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Stocks in the UK rise as industrials and financials gain momentum
Investors analyzed corporate updates and economic statistics ahead of next week's U.S. Federal Reserve rate decision. The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed up 0.2%, while the midcap FTSE 250 gained 0.3%. After the Russia-Ukraine talks broke down, aerospace and defence stocks gained 2.5% for the third session in a row. Rolls-Royce gained 2.6% and BAE Systems about 2.6%. Investment banks and brokerages rose by 2.2%. The investment firm 3i Group topped the FTSE 100 index with a 5.1% increase. Personal goods rose by 2.8%, with Burberry gaining 3% as HSBC increased the price target for the stock. Diageo fell 3.9% as UBS cut its target price and downgraded their stock. Pharma stocks fell by almost 1%. AstraZeneca dipped 1.3%. SSP Group rose 11.3% after airport outlet operator SSP said that it expected annual profits at the upper end of their forecasts. AJ Bell AJBA.L dropped 7.6% after the Investment Platform You can also read about the warnings below. The budget will add complexity and costs to the landscape of individual savings accounts, according to Mr. Frasers, the sportswear and fashion retailer, fell by 2.7% reported A 2.8% decline in the first-half profits. A survey revealed that British Construction activity contracted Last month, the highest rate since May 2020. In the run-up to Rachel Reeves annual budget, on November 26, other surveys revealed similar concerns regarding investment, hiring and demands. Calastone data shows that British investors sold shares worth 3 billion pounds during November, the sixth consecutive month in which they have sold net. The number of Americans who filed new claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. dropped to its lowest level in over three years last week.
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US Defense Agency's push to stockpile Cobalt is paused as the price soars
A DLA spokesperson said on Thursday that the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency intends to continue purchasing cobalt as part of the National Defense Stockpile, but it is reassessing the strategy. There is no set date for reissuing this tender. The agency will likely pay more for any purchases of cobalt, as the prices have risen by 50% since the initial tender in August. The DLA has not stockpiled cobalt in over 30 years. Cobalt is essential to the United States' national security and industrial strength as global competition for strategic minerals increases. The U.S. also wants to reduce its reliance on China. China dominates the processing of metals used in missiles, aerospace components, magnets for communications and radars and guidance systems. DLA is currently reviewing its cobalt acquisition strategy. DLA's spokesperson confirmed that the requirement was still valid and the agency still intended to buy the material for its National Defense Stockpile. The agency has not set a date to reissue the solicitation. The original tender announced on August 19, with offers due to be submitted by August 29, went through several changes before being cancelled in October. Cobalt is currently priced at $24 per lb, or $52,910 per metric ton. This compares to $16 alb, or $35,275 for a ton back in August. Since February, when exports were banned by the top producer Democratic Republic of Congo, prices have been rising. Congo has since implemented quotas but producers still wait for approval from the government to resume exports. In its original offer, the agency detailed their plans to buy 16.49 million pounds or 7,480 tons of cobalt over a period of five years for the National Defense Stockpile. The initial offer was only from three companies: Vale's Port Colborne, Long Harbour and Sumitomo metal mining plants in Canada; Glencore's Nikkelverk operations in Norway; and Japan's Sumitomo. Sources in the cobalt industry say that the DLA wanted companies to commit to a fixed price for the five-year period, which didn't take into account the possibility of price fluctuations. This could lead to producers suffering losses. (Reporting and editing by Kirovan Donovan; reporting by Pratima Dasai)
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US allows transactions with Lukoil fuel stations outside Russia until late April
The Trump administration allowed transactions on Thursday with Lukoil outside of Russia, with a small waiver from sanctions imposed by the U.S. in October because the company's revenue is used to support Moscow's war against Ukraine. A posting on the Treasury Department website stated that the transactions for approximately 2,000 stations in Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, as well as the Americas were authorized until April 29, 2026. In October, President Donald Trump imposed sanctions against Lukoil, one of Russia's largest oil companies. This triggered a rush of buyers to buy its assets, estimated at $22 billion. These were the first sanctions imposed by the United States directly on Russian entities during Trump's second tenure. The Treasury Department has cleared companies to speak to Lukoil about purchasing foreign assets until December 13, but specific deals will require approval. Lukoil operates about 200 gas stations under its own brand in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. Lukoil operates over 300 stations in Romania and around 600 in Turkey. It is also one of the largest retail players in Moldova, Bulgaria and Turkey. (Reporting Timothy Gardner, Bhargavacharya, Katharine Jack; Editing Bernadettebaum)
