North America

The race for artificial intelligence dominance by Big Tech may soon hit a bump in the road as U.S. power grids struggle with keeping up with hyperscalers who spend big. Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet, among other technology giants in the US, announced in recent months that they plan to spend $600 billion in AI by 2026. Some investors are already concerned about the profitability of this strategy due to the investment wave. The ambitious U.S. AI plans will be hindered by severe power-infrastructure bottlenecks including turbine shortages and slow grid expansion. The processing and cooling of data centers that are...

Democrats in the Senate Banking Committee criticized President Donald Trump on Tuesday for not stepping up sanctions against Russia to force it to end the four-year war in Ukraine. They noted that the European Union had?designated nearly 900 targets by 2025, compared to only two?for?the?U.S. Democratic staff from the Republican-led panel released an analysis on the fourth anniversary. They identified hundreds of targets that Trump could have sanctioned during his first year as president. The war in Ukraine, Russia’s western neighbor, has caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and ravaged large areas of Ukraine. They said that...

Since mid-2024, oil prices have consistently been a disinflationary factor for the U.S. economy and global economy. This may soon change. Brent and West Texas intermediate crude oil futures are at their highest level in almost seven months, fueled by signs of an economic?upturn? at the beginning of the year as well as simmering tensions between the U.S. and Iran that could lead to a military conflict. WTI rose to?above $67 per barrel on Friday, and Brent reached $72, bringing their gains for the year so far?to?around 15%. More importantly, from an inflation-calculation perspective, oil's rise means the year-on-year increase...

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy's bid to quash a lawsuit filed by Boulder, Colorado officials who want to hold oil companies responsible for climate change. The Supreme Court heard an appeal from the companies against a ruling of the lower court that allowed the lawsuit to proceed. The lawsuit alleging violations of state law by the companies seeks unspecified damages for "costs incurred" by Boulder in mitigating climate change. Boulder is just one of the dozens of climate-related cases filed by U.S. states against companies that produce, extract, distribute, or sell fossil fuels....

The U.S. Commerce Department will announce a preliminary decision Monday on whether to impose antisubsidy duty on solar 'cells and panels' imported from India, Laos, and Indonesia. This announcement is one of two that the agency will make in the next few weeks regarding a trade dispute brought by a small group in the U.S. solar industry. Commerce will 'likely make final decisions later this year. The decision on Monday will examine whether the companies in these three countries have received unfair government subsidies, which make American products less competitive. Commerce will make a decision on a separate issue next...

Goldman Sachs has raised their Brent and West Texas 'Intermediate Crude Forecasts for the Fourth Quarter of 2026 by $6 each to $60 and $56, respectively. They cited lower OECD stock levels, while continuing to assume that there will be no 'Iran-related disruption in supply and maintaining a view of a surplus. It now expects Brent oil to average $64, up from $56 before, and WTI oil to average $60. As the U.S. prepared for a third nuclear?talks with Iran, fears of escalating violence were eased. Brent crude futures traded at $71 a bar at?0641 GMT while U.S. WTI futures...

Alberta will be holding a referendum in the fall to ask its residents if their government should limit "the number of" new international students and temporary foreign workers arriving in this oil-rich Canadian Province. Premier Danielle Smith announced the move in a television address on Thursday night. It was an attempt to take control of this important issue away from the federal government. Ottawa is responsible for the majority of immigration policy in Canada, and not the provinces. Smith is also trying to stop a growing Alberta separatist movement that has threatened Canadian unity, as Mark Carney tries to improve...

Congress may vote next week on whether to prevent 'President Donald Trump' from striking Iran without the approval of lawmakers. The U.S. Military is preparing for a possible serious conflict with Iran if diplomacy fails. Members of Congress have repeatedly tried to pass resolutions, which would prevent Trump from taking military action without the approval of lawmakers. The Constitution of the United States gives Congress, not the president, the power to send U.S. troops into war. The Constitution gives Congress the power to send U.S. soldiers to war, except for limited strikes to protect national security. Last week, it was...

