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China waives some tariffs on U.S. products, but denies Trump’s claim that negotiations are underway
China exempted certain U.S. exports from its steep duties in a Friday sign that the trade conflict between the two nations could be easing. However, China quickly slammed U.S. president Donald Trump's claim that negotiations were under way. Business groups claim that China has allowed certain U.S. pharmaceuticals to enter without the 125% duty Beijing imposed on imports of the U.S. earlier this month as a response to Trump’s 145% tariffs. A list of 131 categories of products that are allegedly being considered for exemptions is also circulating in some business and trade groups. The list includes chemicals, vaccines and jet engines. China has yet to make a public statement on the matter. Trump's administration in recent days has signaled that it wants to de-escalate tensions between the two world's largest economies. Trump himself also told TIME that talks are taking place, and that Chinese president Xi Jinping called him. He said: "I don’t think that it is a sign weakness on his part." China denies that any discussions are taking place. "China and the U.S. do NOT have any consultations or negotiations on #tariffs." The U.S. must stop confusing people," wrote the Chinese Embassy to Washington on social media. Trump announced tariffs for dozens of countries in addition to China. He suspended them until July 9, but has since re-imposed them. This has sparked a rush among U.S. trade partners to reach individual deals with Washington by the July 9 deadline. Trump told reporters in the White House he was close to reaching a deal with Japan. Analysts see this as a test case for other bilateral agreements, even though the talks may be difficult. Many expect Shigeru Shiba, the Prime Minister of Japan, and Donald Trump to announce an agreement when they meet in Canada at the G7 Summit in June. Trump told TIME separately that he has made "200 deals", which he said would be finished within three to four week, but he refused to give specifics. He said that he would be happy if tariffs remained between 20% and 50% in a year. The U.S. trade representative said that it held a successful meeting with South Korea last Friday. Trump has claimed that his thickets of trade barriers would revive U.S. Manufacturing Industries that were wiped out by global competition. Economists warn, however, that this would increase prices for U.S. customers and increase the chance of recession. Trump has imposed additional tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum in addition to country-specific duties. He also proposed additional levies for pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. The dollar rose for the first time in over a month on Friday, and European and Asian shares headed to a second consecutive week of gains. Investors were encouraged by signs that the U.S. was willing to ease off its trade war with China. Wall Street's major indexes started slightly lower.
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US court launches 30-day competition to buy parent company's shares of Citgo
According to a late Thursday court filing, a U.S. court official overseeing the auction of shares of Citgo Petroleum's parent company in Venezuela has proposed opening a 30-day period for bids on April 28. The final winner of the process will be chosen on June 11. The Delaware Judge Leonard Stark must approve the proposed calendar. It follows confirmation of a $3.7 Billion starting bid from Contrarian Funds affiliate Red Tree Investments. Red Tree's "stalking horse" bid was selected, and the 16 creditors who remain in this 8-year old case began a fight. Some parties thought the offer was too low, while others found it too complicated because it included an agreement to pay $3 billion in compensation to holders of Venezuelan defaulted bonds. Some companies hope that following an auction hearing held last week, where creditors and bidders presented their arguments, the court will give priority to price rather than certainty of closure in selecting the winner of the auction next month. This would allow creditors to receive the maximum amount possible of proceeds. Miner Gold Reserve, one of the creditors involved in the case, submitted an offer this year for $7.1 billion that was not chosen as the starting bid. The company said they were "encouraged by the decision made by Judge Stark on the stalking bid." The order expresses reservations regarding Red Tree's lower offer price and the implicit undervaluation of the transaction support agreement between 2020 bondholders and the company, which is to the detriment to the judgment creditors involved in the Citgo Sale proceeding. The person said that a consortium consisting of a subsidiary Gold Reserve, Rusoro, and two units of the conglomerate Koch are looking forward to the next phase of the process. Vitol is one of the four consortia or companies that have submitted bids this year. It wasn't immediately clear whether it would make a new offer. Citgo is valued at no more than 13 billion dollars, and the total proceeds of the auction are estimated between $7 billion to $8 billion.
