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Petroperu, the state-owned company in Peru, is now open to private investors after a reorganization
Late Wednesday, Peru issued an urgent decree approving the restructuring of?state owned oil firm Petroperu and allowing private investments in key company assets. According to the decree signed by?Peruvian President Jose Jeri, the company may be divided into one or several asset blocks. This includes the Talara refinery which the company has spent $6.5 billion upgrading. Petroperu also operates or has concessions on six crude oil blocks that have limited production. It has a fuel marketing and distribution chain. The Peruvian ministry of energy and mines stated that the decree is intended to "?ensure compliance with financial obligations through the technical management of their assets, laying a foundation for Petroperu's self-sustainability." The ministry stated that the company's "situation is particularly sensitive" with losses accumulating to $479 million between January and 2025 and debts to vendors of $764 millions through December. This is in addition to the $774 million reported losses last year. The company's financial problems are partly due to the debt from the Talara refinery upgrade, which cost more than double the original estimate. This led to the company losing its investment grade rating in 2022. Petroperu has received government financing totaling $5.3 billion from 2022 to 2024. (Reporter Marco Aquino, Editing by Alexander Villegas & Nick Zieminski).
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Ukraine condemns Russian New Year drone attack on power Infrastructure
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the President of Ukraine, said that a Russian drone had damaged power infrastructure overnight in several Ukrainian regions. Meanwhile, Moscow accused Ukraine of a "deadly" new year's attack on a part of Ukraine under Russian control. "Russia deliberately starts war on the New Year. Zelenskiy posted on Telegram that "over 200 drones attacked Ukraine during the night." Zelenskiy stated that energy infrastructure in seven different regions of Ukraine was targeted. Russia has accused Ukraine of killing 24 people in a drone attack on a cafe and hotel where civilians were celebrating the New Year. The strike took place in an area of southern Kherson controlled by Russia. The Ukrainian military did not respond immediately to a question about Moscow's accusations. Zelenskiy stated that Russia's "holiday season" attacks demonstrated Ukraine could not afford delays in its air defence supply. "(Our) Allies have names of equipment that we lack. "We expect everything that was agreed upon with the United States for our defense at the end December will arrive on schedule," he stated, without elaborating. Zelenskiy has met with President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday to negotiate a peace framework that will end the nearly four-year war. Donald Trump met with Zelenskiy in Florida, on Sunday, to discuss a framework for peace to end the almost four-year conflict. Both leaders have said that they are close in reaching an agreement. However, there remain thorny questions regarding the post-war control of territories. Ukrainian energy minister said that a "significant" number of households in Volyn, Odesa, and Chernihiv regions, located in western and southwest Ukraine respectively, were cut off from electricity by the overnight strikes. Volant's governor said that more than 103,000 households had lost electricity as a direct result of the attack. The Volyn region lies several hundred kilometers from the frontline and borders NATO-member Poland. (Reporting and editing by Gareth Jones, Ros Russell and Max Hunder)
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Police: Dozens of people are feared dead following explosion at Swiss ski resort bar
Swiss police said that dozens of people were feared to be 'killed' and 100 others injured after an explosion tore into a packed bar during a party on New Year’s Eve in the upscale resort of Crans-Montana, located in southwest Switzerland. The police had previously said that many people were being treated for injuries. A police spokesperson confirmed that more than 100 people were in the bar when the explosion occurred. Fire broke out in the early hours of the morning in Crans-Montana at "Le Constellation", where police, fire brigade, and rescue services had been deployed to help victims. Police said in a statement that the area was completely?closed and a no fly zone had been declared over Crans-Montana. They added that the cause of the explosion remained unknown.