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OPEC oil production slips in November despite an agreed-uplift, survey finds
A survey on Thursday found that OPEC oil production fell in November despite an OPEC+ deal to increase production in the month due to unavailability in some members. This brought the supply of the group even further below their target. According to the survey, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped 28,40 million barrels of oil per day in October, a decrease of 30,000 barrels per days from the total for October. Nigeria and Iraq recorded the largest declines. OPEC+ - a grouping of OPEC, Russia and its allies - has slowed down the rate of monthly production increases due to concerns about an oversupply. Many members are close to their capacity limits, and some have been given extra cuts in order to compensate for an earlier overproduction. This will limit the impact of any further increases. According to an agreement between eight OPEC+ member countries covering November output, five of the OPEC-members - Algerian, Iraqi, Kuwaitian, Saudi Arabian and UAE - had to increase output by 85,000 bpd, before the effects of compensation cuts totaling 140,000 bpd. The survey indicates that the actual increase of the five is 40,000 bpd. Iraq's exports were lower, according to the data and sources in this survey, because of pipeline maintenance. A fire at the Yoho platform in Nigeria and the subsequent shutdown of that platform led to a drop in shipments. Many outside sources estimate the output of Iraq and the UAE higher than those countries themselves. Other estimates, like those from the International Energy Agency (IEA), say that they pump significantly more than the quotas. The survey aims at tracking supply on the market. It is based upon flow data provided by financial group LSEG and other companies who track flows such as Kpler. Information was also provided by sources from oil companies, OPEC, and consultants. Ahmad Ghaddar contributed additional reporting. Mark Potter edited the article.
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As markets consider rate cuts, stocks are higher and the dollar's losing streak will continue.
The dollar fell and was poised to lose its 10th consecutive day against a basket major currencies, fueled by expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut. The benchmark S&P500 was flat in the early morning trade, after two sessions of gains. The biggest losses were in healthcare, consumer discretionary, and materials stocks, while real estate and financials were on the rise. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.09%. The S&P 500 slipped 0.06%. And the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.14%. STOXX 600 in Europe was up by 0.42%, and is still on track for a modest gain each week. The FTSE 100 index in London was up 0.16%, while the DAX in Germany gained 0.45%. MSCI's global stock index rose by 0.18%. Japanese stocks rose sharply following an auction of government debt that attracted strong demand from investors. This helped set the tone for a broader equity market. The Nikkei rose 2.33%. Michael Farr, CEO of investment advisory firm Farr, Miller & Washington, in Washington, said: "After a 5% drop in stocks in late November, they have recovered and are trading near their pre-pullback highs." BIG DROP IN US PAYROLLS DATA POST The gains were made after the U.S. data on private payrolls posted its biggest drop in over two and a half years. Also, a survey conducted in the services sector showed that activity in November was stable while hiring decreased. Markets may be disappointed if they reduce rates by a quarter point, then pause. This is what every Fed speaker said. Farr added that if they do not cut rates and instead say we will wait until the next Fed meeting, then markets may be disappointed. Fed funds futures have a 90% probability of a quarter point cut at the Fed's meeting on December 10 compared to an 83.4% a week earlier, according CME Group’s FedWatch tool. According to LSEG, the dollar index tracks the performance of the U.S. dollar against six other currencies. It was down 0.08% last day and is on track for its 10th consecutive daily decline. This will be the longest losing streak since at least 1970. The yield on the US Treasury 10-Year Bond has increased by 3.4 basis points The yield of the 10-year Treasury Bond in the United States was at last up 3.4 basis point to 4.092%. The Financial Times reported Wednesday that bond holders had voiced concerns to the U.S. Treasury about Kevin Hassett's