Latest News
-
Financial Times - 6th June
These are the most popular stories from the Financial Times. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. Headlines Defence Review: UK Must Spend 68 Billion Pounds to Modernise Military EU limits Chinese medical devices in a new trade dispute Saudi Aramco sells bonds worth $5 billion to combat lower oil prices Merck has held talks with Swiss biotech MoonLake to purchase it for more than $3bn Uber re-appoints Khosrowshahi as chief operating officer, easing his grip View the full article A long-awaited review of Britain's strategic defence suggests that the country will have to spend 68 billion pounds (92.02 billion dollars) to prepare for modern warfare. The EU has restricted imports of Chinese medical equipment in response to Beijing's alleged discrimination in public contract bids against foreign manufacturers. Saudi Aramco is the largest oil company in the world. On Monday, it announced that it raised $5 billion through a bond issue. The company said it was preparing for a possible drop in oil prices, and for future borrowing. Merck held discussions over the acquisition of Swiss biotechnology company MoonLake Immunotherapeutics for more than $3 billion. Uber's chief executive Dara Kosrowshahi has shaken up the senior leadership. (Compiled by Bengaluru Newsroom)
-
London copper prices remain unchanged; concerns about tariffs resurface
Investors weighed the impact of a weaker dollar and resurgent concerns about possible tariffs against the support provided by declining inventories. The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper fell 0.29%, to $9.589 per metric tonne at 0105 GMT. The dollar index, which measures six major currencies against the U.S. dollar, has fallen to its lowest level since late April. A softer dollar makes greenback-denominated assets more affordable to holders of other currencies. On Friday, U.S. president Donald Trump announced that he would double import tariffs for aluminum and steel, increasing them to 50%, effective on Wednesday. This renewed concerns over potential copper tariffs. ANZ Research reported that "U.S. Trade officials are reviewing the impact on local industry of U.S. Copper imports, and a report is due in the coming weeks." Copper is also supported by improving fundamentals. The LME registered warehouses reported a drop in copper stocks on Monday The 45% drop since mid-February has brought the total to 148.450 tons. This is the lowest level in nearly a year. Other London metals fell by 0.36%, to $2.457 per ton. Zinc dropped 0.43%, to $2.686.5; lead fell 0.63%, to $1.968.5; and nickel lost 0.75%, to $15.420. Tin rose 0.2% to $31,770. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's (SHFE) most traded copper contract gained 0.51%, to 78150 yuan per ton ($10,855.52). The price of aluminium in the SHFE remained unchanged at 20,085 Chinese yuan per ton. Lead rose 0.1% to 16,635 Yuan. Nickel increased by 0.47% to 121,650 Yuan. Zinc advanced by 0.63% to 22425 Yuan. Tin fell by 0.55% to 25,520 Yuan. $1 = 7.1991 Chinese Yuan (Reporting and editing by Sumana Niandy)
-
Concerns about supply from Iran, Russia and Canada cause oil prices to rise
Early Tuesday morning, oil prices in Asia rose on supply concerns. Iran is set to reject the U.S. proposal for a nuclear deal that would ease sanctions on Iran, a major oil producer. Meanwhile, wildfires in Canada have affected production. Brent crude futures rose 55 cents or 0.85% to $65.18 per barrel at 0000 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was up 59 Cents, or 0.94 %, to $63.11 per barrel after rising by around 1% in the previous session. Both contracts rose by nearly 3% the day before after OPEC+ decided to limit the increase in production in July to 411,000 barrels a day. This was lower than the market expected and similar to the rise in previous months. Tuesday's prices were supported by geopolitical tensions. Iran is set to reject the U.S. proposal for settling a decades-old dispute over nuclear energy, an Iranian diplomat told Reuters on Monday. The proposal, he said, does not address Tehran's concerns or soften Washington’s stance regarding uranium enriched. If the nuclear talks between Iran and the U.S. fail, this could lead to continued sanctions against Iran. This would limit Iranian oil supply and support oil prices. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has continued to fuel supply concerns as well as geopolitical risks. A wildfire in Alberta, Canada, has caused a temporary shut-down of oil and gas production. This could lead to a reduction in supply. Wildfires have impacted the production of oil sands by more than 344,000 barrels per day (bpd) in Canada, which is about 7%. The huge jump in oil prices Monday was mainly due to relief that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, which included Russia, had not increased production more than they did in the two previous months. In a note, Daniel Hynes said that investors had unwound the bearish positions built up before the weekend's meetings.
-
Officials say that Russian attacks have killed at least five people in the east of Ukraine.
Officials said that Russian shelling on Monday killed at least 5 people in eastern Ukraine's frontline areas. Vadym Filashkin, governor of Donetsk Region, focal point of Russian military's slow western advance, stated that one person died and two were injured in the city Kramatorsk. If Russian forces continue to advance through the Donetsk Region, this city will be a major target. Filashkin reported that three more people were injured and two killed in Illinivka, a town located further south. Prosecutors in Kharkiv, further north, said that two women were murdered in a village to the south of Kupiansk. The village has been under Russian attacks for several months. Last month, the mayor of Kupiansk said that his city had been 90% destroyed.
