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Protect nature or risk extinction for companies
A landmark report urged companies to take action now, or risk being wiped out. The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services assessment, which took three years to complete and was signed by more than 150 countries, will guide policymaking in multiple sectors. The report, written by 79 experts from around the world, identifies "inadequate" or "perverse" incentives, weak institutions and enforcement, as well as "significant" data gaps, among other obstacles to progress. The plan builds on the 2024 pledge made by countries to protect 30 percent of land and ocean by 2030. Last year, they announced a plan to invest $200 billion in the effort. This is still far below the amount of money that goes into damaging activities. 'BLIND SPOT' The authors, citing data from 2023, said that despite the need for a "transformative" change, $7.3 trillion of public and private funds were going to activities that harm the environment. The report, which is based on thousands of sources and years of research, brings together the findings of many different studies and practices into one integrated framework. It shows the business risks associated with nature loss, as well as the business opportunities to reverse the trend, said Matt Jones, UK, who was one of the three co-chairs. "Businesses and other key players can either lead the path towards a sustainable global economy, or risk extinction... not only of species but also their own." The report stated that companies can take action now by setting ambitious goals and embedding them into corporate strategy, strengthening auditing and monitoring, and performance assessment, and innovating products, processes, and services. It added that less than 1% of public companies disclosed biodiversity impacts. Research firm Zero Carbon Analytics says that construction, food, pharmaceuticals, and infrastructure are among the most vulnerable sectors to biodiversity loss. However, most companies are exposed through their supply chains. Paul Polman said that business strategy is about managing risks and building resilience. However, nature has "barely featured" in this equation. The IPBES report shows that the blind spot has now become one of the most significant economic risks in our time. Mark Potter edited the article.
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Russell: India's sponge iron blitz to save South African coal
It has become increasingly difficult to find thermal coal exporters who are willing to take on the risk of a lower price, a reduced demand from China and India and, for Indonesian miners, uncertainty about government policy. There is one group that seems to be quite optimistic about coal exports. South Africa's coal miners look forward to an increase in demand from India, their largest buyer. They also anticipate improvements to the rail infrastructure which will allow for higher volumes. The coal South African producers are seeing a strong demand for, however, is not the traditional electricity generation. Instead, it's for industrial processes like making sponge iron or cement. Last week, the South African Coal Conference was held in Cape Town by McCloskey and OPIS. The main message was that South Africa is restoring its rail network, and 6 million metric tonnes of coal will be transported in 2026. According to commodity analysts Kpler's data, South Africa will export 60.96 millions tons of coal in 2025. Half of that amount is expected to go to India. It was up from the 58.13 millions tons recorded in 2024. However, it is still short of the 77.2 millions in 2018. South Africa's miner are confident of a growing market if they can increase exports by around 65 million tonnes in 2026. India is the largest producer of sponge steel, an intermediate between iron ore and crude st. According to the Sponge Iron Manufacturers Association it produced approximately 55.7 million tonnes in the fiscal year 2024-25. Analysts estimate this could rise to 75 million tons by 2030, given India's high demand for steel. South African coal meets the requirements for producing a ton of sponge iron. The most efficient way to produce sponge iron is by using coal that has an energy content of?between 5,000 and 5,500 kilocalories/kg (kcal/kg). South Africa has an advantage on the basis of delivered costs over Australia, Russia and U.S. mines, despite producing similar quality coal. Indonesia is the largest coal exporter in the world. It produces lower energy coal that is very popular among Indian electric utilities, as it is less expensive than other grades. South Africa, which has little competition from Indonesia as a supplier, is preferred by India's producers of sponge iron, who are unable to obtain enough domestic coal because policy dictates power companies take priority. The additional coal consumption if sponge iron production increases by 20 million tonnes per year by 2030 is 24 million tons. South Africa is unable to meet the demand alone, but it's logical that its exporters can sell any volume they are able to ship due to the high demand. CEMENT HELPS India's cement manufacturers also depend on imported coal and expect to increase production from 453 millions tons in 2024-25 fiscal to around 480 in the current 12-month period. Although cement production is less energy-intensive than the production of sponge iron, up to 250kg of coal are required to produce a ton. The increase in cement production will result in a rise of several million tons per year for coal consumption. However, the domestic market will not be able meet the entire demand, so imports will again become a major factor. This demand is likely to spark a rise in coal prices. Prices dropped to a four-year low at the end of last year and have only modestly recovered since. The demand for coal produced in South Africa will be crucial, especially from China and developed economies in North Asia like Japan and South Korea. As Japan and South Korea reduce coal-fired electricity generation, and China continues its rapid rollout of renewables, it's likely the demand for high quality thermal coal will remain flat or even trend weaker. Even if the seaborne price is relatively stable, South Africa’s exporters will still be able sell as much as they can given their relative advantage. You like this column? Open Interest (ROI) is your new essential source of global financial commentary. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis on everything from soybeans to swap rates. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X. These are the views of the columnist, who is also an author. (Editing by Christian Schmollinger).
