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Officials say that Israeli forces killed a Palestinian teenager after settlers entered a West Bank village.
Officials?said that an Israeli guarding a group?of?Jewish settlements who entered Palestinian village land on Friday fired at Palestinians who confronted the settlers, killing a 17-year old and wounding a man 70 years of age. The incident in the occupied West Bank town of Sa'ir was the latest of what Israeli military calls "unauthorized hikes" of settlers who invade the outer reaches of villages, which Palestinians see as an act intimidation. In a press release, the military stated that the Palestinian villagers "threw stones" at the settlers who were "present in the area without prior authorization". It was also reported that some of the settlers were injured. The military reported that "a security official opened fire on the area and there were Palestinian casualties" as a result. Palestinian officials confirmed that a 17-year old boy was killed after being shot in his chest. The 70-year old's condition was not immediately known. Sa'ir is a village located near Hebron, in the southern West Bank under civil control of the Palestinian Authority. Israelis are not allowed to enter this area. In the 'West Bank, which is home to three million Palestinians, and about 500,000 settlers there has been a rise of settler violence, and seizures of land and resources. International condemnation was expressed this week for a siege of homes by settlers in the village of Qusra. Most countries and U.N. agencies consider the settlements to be illegal in international law. Israel denies?this and cites biblical connections to the area. Palestinian officials reported that Israeli troops killed a Palestinian overnight in Jenin, north of Jerusalem, after raiding the man's home. According to the military, soldiers shot him when he attempted to stab at them. It added that no troops were injured. Reporting by Rami AYYUB and Ali SAWAFTA Editing by Gareth Jones
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FTSE Russell upgrades Hoa Phat Vingroup and Vietcombank to Vietnam's Emerging Market
FTSE Russell, a global index provider, published a list on Friday of 'Vietnamese Securities eligible for inclusion in their global equities benchmark indexes. This is a major'step before the reclassification of a southeastern Asian nation - due to take place next month. The move is made ahead of Vietnam being upgraded to emerging market status in September by the index provider. FTSE Russell estimates that this could result in up to $6 billion in passive capital flowing into the country's stock markets. FTSE Russell has named?27 Vietnamese companies eligible for inclusion in its FTSE Global All Cap Index. Vietcombank and Vingroup, a state-controlled lender, and Vinhomes, its property developer unit, were classified as large-caps, whereas BIDV, Hoa Phat, and VPBank, were mid-caps;?all of the six were listed on the FTSE All-World Index. All 21 stocks, including FPT (a technology company), were small-caps. The?notice listed 90 Vietnamese microcap stocks for FTSE Total Cap. It ?did not disclose individual ?constituent weights, free-float-adjusted investability factors or estimates of reclassification-related investment flows. FTSE Russell announced in April that it would add the country in stages to its global equity indices, adding 10% in September, another 20% in March and 35% in June and September next year. Vietnam is on the list of countries that are being considered for inclusion in the category which includes China and India. When the upgrade is completed, Vietnam will account for approximately 0.034% of FTSE Global All Cap Index, 0.02% FTSE All World Index, 0.329% FTSE Emerging All Cap Index, and 0.192% FTSE Emerging Index. Official data shows that foreign investors have sold Vietnamese stocks this year. The net outflows of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange totaled approximately $3.61 billion. This follows $5?billion net outflows for 2025. The benchmark VN-Index for Vietnam closed Friday at 1,768.95, up by 1.95%. According to LSEG, the index has fallen 2.82% this year. (Reporting and editing by Toby Chopra; Phuong Nguyen)
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Global stock markets set to fall the most since mid-July, as bond yields and oil remain high
On?Friday global stocks were on track for their largest weekly drop since mid-July, as tensions in global bond markets continued to persist, and diplomatic deadlocks in the Gulf pushed oil prices up to a one-month-high, keeping inflation risks at the forefront. The yields on U.S. government bonds resumed their rise after Wednesday's?"surprise" intervention by the Treasury. This was a response to fears?about rising inflation and fiscal pressures. The increase came as U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent suggested he could further boost the government's repurchases and floated ideas of fiscal consolidation. Analysts doubted he would be able to find the necessary spending cuts in order to reduce a budget gap of over 6% of GDP. Interest charges alone for this year are $1.2 trillion and the U.S. national debt has just crossed $40 trillion. The dollar is now heading towards the three-month lows it hit on Thursday. It has fallen almost 1% against major currencies this week. "The initial Treasury buyback was remarkable because it was a total surprise. But the question is: Is this meaningful enough to make a lasting impact?" Christian Hantel is a portfolio manager for Vontobel. We could still see the market trying to test whether they are ready to increase the $4 billion that they announced previously. It could be a very interesting few days. The 30-year bond yield in the U.S. was around 5.25%, and the 10-year was slightly higher at 4.70%. Markets believe that 5.30% for 30-year bond rates is a threshold of pain for Treasury. This is similar to what 160 yen has become for Japanese policymakers. As tech giants borrow heavily to fund AI capital expenditure, the cost of debt is rising globally. This also increases the discount on corporate profits and challenges stock valuations. Nikkei was a victim of the strain, as it dropped 0.3%. This brings the losses for this week to almost 4%. It is on course for the largest weekly decline since mid-July. South Korea and Taiwan were both up, but down for the week. Stock markets in Europe have made some early gains. STOXX 600 was on track for its largest weekly drop since early July. It is down around 1%. MSCI's global stock index is poised to experience its largest weekly fall since mid-July. Wall Street has