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Israel: Forces open fire on West Bank Stone-Throwers, One Dead
Israeli military claimed that its forces shot and killed a Palestinian in the early hours of Thursday morning as they opened fire on people throwing stones at soldiers. The military statement added that two other people were also hit by gunfire on a major road near the village of Luban al-Sharqiya, in Nablus. The statement described the individuals as militants and said that the stone-throwing attack was part of a planned ambush. Palestinian authorities in the West Bank reported that a 26-year old man named Khattab Al-Sarhan had been killed, and another victim was also injured. The official news agency of the Palestinian Authority, WAFA, reported that Israeli forces closed the main entry to Luban al-Sharqiya village in Nablus and blocked many secondary roads. The U.N. reported that more than 1,000 Palestinians were killed between October 2023 - 'October 2025 in the West Bank, mostly as a result of 'operations carried out by security forces, and in some cases by settler violence. In the same time period, 57 Israelis died in Palestinian attacks. (Reporting and writing by Ali Sawafta; Editing by Andrew Heavens).
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Berkshire, which fell on Buffett's final day as CEO and gained 6,100,000.0% over 60 years,
The price of Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares fell by $600, or 0.1%, to $754,800 on Wednesday. Greg Abel will take over as CEO on Thursday. On Wednesday, the price of Berkshire class A shares fell by $600 or 0.1% to $754,800, and that of Class B shares dropped $1.06 or 0.2% to $502.65 Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped 0.7%. Berkshire investors who have owned the company since 1965 when Buffett became CEO, saw a return that was 6,100,000.00%. This is far higher than the S&P's 46,000%. In 2025, the index was outperforming, and it has been doing so for over a decade. Berkshire, however, never had a down year as Buffett tried to acquire his $1.08 trillion company. Berkshire's subsidiaries include the insurer 'Geico', the BNSF railway, dozens manufacturing and energy companies, and retail brands like Brooks, Dairy Queen and Fruit 'of the Loom. The company ended September with cash and?equivalents of $381.7 billion. Abel, age 63, was hired by Berkshire in 2000, when the company acquired MidAmerican Energy (now known as Berkshire Hathaway Energy). Since 2018, he has served as vice chairman of Berkshire, managing the non-insurance business. Buffett will continue to be chairman. He plans to go every day to the Berkshire office in Omaha Nebraska, which is about 2 miles (3 km) from his home. Ajit Jain, vice chairman, will oversee the insurance business of Berkshire, while Abel continues to monitor the BNSF manufacturing, energy and manufacturing businesses. Adam Johnson, the chief executive officer of NetJets' luxury plane unit, will oversee Berkshire’s consumer products, services and retail businesses. Abel was doing this. Berkshire Investments has not announced who will be in charge of its equity portfolio. Apple and American Express were among the 283.2 billion dollars of stocks that Berkshire held as of September 30. Todd Combs, Ted Weschler and other people who worked on the?portfolio were thought to be in line for the position, but Combs has left JPMorgan Chase this month and Buffett stated that Abel can handle it. Berkshire didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, New York; Editing and proofreading by David Gregorio & Alistair Bell
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EIA reports that U.S. crude imports dropped last week, reaching their lowest level since February 2021.
The Energy Information Administration reported that the U.S. imported its lowest amount of crude oil in five years last week, as companies sought to avoid a heavy tax at the end of the year on oil stored in storage. According to EIA, U.S. crude imports fell last week to 4,95 million barrels a day. This is the lowest level since February 2021. John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital, explained that the?ad value tax was a burden on crude oil imports. Kilduff stated that "companies" will delay taking inventory of crude oil and refined products when they reach this point, especially in December. EIA data revealed that the U.S. crude inventory has increased due to lower imports, and robust refining activities. EIA data shows that oil imports from Mexico dropped to 71,000 bpd during the week ending December 26, the lowest ever recorded. This was lower than the previous all-time high for U.S. crude imports from Mexico, which reached 131,000 bpd during the week ending Nov. 28th 2025. The Mexican state oil company, Pemex, must maintain its production at 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and condensate. This is a sharp drop from the 3.4 millions bpd that it produced 20 years ago. Reporting by Arathy S. Somasekhar in Houston and Georgina M. McCartney; editing by Chizu N. Nomiyama
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Critical Metals CEO expects Greenland deals to be closed in Q1 of 2026.
