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Caribbean trade with Africa is booming as the traditional routes are eroding
The secretary-general of the Caribbean bloc, who spoke on Monday in light of the looming uncertainty surrounding its traditional trading partners, said that Caribbean nations were looking to "decisively expand" opportunities for trade with Africa. Why it's important In a time of increasing protectionism, stronger trade ties would be a major economic shift for a region that relies heavily upon trade with the U.S.A., Canada, and Europe. Washington imposed an initial 10% tariff in April on almost all of its trading partners. It has been levying its power to influence domestic Caribbean policies on issues such as Cuban medical services and citizen-by-investment programs. KEY QUOTE Carla Barnett, Secretary-General of Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said that "we must open the doors to greater trade and investment between our regions" at the opening ceremony of the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum held in Grenada. "CARICOM's trade with the Continent needs to grow beyond its current levels, which are less than 3%. This is especially true given the uncertainty surrounding trade with our traditional partners." By the Numbers According to the latest data of the Observatory of Economic Complexity, CARICOM's biggest trading partner is the United States. According to OEC figures, the U.S. purchased a quarter ($38.8 billion) of the $33.4 billion in goods shipped by the bloc throughout 2023 and sold 39% of the $43.4 billion of goods imported. CONTEXT Caribbean nations are particularly vulnerable to global shocks like inflation and pandemics due to their dependence on tourism, imported fuel and food, and their exposure climate-related disasters. Barnett noted that the region had already worked with Africa in unsuccessful campaigns to demand slavery reparations and compensation for climate change from wealthy nations. (Reporting and editing by David Gregorio; Sarah Morland)
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Angola fuel hike protests turn violent, local media report
Angola’s capital, Luanda, saw protests over the hike in diesel prices turn violent on Monday. Local media reported that looting and clashes between police and protesters led to several deaths and arrests. In a bid to reduce costly subsidies and strengthen public finances, the oil-producing nation in Southern Africa raised diesel prices by a third this month. The minibus taxi associations increased fares up to 50%, and began a 3-day strike on Monday. On its website, the Novo Jornal reported that three people were killed during the protests. One of them was a policeman. Novo Jornal reported that the police fired tear gas, smoke grenades and shots in the air, all to try and restore calm. In a press release, the police reported that shops had been looted in Luanda. The statement stated that police made arrests, but did not provide the number. Angola’s finance minister said in October that fuel subsides amounted to 4% of the country’s economic output in last year. The government will continue to remove them in stages. The protests were also deadly when the price of petrol was raised in 2023.
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President of Peru says that he is considering approving $6 billion in mining projects
Dina Boluarte, the president of Peru, said that her government is looking at approving 134 projects for mining exploration and exploitation worth an estimated $6 billion. Boluarte stated in an address before Congress that she expects the formal small-scale mine sector to generate over $5 billion in sales annually by the end this year, and that $4.7 Billion in formal projects are expected to have begun construction by 2026. Officials from Peru, third largest copper producer in the world, are in discussions with informal miners. They launched protests at the end of June, which blocked a major transport corridor used by MMG and Glencore. After over 50,000 miners informally removed from the formalization scheme by the government, the tensions escalated. The government now only wants to bring 31,000 of them into compliance with the regulations before the end this year. Boluarte stated that the government is working to establish a private mining funds which would provide small miners with better access to financing. (Reporting and writing by Marco Aquino, Sarah Morland and Natalia Siniawski).
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Chile will ask the U.S. for copper to be included in U.S. - Chile trade agreement
In an interview on Monday with the local radio station Duna, Mario Marcel, Chile's Finance Minister, said that he expects U.S. tariffs on copper to be discussed in Washington as part of broader U.S. Trade talks this week. Marcel said that Chile would request any tariffs be included in a larger trade agreement with the United States. The Trump administration announced that it would impose a 50% tariff on copper imports starting August 1. Chile is a major supplier of red metal to the United States and also of refined copper, though it sends a much larger volume to China. Monday is the beginning of a third round between Chilean officials, and the U.S. trade representative's office. Marcel stated that he hoped the discussions he and his colleagues will have in Washington today would also include copper. Because it would be unhelpful for us to have an agreement that excluded more than half our exports, like copper and wood. The minister responded that they would include any tariffs in a larger trade agreement. "We would like it to be included in the broader commercial discussion with Chile, not handled separately. It's an important issue," said the minister. Marcel pointed out that other countries had included exemptions and carving-outs in trade agreements. Fabian Cambero reported the story. (Writing by Daina Beth Solon; Editing by Natalia Siniawski.
