Latest News
-
Trump unveils $700 million coal support program using emergency powers
A White House official said that President Donald Trump is expected to announce Thursday that he would use his Cold War emergency powers to send nearly $700,000,000 to the U.S. coal sector to ship the fuel to Asia, and to power companies in the United States to burn the fuel domestically. The official and industry source confirmed that Trump intends to use the Defense Production Act, a law passed in 1950 that granted presidents broad authority to oversee industries considered critical to national defense, to finance?upgrades to more than a dozen power plants powered by coal, as well as to help finance two coal plants and to support the construction of an export terminal on the West Coast. The White House public schedule shows a 3:00 p.m. ET (1900 GMT), Trump's announcement about "Beautiful, Clean Coal." The Trump administration has framed the energy policy as an issue of national?security to ensure that electricity is available for AI data centers, and to reduce reliance on foreign countries. POLLUTION CONCERNS Environmentalists condemned the plan. Patrick Drupp of the Sierra Club's climate policy department called the plan a taxpayer-funded subvention for a polluting business and said that the group would challenge the initiative in court. Drupp stated that it was "disgusting and reprehensible" for the President of the United States to "give away our taxpayer dollars in order to build deadly and expensive coal-fired plants." Rich Nolan said that the National Mining Association's CEO would use the funds to increase production of a fuel that will help insulate energy consumers from price volatility and support the rising demand for electricity. Nolan stated that "the?administration supports that strategy by taking decisive actions at home to ensure upgrades are made to existing energy assets, and in?our ports to make sure that U.S. Coal can meet the needs of the world." As utilities shift to cheaper natural gas sources and renewable energy sources, coal, which accounted for more than half the electricity generated in the U.S. in 1990, is now responsible for less than one fifth. The official stated that more than half of this funding would be used to upgrade thirteen coal-fired plants. Additional money will also go towards coal facilities in Alaska and Maryland, as well as the West Gateway coal export terminal, which has been long planned in Northern California.
-
Gold prices rise as hopes for a Middle East ceasefire pressure bond and dollar yields
Gold prices rose more than 1% on Thursday, as oil prices fell due to optimism about a possible end to the Iran Conflict. This led to a fall in bond yields and a pressure on the dollar. As of 11:50 am EDT (1550GMT), spot gold was up by 1% to $4,474.07 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery gained 0.8%, to $4$4,501.90. Independent metals trader Tai Wong says that reports of a ceasefire agreement between?Israel? and Lebanon? have pushed the dollar and bond yields up, allowing gold to hold above?the 200-day moving aver?, which is an important indicator. Israel and Lebanon announced late on Wednesday that they had agreed to implement ceasefire. This raised hopes of a deal being reached between Washington and Tehran. Oil prices dropped by more than 3% in response to the news amid hopes of a reopening of 'Strait of Hormuz. Gold's appeal was boosted by the lower yields of U.S. Treasuries including the 10-year bond, as well as a 0.2% decline in the dollar. Wong stated that "record highs in gold prices this year are unlikely to happen unless there is a lasting, clean ceasefire between Iran and the West, which opens Hormuz. This will allow energy prices to fall, and for markets to stop worrying over possible higher rates." Gold, the traditional "safe-haven" asset, reached a record of $5,594.82 an ounce on January 29. Since the start of the Iran conflict, in late February, it has lost about 16%. The high interest rates are a burden on non-yielding gold. Investors will now be focusing on the release of the May U.S. Employment Report. The data may shed light on the health of the labor market, which will help determine the direction the Federal Reserve takes in the future. Silver spot rose by 1.4%, to $73.74 an ounce. Platinum gained 1.7%, to $1890.40. Palladium increased 1.3%, to $1318.75. (Reporting and editing by Paul Simao in Bengaluru, Shalesh Kuber and Anjana Anil)
-
European stocks rise, Wall Street is mixed as Broadcom drags down tech; oil prices dip
Investors weighed the impact of a snag on AI and a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon on oil prices. The S&P 500, Dow and Dow Jones were all higher. However, the Nasdaq was down. Technology shares drove the losses while healthcare stocks led the gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.70 %, the S&P 500 rose 0.25 %, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.17%. Broadcom shares fell more than 14 percent, pulling down semiconductor stocks, after disappointing results from the chipmaker disappointed investors who had bet on a surge in demand for its AI chips. Europe's stock exchanges increased by 0.42%. MSCI's global stock index fell by 0.01%. James St. Aubin is chief investment officer of Ocean Park Asset Management, Santa Monica,?California. "Today's tech action is emblematic of how fragile sentiment can be for a group that experiences massive gains in a short period of time." Brent crude prices fell?3% to return below $95 per barrel. The U.S. president Donald Trump's attempts to stop the fighting in Lebanon were undermined after the pro-Iran Hezbollah group?rejected a new ceasefire, and Israel announced that it would not be withdrawing troops from the country.