seen a positive response to a strong earnings season. S&P futures are up 0.53% and Nasdaq Futures are up 0.8%. Next week, when Nvidia releases its quarterly report, the AI industry will be put to the test. Much depends on Nvidia's outlook for data center revenue and infrastructure demand. Walmart's Thursday slide of 9% was a clear example of what happens when expectations are not met. WAR AND DEBASEMENT Bessent made headlines by extending President Donald Trump's promise of economic war against Iran. He said the U.S. will impose "the strongest sanctions in history" to the country. Brent crude reached a peak of $95 per barrel in a month, before profit-taking took hold. Brent futures rose around 0.5% to $94 per barrel. This is up over 5% on the week. U.S. crude oil increased 0.4% to $85. The dollar has been losing ground in the currency markets this week, amid concerns that the ever-growing U.S. government debt and policy uncertainty will reduce the purchasing power of its currency, driving investors towards scarce assets such as gold. The yellow metal reached its highest level since almost three months, with a 1.45% increase at $4,583 per ounce. Dollar index fell 0.9% on the week to 98.74, after hitting a three-month low overnight. The euro was up by 1.0% for the week, at $1.1686, having touched a 14-week high. The last time it traded was around $1.1689. This is off the session highs. The dollar's biggest weekly drop since January was 1.7% against the Swiss franc. It is now 0.7995 Francs. Some investors have also been influenced by concerns over the rising U.S. national debt to look at alternatives, such as bitcoin. Bitcoin has historically benefited from diversification away from U.S.-based assets. Bitcoin reached a two-month high last Friday, and was up almost 6% to $76,446, on course for a weekly gain of 20%. This would be its biggest gain in over 2-1/2 years. The dollar is under renewed pressure due in part to a resurgent "debasement" narrative, said Jonas Goltermann. Chief markets economist at Capital Economics. "We continue to believe that such concerns are?overblown and that the overall economic backdrop will point towards a'stronger dollar in the coming months. However, we think continued surprises from U.S. Policymakers could well be more important?in the near term." The dollar last fell around 0.2% to 158.79 Japanese yen. A survey of the manufacturing industry showed that new orders were up in July, as import costs rose. Both strengthened the case for an interest rate increase in September by the Bank of Japan. The markets are priced in for a quarter point rise to 1.25 percent and would like to see a more aggressive and faster tightening of policy.
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China and Indonesia ministers will meet Friday to discuss economic, security, and other issues.
China's and Indonesian's defence and foreign ministers will meet on Friday. Security, politics, and economic issues are expected to dominate the talks. Jakarta is trying to maintain a balance between its ties with both Beijing and Washington, amid tensions and trade disputes in the South China Sea. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Jakarta for the first two years and meet with his Indonesian counterpart Sugiono. He will also participate in the "2+2 meeting" between the defence ministers of the two countries. Arifianto Sofiyanto (an Indonesian official in the East Asia division of the foreign ministry) told a Thursday press conference that this meeting would focus on both economic and political issues. Lin Jian said that the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson would be attending the meeting to discuss "political issues and security, defence co-operation, and the situation in the region and internationally." DISPUTED CLAIM Taiwan, which China claims to be its territory, was outraged last week by a rare military exercise that took place east of Taiwan. Indonesian navy officials said that a vessel had conducted routine drills not only with China but also with Japan, and the United States. Curie Maharani, a defence analyst, said that while Indonesia viewed the exercise as routine but the location allowed China to send a different message. She said that Indonesia had learned an important lesson on how the great powers used defence diplomacy as a tool to project influence. Indonesia has also had its own disputes with China regarding the South China Sea which Beijing claims in almost entirety. In 2024, during President Prabowo's first overseas trip since taking office, both countries signed a maritime deal that stated they had come to an agreement "on joint development" in areas where there were overlapping claims. Analysts interpreted the controversial wording as Jakarta changing its long-held position as a non claimant state in South China Sea. Indonesia responded by repeating that it does not recognize China's claims. Curie stated that Indonesia does not want to escalate the situation, and instead prefers to engage China via defence diplomacy. She said that there has been an increase in engagement in the last five years between the two countries, but it still pales when compared to Indonesia's defense cooperation with Australia or the United States. Arifianto, when asked if these topics will be discussed at this week's discussions, said that the agenda was still being finalised. Prabowo said repeatedly that he maintained Indonesia's "free, active and non-aligned" foreign policy. He pledged to befriend every country including China and the United States. TRADE AND INVESTMENT According to Indonesia's Investment Ministry, China has been a major foreign direct investor in Indonesia. It contributed $3.9 billion in the first half 2026. Regulations around some of this investment have been a source for friction. In May, Chinese firms operating in Indonesia called on the government to adopt a more "business-friendly" policy, citing higher taxes and new nickel pricing formula as factors driving costs up and threatening investments. The China Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia, in a letter, said that Chinese firms were subjected to "excessively strict regulation, over-enforcement", as well as alleged corruption and extortion by authorities. The world's largest EV battery manufacturer, Contemporary?Amperex Tech Co., and the steelmaker Tsingshan Group have both invested in smelters built in Indonesia. Indonesia has the world’s largest nickel reserve. Prabowo said that foreign investors complained about Indonesia's excessive number of permits and approvals taking too long. He called for deregulation in order to encourage investment.
