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Two dead and one injured after a shooting at South Carolina State University
In a school statement, officials reported that two people were killed, and another was injured, in a shooting at the?dormitory for South Carolina State University, an historically Black college. The campus was put on lockdown. According to a statement posted on Facebook, the shooting occurred at around 9:15 pm local time, in an apartment of?the Hugine suites student housing complex. There were few additional details immediately available. This included whether the perpetrators of the shooting are still at large. The statement stated that "University officials had not yet confirmed the identities of the victims or the condition of the injured person." South Carolina State is one of the two historically Black colleges in Orangeburg, South Carolina, which is a riverside college town located about 40 miles south of the capital of South Carolina, Columbia. Claflin University is the other historically Black university in Orangeburg, South Carolina. On Thursday night, a person who answered the phone for the University Public Safety Office said they weren't at liberty to give any information regarding the incident. The university stated that it had asked the State Law Enforcement Division to investigate the shooting and cancelled Friday classes. Reporting by Steve Gorman, Los Angeles; editing by Stephen Coates
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JSW employees vote in favor of the agreement regarding benefits suspension
JSW announced?on Friday? that employees of the Polish state-controlled coal mining company JSW had backed an agreement between trade unions &?the firm to suspend certain worker benefits as a part 'of a restructuring plan. The agreement would suspend some annual bonuses in 2025 and 2026 as part of JSW’s efforts to secure up to $815.75 million in funding by the end of March. JSW stated in a?statement that more than 97% voted in favor of the agreement in a referendum. It called the decision "fundamental", for the future of the company and to protect jobs. The management of the company has also asked for a pay cut. Meanwhile, the state assets ministry is seeking a vote from shareholders to reduce the salary of the supervisory council. The European Union’s largest coking coal producer has been facing pressure due to a weak demand, cheaper imports, and high?operational expenses. State-controlled company has already cut investments and spent nearly its entire rainy fund. Its amount had shrunk to 100 million zlotys by October from 5 billion zlotys a year ago. The company lost 2.9 billion zlotys during the first three-quarters of last year. JSW's cost-cutting plan includes selling non-core assets, merging mines and selling non-core assets to improve efficiency. The negotiations over the agreement lasted months and were complicated by a fragmented employee representation structure, which includes 80 unions.
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India's palm oils imports surged 51% to a four-month high in January
India's palm-oil imports increased by 51% from a year earlier in January, reaching their highest level in four months. A?wider discount on rival?soyoil? encouraged refiners and oil companies to increase purchases of tropical oil. India's increased palm oil imports, as the world's biggest buyer of vegetable oil, could reduce inventories among top producers Indonesia and Malaysia. The Solvent Extractors Association?of India (SEA), which announced the figures on Friday, said that India imported 766.384 metric tonne of palm oil in September, the highest amount since September 2025. The industry trade group reported that imports of sunflower oil fell by 23.8% and soyoil imports dropped more than 44 percent to 278,888 tonnes, the lowest level since June 2024. The data revealed that India's total imports of edible oils in January were down 3.7% compared to a month ago, to 1,31 million tons. This was due to fewer imports of sunflower and soyoil. The SEA reported that the Vegetable Oil stocks in India dropped to 1.75 millions tons as of February 1 from 2.18 million tonnes a year ago, mainly due to lower imports over recent months. A Mumbai-based trader with a global trading house said that palm oil was currently selling at a discount over $100 per ton compared to soyoil. This made it "a much more appealing option for Indian refiners." He said that palm oil imports will exceed 800,000 tonnes in February as Indian buyers switch from costly sunflower oil to more affordable palm oil. India imports soyoil, sunflower oil, and palm oil, mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia. It also imports oil from Argentina and Brazil.
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Trump is planning to reduce tariffs on some steel and aluminum goods, reports FT
The Financial Times reported that Donald Trump intends to?reduce some tariffs on?goods made of steel and aluminum, citing a number of people who are familiar with the issue. The?Commerce Department officials and the?U.S. The FT reported that the trade representative's office believes the tariffs hurt consumers by increasing prices of goods such as pie tins, food-and drink cans, and beverage bottles. Cost-of-living and consumer prices are major concerns for voters nationwide as they head into the midterm elections in November. Recent /Ipsos survey showed that 30% of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of rising costs of living. 59% disapproved, including 9 in 10 Democrats and 1 in 5 Republicans. Trump has used levies to negotiate with trading partners and hit steel and aluminium imports up to 50% in tariffs last year. The FT reported that the Trump administration has begun reviewing a list containing products subject to the tariffs. It plans to exempt certain items, stop the expansion of these lists, and launch targeted national security investigations into specific 'goods. White House and Commerce Department didn't immediately respond to requests outside regular business hours for comment. Trump has recently bragged about his economic record in Detroit. He is trying to refocus the attention on U.S. Manufacturing and his efforts to reduce high consumer costs. The White House wants to demonstrate that it is taking steps to address the 'economic anxiety' gripping U.S. householders. Last year, the U.S. Commerce Department raised steel and aluminum tariffs for a total of 400 products, including wind turbines, mobiles cranes, appliances and heavy equipment. Also included were motorcycles, marine engines and furniture, as well as railcars. Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru, Editing by Jamie Freed and Muralikumar Anantharaman; Thomas Derpinghaus.
