North America

U.S. officials and Ukrainian officials had what both sides described as productive talks about a Russia-Peace Deal on Sunday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed optimism about the progress made despite challenges in ending the war that has lasted more than three years. Rubio met a Ukrainian delegation headed by a newly appointed chief negotiator at his home in Florida. He said the talks were to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. Rubio, after the end of the talks, told reporters that "we continue to be realistic about how difficult this situation is but optimistic." "It's about securing Ukraine’s...

The Information reported Sunday that Databricks, a data analytics company, is in discussions to raise $5 billion. This would be at a valuation $134 billion. That's roughly 32 times the expected sales for this year of $4.1 billion. Investor documents and someone familiar with the situation were cited. Could not verify the report immediately. Databricks declined comment. The Information reported that Databricks increased its sales forecasts from $3.8 billion in September to $4 billion before slightly revising them upwards again. It expects sales growth of 55% in this year. The Information reported that the company told investors at the same...

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that on Saturday airspace surrounding Venezuela and above it should be "closed completely", but he did not give any details. Washington is continuing to increase pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government. Trump has said repeatedly that U.S. attacks on alleged drugs boats in the Caribbean, Pacific and South America, which have claimed the lives of more than 80 people could lead to land action. He has also held a phone call with Maduro, and discussed the possibility of a U.S. trip by Venezuela's president. WHAT ARE VENEZUELA'S MILITARY CAPABILITIES? Six sources familiar with Venezuelan...

Adani Group, owned by Alphabet, plans to invest $5 billion into Google's India AI Data Centre Project, an executive revealed on Friday. The company is looking to capitalize on the booming demand in data capacity across the world's largest nation. Google announced in October that it would invest $15 Billion over five years in the state of Andhra Pradesh to build an artificial intelligence data center. This is its largest investment in India. AI demands enormous computing power. This is driving demand for data centres with thousands of chips linked together in clusters. Adani Group CFO Jugeshinder Singh stated that...

CME Group, the exchange operator, announced on Friday that it had halted currency, stock futures, and commodity trading due to an issue with cooling in data centres. This has frozen major market benchmarks. CME issued a statement saying that markets were currently suspended due to an issue with cooling at CyrusOne's data centres. Support is working on a solution to the problem in the short term. Clients will be informed of Pre-Open information as soon as it becomes available. CyrusOne has not responded to a comment request immediately. CME's notice stated that the EBS foreign exchange platform was also shut...

The oil price steadied Thursday as traders weighed the impact of Western sanctions on Russian supply against the talks to end Ukraine's war. Trading was expected to be thin because of the U.S. holiday Thanksgiving. Brent crude futures increased 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $63.22 a barrel as of 1102 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude futures increased 19 cents, or 0.3%, to $58.84 a barrel. Steve Witkoff, U.S. ambassador to Russia and other senior U.S. officials will travel to Moscow with Russian leaders next week for discussions on a potential plan to end the nearly 4-year-old conflict in Ukraine....

Umaro Sissoco Embalo, the President of Guinea-Bissau, struck a confident tone when he launched his reelection campaign in early November. He claimed that "stability" had been achieved since he assumed office in 2020. Embalo told journalists that he was deposed ahead of the results to be announced Thursday. Army officers announced on Wednesday that they had been deposed on state television. seized power In the country prone to coups. The unrest is consistent with Embalo’s turbulent tenure, during which his government attempted three coups. Critics claim that, as long as the political instability continued, Embalo failed to control the notorious...

The companies and government of Andhra Pradesh announced on Wednesday that a joint venture between Reliance Industries and the state will invest $11 billion in five years for the development of 1 gigawatt AI data capacity. Digital Connexion is a joint venture between the Canadian multinational Brookfield Corporation, and the U.S. real estate investment trust Digital Realty. The project will establish a campus of AI-native data centres on 400 acres in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Google announced in October that it would build AI data centres in Visakhapatnam, India, over a five-year period. This will be the largest AI hub the...

The NOVA.RS TV in Belgrade reported that the operations at Serbia's Russian owned NIS oil refinery had ceased due to a shortage of crude oil. This is the latest indication that U.S. sanction on the project may threaten fuel supplies throughout the Balkan nation. NIS officials and the Serbian government declined comment. In January, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department placed sanctions on Russia’s oil sector, including NIS. NIS is owned in majority by Russia’s Gazprom and Gazprom. US repeatedly granted NIS waivers until the sanctions came into force in October. The banks then stopped...

Honeywell has been contracted by Nigerian oil refinery Dangote to help double the capacity of its refinery to 1.4million barrels per day in 2028. This is the clearest sign yet that the company's plans to become the largest refinery in the world are taking shape. Honeywell's equipment and catalysts will help Dangote process a wider range of crude grades, which is needed to support their planned expansion of output. Dangote also plans to license Honeywell's Oleflex Technology to increase its polypropylene production - a material used in plastic containers and auto parts. The financial terms of the agreement were not...

The author of the report that plunged BBC into crisis claimed the broadcaster wasn't "institutionally bias" but had editorial flaws. He hoped his criticisms could help to fix these. Michael Prescott, former external editorial advisor, has compiled a dossier of issues at BBC News. This includes allegations of bias regarding its coverage of the Israel/Hamas conflict and trans issues. The leaked report led to the resignations by Director General Tim Davie, and Deborah Turness as head of news, as well as a threat from Trump to sue up to $5 billion. This plunged the public broadcaster in its worst crisis...