-
Boston Fed paper: Fed should focus on inflation risks amid energy crisis
New research by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston suggests that a change in the way Americans use energy could allow the Federal Reserve to concentrate monetary policy decisions on the inflationary effects of the Middle East oil price shock. In a report published on Thursday, economists at a bank said that U.S. exposure to global economic growth has changed "fundamentally", since the 1970s. This is due to increased energy efficiency and domestic production. These changes mean an increase in oil prices has less of an impact than it did before. In the meantime, the increased production of domestic energy means that higher prices are able to spur employment, and offset the job losses in the sector that would have occurred in the past. The job market is less affected by the energy crisis, which would normally lead to a large number of job losses. This would also reduce the impact on inflation. The economists concluded that "the U.S.'s economy's vulnerability to shocks from oil has fundamentally changed. It has not been eliminated, but rather reconfigured." These findings suggest that monetary policies should be more focused on the inflationary effects of oil shocks, rather than the employment effects. The paper stated that although the current shock was notable, it had a smaller economic impact than either the 1973-1974 OPEC Oil Embargo or the 1978-1980 Iranian Revolution. The authors said that "the diminished aggregate employment impacts of oil shocks decrease the likelihood of'stagflation style tradeoffs between unemployment and inflation which characterized the 1970s." The Boston Fed paper came out as Fed officials struggled to decide the future of monetary policy. The Fed will meet on 16-17 June in a meeting where policymakers are almost certain to maintain their 'interest rate target range' between 3.50% - 3.75%. Officials are trying determine if the increase in inflation pressures caused by the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran will have to be tempered with a tighter monetary policies. Officials are largely in favor of keeping rates steady, while they wait to see what the long-term impact of the war will be on price pressures. The longer war continues, the more likely it is that inflation will continue to be high. It has been consistently above the Fed's 2% target over the years. Fed officials are speculating that interest rates may need to be raised later this year, if inflation doesn't start to ease. Boston Fed research indicates that such a path would not likely lead to significant job market problems. (Reporting and editing by Andrea Ricci; Reporting by Michael S. Derby)
-
Helion, a nuclear startup, has raised $15.5 billion in its latest funding round
Helion, a nuclear fusion energy firm, announced on Thursday that it had raised $465'million in its most recent funding round. The investment was led by Thrive Capital. The round nearly triples Helion’s valuation from its last Series F round of funding in January 2025 when it raised $425m at a valuation $5.4bn. The financing highlights the increasing demand for electricity in massive data centers that are dedicated to artificial-intelligence operations. Helion now has a total funding of $1.5 billion. The company stated that proceeds from this latest round would be used to?accelerate commercial deployment, increase manufacturing capacity and support the delivery of clean electricity to customers. Helion is a company backed by OpenAI founders Sam Altman & Greg Brockman. They are among the many?public and private firms working on fusion's main challenge: generating more energy from a?reaction that is needed to initiate and contain it. Alta Park Capital and Ford Motor CEO Bill Ford were among the investors in the latest Series G round of funding. Lightspeed Venture Partners and Mithril Capital, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 as well as Good Ventures Foundation, all existing backers, also participated in the funding. The funding was announced after Helion's Polaris test machine reportedly used fusion fuel, and reached temperatures of?above?150 million degrees Celsius. The company has signed agreements in 2023 with Microsoft for the supply of electricity by 2028 and Nucor to build a 500MW Fusion Power Plant. OpenAI's Sam Altman left Helion's Board earlier this year as the two companies began to explore collaborating "at significant scale". Helion was founded in 2013 by David Kirtley, John Slough Chris Pihl and George Votroubek. Orion, its first power plant is currently under construction in Malaga (Washington). (Reporting and editing by Ditta Pujara in Bengaluru, Pranav Mathur from Bengaluru)
-
After Ukrainian strikes, Russian-held Crimea tightens up fuel restrictions
Russian-controlled Crimea tightened rationing on?fuel supplies Thursday. It suspended all cash sales of gasoline, and issued a 'new coupon' to buy it. The peninsula is grappling with a shortage of fuel linked to Ukrainian drone attacks. In recent days, drivers in the Crimea region, which was annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, faced long queues at gas stations after Kyiv's attacks restricted supplies from adjacent Russian-controlled territory in southeast Ukraine. Sergei Aksyonov - the Kremlin's appointed head of Crimea - announced the new measures, which tighten restrictions on petrol sales imposed a month ago. He said that the sale of gasoline in cash would be suspended for several days. No new coupons will be issued either. The maximum amount of fuel that can be purchased with coupons is 20 litres. He blamed the rationing on "difficult conditions" without giving further details. Ukraine has been attacking fuel infrastructure near Crimea and elsewhere for a number of months, in an attempt to limit Moscow's financial ability to fund its four-year-old?war against Ukraine during a period of high global oil prices. Local Russian authorities said that Ukrainian drones attacked the Black Sea peninsula on Thursday, killing 4 people and damaging buildings. This was a day after Moscow & Kyiv exchanged strikes in each other's cities.