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Asian shares fall from record highs as bonds and tech-jitters rally
Asian shares fell from record highs Friday, as investors rushed to safe-haven bonds in anticipation of U.S. inflation data. Wall Street's technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell?2%? after Cisco Systems reported a quarterly adjusted gross margin that was below expectations due to the rising costs of memory chip. This drove Cisco's shares down by 12%, wiping out $40 billion from its market capitalization. The selling spilled into the tech giants, like Apple. Apple fell 5% on a daily basis in April of last year after President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day tariffs" spooked the markets. Transport companies were also affected by the fear of AI disruption. Chris Weston is the head of research for Pepperstone. He said that "the prevailing tone" in markets was a rotation towards more defensive areas and companies with more predictable, steady and less cyclical earnings. Investors are attempting to price an uncertain future with structural disruption. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan dropped 1.1% on Friday, reducing this week's gains to 3.7%. Japan's Nikkei fell 1.3% but still gained almost 5% this week. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 2.1%, while the blue chip index in China dropped 0.9%. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures both fell by 0.2% while the EURO STOXX futures rose 0.1%. Financial Times reported on Friday that Trump plans to'scale back tariffs on some steel and aluminum goods, citing sources familiar with the issue. TRADERS AWAIT OUR INFLATION TEST Overnight, the yield on the 10-year benchmark note fell 7 basis points, the biggest drop since October 10th. Early Friday, it was unchanged at 4.1134%. The 30-year bond auction was very successful, and this helped to drive down the longer-term rates. Overnight, 30-year yields fell 8.5 basis points to 4.728%. This is the lowest level since December 3. Fed funds futures rallied as well to reverse the majority of the losses that were caused by the payroll data, which led the markets to reduce the likelihood of a June rate cut. The odds of a rate cut in June are now priced at 70%. A total easing this year is expected to be?60 basis point. The U.S. data on inflation will receive a lot of attention. Forecasts are based on a 0.3% monthly increase in the core measure. This would be sufficient to slow the annual rate to 2.5%, from the previous 2.7%. Jose Torres is a senior economist with Interactive Brokers. He said that even a result in line would represent a significant deceleration compared to December. This could bolster the animal spirits of traders and bring energy back into cyclical trading. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar have taken a step down on the currency markets. The Aussie fell 0.2%, to $0.7071 after losing 0.5% overnight. Meanwhile, the Kiwi eased by 0.1%, at $0.6029. Gold and silver are trying to recover after heavy losses. Gold rose by 1.3% to $4.984 per ounce after losing more than 3% overnight. Silver climbed 2.5% to $75. an ounce. After a steep 3% drop overnight, oil prices continued to decline. AP reported on the transfer of a U.S. Aircraft carrier from the Caribbean into the Middle East, as tensions between the United States and Iran continue to escalate. Brent crude futures dropped 0.2% to $77.37 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.3% to $62.66 a barrel.
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MORNING BID EUROPE - No longer the Apple in their eye
Stella Qiu gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The tech selloff is back with a vengeance. Cisco was the cause of this latest slump, as its margins were squeezed due to the rising?costs for memory chips. This frightened investors who had been expecting booming profits. AI is causing a lot of concern about the future of jobs. Overnight, trucking and logistics companies suffered a sharp drop in stock prices. This was not long after the software sector plummeted as Anthropic released Claude Cowork to fuel job concerns. Apple was not spared. Apple, the iPhone maker, lost 5% of its market value and astonished investors with a $200 billion drop. It was their worst day since President Donald Trump’s "Liberation Day" tariffs in April last year. Retail investors could take advantage of this dip, as stocks are still near record highs. Maybe the machines are really coming after us. Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman said to the FT that he expected most white-collar 'tasks' to be fully automated. Most Asian markets are in the red. MSCI's regional market index is down 0.8% but still has a 3.9% gain for the week. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.9% but still gained 5.3% in the past week. In the midst of risk-off, defensive stocks were able to find buyers. Treasuries also benefited from bids for safe-haven assets. Gold and silver tried to recover after heavy losses, while oil was heading for a second consecutive week of losses. The U.S. data on inflation is due later today. Forecasts call for a 0.3% monthly increase in the core measure of the January data. This is enough to slow the annual rate to 2.5%, from the previous?2.7%. Wall Street may need a number that is even higher or better to recover and reach new highs. However, a hot report could cause traders to abandon bets on a June rate cut, sending yields skyrocketing. The following are key developments that may influence the markets on Friday. CPI data in the U.S. for January -- Euro Zone GDP flash estimate for Q4
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Iron ore prices fall as traders reduce their positions before the China holiday
