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German union targets breakthrough at Tesla Berlin
Germany's leading industrial union is 'fighting for more power' at Tesla's gigafactory near 'Berlin', where staff will vote for a new work council following a campaign that was marked by mudslinging and court challenges. The voting began at Tesla's Gruenheide factory, the only European production facility of the U.S. electric vehicle maker. Results are expected on Wednesday. The current council is dominated largely by non-unionists. The IG-Metall union has 116 candidates running to gain a simple majority of 19 seats. The union won 16 seats in the previous election, two years ago, when the council held 39 seats. IG Metall has accused management of inciting anti-union sentiment. Andre Thierig, the plant director, has countered by saying that the union's focus is solely on boosting IG Metall members. "We are extremely satisfied with our campaign." Laura Arndt, IG Metall’s leading candidate, said that she was running with a "great team" and that her issues were "clearly hitting a chord" with colleagues. The German labour relations system is based on works councils that are elected by the employees. They represent workers in discussions with management. IG Metall is the dominant union at all German automakers, including Volkswagen, BMW, and?Mercedes, but it remains the underdog in Tesla, whose CEO Elon?Musk has been outspoken about his dislike of unions. Tensions reached a peak in February 'when Tesla accused a IG Metall trade unionist of secretly'recording a Works Council meeting and filed a criminal case. IG Metall dismissed this allegation, calling it a "calculated falsehood". (Reporting and editing by Rachel More & Christina Amann. Mark Potter edited the article.
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Bloomberg News reports that Chinese lenders are reducing their exposure to the Middle East.
Bloomberg News reported that many Chinese 'financial companies are reducing their exposure to Middle Eastern debt due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East. The report stated that a major bank had taken the unusual step of limiting the drawdown on a bi-lateral loan to one?of Abu Dhabi's financial entities. It did not name the bank. According to the report, another mid-sized lender wants to sell down portions of syndicated loan to Middle Eastern borrowers. This includes sovereign wealth fund ADQ’s $4?billion facility that was agreed upon last year. Bloomberg reported that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has asked two local banks, to review their exposures to Middle Eastern bonds and loans. The Bloomberg 'News' report stated that China's National Financial Regulatory Administration had asked domestic lenders to review their financing activities, including any debts extended to state-owned entities. They were instructed to report a report on?their findings this week. Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and China's National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) did not?immediately respond to a request for a?comment. Bloomberg reported that the asset management arm of a Chinese insurer is also reducing its holdings in sovereign bonds and state-linked securities from the region, which include bonds issued by Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco. Could not verify immediately the report.
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Why is Asia so dependent on Middle Eastern oil sources?
Asia is heavily dependent on Middle East oil and gas, with 60% of its crude coming from this region. This makes it vulnerable to a prolonged shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz as a result of the Iran War. How much Middle East oil does Asia import? The Middle East is the largest oil producing and exporting region in the world, shipping?one out of four barrels of crude oil daily, most of which are exported through the Strait of Hormuz. According to shipping analytics firm Kpler, Asia will import 14.74 million barrels of Middle Eastern crude per day in 2025. This is nearly 60% of 25 million barrels of total purchases in the region. Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates are the top three suppliers of goods to Asia. Japan and South Korea, among?major purchasers, are most dependent on Middle Eastern crude. They import 95% and 70% of their oil, respectively. Singapore, Asia's main oil hub, increased last year its dependency on Middle Eastern oil to over 70%, up from around 50% in 2024. This was after Exxon Mobil finished a refinery extension that required more heavy oil from this region. Kpler data shows that China is the world's largest crude importer. It sources around half of its seaborne imports, or 5.4 millions bpd, from the Middle East. China, who also purchases?oil in countries such as Iran, Russia, and?Canada, and produces over 4 million bpd itself, is well known on the market for not relying more than 20% on one country. Middle Eastern oil shipments usually take between 30 and 40 days to arrive in North Asia, while the journeys to India are less than one week. Why is Asia so dependent on Middle East Oil? Asia is the fastest-growing region of the world in terms?of oil demand. It is also a net importer as the production in Asia-Pacific is declining due to old fields and few new discoveries. In order to achieve a higher profit margin, most Asian refineries have desulphurisation units that process the?high-sulphur crude oil from the Middle East. This is because it's typically cheaper than lower-sulphur grades. Middle Eastern crude oil also contains a large amount of fuel oil that can be refined into fuels with higher quality, like gasoline and diesel. Fuel oil is used in bunker fuel at the top refuelling ports of Singapore and Zhoushan, eastern China. Saudi Arabia has seen its market share in Asia grow as the state-owned energy company Saudi Aramco purchased stakes regional refineries, to ensure outlets for their crude. Why do Asian refiners have 'limited alternatives? The volume of crude oil that Asian refiners can handle is limited. This is because the different grades have an impact on their refined product output and fuel blending requirements. Most Asian refiners also lock up more than half of their crude oil requirements into long-term contracts in order to guarantee stable supply.