-
Alberta wildfires interrupt 7% of Canada’s oil production
Calculations show that wildfires in Canada's oil producing province of Alberta affected the production of more than 344,000 barrels of oil sands per day, or approximately 7% of Canada's total crude oil output. Over the weekend, at least two thermal oil-sands producers south of Fort McMurray, the hub of the industry in Canada's north, evacuated their workers and shut down production. Canadian Natural Resources announced that it had evacuated its Jackfish 1 site and halted production of approximately 36,500 Bpd. Cenovus Energy announced that it had evacuated all non-essential staff from the Christina Lake oil sands facility and had shut down production of approximately 238,000 barrels per day. The company stated on Sunday that it was not aware of any damages to its infrastructure, and expects its Christina Lake operations to resume in the near future. MEG Energy announced on Friday that it had evacuated its Christina Lake facility. The company continued to produce at the site, but said that Saturday the fires had caused a power failure that was delaying the startup of Phase 2B operations. This represents approximately 70,000 barrels of production per day. Wildfires also have affected Alberta's conventional oil and gas production. Aspenleaf Energy was forced to stop production due to a fire burning in the north of the province near Swan Hills. Canada produces approximately 4.9 million barrels per day. According to provincial data, Alberta has 49 active wildfires. Manitoba has 24 active fires. Saskatchewan has 16. According to the AirNow page of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Monday's air quality in parts of Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin reached unhealthy levels. In 2023, Canadian fires will blanket the U.S. East Coast with smoke. This will force millions of Americans indoors. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced on Monday that 400,000 hectares (988.422 acres), up from 9,000 last week, had now burned across the province. She added that nearly 5,000 people had been evacuated and that the government has reactivated its cabinet committee for emergency management due to concerns about the worsening situation in the province. Smith told Saskatoon reporters, "We have to be able respond quickly." According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, as of June 1 a total area of 1.4 millions hectares had burned across Canada. Manitoba warned 17,000 people last week to leave the remote northern part of the province due to wildfires. In the last decade, wildfires have affected oil and gas production in Canada. Suncor Energy, Canada’s second largest oil sands company, temporarily halted production at its Firebag Complex due to an adjacent fire. Alberta's wildfires will burn more than 100 times in May 2023. This means that companies will shut down at least 319,000 barrels equivalent to oil per day or 3.7% of Canada’s total production. In 2016, thousands were evacuated from Fort McMurray as a wildfire destroyed a large part of the town. This forced companies to cut their oil production by one million barrels a day.
-
Ivanhoe to restart flooded Congo copper mine partially in late June
Ivanhoe Mines announced on Monday that it will restart a closed section of the Kakula Copper Mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which was shut down due to underground seismic activity. After tremors damaged underground infrastructure and caused flooding, the Canadian miner temporarily halted operations at its Kakula mine. Ivanhoe said it plans to resume operations in the west side of the Kakula Mine, where the pumping equipment has been working. Ivanhoe stated that the eastern section of mine will resume operation once the water pumping is complete. Ivanhoe's shares in Toronto rose by as much as 7.7%. After installing temporary underground pumping equipment, the company claimed to have stabilized water levels. Ivanhoe stated that additional pumping equipment was ordered to remove all water from the mine. Vancouver-based miner Ivanhoe initially suspended certain mining activities on 20 May after the Kakula underground mine was struck by frequent underground earthquakes. Ivanhoe has confirmed that mining and ore processing at the nearby Kamoa mine are not affected. Last year, the Congo mines produced approximately 437,000 metric tonnes of metal. Ivanhoe suspended last week its production forecast for this coming year. It had been originally set between 520,000 to 580,000 metric tonnes of copper.
