Latest News
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Noble Corporation Completes Diamond Offshore Acquisition
U.S.-based offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation on Wednesday announced it has completed its acquisition of peer Diamond Offshore Drilling. The merger creates the industry's largest fleet of 7th generation dual-BOP drillships and adds 4.8 rig years and approximately $2 billion to the Noble backlog, which now stands at $6.7 billion.Noble's board of directors has appointed Patrice Douglas from the Diamond board of directors to serve as a new director of Noble.Robert W. Eifler, President and Chief Executive Officer of Noble, said, "We are excited to close this highly strategic and accretive transaction ahead of schedule and commence our integration activities. On behalf of Noble's board of directors and employees, I would like to welcome the Diamond organization onboard and look forward to our exciting journey ahead as a combined team."Charles M. (Chuck) Sledge, Noble's Chairman of the Board of Directors, said, "This combination marks a crucial next step in Noble's 7G deepwater leadership strategy. We are excited to bring Diamond's exceptional team and fleet on to the Noble platform and look forward to delivering valuable synergies for all stakeholders through the integration of these two great companies. I would also like to welcome Patrice Douglas, who was been nominated to join Noble's board of directors from the Diamond board."
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China offers Africa billions in fresh funding, promises 1 million tasks
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday pledged $51 billion in fresh financing to Africa, assistance for 30 infrastructure projects throughout the resourcerich continent, and assured to develop at least 1 million jobs. In a speech at a major China-Africa cooperation summit, Xi guaranteed delegrates from more than 50 African nations that the $ 19 trillion Chinese economy will unilaterally enhance access to its market for African trade. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit, held in Beijing this year, sets a three year agenda for ties between the world's second-largest economy and the world's fastest-growing continent. Speaking at the opening event of the summit, Xi stated China is ready to launch 30 clean energy tasks in Africa and also support the continent's atomic energy objectives, helping address a power deficit that has long kept back Africa's more comprehensive industrialisation goals. China is also prepared to carry out 30 infrastructure connectivity tasks in Africa and put in location a China-Africa network including land-sea links and collaborated development, he stated. We are ready to assist in the advancement of the African Continental Open Market Location, and deepen logistics and monetary cooperation for the benefit of trans-regional development in Africa, Xi included. China would extend 360 billion yuan
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Pope Francis states environment change a common cause throughout Istiqlal Mosque see
Pope Francis on Thursday invited Muslims and Catholics to press worldwide leaders to challenge the dangers of climate change and extremism, and spoke of the typical roots of various faiths as he checked out Southeast Asia's biggest mosque in Jakarta. In a day laden with spiritual importance on his journey to Indonesia, the world's most populated Muslim-majority country, the pope provided a joint statement with the national grand imam and other local faith leaders that called for definitive action to deal with the warming planet. The human exploitation of creation, our typical home, has contributed to environment change, leading to various destructive consequences such as natural catastrophes, international warming and unpredictable weather patterns, checked out the declaration, officially signed by Francis and Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar. We sincerely contact all people of great will to take decisive action in order to keep the stability of the natural environment and its resources, they stated. The signing of the declaration came during Francis' check out to Istiqlal Mosque, a domed structure covering some nine hectares ( 22 acres) in main Jakarta. The pope is visiting Indonesia through Friday, as part of an ambitious 12-day journey to four countries throughout Southeast Asia and Oceania. Francis also talked to an inter-religious event held outside the mosque's primary entryway, which opened with a young lady offering a plaintive singing of a passage from the Koran. The pope made duplicated recommendation to a brand-new underground tunnel connecting the mosque with the city's Catholic cathedral, situated throughout the street. The 28 metre-long (90 feet) passage, called the tunnel. of relationship, is an significant sign suggesting how individuals of. different beliefs can share typical roots, said the 87-year-old. pope. We might say that what lies 'beneath,' what runs. underground, like the 'tunnel of friendship,' is the one root. typical to all spiritual sensitivities: the quest for an. encounter with the divine, stated Francis. By looking deeply ... we discover that we are all bros. and sis, all pilgrims, all on our way to God, beyond what. distinguishes us, he stated. Chaturrini Widosari, a Muslim, was participating in the. inter-religious event with her Catholic pal, Connie. Triastuti Anoy. Widosari called the pope a good example who. gives an example of how to live in the world in peace together. although we are different faiths. About 87% of Indonesia's population of 280 million is. Muslim, while about 3% is Catholic. Francis has actually emphasised Catholic-Muslim dialogue throughout. his 11-year papacy and has signed