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Bloomberg News reports that Chinese lenders are reducing their exposure to the Middle East.
Bloomberg News reported that many Chinese financial firms have reduced their exposure to Middle Eastern debt as a growing conflict intensifies scrutiny over 'the Asian country’s extensive lending in the'region. The report said that a major bank had taken the unusual step of limiting the drawdown of a bilateral credit to one of Abu Dhabi's financial institutions, but did not name the bank. According to the report, another mid-sized lender aims to reduce portions of syndicated loan facilities to Middle Eastern borrowers. This includes sovereign wealth fund ADQ’s $4 billion facility that was agreed last year. Bloomberg reported that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority had asked two local banks, to review their exposures to Middle Eastern bonds and loans. Bloomberg News reported that China's?"National Financial Regulatory Administration" has asked domestic banks to review their financing activities, including any debt extended to government entities. They were instructed to report their findings by this week. Bloomberg reported that a Chinese insurer's asset?management?arm has also reduced its holdings in sovereign and state-linked bonds?from the region. This includes bonds?issued by Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco. Could not verify immediately the report.
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Investors weigh Middle East conflict as they increase European shares
Investors paused on Wednesday to re-energize themselves after a global stock market crash that sent the benchmark index plummeting more than a month ago amid fears of a prolonged and widened conflict in the Middle East. By 0810 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.6% to?607.62. Since Friday's record high, the index has lost nearly 5%. The travel and luxury stocks that were at the forefront of this sell-off were each up by more than 1%. The index was boosted by the technology and healthcare sectors. Vistry fell 22% after the UK homebuilder announced that Greg Fitzgerald, its CEO and chair, would be stepping down. The roles will then be separated upon his retirement. Israeli and U.S. Forces have been attacking targets in Iran since Saturday. This has prompted retaliatory attacks from?Tehran against U.S. Allies across the Gulf Region, including oil refineries and U.S. embassies. Brent Crude prices rose by nearly 2% despite a decline from their peaks following the?U.S. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, ordered an insurance guarantee to cover Gulf shipping. The Navy could accompany oil tankers along the 'Strait of Hormuz. The oil sector fell for a second session in a row, falling 0.6%. Adidas, among?others stocks, fell?6% after the results of the sports giant. The euro zone PMI is expected later today. Reporting by Avinash in Bengaluru, editing by Rashmi Aich
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Sources say that Japan and the US are looking to add nuclear energy project to their $550 billion investment package.
Two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday that Japan and the United States were working together to include a nuclear power plant in the second round of deals as part of Japan's $550 billion?investment package? Sources say that the nuclear power project will include Westinghouse. It is intended to strengthen the energy supply chains of both countries, as the war in the Middle East has renewed concerns over energy security. There are several deals that have been discussed and could be announced by the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takayichi when she meets with?U.S. Sources who refused to be named said that President Donald Trump will visit Washington, DC on March 19. The matter is 'private. Tokyo is scrambling for deals to fulfill its investment commitments made in a U.S. Tariff Agreement. It has announced three projects worth $36 billion including a natural-gas power plant in Ohio. Sources said that a project to build a copper smelting facility and refinery is also under consideration. Ryosei?Akazawa, Japan's trade?minister, plans to travel to the United States to further the discussions. Two sources said that Howard Lutnick is scheduled to visit the U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday. In a joint factsheet the two governments released in October, Westinghouse was listed as one of around 20 companies that expressed an interest in Tokyo-financed projects. According to a fact sheet, the U.S. firm, owned by Cameco, Brookfield, and Brookfield, is planning to build small modular reactors and pressurized water?reactors worth up to $100 billion. It said that Japanese companies such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Toshiba could potentially be involved. The U.S. government signed a deal worth $80 billion last year with Westinghouse for the construction of?nuclear power reactors. This was part of Trump's agenda to increase the domestic energy production as demand increases due to the expansion in artificial intelligence data centres. Falcon Copper is also considering building a $2? The fact sheet also stated that Falcon Copper was considering building a $2? A Japanese official from the industry ministry stated that the government was unsure of the outcome of the negotiations. Mitsubishi Heavy stated that 'nothing has been decided and it will assess the equipment supplied on a case by case basis. Toshiba refused to comment. IHI stated that it would examine details if any concrete talks were to emerge. Westinghouse or Falcon Copper were not available for comment after their normal business hours. (Reporting and editing by Kate Mayberry; Additional reporting and reporting by Jekaterina Glubkova, Nobuhiro KUBO and Jekaterina Kihara)
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Traders say that India's MRPL has declared force majeure for gasoline export cargoes in March and April.
