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London copper prices rise on a soft dollar but tariff worries cap gains
The copper price in London rose on Thursday due to a weaker dollar. However, gains were modest because of the uncertainty that remains over economic growth as a result of high U.S. Tariffs. As of 0224 GMT, the benchmark copper price on London Metal Exchange was up by 0.1% to $9,546 per metric tonne. Dollar fell against a wide range of currencies Wednesday due to concerns about the Trump administration's plans for tax cuts and spending. The dollar's weakness makes commodities priced in greenbacks less expensive for buyers of other currencies. Last week the U.S. agreed with China to reduce tit for tat tariffs, and implement a 90 day pause in actions. However, there is still some uncertainty about what will happen after this temporary truce. BigMint, a consultancy, said that the copper market is facing a split path due to the impending 25% U.S. import tariff. This will create stark regional imbalances. Global prices (LME $9,500/ton), however, are caught in a bind between the tightening of supplies and rising U.S. stocks. Other London metals included aluminium, which was up 0.5% to $2484 per ton. Zinc was down 0.1% at $2690. Lead was down 0.4% at $1965.5. Nickel was off 0.08%, to $15 590. Tin fell 0.5% to $22,700. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's (SHFE) most-traded contract for copper fell 0.2%, to 77960 yuan per ton ($10,830.03). SHFE aluminium rose 0.3% to 20,230 yuan per ton. Zinc fell 0.6% to 22,450, lead dropped 0.7% to 16,765 and nickel dipped 0.01% to 123350 yuan. Tin declined 0.8% to 265050 yuan.
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Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts and NFL, has died at age 65
The Indianapolis Colts announced that Jim Irsay died at 65 years old on Wednesday. He was the youngest owner of a club in the National Football League when he inherited it from his father. Irsay has been with the Colts for a long time. He became the youngest GM in the franchise's history in 1984, after his father Robert Irsay moved the team from Baltimore to Indianapolis. The team said that Jim's passion and dedication for the Indianapolis Colts, as well as his generosity and commitment to the community and, most importantly, love for his wife and children, was unsurpassed. Irsay, according to the statement released, died peacefully on Wednesday in his sleep, less than one month before his birthday. The circumstances surrounding his death have not been revealed. In 2007, the Colts won their first Super Bowl for Indianapolis when they defeated the Chicago Bears by a score of 29-17. In 2010, they returned to the Super Bowl but lost to New Orleans Saints. The Irsay NFL Dynasty began in 1972, when Robert Irsay, who had made his fortune working as a heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration contractor, bought the Los Angeles Rams from Carroll Rosenbloom, then traded them for $12 million. The younger Irsay was raised around the Colts, and he worked his way through the organization as a ball boy on the field and a ticket office clerk before becoming general manager after his father moved the team to Indianapolis. He was the youngest owner of a franchise in NFL history when he became the chairman and CEO at the age of 37. In the following year, the Colts selected quarterback Peyton Manning as the top pick in the NFL draft of 1998. They went on to be one of the most dominant teams in the league during the 2000s. Manning said on social media that he was "a generous and passionate owner" and owed him a debt of gratitude for helping to launch his career in the NFL. His love for the Colts, and Indy in general, was unmatched. "His impact on those who played under him will never be forgotten." Irsay, an avid rock 'n' roll fan, amassed a collection of sports and music memorabilia worth millions of dollars, including Kurt Cobain’s 1969 Fender Mustang guitar for which he spent nearly $5 million and a Jackie Robinson bat used to hit home runs. In his final message to the fans, he expressed support for the Indiana Pacers' NBA rivals, the New York Knicks, who faced the New York Knicks in Wednesday's Game 1 of Eastern Conference Finals. "Go PACERS. "Good luck to Herb and the @Pacers team, as well as our city!" Irsay posted a message on X just hours before the news of his death. Steve Gorman reported from Portland, Oregon; Amy Tennery added reporting in New York, and Peter Rutherford edited the story.
