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The Ukraine-US Fund approves investment policy as it looks to first projects in 2026
The U.S. government body that oversees the fund announced on Thursday that the Ukraine-U.S. Reconstruction Fund, created as part of a minerals 'deal' signed by the two countries in April, has approved its asset policies and is ready to review its first investment opportunities starting in 2026. In a press release, the Development Finance Corporation (DFC), said that the fund's 2nd meeting "reached the final consensus needed to bring the fund into full operational status". The DFC stated that potential deals could focus on energy and minerals development, as well as maritime infrastructure. Kyiv, under pressure from Donald Trump for months, signed the minerals deal in April. The United States would receive preferential access to new Ukrainian mineral projects in exchange of investment. Ukraine signed the deal in order to win Trump's support as it repelled Russia's almost four-year old full-scale invasion. A U.S. delegation visited Ukraine in the fall for consultations, and also to visit some potential promising sites. The EU considers 22 minerals to be critical for industries like defence, high-tech appliances, and green energy. Most of the sites are not fully evaluated and will require significant funding for development. (Reporting and editing by Hugh Lawson; Yuliia dysa)
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Pirelli reports that 99.3% 500 mln Euro bond converted, diluting Sinochem & Camfin stakes
Pirelli, a tiremaker, said that on Thursday the majority of holders of the 500 million euro bond due to expire this month have chosen to convert the bond into new shares in the company. This has diluted the stakes owned by existing investors. Pirelli announced that bond holders had chosen to convert their bonds into shares at a price of 5.8493 euros per share, which was announced in June. Pirelli said that to meet the conversion, it would issue around 84.88 millions new shares, which will dilution its shareholder's?holdings. Sinochem, the largest shareholder in Pirelli, is expected to reduce its stake to approximately 34.1%, down from 37.4%. Camfin, the vehicle of Marco Tronchetti Provera, will see its stake drop to 25,3%, down from 27.4%. Sinochem and Camfin - Pirelli's largest shareholders - have clashed a number of times in recent years. Camfin has complained that Sinochem’s stake is hindering the group’s U.S. growth. Camfin's board has authorized it to increase its share in Pirelli?to 29,9% by October of next year. Pirelli stated on Thursday that the conversion of its?bonds would have a positive effect on its debt. This will improve its net financial position in 2025 by more than 496 million euro.
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EU countries approve a year-long delay in deforestation laws
The 'Council of the EU' announced that the European Union countries approved a deal on Thursday to delay the anti-deforestation legislation by one year. This cleared the final legal hurdle so the law could be passed. First-ever policy, the EU would not allow imports of palm oil, cocoa and other products linked to deforestation. Foreign exporters of these commodities were required to submit due diligence reports proving that their products didn't contribute to forest degradation. The law, originally due to take effect in December 2024 was intended as a major component of the EU’s green agenda. Brussels had already delayed the law by one year. However, that did not stop the opposition from the industry and other trade partners, including Brazil, Indonesia, and the U.S. who said the regulations would be expensive and harm their exports to Europe. According to the amended EU legislation, large firms will be required to comply with the new law as of December 30, 2026. Smaller companies, with a revenue less than 10 million euros for the affected products, must comply by June 30, '2027. The EU Proposed delaying In September, the law was amended a second-time citing concerns about the ?readiness of information-technology systems needed to support ?it Nestle, Ferrero, and Olam Agri are among the food giants. The law was not to be delayed, as the government had previously warned. Forests in danger of extinction are found worldwide. The policy is designed to stop the 10% global deforestation caused by EU imports. (Reporting and editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Ed Osmond and Kate Abnett)
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Gold nears record high as rate cuts fuelled by soft US inflation fuels bets
Gold prices rose on Thursday and hovered near a new record high. This was after U.S. inflation data that were softer than expected boosted expectations for Federal Reserve rate reductions in 2026. As of 1645 GMT, spot gold was up 0.6% at $4,366.62 per ounce. Bullion reached a record-high of $4,381.21 an ounce on October 20. U.S. Gold Futures slipped 0.2%, to $4 366.80. Data showed that U.S. consumer price index rose 2.7% on an annual basis in November. This was less than the 3.1% rise forecast by economists surveyed. After the data, futures on the federal fund rate factored a slightly?increased likelihood that the Federal Reserve would lower interest rates during its meeting in January. David Meger said, "The CPI report was dollar-negative and gold-positive... the Fed will remain in focus as the market tries to determine how many rate reductions are planned for next year." Gold and other non-yielding investments benefit from lower interest rates. LSEG data shows that traders expect the Federal Reserve to cut rates by 63 basis points next year. "The trend in gold is still positive and a breakout to the upside is expected." "I've got upside targets at $4,515.63, and $5,000 is also a valid goal," said Peter Grant. U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the next Federal Reserve Chair will be someone who supports a sharply lower rate of interest. An announcement is expected to take place early next year. Silver spot fell 0.7%, to $65.83 per ounce. This is a retreat from the previous session's?record-high of $66.88. Silver has outperformed the gold market this year, with a 129% increase in value. This is due to investment demand as well as concerns about a possible supply shortage. Palladium rose 2.8% to $1,693.75, a record high for nearly three years. Platinum climbed 1.4% to $1.924.88, which is a 17-year-high. Commerzbank stated in a report that "the wave of price increases has now spread from Silver to Platinum... The platinum price is buoyed up by strong demand coming from China."
