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US construction spending exceeds expectations in February
The U.S. Construction spending in February increased more than anticipated as mortgage rates declined, boosting single-family homebuilding. However, rising economic uncertainty due to tariffs on imported goods could slow the momentum. Census Bureau of the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday that construction expenditures increased by 0.7% following a 0.5% decline in January, which had been downwardly revised. The economists polled had predicted that construction spending would rebound by 0.3% following a 0.2% decrease in January. In February, construction spending increased 2.9% on an annual basis. The spending on private construction projects increased by 0.9%. Residential construction investment grew by 1.3%. Outlays for new single-family homes also increased 1.0%. Mortgage rates are down from their lofty highs at the beginning of the year. Tariffs on imported products remain a barrier for builders. The President Donald Trump ordered a new investigation into trade that could add more duties to imported lumber. This would be in addition to the existing taxes on Canadian softwood timber, which is used for construction, furniture, and paper production. Trump has increased tariffs on Chinese products to 20%, and imposed duties on steel and aluminium. According to the National Association of Homebuilders "builders estimate that a typical cost impact from recent tariff action is $9,200 per house." In February, the expenditures on multi-family housing units remained unchanged. Investments in non-residential private structures such as offices and factories increased by 0.4%. The increase in public construction spending was 0.2%. Spending by state and local governments increased by 0.4% while federal government expenditures declined 1.6%. Lucia Mutikani, Andrea Ricci and Andrea Ricci (Reporting)
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In Q1, activists increase demands for companies worldwide, with a focus on US corporations
Barclays data shows that corporate agitators targeted more companies worldwide in the first quarter to increase pressure on them to improve their performance. The majority of these demands were directed towards U.S.-based corporations. Activist investors, such as Elliott Investment Management and Mantle Ridge, pushed companies like oil giant BP and rideshare company Lyft to make changes in the first quarter. The number of global campaigns grew by 17% and reached 70. The data revealed that the number of U.S. campaigns increased by 46%, to 41. Jim Rossman is the global head of shareholder advice at Barclays. He said: "Activists continue to exploit all of the uncertainty." "We have seen activists win more board seats, more battles and more settlements in early 2025 than we had a year earlier." The new campaigns this year come as a result of a record number activist shareholders targeting companies worldwide in 2024. Also, President Donald Trump’s tariffs, mass job cuts within U.S. government departments, along with fears of recession, have created market volatility. Investors are still pushing management to improve their business operations. About one-quarter of the campaign requests this year were centered around strategy and operational issues, which is about the same percentage as last year. Only about a quarter (25%) of campaigns include M&A demands such as divesting business or selling an entire company. M&A demand is down about half compared to when global deal volumes reached a record in 2021. Rossman noted that activists were also seeing their campaigns pay off. The number of board positions won, which is often used as a gauge of success, increased during the first three months. 51 seats were won in both settlements and battles, a 34% increase over last year. NEWCOMERS ACTIVE Activism is becoming popular among newcomers who are inspired by the success of others and want to return to a time when things are uncertain. This includes newly formed funds as well as funds that have not run a campaign in the past. The data shows that eleven so-called newbies ran campaigns in the first quarter. No comparative data was available for the first quarter 2024. Barclays' data for 2024 counted 47 newcomers. Ed Garden, who co-founded Trian Fund Management and now runs Garden Investments, encouraged Middleby, which designs equipment for residential and foodservice kitchens and previously founded Trian Fund Management to concentrate on its core business in January. Garden joined the board of Middleby in February. Barclays bankers expect that more companies will be facing shareholder demands in the remainder of 2025. They also believe the majority of activity will remain centered on U.S.-based companies. Matthews International defeated Barington Capital Group despite the fact that all three proxy advisory firms backed the hedge fund candidates. Barclays' data shows that there were 13 proxy battles in the first three months of this year, up from 10 a few years ago. The data also showed that activity has increased in Japan. This represents a 45% rise from the previous year and 16 campaigns. Europe, however, has seen little action. There have only been 9 activist campaigns in Europe - down 18% on a year earlier. (Reporting and editing by Svea HerbstBayliss, Muralikumar Aantharaman).