Iron ore futures fell on Friday, as traders 'closed out their positions before a Lunar New Year holiday that will last a full week in China. During this time demand is expected to drop significantly. As of 0322 GMT, the most-traded?iron ore May contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was down 1.5% at 752.5 Yuan ($108.97). This week, the contract has fallen by 1.63%. The benchmark March ore traded on the Singapore Exchange fell 1.24% to $98.35 per ton. This week, the contract has lost 0.7%. If the current momentum continues, it is on course for a fifth weekly?decline. Data compiled by LSEG shows that the trading volume for Dalian Iron Ore has increased. This is likely because traders are closing out positions before the Chinese New Year weeklong holiday, from February 16-23. The number of shipments from Australia has declined since?tropical Cyclone Mitchell formed last week off the coast in the resource-rich Pilbara area. Atilla Winnel, Navigate Commodities' managing director, says that hot metal production has been declining at 229 thermally monitored furnaces as operators continue to idle or warm bank their furnaces in preparation for the holiday. The demand for feedstock will?decrease significantly during the holiday. During this time, most steel mills are shutting down or performing planned maintenance. News:?Brazil’s trade body decided to impose antidumping measures on coated flat?steel? and cold-rolled flat steel? from China. Brazilian miner Vale reported a net loss in the fourth quarter of $3.8 billion. Vale's?iron ore costs decreased by 2% year-on year, making it?the company's second consecutive year with cost reductions. Coking coal and coke, two other steelmaking ingredients, moved in opposite directions. The majority of steel benchmarks at the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose. Hot-rolled coils firmed up 0.06%, while stainless steel hardened by 0.12%. Meanwhile, wire rod dropped 2.24%.
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Qatar increases April al-Shaheen term oil price to five-month-high, sources say
QatarEnergy, the state-owned oil company, has increased the 'term price' for al-Shaheen crude loading in April, to the highest level in the last five months, according to?several sources?. This is due in part because the Middle Eastern market was supported by a better demand in India. According to the sources, the April term price of al-Shaheen oil was set at 87c per barrel according to Dubai's quotes. This is a significant jump from the March term price, which was 33c less per barrel. It was also the highest price since November. Spot premiums on Middle?Eastern oil have risen this month due to improved?demand in India. Refiners there are now avoiding Russian crude oil, which will help New Delhi reach a deal with Washington. QatarEnergy has sold six al-Shaheen shipments, three of which were to the Indian refiner Reliance. Sources said that the rest of the cargoes were sold to Shell and?Totsa (the trading arm for TotalEnergies). Loading of the cargoes, which each contain about 500,000 barrels is scheduled for April 1-2. Qatar also awarded a Qatar Marine crude shipment?to Japanese refiner Eneos for a "small premium". The people said that it also awarded a Qatar Land shipment to Reliance for a?premium of about $1.10 per barrel. Typically, companies do not comment about their commercial agreements.
Kia brushes off slowing EV need to launch compact electrical SUV
Kia Corp introduced on Thursday the business's first compact electrical sports utility vehicle developed on its devoted EV platform, betting it can win over purchasers through competitive pricing even as momentum in the worldwide EV market stalls.
The EV3 is one of more than 31 electrical designs that Hyundai Motor Group - that includes Hyundai Motor Co, Kia Corp and superior brand name Genesis - plans to present in the period through to 2030. Kia stated in April that it aims to sell about 1.6 million EV units in 2030.
Kia President Tune Ho Sung said the South Korean car manufacturer aimed to price the EV3, based on the committed Electrified-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), in a $35,000 to $ 50,000 variety.
Generally the barriers are pricing concerns and charging facilities. And we are making the EV3 very much available to our consumers with the rates level that customers are anticipating for our vehicle, Tune told press reporters at a press conference ahead of the launch.
In October, Kia said it planned to develop a wide range of EV models priced between $30,000 and $80,000, including smaller EVs like the EV5, EV4, and EV3.
In comparison, Volvo Cars last year released its EX30 electric compact SUV with a beginning price of around 36,000 euros ($ 38,973.60) as the Swedish brand name owned by China's. Geely also targets cost-conscious consumers.
The launch of the EV3 comes as consumer demand for hybrid. cars has risen, while EV sales have been cooling.
In the very first quarter, Kia's hybrid sales rose about 31% from. a year earlier to 93,000 systems, while its EV sales increased 8%. to 44,000 systems.
Tune said Kia intended to accomplish an annual sales target for. the EV3 of 200,000 units worldwide, including in the United. States, Europe, South Korea and other markets. Kia did not. elaborate on which year the target will apply from.
The EV3 will be readily available in South Korea from July, with a. European launch anticipated late this year and a U.S. launch. at some point after 2025. The delayed U.S. launch is due to the fact that Kia is. still examining the U.S. EV tax credit policy, stated Song.
The EV3 will include 2 battery pack choices -. 58.3-kilowatt per hour (kWh) and 81.4 kWh - and will begin. production in South Korea, Kia said.
The EV3's long-range design will have a driving variety of. about 600 kilometres
(source: Reuters)