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Naturgy extends the chief's term to 2030, and changes board
As it restructured its board, the Spanish power utility Naturgy announced on Wednesday that it would "propose to shareholders" that Executive Chairman Francisco Reynes remain at the helm of?the company through 2030. These moves follow recent ownership changes at Spain's biggest gas company. This included an increase of free float after a buyback, and its return to the MSCI Indexes in November. IFM, the Australian investment fund, will have a third member on its board, bringing it up to parity with Naturgy, whose largest shareholder is Spanish holding firm Criteria. Both have stakes of approximately 15.5% and 26%. BlackRock's stake in the company, which is now 11.4%, after a recent sale of an?approximately 7% share, will lose one seat, and have two. The company stated on Wednesday that it expects its earnings and profits this year to be comparable with those of 2025. It expects a net profit in 2026 of over 1.9 billion euros ($2.25 billion), up from the 2.02 billion euro it reported for 2025. Naturgy expects its EBITDA to exceed 5.3 billion euros this year. EBITDA in?2025 was 5.33 billion euro. The company expects its investments to reach 2.1 billion euro, up from 2.14 billion euros in 2018. It also expects a dividend payout of at least 1,80 euros per share, compared to the 1.77 it is planning for 2025. The company has reached an agreement on the price of gas with Sonatrach until 2027.
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Alcoa pays $39 Million for illegally clearing Australian native forests
The Australian Environment Ministry announced on Wednesday that the U.S. aluminum company Alcoa would pay A$55,000,000 ($38.9,000,000) to remediate native forests it illegally removed in Western Australia?in order to mine bauxite. The payment is for nearly 2,100 hectares (5.190 acres) in Northern Jarrah Forest south of Perth that will be cleared without government approval between 2019 and 2025. The Ministry called this payment "unprecedented", as it was the largest ever made. It said that the money would be used to fund initiatives aimed at conservation, including programmes to protect endangered black cockatoos who nest in jarrah tree nests and improve the management of invasive species. Alcoa claimed it complied with Australian laws, while accepting the payment to acknowledge historical clearing. Since the 1960s, Alcoa has been mining bauxite in Western Australia, the raw material used to make aluminium. The company has also cleared approximately 28,000 hectares (69, 000 acres) of jarrah forests native to the state. Alcoa has a workforce of?around 5500 employees in Australia. Around 4,300 are located here. Alcoa has faced increasing opposition to its land clearing activities and the environmental impact they have had on the only remaining jarrah forest in the world. A recent proposal to clear an additional 11,500 hectares attracted a record number of 59,000 public submissions to the state's environmental watchdog. Environment ministry: The government will conduct a strategic analysis to determine the environmental impact of Alcoa’s current and future mining operations?throughout 2045. Alcoa will be allowed to continue clearing "limited land" under the national interest exemption for a period of 18 months to ensure the supply of bauxite during the assessment, it added. Alcoa pledged A$4.2million in additional?offsets' for activities that are covered by this exemption. William Oplinger, CEO of Alcoa, said: "We are committed... to responsible operations. We welcome this important step towards a 'contemporary assessment system that will provide increased certainty for our operations and people in the future." $1 = 1.4152 Australian Dollars (Reporting and editing by Christopher Cushing in Sydney, Lincoln Feast, and Kevin Buckland).
