Nordic States

Seven oil and gas companies are racing to secure offshore exploration rights before a New Zealand national election, which could result in a ban on new permits. The country's main parties?battle about the need for natural gas. New Zealand has attracted?interest? after the conservative government overturned last year a ban on offshore drilling, imposed in 2018. The goal was to avoid gas shortages for industry users and boost power generation during dry years when hydropower production falls. In May, the country produced 7,6 petajoules (PJ) of gas. This was largely due to fields that have declined or are about to...

According to LSEG's forecasts, published Thursday to coincide with the start of reporting season, a surge in energy sector profits will help European blue-chip companies to post their highest earnings growth in more than three years. LSEG IBES data predicts that companies in Europe's benchmark STOXX 600 index will report earnings growth of 16.7% during the second quarter. This is based on?results from 28 companies, and market estimates for those whose results are not yet in. The rate of growth excluding energy companies is a modest 6.4%. The European energy'majors' are reportedly?posting profits that are more than 125% greater year-on-year....

Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, said that the?new U.S. attacks on Iran? were "absolutely needed" The?U.S. The?U.S. Rutte said to reporters in Ankara, before the NATO summit. "When there is a ceasefire and Iran basically violates the ceasefire I think that it is absolutely crucial that the U.S. react forcefully." The European leaders will try to persuade Donald Trump to commit to the alliance after he renewed his disagreements with them regarding the Iran War and Greenland. Rutte stated that there was no doubt about the "complete commitment" of the United States to NATO, which he added also worked to...

The Danish brewer, Carlsberg, has filed a confidential application for an IPO of its Indian operations, the company announced on Thursday. It joins a growing number of multinationals seeking to tap India's booming equity markets. The 'confidential - route allows companies to keep the IPO filings they make with the country’s markets regulator secret until the launch. Two sources familiar with the matter said that Carlsberg India's planned listing would not raise new capital, but it would allow its parent company to sell a portion of its stake. The brewery is a fully owned subsidiary of Carlsberg Group. This move...

The U.N. Human Rights Council decided on Tuesday to hold an emergency debate on the situation 'in Sudan's al-Obeid' later this week. Britain's envoy warned of the 'risk of mass atrocities' The request was made after reports that Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allies were massing forces in the area of al-Obeid, which could lead to an escalation in the conflict. Human Rights Ambassador of Britain,?Eleanor Sanders, described the "siege-like" conditions that thousands are trapped in and isolated from humanitarian aid due to increasing drone strikes. She told the Geneva-based Council that "up to 500,000 civilians now...

Spanish renewable energy company, 'Audax Renovables' announced on Thursday that it plans to make a voluntary takeover bid for Norway's Elmera Group. The bid is valued at 4.5 billion Norwegian crowns (US$456 million). Elmera also said that another strategic player had made a non-binding offer with a "significantly" higher price. Early trade saw Elmera's shares up by about 43% while Audax's shares fell 1.4%. The Norwegian 'company' said in a press release that it had entered into an?exclusive agreement and due diligence agreement? with the unnamed interested party, adding that this process has been ongoing for several weeks. * Elmera...

Jarle Roth, a member of the board at Equinor's Norwegian oil group, was voted by its nomination committee as the?new chairman after Jon Erik Reinhardsen announced his decision to step down. Reinhardsen has been the chairman of the board since nearly a decade. He has overseen a push to expand into low-carbon and renewable businesses. This expansion has slowed down in recent years due to rising costs, concerns about energy security and U.S. headwinds. Equinor issued a statement in which it said that Jon Erik Reinhardsen - who has been the chair of the Board since 2017 - would like...

Jeffrey Schmid, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, said that the already high levels of inflation make it difficult to assume that the current energy shock will only have a temporary effect on prices and can be ignored. "My main concern is the inflation which has been too high and above target for a long time," Schmid stated in a text of a talk to be given before a conference held in Iceland. I place little weight on the assumption that the recent rise in prices will be temporary within a reasonable time frame. As such, "my...

