Latest News
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Petrobras Considers Cancelling FPSO Tender
Petrobras is considering cancelling a tender to charter an FPSO from India's Shapoorji Pallonji Energy, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.The state-run firm believes the bid by the Indian shipbuilding firm was too high, at $1.5 million per day, and also complained the FPSO would not have enough of its parts built in Brazil, said the sources.A final decision on the matter is set to be taken soon, according to one of the people.Petrobras said the bidding process is "still ongoing," without making any further comments. Shapoorji Pallonji Energy did not immediately reply to a request for comment outside working hours.The Shapoorji vessel would have the capacity to produce up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day and 6 million cubic meters of gas. The process of contracting it has been ongoing since August 2023.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has made bolstering the country's shipbuilding sector a priority and as part of that Petrobras has been focusing on using more local ships for its operations and creating local jobs.(Reuters - Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Fabio Teixeira; Editing by Gabriel Araujo and Susan Fenton)
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New Zealand Foreign Minister to Question Chinese Naval Activity in Beijing
New Zealand's foreign minister Winston Peters is scheduled to arrive in Beijing for a 3-day visit on Tuesday. Relations between the two nations are strained following the live firing exercise conducted by Chinese Navy ships in the Tasman Sea. Officials from New Zealand and Australia said China conducted live-fire drills in international waters between their two countries, with little warning and forcing commercial airline to divert flights. New Zealand Defence Force reported on Monday that the three ships were currently 280 nautical mile (519 km), east of Tasmania and outside Australia's exclusive economy zone. Christopher Luxon, the New Zealand prime minister, said that on Monday China would raise in Beijing the notice given by China that it was going to conduct a live firing drill. Luxon said that the flights were compliant with international laws. "We'd like to have a bit more notice, especially on a busy route." Peters' trip to China is part a larger tour that also includes stops in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Mongolia, and South Korea. Peters will meet with Wang Yi, the Foreign Minister of China, in Beijing. Peters stated in a press release last week that he will discuss bilateral relations with Chinese officials, as well regional and global issues of interest to the two countries. "China is New Zealand's most complex and significant relationship, with important cultural, trade and people-to-people connections. Peters stated that the New Zealand government intends to keep a regular, high-level dialogue with China. Peters also expressed concern that the Cook Islands, a country independent in free association with New Zealand had signed a strategic partnership with China and other agreements without consulting New Zealand satisfactorily. Jason Young, Director at the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre, Victoria University, Wellington, stated that while there would be questions asked about challenging issues, such as the Cook Islands agreement and the activities of the People's Liberation Army Navy in the Tasman Sea, the discussion would also include future high-level trade and visits. (Reporting and editing by Christian Schmollinger; Lucy Craymer)
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London Copper prices fall as US tariffs loom
London copper prices eased Monday, as metal demand weakened after President Donald Trump's recent threat to increase tariffs. The price of three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange fell by 0.4%, to $9.523 per metric ton as of 0356 GMT. ANZ Research stated that the sector was also experiencing dislocations as it prepared for tariffs and restrictions on certain metals. Trump announced last week that he would announce new tariffs in the next month, or even sooner. He will add lumber and forest products, to his previously announced plans of imposing duties on imported automobiles, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals. Other metals include LME aluminium, which fell 1.02% at $2,660.5; LME zinc, which shed 0.5% to $2.914.5; nickel, up 0.8% at $15,640; tin, down 0.4% at $33,540, and lead, up 0.1% at $2,011. The price of SHFE aluminium fell 1.03%, to 20,660 Chinese yuan per ton. SHFE copper dropped 0.1% to 77,250 Yuan. SHFE zinc dropped 0.2% at 24,045 Yuan. Nickel rose 0.5% to 125720 Yuan. Lead lost 0.09%, to 17,145 Yuan. Tin increased 0.2%, to 265,290 Yan. ($1 = 7,2498 Chinese Yuan) (Reporting and editing by Sumana Arora, Mrigank Dhaniwala).