potential to aggressively reduce interest rates in order to match President Donald Trump’s preferences. Farr stated that the Trump administration had chosen to announce the President's choice of a new Fed Chairman in a way that would be perceived - whether correctly or incorrectly - as more dovish during this meeting, to appear to be an antidote for the message. The government debt sale in Japan attracted the highest demand for more than six year, helping to calm investor nerves over the long-term financial health of the country, which has stoked fears about similar concerns about other economies. The dollar is down by 0.28% to 154.8 yen, and the yen is on track for its biggest weekly gain in two months against the U.S. dollar. A report that said the Bank of Japan is likely to increase interest rates in December, with the government tolerating such a move, citing sources within the government familiar with deliberations. In Hong Kong, offshore trading, the yuan weakened a bit, resulting in a dollar gain of 0.18%, or 7.070 yuan. On Wednesday, the Chinese currency reached its highest level against dollar in over a year. After a recent run of hot metals, precious metals have cooled. Silver fell 2.4%, to $57.03 per ounce after reaching a record high on Tuesday of $58.98. Gold dropped 0.28%, at $4,195. Brent crude rose 0.06% to $62.71 per barrel.
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Gold stable as rising yields offset dollar weakening; PCE data is in focus
Gold prices were mostly unchanged on Thursday as rising U.S. Treasury rates offset support from the weaker dollar. Markets awaited Friday's U.S. Inflation data to get clues about Federal Reserve policy ahead of their December meeting. As of 1611 GMT, spot gold rose 0.1% to $4.211.19 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery rose by 0.3% to $4,243.70 an ounce. Edward Meir, Marex analyst, said: "Higher yields keep a little cap on gold's upside. The general dollar index provides some support." The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rate rose by 1%. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index hit a new low for a month, making gold more accessible to overseas buyers. The latest data on Thursday shows that the number of new U.S. unemployment benefits claims fell to 191,000 in the past week, which is lower than it has been for over three years. This figure was also well below what economists had predicted at 220,000. ADP's report on Wednesday showed that private payrolls in the United States fell by 32,000 during November. This was the largest drop in over two and half years. Over 100 economists surveyed by predicted that the Federal Reserve would reduce its key rate by 25 basis point at its policy meeting on December 9-10, as it seeks to support the cooling labor market. Gold is a non-yielding asset that benefits from lower interest rates. Investors will be watching the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation indicator, the Personal Consumption Expenditures report (PCE), due on Friday. Meir said that the markets will remain relatively unchanged between now and next Monday. As for gold, we are likely to be in a trading range which is fairly uneventful. Silver fell 2.5%, to $56.99, after reaching a record-high of $58.98. The metal has risen by 97% in this year due to a structural shortage, market liquidity concerns and its inclusion on the U.S. Critical Minerals list. Palladium fell 1.8% to $1433.50, while platinum dropped 1.1% to $1652.17.
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Shell and Petrobras buy two areas at Brazil's oil auction
In an auction of crude oil held by the state-run PPSA on Thursday, a consortium of Petrobras (Petroleum) and Shell (Shell) secured two offshore fields in Brazil's Tupi & Atapu oilfields. The consortium was the sole bidder at the auction. It offered 7.79 billion reais (1.47 billion dollars) for the Tupi region, which is 2% higher than the minimum price. For the Atapu region, it offered 1 billion reais, or 16% more. The Mero field's third area did not receive any bids. The auction included stakes in fields that were already producing oil but had not been contracted. This gave the companies the right to profit off of additional production. Brent crude prices are falling, and the auction results did not meet the Brazilian government's target of at least 10,2 billion reais in order to increase revenue. Petrobras announced in a filing that it would pay 6.97 billion reais to cover the transactions. The contracts for these transactions are expected be signed before March 2026. It said that the disbursement had been planned. Although volumes were not forecasted, they should fall within a margin set by a production curve projected in its business plan for 2026-2030, published last week. Santander analysts warned that the payment would affect dividends in 2026, despite the positive outlook they had for Petrobras and its increased exposure to highly productive presalt areas. Petrobras preferred shares listed in Sao Paulo rose 1% at midday, while Bovespa's benchmark index rose 1.5%.
