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Taiwan's President Lai in United States area of Guam as part of Pacific tour
Taiwan President Lai Chingte remained in the U.S. area of Guam on Wednesday, his second U.S. stopover in less than a week during a tour to enhance ties with Pacific allies in the face of increasing Chinese pressure. Lai showed up from Tuvalu and will stay in Guam one night before heading to Palau and going back to Taipei on Friday. Lai was welcomed in Guam by Ingrid Larson , Washington office handling director of the American Institute in Taiwan, the body that functions as the informal U.S. embassy in Taiwan. Lai was likewise welcomed by Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero, who called it an an honor to see him on what is his first overseas trip since taking workplace in May. Lai dropped in Hawaii at the weekend, before heading on to the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu , like Palau among 12 countries that retain formal diplomatic ties with Taipei and a part of the world where China has been putting in stronger influence. While it has just informal relations with Taiwan and follows a one-China policy under which it acknowledges Beijing diplomatically, the U.S. government is obliged by law to provide the island with the ways to safeguard itself. It has also frequently facilitated what are referred to as informal stopovers when Taiwanese leaders check out distant allies in the Pacific, Latin America or the Caribbean. STATE-OF-THE-ART MARKET In a speech in Hawaii, Lai said Taiwan's U.S. partnership was a source of strength for the state-of-the-art market, consisting of the semiconductor sector, and revealed Taiwan was a relied on and trustworthy partner . Taiwan is a significant manufacturer of chips utilized in whatever from vehicles to AI applications and is home to essential Apple and Nvidia provider TSMC. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticised Taiwan during his election project, however, accusing it of taking organization from U.S. semiconductor companies. His danger of broad import tariffs could impact an industry vital to Taiwan's. economy. China, which thinks about Taiwan its own area and Lai. a hazardous separatist, opposes any foreign interactions or. check outs by the island's leaders. It stepped up military pressure against Taiwan,. including two rounds of war games this year and on Friday prompted. Washington to exercise utmost care in its relations with Taiwan. Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo reaffirmed ties with. Taiwan after he was chosen in February, and travelled to Taipei. to meet Lai for Taiwan's national day celebrations in October. Different nations, the same belief in democracy;. various time zones, the very same air of liberty, Lai wrote on. Facebook after his welcome in Tuvalu. With a population of 11,000 spread throughout nine. low-lying atolls, and forecasts that half of its main town. will be submerged by increasing tides by 2050, Tuvalu is reliant on. donors including Taiwan to strengthen its coast. It will also be linked to worldwide. telecoms by a subsea cable television for the first time in a. joint task backed by Taiwan, Australia, the United States and. Japan.
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Gold rebounds on benign United States work data ahead of Powell
Gold costs turned favorable on Wednesday after information revealed U.S. personal payrolls increased at a. moderate rate last month, ahead of remarks from Federal Reserve. Chair Jerome Powell later in the day and Friday's nonfarm. payrolls report. Area gold was up 0.4% at $2,654.47 an ounce by 10:30. a.m. ET (1530 GMT). U.S. gold futures were up 0.4% at. $ 2,678.90. Gold bounces as ADP dissatisfies, coming in just short of. consensus. Market was looking for a bigger bounce a month after. the typhoons and the Boeing strike, said Tai Wong, an. independent metals trader. Personal payrolls increased by 146,000 last month, the ADP report. showed. Economists polled had actually forecast private. work increasing by 150,000 positions. Gold is seeing a muted response today, with a stronger. impact anticipated from the approaching U.S. nonfarm payrolls and if. information indicate deteriorating work it would support prices,. stated Everett Millman, primary market analyst with Gainesville. Coins. Looking ahead, markets are focused on Powell's remarks later. today, Friday's pivotal payroll report and next week's inflation. information for hints on the Fed's policy trajectory. U.S. Central bankers on Tuesday signaled inflation is. gradually heading towards the 2% target, meaning capacity. rate of interest cuts. St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said on Wednesday he. expects the U.S. central bank will be able to cut interest rates. further however warned the speed of future actions has actually grown less. clear. Traders are pricing in a 76% chance of a 25-basis-point cut. at the Fed's Dec. 17-18 conference. Bullion, which does not pay any interest, traditionally. carries out well in low-interest rate environments. Safe-haven gold was likewise supported by worldwide geopolitical. discontent, including South Korea's political turmoil, France's. federal government dealing with collapse, unrelenting Russian drone strikes in. Ukraine and Israel threatening war with Lebanon if its truce. with Hezbollah collapses. Area silver increased 0.9% to $31.32 an ounce, platinum. lost 0.9% to $945.15 and palladium was up 0.8% at. $ 979.92.
