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Switzerland receives a 15% tariff rate reduction in US-Swiss trade agreement
According to the Swiss government, a new trade framework agreement will allow the United States to reduce its tariffs from 39% on Swiss goods down from 15%. U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer had said that the U.S. "basically reached a deal" with Switzerland and would reveal details later on Friday. The Swiss government announced that it would soon announce details. Greer told CNBC that the deal will see Switzerland moving "a lot" of manufacturing to the United States, including pharmaceuticals, gold-smelting and railway equipment. We're excited about the deal, and what it means for American manufacturing. Greer stated that the U.S. will maintain a 15% tariff on Swiss imports in the agreement, but didn't specify what rate. LEVEL PLAYING FIELD WITH EU Swiss industrial groups welcomed this deal. They said it would level the playing field for them with their competitors from the European Union who agreed to a 15 percent tariff on EU exports into the U.S. This is good news for the industrial sector. Since August 1, it was subjected to a tariff of 39%. "For the first time in history, we are able to compete on the U.S. Market with our European counterparts," said Nicola Tettamanti of Swissmechanic. Hans Gersbach is the director of ETH Zurich's KOF Swiss Economics Institute. He said: "It was a relief to have tariffs reduced, but there are still additional risks and economic burdens for Switzerland." Gersbach stated that the biggest relief would be for the Swiss industries of machinery, precision instruments and watchmaking as well as the food sector, which exports to the U.S. KOF predicts Swiss economic growth will be 0.9% by 2026. However, this could increase to 1% if the tariff rate is reduced, he said. The talks had been'very positive' Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin, who returned to Switzerland on Friday following discussions with Greer in Washington said: "We clarified almost everything." Parmelin refused to disclose details of the discussion but said that there would be further communications when "everything is finally clear." Swissmem, the technology industry association, reported that Swiss industry saw its exports to America fall by 14% during the three-month period ending in September. Machine tool makers also saw their shipments drop by 43%. (Reporting and editing by Philippa Feletcher, Lisa Shumaker and Rod Nickel; Additional reporting from Dave Graham, Emma Farge, and Emma Farge.
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Paris Police shoots and wounds a man with a knife at a rail station
The Paris prosecutor's said that French police wounded a man wielding a knife at the Montparnasse station in Paris on Friday. The prosecutor's statement said that an officer used his weapon on the man who then cut himself. Police source says the man threatened his wife and kids in a Parisian suburb before boarding a train to Montparnasse, where police were waiting. Source: When confronted by officers, the man threatened to commit suicide and was shot in the legs. At least one gunshot has been heard, according to the prosecutor's office. One witness said they heard multiple shots. Photographer at the station said that the police intervention caused the crowd to surge in the concourse. The police evacuated the station that serves commuter trains and high-speed rails heading to the west and southwest of the country. BFM TV reported that another witness heard a loud boom before panic spread around him. It took me about two or three second to realize what was going on. "We need to leave here quickly," people began to say. My heart started racing, and I ran, the witness said. Reporting by Stephane Mahae, Alessandro Parodi, and Inti landauro. Writing by Richard Lough. Editing by Philippa Fletcher.
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Azerbaijan is seeking $500 million in multilateral loans for project financing
Sahil Baibaev, the Finance Minister of Azerbaijan, said that Azerbaijan was in discussions with international financial institutions such as the World Bank in order to secure 850 million manats (500 million dollars) in project funding next year. He also said that the country is in contact with the Asian Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Babayev stated that Azerbaijan will use 850 million manats next year to finance projects, with the money coming from loans obtained through international financial institutions. We are in contact with them all, since there are multiple projects involved. The minister stated that negotiations are ongoing on all fronts. "We also do not exclude issuing Eurobonds as a way to finance some projects," he said. Babayev stated that the total debt of Azerbaijan was 25,4 billion manats as of October 1. This is equivalent to 19,5% of GDP. Babayev said that 8.3 billion manats or 32.8% of the total debt was external debt, and 17.1 billion or 67.2% of it was domestic debt. According to government projections, the debt to GDP ratio is expected to reach 21,8% by end-2026. Babayev stated that Azerbaijan is among the twenty countries with the lowest ratio of debt to GDP. Azerbaijani strategic reserves were $81.5 billion as of October 1. This is roughly 17 times more than the external government debt. Babayev believes that the revenues and expenses of the state oil fund in 2026 will be equal, both being around $7.7 billion. At a price of $65 a barrel for oil, there is no expectation that reserves will be reduced. "The country's financial stability is strong," he said. The minister said that as of the same date 28.4% Azerbaijani government external debt was held in Eurobonds, which were issued on the international financial markets. Their volume has been unchanged since the start of the year. Mark Potter edited this article.