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James Hardie sells Fermacell to James Hardie for $981 million, and looks to exit European operations
James Hardie, a fibre cement manufacturer, announced that it would sell its European sustainable walling solutions and flooring business, Fermacell to Swiss building material supplier Holcim, for 840 millions euros ($980.78million). The Dublin-based company will also?close its European fibre cement businesses subject to the usual legal and regulatory requirements. The CEO of James Hardie Aaron?Erter said that the planned closure of European fiber cement will allow us to focus our efforts on the highest growth and returns opportunities. Last year, the company faced an unprecedented purge of its Board after investors, angry by its $8.75 Billion takeover of U.S. Building Products Group AZEK, sacked its Chair and two Directors. James Hardie's market value dropped by billions last year after the deal was made at a 37% premium. The stock of its Australia-listed company plunged by more than 38% between 2025 and 2026. Investors also reacted strongly against the AZEK deal, which was financed?by debt? and a large share issue amid the volatility of the U.S. Housing Market. James Hardie announced on Thursday it would use $600 million of the proceeds from Fermacell sales to pay off debt. On Thursday, it also announced a $250-million share repurchase program. Holcim, on the other hand, said that it expects the deal to have a positive impact on its earnings in the first year.
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Mariana and 18 other Brazilian cities join Vale BHP dam collapse compensation agreement
A Brazilian court announced on Thursday that 19 additional cities have joined the compensation agreement reached with the miners BHP Vale Samarco over the 'collapse of the Mariana dam in 2015', including the city which was at the epicenter of the disaster. The deal signed in October 2024 and ratified by 45 out of 49 municipalities that are eligible for funds now has the backing of these 45 municipalities. The 2015 dam failure in an iron ore mining owned by Samarco (a joint venture between Vale, BHP and BHP) near the city of?Mariana, in southeastern Brazil killed 19 people and left hundreds homeless. It also flooded forests, and polluted?the length of the Doce River. The agreement stipulated that 170 billion reais (32.74 billion dollars) would be paid as compensation and reparation for one of the worst environmental disasters in the country, with 6 billion reais allocated to the affected cities. As of March 2025, however, only 26 cities were part of the agreement. Many cities felt that the 170 billion dollars in real terms was not enough to compensate the damage. Initial resistance was influenced by a parallel legal action in London against BHP, which seeks compensation for the collapse and could result in a higher amount of compensation. In November, the London High Court ruled that BHP was responsible for the collapse of the dam under Brazilian law. In April 2027, a second trial to determine any damages payable is expected to start. Samarco is concerned about the cities' participation in the agreement, because it wants to move beyond the uncertainty caused by the collapse. In a press conference, Mariana Mayor Juliano Duarte stated: "We consider this an historic victory for the City." "We still have a number of individuals and companies involved in the UK case." As the city government we will continue to support these people. The court stated that it is willing to accept 'any future adherence of the four cities whose members have not yet joined the agreement. These are Ouro Preto in Minas Gerais, Governador Valadares in Resplendor in Minas Gerais, and Colatina in Espirito Santo.
