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Australian shares fall as Rio Tinto falls on poor results; QBE jumps by 6%
Australian shares eased Friday. Rio Tinto shares were the main drag, as they missed expectations due to their flat annual earnings. QBE Insurance, however, limited losses by 'beating profit estimates. By 2342 GMT, the?S&P/ASX 200 Index fell?0.2%?"to 9,069.1?points. The benchmark index rose by 0.9% on Friday. Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto fell as much as 4%. On Thursday, after-market hours the world's biggest iron ore producer posted a profit that was below estimates because of a weaker performance in?iron ore, but copper performed well. Gold stocks surged as bullion prices rose on overnight geopolitical tensions, resulting in a 0.4% rise for the mining sub-index. Perseus Mining shares soared up to 5.5% after doubling their interim dividends and reporting a higher revenue. Financials?subindex traded near record high?levels achieved in the previous session. Losses from Commonwealth Bank of Australia offset gains from Westpac, ANZ and ANZ. QBE Insurance shares soared by 6%, after exceeding profit expectations for the full year due to lower claims from catastrophes and higher investment income. Zip Co's share price stabilised at 1.4%, after it had plunged 34.4% the day before following earnings for the first half that were below expectations. The firm, which offers a buy-now-pay-later service, announced a $50 million share buyback program on Friday. Ramsay Health Care shares rose?as high as?4.5%, their highest level since August 2025. The hospital operator announced that it will distribute its '52.79% stake of Ramsay Sante among its shareholders. The technology stocks fell 2.6%, following Wall Street's overnight losses. WiseTech Global, a logistics software provider, saw its shares fall?5%. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX50?index fell 1.2% to 13,284.58. Statistics New Zealand reported a trade deficit of NZ$519.00 millions in January. ($1 = 1.4164 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Nichiket Sunil in Bengaluru; editing by Alan Barona)
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Century's Iceland Aluminium Smelter will return sooner than expected
Century Aluminum, a U.S. aluminum producer, said that repairs will allow the shuttered capacity of its Grundartangi Smelter in Iceland to be restarted by the end April. This is six months earlier than previously expected. Due to an electrical failure, the 320,000 metric ton?per year facility had to reduce production by two thirds at the end of October. This pushed up European Aluminium Premiums to a record high, currently $356 per ton, for the first time in a year. Century announced in November that it would take between 11 and 12 months to manufacture, ship, and install replacement transformers. On a fourth quarter earnings call, Century CEO Jesse Gary stated that the good news is "we expect to be able repair some of damaged transformers and begin to restart Line 2 by the end of April. This is about six months earlier than we originally expected." Gary stated that "we still plan to install the new replacement transformers when they are finished, but are confident that we can return the line to near-full production in the meantime." The CEO stated that the replacements will not arrive until the fourth-quarter due to the high demand for transformers from data centres. Century, which has built the first new U.S. aluminum smelter in Oklahoma since 1980 with Emirates Global Aluminium, sold this month its idled Hawesville site?in Kentucky, to data centre operator TeraWulf. The Icelandic outage caused a 14% drop in Century's fourth quarter aluminium shipments. The company expects that annual shipments will?drop only 2.6% to 630,000 tonnes in 2026, with volumes from its Mt. Holly Project in South Carolina will see a rise in production with the restarting of 50,000 tonnes of capacity in April.
