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US Judge extends pause to Trump's plan of freezing federal grants and loans
A U.S. Judge on Monday extended the pause on Trump's plan to freeze federal grants, loans and other financial aid, stating that it could have "run roughshod over" Congress's constitutional power over government spending. U.S. district judge Loren AliKhan wrote in Washington that the funding freeze described in a memo last week from the White House Budget Office would be "potentially disastrous" for organizations who rely on federal funds to carry out their mission and provide services to public. In her ruling, which was issued on the request of several advocacy organizations, the policy now faces two temporary restraining order. On Friday, a federal judge in Rhode Island issued an order similar to the one that was requested by Democratic Attorneys General from 22 states as well as the District of Columbia. AliKhan ordered last week a brief administrative pause to prevent the Office of Management and Budget from moving forward with their policy, while she assessed whether or not to issue a longer temporary restraining. In its memo, OMB said that the funding freeze was needed to ensure that funding complied President Donald Trump's Executive Orders on Immigration, Climate Change, Diversity and other issues. OMB retracted its memo completely on Wednesday after first attempting to clarify the funding suspension. The Republican administration argued that the withdrawal would have ended the AliKhan lawsuit brought by a coalition of advocacy groups. The judge, appointed by Trump's Democratic predecessor Joe Biden said that a temporary restraining was still needed because funding issues remained, and there was nothing to stop OMB from issuing the policy again. She stated that "the president's wishes can't be an open check to OMB for it to do whatever it wants." She said that the OMB memo could have involved as much as $3.5 trillion in financial aid, which is "a staggering amount of money to be suspended practically overnight." Judge said that the policy seemed arbitrary, and could have violated the U.S. Constitution's authority to control government spending. AliKhan wrote: "It didn't indicate when the freeze would end, if at all." "And it tried to take the purse power away from the only government branch entitled to use it." Her order will be in effect while she decides whether or not to issue a longer preliminary injunction. The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on the case. Diane Yentel of the National Council of Nonprofits praised AliKhan's ruling. She and several other nonprofit groups had sued AliKhan last week to stop what they called a "reckless effort to halt funding." A lawyer for advocacy groups said that some recipients of federal grant funding were still having difficulty accessing funding, despite the withdrawal of the memo and the Friday order by the Rhode Island Judge. Kevin Friedl told AliKhan, an attorney for the advocacy group Democracy Forward (a liberal-leaning organization), at the hearing, "We know that the policy is still in place." Daniel Schwei, an attorney with the Justice Department argued that Trump retained the right to determine funding priorities through executive orders, which were not challenged in court. Schwei said to the judge that "the president is permitted to direct subordinate organizations and supervise their activity." Reporting by Andrew Goudsward, Washington; editing by Nia William, Alexi Garamfalvi, and Sonali Paul
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Toyota to report second consecutive profit decline as sales growth slows
Toyota Motor, Japan's largest automaker, is expected to report its third quarter earnings on Wednesday. Sales growth has slowed after a long run of strong sales driven by hybrid cars. The U.S. market's shift from petrol to hybrids, which are relatively higher-margin vehicles, is expected to benefit the world's top-selling automaker. Toyota's sales and production volumes are down, but they still indicate a slight slowdown. Analysts believe that this could mean a somewhat weak quarterly result, despite the favorable exchange rate. James Hong, Macquarie's head of mobility and research, stated that this was "the common narrative" in the results of a number Japanese auto suppliers last week. According to the average of nine analysts surveyed by LSEG, Toyota will report a 16% drop in operating profit for the quarter October-December. The figure is estimated to be 1.419 trillion yen (9.1 billion dollars). The expected decline comes after a 20% drop in profit in the previous three months, which marked a departure from the record earnings Toyota had enjoyed in the preceding months, supported by the strong hybrid sales, and the yen’s fall against the U.S. Dollar. Toyota announced last week that its group global unit sales would reach 10.8 million cars in 2024. This means it will remain the top automaker on earth for a 5th consecutive year. The company also revealed that global sales for its Lexus and namesake brands in October-December were virtually unchanged from the same period a year ago, with a drop of less than 1%. Meanwhile, production dropped by 4%. Hong stated that Toyota's production has normalized in the last few months and management is likely to provide constructive guidance for its final quarter. But the third quarter could be a little soft. Toyota faces fierce competition from Chinese brands including BYD in Europe, South America and Southeast Asia, as well as China, which is the world's largest auto market. Electric vehicle demand continues to be strong. Late October, the automaker was able to overcome a four-month stoppage in production of Grand Highlander SUVs and Lexus TX models. Analysts and investors are particularly interested in Toyota's outlook, which extends until the end of March. After U.S. president Donald Trump imposed heavy tariffs on Mexican imports and the majority of Canadian imports only to reverse them days later, they will want to know about Toyota's strategy for managing North America operations. Toyota has auto factories in Canada and Mexico. Toyota will also focus on its future electrification plans, and how it hopes to increase its hybrid car sales which accounted for 43% of the unit sales in its previous quarter. Toyota's stock price, which peaked in March last year, has since fallen 25%. The company's shares have fallen 8% this year.
