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Sources say that Indian billionaire Ambani will meet Trump and Qatar's emir at Doha
Mukesh ambani, the Indian billionaire, will meet with Donald Trump, President of the United States, and Qatar's emir in Doha, according to two sources. His company, Reliance Industries, is looking to strengthen ties between authorities in both countries. Qatar's sovereign fund, QIA has invested in Reliance over the years. Ambani is Asia's wealthiest man and has many business relationships with U.S. technology giants like Google and Meta. Ambani is attending a state dinner in Doha for Trump, but he does not intend to have any business or investment discussions. This was confirmed by the first source who has direct knowledge of this matter. Both sources confirmed that another Indian businessman based in London, close to the Trump administration and the Qatari government, will attend. They did not identify the individual. Ambani did not provide any further details about his agenda. Reliance didn't immediately answer'questions. Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, visited India in February. His country had committed to investing $10 billion in various industries. Trump will leave Qatar for the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, a trip which is more focused on investments than on security issues in the Middle East. (Reporting Aditya Kalra, Editing Clarence Fernandez).
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Gold drops as US-China truce on trade dims appeal of safe-haven assets
Gold prices dropped on Wednesday, as easing U.S. China trade tensions eased investor fears of a global recession. This increased risk appetite for investors and weakened the appeal of bullion as a safe haven. As of 0828 GMT, spot gold was down 0.4% at $3,233.69 per ounce. Prices reached a record-high of $3,500.05 per ounce last month due to increased trade war concerns. U.S. Gold Futures declined 0.3% to $3.238.10. After discussions over the weekend in Geneva, the U.S. agreed to suspend reciprocal tariffs for 90 days. The U.S. plans to reduce its "de minimus tariff" on low-value shipments coming from China to 30%. This is according to an executive order of the White House and industry experts. Ole Hansen is the head of commodity strategy for Saxo Bank. He said that the recent tariff truce has boosted the stock market and, at least temporarily, has taken away the focus on safe havens which has pushed gold to record levels in recent months. There's the risk of further decline if we break through that $3,200 mark, and then we might test $3,165 fairly quickly." The global stock market has rallied on the back of easing Sino-U.S. Trade War concerns. It also received support from relatively benign U.S. Inflation data. The Federal Reserve is expected to announce its interest rate policy on Thursday. After the April consumer price index was lower than expected, traders speculated about possible rate cuts in later years. Markets expect the Fed to reduce rates by 53 basis points this year starting in September. Gold is traditionally seen as a hedge to inflation. However, in an environment of low interest rates it tends also to flourish as it pays no interest. Silver spot fell 0.2%, to $32.83, platinum rose 0.8% at $995.66 and palladium remained unchanged at $957.69. (Reporting and editing by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru, Anmol Choubey from Bengaluru)
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Residents of Libya's capital are trapped in the most intense fighting they have seen for years
Witnesses in Tripoli said that the most intense clashes since years continued through Wednesday morning after Monday's death of a key militia leader sparked fighting between rival groups. The United Nations Libya Mission UNSMIL expressed its "deep alarm" at the violence escalating in Tripoli's densely populated areas and called for an immediate ceasefire. The latest unrests in Libya's capital follow battles that seemed to consolidate Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah's power as prime minister of the divided government of National Unity (GNU), and an ally of Turkey. Any prolonged fighting in Tripoli could attract factions outside of the capital. This could lead to an escalation among Libya's numerous armed actors after years relative calm. The English-language Libyan Observer reports that the main fighting took place on Wednesday between the Dbeibah aligned 444 Brigade, and the Special Deterrence Force(Rada), which is the last major armed Tripoli group not in his camp. Residents of Tripoli trapped inside their homes due to the fighting expressed horror at the sudden outbreak of violence that followed weeks of increasing tensions between armed groups. It's terrifying to watch all the intense fighting. "I had my family all in one room so that we could avoid the random shelling," said by phone a father of 3 in Dahra. Mohanad Juma, a resident of the western suburb Saraj, said that fighting would stop for a few moments before it resumed. "Each time the fighting stops, we feel relieved. "But then we lose our hope again," said he. ARMED FACTIONS Libya has seen little stability since an uprising in 2011 backed by NATO ousted Muammar Gadaffi, the longtime autocrat. The country was split in 2014 into rival eastern and Western factions. However, a major outbreak of warfare halted in 2020 with a ceasefire. Libya, a major energy exporter and a waystation for migrants headed to Europe, has attracted foreign powers, including Turkey, Russia and Egypt, as well as the United Arab Emirates, into its conflict. The main oil facilities of Libya are located in the south and east, away from the current fighting. While the eastern part of Libya is dominated by Khalifa haftar's Libyan National Army for over a decade, control in Tripoli as well as western Libya is splintered between numerous armed groups. Dbeibah ordered on Tuesday the dismantling what he called irregular military groups. This announcement follows the death of Abdulghani Kikli (also known as Ghaniwa), a major militia leader, on Monday, and the unexpected defeat of his Stabilisation Support Apparatus group by factions aligned to Dbeibah. The 444 Brigade and the 111 Brigade, which are allies of Dbeibah, have taken over SSA territory, indicating a concentration of power within the fragmented capital. Rada is the only major faction that has not been closely linked to the Prime Minister.
