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US Skips UK Steel and Aluminum Tariffs as Both Countries Eye Quick Trade Deal
The United States announced on Tuesday that it would not double steel and aluminum tariffs on Britain. This announcement came hours after the UK Government said that the two countries had agreed to a deal on tariff relief as soon as possible. The U.S. announcement that exempts British aluminum and steel from a 50% tariff increase came in a Tuesday proclamation by U.S. president Donald Trump. The U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer and British Trade Minister Jonathan Reynolds met on Tuesday in Paris during an OECCD meeting. A spokesperson for the UK government said: "The UK was first to secure a deal with the U.S. in the last month, and we are committed to protecting British businesses and jobs in key sectors." We're happy that, as a result our agreement with the U.S. steel in the UK will not be subjected to these additional duties. We will continue working with the U.S. in order to implement our agreement which will remove the 25% U.S. steel tariffs. On May 8, British Prime Minister Keir starmer and Trump agreed to lower tariffs for UK steel and car imports to the U.S. Britain also agreed to lower tariffs for beef and ethanol. However, the implementation of the agreement has been delayed. UK Steel, the industry body for British steel, had warned earlier that doubling tariffs would cause a "body-blow" to British steel. Greer and Reynolds, Britain's Trade Ministry said Greer met with Reynolds to discuss the pace at which the bilateral trade agreement of May 8 was being implemented. Both sides agreed that consumers and businesses in each country had to begin to feel its benefits. The British trade ministry released a statement following the meeting that said "The two discussed their shared desire for the Economic Prosperity Deal to be implemented as soon as possible, including agreements on sectoral duties." Greer's office did not immediately comment on the meeting. Starmer's spokesperson stated that once the deal was implemented, it would eliminate tariffs for the "majority" of steel products exported to the United States. "We'd continue to anticipate that this will be the case," regardless of Trump's 50% tariff. Sarah Jones, the minister of industry, was also reported to be meeting with steel industry representatives on Tuesday. Greer replied, in French, to reporters in Paris when asked earlier if 50% tariffs on Wednesday would be implemented, "We'll have to see." Reynolds is in Paris and Brussels for a three-day visit. He will meet with counterparts from the Group of Seven, OECD and other countries in Paris. Then he'll talk to EU Trade Commissioner Maros SEFCIOVIC. Last month, Britain signed deals with both the U.S., and the European Union, its two largest trading partners. However, these are not formal trade agreements and details have yet to be set. Plans to reduce red tape in the food industry are still being finalised with the EU agreement. Before the EU deal came into effect, Britain announced on Monday that it would eliminate border checks for fruit and vegetables imported to the EU. These were due to take place in July. Reporting by Alistair Smout, Leigh Thomas, Andrea Shalal, and Jasper Ward, in Washington, and Tomaszjanowski, Lisa Shumaker, and Bill Berkrot in London.
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BlackRock is removed from Texas' boycott list following its withdrawal from climate groups
Texas removed BlackRock on Tuesday from a list that was seen as boycotting energy companies. The New York asset manager only won this step after it drastically reduced its climate goals. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar stated that the decision was a reflection of BlackRock's withdrawal from climate-related industry groups such as the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative. Hegar also pointed out that the firm had lowered its support of shareholder environmental resolutions, and supported a new Texas Stock Exchange. BlackRock has "acknowledged the real social costs and economic costs that are incurred by limiting investments in the oil and natural gas industry, both in Texas and worldwide," Hegar stated in a press release. Delisting will allow Texas state agencies, funds and other entities to easily do business with BlackRock. This could help BlackRock respond to claims made by Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton regarding its environmental record. BlackRock's representatives have not yet commented. Hegar added BlackRock, and a number of European managers, to his list by 2022, under a law passed in the state the year before in response to Wall Street’s embrace at that time of environmental and social investments priorities. Faced with political pressure, BlackRock's rivals also quit industry climate groups, and reduced their support for shareholder proposals that called for change, such as emission limits or cuts. Climate activists and Democratic leaders have accused companies of lowering their standards in terms of environmental support. (Reporting and editing by Lisa Shumaker; Ross Kerber)
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Trump to waive Defense Production Act to boost critical minerals
U.S. president Donald Trump will cut some legal requirements including the approval of larger projects by Congress to boost domestic production. The government website shows that the document will be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday. The Defense Production Act is a U.S. statute that gives the president wide emergency powers in order to control domestic industries during times of national security. Trump invoked a law from the Korean War in March to boost domestic production of minerals that are critical for Washington's economic rival China. The law limits the president's power by requiring him to get congressional approval on projects exceeding $50 million dollars and limiting project completion dates to a one-year timeframe. According to a document seen, Trump will be expected to use these powers in an emergency. President Joe Biden used similar waivers during the COVID Pandemic to accelerate production of vaccines, medical equipment and other supplies. The White House didn't immediately respond to our request for a comment. Reporting by Ernest Scheyder, Jarrett Renshaw and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing and Chizu Nomiyama.