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Source: US panel presents views on Nippon Steel and US Steel deal to Trump
Unnamed sources familiar with the situation said that a powerful U.S. panel of national security experts made a recommendation on Wednesday to President Donald Trump regarding Nippon Steel’s tense $14.9 billion bid to acquire U.S. Steel. They declined to provide any further details. The submission is in accordance with a Trump executive order, signed last month. It instructed the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to outline whether the measures proposed by the firms mitigate the national security threats previously identified by the Committee. Could not understand the recommendation of the committee. Trump has 15 days from now to decide on the fate of this transaction. However, the timeline may slip. Requests for comments from the companies or Treasury Department (which leads CFIUS) were not immediately responded to. In January, after a CFIUS review of the previous deal, Joe Biden, then President of the United States blocked it on grounds related to national security. The companies filed suit, claiming they had not received a fair review. The Biden White House dismissed that view. Reports earlier this week stated that Nippon Steel had floated plans to spend up to $14 billion on U.S. Steel operations, including $4 billion for a new mill. This was in response to government requests for more investment. The directive of April asks that each agency member of CFIUS make a statement explaining their position and the reasons for it. (Reporting and editing by Alexandra Alper, Sonali Paul and Costas Pitas)
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Johnson: House to vote soon on Trump's tax bill and spending bill
Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, said he will bring Donald Trump's massive spending and tax bill to a vote by Wednesday night. This is a sign he has quelled some of his Republican colleagues who were threatening its passage. Johnson, after meeting with Trump and holdouts in the White House told reporters that the House would vote the bill either on Thursday night or Wednesday evening. Johnson stated, "I think we will land this plane." House Republicans have released revised versions of the bill to address complaints from their caucus. Changes included the imposition of work requirements on Medicaid at the end 2026, which was two years earlier than originally planned. States that expand Medicaid will be penalized and the federal income tax deduction for state and local taxes will increase. It wasn't immediately clear if these revisions would convince the few recalcitrant Republicans that had opposed the bill because they wanted deeper cuts in spending. The bill would extend Trump’s 2017 signature tax cuts, create tax breaks for auto loans and tipped income, eliminate many green energy subsidies, and increase spending on military and immigration enforcement. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would add $3.8 trillion over the next ten years to the U.S. debt of $36.2 trillion. Moody's, the credit rating company, stripped the U.S. Government of its highest-level rating last week. The firm cited the nation's increasing debt. Investors were concerned about mounting debt, which led to a drop in U.S. stock prices on Wednesday. Republicans have claimed that they don't believe in the projections of nonpartisan analysts and Moody's has accused them of timing their downgrade on Friday afternoon deliberately to try and block the bill's passing. The bill would increase the debt ceiling of the United States by $4 trillion. The limit must be raised by the summer of this year or lawmakers risk triggering an uncontrollable default. The House's approval would pave the way for the Senate to debate the bill in depth over several weeks, and make major changes. Trump met with Republican lawmakers in the Capitol on February 2 to convince holdouts that they should support what he called a "big beautiful bill." However, he failed to persuade the many lawmakers who are opposed to certain features. LITTLE WIGGLE Room Johnson is in a tight spot, since his party has a 220-212 narrow majority. A few "no" vote from his side can scuttle this bill that Democrats claim favors the rich and cuts social programs. "We have the majority." The president is there to fix the country. "We have a chance of a lifetime, and a generation," said Republican Representative Brian Babin. "I just hope and pray that we pass the thing." Medicaid, the health care program for low-income families, has been a major sticking issue. Fiscal hawks have pushed for tax cuts that would offset some of the costs. Moderate Republicans, however, say this will hurt the voters who they need to support them in the midterm elections for the Congress in 2026. "Deficits aside, this bill's ugly because, in the end, it is a betrayal to the contract we made with our American people and, especially, to our babies and our working people," Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore stated. A handful of Republican legislators, mostly from states with high taxes, such as New York and California are also opposed to the bill. They want an increase in the proposed cap for deductions on state and local tax. The revised bill, unveiled Wednesday, would also rename the new proposed class of savings accounts for kids, originally proposed as "MAGA Accounts," in reference to Trump’s slogan "Make America Great Again," to "Trump Accounts." Andy Sullivan, Bo Erickson, and David Morgan (Reporting)