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Indium prices reach their highest levels in a decade due to Chinese speculators and supply concerns
Sources say that indium prices, which is used in touch screens, advanced semiconductors, and new solar technologies have reached their highest levels in over a decade on Western markets. This was due to speculative activities at a Chinese exchange, and tightening supplies, according to market sources. The jump has brought new attention to an important niche market that is dominated by Asian manufacturers. Indium prices in Rotterdam are around $500-$600 a kilogram, according to traders and experts. This is the highest price since early 2015. Prices have increased by more than 55% since September. Three market sources stated that the Zhonglianjin Exchange has seen a huge increase in interest in futures of indium due to the large speculation by Chinese investors about tighter supplies and higher demand. The supply of key products from China and South Korea has been declining. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), unwrought indium exports in China fell by more than 23% over a period of a month, from 22.72 to 22.73 metric tons. South Korea accounted for approximately 17% of the global production of 1,080 tonnes last year. CHINA CONTROLS MOST INDIUM OUTPUT Cristina Belda is a senior analyst with Argus. She said: "The shortage of crude 'indium has been a structural problem for a long time, and it has only been exacerbated by China's stricter environmental protection policies." Indium is primarily recovered as a byproduct from zinc processing and is extracted from smelter wastes, rather than through primary mining. "China controls the majority of its processing, considering that it is responsible for zinc extraction." The supply of (indium), which is not elastic, is likely to increase steadily in the future, said Julia Khandoshko. CEO of the European broker Mind Money. It is a raw material that is in high demand, but the supply cannot keep up. Two market sources reported that South Korea was also unable to supply material on the spot markets in recent times. In an email, Korea Zinc, a major indium producer, stated that it sold between 90 and 100 metric tons per year. The report said that exports were not affected by any unusual or specific factors and that volumes in 2026 are likely to?remain broadly in line with historic levels. Market sources stated that the demand for indium is supported by new?clean energy technologies. These include high-efficiency solar panels and advanced chips based on indium tinoxide. Argus's Belda noted the prices remained lower than their 2010 peaks. This prompted intense research into alternative products. She said that prices would need to remain high for a while before substitutes could be found. LSEG data puts these peaks between $750-$800. The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency issued a request for proposals on January 15, seeking indium ingots of up to $125,000,000 worth.