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Gold stable as rising yields offset dollar weakening; PCE data is in focus
Gold prices were mostly unchanged on Thursday, as rising U.S. Treasury rates offset support from the weaker dollar. Markets awaited Friday's U.S. Inflation data to get clues about Federal Reserve policy ahead of their December meeting. As of 1505 GMT, spot gold was down 0.2% at $4,195.69 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery were down 0.2% to $4,224.10 an ounce. Edward Meir, Marex analyst, said: "Higher yields keep a little cap on gold's upside. The general dollar index provides some support." Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury Yields rose by 0.8%. The U.S. Dollar Index hit a new low for a month, making gold more accessible to overseas buyers. The latest data on Thursday shows that the number of new U.S. unemployment benefits claims fell to 191,000 in the past week, which is lower than it has been for over three years. This figure was also well below what economists had predicted at 220,000. ADP's report on Wednesday showed that private payrolls in the United States fell by 32,000 during November. This was the largest drop in over two and half years. Over 100 economists surveyed by predicted that the Federal Reserve would reduce its key rate by 25 basis point at its policy meeting on December 9-10, as it seeks to support the cooling labor market. Gold is a non-yielding asset that benefits from lower interest rates. Investors will be watching the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation indicator, the Personal Consumption Expenditures report (PCE), due on Friday. Meir said that the markets will remain relatively unchanged between now and next Monday. As for gold, we are likely to be in a trading range which is fairly uneventful. Silver fell 3.3%, to $56.54, after reaching a record-high of $58.98. Silver is up 96% in this year due to a structural shortage, market liquidity concerns and inclusion on the U.S. Critical Minerals list. Palladium fell 2.1%, to $1430.38, while platinum dropped 2.2%, to $1634.15. (Reporting from Anmol Choubey and Naveen Thkral in Singapore, with editing by Leroy Leo.)
The mine that funds Congo's rebels and feeds the tech industry
Under the watchful eyes of M23 rebels, in the hills surrounding the Congolese city of Rubaya a line men in rubber boot ferry sacks of crushed stones up winding paths cut in to the slopes.
Coltan, a mineral which powers modern technology, is being hauled by the workers. The ore is loaded onto motorbikes, and then shipped thousands of kilometers to Asia. The ore is then processed into tantalum - a heat resistant metal which fetches over $300 per kilogram. It's in demand by manufacturers of mobile phones and computers as well as aerospace components and gas engines.
Rubaya is responsible for 15% of all the coltan produced in the world. Coltan is mined by hand, and locals earn just a few dollars a day. The control of this mine is at the heart of a long-running war in this nation in central Africa.
M23, the rebel group backed by Rwanda's government, took over the area in April 2024. The heavily-armed M23 rebels, who claim to be fighting for the overthrow of the Kinshasa government and the safety of Congolese Tutsi minorities, have captured more mineral-rich land in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo this year.
M23 and DRC pledged to sign an agreement in Doha, Qatar, at a ceremony this month. The United States mediates parallel talks between Congo, Rwanda and a potential investment of billions in the event that hostilities end.
The United States Treasury sanctioned on Tuesday other alleged participants of minerals smuggling, including PARECO FF, a progovernment Congolese milita that the U.S. claimed controlled the Rubaya mine site from early 2024 to 2022, before M23 took over.
PARECO-FF was not available for comment.
A senior U.S. official was asked at a briefing by the press why Washington targeted PARECO-FF and not M23. He noted that sanctions have been placed on M23 since 2013 because it has fuelled conflict in the area.
John K. Hurley said that the Treasury Department would not hesitate to act against groups who deny the United States or our allies the access to critical minerals essential for our national security.
Jason Stearns is a former U.N. inspector in Congo. He said that the fact that M23 wasn't targeted by the new mining sanctions was surprising.