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Sources say that the Saratov refinery in Russia was shut down on 11 November after drone attacks.
Two industry sources said that the Saratov refinery in Russia, located on the Volga River, halted primary oil refining after Ukrainian drone attacks on 11 November. Sources claim that the plant may remain closed until the end the month. Ukraine has intensified drone attacks in Russia. The aim is to destroy oil refineries and depots, and shut down pipelines, as well as Moscow's main source of funding the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian military announced on Tuesday that it had conducted strikes against the Saratov refinery. The attack caused a fire and explosions in the surrounding area. On Friday, the plant was also struck. On Friday, the governor of Saratov said that drones had caused damage to civilian infrastructure. According to sources and an online video purporting that it shows the attack on the refinery plant, a large storage tank caught fire. Rosneft which controls the plant did not respond to a comment request. Sources said that the CDU-6 crude distillation unit could be damaged. This is the only primary processing unit of the plant. The nameplate capacity of the plant is around 20,000 metric tonnes, or 147,000 bbls. Saratov's refinery will process 5.8 million tonnes of oil in 2024. This is around 2.2% the total amount of oil processed by Russia. The refinery produced 1.9 millions tons of diesel and 1.2 million tonnes of gasoline, as well as 1 million tons fuel oil. (Reporting and Editing by Louise Heavens).
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Gold falls over 3% after hawkish Fed remarks spark market sell-off
Gold prices fell more than 3% Friday, as a result of a wider market sell-off sparked off by hawkish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials. This lowered hopes for an interest rate reduction in December. As of 9:02 am, spot gold was down 3.1% at $4,041.01 an ounce. ET (1153 GMT). The bullion price is still up 1.4% this week. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 3.6% to $ 4,043.10 an ounce. David Meger is the director of metals at High Ridge Futures. He said that the idea that there will be a lower likelihood of a Fed cut in December has taken some of the wind from the silver and gold markets. The equity markets fell after the global selloff caused by Fed hawkish signals. The Fed and traders are now in the dark ahead of the next policy meeting due to a data gap created by Thursday's end of the longest U.S. shutdown. Investors were hoping that fresh data would indicate a slowing of the economy, giving the Fed the room to reduce rates in December. This would boost the appeal for non-yielding metals like gold. These expectations were dimmed when more Fed policymakers took a cautious approach to additional monetary ease. The FedWatch tool of CME Group showed that market expectations of a 25 basis point rate cut in January fell from 64% to 53% earlier this week. Gold that does not yield a return tends to do well in periods of economic instability and low interest rates. When margin calls or liquidations occur, traders will close all positions to release margin. In this environment of risk-off, even gold prices are down. This is partly explained by Fawad Rasaqzada's note, a market analyst for City Index and FOREX.com. The demand for physical gold in major Asian markets has been subdued over the past week. Silver spot fell 3.7%, to $50.38 an ounce, but is still on course for a gain of 4.6% per week. Palladium fell 3.3% and platinum dropped 3.6%, to $1,379.18. (Reporting and editing by Noel John in Bengaluru, Pablo Sinha from Mumbai; Leroy Leo).