numerous joint statements. with Muslim leaders. In 2019, he was the very first pope to check out the Arabian peninsula,. where he signed a declaration with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar,. often called the greatest authority in Sunni Islam. The pope, who promoted the 2015 Paris climate pact, has likewise. made confronting climate alter a crucial focus of his pontificate. Jakarta, the Indonesian capital home to at least 10 million. people, is vulnerable to climate modification, as it deals with chronic. flooding and sinking land. The federal government is developing a brand-new. capital, Nusantara, on the island of Borneo. On Thursday afternoon, Francis will celebrate a Catholic. Mass at Jakarta's Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, a multi-purpose. sports complex. In a sign of regard for the pope's Mass, Indonesia's. spiritual affairs minister suggested regional broadcasters suspend. the daily afternoon transmission of the Muslim call to prayer. that day, and instead use a running text overlay on broadcasts. On Friday, the pope leaves Indonesia for Papua New Guinea,. then East Timor and Singapore. He will have clocked nearly. 33,000 km
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US alerted Nippon its United States Steel bid positions a nationwide security threat, sources say
The Biden administration told Nippon Steel in a letter on Saturday its $14.9. billion acquisition of U.S. Steel would pose a nationwide. security threat by hurting the American steel industry, 3. people stated, adding to proof the U.S. is poised to block it. The deal faces opposition from numerous Democrats and. Republicans, with Vice President and Democratic presidential. candidate Kamala Harris saying on Monday she wants U.S. Steel to. remain American owned and operated. Her Republican rival. Donald Trump has pledged to obstruct the offer if elected. In the letter, which has actually not been previously reported, the. Committee on Foreign Financial Investment in the United States (CFIUS). said the deal would harm American steel production and. reduce the likelihood that U.S. Steel would continue to. aggressively look for trade solutions, individuals who were familiar. with the matter said, including that the business were offered until. Wednesday to react. The committee has determined dangers to the national security. of the United States arising as a result of the deal,. the letter said, according to among the sources. In their written response, excerpts of which were shared. with Reuters, the companies echoed issues exposed openly by. U.S. Steel on Wednesday. Rejection of this transaction will. cause the idling of U.S. Steel's blast heating system centers; ... likely expense countless jobs; and eventually damage the quality. and resiliency of steel supply to U.S. industries. The U.S., they included, was acting in this matter not on the. basis of the realities, the law, or the United States national. security interests, however on the basis of politics and the cynical. exploitation thereof by third parties. The White Home declined to comment. The Treasury. Department, which leads CFIUS, did not react to a request for. comment. Spokespeople for Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel decreased to. talk about the letter but referred Reuters to prior statements. arguing that the offer does not produce any national security. issues and would strengthen the U.S. steel market. We completely expect to pursue all possible alternatives under the. law to guarantee this deal, which is the very best future for. Pennsylvania, American steelmaking, and all of our stakeholders,. closes, the representative for U.S. Steel added.
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Nippon Steel shares up after news of United States seeking to block peer's acquisition
Shares of Nippon Steel gotten on Thursday, surpassing the wider Nikkei index, after the news that the White House was looking to obstruct the company's $15 billion quote for its peer U.S. Steel . Sources told Reuters on Wednesday U.S. President Joe Biden was close to obstructing Nippon Steel's takeover of U.S. Steel on national security dangers, amid growing bipartisan political opposition to the offer which the business were intending to close by the end of the year. While losing more than 1% in the early trading in Tokyo on Thursday, Nippon Steel's shares recuperated to trade 1.5% greater by 0144 GMT, exceeding the wider Nikkei index which was flat. U.S. Steel shares shut down 17.5%. With the takeover, Nippon Steel intended to bring its global crude steel capability to 86 million lots annually, near to its goal of 100 million, and to add 30 billion-40 billion yen ($ 209. million-$ 278 million) to its profit in the January-March quarter. of 2025. To win assistance from the influential United Steelworkers. ( USW) union, Nippon Steel has vowed to move its U.S. headquarters to Pittsburgh, where U.S. Steel is based, to invest. over $2.7 billion in union-represented facilities and to guarantee. that the core senior management as well as a bulk of board. members at the U.S. business would be U.S. people. Both Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel said they did not receive. any updates from the Committee on Foreign Financial Investment in the. United States (CFIUS) relating to the deal, including they did not. believe the acquisition presented national security risks. Japan is one of our most strong allies, U.S. Steel stated. in a statement. We fully expect to pursue all possible choices. under the law to ensure this transaction ... closes. Nippon Steel strongly thinks that the U.S. government. must appropriately handle procedures on this matter in. accordance with the law, the Japanese business said in a. different declaration.