Data exclusively shared with shows that demand for electric vehicles has risen in Europe as fuel prices linked to the 'Iran War' have pushed sales of second-hand and new EVs. This is a boost for the auto industry. While?sales for fully electric cars in Europe are expected to grow 30% by 2025, the adoption of EVs on the continent is still behind industry expectations. 'Carmakers - from Fiat-owned Stellantis to Volkswagen, who had invested heavily to meet the expectation of a much higher EV market, have booked multi-billion dollar charges in the past year to cover asset writedowns. The rise...

The central bank of Sweden can wait until it has a better picture to adjust policy. Erik Thedeen, Governor of the Riksbank, said that "the focus is on inflation risks and we will be monitoring closely any signs that 'inflationary trends are spreading more widely in the economy." It is too early to tell if a "change of direction" is required, but we are "ready to change our stance". Oil prices have risen dramatically due to the war in the Middle East. There is a growing consensus on the impact this will have on the global economy. Currently, conditions in...

European shares fell on 'Thursday, after a steep rise?in the prior session. Investors analyzed?progress toward a U.S. Iran peace deal which pushed crude oil prices sharply down. STOXX 600, the pan-European index of stocks, ended up 1.1% lower than it was on Wednesday after gaining more than 2%. The majority of regional bourses in France, Germany, and Britain also declined. European energy stocks fell 2.5% when crude oil dropped below $100 per barrel. Shell fell 2.9%, despite exceeding first-quarter profits estimates and increasing its dividend by 5%. Sources and officials reported that oil prices were under pressure when?the U.S. &...

The company reported on Wednesday a higher-than-expected increase in profits for the first quarter, boosted by a record production and the fact that oil and gas prices rose in March because of the Middle East war. Equinor's poll of 23 analysts predicted $9.0 billion for the Norwegian energy group. This quarter, we?deliver exceptional performance in the field and record-high output... "We present strong financial results, combined with higher prices," said?CEO Anders Opedal in a press release. Equinor has maintained its decision to reduce share buybacks this year by 70%, despite the possibility of windfall profits resulting from Middle East supply...

President Donald Trump signed an executive directive on Monday that makes it more difficult for U.S. Defense contractors to get waivers to purchase critical minerals and materials from China or other banned foreign suppliers. This is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to reduce its reliance on overseas supply chain for weapons production. Defense contractors must now do more than just show that a Chinese supplier offers the cheapest or easiest option. Companies requesting a waiver must prove that they have looked for alternatives, disclosed the origins of materials and provided a plan on how to reduce their reliance...

The Iran War has caused a supply shock that is reviving the old Western aluminum smelters. Magnitude 7 Metals in the U.S. is reactivating its New Madrid smelter located in Missouri. Over the Atlantic, Norwegian producer Hydro announced the partial restart of the Slovalco joint-venture smelter. The two plants were idled due to low aluminum prices and a spike in energy prices that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Washington and Brussels are both desperate to reduce their reliance on an import of a metal used in a wide range of industries. The return of these zombies smelters will not...

These are the most popular?stories from the New York Times business pages. The New York Times has not?verified?these?stories and cannot?guarantee?their accuracy. U.S. president Donald Trump will likely restore the rights of Turkey to buy F-35 stealth jets at the NATO summit, which would reverse a 7-year-old ban imposed by Trump himself. Canada announced on Monday that it has selected ThyssenKrupp to build a fleet of submarines in collaboration with the Norwegian, German and Canadian governments. This is a move towards reducing Canada's military and economic dependence on the United States. Walmart announced on Monday that it would be slashing the...

Aluminum prices dropped on Thursday, as improved supply expectations overshadowed the support of resilient manufacturing data. Benchmark -three-month aluminum on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.46% to $3,062 per metric tonne by 0700 GMT. It fell to $3,040 a metric tonne earlier in the day, its lowest level since February 19. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded aluminium contract fell 0.38%, to 22,400 Yuan ($3,300.09). Emirates Global Aluminium announced that it would be able to restore production at its Al Taweelah Complex - one the largest aluminium production facilities in the world - sooner than expected, signaling an "improving outlook"...