The European Commission approved a new trusteeship on Friday that will give Berlin long-term control of the German assets owned by the Russian oil group Rosneft. This is part of the efforts to find a structural solution for the company. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany's long-standing energy relationship with Russia was shaken. It is necessary to renew the trusteeship every six months in order to?preserve energy security'. This creates uncertainty, mainly regarding the PCK Schwedt Refinery which supplies the majority of fuel to Berlin. The current trusteeship ends on March 10, 2019. The transaction that was examined by...

Indian share benchmarks recovered from initial jitters to rise?by mid-day on Friday as heavyweight stocks clawed back some?of the previous session's loss. As of 12:11 p.m. IST, the Nifty '50?added 0.54%, to 25,592.6. The BSE Sensex rose 0.48%, to 82897.3. The indexes had dropped about 0.3% on the opening, adding to a drop of 1.5% in the previous session. This was their biggest single-day decline in over two weeks. 15 of 16 major sectors were higher. The small-caps, mid-caps, and large-caps all added 0.1% to 0.5% respectively. Naveen Vyas is the head of the?family office of Anand Rathi Global Finance....

Alberta will hold a referendum in the fall asking residents whether the government should limit?the number of international students, 'temporary foreign workers' and asylum seekers who?arrive?into the oil-rich Canadian Province. Alberta's Premier Danielle Smith announced the move in a television address on Thursday night. It is an attempt to take control of this important issue away from the federal government. Ottawa is responsible for the majority of immigration policy in Canada, and not the provinces. This is a blow to Canadian unity at a time when the Prime Minister Mark Carney is trying to improve relations with resource-rich western provinces,...

Workers at the facilities reported that the Venezuelan refining system is running 'at around 35% of its capacity installed of 1.29 million barrels a day. This is higher than the 20% to 25% of last year but still a small volume for securing enough fuel to satisfy the rising domestic demand. Refineries in South America, run by the state-owned energy company PDVSA are often hit by power failures and malfunctions, which limit fuel supplies to homes, power plants, and vehicles. Venezuela was forced to ration cooking gas, gasoline and diesel in the past. According to sources, Amuay Cardon?El Palito Puerto...

The copper price rose on Tuesday to its highest level in more than a month, fueled by a positive mood and a stronger demand from China, the world's largest metal consumer, after markets reopened following a holiday. Benchmark?copper for three months on the London Metal Exchange?had gained 2.4% by 1700 GMT to $13,182 per metric ton after reaching its highest price of $13,196 since February 12. LME copper fell 0.7% on Sunday, but has gained 22.5% over the last three months. However, it is still well below its record high of $14,527.50, set on January 29. Alastair Munro is a...

Nippon Steel decided to increase its convertible bond offering to 600 billion yen, the largest in Japan's corporate histories. The company is seeking to refinance their $15 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel as well as fund business expansion. The company announced on Tuesday it would increase the offering by 50 billion yen in total, in two equal tranches. This was based on the investor demand and the market conditions. It aims to invest 6 trillion dollars yen over the next five-year period, including an investment of $11 billion into U.S. Steel to fund growth. Nippon Steel increased the size of...

Glencore agreed to buy nearly 2,000 tons of cobalt from Rami Weisfisch, an industry veteran. The deal is a historic one. Two sources confirmed that the material, which is essential for defense and military gear, will be shipped to the United States to be included in its planned stockpile. The U.S. administration of President Donald Trump is actively seeking out critical materials, including cobalt, to reduce its dependence on China. China is the world's dominant supplier and processor for metals and minerals required by strategic industries. China has used its power to impose quotas, new regulations and ban the export...

Prices of copper fell on Monday as inventories continued to rise. Investors were also unsure about the future of U.S. Tariffs and Chinese Trading ahead of reopening following a holiday. Benchmark three-month Copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.9% to $12,843 per metric tonne by 1700 GMT. It had earlier reached a session high of more than $13,050. LME copper is up about 3% in the last four sessions but still far below its record high of $14,57.50 on January 29, which was reached. The fact that there is more inventory outside the U.S. may be a little dampener...