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Wall Street Journal, February 18,
These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been?verified' and we cannot vouch for their accuracy. U.S. steelmaker Steel Dynamics and?Australian conglomerate SGH have submitted an offer that valued BlueScope Steel's equity at approximately $11 billion. They said they would not raise the price unless another bidder emerged. Warner Bros. Discovery announced?on Tuesday that it would restart deal negotiations with Paramount, setting the stage for a possible bidding war between Netflix and its preferred suitor. Paramount sweetened last week its hostile $77.9billion all-cash offer for Warner Discovery including its cable channels CNN and TNT. The German pharmaceutical and agricultural conglomerate Bayer announced on Tuesday that it would settle a nationwide, class-action suit to resolve allegations that its flagship herbicide caused cancer. The settlement plan calls for setting aside $7 billion over a 21-year period to pay out payments. Kalshi has suffered a setback in its fight to remain available in Nevada. A federal appeals court denied its request for a stay of the state's attempts to block the prediction market platform. Kenvue will eliminate 3.5% of its workforce in an effort to reduce costs before its planned acquisition by Kimberly-Clark. Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, has proposed a property tax increase of?nearly 10 percent. He did this after failing to convince New York Governor Kathy Hochul that she should raise taxes on wealthy corporations. (Compiled by Bengaluru Newsroom)
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NexGen CEO: Data centres should consider supporting uranium-related projects
NexGen Energy, a Canadian uranium company, has been in preliminary discussions with data centre providers to secure finance for a new mine that would provide fuel for power plants required for artificial intelligence. This was revealed by its CEO on Wednesday. The demand for artificial intelligence (AI) is driving the massive construction of data centres that are power hungry, which in turn will increase the need for more generation capacity. This includes nuclear plants, which require uranium. NexGen CEO Leigh Curyer says that big tech firms are following the lead of automakers who, several years ago, offered financing for battery material mine developments to ensure there were enough supplies?for a boom in demand expected for electric vehicles. "It's coming. It's already happened with automakers. He said that these?tech companies' are under an obligation to make sure the hundreds of millions they invest in data centres?are powered. NexGen has announced that it is working on its?Rook 1 uranium mine in Saskatchewan, and expects to complete a funding package by the end of the second quarter. The company has secured a mine permit and is expecting to receive final approval from the government before the end June. It claims that the project could meet more than a fifth of the global demand, and would begin production in 2030. Curyer, a reporter at the event, said that NexGen had begun discussions with data center providers about finance, including the long-term supply of uranium. However, the talks would not involve a change in 'control of the company. He didn't name the companies NexGen had been in contact with. He said, "We are very careful to hold our powder until after approval." "We're looking at all financing options, but we want to keep the leverage on the price of uranium when it is delivered." The price of uranium is currently trading at around $88 per pound, after reaching a two-year high in late January above $100 per pound on the prospect that China and India will be stepping up their efforts to develop low-carbon nuclear energy to meet their own energy needs.
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Russell: Geopolitics shifts the mix of suppliers as Asia eats up crude oil.
As the recent run of strong oil prices continues, Asia's imports are expected to reach a new record in February. However, the mix of suppliers has begun to change in response to the geopolitical dynamic. In February, commodity analysts Kpler expect the world's largest import region to see seaborne arrivals totaling 28.51 millions barrels per daily (bpd). This is the highest amount ever recorded on a day-to-day basis. Kpler data shows that the strong imports in February follow on from robust arrivals in December of 27,48 million bpd and 26,22 million bpd, respectively. China and India are the two largest crude buyers in the world. The data also shows that recent geopolitical disturbances are beginning to affect crude oil flows into the region. India is a good example. Imports are expected to increase from January's 5,18 million bpd to 5.40 million in February. Kpler's initial estimate of India's imports for?March is 4,04 million bpd. However, this figure will increase as more cargoes, particularly from the Middle East, are assessed. The March data show a steep drop in the expected arrivals from Russia. They are down to 593,000 BPD, which is a 59% decline from the 1,43 million BPD in February, and