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The rise in iron ore is halted after four days due to increased duties on Chinese steel
Dalian iron-ore futures prices ended a four day winning streak on Sunday as increased levies against Chinese steel dampened prospects for demand. However, decreasing portside stocks in China limited the decline. As of 0250 GMT, the most traded May iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was trading 0.89% lower. It was trading at 831.5 Yuan ($114.87), per metric ton. The benchmark March Iron Ore at the Singapore Exchange was 0.22% less expensive, coming in at $108.25 per ton. According to a document from the trade ministry, Vietnam will impose an anti-dumping temporary levy up to 27,83% on certain steel products imported from China. This move follows the announcement by U.S. president Donald Trump of 25% tariffs for all steel imports in early this month. South Korea followed suit, and imposed tariffs provisionally on Chinese steel sheets last week. Mysteel, a Chinese consultancy, said that "production among Chinese blast-furnace steel producers has continued to decline as more mills have begun regular maintenance work." Mysteel data revealed that the capacity utilisation rate in the surveyed blast furnace steel mills decreased for a second consecutive week. The daily hot metal production fell by 0.21% from one week to another, reaching 2.28 million on February 20. Iron ore demand is usually gauged by the hot metal production. Hexun Futures, a Chinese consultancy, said that despite the weather in Australia, iron ore exports worldwide have decreased slightly. Port inventories will also be falling, they added. SteelHome's weekly data showed that portside iron ore stocks in China dropped 1.15%, to 145.8 millions metric tons on February 21. Coking coal and coke, which are used to make steel, also fell on the DCE. The declines were 1.77% and 2.466% respectively. The majority of steel benchmarks traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange suffered losses. Rebar fell 0.8%, hot rolled coil dropped 1.3%, and stainless steel declined 0.49%. Wire rod rose 0.76%.
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Oil dips on pending Kurdistan supply resumption
Oil prices fell in the early hours of Monday's trade, continuing losses from last weekend, as investors awaited clarification on talks to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. Brent futures dropped 20 cents or 0.3% to $74.23 a barrel at 0113 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude futures declined 28 cents or 0.4% to $70.12 a bar. The two contracts fell by more than 2 dollars on Friday and also posted weekly decreases. An Iraqi official from the oil ministry said that once oil shipments resumed, Iraq would export 185,000 barrels of oil per day through the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline. Iraq's Oil Ministry said that all procedures were completed for the resumed exports via the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline, which could resolve a dispute of nearly two years that has caused crude flow disruptions. On Monday, the fourth anniversary of Russia's war against Ukraine will be celebrated. All eyes are on the progress made in talks to bring an end to this conflict. Officials announced on Sunday that European Union leaders would meet on March 6 for an extraordinary summit to discuss additional support and European security assurances for Ukraine. The announcement comes after U.S. president Donald Trump began talks with Russia to end the war, but did not invite Ukraine or the European Union. A senior Russian diplomat announced that Russian and U.S. teams will meet this week to talk about improving relations. The U.S., EU and other countries have imposed sanctions on Russian oil exports. This has curtailed its shipments as well as disrupted the seaborne oil supply flow. If a peace agreement is reached and the sanctions are lifted, global energy supplies will increase. Hamas officials in the Middle East said that talks with Israel via mediators about further steps to a ceasefire deal are contingent on Palestinian prisoners being freed as agreed. Israel and Hamas both accuse each other of violating the ceasefire, but it continues to hold.