M23's advances pose the greatest threat to Kinshasa's government in the last two decades. The conflict stems from the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which around one million members of Rwanda's Tutsi group were killed by Hutu-led militias.
The Rwandan government has denied for years that it is involved in the trade of coltan, looted by its neighbor, or that it supports M23. Rwanda's ruling Tutsi majority party shares the same concern as M23 about the alleged threat of rival Hutu groups in eastern Congo. According to a U.N. document reviewed by the Associated Press on July 3, Rwanda had deployed between 1,000 and 1,500 troops into rebel-controlled Congo areas as of April.
M23 controls two important Congolese towns - Goma, and Bukavu on the Rwandan border. U.N. Investigators claim that Congolese minerals, which are often transported illegally to Rwanda through these cities, are mixed with Rwandan coltan before being exported.
M23, the Rwandan government and the Congolese government did not respond to comments. Congolese officials accuse Rwanda of fomenting conflict in order to plunder Congo’s mineral wealth.
A U.N. December report stated that the size of the trade increased after M23 captured Rubaya. U.N. report: The rebels established a parallel government that controlled mining, trade, transportation, and taxation on the minerals produced in Rubaya.
Reporters visited Rubaya, in March of this year. M23 officials told them that the rebels had levied a 15% tax on the coltan the mineral traders purchased from the informal miner's who worked the area. According to a U.N. report from December, M23 collected $800,000 per month from levies on coltan mined in eastern Congo.
MUD AND MOTORBIKES
Rubaya is a beehive of pits that are so vast and complex, it's a huge undertaking to reach them. Journalists who visited the mines in March were forced to abandon their Land Cruisers when they became stuck on a muddy road leading from Goma. The journalists walked for 5 km (3 miles) in order to get to the town, and then they hopped onto motorcycles with rebel officials so that they could reach the mines.
The activity in Rubaya starts before dawn when thousands of miner descend into the pits cut in the rolling hills of Congo’s North Kivu Province, where many work in 12-hour shifts.
Tunnels can reach a depth of up to 15 meters (49 feet). Porters transport the ore fragments to shallow basins filled with water dug by laborers. Other workers, including children and women, then wash and separate the ore from debris and sand before laying it out in the sun to dry.
The journalists were closely supervised by M23 personnel who were unarmed throughout their stay in the mining area. Reporters saw rebel officials jotting in a notebook the number of sacks that each porter, covered in fine white dust, carried to each collection point. Once the ore has dried, it's stacked onto motorbikes and transported to Rubaya where it is sold by traders.
Pascal Mugisha Nsabimana (32), a miner from Congo, was told by a M23 chaperone that it is better to work under rebel occupation than to labor under the supervision and control of the Congolese military or its allies who fled the area when M23 invaded the region last year.
In the past, "there was a lot of harassment, a lot of taxes and we, as diggers, often were not paid." The miner added that even when they did get paid, it was not enough. He said that under M23, his day rate has at least tripled.
According to over a dozen sources, including former and current smugglers as well as miners and businessmen, in the months immediately following the M23 takeover of Rubaya, Congolese troops remained along the border. Smugglers then used motorcycles to sneak ore into Rwanda by using backroads. According to two former smugglers, who transported coltan in this manner until last year, the journey could take a whole day. The two ex-smugglers said that they would load their bikes with three bags of 50 kilograms each time and receive about $34 per trip for delivering the coltan to traders.
Nine of these people stated that M23's changes have been a game changer for efficiency. Motorcycles are not the main means of transportation anymore, and they are only used to transport the coltan to Rubaya from the mine. According to the U.N. report and the people, ore is then loaded into SUVs, pickups, and other vehicles that can haul anywhere between two to twenty tons. It is also faster. Coltan trucks are now able to pass through Goma on paved roads, since M23 has taken control of the border city and driven Congolese forces out. This, according to people, has shortened transport times.
