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Wall Street Journal, February 11,
These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. Elon Musk led a consortium of investors to offer $97,4 billion for the nonprofit OpenAI. This raised the stakes in the battle between him and Sam Altman regarding the company behind ChatGPT. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, announced on Monday 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the U.S. He also reinstated global duties for allies like Canada, Mexico and South Korea, which were relaxed under the Biden administration. Elliott Investment Management, a activist investor group, has acquired a stake of more than $2 billion in Phillips 66. The firm plans to pressure the oil refiner into considering operational changes that will boost its stagnant share price. Hyatt Hotels announced on Monday that it will acquire Playa Hotels & Resorts, Inc. for $2.6 billion. This includes $900 million of debt. A U.S. Judge on Monday ordered that the Trump Administration fully comply with an earlier order lifting its general freeze on federal expenditures, after a Democratic group of state attorneys general said last week that some funds were still frozen. The Justice Department has directed federal prosecutors to drop all corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. This high-profile case began during the administration of former U.S. president Joe Biden.
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Indian shares drop as US tariff worries and earnings concerns sour sentiment
Indian shares fell Tuesday, following other Asian peers as investor sentiment continued to be sapped by concerns about U.S. Trade Policy and low domestic earnings. As of 10:33 a.m. IST the Nifty 50 index was down 0.47% to 23,271, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.44%, to 76,975.9. The 13 major sectors all declined while the smaller smallcaps and middlecaps both lost 2.5% and 2.0%, respectively. The MSCI Asia ex Japan fell 0.3% as a result of concerns over President Donald Trump's trade policies. Trump raised tariffs for steel and aluminum imports by 25% on Monday, "without any exceptions or exclusions". He also said that he will announce plans in the next couple of days to impose reciprocal levies against several countries. According to UR Bhat of Alphaniti Fintech and other analysts, the ongoing decline in Indian equity markets is primarily driven by the uncertainty surrounding U.S. Tariffs. In the last four sessions, both the Nifty 50 (50) and Sensex (100) lost around 1.5%. So far in this year, foreign investors have sold Indian shares worth $9.94 Billion. HDFC Bank led the 1% drop in financials on Tuesday. Eicher Motors' loss was 6% due to a failure to meet quarterly profit and margin expectations. This was caused by higher costs and fewer sales of high-margin bikes. The auto index fell 1.3% as a result of the decline. Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the Adani Group, rose 4% after Trump signed an order instructing the U.S. Justice Department on how to relax enforcement of a federal law that prohibits bribery. The United States accused Adani Group executives last year of participating in a $265-million bribery plan to win Indian solar energy supply contracts. The conglomerate denies the allegations. Adani has also signed an agreement to establish two affordable health campuses with the U.S.-based Mayo Clinic in Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
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Stocks of Chinese steelmakers fall as Trump's new tariffs increase uncertainty over exports
The shares of major listed steelmakers, the top steel producer in China, fell on Tuesday after President Donald Trump's new tariffs stoked fears about possible impacts on steel exports for this year. Trump raised the tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum to a flat rate of 25% on Monday, "without any exceptions or exclusions", in an effort to help struggling domestic industries. However, this move increases the risk for a multi-fronted trade war. Shares of Baoshan Iron and Steel, HBIS Co. Angang Steel, Hunan Valin Steel Co. Shandong Iron and Steel Co. Jiangsu Shagang Co. fell between 0.3% and 2.84%. The steel prices at the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell by more than 1 percent in the morning session. The fear is that the new tariffs could add to the uncertainty surrounding China's exports of steel this year. Trade tensions are already a threat, but the impact on Chinese direct steel exports to the U.S. will be limited due to the small proportion of trade flows. Customs data revealed that China's direct exports of steel to the U.S. in 2017 were 890,000 tons. This represents just 0.8% its total exports, which reached a nine-year record at 110.72 millions tons. China's strong steel exports helped offset the dwindling demand at home, which was hampered by the prolonged property crisis and lower than expected consumption in the infrastructure sector. In a recent note, analysts from consultancy Fubao stated that "both direct exports as well as transit trade would feel some impact" if the tariffs are implemented more strictly. Transshipment or transit trade is the practice of buying cheap steel from China and then reselling it to another country, such as the U.S., to avoid tariffs. The manager of an East China steelmaker who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the media warned about "a butterfly-effect on the market which takes time for it to manifest." The manager refused to divulge any further details. (Reporting and editing by Amy Lv, Lewis Jackson, and Lincoln Feast.