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Prices of oil ease after surprise buildups in US inventories
Oil prices fell on Thursday, as the unexpected buildup of U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories raised concerns about demand. Investors remained cautious, keeping their eyes on the renewed Iran-U.S. nuclear talks. Brent futures fell 33 cents or 0.5% to $64.58 per barrel at 0038 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude dropped 32 cents or 0.5% to $61.25. Both benchmarks fell by 0.7% on Tuesday. The Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories showed a surprise build last week. Crude imports reached a six-week peak and gasoline and distillate demands dropped. The EIA reported that crude inventories increased by 1.3 millions barrels, to 443.2million barrels for the week ending May 16. In a poll, analysts had predicted a draw of 1.3 million barrels. Investors expect that the summer driving season, which begins after Memorial Day Weekend, will bring down stocks and limit further downside, said Hiroyuki Kikukawa. Kikukawa is chief strategist at Nissan Securities Investment, an arm of Nissan Securities. "Traders are cautious and avoid large positions, as they evaluate conflicting signals regarding U.S. - Iran nuclear talks, and a report in the media about potential Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities," he said, predicting WTI will trade between $55 to $65 at this time. Oman's Foreign Minister said that the fifth round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and United States will be held on May 23rd in Rome. CNN reported Tuesday that U.S. Intelligence suggests Israel is prepared to strike Iranian nuclear sites, citing several U.S. officials. It was unclear whether Israeli leaders had made a decision. An attack by Israel could disrupt the flow of oil from Iran, the third largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The U.S. has held multiple rounds of talks with Iran this year about Iran's nuclear program, and U.S. president Donald Trump has re-launched a campaign to strengthen sanctions against Iranian crude oil exports. A source in the industry said that Kazakhstan's oil output has risen by 2% since May. This is despite the pressure from OPEC+ to cut production. (Reporting and editing by Sonali Paul; Yuka Obayashi)
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Stocks fall, yields rise; 20-year Treasury auction shows soft demand
Investors worried about the deteriorating fiscal outlook in the United States and Treasury yields rose following a sale by Treasury Department of $20 billion worth of bonds for 20 years. After the auction, all three of the major U.S. indexes fell by more than 1%. The dollar fell widely as well. Treasury yields continued to rise after the U.S. Treasury Department reported a weak demand for its $16 billion sale 20-year bonds. The bond sale was weak, which reinforced the idea that investors are avoiding U.S. assets. Concerns continued to grow about President Donald Trump's attempts to push through a bill to cut taxes that could increase the debt by up to $5 trillion. Investor sentiment is fragile after Moody's downgraded United States' credit ratings late last Friday, fueling concerns over the country's $36 trillion debt load. Trump sought to gain more Republican support for his tax cuts and spending bill. Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, acknowledged that a vote of the entire chamber might not take place on Wednesday because his Republicans are divided over the specifics of the sweeping legislation. The lack of progress in U.S. Trade Talks is also a concern, as trading partners are pressing Washington to reduce or eliminate tariffs. Tim Ghriskey is a senior portfolio strategist with Ingalls & Snyder, New York. Is there any chance that Trump will reduce this deficit during his tenure? I'd be surprised." He added, "We're in a period of waiting for tariffs." "Negotiations continue... but we're not sure if any progress has been made." The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 817.23, or 1.99%, to 41.860.01, while the S&P 500 declined 95.91, or 1.51%, at 5,844.55, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 270.07, or 1.4%, at 18,872.64. The MSCI index of global stocks fell by 7.93 points or 0.90% to 873.69. JD Sports, a British sportswear retailer, was among the decliners. The STOXX 600 pan-European index dropped 0.04%. Bitcoin meanwhile has reached a new record, surpassing the previous high set in January. Last seen at $107 569.81, it was up 0.58%. The 30-year bond rate rose by 11.5 basis points, from 4.967% to 5.0817% at the close of Tuesday. The dollar index fell by 0.36%, to 99.60, measuring the greenback in relation to a basket including the yen, the euro and other currencies. After Oman's Foreign Minister said that a new round nuclear talks would be held between Iran and the U.S. later this week, oil prices fell. The U.S. released data that was bearish on crude oil and fuel supplies. Caroline Valetkevitch reported from New York with additional reporting from Lawrence White in London, Johann M Cherian, Ankur Banerjee and Ankur Baerjee in Singapore. Editing was done by Sharon Singleton and Ed Osmond.