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UN reports over 1,000 civilians dead in Sudan's Darfur, as US and others call for ceasefire
A report released by the U.N. Human Rights Office Thursday revealed that over 1,000 civilians died when a paramilitary group from Sudan took control of a famine stricken displacement camp in Sudan's Darfur. About a third were executed summarily. According to a U.N. Report, for months before the April 11-13 attack, the Rapid Support Forces had blocked the entry of food and other supplies into the Zamzam Camp in Sudan's western Darfur region, which houses nearly half a milllion people who have been displaced by the civil war. The U.N. reported that the RSF had attacked civilians during the takeover. Survivors have also described widespread killings and abuse, including rape and torture. At least 319 people were executed either in the camp itself or while they fled. In a statement that accompanied the 18-page report, Volker Turk, the U.N.'s High Commissioner for Human Rights said: "Such deliberate murder of civilians or people?hors combat could constitute a war crime." The findings were based on interviews with 155 survivors who fled to the Chad in July 2025. The report stated that one of them testified to the fact that eight people who were hiding in a camp room were killed by RSF soldiers who shot at the group through a window. RSF didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. The group denied that they had ever injured civilians, and has said it would hold their forces accountable for any violations. The April attack was the precursor to the RSF's attack on al-Fashir in the north, which took place late October. In that attack the RSF has been accused of summarily killing and kidnapping tens of thousands of people. The majority of those believed to have lived in this city are still missing. Separately, on Tuesday the U.N. Human Rights Office said that drones have killed more than 100 civilians this month in Sudan's Kordofan. The United States, United Kingdom, and Norway, on Thursday, called for Sudan's leaders "to urgently reverse course". They also called on all parties to cease the armed attacks, and to return to a truce, saying that a return to greater levels of violence could destabilize the entire region. The nations issued a joint declaration in which they stated that the transitional government must stop its aerial attacks on its own citizens, release political prisoners, use public revenue to pay employees of the public sector, and fund health, educational, and other vital services for its people. "South Sudan's leaders must stop the conflict and restore the trust of their people and the international communities through concrete actions." "If they do this, they will receive the support, investment and respect of the entire world," they stated, without providing any additional details. "Enough is Enough." Reporting by Emma Farge in Cairo and Nafisa Altahir; additional reporting in Washington by Susan Heavey; editing by Madeline Chambers, CaitlinWebber and Madeline Chambers.
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Ghana's Parliament approves stricter limits on central banks financing
By Emmanuel Bruce ACCRA, Dec. 18 - Ghana’s parliament approved amendments to Bank of Ghana Act on Thursday, imposing stricter limitations on central bank funding of the government in order to safeguard its independence. The Bank?of Ghana Amendment?Bill 2025 bars the central banks from purchasing government securities on the secondary market. It also redefines the emergency provisions which previously allowed officials bypass a 5% loan cap tied to?revenues of the previous year. Emergency situations are limited to those that involve force majeure, such as natural disasters, crises declared by the president or public health emergencies. The reforms come after criticism of the 'heavy central banks support during and after the COVID pandemic, when Ghana lost its access to international capital markets and inflation soared, and the Bank?of Ghana?posted negative equity?after extending overdrafts?and other assistance?to manage fiscal imbalances?. The revised law prohibits direct and indirect loans to government except in exceptional circumstances, such as temporary revenue shortages. These advances will be subject to a?repayment schedule, capped limits, and parliamentary approval. The law also introduces stricter requirements for board membership and enhanced audit oversight in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's programme, which was agreed in 2023, to reduce central bank funding, stabilize inflation, and restore investor trust. Cassiel To Forson, Finance Minister, told the parliament that reforms will "strengthen" the central bank while maintaining its independence. The bill also sets out the framework for joint medium-term inflation target with the government. The amendments, which are subject to presidential approval, include provisions that the state recapitalise its central bank in order to comply with legal requirements. Reporting by Emmanuel Bruce. Colleen Goko is the writer. Mark Potter (editing)
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Britain increases sanctions against Russia's energy sector
As part of its efforts to increase pressure on Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine, Britain imposed sanctions Thursday on additional Russian oil companies and Canadian-Pakistani Murtaza Lakhaani. The government has targeted 24 individuals, entities and companies, including what they describe as Russia's biggest remaining un-sanctioned oil firms: Tatneft, Russneft, NNK-Oil, and Rusneftegaz. The latest measures aim to make it more difficult for Russia to sell its oil globally. In October, Britain sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil, two of Russia's largest oil companies. On Thursday, the EU sanctioned?41 ships of Russia's?shadow fleet? that tries to circumvent Western trading restrictions. Russia dismissed Western sanctions in the past as political motivated. The package included Lakhani and his companies. According to the British government, they are among the biggest traders of Russian oil in the world since 2022. Lakhani is a 63-year-old trader who began his career at the global trading company Glencore. He now runs a midsized trading firm called Mercantile & Maritime which faces UK sanctions. The company is based in London and Singapore. Britain said that it would also use'sanctions' to crack down on Central Asian cotton pulp supply chains, a component used in ammunition, explosives, and missile fuel, which it claimed Russia could not produce at scale. (Reporting Muvija M. Additional Reporting by Anna Hirtenstein. William James, Mark Potter and Mark Potter edited the story.