Ferrari and BMW have introduced new models with lightweight, cost-effective aluminum wiring. This is accelerating the shift away from copper as the dominant material for electric wiring ever since the invention two centuries ago of the electric batteries. JPMorgan predicts that the decisions will affect around 2% global copper demand in this year. Tesla and Chinese EV makers have also made similar moves. The structural increase in copper prices could lead to even more copper being switched over to aluminium. This is due to the increased demand for data centres and green energy, as well as the shortage of copper....

Energy Transition Minerals hopes to expand in Spain's Galicia Province as it waits for a resolution of the?legal challenges regarding its massive rare earths project on Greenland. Daniel Mamadou said in an interview with? In an interview, Daniel Mamadou told? Mamadou stated that "Galicia has an ambitious plan to revive its mining industry." He added that up to 52 mines will be put out to tender for development. "We think that the Penouta operation can be at the heart of an expansion of Galicia... We might be able to?benefit from economies of size and position." ETM has not provided any...

According to a notice received by?on Saturday, Norsk Hydro declared a second case of force majeure for?aluminum sales from Qatar. This was after the Qatalum joint-venture?had unexpectedly terminated its marketing agreement with Norsk Hydro. Hydro, which holds a?50%?share in the Qatalum project, which produces 648,000 metric tonnes per year, along with Qatar Aluminum Manufacturing Co, also known as Qamco issued a force majeure order in early March, after the Middle East war interrupted the gas supply to the plant and Qatalum began a shutdown. The?force majeure clause - which exempts parties from any liability in the event of a failure...

Director?general of mines for Ivory Coast, the West African country, said that gold production is expected to increase from 59.33 tonnes in 2025 to 62 metric tonnes in '2026 as existing?mines expand their operations. Seydoucoulibaly predicted that production would increase to 63 tonnes in 2027, and to around 69 tonnes in 2028. There are currently 14 gold mines operating in the world's leading cocoa producer. He said that the number of gold mines in operation will increase to 15 within two years, with the Kone mine coming online, and 17 in three, when the Doropo mine and the?Tanda Mine come...

The Finnish?elevator manufacturer Kone announced on Wednesday that its shareholders had approved the planned $34 billion purchase of German rival TK Elevator. This will create the largest lift group in the world. LSEG data shows that the deal announced with Advent International and Cinven in April is one of Europe's?"biggest takeovers" in recent years, and it is also the largest private equity sale in Europe since records began in 1980. Kone said shareholders who controlled 74% of the voting power pre-committed themselves to support the deal. After the shareholders meeting, CEO Philippe Delorme spoke at a press briefing. "Now we...

Maxime Vandersmissen, Arctial's chief commercial officer, said on Tuesday that the smelter, owned by Rio Tinto, in Finland could help boost production in Europe and produce hot metal in the second half 2029. The project is still three years from production, but it is already in the spotlight, as the Iran War has made aluminium more scarce in Europe, which is heavily dependent on imports. Vandersmissen, speaking at the CRU World Aluminium Conference in London said that the project aims to produce 610,000 metric tonnes of aluminium per year. Vandersmissen stated that this would increase the European production level by...

Outokumpu, Finland's stainless steel company, reported on Tuesday a core profit for the first quarter that was?below expectations, due to?weak profitability in its European operations, but it also said that the market dynamics in the quarter had improved. In early trading, the shares of steelmakers fell by around 2%. Vara Research's poll showed that its adjusted earnings before taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), which are a measure of profit, rose by?32% in the quarter ending January-March, but fell short of analysts' expectations?of 70m euros. European steelmakers have been under pressure for years by low domestic demand, high energy prices and...

The new CEO Berta De Pablos Barbier is struggling to deal with the weak consumer sentiment that has been affecting the U.S., Europe and the Middle East due to the "Iran War". Pandora is under pressure due to high U.S. tariffs on imports and an increase in the price of silver. The Danish company sells silver charms bracelets starting at $70, made in its factories in Thailand. The company's poll of analysts predicted a first-quarter revenue of 7.089 billion crowns, which sent the shares of Pandora up by 9% at?early trade. Sales in Europe, Middle East, and Africa declined by...