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Blackstone data center deal is a target for the group that blocked New Mexico utilities merger
The group that previously blocked TXNM Energy's merger plan said this week that Blackstone Infrastructure plans for data centres in New Mexico would be a major factor in determining whether or not stakeholders will challenge the $11.5 billion proposed acquisition by the private equity group of the electric company TXNM Energy. TXNM is a holding for regulated utilities including PNM in New Mexico. On Monday, it announced its agreement to sell with Blackstone. This was the latest in a series of recent deals in the U.S. energy industry, fueled by an increase in electricity demand due to Big Tech's AI-driven data centers. PNM, the New Mexico Department of Justice and other stakeholders such as consumer advocates, New Energy Economy, and the New Mexico Department of Justice will have to approve the agreement. New Energy was the driving force behind the campaign to thwart TXNM’s final agreement to sell its power to Avangrid, a U.S. subsidiary of Spanish electric company Iberdrola. Avangrid dropped its $8.3 billion bid for TXNM after the battle escalated in the New Mexico Supreme Court. Data centers are now the main driving force for the U.S. electric demand. This is expected to hit record levels this year and by 2026. Mariel Nanasi said that the director of New Energy Economy, Mariel, will examine the TXNM acquisition to see how Blackstone intends to capitalize on this demand in New Mexico. Nanasi stated that Blackstone is evaluating whether it intends to build data centers directly in New Mexico or via affiliates. It will also consider how to handle the cost of upgrading the electrical systems for the large energy load. She said, "We're going to need real guardrails to surround that." TXNM representatives and Blackstone representatives told investors on a conference call shortly after the announcement of the acquisition that they would meet with stakeholders in the next 90-days before filing their plans with the state. The proliferation of artificial intelligence data centres and their record-breaking electricity consumption has led to a regulatory battle over who will pay for upgrades and additional infrastructure for these giant energy consumers. According to a person familiar with Blackstone's TXNM agreement, and speaking on condition of anonymity, the regulated utilities can power data centres, but are prohibited by state regulations from developing or owning the centers. The person stated that the data center companies would pay for any transmission upgrades or new power generation to serve the data centers. (Reporting and editing by Rod Nickel, Laila Kearney)
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Canada's largest pension fund abandons net-zero emission target
Shift, a group of climate activists and pensioners, criticized Canada's largest pension plan on Wednesday to abandon its commitment to achieve net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which manages C$714.4 Billion ($516.93 Billion) in assets and has announced that it will abandon its commitment made in February 2022 of aligning operations and investments with the goal. Shift confirmed that the update, which is covered in its FAQ section, took place on Wednesday, but was unable to confirm the exact date. This action was taken after a wider reevaluation on climate goals, following the departure of several Canadian banks from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance in early this year. According to the plan, "recent developments in Canadian law" that were not specified affected its interpretation of the net-zero goal. Shift denounced this move. Shift stated in a press release that "Net-zero is not an option." In withdrawing from a commitment to invest in line its net-zero-by-2050 commitment, CPPIB management has failed its most fundamental goal - to responsibly handle the long-term savings of Canadians working and retired. CPP Investments has not responded to further requests for comment. Reporting by Maiya Kiedan; editing by Cynthia Osterman.
BHP and Lundin’s Argentina copper project targets 2030 start
Vicuna Corp., owned by BHP Australia and Lundin Mining Canada, said that it expects to begin production on two copper projects in Argentina in 2030.
Why it's important
Argentina hasn't produced copper since 2018. However, it has a large pipeline of projects which could place the country in the top 10 global producers.
There are 13 million metric tonnes of measured copper in the Josemaria mine and Filo del Sol deposit of Vicuna, and 25 millions metric tons of inferred or unmeasured copper.
KEY QUOTES
Jose Morea, the country manager of Vicuna, stated in an interview during ArMinera in Buenos Aires that "the construction timelines for these types of projects, for each deposit would take about three years or a little bit more."
He said that the launch of construction will be delayed until a report on technical aspects is approved.
Morea stated that it would be illogical to believe that, even if the report was approved after its presentation, we could have it in place before 2030.
What's Next?
The executive said that the companies will submit a report on technical aspects to the board of directors of Vicuna in the first half 2026. This report will help determine the exact start date for production and the life expectancy of the project.
Vicuna plans to apply for the Large Investment Incentives Regime, promoted by Javier Milei’s government in order to attract investment.
By the Numbers
Morea, Vicuna's CEO, said that Vicuna will invest $400 million in this Latin American country in 2018, out of an estimated total investment in projects of $5 billion.
CONTEXT
Josemaria is a copper deposit that has advanced to the pre-construction stage. Filo del Sol is a gold-copper-silver deposit that has reached the exploration stage. It is located 11 km from Josemaria, on the Chilean border. Reporting by Lucila SIGAL in Buenos Aires Editing done by Kyra Madry and Matthew Lewis
(source: Reuters)