The author of the report that plunged BBC into crisis claimed the broadcaster wasn't "institutionally bias" and had hoped to improve things with his criticisms. Michael Prescott, former editorial advisor, has compiled a dossier of issues at BBC News. This includes allegations of bias regarding its coverage of the Israel/Hamas conflict and trans issues. Leaked reports led to the resignations by Tim Davie, Director General, and Deborah Turness as head of news, and Trump threatened to sue the broadcaster for up to five billion dollars. This was the biggest crisis the public broadcaster has faced in decades. Prescott said to...

Gold spot rose 1% on Friday to a new two-week-high, amid expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would cut interest rates in the coming months. Silver also hit a record high. Gold spot was up by 1.3% at $4,210.94 an ounce as of 03:11 pm EST (20:11 GMT) after hitting its highest price in November 13 earlier this morning. Bullion is expected to rise 5.2% for the month and 3.6% for the week, marking a fourth consecutive increase. Silver reached a new record high at $56.78 an ounce. This is up 6.1% in the session, and 16.6% over the course...

Gold spot rose 1% on Friday to a new two-week-high, amid expectations that the Federal Reserve would lower interest rates in the coming months. Silver also hit a record high. By 10:09 am, spot gold had risen 0.9% to $4.192.78 an ounce. ET (1510 GMT), was at its highest level since November 14. It was also on track for a weekly gain of 2.9%. Bullion is set to rise 4.6% this month and will be on course for its fourth straight monthly gain. Silver reached a new record high of $55.33 an ounce. This is a 3.5% increase for the...

Two sources familiar with this matter claim that Chile's state owned copper producer offered to sell copper to U.S. clients with contracts based upon London Metal Exchange copper price at a record premium of over $500 per metric ton. The premium is added to the benchmark LME price and reflects fundamentals of demand and supply. The premium also covers transport costs and taxes. Codelco didn't immediately respond to our request for a comment. The LME copper price reached a record high of $11,200 per ton on the 29th October due to expectations that shortages would occur, partly as a result...

The gold price rose on Friday, and was poised to reach a fourth consecutive monthly increase. This optimism stemmed from investor expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by December. Gold spot rose 0.8%, to $4,189.61 an ounce, by 0303 GMT. It was at its highest level since November 14 and set for a weekly gain of 3%. Bullion will rise by 3.9% this month. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery were up 0.5% to $4,221.30 an ounce. Trading conditions look a little thin in terms of liquidity, which is exacerbating certain market movements. Many of the...

Gold prices fell on Thursday after hitting a two-week high in the previous session. Investors also assessed the probability of a U.S. rate cut in December. As of 1601 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.2%, at $4,157.29 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.2% to $4154.30 an ounce. Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer, said: "We expect that the consolidation process that began with the October setback will continue because the dust from that setback is still not completely settled." Bullion is down 5% from its record high of $4381.21 reached on October 20. However, it...

Gold prices fell on Thursday after hitting a two-week high in the previous session. Investors also assessed the probability of a U.S. rate cut in December. As of 1423 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.1% to $4,159.31 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.3% to $4156.30 an ounce. Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer, said: "We expect that the consolidation process that began with the October setback will continue because the dust from that setback is still not completely settled." Bullion is down 5% from its record high of $4381.21 reached on October 20. However, it...

The spot platinum price rose on Thursday, as the opening of futures trading at the Guangzhou Stock Exchange in China helped to increase the overall liquidity. These contracts represent the first domestic price-hedging mechanisms for platinum and palladium, which are used in automakers and other industries including jewellery and investment goods. On their first trading day, Guangzhou's June platinum futures jumped 6% while palladium rose 1.5%. After hitting a one-month high of $1,641, spot platinum prices in London rose 1.0% to $1,604 per troy inch by 1226 GMT. Palladium spot prices were unchanged at $1,423. China is the largest consumer...

Gold prices fell on Thursday after hitting a two-week high in the previous session. Investors also assessed the probability of a U.S. rate cut in December. As of 1216 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.2% to $4,156.89 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.2% to $4154.40 an ounce. Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer, said: "We expect that the consolidation process that began with the October setback will continue because the dust from that setback is still not completely settled." Bullion is down 5% from its record high of $4381.21 reached on October 20. However, it...

The copper prices were under pressure Thursday due to a stronger dollar, and poor data from China's top metals consumer. They had hit their highest level in nearly a month the previous session. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.7% to $10,893.50 per metric tonne by 1121 GMT. On Wednesday, the metal reached $11,025 - its highest level since October 30 - on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would cut interest rates by December. The metal reached a record-high of $11,200 due to disruptions in mine supply on October 29. The metals market focused...

Gold prices fell on Thursday after hitting a two-week high in the previous session. Investors also assessed the probability of a U.S. rate cut in December. As of 1052 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.2% to $4,154.27 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.4% to $4150.40 an ounce. Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer, said: "We expect that the consolidation process that began with the October setback will continue because the dust from that setback is still not completely settled." Bullion is down 5% from its record high of $4381.21 reached on October 20. However, it...

The gold price was stable on Thursday. It held near its two-week high, as investors assessed the probability of a U.S. rate cut in December. As of 857 GMT, spot gold was unchanged at $4,165.24 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.1% to $4162.20 an ounce. Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer, said: "We expect that the consolidation process that began with the October setback will continue because the dust from that setback is still not completely settled." Bullion is down 5% from its record high of $4381.21 reached on October 20. However, it has traded above...

Shanghai copper gained for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday as renewed hopes of a December rate cut by U.S. Federal Reserve boosted sentiment. After hitting the highest price since November 14, 87,300 Yuan, the most traded copper contract at the Shanghai Futures Exchange, closed the day's trading up by 0.35%, to 86990 yuan per metric ton. As of 0753 GMT, the benchmark three-month price for copper fell 0.44%, to $10,927 per ton. The London copper price eased after it broke through $11,000 per ton on the previous Wednesday. It reached $11,025, its highest level since October 30. ING analysts...