-
Gold prices rise as hopes for a Middle East ceasefire pressure bond and dollar yields
Gold prices rose more than 1% on Thursday, as oil prices fell due to optimism about a possible end to the Iran Conflict. This led to a fall in bond yields and pressured the dollar. As of 9:05 am EDT (1305 GMT), spot gold was up by 1.7% to $4,505.35 an ounce. U.S. Gold futures for August delivered gained 1.5%, to $4,532.80. The dollar and bond yields have been pushed up by reports of a?deal for a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, according to independent metals trader Tai Wong. This has helped gold hold just above the 200-day moving averge. Israel and Lebanon announced late on Wednesday that they had agreed to implement ceasefire. This raised hopes for a possible deal between Washington?and Tehran. The news prompted oil prices to drop by more than 3% amid hopes of a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Dollars fell by 0.3% making greenback bullion cheaper for holders of other currencies. Lower yields on U.S. Treasuries including the 10-year bond also boosted gold's appeal. Wong stated that "record highs in gold for this year are unlikely until we have a lasting, clean ceasefire with Iran, which opens Hormuz and allows energy prices to fall, as well as markets not worrying about possible higher rates." Gold, the traditional safe-haven, reached a record of $5,594.82 an ounce on January 29. Since the start of the Iran conflict, in late February, it has fallen by 16%. Interest rates are high and this weighs on bullion that does not yield. Investors will now be focusing their attention on the U.S. Employment Report for May, which is due to be released this Friday. The data may shed a little?light on?the health of the?labor market, which can help to?guide Federal Reserve's future policy. Spot silver increased 3.1% to $74.96 an ounce. Platinum gained 1.9%, reaching $1,895.29. Palladium rose 1.6%, to $1.322.01. (Reporting by Anjana Anil in Bengaluru; Editing by Paul Simao)
-
Mozambique tightens its grip on mining by imposing a 15% stake for the state and local processing
Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo?signed a law requiring 15% state ownership in?all mining and processing ventures, tightening its control over resources at a time when demand for battery materials is growing. Mozambique ranks third in the world for graphite production, which is used to make batteries and energy storage systems. According to a government notice from June 3, the mining law approved by Parliament in may aims to improve Mozambique’s “management of strategic resource in defence of national interest”. The new law, which was seen on Thursday, states that the state will have a minimum participation of 15 percent, "free and non-dilutable", in all mining projects. The 'new rules' did not apply immediately to existing mines that are covered by long-term contracts. The Mines Ministry was not available for immediate comment. Mozambique joins a growing list of African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the continent's top producer of lithium, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the world's largest producer of?cobalt and a major copper supplier to the global market, who are tightening their control over raw commodity exports in order to gain greater economic benefits from their resources. Syrah's Balama operations in the north of the nation, Mozambique, has a graphite deposit that is one of the largest in the world. According to the U.S. Geological Survey China and Madagascar are two of the world's top graphite producers. Rio Tinto and Brazil's Vale owned significant coal assets in Mozambique, including the?world's biggest ruby mine?, Montepuez. The new regulations prohibit the export of semi-processed or unprocessed minerals, unless they are covered by an approved plan to process them locally, and are covered by specific ministerial authorization. Reporting by Custodio Cosse and Manuel Mucari; Writing by Nelson Banya, Editing by Elaine Hardcastle
Fears of sanctions stymie Russian panda bond sales in China
Sources said that Russian companies' plans for low-cost financing through China's massive bond market are not working because Chinese investors and banks avoid them due to concerns over Western sanctions.