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The key facilities of Iran's nuclear program
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that this week if Iran didn't reach a deal with America over its nuclear program "there would be bombing", adding Israel's threat to attack Iran nuclear facilities. Here are some of Iran’s most important nuclear facilities. Where are Iran's nuclear facilities? The Iranian nuclear programme is spread out over many different locations. While Israel's airstrikes have been a threat for decades, some sites are underground. IRAN HAS A NUCLEAR WAR PROGRAM? The United States, as well as the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, believe that Iran had a secret and coordinated nuclear weapons program which it stopped in 2003. The Islamic Republic has denied ever possessing or planning one. Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities as part of a 2015 agreement with world powers. In exchange, the sanctions imposed by international governments would be lifted. The pact collapsed after Donald Trump, then president of the United States, pulled out in 2018. Iran began to abandon the restrictions within the year. IS IRAN INCREASING ITS URANIUM ENRICHMENT? Yes. Since the deal fell apart, Iran has expanded its uranium-enrichment programme. The time it takes to reach weapons-grade uranium to build a nuclear weapon is now days or a little over a week instead of a year as was the case under the 2015 agreement. It would take more time to make a bomb using that material. The exact time frame is unclear and subject to debate. Iran enriches uranium up to 60% fissile purity, which is close to 90% weapons-grade. It has two sites where it does this. In theory, Iran could make six bombs if it enriched the material further. NATANZ Complex at the centre of Iran's nuclear enrichment program, located on a plain bordering mountains south of Tehran in the Shi'ite holy city of Qom. Natanz is home to two enrichment facilities: the massive, underground Fuel Enrichment plant (FEP) as well as the above-ground Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plan (PFEP). In 2002, an exiled Iranian group revealed that Iran was building secretly Natanz. This sparked a diplomatic standoff with the West over Iran's nuclear intentions. The standoff continues to this day. The FEP is a facility designed for commercial enrichment, with 50,000 centrifuges. There are approximately 16,000 centrifuges installed, of which 13,000 are operational, and they refine uranium up to 5% purity. The FEP is described by diplomats who are familiar with Natanz as being three floors underground. It has been debated for years about the damage that Israeli airstrikes can do. Other means of damage to the centrifuges have been used at FEP, including an explosion in April 2021 and a power cut that Iran claimed was an Israeli attack. The PFEP above ground houses only hundreds centrifuges, but Iran enriches up to 60% purity here. FORDOW Fordow, on the other side of Qom is a site for enrichment dug into the mountain. It's probably better protected against potential bombardment as the FEP. Iran was not allowed to enrich at Fordow under the 2015 agreement with major powers. The centrifuges are mainly advanced IR-6 machines. Up to 350 of these can enrich up to 60%. In 2009, the United States announced that Iran has been building Fordow secretly for years without informing the IAEA. Then, U.S. president Barack Obama stated: "The size of the facility and its configuration are inconsistent with a peace programme." ISFAHAN Iran's second-largest city, Isfahan has a major nuclear technology center on its outskirts. The facility includes the Fuel Plate Fabrication Plant and the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF), which can convert uranium to uranium hexafluoride, which is then fed into centrifuges. Diplomats claim that Iran stores uranium enriched at Isfahan. There is equipment at Isfahan to make uranium metal, a process that is particularly proliferation-sensitive since it can be used to devise the core of a nuclear bomb. Isfahan will be a new location for 2022, according to the IAEA. It has machines that can make centrifuge components. KHONDAB Iran has a heavy-water reactor that is partially constructed. It was originally named Arak, and it's now called Khondab. Heavy-water reactors are a risk for nuclear proliferation because they produce plutonium easily, which can be used, just like enriched Uranium, to create the core of atom bombs. The 2015 agreement saw construction halted and the core of the reactor removed, then filled with concrete, rendering it useless. The reactor would be redesigned to "minimize the production of Plutonium and not produce weapon-grade Plutonium during normal operation". Iran informed the IAEA it planned to begin operating the reactor by 2026. TEHRAN RESERVE CENTRE The Iranian nuclear research facilities at Tehran include a reactor for research. BUSHEHR The only nuclear power plant in Iran, located on the Gulf Coast, uses Russian fuel, which Russia takes back after it has been used, reducing proliferation risks.