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US Interior Department begins to implement Trump's energy agenda
The U.S. The U.S. The agency released a statement stating that former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum signed six orders during his first day of office as Interior Secretary. These orders are a result of a series of executive orders Trump released in his first few days as president. These actions instructed agencies to accelerate the permitting of energy projects, and undo environmental protections his administration considers burdensome. Burgum's actions signal a radical shift in Interior Department policy. The former president Joe Biden’s administration tried for four years, as part of its strategy to combat global warming, to slow down new fossil fuel developments on public lands. Burgum, in a press release, said that today marks the start of an exciting new chapter for the Department of the Interior. We are committed to working together to unlock America's potential in energy dominance, economic development and making life more affordable for all American families. Burgum's order directed staff at the agency to identify emergency and legal authorities in order to speed up project development and permits in accordance with Trump's declaration of energy emergency and to eliminate burdensome regulation in part by reviewing funding under laws from Biden's Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In a statement, the agency said it would eliminate 10 new regulations for each one that is introduced. One order revoked Biden’s withdrawal of large portions of federal waters for new offshore oil and natural gas development while another seeks a boost in resource development on federal lands and state lands of Alaska. Interior Department leases parcels of land and waters from the Arctic to Gulf of Mexico for drilling operations, which produce about a quarter of U.S. gas and oil output. (Reporting and editing by Leslie Adler, Jamie Freed and Nichola Groom)
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Shares of Predictive Discovery in Australia to rise after Lundin family and Zijin Mining buy stake
The shares of Australia's Predictive discovery were on track for their best session since nearly six months Tuesday, after the gold-explorer announced that China's Zijin Mining would invest A$24.1million ($15.00million), while Lundin Family will invest A$45.1million to acquire a stake of 3.5%. The company's shares rose 13.2% as of 0020 GMT, marking their largest single-day gain since August 2024. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was also up 0.6%. Predictive announced that it had received firm commitments from both sides to raise A$69.2 Million at a price of A$0.265 a share, which is the same as its last closing on January 31. The proceeds from the placement would be used to accelerate Bankan Gold Project, the miner's main asset in Guinea. The Lundin Family is the majority shareholder of Lundin Group. This group manages public companies such as Canada's Lundin Mining Corp. that are focused in the mineral, metal, renewables, and energy sectors.
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The No. 1 Auburn team is the next target for the Sooners. Auburn No. 1
Oklahoma will face a difficult road test when it attempts to win its second Top 25 upset in a row on Tuesday against No. 1 Auburn. The Sooners (16-5; 3-5 SEC), then ranked No. The Sooners (16-5, 3-5 SEC) dominated then-No. Jeremiah Fears, a freshman guard from Oklahoma, scored 21 points. Senior forward Jalon Moor (18.2 point per game) also scored 19 points. Moore passed the 1,000-point milestone for his career. Fears (16,1 ppg) is making a big splash in his first season. Dayton Forsythe's contributions are not always reflected in the box scores. This was not the case as he scored 14 points with three steals against Vanderbilt. Porter Moser, the coach said: "It's a great feeling." "What he's doing is contagious. You can see him denying and raising his hand after a baseline stagger. He makes it contagious by diving on the ground and grabbing so many different things. He can be a thorn in the side of opponents because he is able to go downhill. He can make strong passes and knock down shots. "He makes so many toughness play that it's contagious." It's one thing for you to defeat No. 24 at home, but it's another to knock off No. It's one thing to beat No. The road is the No. The Tigers (20-1 and 8-0), extended their winning streak with a 92 82 victory over No. On Saturday, Ole Miss (23rd) defeated the Tigers (20-1, 8-0). Johni Broome, the Tigers' leading scorer (18.3 points a game), scored 20 points. The Tigers have a 9-0 record at home, and they are 11th in the nation for scoring with 84.5 points per game. The Tigers are ranked third in the nation for scoring margin, with 18 points per match. Auburn smashed 14 of 28 3-pointers to beat Ole Miss. Bruce Pearl believes that the Tigers’ big men, and their ability to rebound, is what makes Auburn stand out. Pearl explained, "We would kick out the offensive rebound and then, bang!, knock it in." "We believe our players will hit all of their shots. These were not contested shots but open shots. "We have two or three players on the frontline who are physically strong and hard to move." Chad Baker Mazara had a quiet half in which he scored six points and hit two 3-pointers. However, when the Tigers emerged from the locker room he exploded. Baker-Mazara scored 18 points and made 6 of 10 shots from the field. He also connected on 4 of six 3-pointers. Pearl stated, "He is an incredibly talented and passionate player." "He won't always be perfect. He will be affected by certain things. If he isn't playing well, you have to let him be. You don't want to make things worse. He will get better. We try to give him the ball a lot because he wants to win. "He's surrounded by good players who can play well, so it's a good mix." Sooners first SEC season started off with four consecutive losses. Since then, they've found their groove and won three out of their last four SEC matches. Moser stated that the maturity of Fears and Forsythe, given their experience level, is impressive. Moser commented: "To see freshmen at any level but this one, coming in and having the impact that they've made is pretty special." In today's world, you can find fifth-year seniors all over. Field Level Media