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Orange Polska maintains full-year guidance, lifts Q2 net profit
Orange Polska announced a 18% increase in its second-quarter net income to 272 millions zlotys (74 million dollars) compared with the same period last year. The analysts polled expected the net profit at 272 millions zlotys. The company stated that the increase in profit was due to the sale of Orange Energia, its energy business, to the Finnish group Fortum. This transaction took place earlier this year. In a statement, CFO Jacek Kubinicki explained that the sales were part of an effort to focus on its core businesses. Why it's important Orange Polska, with a market capitalisation of 11.72 billion zlotys (approximately $9.96 billion zlotys), is the biggest listed telecoms in Poland. CONTEXT Orange Polska announced its strategy for the years 2025-2028 in March. The company set a dividend floor of 0.53 zlotys per share and projected organic cash flows of at least 1.2 bn zlotys a year by 2028. By the Numbers The Polish division of France's Orange saw its revenue in the second quarter 2025 rise 1%, to 3,16 billion zlotys. EBITDA (after leases) rose 4%, to 891 millions zlotys. KEY QUOTES In a recent press release, CEO Liudmila Climov said that "customer bases for all of our telecom services have maintained a healthy growth rate as we cope well with the competitive environment." She added, "In the second part of the year we will maintain strong commercial momentum through a variety of attractive offers that we roll out for our customers in advance of peak seasons."
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Gunmen kill 17 people in a mass shooting in a small town bar in Ecuador
The Attorney General's Office of Ecuador said that gunmen attacked a bar on the coast of Guayas Province in Ecuador, killing at least 17 and injuring 11 others. It was investigating the attack. According to the attorney's office, more than 40 pieces ballistic evidence have been recovered on site. Local media shared images of bodies on the ground covered with white sheets. The attack on Sunday took place in El Empalme in Ecuador, about 160 km north of Guayaquil. This area is considered one of the most dangerous in Ecuador, as organized criminals fight for control over key smuggling routes. At the beginning of last year, Daniel Noboa, President of Ecuador declared that there was an "internal conflict". However, despite measures taken by the state to curb violence in Guayas and other areas. Noboa may have claimed a 15% drop in violent deaths, but the interior ministry says the actual number is higher. again surged In the first half of 2025, 461 will increase by 47 percent. Last month, Ecuador’s National Assembly approved a law reform that gives the government greater legal authority to combat armed groups as well as dismantle drug trafficking networks which fuel their operations. (Reporting and editing by Sarah Morland; Alejandra Valencia)
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Iraq's State Oil Marketer identifies illegal loading of tankers at key ports
According to an official note dated Sunday, Iraq's state oil marketing company SOMO has identified a number of tankers that are suspected of illegally loading petroleum products from the ports at Umm Qasr or Khor al-Zubair. The tankers used advanced techniques, such as Automatic Identification System (AIS) spoofing, to hide their location or change their route. SOMO stated that the ships were not included in its official load schedules. This raised concerns about unauthorised shipments. In a letter to Iraq's National Security Agency, SOMO stated that "These activities have been classified as high risk and may involve illegal practices like tampering tracking systems or performing unauthorized transfers." In an annex of the letter, 11 tankers were listed as suspects: Flora Dolce (Mackerel), Chandrama (Padmanabh), Pontus (Ocean Guardian), Al Safa (Al Safa), Hulda(Hulda), Ultostratos (“Invictus”), Invictus (“Invictus”), Lanikai („Lanikai“) and Lanikai („Lanikai“). The authenticity of the letter was confirmed by two officials from the Oil Ministry, and one official from the SOMO. The warning comes as illicit oil flows are being closely monitored in the region. The U.S. Treasury announced new sanctions against entities that are involved in the Iranian oil trade earlier this month. These include firms that have been accused of assisting Tehran to move sanctioned crude by using deceptive shipping methods such as ship-toship transfers and falsified documents. SOMO called upon Iraqi authorities take the appropriate measures to protect Iraq's oil reserves. SOMO did not respond to a request for comment. (Reporting and Editing by Rod Nickel. Ahmed Rasheed)