Critical Metals' top boss said that the company expects to complete the remaining 25% of "offtake agreements" for its Tanbreez project in Greenland by early 2026. It will also be open to investment from Washington. Tony Sage, CEO of Rare Earths, said that the Middle East's interest, which includes potential partners in Saudi Arabia and other energy-rich countries such as Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, is a reflection of the efforts made by states with high energy costs to develop a processing capacity for rare earths, supported by lower electricity costs and quicker permits than the U.S. And Europe. Sage says that the company has pre-sold 75 percent of its planned production, divided between Europe and the U.S., in order to diversify supply to reduce geopolitical risks. Trump's administration is intensifying efforts to secure U.S. mineral supply chains, and has shifted some federal funding from grants to direct equity stakes. Washington wants to reduce its reliance on the market leader China. Trump stated last week that Greenland is vital to U.S. national security, and that an envoy that he appointed for the island will "lead" the charge. Four people with knowledge of the matter said in October that Trump administration officials had discussed taking a stake on Critical Metals. We would welcome it even though we did not ask for it. Sage stated that they had asked for a grant through the Defence Production Act. The report said that the Trump administration had considered converting this grant into equity if it were to be awarded. The White House has not responded to a request for comment. Sage stated that Critical Metals will begin mining in 2027 and first production is expected to start by mid-2028. Greenland's capital costs will likely total $500 million, while downstream processing facilities could cost up to $1 billion. Sage also said that the Austrian project for lithium remained on hold until the price of the battery metal recovered. Arunima Kumra in Mumbai, Ernest Scheyder for additional reporting; Veronica Brown and Anil d'Silva for editing.
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The blue-chip FTSE100 stalls at a record high and seals the strongest annual run since 16 years
The UK's FTSE 100 Index paused at record levels on Thursday in the final stretch to 2025, wrapping up its biggest annual gain in sixteen years in a shortened session. The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed 0.2% lower than the previous day, when it had reached a new record. The domestically-focused FTSE 250 midcaps index?declined 0.4%. Markets closed early on January 1 to avoid the New Year's holiday. The FTSE 100, Britain's blue chip index, outperformed major global markets by 2025. This was boosted?by the expectation of more Bank of England rate reductions, its strength in financials,?miners, and its appeal as a relatively inexpensive diversifier during periods of global volatility. The index increased by more than 21% in the past year. This is its best performance since 2009 and a fifth consecutive annual gain. Comparatively, the pan-European STOXX 600 rose 16.6% while the U.S. S&P 500 gained 17.2%. In a close vote earlier in December, the BoE announced its fourth 25 basis-point reduction of the year, and indicated that the pace of easing, which was already slow, could be slowed further. Resources-heavy FTSE 100 gained support from mining companies Fresnillo and Endeavour?Mining, as well as Antofagasta, who benefited from surging prices for gold, silver, and copper this year. Diageo, the world's leading spirits producer, and Bunzl, the largest business supplies distributor, both fell by around 37%. Other record highs were out of reach. The midcap index rose 9% in 2025, but remained almost 8% below the peak of 2021. Meanwhile, the FTSE Small Cap Index rose 10% and closed just 1.5% shy of its 2021 record.
Uphill roadway for Europe's climate plan after EU election
A more rightwardleaning European Parliament will make it more difficult to pass enthusiastic EU environment policies, but most of Europe's current worldleading green policies are likely to sit tight, legislators, authorities and experts stated. Provisional results in the European Parliament election on Sunday night revealed centrist parties holding a majority, however gains for rightwing and farright celebrations sceptical of the EU's. Green Deal bundle of environmental policies, and heavy losses. for Green celebrations.
I don't believe that we'll be rolling back on (environment). policies. However I do think that it will be more complex to get. brand-new policies off the ground, Bas Eickhout, head of the European. Parliament's Greens lawmaker group, informed .