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Wall Street stocks rise on Nvidia and trade hopes
Investors awaited more clarity about Washington's tariff plans as they awaited potential negotiations between the United States with its trading partners. The White House announced on Monday that President Donald Trump will be speaking with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week. This comes after Trump had accused China of breaking a Geneva accord to reduce tariffs and trade barriers. Beijing has said that it will protect its interests, and that this accusation is unfounded. According to a draft of a letter sent to the negotiating partners, the Trump administration is asking countries to submit their best offers on trade negotiations before Wednesday. Officials are trying to speed up talks with multiple partners in order to meet a deadline they set themselves. "The most important thing for investors is that the administration wasn't going to impose those much-larger-than-expected tariffs and just leave them on, which would have almost certainly led to a recession," said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer at Northlight Asset Management. The fact that the U.S. has so many trading partners, including China, Japan, UK, EU, etc., makes investors more optimistic about the possibility of avoiding a recession. Investors are feeling more confident that we won't be in a recession." In May, Trump's trade policies were softer, which allowed risky assets to recover. The benchmark S&P500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq posted their largest monthly percentage gains since November 2023. The preliminary data shows that the S&P 500 rose 34.59 points or 0.58% to 5,970.53 while the Nasdaq Composite increased 157.54 or 0.82% to 19,400.15. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 219.19 points or 0.52% to 42,524.67. Nvidia's gains boosted the information technology sector. Broadcom, a chipmaker, hit a new record high following the announcement that it had begun shipping its latest networking chips designed to speed up AI. "Commentary about Trump and Xi speaking started yesterday, and chips will likely be a topic of discussion," Angelo Zino is a senior equity researcher at CFRA Research. "Given that Nivdia has been essentially locked out of China for the past few years, any discussion will tend to favor Nivdia or chips over anything else." The U.S. Labor Department reported that job openings increased, but layoffs increased, indicating a slower labor market due to tariffs impacting the economy outlook. Orders for Factory Products The April drop was sharp, as the initial boost from purchasing ahead of tariffs faded. Census Bureau data from the Commerce Department showed a drop of 3.7% after a jump unrevised by 3.4% in March. The release of the monthly jobs data will provide more information on how trade uncertainty affects the largest economy in the world. The day will be filled with speeches by central bank officials including Lisa Cook, President of the Fed Board, Chicago Fed Austan Goolsbee, and Dallas President Lorie Logan. Kenvue shares fell, leading the declines in the benchmark S&P Index. The company, which produces consumer health products said at a Deutsche Bank Conference that retailers in China and the U.S. are destocking their products because of uncertainty about tariffs. Dollar General's shares surged after the discount retailer exceeded its quarterly sales expectations. JPMorgan upgraded the image-sharing platform Pinterest to overweight after it was rated neutral. Reddit shares fell on Tuesday after the social network platform was unavailable for more than 29,000 users, according to Downdetector.com. Reporting by Kanchana Chkravarty, Sukriti Gupta and Saeed Azhar from Bengaluru; editing by Devika Syamnath & Aurora Ellis
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Smoke from Canadian wildfires spreads to US Midwest
The smoke from three wildfires in Canada is now spreading to the Upper Midwest of the United States, bringing back memories of the heavy pollution that blew south from Canada during the worst fire season ever recorded there two years ago. Smoke pollution is already blowing through Minnesota and other neighboring states. This poses a serious health threat to the tens or millions of people who live there. Over the next few days, it is expected to reach New York City and other East Coast Cities in a less severe level. Doug Brugge is a researcher in public health at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He said that airborne particulate matters are the greatest environmental health risks we know of. It causes respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological damage, and these smoke plumes are at high levels in comparison to what Americans are usually exposed to. Since the beginning of May, scores of wildfires have spread across Canada. They forced thousands of people to evacuate and disrupted crude oil production. According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center, there were over 200 active