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Norway Clears Equinor for Drilling in Barents Sea
The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Equinor a drilling permit for an exploration well in the Barents Sea.The permit is for a wellbore 7220/7-CD-1 H in production license 532, which is operated by Equinor with 46.3% working interest, and partners Vår Energi with 30%, and Petoro with 23.7% stakes.Equinor will use Transocean Enabler semi-submersible rig to execute the work.The rig is of the CAT D (GVA 4000 NCS) type, built at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in South Korea in 2016.The harsh environment semi-submersible rig features automated drilling control specially designed for operations on the Norwegian continental
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The regional governor of Saratov says that the Ukraine attack has damaged an 'industrial facility in Russia's Saratov.
The regional governor of Saratov, Russia, said that a Ukrainian drone attacked an "industrial facility" within the region. In a Telegram post, Roman Busargin (the governor of Saratov) said that preliminary information indicated there were no casualties. The Shot news telegram telegram channel was one of several unofficial Russian Telegram channels that reported fires and explosions near an oil refinery located in Saratov in Russia's South. Social media posts and videos showed thick smoke clouds in the night sky. We could not independently confirm the reports. Ukraine has not yet responded. Kyiv has said many times that its air strikes inside Russia are meant to destroy infrastructure vital to Moscow's military efforts. They are also a response to Russia's continuing attacks against Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict nearly three years ago. An attack by the Ukrainians on an oil storage depot near an air base for military aircraft in Engels, in the Saratov Region, sparked an fire that took several days to put out.
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London aluminium rangebound amid US tariff concerns
London aluminium was trading in a narrow range, near its three week high on Tuesday. Investors weighed the risks of a global trade war following President Donald Trump's new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. As of 0330 GMT on Monday, the London Metal Exchange's (LME) three-month aluminium was unchanged at $2,657.5 per metric ton, close to the previous high of $2.662.50, set on Monday. Trump raised import tariffs for steel and aluminum to 25%, "without exceptions or exclusions", in an effort to help struggling industries. After a telephone call with Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese he agreed that Australia could be exempted from the tariffs, noting the fact that Australia was among the few countries where the U.S. enjoyed a surplus in trade. We expect that any tariffs will result in higher prices for U.S. Manufacturers. This would be more likely to take the form of higher U.S. Midwest Premiums than a sustained increase in the LME Price," ANZ Research stated. The U.S. depends heavily on aluminium imports, mainly from Canada. The U.S. prices of primary aluminum are based on LME benchmark plus Midwest premium. This premium has increased in recent months, and is now at $0.305 per lb. ANZ Research also added that the tariffs would change trade patterns as more Canadian aluminum will be shipped to Europe, and the U.S. will increase purchases from the Middle East. LME benchmark copper dropped 0.4% to $9.409, zinc fell 0.1% to $2.843, tin slipped 0.5% to $31,000 and lead fell 0.3% to $1.994 while nickel fell 0.5% to $15,440. The aluminum contract at the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose by 1.0%, to 20,700 Yuan ($2,832.74) per ton. This is the highest level since December 2024. The SHFE copper fell 0.3%, to 77.200 yuan. Nickel dropped 1.7%, to 124.820 yuan. Zinc lost 0.5%, to 23,740, yuan. Lead shed 0.1%, to 17,155, yuan. Tin dropped 0.8%, to 257.250, yuan. $1 = 7.3074 Chinese yuan renminbi (Reporting and editing by Varun H K, Sumana Nandy and Polina Devtt)
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HPCL, India plans to increase the capacity of its Vizag oil refining plant by up to 20%
Rajneesh Narang, chairman of Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL), said that the state-run company plans to increase its Vizag oil refining capacity by up to 20% in order to meet local fuel demand. India, the third largest oil consumer and importer in the world, is increasing its crude processing capability. It wants to become a major global refinery hub. At the same time its fuel demand will continue to grow for the next decade. HPCL has recently increased the capacity of its Vizag refinery from 200,000 barrels to 300,000. It is now looking for an additional increase. "We are looking at increasing the (annually) capacity by 2-3 millions (metric) tonnes (40,000-60,000 Bpd). Narang said at the India Energy Week Conference that the board must approve this. He did not provide a cost estimate or time frame. HPCL is soon to start operating at Vizag's secondary units. This includes a 3.5-million-ton per year (tpy), residue-upgradation unit, which will boost distillate yields by 10%. It will also improve the gross refining margin by $3 a barrel. The company will also bring a diesel hydro desulphuriser of 2.6 million tons per year online. India's fuel consumption is set to increase with the growth of its economy. However, drivers are increasingly turning to electric cars and industries are shifting to renewable energy from diesel-generated power to reduce their carbon footprints. HPCL, to future-proof their plants, is building a petrochemical facility at its Barmer refinery that produces 180,000 bpd in the desert of Rajasthan. India's refinery has the highest petrochemical intensities - that is, the amount of crude oil converted into chemicals. Narang stated that the Barmer refinery's crude processing will begin between June and July, while the petrochemical plant will be operational by December. He said that the company would operate the Rajasthan refinery by making spot purchases of crude oil and sign annual crude purchasing deals for the plant after the units stabilize. HPCL operates a Mumbai refinery that produces 190,000 barrels per day in western India. Narang stated that the company imports approximately 21 million tonnes of crude oil annually, and about 8 to 9 million tonnes are procured on the spot market. The refiner, to reduce its crude import costs, set up a crude-trading desk last year, which negotiates better terms with oil sellers instead of floating tenders on spot purchases.