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Ampol Australia falls on profits plunge and decade-low dividend
Ampol, an Australian fuel retailer, saw its shares fall by nearly 10% after the company reported a sharp decline in annual profits and declared its lowest dividend in over a decade. Ampol announced a final dividend per share of 5 Australian Cents, down from 120 Aucents a year ago. This is also below Visible Alpha’s consensus estimate, which was 7 Aucents. As of 0010 GMT the shares of the company had fallen 4.3%, while the benchmark index was down by 0.6%. Ampol reported a net profit of A$234.8 (149.5) million on a replacement-cost basis for the period ended December 31 compared to A$740.1 million one year earlier. Fuel retailer blamed the lower profit on a weak fuels business and infrastructure, as well as multiple outages in its Lytton Refinery in Queensland. Ampol's Fuels and Infrastructure business reported earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) at A$186.3m, a sharp drop from the A$736.5m reported a year earlier. CEO Matt Halliday stated that the 2024 financial period was one of global refining and commodities markets. This affected both our Lytton Refinery and Trading and Shipping Operations. Ampol announced that it would be reducing costs by A$50 millions as part of a program to reduce capital expenditures in fiscal year 2025. The company had previously announced this plan in October. In January, the company reported that its realized Lytton refinery margin was US$6.31 a barrel. Ampol relies heavily on the retail sales of its products in its stores, along with fuel sales. Brad Smoling is the managing director of Smoling Stockbrocking. He said that sustained high interest rates have greatly reduced discretionary income and disposable income. Ampol's current headwinds will be very difficult to navigate if we add the global refining challenges to the balance sheet.
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Some US agencies warn workers against responding to Musk's email 'What did You do last week?'
Multiple U.S. government agencies have warned employees to not respond to Elon Musk's demand that they list their achievements in the last week, or face being fired. This is part of a chaotic campaign by the Trump administration to eliminate the federal workforce. Trump administration-appointed officials at the FBI and State Department sent their staff emails telling them not to respond outside their chains of command - a possible sign of tension between members of the Republican administration and the world's richest person in his campaign to slash the 2.3 million-strong federal civilian workforce. In an email sent to FBI staff, Kash Patel, who is a Trump appointee and FBI director, said, "The FBI through the office the director will be in charge of our review processes." Musk is the head of the Department of Government Efficiency. In the first few weeks of Trump’s presidency, the department laid off over 20,000 employees and offered buyouts for another 75,000. This was across a wide range of government departments, from the Defense Department, a long-time Republican priority, to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau where all staff were ordered to stop work. In some cases, the federal government has rehired workers to perform vital functions such as securing nuclear weapons and fighting the bird flu outbreak that has caused egg prices spike. Musk's chaotic approach to reforming the U.S. Government, which has a $36 trillion debt, has been widely criticized, even by some Republican voters. On Saturday night, federal workers received an email informing them that they must detail their work from the previous week before 11:59 pm. Musk announced on his social media platform X that if he didn't respond, it would be considered a resignation. The email was sent on Saturday evening at 11:59 p.m. ET. The email's subject was "What did YOU do last week?" The email was sent from an address for human resources in the Office of Personnel Management. Musk's threat of termination, however, was not included. Sources and emails reviewed revealed that workers at the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Education and Commerce, and at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Institutes of Health, and Internal Revenue Service were also told to refrain from responding pending further instructions. Sources say that workers at intelligence agencies will also be instructed not to respond. To be clear, this is irregular, unexpected and warrants further verification," wrote a senior manager at the National Centers for Environmental Information (an agency that manages data on the environment and is part the Commerce Department). Some officials welcomed this move. Ed Martin, Trump’s nominee to be U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., serving as an interim, praised Musk in an email. Other offices in the Justice Department told their employees to wait for more information before responding, such as the executive office which supports all U.S. Attorneys and the civil division. According to an email that was seen by, employees at the Drug Enforcement Administration (part of the Justice Department) were instructed to respond. UNION QUESTIONS MUSK’S AUTHORITY The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest federal union, posted on social media Sunday that they did not think Musk had the authority to dismiss employees who don't respond, and that they would request in writing that OPM