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Firefighters fight fires in Turkey Greece and Albania
On Monday, firefighters battled to extinguish wildfires that had erupted in three provinces of Turkey and Greece, as well as near a tourist destination in Albania. The fires were stoked after days of scorching heat in the Mediterranean. Smoke billowed above the mountains of Karabuk province, located 200 km (125 miles), north of Ankara. A wildfire that raged on for six days forced the evacuations of over a dozen villages, and burned large areas of forest. The Forestry Ministry of Turkey announced on Monday that three firefighters died in a vehicle crash on Sunday, northwestern Bursa. On Monday, crews battled two separate fires after more than 3,600 people were evacuated from the provinces Mersin and Antalya in the south. Turkey has seen dozens of fires in the last few weeks due to high temperatures. Ten firefighters died fighting a fire in central Eskisehir Province. In the Mediterranean, summers can be hot and dry. However, in recent years, heatwaves of greater intensity have caused destructive wildfires around the world. The fire brigade reported on Monday that at least 44 wildfires had broken out in Greece over the last 24 hours. Strong winds have rekindled the blaze that has been burning on Kythera in southern Greece since Saturday. Firefighters in Athens quickly put out a fire at the foothills of Mount Hymettus near an university campus and densely-populated suburbs. Over 900 firefighters in Albania fought a wildfire with the help of the army before it reached Saranda, a seaside resort on the Ionian Coast. Police said that 13 people were arrested in the last three days for arson related offences. Bulgaria, with the help of several European countries deployed firefighting aircraft to help contain a large wildfire close to the Bulgarian-Turkish frontier. The flames have so far scorched 16,000 acres. Local media reported that authorities are investigating the cause of these fires and have detained two people. Five people were injured by separate wildfires in Greece over the weekend. Rainy weather in Serbia has helped firefighters put out more than 100 fires. Reporting by Fatos bytyci from Pristina; Daria Sito -Sucic and Aleksandar Vasovic, in Sarajevo; and Tuvan Gumrukcu, in Ankara; writing by Angeliki Koutantou, and editing by David Holmes, Giles Elgood and David Holmes.
Gold drops 1% after US-EU agreement boosts risk appetite before Fed meeting
On Monday, gold fell to a three-week-low as a U.S. - European Union trade agreement lifted the dollar and risk-sentiment. Investors awaited new cues about rate policy at this week's Federal Reserve Meeting.
As of 10:10 am, spot gold dropped 1% to $3304.87 an ounce. ET (1410 GMT), reaching its lowest level since the 9th of July.
U.S. Gold Futures fell 0.6% to $3,320.20 an ounce.
The U.S. Dollar Index rose to its highest level in a week, increasing the price of bullion for foreign buyers.
"I believe the more trade news we receive, the higher the dollar will rise." These tariff deals lower the appeal of gold, driving the sell-off amid risk-on sentiment.
A weekend agreement between U.S. president Donald Trump and the European Commission placed a 15% tax on EU goods. This is half of the initial rate threatened. It eased fears of an escalating trade war.
This agreement follows the U.S. - Japan agreement of last week, and U.S. & Chinese officials will resume their talks in Stockholm, Sweden, on Monday to try and extend their 90-day trade truce.
A U.S. Trade Representative said that no major breakthroughs were expected with China. Discussions would be focused on monitoring and implementing current commitments.
Meir said that the gold price is not moving much because of the uncertainty surrounding the implementation or the unrealistic nature of the deals.
When its two-day meeting ends on Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve will likely keep its benchmark interest rate between 4.25% and 4.50%.
The markets continue to factor in a possible September rate cut.
In an environment of low interest rates, gold tends to perform well.
Other than that, silver spot was down by 0.2% to $38.05 an ounce. Platinum fell by 1.8% to $1375.88, and palladium rose 0.5%, reaching $1,226.25. (Reporting and editing by Ros Russell in Bengaluru, Sherin Elizabeth Vaghese from Bengaluru)
(source: Reuters)