-
Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum are a reality
U.S. president Donald Trump intends to double tariffs for steel and aluminum imports from Wednesday to 50%, increasing pressure on global producers of steel and intensifying his trade war. Why is Trump doubling tariffs? Trump wants to encourage and support investment in the domestic production of aluminum and steel, two essential materials for construction. Aluminium is used in transport and packaging. These tariffs are already causing higher prices for consumers of steel and aluminum, as well as a decline in manufacturing. Meanwhile, the hurdles, such higher electricity prices, are very high. About a quarter (25%) of the steel used in America is imported. The majority of this comes from Mexico and Canada, our neighbours. The vast majority of aluminium imported into the United States comes from Canada. In fact, Canada exported 3.2 millions tons of aluminum to the United States in 2013. What has been the impact of tariffs on U.S. prices? The physical market premium covers freight, taxes and other costs. On Monday, the premium AUPc1> increased by 54% to 58 U.S. Cents per lb ($1,279 per metric ton) from Friday. The premium has increased by more than 120% this year. Goldman Sachs estimated that the premium needed to increase to $0.68 to $0.70 per lb in order to reflect the import tariff of 50%. COMEX steel prices for hot rolled coils (HRCs) rose 6%, reaching a new session high of $910 per short ton ($1,003 per metric ton). Josh Spoores, Director of Steel Americas Analysis for consultancy firm CRU, said: "The U.S. imports steel at a net rate, and we need imports to meet demand." This action will not prevent imports, but it will raise prices for domestic steel consumers, including manufacturers, in the U.S. The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) data showed that U.S. Manufacturing, which is heavily dependent on imported raw materials for its production, contracted for the third consecutive month in May to a six-month minimum, and factories continued to lose jobs. Will the Tariffs Support U.S. Production? Analysts say that higher steel and aluminum prices will boost profits of local U.S. producers like Nucor. However, building smelters may take up to five years or more. This would mean the completion of these smelters is likely to be beyond Trump's presidency. Trump said that Nippon Steel would invest billions in modernizing U.S. Steel mills, with the aim of buying U.S. Steel. This will increase production. Emirates Global Aluminium announced last month plans to build the United States' first new primary aluminum production plant since 1980. The plant will have a capacity of 600,000.00 tonnes of primary aluminum per year. Century Aluminum, with federal funding, is also looking to build a "green" low carbon aluminium smelter. Industry sources say that power prices pose another problem for companies trying to produce aluminum in the United States. They were also the reason behind the closing of many U.S. Smelters due to difficulties in agreeing on competitive long-term power purchase contracts because of a variety of factors, including volatile markets and regulations.
-
Trump's proposal will lift Biden's limits on Alaskan oil drilling
On Monday, the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump proposed rolling back Biden's limits on oil drilling in Alaska. This area is the largest undeveloped public land tract in America. This move is in line with Trump's energy agenda, which includes reducing regulations on oil and gas production and increasing domestic fuels. The Alaska National Petroleum Reserve is made up of 10.6 million acres (4.39 million hectares). NPR-A is the name given to a 23 million-acre (9,3 million-hectare) area of Alaska's North Slope, which was designated in 1923 for emergency oil supplies by the U.S. Navy. In the 1970s, the land was made available for commercial development. It is now administered by the Interior Department Bureau of Land Management. The Interior Department stated that the Biden-era regulation was in conflict with the 1976 Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act which authorized oil and natural gas leasing. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stated in a press release that Congress was clear in its intent to create the National Petroleum Reserve (NPR) in Alaska for responsible development in support of America's energy independence. The 2024 rule did not follow this mandate. It prioritized obstruction over production, and undermined our ability to harness American resources at a critical time for energy independence. It was reported that the Interior Department of the Biden administration had finalized a regulation in April last year to prevent oil and gas development within 40% of Alaska’s National Petroleum Preserve. This would protect the habitats of polar bears and caribou, as well as the way of living of Indigenous communities. Environmental groups praised the Biden Rule for protecting habitats, cultural resources and the U.S. economy. But Alaska officials claimed that the restrictions would result in job losses and increase the U.S.'s dependence on foreign resources. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Alaska's North Slope is responsible for just under 3% of U.S. crude oil production. (Reporting and editing by Nichola Gardner and Timothy Gardner)
Soccer-Bodo/Glimt stun Lazio in penalty shoot-out to make Europa League semi-finals
Nikita Haikin's crucial save helped Bodo/Glimt to a dramatic penalty shootout victory away from Lazio, on Thursday. They became the first Norwegian team in the Europa League semi-finals where they will play Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.
Lazio seemed to have done everything they could to win the match, overcoming the two-goal first-leg deficit to lead 3-0. However, a sucker punch goal from Andreas Helmersen in extra-time sent the tie to penalty kicks, where Haikin was the hero.
Lazio took the lead through an excellent flick by Taty Castellanos in the 21st-minute. This set the tone for the rest of the match, as the Italians dominated and the visitors struggled to keep up with their slick passing.
Boulaye Dia scored to give Lazio the 3-2 aggregate lead after 10 minutes of the first half.
Helmersen made a decisive cameo in the second half. He missed a clear chance in the second half stoppage time just before Noslin scored, but he then scored with a powerful header to equalize the score.
Helmersen received a second yellow in the dying moments of the match, which was a nerve-wracking encounter.
The Norwegians were in a bad situation when Dia scored and Jens Petter Haiuge's spot-kick was saved. But Haikin, a Russian born in Israel who spent most of his teenage years living in London, stepped up to the plate.
He saved Loum Tchaouna, watched Noslin shoot wide, and after Bodo scored their next three goals, it was time for Patrick Berg to win the match with his fifth penalty. His family is synonymous with Bodo.
The fairytale was not over yet. Berg had one more twist to add. He blasted his shot high above the bar, and Haikin was called on once again.
His heroics were cemented by his saving of Castellanos’s shot for a 3-2 victory in the shootout, which made them the Norwegian team to reach the final four of a major European tournament. This prompted wild celebrations from the travelling fans as well as the ones at home within the Arctic Circle. (Reporting and editing by Clare Fallon; reporting by Philip O'Connor)
(source: Reuters)