retract the message. The union also advised its members to directly ask their supervisors whether they should reply or not and to listen to their advice. After weeks of uncertainty, some employees were even more upset and anxious after receiving the email. One IRS employee said, "I wonder when someone will say, "Enough"." Requests for comments were not immediately responded to by the FDIC, the Treasury, the Justice, Education, and Commerce departments, nor the FDIC and NIH. A spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment and a spokesperson from the State Department referred all questions to White House. Musk, on his social media platform X, called the email a "very basic pulse check". He displayed a fictional listing he generated using artificial intelligent. It is VERY troubling that certain parts of the government believe this to be TOO MUCH!! What's wrong with these people? Musk wrote: U.S. U.S. Senator John Curtis (a Republican from Utah) said that he supported the Trump administration’s efforts to cut government spending, but Musk should adopt a more humane attitude. Curtis told CBS News that "if I could tell Elon Musk one thing, it would be, 'Please add a little compassion to this'." These are real people. "These are real people. These are mortgages. It is a false narrative that we must cut, and you also have to be cruel. We can do both." Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reported that some federal judiciary staff, including judges, received the OPM email on Saturday, despite the fact that the court system does not belong to the executive branch. According to an email that was reviewed by us, the judiciary told employees to ignore the message and not take any action. Some employees did not know how to react, even if it was their choice. Several lawyers have expressed concerns about the confidentiality of their work. People with knowledge of the situation say that workers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received the same email, despite the fact that they had been ordered to cease work since the beginning of this month and were left with little to do. Former Republican Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie said that the email was a "complete overstep" and would be defeated by a court. Christie told ABC News that "from a management standpoint, you can clearly see what a clown-car this is at the moment." (Reporting and editing by Scott Malone and Will Dunham in Washington, and Jonathan Landay in Princeton, New Jersey; Additional reporting and editing by Marisa Tayloe, Kanishka Sing, Brad Heath and Valerie Volcovici in Princeton, New Jersey. Additional reporting and editing by Marisa T. Taylor, Kanishka Sing, Brad Heath and Valerie Volcovici in Washington, and Joseph Ax and Karen Freifeld in Princeton, New Jersey.
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BBVA increases sustainable finance target by 700 billion Euros
BBVA announced on Monday that it has increased the target amount for lending to sustainable businesses to 700 billion Euros ($732.7 billion). The lender had previously set an initial target of 300 billion euro for the period between 2018 and 2025. Javier Rodriguez Soler is BBVA’s global head for sustainability, corporate and investment banking. He said that the business opportunity in the second half of the decade would be driven by a solid investment in infrastructure, and the maturity of new clean technologies. The growing public pressure to act to curb climate change has prompted countries and companies alike to make promises to reduce emissions. Banks have committed to lending more money to clean energy and to reduce financing for polluting industries. Environmental campaigners are concerned that banks may be affected by a shift in political climate under the new U.S. president Donald Trump and might withdraw from their sustainability commitments. HSBC has delayed by 20 years its goal of achieving net-zero emission across its businesses to 2050 because of the slow pace in which the economy is changing. BBVA has also set a target of reaching zero emissions by the middle of this century. The bank is still financing coal, but it says that by 2030 for developed countries, and 2040 for the rest of world.
British Business – February 24,
These are the most popular stories in the British business pages. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.
The Times
Axa IM Alts is the investment arm of French insurer Axa. They have submitted a planning request to build another skyscraper at the City of London.
Bupa, a healthcare provider in the UK, will offer what it claims is the first genetic test that accurately predicts the risk of many common diseases.
The Guardian
The British Prime Minister Keir starmer announced a funding of 200 million pounds ($253.54million) to increase investment in the Grangemouth Oil Refinery. This refinery is closing with more than 400 job losses.
The UK Home Office is accused of collecting information on "hundreds and thousands" of British citizens who were unaware of the situation, while performing financial checks on immigrants.
The Telegraph
Senior MPs will question BBC bosses about a controversial documentary that has been accused of providing a platform for Hamas propaganda.
Sky News
The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan is in negotiations to provide Quantexa with an undisclosed new amount of funding, which could be worth billions of dollars. ($1 = 0.7888 pounds) (Compiled from Bengaluru Newsroom)
(source: Reuters)