The conundrum shows how difficult it is for Russian companies to raise capital in a country which has been an ally since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine over three years ago.
Beijing, which is seeking a deal with Washington while also forging a partnership with Russia - a relationship that is said to have no limits - is being put to the test.
Last month, sources at top Russian companies including the state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom, and the giant gas concern Gazprom reported that they were exploring the sale of "panda bonds" denominated in yuan.
The announcement came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China in early September. Since the Ukraine invasion, Russian companies are no longer able to access the capital markets of the West.
Chinese investors and bankers, however, dismissed the prospect of a panda bond issue by Russian companies in the near future. A person with knowledge of the situation said that banks and regulators were concerned about secondary sanctions.
The person said, "Preparation is always underway, but it's just impossible to push the project ahead," citing the lack of progress in the panda bonds issuance by Rosatom and Russian aluminum producer Rusal over the last year.
Rusal declined comment. Rosatom declined to comment, despite the fact that its top management was sanctioned by the U.S.
Gazprom did not reply to a comment request. The company cannot raise finance in the U.S., Europe, or Canada, but it has not been subjected to U.S. blockade sanctions, known as SDN List.
The official of a Chinese securities exchange said that he did not know of any concrete plans for issuance by Russian companies. Several Chinese bond investors also said they were wary about buying such debt because of the geopolitical risk.
The five sources that were interviewed for this article declined to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the subject.
First source: China's state owned brokerages, such as Galaxy Securities, have stopped doing deals with Russia after 2022. The "Big Four" banks of the state are also unwilling to do such deals due to geopolitical issues.
Galaxy has not responded to a request for comment sent via email.
Zhan Kai of Yuanda China Law Offices in Shanghai said that there was no legal barrier to Russian companies issuing panda bond as long as they were not listed on the U.S. sanction list.
Zhan, a Chinese company advisor who helps Chinese firms avoid sanctions and manage risks, said: "It is clear that local traders and bankers are concerned about acting as underwriters and buyers."
He said that the market will ultimately determine whether or not a Russian bond is sold. "I don't anticipate a lot appetite in China" to buy Russian bonds, he added.
Requests for comments were not responded to by the China Securities Regulatory Commission or the People's Bank of China.
YUAN BORROWINGS ARE CHEAPER
S&P Global reported that 35 offshore companies raised 116 billion Yuan ($16.3 billion), after raising 194.8 billion yuan last year. This was the highest volume since the data began to be available in 2015.
Since the conflict in Ukraine 2022, no Russian companies have issued debt on China's panda bond markets of 342 billion yuan. Rusal was the only Russian company to sell panda bond in China before Russia's troops invaded Ukraine in 2016.
The Chinese rating agency CSCI Pengyuan assigned to Gazprom a "triple A" rating in early September, indicating a very low default risk and paving its way for its yuan bonds issuance.
According to a Moscow fund manager who declined his name, the Russian rouble's borrowing rates are high. They range from 15%-16% per year. So issuing Yuan bonds would be a good way to obtain cheap capital.
Comparatively, in July a Chinese BMW unit sold a panda-bond with a coupon of 1.73%.
According to a Russian official, there's nothing stopping Russian companies issuing panda bonds as long as demand exists.
"Large corporations work with their own placements." "We only assist them with infrastructure and solutions," said the official. He added that the question is now who will purchase them in China where banks fear secondary sanctions.
A manager at a Chinese state owned company, who declined to give his name, revealed that some Russian companies are desperate to find low-cost financing and are willing to restructure their loans through a commodities deal.
Kirill Lysenko of the Russian rating agency Expert RA said that issuing panda bond by Russian companies could take many years.
Geopolitical risks exist even within the framework of a "friendly nation". He said that if sanctions were to impact China's financial infrastructure, debt servicing would become more complicated. $1 = 7.1979 Chinese Yuan Renminbi (Reporting from Shanghai and Hong Kong Newsrooms, Anastasia Lyrchikova in Moscow, Oksana Kobieva in Singapore and Rae Wee at Rae Wee; Editing done by Sumeet Chatterjee & Muralikumar Aantharaman).
(source: Reuters)