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LME fines Access World Access World $77,000 for violating warehouse rules
London Metal Exchange (LME), has taken disciplinary actions against Access World Vlissingen B.V. for breaches of LME warehouse rules that date back to 2022. The company agreed to pay an amount of 60,000 pounds ($77328) as a penalty. The exchange, which is the oldest and largest industrial metals market in the world, announced that a settlement had been reached prior to the institution of any disciplinary proceedings. Four warrants of full-plate nickel cathodes, between October 18, 2022, and November 16, 20,22 were loaded erroneously out of a shed at Access World's Rotterdam office. LME warrants confer ownership. A third party, commissioned by Access World for an independent audit to produce a report, discovered the incidents. The LME reported that Access World notified the LME of the incidents. The LME released a statement on Tuesday that said Access World informed them during the investigation that the incidents had been caused by human error. They have taken steps to minimize the possibility of it happening again. Access World didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. owns the LME. ($1 = 0.7759 pound) (Reporting and editing by Kirby Donovan, David Evans and Polina Devitt)
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JBIC, a commercial bank in Japan, agrees to lend Codelco $666 Million
Codelco (the world's biggest copper producer), a state-run company in Chile, announced on Tuesday that it had agreed to a loan of $466 million from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and an additional loan of $200 million co-financed by a commercial lender. Both institutions stated that the loan was intended to provide a steady supply of copper concentrates to Japanese manufacturers. JBIC stated in a press release that since Japan is solely dependent on imported copper concentrates it was important to ensure a stable and long-term supply of copper. The metal is also needed for electric cars, renewable energy installations, artificial intelligence, data centers, as well as for renewable energy. Codelco is also looking for funding sources to fund its multi-billion dollar investment plan. This includes overhauling key mines to combat a decline in ore grade across all of its operations. These projects have been funded. Delay and Setback Copper consumers are looking for a guarantee of supply due to the increased demand from EVs, decarbonization and other factors. Tariffs that could be charged Donald Trump . (Reporting and writing by Fabian Cambero, Alexander Villegas, Paul Simao).
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Trump's aides are targeting 20% tariffs, as the world waits for 'Liberation Day.'
White House staffers have drafted The Washington Post reported Tuesday that President Donald Trump is preparing to announce reciprocal trade tariffs, which have businesses, consumers, and investors worried about a global trade war intensifying. Trump has been putting a circle around April 2, 2019 As a "Liberation Day", he has set a date to deliver his most ambitious initiatives yet, to overturn more than a half-century of global trade norms. These norms saw barriers to international trade fall, in ways that the Republican President believes disadvantage American goods and workers. Trump announced on Sunday that the reciprocal tariffs would target all countries, and the White House said Monday that any country who treated Americans unfairly could expect to be hit with a tariff. The Post reports that White House advisors have said no final decision had been made, and several options were on the table. Trump's administration also considers using the trillions it expects to earn in new import revenues for a refund or tax dividend, according to the report, which cited three unnamed sources familiar with the issue. The White House representatives did not respond immediately to a comment request on the reported proposal. Investors around the world are eagerly awaiting more details. The Republican President has already imposed new tariffs on autos, aluminum and steel, as well as increased tariffs for all Chinese goods. As April 2 nears, there are signs that the U.S. economic growth that was above trend for the past couple of years has slowed down amid the uncertainty created by Trump's chaotic approach to economic policymaking. This is especially true around trade. Surveys of businesses and households have shown that confidence in the economy is waning. The consumers are worried that Trump's tariffs could lead to inflation. They still remember the recent price spikes. Investors have been selling stocks aggressively since more than a week, wiping out nearly $5 trillion from the value of U.S. stock values since mid-February. Risks are not limited to the U.S. The Tuesday Business Surveys showed The outlook is dimmed by the waning of factory activity in Asia, as the tariff war intensifies and global demand slows. Initial signs of manufacturing recovery in Europe were overshadowed, however, by concerns that buyers may have front-loaded orders in order to beat Trump's new tariffs. Cyrus de la Rubia is the chief economist of Hamburg Commercial Bank. He said that "some backlash can be expected" in the months to come. Reporting by Susan Heavey and Dan Burns from Washington, and Gursimran K. in Bengaluru. Additional reporting by Gursimran K. in Bengaluru. Editing by Andrew Heavens and Frances Kerry.