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Asian shares attempt to stabilise after international sell-off; concentrate on US information
Asian share markets tried to regain their footing on Thursday after a steep selloff, while a rally in Treasuries dented the dollar and lifted the yen as U.S. economic concerns raised the chances of the Federal Reserve going huge on rate cuts. Oil prices were constant in early trading after dropping in the previous sessions on weak demand and supply concerns, while gold edged greater. In a data-packed week, investors are poring over the reports dropping in to assess the health of the U.S economy and the labour market, with a weak production data on Tuesday and Wednesday's blended labour information keeping markets on edge. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.5% to its lowest in three weeks, although tech-heavy Taiwan and South Korean stocks were both 1% higher after moving on Wednesday. That helped lift MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan by 0.6%, having toppled nearly 3% over the course of a three-day losing streak. Investor attention on Thursday will be on a reading on the U.S. services industry with jobless claims data. The main focus for the week though will be on Friday's hotly anticipated August report for nonfarm payrolls. The payrolls report is expected to offer the clearest ideas regarding where the economy is headed and whether the Fed will cut rate of interest this month by a quarter or a half of a. percentage point. Markets are now pricing in a 44% chance of the Fed cutting. rates by 50 basis points at its Sept. 17-18 conference, up from 38%. a day earlier, CME FedWatch tool showed. Traders are now. preparing for 110 bps of alleviating this year from the three. staying Fed meetings. The current modification in markets expectations follows information. launched on Wednesday showed U.S. task openings dropped to a. 3-1/2- year low in July, recommending the labour market was losing. steam. Ryan Brandham, head of international capital markets for North. America at Validus Danger Management, stated the data supports the. Fed's current shift to concentrating on the employment side of its. double required. But this does not change our view that the dangers are skewed. towards the Fed cutting less, not more, than what is presently. priced in by the market. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said the Fed needs to. cut interest rates to keep the labour market healthy, however it is. now down to inbound economic information to identify by how much. The odds of an economic contraction are now much less than. it was in 2015 as the Fed appears ready to react to any. dangers with deeper rate cuts if necessary, according to Vasu. Menon, handling director of investment strategy at OCBC. What's likewise choosing the U.S. economy and the Fed, is the. loose monetary conditions which must support the economy and. permit the U.S. reserve bank to cut rates gradually and gradually. without panicking. In the currency market, the dollar remained on the. defensive, with financiers fleeing risky assets looking for. safety. The Japanese yen was among the most significant. recipients and was last at 143.56 per dollar, having already. gained almost 2% for the week up until now. The Swiss franc, likewise a conventional safe-haven. currency, steadied at 0.8461 per dollar. Treasury yields were calm in early Asian hours on Thursday. after diving in the previous session. Two-year note yields were last at 3.775% after. hitting 3.772% on Wednesday, the lowest since May 2023. Criteria 10-year note yields were last at 3.767%. In commodities, Brent unrefined futures increased 0.45% to. $ 73.03 after dropping 1.42% in the previous session. U.S. West. Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 0.52% to $69.56. after moving 1.62% on Wednesday.
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Venezuela AG got affidavit from opposition leader, legal representative says
The legal representative for Venezuela opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez said on Wednesday the attorney general's office got his affidavit describing why Gonzalez ignored 3 summons, in the middle of an ongoing election dispute. The summons came before an arrest warrant was provided for Gonzalez, the opposition's erstwhile presidential candidate, on Monday on accusations of usurpation of functions, falsification of public documents and conspiracy, to name a few charges. The summons were based upon an associated case - an examination into a site where the opposition posted copies of vote tallies from July's contested election that has led to deadly protests and the arrests of prominent opposition figures. Venezuela's national electoral authority and its leading court have stated President Nicolas Maduro was the victor of the election with just over half of the votes, however opposition tallies reveal a definite victory for Gonzalez. The opposition, some Western countries and worldwide bodies like a United Nations panel of specialists have stated the vote was not transparent and required publication of full tallies, with some straight-out decrying scams. Many countries, consisting of the U.S., have also slammed the arrest warrant, which followed weeks of comments from top government officials that Gonzalez and other members of the opposition should go to jail. The Brazilian and Colombian federal governments stated in a joint statement late on Tuesday they were exceptionally worried about the warrant. Colombia's foreign minister said the presidents of Colombia, Brazil and Mexico may hold a call with Maduro to reveal their position. DEFENSE DIFFICULTIES In his letter to the district