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Climate Investment Funds board backs $500 mln Ethiopia nature plan
Multilateral lending institution Climate Mutual fund will back a $500 million strategy to assist droughtprone Ethiopia restore degraded land, protect its forests and boost food security, it said on Wednesday. CIF's board stated it had concurred a $37 million financial investment from its Nature, People, and Climate programme that it expects to mobilise $492 million in co-financing from other financiers, consisting of the World Bank and African Advancement Bank. A lot of Ethiopians live in backwoods and count on farming yet over half of the country is experiencing some level of land destruction and around 11 million hectares remain in danger of becoming desert, CIF said. The funding is expected to help restore more than 320,000 hectares of wild Arabica coffee forests, farmlands, and rangelands in the Amhara, Oromia, South Ethiopia, and Somali regions and develop an online pc registry of the country's forests. This programme is really trying to get at how climate modification and land deterioration are undermining the incomes of millions of smallholder farmers and pastoralists in Ethiopia, said Paul Hartman, the lead for CIF's nature programmes. As well as helping reduce poverty and increase economic sustainability, the plan, produced by the government, intends to boost agricultural performance and improve food security. As countries gather in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh for international talks on the problem of land degradation, Hartman stated it was essential for nations to weave the issue through their plans to fight environment modification and biodiversity loss. While around half the cash targeted by Ethiopia had already been designated by co-investors to projects, the rest would most likely come from personal and philanthropic investors in the months ahead, Hartman included. Jobs to get funding will include those concentrated on afforestation and reforestation, regeneration of soil health and water preservation, and sustainable farming.
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Which nations have finished financial obligation swaps for nature and climate
Debt swaps are becoming a more widely used tool to help indebted nations raise money for conservation or climaterelated tasks. Under a swap, a nation redeems more costly debt and replaces it with less expensive debt, usually with the assistance of a. development bank. The savings are then used for environmental. projects that bring back mangroves or safeguard oceans, or help adjust. to the impacts of climate modification. Here is a list of countries which have actually finished them in. current years. BARBADOS (2024 ) Barbados integrated an almost $300 million buy-back of its. domestic bonds with upfront financing from the Inter-American. Development Bank and Green Environment Fund to finish the world's. first swap focused on environment durability. The far-flung task will see Barbados invest $165. million in water infrastructure, food security and ecological. defense to help the Caribbean island adapt to the damaging. effects of environment change. BAHAMAS (2024 ) The Bahamas opened more than $120 million in November to. fund the conservation and management of its oceans and mangroves. with a $300 million debt swap financed by Standard Chartered and. backed by the private sector. Funding from the swap, designed by nonprofit The Nature. Conservancy which likewise offers preservation support to the. Bahamas, will go towards bring back mangroves damaged by the. hurricane, managing the archipelago's 6.8 million hectares (16.8. million acres) of marine protected areas and supporting the. build-out of a new project to secure the whole Bahamian ocean. location EL SALVADOR (2024 ) El Salvador freed up $352 million in October to money the. conservation of the Rio Lempa, the nation's primary river and its. watershed. At the time, the deal was the biggest funding. dedication a country had made for preservation as part of a. debt-for-nature swap. The offer was funded by a $1 billion loan from JP Morgan. with $1 billion political risk insurance coverage cover from DFC, the. United States' development finance organization, and a $200. million standby letter of credit from CAF, the Development Bank. of Latin America and the Caribbean, most likely reducing the expense of. the lending. ECUADOR (2023 ) The Galapagos Islands, one of the world's most valuable. communities, was the preservation focus of Ecuador's. debt-for-nature swap. The $1.6 billion buy-back assisted cut. Ecuador's debt by over $1 billion once the $450 million of total. conservation spending is taken into account. The offer has because. dealt with criticism from local groups raising concerns about their. absence of involvement in the offer. GABON (2023 ). Gabon landed continental Africa's very first debt-for-nature swap. in 2023. Issuing a new lower-cost $500 million blue bond to. redeem at a discount $436 countless its global bonds,. the central African nation freed up around $163 million for. conservation projects