EU climate steps over the next five years will depend upon. the inbound European Commission, which is responsible for. proposing EU laws. But the newly-elected European Parliament. will get a say on every new green policy.
Sunday's election result signals tougher maths to authorize. new EU environment procedures.
All brand-new policies will be more difficult to pass. But backsliding is. extremely not likely, Krzysztof Bolesta, Poland's secretary of state. for environment, told .
It is possible that new ambition will be delayed, primarily. for populistic factors, concurred Julian Popov, who until April. was EU member Bulgaria's environment minister.
That might have effects for an approaching 2040 EU. climate target, needed to guide the EU towards its 2050 net zero. emissions target. The EU Commission has actually suggested the 2040 objective. need to be an ambitious 90% emissions cut, but it requires approval. from both EU nations and the Parliament.
The upcoming European Commission and Parliament will also. face hard choices on whether to present brand-new policies to. push markets towards that 2040 target. That consists of farming, a sector whose emissions have barely. fallen considering that 2005. But after months of demonstrations across Europe by. mad farmers, there is little political hunger to target the. sector with new guidelines, especially if the cost of abiding by. them would drive up food prices for residents already dealing. with the biggest dive in living costs in a generation.
NO BIG U-TURN
While new climate measures might face a tougher ride, a. full-scale turnaround of the lots of EU environment policies passed. in the last 5 years would be lawfully challenging. Those policies - that include renewable energy targets and a. reinforced carbon prices routine on power and market - are. repaired into EU law and already being rolled-out across the bloc's. 27 member states. Many are currently working. EU emissions are down by almost a. third from 1990 levels, and Europe is setting up wind and solar. energy capability at record speed.
Still, the election campaign saw mounting calls from the. right to ditch some Green Offer policies - with a prime target. the EU's 2035 ban on brand-new petrol and diesel vehicles. That policy has. a 2026 evaluation stipulation, on which the Parliament will get a say.
It was an ideological recklessness, which absolutely must be. corrected, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni told online. magazine Open recently. 3 EU diplomats singled out the 2035 cars and truck policy as one that. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will face. significant pressure to compromise, consisting of from some lawmakers in. her centre-right European Individuals's Party who desire it ditched. Von der Leyen needs support from a bulk of lawmakers in the. new European Parliament to win a 2nd term.
However broad environment policy rollbacks are not likely, authorities and. analysts said. That's partly because the EU's existing climate. steps add up to deliver its 2030 climate target - to cut net. greenhouse gas emissions 55% from 1990 levels - which nationwide. governments and legislators both approved into EU law.
There might well be changes in private pieces of. legislation, but what will be necessary to enjoy is how this. builds up, stated Mats Engström, senior fellow at the European. Council on Foreign Relations think-tank.
DON'T CALL IT A 'GREEN' DEAL. Contrary to the last EU election in 2019, when millions of young. environment protesters took to Europe's streets, this year's. campaign saw climate modification took over by concerns consisting of. immigration, economic concerns and having a hard time European industries. Fulfilling the EU's 2030 environment target will need financial investments of. 1 trillion euros annually, a jump of around 356 billion each year. compared with 2010-2020, according to the European Financial investment. Bank.
Buying regional industries was a project promise throughout. the political spectrum, as competition hones with the U.S. and China to produce green tech like low-carbon steel and. electrical cars and trucks. Some analysts said this focus would see the EU pass more funds. and policies to support climate-friendly jobs - but with the. focus on helping industry, instead of being green and. clean.
If it's about scaling up manufacturing of green. technologies here in Europe, then that may be performed in the name. of 'commercial competitiveness' and not for the climate, said. Linda Kalcher, Executive Director at think-tank Strategic. Viewpoints.
It may be that we see the rhetoric shifting, but the. action on the ground being the very same, Kalcher stated.
(source: Reuters)