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Hawaii's "bone collector" caterpillar wears body parts of dead prey
Scientists have discovered an unusual carnivorous species of caterpillar that lives in a macabre manner. They have named it "the bone collector" and found that the area is remote, lushly covered with trees on Oahu Island. Researchers said that the caterpillar scavenges trapped and helpless insects such as beetles and flies. The clever caterpillar hides its body in a silk case that it makes and decorates with non-edible parts of the insects it has collected. This is how it avoids the spiders, who would love to eat it. This caterpillar will eventually metamorphose into a moth, which is brown and white in color. The larval form of the moth is the caterpillar, which has a worm-like segmented body. According to Daniel Rubinoff of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, professor of entomology and the lead author of this study, published in Science journal this week, the caterpillar is the only one known to benefit from spiders and live with them. Its gruesome behavior seems well-suited to a crime novel. It is a great example of how our planet's organisms are creative in their ways to survive and flourish. Rubinoff explained that spiders need to be hidden in a tapestry made of insect parts in order to survive in their lair. Rubinoff stated, "I believe it is a real hero." "It lives in the lion's roar, hiding with a spider to get food and shelter. The caterpillar attacks prey who can't escape, but it is also very slow and bumbling. It trails a large case (of silk) behind it. Spiders spin webs in hollows of trees and rocks, where they catch caterpillars that eat insects. Rubinoff explained, "It's likely that it's getting leftovers from the spider after they have fed." Even worse, they cannibalize other caterpillars from the same species. The "Bone Collector", a nickname for a serial killer, was used in Jeffery Deaver’s 1997 novel The Bone Collector and the 1999 film with the same title. How did this caterpillar get its infamous nickname? "I believe the term is in the air and fits with what these caterpillars do." Rubinoff explained that the term is a little tongue-in-cheek because arthropods do not have actual bones. Arthropods is the collective name for invertebrates, which includes insects, spiders and crustaceans. Researchers said that the "bone-collector" lives in a small patch of forest covering only 5.8 square miles (15 sq km) within the Waianae Mountain Range. Rubinoff stated that this caterpillar lives a precarious life. In two decades of fieldwork, only 62 individuals were observed. "Invasive species pose the greatest threat today." Hawaii's native species are disappearing even in protected areas due to invasive plants taking over habitats. They turn them into bio deserts, which look like forest but are not accessible to native species," Rubinoff stated. The caterpillar is part of a group called Hyposmocoma, which includes hundreds of species native to Hawaii and evolved about 12 million ago. Researchers believe that the "bone-collector" is a descendant of a lineage dating back more than five million years. Most caterpillars feed on plants. Globally, predatory caterpillars make up less than 0.13 % of the nearly 200,000 species of moths and butterflies. The "bone collector", which is unique to the animal world, is the only known creature that can find food in the manner it does. Rubinoff stated that the more we understand the world, the better we will do.
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Kazakh gold miner Solidcore plans to raise $1 billion or more by the end of 2026
Solidcore Resources Plc, a Kazakh gold mining company, aims to borrow $1 billion to develop projects in Kazakhstan by 2026. CEO Vitaly Nesis said that. Nesis, in an interview, said that the company, which was formerly known as Polymetal before it changed its name, also considers placing bonds up to $300,000,000 on the Muscat stock exchange (MSX). Solidcore, Kazakhstan’s second-largest gold miner plans to produce 15 tons of gold annually in the country by 2025 and 2026. Nesis confirmed this. In an interview, he said: "By 2025-2026 we would like to borrow at least $1 billion." He stated that the majority of the investment will be used to build the Ertis Pressure Oxidation Hub, for which a project financing of $500-600 millions is planned. Solidcore moved its main listing to London in 2023. In March 2024 it sold Russian assets to comply with U.S. sanctions. This accounted for 70% its production, which was 1.7 million ounces gold equivalent. As U.S. Tariffs have caused fears of a recession, gold, which is traditionally viewed as a hedge to political and economic uncertainty, has gained almost 26% this year. On Tuesday, it reached a new record high of $3.500.05. Nesis said that he expected the price of gold will fall in the coming year. He said, "I'm expecting prices to drop to $2,500 in 12 months." There will be no return of the level between $1,800 and $1900. The base-level premium will continue. Nesis stated that this was an overreaction at the moment to what's happening in the world. Reporting by Mariya Goreyeva, writing by Felix Light, editing by Louise Heavens
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Swiss central bank faces protests about investments