Experts at the United Nations and human rights activists warn that illegal mining profits are used to fund conflict. The trade, they say, has not brought much wealth to the locals and child labor is very common. At least 12 children were seen working in the Rubaya Mine: Boys entered the shafts and hauled out the ore, then carried it to basins where the girls washed and dried the coltan alongside the adults.
Gregory Mthembu Salter, former U.N. expert in Congo, who is now a consultant on conflict minerals said that efforts made by the mining industry and U.N. agencies, as well as non-government organisations, to clean the supply chain of the region and prevent human right abuses, which began around 2010, have failed.
Mthembu Salter, Phuzumoya Consulting's director, said: "The same thing has happened 15 years after."
U.S. INVESTORS LOOK AT RUBAYA RICHES
Some U.S. investors have also targeted Rubaya's riches in coltan as President Donald Trump tries to broker a deal to end conflict and promote the development of the mineral wealth of the region. These riches in Congo include cobalt reserves, gold, diamonds, copper, and lithium. The formal mining sector of the country is currently dominated by Chinese firms.
According to a source with direct knowledge, Texas hedge fund manager Gentry beach, who is the chairman of America First Global, and raised funds for Trump's 2016 election campaign, was part of a group that sought to negotiate the rights to Rubaya Mine. Gentry Beach's interest in Congo coltan was first reported by The Financial Times.
Sources told us that Beach's Group had proposed the Congolese Government to take a majority stake, while Kinshasa retained a 30% share.
Beach expressed his interest in a project but refused to give any additional details.
Some U.S. legislators are pushing back. In a letter sent to Trump and U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio on August 8, more than 50 Democratic members of congress criticized the lack of transparency of the DRC negotiations by the Trump administration. The Democratic congress members also expressed concern about a possible conflict of interest if a Trump ally was angling to obtain rights to develop Rubaya Mine.
Anna Kelly, White House Deputy press secretary, said in an email statement dated 5 August that the agreement Trump arranged between Congo and Rwanda has the potential of leading to lasting peace in the region. The president's vision is a "win-win outcome where all parties benefit--economically and politically--through cooperation and shared prosperity," the statement said. She did not answer a question about the letter sent by congressional Democrats.
The U.S. State Department made no comment. In a statement released on August 1, the State Department stated that it would support efforts made by Rwanda to promote security and economic co-operation. According to the statement which didn't go into detail, heads of state will be invited to Washington soon for a summit.
The U.S.-backed agreement does not include the M23. The rebel group is a part of a parallel, separate mediation that Qatar has led to try and end hostilities. Success in the Doha talks is crucial to a lasting peace and to making Rubaya a safe place for Western mining interests.
Some analysts and diplomats are unsure about the chances of a quick resolution.
Congo and the M23 rebels agreed in Doha that a deal would be reached by August 18th. The U.N. says that the U.S. has a responsibility for the deaths of 319 civilians last month in eastern Congo.
Could not independently confirm these killings. M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa said to the news agency that the group would investigate. He also suggested reports of atrocities were a "smear" campaign against the insurgent.
The U.S.-brokered agreement calls for Rwandan soldiers to withdraw from Congo. Last month, Rwandan President Paul Kagame stated that he wasn't sure if the agreement would stand.
Kagame stated that the Congo must first fulfill its promise to defeat the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, an ethnic Hutu group based in eastern Congo and linked to the Rwandan Genocide. Kigali views the FDLR as an existential danger.
Josaphat Muamba, a Congolese Ph.D. student at Ghent University, Belgium, said that suppressing the militias would be a difficult task for the DRC military, as it is not present in vast swathes M23-controlled land.
Musamba stated that it was difficult to neutralize FDLR while M23 were still in place and the Congolese Army had not been redeployed. He called both peace initiatives "piecemeal efforts" that don't deal with "the realities on the ground."
A senior diplomat, who closely follows the events in Rubaya, stated that another formidable task would be to transform Rubaya's crude system for coltan extraction.
The diplomat stated that "no one speaks about the feasibility of granting these mining concessions or running these concessions. Especially since the entire mine is artisanal" done almost exclusively by hand.
(source: Reuters)