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TSX rises as tame U.S. data on inflation supports rate-cut bets
Canada's main index of stocks gained on Thursday after a U.S. inflation report that was lower than expected boosted expectations about Federal Reserve rate cuts. By 10:06 a.m., the?S&P/TSX composite index had risen 1% to '31,567.25?points. ET, after four consecutive days of modest losses. Cannabis companies Curaleaf Canopy Growth and Tilray have jumped between 2% and 21.5%. This is a continuation of their recent rally fueled by the expectation that U.S. president Donald Trump will sign an executive directive easing federal marijuana regulations. After Micron Technology's optimistic forecast, the technology index led gains in all Canadian sectors. The data showed that U.S. consumer price increases were less than economists expected for the year ending November, but they expect a faster increase in December. According to LSEG, investors are 'betting' that the Fed will reduce borrowing costs by 64 basis points at the end of the year. Oil prices are choppy due to geopolitical worries and the sell-off this week on Wall Street has weighed on the sentiment. Toronto's main index of stocks is on track for a weekly loss. The commodity-heavy Index is still on track to have its best year since 2009 with a gain of nearly 27%, driven by an increase in precious metal prices, and signs that the Canadian economy has remained resilient despite the tariff war between the U.S. Orla Mining climbed by 4% to a new record high, after the company confirmed that high-grade gold deposits extended beyond its underground operations at Musselwhite mine. (Reporting and editing by Avinash P in Bengaluru)
Amazon.com joins push for nuclear power to meet information center demand
Amazon.com stated on Wednesday it has signed three arrangements on developing the nuclear power innovation called little modular reactors, becoming the latest big tech company to promote brand-new sources to satisfy rising electricity need from data centers.
Amazon stated it will money a feasibility study for an SMR project near a Northwest Energy site in Washington state. The SMR is prepared to be established by X-Energy. Financial information were not disclosed.
Under the arrangement, Amazon will deserve to buy electrical energy from 4 modules. Energy Northwest, a consortium of state utilities, will have the alternative to add up to eight 80 MW modules, resulting in a total capacity as much as 960 MWs, or enough to power the equivalent of more than 770,000 U.S. homes. The additional power would be readily available to Amazon and utilities to power homes and companies.
Our arrangements will encourage the building of new nuclear technologies that will create energy for decades to come, stated Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Solutions.
SMRs will have their components integrated in a factory to reduce building costs. Today's bigger reactors are developed onsite. Critics of SMRs state they will be too expensive to attain the desired economies of scale.
Nuclear power, which produces electrical power virtually devoid of greenhouse gas emissions and offers high-paying union tasks, gets wide assistance from both Democrats and Republicans. However no U.S. SMRs exist yet. NuScale, the only U.S. company with an SMR style license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, in 2015 had to axe the first SMR project to build its innovation at a U.S. lab in Idaho.
In addition, SMRs will produce long-lasting radioactive hazardous waste for which the U.S. does not yet have a last repository.
Scott Burnell, a representative at the U.S. NRC, stated no. specifics about the prepared SMRs existed yet to the. regulator.
DATA CENTERS
Tech firms have actually signed a rash of agreements with nuclear. companies this year as artificial intelligence boosts U.S. power. demand for the very first time in years, though time-lines for. nuclear projects tend to lag goals by years.
U.S. information center power use is expected to roughly triple. between 2023 and 2030 and will need about 47 gigawatts of new. generation capability, according to Goldman Sachs approximates. Goldman assumed gas, wind and solar energy would fill the. space.
Amazon said it is likewise leading a financing round for $500. million to support X-Energy's development of SMRs. Amazon and. X-Energy objective to bring more than 5 gigawatts online in the United. States by 2039, which the companies call the largest commercial. deployment target of SMRs yet.
Amazon also signed an arrangement with Rule Energy. to explore the advancement of an SMR project near the utility's. existing power station in Virginia. The about 300 megawatt. project would help meet power requirements in an area where need is. expected to leap 85% in 15 years, Rule said. U.S. Senator Mark Warner said at an event held at Amazon workplaces. in Virginia that recent announcements might crack the code in. getting U.S. SMRs constructed. Warner stated he typically talks with celebrations. in other countries who have an interest in purchasing SMRs from U.S. companies but cautious that none have actually been built in the U.S. On Monday Alphabet's Google signed a contract with. Kairos Power to bring an SMR online by 2030, with more. implementations through 2035. In March, Amazon bought a nuclear-powered datacenter from. Talen Energy. Last month, Microsoft and. Constellation Energy signed a power deal to help. reanimate a system of the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania,. the website of the worst U.S. nuclear accident in 1979.
(source: Reuters)