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Bulgaria is exempted from UK sanctions on refineries and petrol stations
Britain paused sanctions on Friday, allowing Bulgaria's Burgas Refinery and petrol stations owned by Russia's Lukoil to continue doing business with banks and companies. Last month, the UK announced sanctions against Russia's biggest oil companies Rosneft, and Lukoil. A week later, the U.S. did the same in an effort to cut off the funding of Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation in Britain said that it had issued a license allowing economic resources and payments to flow from and to two Bulgarian entities for existing or new contracts. The law allows banks and companies to transact with Lukoil Neftochim Burgas AD, Lukoil Bulgaria EOOD and Lukoil Bulgaria EOOD as operators of the refinery, petrol stations and their subsidiaries until February 14, 2019. Sources close to the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control have confirmed that the U.S. will issue a similar license regarding the Bulgarian entities on Friday. Boyko Borissov is the leader of the largest coalition party in Bulgaria. He told local media on Friday that he hopes the country will be granted a six-month exemption from U.S. sanctions. Requests for comments were not immediately responded to by the White House or Treasury Department. Assen Asenov told Bulgarian news agency BTA that the country's gasoline and diesel reserves were running out in a few weeks. (Reporting and editing by Sarah Young, Jason Neely and Sam Tabahriti from London)
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Brazilian protesters barricade the entrance to the COP30 Climate Summit
On Friday morning in Brazil, dozens of indigenous protesters blocked the entrance of the COP30 Summit venue. They staged a sit-in which forced delegates into a side door to resume their climate change negotiations. During the peaceful protests, security guards increased checks, and long queues formed to get into the compound. The sprawling complex is built on an old airport site in the Amazonian city of Belem. The venue hosts the annual U.N. Climate Conference where delegates of 195 countries are trying to make progress in halting global temperature rises that threaten delicate ecosystems, including the Amazon rainforest. The protesters demand that the Brazilian Government halt all development projects in Amazonia, including oil drilling, mining, logging and building a new railroad for the transport of mining and agricultural goods. "President Lula we are here because we want to hear you. "We refuse to be sacrificed in the name of agribusiness," said the Munduruku indigenous group, which carried out the protest. The Brazilian president Luiz inacio Lula da S Silva highlighted Indigenous communities as being key players at this year's COP30. The Amazon rainforest is home to the Munduruku Territory, which covers an area of nearly 24,000 sq km (9 square miles), roughly the same size as the U.S. State of New Hampshire. The Munduruku statement also added: "We protect the climate and the Amazon, but it cannot be destroyed for the benefit of big corporations." Andre Correa do Lago, the COP30 president, was seen negotiating outside the venue. The U.N. Climate body stated that the protest was not dangerous. On Tuesday, dozens Indigenous protesters forced themselves into the COP30 venue. They clashed at the entrance with security guards. Later, they defended their actions by saying that they wanted to show the desperation in their fight for forest conservation. (Reporting and editing by William James, Andrew Heavens and Valerie Volcovici; reporting by Adriano Makado and Valerie Volcovici)
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Reliance will build a 1 gigawatt AI Data Centre in Andhra Pradesh, India
Reliance Industries will build a 1 gigawatt AI datacenter in Andhra Pradesh in India, announced the chief minister of the state on Friday. This is a major addition to the infrastructure in India, where companies like Microsoft and Google have invested heavily in AI. Chandrababu Naidu, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, did not reveal financial details about the investment. Reliance didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. Companies are investing heavily in building new infrastructure around the world to meet the booming demand for AI-based services. India is an important growth market, where almost a billion people access the internet. Google committed last month to investing $15 billion over five years in an AI datacenter in Andhra Pradesh. This was its largest investment ever in India. Microsoft and Amazon also invested billions in building data centers across India. Reliance’s planned data centre will function as a twin of its gigawatt scale AI data center located in Jamnagar, Gujarat. "Together they form one of Asia’s strongest AI infrastructure network," Naidu stated. AI demands enormous computing power. This is driving the demand for data centers specialised to enable tech companies link thousands of chip clusters together. The Reliance Group, headed by Indian billionaire Mukesh Amani, includes Jio - India's top telecoms provider - Reliance Retail Ltd., Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. and Jamnagar – India's biggest oil complex. (Reporting and editing by Joe Bavier, Susan Fenton, and Munsif Vengattil from Bengaluru)
China pledges to boost its consumption and better balance supply and demand
China's cabinet promised on Friday to boost the consumption of goods and services by aligning them with consumer demand. They also pledged to use consumption improvements to drive industrial upgrades. This was revealed in a read-out broadcast by CCTV.
The cabinet said that it would also create an environment that is conducive to consumption and improve products and services in consumer finance.
Chinese leaders have indicated a more radical shift toward
Supporting consumption
Over the next five-year period, trade tensions and a limited investment space will expose vulnerabilities.
China's
The structural imbalances continued to persist in October. In October, industrial output increased by 4.9% on a year-on year basis. This was the lowest growth rate in more than a year. Retail sales, a key indicator of consumption, rose only 2.9%.
To combat the persistent pressures of deflation, the government has intensified its efforts to reduce overcapacity among companies and to stop price wars.
The readout stated that the cabinet at the meeting presided by Premier Li Qiang said, "Improving the alignment between demand and supply is an effective way to unleash further consumption potential."
The cabinet stated that "Industrial upgrade should be driven by consumption upgrade, and high quality supply should better satisfy diverse demands. This will achieve a higher level dynamic balance between demand and supply."
The cabinet said that firms should increase the supply of high-quality, distinctive consumer goods and upgrade safety and environmental standards. Reporting by Beijing Newsroom, Kevin Yao and Peter Graff. Editing by Peter Graff.
(source: Reuters)