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Holcim shareholders approve spin-off of North American Business
Holcim's shareholders approved Wednesday the separation and spin-off of its North American business, a move designed to take advantage of increased construction spending in the United States. Almost all shareholders supported the decision to separate the company into two companies, Amrize and Holcim, which will focus on North America. Holcim will provide building materials for the remainder of the world. The spin-off should be complete by the end June. The listing will be done via a 100% share spin-off for Holcim's shareholders. The new company stock will trade on the New York Stock Exchange, and also on the Six Swiss Exchange. Amrize will have more than 1,000 locations and 19,000 employees in North America. It will be the largest cement producer across Canada and the United States. It is aiming to capitalize on the massive infrastructure projects underway in the region. Jan Jenisch, Holcim's Chairman, said that the two companies would benefit from a more focused strategic and operational approach as separate publicly traded companies. Jenisch will be Amrize's CEO and chairman. $1 = 0.8386 Swiss Francs (Reporting and Editing by Rachel More, Madeline Chambers, and John Revill)
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Bouygues' construction and energy businesses deliver better than expected earnings
French construction-to-telecoms group Bouygues posted better-than-expected first-quarter core earnings on Wednesday, driven by strong performances of its energy arm Equans, construction and telecom units. In late 2022, the company acquired Equans (formerly owned by Engie) from French power group Engie as part of its growth strategy in energy services and transition. Bouygues has reported a current operating profit (COPA) for the third quarter of 69 millions euros ($77million), which is substantially higher than the 35 million euro consensus estimate of the company. Early trading saw a 2.7% increase in the shares. COPA margins at Equans increased 0.9 percentage points year-on-year, to 3.8%. However, quarterly sales were flat due to "some temporary wait-and see stance in some activities in France and Europe", according to a company statement. On a recent media call, CFO Pascal Grange stated that "the daily news from the USA creates a level uncertainty in the economy which makes people hesitate to invest." Grange, when asked about the impact on tariffs during a separate analyst conference call, said that the group is not concerned because it produces local products, adding "in the U.S., we are quite locally". The quarter's sales of 12,59 billion euros were in line with the consensus, and included La Poste Telecom's first contribution to the full quarter. Bouygues acquired the Telecom firm by mid-November 2024. Sales at Colas, which builds roads and railways, rose by 3% in the third quarter, boosted by a 12% increase in rail division, a result of demand for soft mobility infrastructure. Sales in the construction division rose by 3%. This was largely due to a 13% increase in sales at the international subunit. It said that the backlog in construction businesses was at an all-time high of 34,2 billion euros at the end of March 2025. The group has confirmed its outlook for the full year, despite a "very uncertain macroeconomic and political environment".
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The dollar continues to soften on the back of tariff truces and muted inflation.
The European stock market was little changed after a rally on easing trade tensions. Meanwhile, the dollar continued its losses from the previous day as the relatively benign U.S. Inflation data kept Federal Reserve rates on hold. Stocks in Asia rose overnight, while U.S. futures were flat. The S&P 500 entered positive territory for this year after moving into positive territory on Tuesday. Investors have driven global equity markets higher as a truce appears to be in place in the trade war between China and the United States. Lars Skovgaard is a senior investment strategist with Danske Bank. He added, "I find it hard to believe that we will return to the extreme political noise." The STOXX Europe 600 index was down by less than 0.2% last week, after a recent rally. It has risen over 17% from its low on April 9th, the day U.S. president Donald Trump announced that he would suspend most reciprocal tariffs against U.S. trading partner. The broadest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan rose by 1.4% while Japan's Nikkei fell 0.1%. JD.com, a Chinese online retailer, posted impressive results. This boosted the Hang Seng index by 2%. This week, investors will focus on the earnings of Tencent and Alibaba. Equity futures indicated a flat start for Wall Street. Investors who were worried about inflationary effects of U.S. Tariff Policies, which severely undermined expectations of Fed rate reductions in the near future, also found some relief from data on Tuesday that showed softer than expected U.S. Consumer inflation. Although traders expect the inflation rate to rise as tariffs increase import costs, there is still uncertainty about the future as Washington continues to negotiate with its trading partners. In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Trump said he would be willing to deal directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping over the details of a new trade agreement. The "potential" deals that Trump has been touting with India, Japan, and South Korea have not yet materialized. "We still have a deadline of 90 days hanging over U.S. China trade relations," Frederic Neumann said, chief Asia economist for HSBC. The Fed warned of increasing economic uncertainty and indicated that it was prepared to wait until the U.S. Tariffs are fully assessed before reducing interest rates. Jerome Powell, the Fed chair, is set to make remarks on Thursday. The U.S. Dollar, which has been hammered recently due to economic and political uncertainty, fell 0.7% against yen and dropped 0.4% against euro. The dollar index fell 0.4%. This follows a previous 0.8% decline. Bank of America’s Global Fund Manager Survey (FMS) revealed on Tuesday that global asset managers had their largest underweight position against the dollar in nearly 19 years as Trump’s trade policy reduced investor appetite for U.S. investments. Retail sales figures for April, due Thursday, will be the next big indicator of the health of the U.S. economy. On the same day, Russia and Ukraine will hold talks in Istanbul in hopes of reaching a ceasefire after three years in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. U.S. crude oil fell 0.3%, to $63.49 per barrel, but remained near its two-week high. Gold spot fell 0.3% per ounce to $3,237 as trade tensions eased and its appeal as a safe haven was weakened.