fires on Monday. Of those, 106 were out-of-control. The majority of the fires have occurred in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The current crisis is still not close to the 17 million hectares that burned in 2023. According to IQAir (a website that monitors the air quality in various parts of the world), the air quality rating for New York will rise to 77 early on Wednesday morning as a result. Readings in Philadelphia, Washington and Boston will also increase to 70, and 68 in Boston. According to the website, an air quality rating below 50 is "good," readings between 100-300 are "unhealthy" or "very unhealthy," and anything higher is "hazardous." Ely, Minnesota near the Manitoba border, was one of the worst places for air pollution on Tuesday afternoon. The reading was 336, which is considered "hazardous". The AQI in Duluth (Minnesota) was 164 in the afternoon on Tuesday, down from 309. In Flin Flon (Manitoba), about 800 miles (1300 km) north, in an area where Canadian wildfires have been concentrated, it was 202 in the afternoon, down from 359 the morning. In IQAir’s list of the major cities in the world, Minneapolis ranked third with a 168 air quality reading, tied with Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. VULNERABLE PEOPLE According to Brugge, children, the elderly, and those with chronic respiratory, cardiac and other illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease, are the most susceptible to the effects caused by smoke. He said that the risk of hospitalization or death was low for people who were healthy and young. There is evidence, however, that air pollution increases blood pressure and inflammation in these people. According to a recent California study, exposure to wildfire smoke can also increase the risk of lung cancer patients dying, especially among non-smokers. However, certain cancer treatments may mitigate this effect. Some farmers, however, believe that the fires' effects are not entirely negative. On online forums such as Facebook, some farmers claim that their best harvests have come from years when there was a pall of smoke from wildfires from Canada. They believe that the smoke can protect crops vulnerable from scorching sun.
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IAEA chief: No way to restart Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant at this time
The head of the UN nuclear safety watchdog stated on Tuesday that the idled Zaporizhzhia plant, which is occupied by Russia, was not in a position to restart at this time due to the lack of cooling water and a stable electricity supply. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said that water would need to be pumped out of the Dnipro River to restart the plant. It hasn't generated electricity for almost three years. In March 2022, Russia occupied the facility in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Region, Europe's biggest nuclear plant. This was shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion against its neighbor. The plant produced a fifth (of Ukraine's) electricity before the war. Grossi, in an interview with Kyiv, said that the Russians "never concealed the fact" they wanted to restart the factory, but they wouldn't be able do so anytime soon. The plant is located less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) away from Ukrainian positions across the Dnipro River. The plant has six reactors. The last one stopped producing electricity in September 2022. After the Kakhovka Dam was destroyed, the water level in its cooling pond on the southern Dnipro bank dropped dramatically during the summer of 2023. The nearby areas are regularly bombarded by artillery or drones, which can damage the remaining power lines that supply the electricity required for the plant to self-cool, even when it is dormant. Both sides blame each other for the attacks. Greenpeace released a report on Monday stating that Russia is building a 90 km high-voltage line to connect its power plant with the grid. Grossi stated that the IAEA disagreed with the conclusions of this report. There are areas where some work has been done, but we have no concrete evidence to suggest that this was part of an orchestrated, concerted plan to connect the plant in some sense. "We do not have a situation where the plant is about to restart imminently." Grossi stated that it would be a long time before the plant could be restarted. He added that the plant's machinery must be thoroughly checked before any restart. "You can imagine that in a piece of machinery of this size, there are pumps, bolts, pipes and a variety of other things which may be corroded." Grossi stated that all six reactors of the plant could be restarted if sufficient water was pumped into the Dnipro River. However, "a number" of things would have to be done before. RUSSIAN TECHNICIANS Ukraine said that any attempt made by Russian technicians to restart this plant would be dangerous as they are not certified operators. Grossi stated that Russian nuclear staff was capable of restarting the reactor, and the certification issue was more political than technical. He said, "They're professionals - they know what they're doing." Ukraine also protested against the IAEA monitoring mission that visited the plant via Russian-occupied territory. Grossi explained that he was doing this to protect his staff and because he did not yet have the guarantees he needed from the Russians to transit IAEA personnel safely through the frontlines into Ukraine-controlled territory as a number of times before. (Reporting and editing by William Maclean, Frances Kerry and Max Hunder)