Two traders said that India's Mangalore Refinery has declared force majeure for all gasoline exports due to the Middle East conflict, which has disrupted crude oil flows from the Gulf. Two traders who said they had received a notification from the company said that MRPL had invoked force majeure. This is a legal term that allows a business to invoke circumstances beyond their control in order to?not fulfill a contract' for its gasoline sales for March and April. The state-run ?refiner, which operates a 500,000-barrel-per-day refinery in the southern state of Karnataka, exports about ?40% of its refined fuel output. After U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which transports?around a quarter of the oil consumed worldwide, virtually ceased?after vessels were attacked by Iranians in the area, leaving the energy trade in chaos. MRPL didn't immediately respond to an email request for a statement. Unidentified source within the company confirmed that the "force majeure" had occurred. Indian refiners purchase about 40% of the crude oil they need from the Middle East. They also source from spot markets, and process domestic oil. A government source revealed on Tuesday that India is looking for alternative sources to import crude oil, LPG and LNG. MRPL?said that it was exploring the purchase of Venezuelan oil in January after the refiner halted its imports of Russian crude oil to comply with Western sanction. India has enough crude oil to meet the demand for 25 days. The government source said that refiners also hold enough gasoil and gasoline to last 25 days.
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Aluminum prices rise on fears of supply as the Iran conflict escalates
Aluminum prices continued to rise on Wednesday, as supply concerns grew after Norsk Hydro of Norway announced a controlled shut-down?in their aluminium joint venture in Qatar in the face of a growing war in the Middle East. Around 8% of global aluminum capacity is accounted for by the region. As the conflict spreads into neighbouring countries and Iran threatens to target ships trying to transit the Strait, supply concerns are becoming more real. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most active aluminium contract closed the daytime trade 2.31% higher, at 24,795 Yuan ($3,585.11) per metric ton. As of 0700 GMT, the benchmark?aluminum for three months on the London Metal Exchange increased by 1.60% to $2,303 per ton. Norsk Hydro announced the Qatalum shut down on Tuesday, after its gas provider warned of an imminent supply halt. The?company announced that it has issued a notice of force majeure to its customers, as the curtailment is continuing. In a recent note, commodities strategist Ewa Manthey at ING said that the disruption had "hit a market?that?was already tight". "Prior the conflict, we had a 600kt deficit in our aluminium balance for 2026." China's cap on capacity, trade disruptions, and the impending shutdown of Mozal all contributed to the supply constraint, Manthey stated. He also added that the LME inventory drop, premium increases, and tightening between the LME Cash Contract and benchmark three-month contract were other factors. Even before the war, there was a shortage of supplies. Aluminium's gains were capped by a stronger dollar. The most active copper contract in Shanghai fell 0.73% to 101,660 yuan per ton. Meanwhile, the benchmark copper rose 0.58% to $13,030 per ton. Citi analysts warned that continued disruptions would continue to put pressure on macroeconomics and reduce demand for metals. The Federal Reserve also said that softer growth forecasts and declining expectations of interest rate cuts have contributed to the downward pressure on prices. On the SHFE, tin fell?5.17%, and nickel edged up 0.12%. $1 = 6.9161 Chinese yuan renminbi $1 = 6.9161 Chinese Yuan Renminbi (Reporting and editing by Lewis Jackson, Dylan Duan and Sonia Cheema).
Iron ore range bound ahead of the annual parliamentary meeting
Investors and traders were cautious on Wednesday as they awaited the annual parliamentary meeting of the world's second-largest country, which will begin March 5.
The daytime trading of the most traded iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange closed up 0.4% to 752 yuan (US$108.73) per metric ton.
As of 0700 GMT, the benchmark April iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange was down?0.26% to $98.75 per ton.
Investors closely monitored?cues of China's macroeconomic and industrial policy trend in order to gauge?demand for steel and its components.
Analysts expect Premier Li Qiang to announce, in his report, on the first day of this gathering (March 5) a?growth target?of 4.5-5% and to pledge to boost consumption as well as investment in high-tech industry.
Beijing will also unveil its 15th five year plan, which outlines strategic goals and policies for the years 2026-2030.
An official survey released on Wednesday showed that China's factory activity declined for the second consecutive time in February.
Coking coal and coke, two other steelmaking ingredients, also moved in the same direction.
The Shanghai Futures Exchange had mixed steel benchmarks. Rebar grew by 0.13%; hot-rolled coils were flat; wire rods dipped by 0.63%; and stainless steel slipped?0.04%.
Analysts and traders have said that some Chinese steel exporters stopped making offers to Middle?East customers as the U.S.-Israeli conflict?with Iran chokes?shipping?throughthe Straits of Hormuz. $1 = 6.9161 Chinese Yuan (Reporting and editing by Amy Lv, Lewis Jackson and Ronojoy Zaumdar).
(source: Reuters)