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Alliant Energy beats quarterly profit estimates on strong power demand
Alliant Energy, a U.S. utility company, beat Wall Street estimates for its fourth-quarter profit on Thursday. The success was due to a robust 'power demand' and strong performance in the 'electric and gas segment. U.S. electricity consumption reached record levels last year, and it is expected to continue to increase in 2026 as AI and crypto data centers expand. Alliant's revenue from its electric utility business grew to $870 millions in the quarter that ended on December 31. This is up from $793 million one year earlier. The quarterly gas segment revenue increased by 11%, to $159 millions. The company also confirmed its profit guidance for 2026 of $3.36 to $3.46 a share while forecasting an annual capital expenditure of $3.1 billion. LSEG data shows that the adjusted fourth-quarter profit was 60?cents a share, compared to analysts' expectations of?58?cents a share. Operating expenses increased to $868 millions during the quarter, up from $754 million one year ago. Alliant provides electricity to about 1 million customers in Iowa and Wisconsin and natural gas to 427,000 customers. (Reporting and editing by Jonathan Ananda in Bengaluru)
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Newmont exceeds profit expectations, spends $1.4 billion on former Newcrest assets
Newmont beat Wall Street expectations for the fourth quarter profit, as a record rally boosted gold prices and offset lower production. The company also announced that it would spend $1.4 billion on developing assets acquired by its acquisition of Newcrest. After-market trading saw shares of the largest gold mining company in the world rise 2% to $127.96. In recent months, gold prices have reached multiple records, due to expectations of U.S. interest-rate reductions, increased geopolitical tensions, and economic uncertainty. The yellow metal's price averaged $4.135 per ounce during the last three quarters of 2025. This is up 56% compared to a year earlier. The miner reported that the average realized price for gold was $4,216 an ounce. This is up by nearly 60% compared to a year ago, but production fell nearly 24%, from 1.45 million ounces. Newmont claimed that production was affected due to a planned mine sequence at Penasquito South, Yanacocha Brucejack, and Cadia. The company plans to spend $1.4 billion on near-term projects, including Cadia Panel Caves and Tanami Expansion 2. It will also conduct a feasibility study for Red Chris. Newcrest's $17 billion acquisition of Newcrest, which will take place in 2023, will add the two projects in Australia as well as Red Chris in Canada. Newmont plans to invest about $1.95billion in sustaining capital, including critical tailings works at Cadia, Boddington and other mines, to extend the life of its entire portfolio. In response to a question, CEO Natascha?Viljoen stated that "operational improvement is a high priority on our agenda. We have teams on the ground supporting Nevada Gold Mines continuously." Newmont forecasts lower gold production in 2026, at 5.3 million ounces compared to 5.89 million ounces produced last year. According to LSEG, on an adjusted basis the company earned $2.52 a share compared to analysts' estimates of $2.00. (Reporting from Tanay Dhumal, Bengaluru. Editing by Sriraj Kulluvila.)
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IAEA: Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant operates on the sole remaining main electricity line
The U.N. nuclear watchdog reported on Thursday that the Russian-owned Zaporizhzhia?power station in southeast Ukraine was operating 'on its only remaining outside powerline after losing a backup line a little more than a week ago. Rafael Grossi said in a statement that the Ferrosplavna-1 electrical line was shut down on 10 February "apparently as a result" of military activity. He said that the plant, which is?Europe's biggest with six reactors?, now operates with only outside power?from Dniprovska, he added. The plant was captured by Russian forces in the first few weeks of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. It does not generate electricity, but it needs to be powered up so that?nuclear materials can remain cool and avoid a meltdown. Russia and Ukraine accuse one another of military activities near nuclear plants that could threaten safety. Last year, the two external lines of the plant were down for nearly a whole month. Grossi stated that IAEA monitors permanent assigned to Zaporizhzhia tried to get information about?the damages, but security restrictions prevented access to the?switchyard of the plant. Grossi stated that the IAEA is ready to report accurately on the nature of damage and the impact on nuclear security and safety. The control of the plant is an important point in the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to'resolve the conflict that has lasted for nearly four years. Kyiv's proposal that the Zaporizhzhia power plant should be run by Ukraine and America is rejected by Russia as unacceptable. Reporting by Chandni in Bengaluru, Ron Popeski and Cynthia Osterman; editing by Cynthia Osterman
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Consolidated Edison's quarter profit misses estimates due to higher operating and interest costs
Consolidated Edison, hurt by higher operating and interest costs, missed Wall Street's expectations for the?fourth quarter profit? on Thursday. Interest rates that are higher for longer can increase borrowing costs. Operating expenses for the company rose to $3.51 billion in the third quarter, up from $3.16 billion a year ago. Interest?expenses rose from $304 to $313 millions, up from $304 millions a year earlier. According to LSEG, the 'New York-based utility' posted an adjusted profit per?share of 89 cents for the three months ended December 31. This compares with analysts' average estimates of 95 cents. The company anticipates capital investments of approximately $6.56 billion in 2026, and $6.76 in 2027. The company expects a full-year adjusted profit of between $6 and $6.20 per share. ?Analysts expect a profit $6.03 per share. Kirk Andrews, CFO of the company, said: "We expect adjusted profit per share to grow by 6 to 7 percent annually over the next five years using our 2026 adjusted EPS guidance as a benchmark." (Reporting from Sumit Saha, Bengaluru. Editing by Alan Barona.)
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Sources say that Venezuelan refineries are able to process at 35% capacity.