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Gold Reserve affiliate bids in Citgo parent auction
The company reported on Tuesday that an affiliate of Gold Reserve miner submitted a bid in the top period of the U.S. Court-organized auction for shares of the parent company of Venezuelan-owned U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum. According to the Delaware court calendar, after the court selected a $3.7billion offer from an affiliate of Contrarian Funds this year as the starting bid, competitors may submit better bids in the topping period until June 18. The court officer who was overseeing the sale process last month stated that the resolution of parallel cases pursuing the same assets which are being auctioned off in the 8-year case encouraged new offers without giving details. In a press release, Gold Reserve said that a consortium of Rusoro Mining, Koch Minerals, and Koch Nitrogen International supported the bid made by Gold Reserve subsidiary Dalinar Energy. Dalinar Energy could revise their bid before the expiration date of June 18, adding that they have a combination of equity and debt funding and are supported by three major financial institutions in a lending consortium. The auction results will not be revealed until the judge has disclosed the specifics of the bids. Documents from the court revealed that, in addition to Contrarian Funds, the Gold Reserve Group, and Vitol, the trading house also participated during the initial bid phase. Robert Pincus, a court officer, will recommend a winner by the 27th of June. The auction is intended to compensate up 15 creditors who have defaulted on their debts or been expropriated in Venezuela. Reporting by Marianna Pararaga Editing and translation by Margueritachoy
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Wildfires in Canada are impacting oil supply
The wildfires in Canada's oil producing province of Alberta has reduced Canada's daily crude output by approximately 7%. The following is a list of oil production sites that have been affected so far. CENOVUS Energy - CHRISTINA LAKE SITE: On May 29, Cenovus began to shut down production of approximately 238,000 barrels a day at its Christina Lake facility south of Fort McMurray in Alberta. The company stated that it was not aware of any damages to its infrastructure, and anticipates a full site restart in the near future. CANADIAN NATURAL RESOURCES – JACKFISH LAKE: Canada’s largest oil-and-gas producer announced on May 31 that it had evacuated its Jackfish 1 thermal-in-situ operations south of Fort McMurray in Alberta, and completed a safe, temporary shutdown of approximately 36.500 bpd bitumen production. MEG ENERGY CHRISTINA LAKE REGIONAL PROJECT MEG, an oil sands firm, announced on May 31 that it had evacuated all non-essential staff from the Christina Lake Regional Project Site south of Fort McMurray. The company stated that the wildfire damaged the power line connecting MEG's Phase 2B project with Alberta's electrical grid. This was causing delays in the startup of MEG operations. These represent about 70,000 bpd in production. Amanda Stephenson reports from Calgary.
Wall Street Journal, June 2,
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Six people were injured in Boulder, Colorado on Sunday afternoon. The FBI is investigating the incident as an act against a group that advocates the release of Gaza hostages.
Australian investment manager Washington H. Soul Pattinson, and building products maker Brickworks have agreed to merge their companies into one worth $9 billion. This will cement a formal partnership that dates back almost 60 years.
Palestinian health officials said that more than 20 Gazans died on their way to a U.S./Israeli aid distribution centre. This is the latest in a series of violent incidents during a chaotic launch of a new program.
Homeland Security's controversial list of "Sanctuary Jurisdictions", which was created using a set of criteria, disappeared from the website over the weekend. The agency is fighting criticism from both red and blue states about the criteria that were used in its creation.
Rio Tinto and a local Indigenous group have agreed on a new management strategy for its iron ore operations in the Pilbara region of Australia, where they destroyed two ancient rock-cut shelters five year ago.
Stanley Fischer, one the most influential economics in recent decades who served as Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve between 2014 and 2017, has died aged 81.
(source: Reuters)