the 1,22 million BPD in January. It is possible that Kpler may revise the March total higher. However, any increase that occurs will likely be modest, as cargo arriving in March has likely already been at sea for four to six weeks. India's sudden drop in its?imports and exports of Russian crude is the result of a trade agreement between New Delhi and Washington. The terms of the deal include India reducing imports from Russia, while increasing those from the United States. India has so far complied with its commitment to reduce imports of Russian goods, which is the country's top supplier. However, it still has not lifted those from America. It will be several months before any increase in crude oil arrivals from America is seen, given the longer shipping times. However, Kpler estimates that March imports are only 161,000 bpd - the lowest since February 2025. SAUDI GAINS According to Kpler, the main beneficiary of India's move away from Russia is Saudi Arabia. February imports are expected to hit 1.03 million bpd. This is up from 774,000 bpd during January, and it will be the highest since November 2019. Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company of the Kingdom, has lowered its official selling price (OSPs), which is widely viewed as a way to increase competitiveness and market share. The OSP for March for the benchmark Arab Light for Asian refiners was cut to parity with the Oman/Dubai standard, down from an additional 30 cents per barrel in February. It was the lowest OSP since December 2020, and it continued the recent trend of Saudi Arabian oil being cheaper than its competitors. Kpler expects arrivals in China of 1,58 million bpd for February, up from the 1.20 million bpd?in January, and the highest since June last. According to trade sources, China's imports of Saudi Arabia from March are expected to be as high as 1,87 million?bpd - the highest since October 2022. China, however, continues to rely on Russia as its top supplier. Imports by sea are expected to reach 2.02 million bpd for February, a significant increase from the 1.85 million in January. China's January-February imports of Russian crude oil are the highest since Kpler records began in 2013. They show that Beijing continues to be willing to buy sanctionsed crude from Western governments. The discounts offered by Beijing outweigh any political concerns. You like this column? Open Interest (ROI) is your new essential source of global financial commentary. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis on everything from soybeans to swap rates. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X. These are the views of the columnist, who is also an author. (Editing by Kim Coghill).
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Global Energy Alliance CEO: We are looking to raise $100m by 2028 for India's electricity grids to be digitised.
Woochong Um, the chief executive of the Global Energy Alliance for 'People and Planet,' said that the alliance aims to raise $100 million by 2028 in order to finance India's electricity grid digitisation. It will also approach development finance institutions, such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. GEAPP, a philanthropic organization backed by The Rockefeller Foundation IKEA Foundation, and Bezos Earth Fund is a philanthropic group. The fund will be a follow-up to an initial $25 million investment by the alliance in order to digitalise grids across the states of Rajasthan and Delhi. It would also support a wider nationwide rollout of the project. Um said this in an interview at the Mumbai Climate Week. Grid digitalisation is the?transition from traditional electricity networks to automated systems based on artificial intelligence. It increases?reliability and enables renewable energy integration. Real-time monitoring is also possible, which helps to reduce costs. New Delhi's recently-announced climate action plan aims to reduce emissions intensity by 45% from 2005 levels by 2030, with a goal of net zero set for 2070. Experts have warned, however, that India's rapid economic growth could make the transition difficult. India aims to achieve 500?GW in non-fossil energy capacity by 2030. This is a major?component?of?its COP26 agreement, along with a goal to achieve 50% of its total electric power capacity using non-fossil resources. Grid digitisation will support this effort. Um stated that the global philanthropies, as well as multilateral lenders looking for investable projects are increasingly interested in this backdrop. He said, "There are many concepts but not enough bankable projects." The alliance plans to initially focus on grids of Delhi and Rajasthan, before expanding to 15 utilities across the country by 2028. (Reporting and editing by SumanaNandy; Ashwin Manikandan)
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MORNING BID EUROPE-Geneva talks, inflation in spotlight amid Lunar New Year lull