attorney, Gonzalez said he was not accountable for the publication of voting tallies which the electoral council's authority was not breached because the law allows the supply of tallies to candidates' witnesses. The objective was to provide a file that clarifies all the details for which Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia did not appear, the candidate's lawyer, Jose Vicente Haro, told reporters after leaving the chief law officer's workplace in Caracas. We hope they acknowledge that the acts they want to quality( to Gonzalez) are not criminal in nature, which is the main point, Haro included. Venezuelan law does not allow those over 70 to serve sentences in jails, rather needing house arrest. Gonzalez turned 75 last week. PROTEST DEATHS At least two dozen people died at post-election protests and numerous significant opposition figures have been apprehended. The federal government calls the opposition a fascist motion allied with imperialist forces abroad and blames it for the protest deaths. Challengers accuse the federal government of carrying out a project of repression. Advocacy group Human being Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report on Wednesday it had received reliable accusations of the deaths of 23 protesters and one member of the national guard. It said it had documented in detail 6 cases of people eliminated throughout the demonstrations. In many cases security forces like the police and national guard existed when individuals were fatally injured or eliminated, HRW stated, while in others ruling party-allied motorbike gangs called 'collectives' assaulted protesters. The repression we are seeing in Venezuela is shockingly brutal, said Juanita Goebertus, HRW's Americas director, in a. declaration. Worried governments need to take urgent actions to. guarantee that individuals are able to peacefully protest and that their. vote is respected. The federal government, which has asked residents to report fascist. activities utilizing an app, states 27 individuals passed away in the protests. and it has actually arrested some 2,400 people. It did not instantly. respond to an ask for discuss the HRW report.
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Oil stable as financiers weigh weak demand, possible hold-up to OPEC+ output trek
Oil was trying to hold its line in early trade on Thursday after an overnight selloff, as gamers come to grips with weak need along with a possible delay to more supply going into the market next month. Brent unrefined futures for November increased 9 cents, or 0.12%, to $72.79 at 0002 GMT after dropping 1.42% in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate unrefined futures for October were up 12 cents, or 0.17%, to $69.32 after dropping 1.62% on Wednesday. Both standards settled $1 lower at Wednesday's close. OPEC+ is talking about postponing its oil output boost, arranged to begin in October after oil costs tanked to a. nine-month low on Sept. 3, four sources from the producer group. informed Reuters on Wednesday. Last week, the Company of the Petroleum Exporting. Countries and allies led by Russia (OPEC+) was set to proceed. with its 180,000 barrels-per-day output hike in October, part of. a strategy to slowly relax its newest cuts of 2.2 million. bpd. However an end to a disagreement stopping Libyan exports and soft. Chinese need culminating in oil hitting multi-month lows drove. the group to reevaluate. The (OPEC+) report brought some relief to markets in early. trading, ANZ analysts stated in a note. Nevertheless demand issues following news that China's factory. activity contracted for a fourth straight month in August included. pressure, ANZ included. Information published over the weekend by the Chinese government. exposed the country's production activity sank to a. six-month low last month as factory gate rates toppled and. owners struggled for orders. China is the world's largest crude importer. Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil and fuel stocks fell last. week, according to market sources mentioning American Petroleum. Institute figures on Wednesday. The API figures showed unrefined stocks fell by 7.431 million. barrels in the week ended Aug. 30, the sources said, speaking on. condition of privacy, compared with experts' expectation in a. Reuters poll of a one-million barrel draw. The market awaits weekly U.S. oil stocks data from the. Energy Information Administration (EIA), due to be released on. Thursday at 11:00 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT).
Australia's Pilbara Minerals eyes $799 mln road to double Pilgangoora lithium output
Pilbara Minerals, Australia's greatest independent lithium manufacturer, stated on Friday it could double its production capacity for lithium spodumene at its Pilgangoora operations in Western Australia.
A pre-feasibility research study by the company determined production at Pilgangoora could increase to more than 2 million lots per annum (Mtpa), with the expansion expected to lead to the very first 10 years of yearly production balancing about 1.9 Mtpa.
Pilbara is likely to make a prospective financial investment decision relating to the expansion based upon a result of an expediency research study expected in the December quarter of 2025.
The business anticipates to incur extra capital expenditure of A$ 1.2 billion ($ 799.20 million) for the building of a brand-new flotation plant to increase its production capacity. The new plant would lie nearby to an existing Pilgan plant to take advantage of key existing synergies.
Shares in the lithium miner fell as much as 2.2% to A$ 3.130,. while the more comprehensive mining sub-index edged 0.4% greater.
(source: Reuters)