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Investors worth 6 trillion Euros warn EU against weakening green rules
Investors who manage assets worth 6.6 trillion euro have called on the European Union to not weaken sustainability rules as it plans to reduce red tape in green finance. This month, the European Commission will release a proposal to simplify the reporting requirements for sustainability policies. Some businesses complained that they were too complex. In a statement released on Tuesday, several investor groups, including the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), the European Sustainable Investment Forum, and Principles for Responsible Investment, warned that a complete reworking of rules could have a negative impact on the industries Europe is trying so hard to attract. Investors including AXA Investment Managers, L&G Asset Management and others signed the statement. The Commission intends to simplify EU corporate sustainability reporting regulations, due diligence rules (which require companies to verify human rights and environmental concerns in their supply chain) and a third strategy which classifies climate friendly investments. This move is intended to counteract the promise of U.S. president Donald Trump to eliminate regulations and to respond to industry calls for a reduction in red tape. EU officials have stated that the proposals will only include minor changes to reduce the reporting burden on small businesses. Some member states, such as Germany and France want the EU go further and to delay the implementation. Leo Donnachie is a senior policy manager with the IIGCC. He said that losing information about companies' sustainability credentials can be a barrier for investment, as Europe competes against China and the U.S. He said that "investors must have access to these information in order to make decisions." Some industry players are not in agreement. Patricia Volhard of Debevoise & Plimpton, the head of European Funds Regulatory Practice at Debevoise & Plimpton, said that the current data requirements "are too much of a burden for the industry." Mario Draghi, former European Central Bank Chief, has stated that the EU requires up to 800 billion euro in annual investment to keep up with economic rivals. Donnachie said that Brussels should consider streamlining the technical aspects of sustainability rules but that delaying them or overhauling would create unwelcome instabilities. (Reporting and editing by Jan Strupczewski, Ros Russell and Virginia Furness)
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What is USAID, and why have Trump and Musk made it a target?
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is considering merging the U.S. international aid agency (USAID) into the State Department in a major revamp that would shrink its workforce and align its spending with Trump's "America First" policy. Trump has entrusted Elon Musk, the billionaire heading his drive to shrink the federal government, to oversee the project. On Sunday, Trump said USAID had "been run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we're getting them out," while Musk called it "a criminal organization" without providing any evidence and said it was "time for it to die." What is USAID and how is it funded? USAID was established in 1961 by Democratic President John F. Kennedy at the height of the Cold War with the aim of better coordinating foreign assistance, already a key platform of U.S. foreign policy in countering Soviet influence. It now administers some 60% of U.S. foreign assistance and disbursed $43.79 billion in fiscal 2023. According to a Congressional Research Service report this month, its workforce of 10,000, about two-thirds serving overseas, assisted about 130 countries. USAID is funded by Congress, based on administration requests. CRS said USAID helps "strategically important countries and countries in conflict; leads U.S. efforts to alleviate poverty, disease, and humanitarian need; and assists U.S. commercial interests by supporting developing countries' economic growth and building countries' capacity to participate in world trade." Its top aid recipients in 2023 were Ukraine, Ethiopia, Jordan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Syria. How much does the US spend on aid and how does it compare? In fiscal 2023, the United States disbursed a total of $72 billion in assistance worldwide and about 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024. The funds covered everything from women's health in conflict zones to access to clean water, HIV/AIDS treatments, energy security and anti-corruption work. In recent years, according to a Brookings Institution report from September, U.S. aid spending has been around 0.33% of GDP. It peaked at 3% of GDP in the 1950s with the Marshall Plan program to rebuild Europe after World War Two. During the Cold War, it ranged from 1% to a little less than 0.5%. While the United States gives more official government aid than any other country, its contribution as a percentage of national income is at the bottom of the list for wealthy countries in 2020, according to figures from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. In 2023, Norway topped the list at 1.09 percent of