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Trump's new tariffs have pushed gold prices to record highs
The gold price reached a new record on Tuesday as investors sought out the safe haven asset following President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum. This fueled fears over inflation and a possible trade war. As of 0229 GMT the spot gold price was up 1.1%, at $2,939.80 an ounce. It had earlier reached a session high of $2.942.70. U.S. Gold Futures also rose 1.1% to $2966.00. Trump raised the tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum on Monday from a flat rate of 25% to a 25 percent rate "without any exceptions or exclusions". This was done to help struggling industries, but it also increased the risk for a multi-fronted trade war. Trump's tariffs, which have fueled global growth uncertainty, trade war fears, and inflationary tension, has led to the eighth highest level of gold so far in 2018. Bullion has traditionally been considered an investment during times of political and economic instability. The risk of a trade war around the world is driving the financial markets to invest in gold, as part of what could be described as an overall de-dollarisation strategy, said Kyle Rodda. Dealers are shipping gold to the U.S. in order to avoid potential tariffs. Gold futures in the United States are trading at a higher price than spot gold, which is currently around $26. Gold prices have soared to $3,000 and new heights as a result of the threats. Investors are awaiting the Consumer Price Index data (CPI) and Producer Price Index data (PPI) for Thursday. Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, is due to appear before Congress on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Spot silver increased 0.4% to $32.16 an ounce. Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM, said that while tariff fears could support silver prices in the short term, they may be limited by a fall in industrial demand due to Trump's tariffs. Palladium increased 0.4%, to $986.97. Platinum fell 0.4% at $989.50. (Reporting and editing by Sherry Phillips in Bengaluru, Anushree mukherjee from Bengaluru)
Botswana to see 3.3% growth by 2025 due to a rise in the diamond market
Botswana is expected to grow by 3.3% in 2019 after contracting in 2024 due to a recovery in the diamond market worldwide, the country's finance minister announced on Monday. He also echoed calls for diversification of the economy to include other products.
Botswana's economy is heavily dependent on diamond exports. It is the largest diamond producer in the world by value. Government spending has been limited by declining earnings.
In a budget address, Finance Minister Ndaba Galiathe stated that "this growth outlook is predicated on the recovery of the diamond sector, which is anticipated in the latter half of 2025," and the continued positive sentiments in non-diamond mines.
Gaolathe, a South African news agency, said that the economy shrank by 3.1% in the past year. This is a larger contraction than the 1.7% predicted by the government back in December.
Gaolathe's comments echo those of President DumaBoko, who was elected in November after a landslide victory and is committed to diversifying Botswana’s economy.
Gaolathe stated that "Botswana’s dependence on diamond revenue has been both strength and vulnerability".
He said that the focus would be expanding key sectors, such as agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, and energy.
Last week, Botswana's diamond giant De Beers announced that they had concluded talks on a rough-diamond sales deal as well as on extending the mining licenses of their Debswana Joint Venture until 2054.
Gaolathe stated that the estimated budget deficit for 2025/26, which runs from April to march, would be 7.56% GDP. This is lower than the estimated deficit of the current financial years of 9% GDP. (Writing Tannur Anders, Bhargav Acharya; Editing Aidan Lewis Editing Gareth Jones.)
(source: Reuters)