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India launches antidumping investigation against met coke imports
A government notification states that India launched an anti-dumping investigation at the request of an industry group over imports from Australia, China and Russia of met coke (low-ash metallurgical or met coal). In a March 29 notice, the Commerce Ministry said that the Indian Metallurgical Coke Manufacturers Association requested an investigation into the imports. These imports have more than doubled in the last four years due to concerns about local companies. According to the notification, the trade body said that there was no difference between the quality of met coke imported from abroad and the domestically produced version, which is a crucial ingredient in steelmaking. The association has also reiterated their demand for anti-dumping duty on imports from these countries. India, which is the second largest producer of crude iron and steel in the world, implemented quantitative restrictions with country-specific quotas for imports of low ash met coke. The overseas purchases were limited to 1.4 millions metric tons between January and June. The curbs, however, have worried big steel producers who are concerned with the quality of met coke produced locally. ArcelorMittal Nippon has recently sued India in the matter. A court also denied JSW Steel and Trafigura requests for certain shipments. In February, it was reported that the government could extend its restrictions past June due to steel companies' unwillingness to purchase met coke from local producers. In its announcement of the investigation, the commerce ministry asked all interested parties to provide their comments. Sethuraman N.R., Editing by Savio d'Souza
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Kremlin continues to speak to US despite Trump's threat of secondary sanctions against Russia
The Kremlin announced on Tuesday that Russia is continuing its dialogues with the United States despite threats from President Donald Trump of secondary sanctions against Russian oil if Moscow fails to work towards ending the war in Ukraine. Trump, who this week said he was "pissed" with Russian president Vladimir Putin, told journalists on Monday that he wanted the Kremlin to make a deal in order to end the conflict. Trump stated in the Oval Office, "I would like to see him reach a deal that will stop Russian and Ukrainian soldiers from being killed and also other people." "I want him to follow through and I believe he will," Trump said in the Oval Office. "I want to make sure that he follows through, and I think he will." Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, told reporters Tuesday that when asked about Trump's recent remarks about wanting Putin do a deal with Ukraine: "We continue our contact with the American side." The topic is complex. We are dealing with a very complex issue, namely the settlement in Ukraine. This is a very complex issue that requires extra work. Trump's conciliatory approach towards Russia had made Western allies nervous as he attempted to end the conflict in Ukraine. Russia has publicly responded to Trump's overtures with caution, agreeing that it will halt its attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure for energy if Kyiv also does so. Both sides accuse the other of violating a moratorium. It cites a list of conditions that it believes must be met before it will proceed. Moscow has refused to sign a ceasefire that is broader than the one Trump wants. (Reporting and Writing by Felix Light, Editing by Andrew Osborn).
Gold prices reach all-time highs over trade war fears
The gold price reached a new record on Friday as investors sought out the safe haven amid fears that a global trade conflict could be triggered by President Donald Trump's recent tariffs.
As of 9:06 am, spot gold rose 0.7% to an ounce at $3,077.48. ET (1306 GMT), after reaching its eighteenth all-time high of $3,086.21 in earlier session. Bullion has gained 1.8% in the past week, and is set to achieve a fourth consecutive weekly gain.
U.S. Gold Futures increased by 0.7% to $3.083.20.
Gold is still a safe haven due to the increased concerns over tariffs, trade, and geopolitical unrest, according to Peter Grant, senior metals analyst at Zaner Metals.
In an environment of low interest rates, gold, which is traditionally seen as a hedge to economic and political instabilities, thrives.
The Personal Consumption Expenditures Index (PCE) increased by 0.4% in February. Analysts had expected a 0.3% increase, similar to the January increase.
Grant said that the data will not change expectations for rate cuts very much as it's only slightly hotter than expected.
The Fed has kept interest rates constant so far this season after three rate reductions in 2024. However, it hinted that a half-percentage rate cut could be made later in the year.
Starting in July, the market has priced 63 basis points of Fed rate reductions by year's end.
The markets are now preparing for Trump's plans on reciprocal tariffs that he will reveal on April 2.
Analysts say that Trump's policies can be viewed as inflationary and pose a threat to the economy.
Silver spot rose by 0.3%, to $34.52, platinum fell 0.2%, to $983.95 and palladium gained 0.6%, to $981.51. All three metals were on track for gains this week.
(source: Reuters)