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MORNING BID AMERICAS - Tokyo takes off
By Mike Dolan February 9th - What's important in the U.S. and Global Markets Today By Mike Dolan Editor-at-Large of Finance and Markets Asian stocks rose on Monday following Prime Minister Takaichi’s election victory on Sunday. She is now poised to implement a number of fiscal measures. Wall Street futures remained steady following a strong chipmaker-led recovery on Friday. The focus now turns to the 'barrage' of U.S. Economic Data due out this week. Below, I'll go into more detail. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast. Subscribe to the Morning Bid daily podcast and hear journalists discussing the latest news in finance and markets seven days a weeks. TOKYO TAKES OF Asia shares rose on Monday, after the Japanese Prime Minister's Liberal Democratic Party won more than two thirds of the seats in the lower house of the parliament. Takaichi’s mandate for more spending and tax reductions helped the Nikkei to jump nearly 4%, reaching a new record high. On Monday, the yen was largely stable and so were Japanese government bonds. This could be because the markets have already priced in Takaichi’s extravagant fiscal agenda. Investors now await more information about how Takaichi will finance her lavish fiscal agenda. Expectations that the government would intervene directly in the foreign exchange market if the yen fell below the crucial 160-per-dollar level also helped to support the yen. Wall Street futures remained steady after the decisive Friday rebound that took the S&P and Nasdaq 2% higher. Nvidia AMD and Broadcom, all of which jumped by over 7%, were the main drivers behind the recovery. Software and data service companies, who had been hit by AI concerns earlier in the week, recovered some of their losses. Chipmakers may gain, but AI hyperscalers could lose, as a result of continued concern about their high-spending plans. Amazon, for example, fell 5.6% Friday after announcing a plan to increase capex by more than 50% in 2026. Investors also seemed to be moving away from expensive mega-caps in favor of smaller, cheaper companies. The S&P 500, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 all posted gains of around 3.5% on Friday. The mood is generally brighter this week than in mid-last week. Wall Street's so called fear gauge, VIX, fell for the first time in 3 days on Friday. Gold and silver, both commodities, firmed up on Monday following strong Friday rebound. The influx of U.S. data, including the delayed January employment report, is expected to be the major event of the coming week. Investors will also be looking at retail sales and CPI to see if they can find?signs that the economy is weak enough to justify a rate cut in mid-year. Chart of the day Japan's Nikkei rose nearly 4% Monday, surpassing the 56,000 mark for the first. The ruling LDP party has a decisive majority that will allow for increased spending and tax reductions. Watch today's events Bill auctions in the U.S. for 3-month and 6-month bills * Fed Governor Christopher Waller and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speak Sign up for the newsletter to receive Morning Bid every morning in your email. Subscribe to the Morning Bid newsletter Website You can find us on LinkedIn. The opinions expressed are solely those of the authors. These opinions do not represent the views of News. News is committed to the Trust Principles and values integrity, independence and freedom from bias.
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Mali establishes a state-owned mining company
A statement issued by the Council of Ministers said that Mali would create a state owned company to manage its holdings in mining companies. Other resource-producing countries in West Africa, such as Niger or Guinea, have managed their assets using similar state-owned management mechanisms. According to a statement issued late Friday, the company Sopamim will manage and acquire Mali's holdings. Its capital is owned by the government. West Africa is Africa's biggest gold producer, with mining companies such as Barrick Gold, B2GOLD and Endeavour Mining active in gold-rich regions of the western and southern regions. Mali will create a new state-owned firm called Sorem in 2022 to explore and develop mineral resources. Mali's ruling military class introduced a new code of mining in 2023 that increased state and local ownership to at least 35%, up from 20%. The new code will also increase tax collection and help to boost?state revenue from gold mining companies by 52.5% by 2024. Mali appointed a former Barrick executive last month as a special adviser to the president who will oversee mining. (Reporting and writing by Tiemoko Diallo; Editing and proofreading by Ros Russell).
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Uganda Central Bank holds key rate once again and says caution is needed
Uganda's central bank left its main lending rate unchanged for the sixth time in a line on Monday, citing an uncertain economic climate as a reason to be cautious. Since October 2024, the Bank of Uganda Central Bank Rate is 9.75%. At a recent press conference, Governor Michael Atingi Ego said that the current policy stance was appropriate to maintain economic activity and ensure?that the inflation stabilizes around the bank’s 5% medium-term target. Inflation increased to 3.2% in January, up from 3.1% in the previous month. Atingi-Ego stated that inflation is projected to be slightly below the target level in 2026. The range was?about 3,8%-4,3% before stabilizing around 5%. The governor said that the economic growth will be between 6.5% and 7% for the current fiscal period ending in June, but it is expected to rise to an average of 8.0% over the medium-term 'because of the high level of public investment, as well as the development of oil-related infrastructure. The East African country is getting ready to pump commercial quantities of crude oil in the second half of this year. (Reporting and writing by Elias Biryabarema, George Obulutsa, Editing by Alexander Winning & Toby Chopra).