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US firm Powerus secures $22.3 million contract for drone protection of Middle East energy infrastructure
Powerus, a U.S. drone manufacturer and radar maker, announced on Thursday that it had signed a contract for approximately $22.3 million to supply counter-drone technologies aimed at protecting oil infrastructure in the Middle East. According to the company, the system would track, detect and classify drone threats. It would then feed information to a central hub located at the customer site, giving 'operators an overall picture of aerial activity within the area. Powerus declined to disclose the name of the customer or the exact deployment sites. The contract demonstrates the growing demand for counter-drone defences in the Middle East where oil and gas installations have been targeted during the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. According to the company, this agreement includes hardware, software and site activation. It also includes installation, maintenance for 24 months, and 24-month support. Powerus stated that it built the system so as to integrate a drone interceptor called Guardian in the future, providing a 'path to expand capabilities beyond just detection when threats evolve. This contract is a reflection of the direction that we believe the counter-drone industry will take -- towards integrated, networked?protection?of critical oil and gas infrastructure," Brett Velicovich said, co-founder, and president, Powerus. Powerus is preparing to merge with Aureus Greenway Holdings Inc. The companies anticipate completing the deal by early October 2026, subject?to?remaining conditions. Powerus develops autonomous?systems, such as heavy-lift platforms, autonomous aircraft and maritime systems and mission support technologies, for defense and infrastructure. (Reporting and editing by Sanjeev Mglani in Washington, Mike Stone)
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US sanctions Hezbollah, highlighting its ties with the Iranian government
According to a?statement viewed by the, the United States issued new sanctions on Thursday against Lebanon's Hezbollah. This included re-designating them?over their actions in support of Iran. According to the statement, the Treasury Department renamed the group for "service to 'the?Iranian government under the command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - Quds Force." According to an anonymous U.S. official who spoke under condition of anonymity about the redesignation, it was meant to demonstrate that Hezbollah acts on behalf of Iran's government, and specifically the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force. Hezbollah has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 1997, and a Specially Defined Global Terrorist since 2001. Hezbollah in Lebanon is both a political group and an armed force. Sanctions are aimed at disrupting funding networks and isolating targets. They do this by freezing assets, prohibiting banks from dealings with specific entities, and blocking the flow of goods and services. The U.S. official stated that the move on Thursday was not a part of any new measures the U.S. has vowed to take against Iran. The United States is looking to end a six-month war that began with Israel. President Donald Trump warned Wednesday against countries who provide "any kind of lifeline" to Iran. Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury secretary, said on Thursday he will hold a press briefing on Monday about "the harshest sanctions in history," that Washington intends to impose against Iran. U.S. sanctions also targeted 10 individuals on Thursday for allegedly smuggling money to Hezbollah. Washington said the Turkish businessman was in charge of a network of couriers that moved money between countries in the region, and Hezbollah’s base in Lebanon. According to a statement, the businessman used exchange houses in Turkey as fronts for money transfers involving the Quds Force. He also provided front companies and bank accounts. The action targeted several couriers. Hezbollah was founded in 1982 by Iran's Revolutionary Guards during the 1975-1990 civil war in Lebanon. This was part of Tehran’s efforts to?export its 1979 Islamic Revolution? and?fight Israeli troops that invaded Lebanon in 1983. Hezbollah has its own social services including schools and hospitals and is well supported by Shi'ite Muslim Lebanese.
South Africa wants to meet with US over auto tariffs
Parks Tau, South Africa's Trade Minister, said that the country will request a meeting with U.S. officials to discuss auto tariffs. The levies are of concern, he added, as South Africa enjoys preferential trading status with the United States.
South Africa's exports of parts and vehicles to the United States are estimated at more than $2 billion. A planned 25% tariff on automobile imports announced last week by U.S. president Donald Trump could have a serious impact.
Tau stated in a press release that the U.S. The Section 232 Tariffs will be applied to the imports of automobiles and auto parts from South Africa and other countries that are beneficiaries of the U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act.
AGOA allows eligible African countries to export agricultural products and manufactured goods, including cars and parts, duty-free.
Tau stated that "automobile exports from South Africa represented 64% of South Africa’s exports in 2024 under AGOA, and therefore are a significant component for products currently benefitting under the preferential program."
The Automotive Production Development Programme in South Africa offers rebates on U.S. imported cars, while South Africa's exports of automobiles to the United States are duty-free.
Tau said that South Africa's automobile exports account for just 0.99% of the total U.S. vehicle imports, and 0.27% auto parts. "They do not pose a threat to U.S. Industry", Tau added.
Tau stated that "South Africa would seek to meet with United States authorities in order to discuss this development, due the possible negative impact on the South African Economy."
NAAMSA, the representative body for South Africa's Automotive Industry has stated that they are actively evaluating the potential impact of tariffs on their industry and engaging with members and key stakeholders.
Mercedes-Benz, BMW and other car brands are exported by South Africa to the United States. (Reporting and editing by Sharon Singleton; Nqobile Dudla)
(source: Reuters)