over a 15-year period. Gabon, whose beaches and coastal waters are home to the. world's largest population of threatened leatherback turtles,. said it prepared to use the money conserved to tackle unlawful fishing. and satisfy a promise to safeguard 30% of its coastal waters. BARBADOS (2022 ) Barbados finished a $150 million financial obligation conversion in. September 2022, freeing up $50 countless long-term funding. for marine preservation with the government guaranteeing to protect. up to 30% of seas covered by its territorial and sovereign. rights. The offer was moneyed by a 15-year double currency blue loan. organized by Credit Suisse and CIBC First Caribbean. BELIZE (2021 ) Belize in 2021 devoted to invest $4 million a year and fund. a $23 million marine conservation trust to secure the world's. second-largest reef by buying back and retiring a $533. million bond. Backed by nonprofit The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. International Advancement Financing Corporation and Credit Suisse,. the deal offered about $200 million in financial obligation relief to the. Central American country. SEYCHELLES (2016 ) The Seychelles' debt-for-nature swap took dealmakers nearly. 6 years from design to disbursement. Very first mooted in 2012 the. deal saw the Seychelles federal government redeem $21.6 million of. financial obligation from the Paris Club group of wealthy countries in 2016,. financed by a loan from NGO The Nature Conservancy in addition to. philanthropic grants. In 2018, Seychelles raised additional funding for. conservation by releasing a $15 million blue bond, backed by a. partial credit warranty from the World Bank.
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Enel's head of United States and Brazil to leave, sources say
Alberto De Paoli, head of nations including the United States, Brazil and Chile at Enel , will quickly leave the Italian energy business, two sources familiar with the matter said, the latest management modification under the group's new CEO. De Paoli, who also acted as Enel's primary monetary officer in between 2014 and 2023, will be succeeded as Director, Rest of the World, by company veteran Roberto Deambrogio, the sources added. De Paoli's exit, initially reported by Italian financial daily MF, is the current management change considering that Flavio Cattaneo took over from Enel's long-serving CEO Francesco Starace in May 2023. The replacement comes as the group starts to present an investment strategy worth almost 11 billion euros ($ 11.5 billion) in Latin America and North America due to be finished by 2027. De Paoli is set to follow a new career path that may include an entrepreneurial activity, among the sources said Presenting its upgraded business strategy last month, Enel stated. it was devoted to invest to keep its concessions in Brazil and Chile, two countries where some of the power grids handled by the Italian group have been hit by extreme weather, setting off power blackouts and local government complaints.
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South African coal miner Exxaro suspends CEO, opens governance probe
South African coal miner Exxaro Resources stated on Wednesday its board had actually placed CEO Nombasa Tsengwa on preventive suspension pending an independent probe into allegations related to work environment conduct and governance practice. The Board takes any such allegations and resultant examinations very seriously but makes no presumption as to its conclusion. The company will be assisted by the result of examination before taking the proper action, if any, Exxaro stated in a declaration. Tsengwa was not instantly readily available for remark. Exxaro said that the inquiry will be performed by law office ENS, including that the business's long-time finance director Riaan Koppeschaar would take on the additional function of acting CEO. Tsengwa, who ended up being CEO in August 2022, was leading Exxaro's. look for clean energy minerals, primarily copper and manganese,. as it seeks to diversify away from polluting coal. She is likewise president of the Minerals Council South Africa,. the main representative body for miners in the country. The Board is fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities by taking. decisive actions to act in the very best interests of the business and. stabilise its management, while it conducts an appropriately. thorough and independent investigation in line with business. values and policies, stated Exxaro Chairman Geoffrey Qhena. The Board and management team will continue to implement. our method of maximising the value of our existing properties,. while undertaking a determined and responsible shift from a. coal based to a diversified minerals and renewable resource. solutions service, Qhena included. Exxaro stated on Tuesday it expects its thermal coal output to. fall 6% in the full-year to Dec. 31, compared to the previous. year, primarily due to lower need from Eskom. Its sales volumes. are expected to come by 2%.
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EXPLAINER -Why are coffee rates trading near half-century highs?