Rocky Swift gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. Investors are still focusing on geopolitical tensions, as well as signs of cooling in the hot tech sector. This is affecting price movements on commodities, currencies and stocks. Asian shares climbed a little higher, after a slight gain on Wall Street, amid concerns about artificial intelligence's impact on the economy and?valuations?linked to it. Many markets in Asia remained closed due to Lunar New Year. The Nikkei jumped more than 1% in Japan on the expectation that the country's tech companies will benefit from the $36 billion of U.S. projects announced and funded by the Trump administration. Geneva hosts negotiations to cool?hotspots throughout the Middle East and Europe. Abbas Araqchi, the Iranian Foreign Minister, said that Iran and the U.S. had reached an understanding regarding "guiding principles" for resolving their dispute over nuclear energy. The first of two days' worth of peace talks mediated by the United States was also concluded by representatives from Ukraine and Russia. The central bank's policy is still dominated by inflation. The kiwi slid nearly 0.9% as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept rates at their current level and stated that it would remain accommodative if inflation remained low. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee stated on Tuesday that "several" more cuts could be made this year depending on inflation. The minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting from January will be released later on Wednesday. This will give investors a better understanding of what the Fed is thinking. British inflation data is being closely monitored after a report showed that unemployment had risen to a 5-year high on Tuesday, which boosted the case for rate cuts by the Bank of England. This led to a fall in the pound. In January, the?UK consumer price index is expected to slow down to 3% from 3.4% growth in December. France will also?report CPI numbers. Stock futures in Europe pointed to a slight gain at the opening. Stock futures in Europe showed a slight gain at the open. The S&P 500 E-minis (U.S. stock futures) rose 0.06% to 6,864.8. The following are key developments that may influence the markets on Wednesday. - Earnings for UK and France: Glencore Orange Covivio Housing starts and durable goods for December in the U.S.; Industrial production for January Minutes of the Federal Reserve Board for January
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Ambatovy, the nickel-cobalt mine in Madagascar owned by Sumitomo, remains closed due to damage caused by cyclones
Sumitomo Corp., of Japan, said that the Ambatovy Nickel & Cobalt Project in Madagascar is still closed after Tropical Cyclone Gezani hit the island last week and damaged facilities. The?company's statement said that operations were immediately suspended, safety being the number one priority. The company said that it is currently assessing the extent of the damage, the condition of the equipment and the impact on earnings. Sumitomo said it would work with all parties involved to determine the extent of the damage as quickly as possible and implement the appropriate measures for recovery. A company spokesperson stated that the timing of a restart has yet to be determined. It is estimated to take a few weeks to determine the extent of the damage. Last week, traders said that the cyclone halted Ambatovy's production. They added that a long-term?outage would likely increase prices for?battery materials. Ambatovy is owned by Sumitomo, and the state-owned Korea Mining Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation (KOMIR). In 2024 it produced around 28,000 metric tons of nickel and 2,500 tonnes of cobalt. (Reporting and editing by Rashmi aich; Yuka Obayashi)
TSX Futures Fall as Gold Dips; Inflation Data in Focus
The futures that track Canada's main index of stocks edged down on Tuesday as precious metals prices declined. Investors awaited the January inflation data, which was due in the morning.
As of 5:40 a.m., March futures?on S&P/TSX Composite?index - fell 0.18%. ET.
Toronto's benchmark stock index rose 1.9% on the Friday after softer than expected U.S. inflation figures raised expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts. This lifted commodity-linked stocks.
Spot gold dropped 1.4%, while silver fell 2.8%. This was due to the low trading volume, as major Asian markets were closed for Lunar New Year and North American markets on Monday. A stronger U.S. Dollar also impacted the prices.
Brent crude futures dropped 0.55% as traders?assessed supply prospects after Iran conducted naval exercises?near?the Strait of?Hormuz. The U.S.-Iran nuclear talks on Tuesday will provide more clarity.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was up by 0.83%. This includes all of Monday’s price action, as the contract didn't have a settlement on that day due to Presidents Day.
Investors are focusing on the Canadian January inflation data due at 8:30 am?ET Tuesday.
Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada, has appointed?Janice Charette to be?the U.S.'s next chief trade negotiator.
In corporate news the miner Wheaton?Metals announced that it had signed a streaming silver?agreement with BHP worth $4.3 billion. BHP will supply silver from its share in the Antamina mine's output.
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(source: Reuters)