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Indonesia increases CPO export levy by 10% as of May 17,
A regulation signed Wednesday shows that Indonesia will increase its crude palm oil export levy from 7.5% to 10% starting May 17, in order to fund the country's increased mandate for biodiesel blends. Export levies on refined products will range from 4.75% to 9.5% of CPO reference prices, an increase of between 3% and 6 % of current rates. The levies collected are used to finance palm oil programs such as the biodiesel program and a smallholder replanting subvention. Indonesia increased its palm oil-based Biodiesel mix from 35% to 40% this past year. It is now studying moving to 50% by 2026. Next year, it will also be blending 3% of jet fuel with the biodiesel. This year, the country's plantation funds agency which is responsible for collecting and distributing palm levy will distribute $2.14 billion (35.47 trillion Rupiah) as a biodiesel subsidy. An official from the Energy Ministry said that Indonesia consumed 4,44 million kilolitres (4.4 million liters) of biodiesel in this year until April 24. Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil consumer, has set aside 15.6 million KL for biodiesel distribution by 2025. This is up from 13 million KL in 2018. $1 = 16,565.0000 Rupiah (Reporting and editing by John Mair, Alasair Pal and Bernadette Cristina)
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Gulf stocks fall as excess oil worries weigh
On Wednesday, most Gulf stocks were down slightly as a drop in oil prices due to fears of increased supplies hurt sentiment. Investors also paused for thought about the economic implications of the U.S. China tariff truce. The price of oil, a major factor in the Gulf financial markets, fell on Wednesday as traders awaited a possible increase in U.S. crude stocks. Prices remained near their two-week highs, however, as traders waited for a possible increase in U.S. crude inventories. The U.S.-China Trade War may have stopped, but the financial markets are still uneasy. Israel warned Wednesday that three ports in Yemen should be evacuated after the Iran-aligned Houthis fired a missile at it, while U.S. president Donald Trump was visiting three Gulf States. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell by 0.19%. Saudi Telecom, and Saudi Electricity Company are the two biggest losers. Both fell nearly 5% in early Wednesday trading. Saudi Arabian Refineries Company shares surged 8%, limiting the losses. The refiner looks set to record its third consecutive session of gains. Dubai's main stock index traded flat at 0.09%, as a gain of 2.5% in Mashreqbank offset a fall of 2.7% in Amlak Finance. Qatar's benchmark stock market index fell 0.01%, while Abu Dhabi's benchmark index remained unchanged.
Indonesian cobalt production will double by 2027. No plans to "control" supply
A senior official announced on Wednesday that Indonesia would double its cobalt production by 2027 compared to last year. He added that the country, the second-largest producer in the world, has no intention of "controlling" the supply of this key component for electric batteries.
Septian Hario Seto said that Indonesian cobalt production will increase to 114,630 metric tonnes per year in 2027 from the 55,630 tons produced in 2024.
Indonesia is the second largest cobalt producer in the world after the Democratic Republic of Congo, which produces 70% of the global supply. The DRC announced earlier on Wednesday that it is reviewing a ban on exports of cobalt for four months, which was implemented on February 22 in order to curb oversupply and low price.
In March, the DRC announced that it would also partner with Indonesia in order to manage global pricing and supply.
Seto stated that Jakarta has no intention of "controlling" the cobalt supply.
He said that if we want to control nickel, we'll need to control cobalt.
Seto stated that the growth in Indonesian production is driven by plants that use high pressure acid leaching, a technique made economically viable thanks to increased cobalt and Nickel prices since 2021.
Prices of cobalt will reach $40 per pound by 2022, before dropping to $10/lb by the end 2024. Prices have recovered substantially since the Congo export ban, and are currently around $16/lb.
Seto stated that the expansion of cobalt production in Indonesia will not be sufficient to compensate for the reduced supply from the DRC, if the export embargo continues.
He added that extending the export ban would cause short-term price volatility and long-term demand reduction for cobalt. This is because battery producers will, for example use technology to reduce cobalt consumption, which is a critical component of batteries for electric cars and mobile phones.
He said, "Downstream users may think you're not reliable or sustainable and will then look for ways to replace you."
He said that the cobalt content of batteries is now 10%, or even lower, than it was in the past. Reporting by Hongmei LI in Singapore, Editing by Lewis Jackson & Lincoln Feast.
(source: Reuters)