. We are proud to be a key supplier to RWE on a number of UK projects, including manufacturing the blades for Sofia. It’s great to have this project underway and unveil the first blade,” added Darren Davidson, Vice President Siemens Energy UK&I.
Report: Liberty's Czech Steel Mill pledges 200 Million Euros in cost reductions
The Czech steelmaker Liberty Ostrava plans to reduce costs by 200 millions euros ($218.4million) and production by over half as part of a restructuring plan designed to restart its idled blast-furnace, the daily Hospodarske Noviny announced on Monday.
On February 28, a regional court spokesperson said that the company had committed to deliver to creditors a complete restructuring plan by the end last week after the court upheld the moratorium on its debt.
Liberty Ostrava's spokesperson confirmed that the company began presenting its restructuring plans to creditors on Sunday. However, the group didn't disclose any details in their statement.
The company is part of the steel-group owned by commodities tycoon Sanjeev Gupta. It temporarily closed its blast furnace in October last year and is currently locked in a debt dispute with its main provider of energy, TAMEH Czech. This has crippled both companies.
Hospodarske Noviny reported that the restructuring plan would also see the company cut production by 60% from its previous level.
If the company is able to reach a deal with TAMEH Czech for the renewal of its power supply, it could return in June. Otherwise, the blast-furnace would not be reopened until January next year.
Liberty Ostrava stated in an email that it is continuing to work on a solution for the TAMEH Czech impasse. It also said it would continue with its "Plan B" if it fails to reach a settlement.
The company also announced that it would restart its rolling mills and is looking for other heating options or providers.
TAMEH claimed that Liberty Ostrava owed it more than 2 billion crowns (approximately $86.4 million). It has also shut down supplies and declared bankruptcy. Liberty Ostrava offered to purchase it, a Liberty manager told in late October.
Steelmaker employs 6,000 people in the industrial east of the country. (1 dollar = 23.150 Czech crowns; 1 euro = 0.9147 Euros) (Editing Jan Harvey)
(source: Reuters)