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Olympic Alpine skiing-Johnson & Shiffrin form US combined Power Pair
Mikaela?Shiffrin, the most successful World Cup Alpine skier in history and Breezy Johnson, Olympic and world champion downhill skiing will form an?U.S. The women's combined team at the Milano Cortina Games will feature a?power pair. The race will feature downhill and slalom pairs with one run each in each discipline on Cortina d'Ampezzo's Olimpia delleTofane piste. Johnson, who won the world title last year and added the 'Olympic gold' on Sunday, is the best choice to partner Shiffrin. Shiffrin is a dominant slalom skiing with seven victories in eight World Cup races so far this season. Lindsey Vonn's teammate, who is leading the World Cup Downhill standings after five podiums and five races, including two wins, was the frontrunner one month ago, but she broke her leg during Sunday's race, after injuring herself in a serious way a week before. Shiffrin won a World Cup record of 108 races. Johnson, on the other hand, has not yet won one but holds two of the biggest titles in a skier's life. Shiffrin would earn her first medal since the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, and fourth in her career, after she was blanked out at Beijing four years earlier. Shiffrin won the gold medal at the world championships last year, as did Johnson. But, apart from Sunday's race the downhiller only stood on the World Cup podium?once during this season, and that was in a super G last month. This event will be held in a team format for the first time at the Winter Olympics. Shifrin also competes in giant slalom, slalom, and slalom. Each country is allowed to pair up four skiers from each of the two top-ranked countries. Jackie Wiles and Paula Moltzan will be the second U.S. pairing. Bella Wright and Nina O'Brien are the third, and Keely cashman and AJ Hurt are the fourth. (Reporting and editing by Andrew Cawthorne; Alan Baldwin)
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Phoenix Copper, based in the UK, suspends its top brass after a payment investigation
Phoenix Copper Limited, a UK-based company, announced on Monday that it has suspended its executive chairman and finance director with immediate effect as a result of an investigation into allegations regarding their conduct and payments made to a former Corporate Finance Advisor. This sent shares down by as much as 50 percent to a new record low price of 1 pence. The U.S.-based copper miner said on Monday that it was reviewing its funding options, and warned that current cash would only cover obligations until the early'second quarter' of 2026 if additional financing is not provided. Executive Chairman Marcus Edwards-Jones, Chief Financial Officer Richard Wilkins and Company Secretary Richard Wilkins have been suspended while the investigation examines allegations related to payments made to Lloyd Edwards Jones S.A.S. the company's former advisor co-founded by its chairman. The company did not provide any further information. It put in place interim financial oversight, started searching for a temporary finance director and outsourced its company secretary function. Phoenix stated that it is still in talks with Riverfort Global Opportunities PCC Limited about a "short-term lending facility". Edwards-Jones & Wilkins did NOT respond to LinkedIn requests for comments. (Reporting and editing by Nivedita Battacharjee in Bengaluru, Ankita Bora from Bengaluru)
Copper consistent as tight supply counters strong dollar
Copper costs were bit changed on Friday, with tightness in concentrate supply balancing out pressure from a firm U.S. dollar, while many other base metals wandered lower.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange ( LME) steadied at $8,954.00 a metric ton by 1000 GMT after touching its highest since Dec. 18 at $9,018.50. Rates are up 4.6% this year.
The dollar index was on track for a fourth straight weekly gain, showing strength that makes dollar-priced metals more pricey for buyers holding other currencies.
China's top copper smelters accepted decreasing of cost guidance on processing charges for the very first quarter of 2025, showing a remaining scarcity of copper focuses.
In 2025 the rate cuts must lift economic activity and increase demand for copper. China will likely go back to the market while mine supply is another factor to keep an eye out for, stated Ajay Kedia, director at Kedia Products in Mumbai.
The first quarter of next year is likely to see the current consolidation continue, however rates must move higher in the second quarter.
China, the leading consumer of base metals, revealed different stimulus procedures this year to preserve steady financial growth as it prepares for increased trade tensions with the United States after Donald Trump's return to the White House.
Somewhere else, copper stocks in storage facilities kept track of by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 4.7% from last Friday, the exchange said.
In other metals, LME aluminium fell 0.9% to $ 2,541.50 a load, nickel lost 1.4% to $15,250, zinc was down 1.3% at $3,009.50 while tin got 0.3%. to $28,860 and lead dropped 1.4% to $1,956.
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(source: Reuters)