The price of rare Earths has risen sharply, pushing the market price above the minimum price guaranteed by the U.S. government in its groundbreaking deal with domestic producer MP Materials. The good news is that the U.S. government will not be subsidizing MP Materials' production of neodymium, praseodymium or NdPr as long as the price remains above the critical threshold at $110 per kilogram. Since signing the agreement with the Department of Defense in July last year, the innovative 'floor-price' mechanism has protected the U.S. National champion from low prices. DoD earns 30% on the price increase. The problem is...

Greenland's prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen responded "no thanks", on Sunday, to the idea of U.S. President Donald 'Trump' to send a hospital boat to Greenland. Trump has said repeatedly that he wants to takeover this territory. Trump announced on social media on Saturday that he is working with Jeff Landry, the Louisiana Governor and special envoy for Greenland to send a hospital boat to Greenland. "President Trump’s idea to send an American?hospital boat here to Greenland was noted. We do have a free public healthcare system. Nielsen said in a Facebook post that it was a "deliberate choice". Nielsen said...

The prices of copper, aluminium, and other base metals rose on Friday as the U.S. Supreme Court overturned sweeping tariffs that were imposed by President Donald Trump in accordance with a law meant to address national emergencies. London?Metal Exchange benchmark 3-month copper increased 0.8% to $12,917 per metric ton at 1720 GMT. It had previously reached $12,985.50, its highest level in a week. Aluminium also rose 1.2% to $3103.50. The ruling is "constructive" for base metals, as it reduces the near-term risk to global trade flows and demand. The upside will likely be limited, however, given that some sector-specific duties...

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the White House emergency tariffs were invalid. This was a victory for thousands of businesses. The refund process?has just begun. The court's decision could have a ripple effect on the global economy. It ruled that Donald Trump cannot use the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act in order to levy a broad?tariff on imports. The corporate world spent months adapting to Trump's constantly-evolving policy on trade and his use of tariffs to advance his agenda. Not only to address trade issues, but also to act as a weapon against the policies...

Futures for Canada’s main stock index increased?on Friday as gold prices continued to rise amid rising concerns about a possible conflict between the United States and Iran. As of 5:16 a.m., March futures?on S&P/TSX -composite index rose 0.3%. ET. Toronto's benchmark stock index reached a new record on Thursday, despite Wall Street ending lower. This was due to gains in commodity stocks. The benchmark index is expected to rise for a third straight week. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, warned Iran Thursday that "really bad" things could happen if it fails to reach an "meaningful agreement" over its nuclear program...

Anglo American reported a $3.7billion loss on Friday, after another writedown of its diamonds business. The miner is pushing ahead with plans to shed its non-core assets as well as complete its merger with?Teck Resources. Anglo has wrapped up an uneven reporting season for London listed mining groups. This highlights the divergent fortunes of the industry as Antofagasta benefitted from rising copper prices, while other diversified peers suffered due to weaker markets in iron ore and diamonds. The company recorded a $2.3bn pre-tax impairment on its De Beers division, reducing carrying value from over $4bn to $2.3bn. Analysts' estimates of...

Newmont beat Wall Street expectations for the fourth quarter profit, as a record rally boosted gold prices and offset lower production. The company also announced that it would spend $1.4 billion on developing assets acquired by its acquisition of Newcrest. After-market trading saw shares of the largest gold mining company in the world rise 2% to $127.96. In recent months, gold prices have reached multiple records, due to expectations of U.S. interest-rate reductions, increased geopolitical tensions, and economic uncertainty. The yellow metal's price averaged $4.135 per ounce during the last three quarters of 2025. This is up 56% compared to...

Takahiko iwai, chief financial officer at Nippon Steel, said that the company does not see a need to reduce capacity at U.S. Steel. Instead, it expects this business to contribute a profit in fiscal 2026. This is up from zero last year. Iwai said in an interview that while?urgent? steps are necessary to improve the U.S. firm's high cost structure, similar capacity reductions to those implemented by Japan in the early 2020s is not needed because U.S. demand for steel is increasing. Iwai stated that "U.S. Steel has steadily improved through capital expenditure effects," adding that about 100 Nippon Steel...