The Swiss National Bank held its annual shareholders meeting on Friday. Environmentalists expressed their disapproval of companies that they claim contribute to the destruction of the environment in areas like the Amazon rainforest or the Cerrado savanna. The protests in Bern were aimed at the SNB holdings of firms that had been identified by a University College London study as "Environmental Tipping Point" companies -- corporations, whose activities are said to cause irreversible environmental damage. Outside the meeting, campaigners held placards with an image of SNB chairman Martin Schlegel with a speech balloon saying "burn baby" and a banner that read "Deforestation Is Not A Swiss Value." Activists called for stricter exclusion criteria to be applied to the SNB's investment and demanded that the central bank use its position as an investor to influence the behaviour of companies. They said that the central bank would divest if they did not follow the SNB guidelines to not purchase securities from companies which cause serious environmental damage. Schlegel responded by saying that the SNB has strict policies for excluding companies from its investment portfolio, and avoids those who violate human rights, or harm the environment. He said that the central bank was not mandated to address climate change and risks to biodiversity. He told shareholders that the SNB did not have any climate goals for its currency reserve. The reason is our narrow and clearly defined legal mandate that is centered on price stability. He said that expanding the role of the SNB could compromise its independence. Asti Roesle, of the campaign group Climate Alliance Switzerland, pointed out the visible effects of climate change on the country. These include melting glaciers and extreme temperatures that have led to landslides and caused economic damage. She said that if the SNB fails to consider climate and environmental risk in its monetary decision-making, it will be shortsighted and fail its duty to protect future generation. Roesle said that the SNB, which spoke at the meeting and held a large amount of equity, could have a significant impact. About 25% of the SNB's 756 billion Swiss Francs ($914 Billion) in foreign reserve is invested in global stocks. Critics of the SNB say that despite its claim that it adheres strictly to guidelines for investments, it still invests in companies which damage the environment. Guillaume Durin, from BreakFree, a Swiss climate group, said that the SNB did not follow its own rules. "As an investor who is passive, the SNB complicits in the destruction of ecosystems vital to the balance of the planet." $1 = 0.8275 Swiss Francs (Reporting and Editing by William Maclean, Joe Bavier and John Revill)
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Residents claim that gunmen killed at least 20 peoples in a mining village in Nigeria's Zamfara State
Residents and Amnesty International reported that gunmen killed at least twenty people in a raid on a gold-mining village in the northwestern state of Zamfara in Nigeria. The motive of the attack was not immediately clear, but Zamfara has been plagued by kidnappings and ransoms committed by armed groups who target both security forces. The spokesperson for the Zamfara Police did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Ismail Hassan told a resident that gunmen opened fire in their hundreds on miners in the village of Gobirawa Chali, in the Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State, on Thursday afternoon. A firefight followed, with more than 20 people dying in the mining community of Gobirawa Chali. Isah Ibrahim, a resident of the area, reported that they recovered 21 bodies and several injured following the attack. Amnesty International stated in a press release that the gunmen killed over 20 people in Gobirawa Chali by going house to house. In the last two years, armed gangs of men who operate from remote forests have murdered and kidnapped hundreds in northwest Nigeria. Armed forces in the country are stretched thin and have had difficulty securing large remote areas. Insecurity in Nigeria is causing the military to be stretched. This includes an Islamist insurgency, farmer-herder conflicts in the central belt, and separatist movements in southern Nigeria. Reporting by Ahmed Kingimi, Writing by Chijioke Ahuocha, Editing by Alexandra Hudson
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US wants to increase offshore oil drilling through easing of pressure rules
The U.S. Interior Department announced on Thursday that it had implemented new guidelines regarding pressure differentials allowed in certain types of oil drilling, in a part of the Gulf of Mexico. The department expects these changes to boost U.S. output of oil. The Energy Dominance Council, led by Doug Burgum, Interior Secretary to President Donald Trump, is seeking ways to reduce costs for oil and natural gas producers, lower regulations, and increase oil production, which was at record levels during the tenure of former President Joe Biden. Operators working in the Wilcox formation, which is part of the waters Trump has renamed as the Gulf of America can now produce oil using multiple offshore reservoirs by increasing the pressure difference. The Paleogene rules for so-called "downhole commingling" between reservoirs expand the allowed differential pressure from 200 pounds per sq inch to 1500 psi. Interior anticipates that the changes will increase oil production by 100,000 barrels a day in the region within 10 years. Burgum said that this was a "major milestone" in the quest to achieve American Energy Dominance. "We are delivering more American Energy, more efficiently and with fewer roadblocks." Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement stated that the producers must comply with conditions, including regular performance reporting and pressure monitoring. The Bureau of Ocean Drilling issued safety regulations for offshore drillers late in the Biden Administration, as new technology allows them to work under extreme pressures subsea. High pressures may unlock untapped oil reserves worth billions of barrels around the globe, but safety concerns are looming about possible leaks at drilling sites. Scott Eustis is the director of community science for the Healthy Gulf non-profit group. He said, "This change will make more money for those who push paper, but it will also make the job more dangerous for those who push tools out on the water." Erik Milito of the National Ocean Industries Association said that the rule change was "designed to unlock potential stranded oil and gas production offshore while keeping safety, environmental protection, and front and center." The Biden-era regulations came after Chevron began production at its Anchor project, owned by TotalEnergies, which was the world's first project to reach reservoir depths as deep as 34,000 feet (10363 m) at 20,000 psi. (Reporting and editing by Hugh Lawson; Timothy Gardner)
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China's solar and wind power capacity surpasses thermal for the first time ever, says energy regulator
China's wind- and solar-powered power generation capacity soared to 1,482 Gigawatts at the end of last month, surpassing fossil fuels thermal power for the first ever time in the history of the country, said the country's Energy Regulator on Friday. China, despite being one of the few countries that still uses coal to generate electricity, has been a leader in expanding renewable energy, and new installations have reached record levels. The country set the goal of increasing wind and solar power to 1,200 GW in 2030 and achieved that target six years earlier last year. Beijing has been urged to double its target by campaigners. Grid access is still a problem. Although the proportion of renewable energy in China's mix of electricity has increased, its contribution to power generation hasn't. Grid firms continue to prioritize electricity from fossil fuel plants. The National Energy Administration announced on Friday that, despite accounting for more than half the total installed capacity, wind and solar power accounted 22.5% of electricity delivered to customers in the first three months of this year. Natixis, a French investment firm, said that this year, a decline in overseas demand for China’s panels and turbines, fueled by escalating protectionism, encouraged the country to "front-load” new renewable energy capacities at home even though their grids weren't yet ready to receive them. In the end, much of China's wind and solar power has gone to waste. China, despite its pledge to reduce coal dependence, began building a further 99.5 GW in coal-fired capacity by 2024. The country says that new coal-fired power projects will support renewables which rely partly on intermittent energy sources. China has the largest fleet in the world of coal-burning plants and is the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide. It has committed to reducing coal consumption between 2026 and 2030, with the goal of reaching a CO2 peak by the end the decade. The United Nations Paris Agreement also calls for a 65% reduction in the carbon intensity of 2005 - i.e., emissions per unit of GDP growth generated - before 2030. Lauri Myllivirta is a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. She said that the country remains "badly behind" in its targets, and the newly-commissioned coal plants may continue to "crowd" out clean energy. After several years of slow progression, it will be difficult to deliver China's headline agreement under the Paris Agreement," Myllivirta stated in a report released by Dialogue Earth Thursday. David Stanway is the reporter. Mark Potter (Editing)
Cornwall Insight reports that Britain's cap on energy prices will fall by 9% this July.
The cap on domestic energy prices in Britain is expected to drop by around 9% this July, after wholesale energy costs fell amid the warmer weather conditions and U.S. tariffs announcements fuelled fears about economic growth.
The government would welcome a reduction in the cap, as it is under pressure to keep its promise to reduce household energy costs.
The benchmark British gas price has fallen by around 40% in the last few months as warmer weather has curtailed demand. In addition, the EU Parliament endorsed weaker storage regulations for gas and there are growing fears about a global trade conflict that could hinder economic growth and industrial production.
"We've all seen markets rise and fall quickly, and that the market fell so rapidly shows the vulnerability of the market to market and geopolitical shifts," said Craig Lowrey. Principal Consultant at Cornwall Insight.
The British energy regulator Ofgem caps household energy bills every quarter, using a formula which reflects wholesale prices of energy and also includes network costs from suppliers and environmental and other social levies.
Cornwall Insight predicts that Ofgem will lower its price cap in July, to 1,683 pounds (2,238.89 dollars) per year based upon average usage. In April it was 1,849 pounds.
Lowrey stated that the high volatility of the market could mean the cap forecast will change before it is set by Ofgem at the end May. ($1 = 0.7517 pound) (Reporting by Susanna Twidale, editing by Mark Heinrich).
(source: Reuters)