gross national income, while the United States lagged at 0.24 percent, along with Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Spain. Is support for foreign aid bipartisan? According to Brookings, Democratic administrations and lawmakers have historically been more supportive than Republicans, but every post-war president, whether Democrat or Republican, has been a strong proponent of foreign aid - apart from Trump. It noted that proposals by the first Trump administration to cut the U.S. international affairs budget by one-third were rejected, as were attempts to delay congressional consideration of supplemental foreign aid legislation in 2024. And in a bipartisan vote in June, 80% of the members of the Republican-led House of Representatives rejected an amendment to eliminate foreign assistance from the fiscal 2025 budget. Who has been running USAID? Under former President Joe Biden, USAID was run by Irish-American diplomat Samantha Power, a self-professed idealist who served as U.N. ambassador under Barack Obama. Its top priorities under its March 2023 Policy Framework were the climate crisis, stemming the tide of authoritarianism, and promoting inclusive economic growth and equal opportunities. In an interview this month, Power highlighted the role of USAID in projecting U.S. soft power. "The best testament to USAID's contribution is the surge in PRC-backed and Russian-backed propaganda maligning USAID and our work around the world," she said, using the initials of China's official name, the People's Republic of China. Trump opposition and impact In a Jan. 20 executive order announcing a 90-day pause in most of foreign aid, Trump said the U.S. "foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values." "They serve to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations internal to and among countries," it said. In a memo, the administration urged USAID workers to join the effort to transform how Washington allocates aid in line with Trump's "America First" policy and threatened disciplinary action for ignoring the orders. The actions rang alarm bells from refugee camps in Thailand to Ukraine war zones with humanitarian organizations and U.N. agencies saying they could face drastic curbs on their ability to distribute food, shelter and healthcare. A source with knowledge of USAID's workings said folding it into the State Department would be a big departure. USAID has in the past been able to provide humanitarian assistance to countries with which Washington has no diplomatic relations, including Iran and North Korea. This has sometimes helped build bridges, the source said, and the benefit could be lost if its operations were purely tied to political objectives. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Mark Porter)
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Trump wants Ukraine to provide US with rare Earths
U.S. president Donald Trump said Monday that he wanted Ukraine to provide the United States rare earth minerals in exchange for financial support of the country's efforts to fight Russia. Trump told reporters in the White House that Ukraine is willing. He added that he wanted "equalization" for Washington's support of "close to 300 billion dollars" by Ukraine. Trump stated that "we're telling Ukraine that they have rare earths very valuable." "We are looking to make a deal with Ukraine, where they will secure the rare earths we give them and other things." It wasn't immediately clear whether Trump used the term "rare Earths" to describe all critical minerals, or only rare earths. Rare earths is a grouping of 17 metals, used in the production of magnets for electric cars, mobile phones and other electronic devices. There is no substitute. The U.S. Geological Survey has identified 50 minerals as critical to the economy and defense of the United States, including nickel, lithium, and several types rare earths. The U.S. also has untapped reserves in these and other minerals. There is only one rare earth mine in operation and very limited processing capacity in the U.S., but several companies are developing projects there. China is the largest producer of rare Earths and other essential minerals. Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Ernest Scheyder, both in Washington; editing by Rosalba o'Brien
Grossi, IAEA's nuclear safety inspector, heads to Kyiv
Rafael Grossi, the head of International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA), announced late Monday that he would be visiting Kyiv to inspect a substation critical to Ukraine's nuclear safety.
Grossi wrote, "On my eleventh visit to Ukraine," since the beginning of the war. "I am heading to Kyivska Substation, which is critical to the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear power to assess damage and prevent a nuclear incident."
The IAEA announced in a press release last week that Grossi will visit Kyiv to attend "high-level meetings" in order to ensure the safety of nuclear weapons in the war Russia began in February 2022.
In September, Ukraine agreed with the IAEA that its experts would also monitor key Ukrainian substations.
According to Ukraine's Nuclear Inspector's Office, more than half the electricity consumed by Ukraine comes from three nuclear power stations. However, Russian missiles and drones attacking substations are threatening the stability of nuclear power plant operations.
Kyivska allows the transfer of excess power from Ukraine's western regions to the central region thanks to the hundreds-of-kilometres (miles) long Rivne to Kyiv transmission lines, which helps with the supply of electricity to Kyiv.
Grossi wrote in his post at X that "an increasingly fragile grid poses a greater risk to all NPPs" (nuclear plants). (Reporting and editing by Sandra Maler in Melbourne, Lidia Kelly from Melbourne)
(source: Reuters)