Workers at the facilities reported that the Venezuelan refining system is running 'at around 35% of its capacity installed of 1.29 million barrels a day. This is higher than the 20% to 25% of last year but still a small volume for securing enough fuel to satisfy the rising domestic demand. Refineries in South America, run by the state-owned energy company PDVSA are often hit by power failures and malfunctions, which limit fuel supplies to homes, power plants, and vehicles. Venezuela was forced to ration cooking gas, gasoline and diesel in the past. According to sources, Amuay Cardon?El Palito Puerto la Cruz refineries processed together 450,000 bpd Venezuelan crude last week. PDVSA, however, is working to keep its key fuel-making facilities in operation. After recovering from an earlier power outage that had taken one of the refineries, Amuay's, out of operation,?the largest complex in the country, The 955,000-bpd Paraguana?Refining Center?, has seen total crude processing?rise to 287,000bpd?at five distillation units. The workers at its second refinery Cardon said that it was restarting an important gasoline-making facility on Thursday. Two distillation units at the Puerto la Cruz refinery processed 82,000 bpd of crude oil. Sources say that at El Palito's 146,000 bpd plant, one distillation unit processed 80,000 bpd while its fluid catalytic cracked 35,000 bpd. The?state-owned company's oil output has recovered to around 1 million bpd after the majority of production cuts were ordered during a U.S. blockade. The blockade was reversed and some of the crude upgraders in the Orinoco Belt region of the country, which is the main oil producing region, have been reconfigured to ensure feedstock for the refineries. Under new?U.S. Following the capture of 'President Nicolas Maduro', Venezuela has begun importing U.S. naphtha to supplement its domestic fuel production.
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Oil prices close at a six-month high amid US-Iran tensions
Oil prices rose by around 2% to their highest level since six months on Thursday, as traders were concerned about escalating tensions in the Middle East, where the United States and Iran have increased military activity. Brent crude futures closed up $1.31 or 1.9% to $71.66 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas intermediate crude closed up $1.24 or 1.9% to $66.43. Brent closed Wednesday at its highest level since July 31 while WTI closed its highest level since August 1. Andrew Lipow, President of Lipow Oil Associates, said that oil prices were boosted by "geopolitical turmoil and the fear that the U.S. will strike (Iran), in the near future." The market will continue to rise in anticipation of some event. Iran is planning a joint naval drill with Russia, Iran's semiofficial Fars News Agency reported. This comes days after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz to military drills for a short time. The Strait of Hormuz is a vital trade route, as about 20% global oil supplies pass through it. TRUMP WARNS IRAQ U.S. president Donald Trump warned Iran that it must reach an agreement over its nuclear program, or else "bad things" would happen. He appeared to have set a deadline of 10 days before the U.S. The U.S. may take action. U.S. Vice-President JD Vance said Washington was evaluating whether to continue diplomatic engagement with Tehran, or pursue other options. According to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's website, Iran sent a warning to its airmen about the planned launch of rockets in the southern part of the country. Some countries have asked residents to leave Iran. Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports, the largest oil exporter in the world, dropped to 6,988 million barrels a day on Thursday, the lowest level since September. The data was provided by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative. Earlier in the month, it was reported that OPEC's producer group and its ally countries were leaning towards a resumption to increase oil production from April. On?Wednesday, two days of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in Geneva ended without a breakthrough. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy blamed Moscow for stalling U.S.mediated efforts to end the war that has lasted four years. U.S. crude stock dropped by 9,000,000 barrels as refining and exports increased. This was in contrast to the poll results which predicted that crude stock levels would rise by 2.1m barrels for the week ending on February 13. The higher demand for gasoline and distillates also led to a drop in inventories last week. Phil Flynn is a senior analyst at Price Futures Group. He said, "We saw a drop in prices because we had a build-up last week due to weather storms." "We have a strong market with a solid demand, and that should support (prices) until the end."
MP Materials posts smaller-than-expected loss on greater output, sales
U.S. uncommon earths miner and processor MP Products Corp. on Thursday reported a smallerthanexpected loss in the third quarter,. assisted by greater production and sales volumes of the tactical products.
MP procedures rock it draws out from its Mountain Pass mine in California into. uncommon earths concentrate that is delivered to China for refining.
The business offered 9,729 metric lots of that concentrate throughout the quarter,. 6% higher than the year-ago period.
The growth in sales was driven by greater production volumes, reflecting. greater mineral healings and operational performances, the business stated.
Nevertheless, understood prices of rare earth concentrates decreased 23% in the. quarter due to continuous soft prices environment for uncommon earth items.
MP Products produced 478 tons of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr)-- the. 2 most in-demand unusual earths-- during the quarter, with 404 tons offered. Sales. almost tripled sequentially.
Despite continued weak market pricing, increased NdPr sales volumes drove a. go back to year-over-year profits growth, stated CEO Jim Litinsky, who is likewise the. largest shareholder of the business with an 11.2% stake.
Cost of sales increased over 150% in the quarter, but were partly offset by a. decrease of an inventory reserve of $2.7 million tape-recorded in the quarter.
Omitting one-time items, MP published a loss of 12 cents per share, compared. with analysts' expectations of a loss of 13 cents per share, according to information. compiled by LSEG.
(source: Reuters)