International coffee costs have soared to their greatest in almost 50 years due to poor weather in Brazil and Vietnam, requiring roasters such as Nestle to raise costs and customers to hunt for more affordable brews amid the expense of living crisis. Increasing costs will benefit farmers with the crop this year, but obstacle traders who face crippling hedging costs on exchanges and a scramble to get the beans they pre-bought. WHAT DRIVES PRICES? Production issues connected to bad weather condition in Brazil and Vietnam have seen international products lagging demand for three years. That has actually left stocks diminished and driven benchmark ICE exchange costs to a peak of $3.36 per lb. Last time coffee traded that high was in 1977 when snow damaged swathes of Brazil's plantations. However, the shock to consumers was much larger back then. If changed for inflation, $ 3.36 per lb in 1977 would be comparable to $17.68 today. Experts are meanwhile anticipating yet another year of drab coffee output. Brazil, which produces nearly half the world's arabica - high-end beans utilized mostly in roast and ground blends - knowledgeable among its worst droughts on record this year. Although rains finally got here in October, soil wetness remains low and experts say the trees are producing too many leaves and too few of the flowers that develop into cherries. In Vietnam, which produces some 40% of the robusta beans usually utilized to make instantaneous coffee, a serious dry spell earlier this year was followed by excess rains because October. Consultancy StoneX sees Brazil's arabica output falling 10.5% to 40 million bags next year, balance out somewhat by higher robusta output, therefore cutting the nation's total crop by 0.5%. In Vietnam, the crop might shrink approximately 10% in the year by the end of September 2025, contributing to the international robusta scarcity. WHY ARE TRADERS STRESSED? Brazil-based traders Atlantica and Cafebras are looking for court-supervised debt restructuring due to coffee price surges, debilitating hedging expenses and delivery hold-ups. Court-supervised financial obligation restructuring precedes personal bankruptcy if the negotiation is not effective. Traders who purchase beans from Atlantica and Cafebras typically take brief positions in the futures market to hedge their physical market direct exposure. Fearing they might no longer get their physical coffee from Atlantica and Cafebras, lots of traders are liquidating what have become loss-making short futures positions. Closing out brief positions includes purchasing or going long futures, which in turn drives rates even higher. Greater futures costs then push up margin calls or downpayments that traders are needed to pay to protect versus trading losses, thus creating more tension in the market. INFLUENCE ON ROASTERS AND CONSUMERS Surging coffee rates are an issue for roasters. The one in charge of Nestle, the world's most significant coffee firm, was ousted earlier this year after the board grew dissatisfied about weak sales and a loss of market share due to price rises, which triggered customers to change to cheaper brands. Roasters tend to buy coffee many months ahead of time, which methods customers will likely see the price spike in 6 to 12 months. Consumers who consume out will feel less of a pinch of today's. increasing rates. Roasters like Starbucks that sell mostly to cafes. ought to fare better as the international coffee price accounts. for only about 1.4% of the overall rate of a normal $5 cup of. coffee in a cafe.
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OPEC+ starts official talks at 1100 GMT Thursday; sources see oil cuts extended
OPEC+ is likely to extend its latest round of oil production cuts by a minimum of 3 months from January when it satisfies online at 1100 GMT on Thursday, OPEC+ sources informed Reuters, to offer additional assistance for the oil market. OPEC+, which pumps about half the world's oil, was preparing to start relaxing output cuts through 2025. However, a downturn in global need and rising output outside the group position hurdles to that strategy and have weighed on rates. Among the OPEC+ sources stated the group was also looking at a choice to extend the cuts throughout the very first half of next year and another said a much deeper cut was not a most likely alternative. All of the sources decreased to be recognized by name. OPEC+, which groups the Company of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, collects on Thursday at 1130 GMT. Before that, at 1100 GMT, the joint ministerial monitoring committee, a smaller sized group of top ministers, fulfills to examine the marketplace. Everyone comprehends that the OPEC+ offer is working, we will continue to work together, the chief of Russia's sovereign wealth investment fund, Kirill Dmitriev, told Reuters. In spite of the group's supply cuts, global oil standard Brent crude has actually mainly stayed in a $70 to $80 per barrel variety this year and on Wednesday was near $74 a barrel, having strike a 2024 low below $69 in September. OPEC+ members are holding back 5.86 million barrels per day of output, or about 5.7% of international need, in a series of actions agreed considering that 2022 to support the market. An output hike of 180,000 bpd - a fraction of the total - was planned for January from the eight members involved in OPEC+'s newest cuts of 2.2 million bpd. The walking has been delayed from October due to falling prices. The group likewise requires to attend to a 300,000 bpd output walking for the United Arab Emirates concurred in June that is set up to begin in January 2025 and be phased in slowly. The UAE is eager for it to proceed, sources stated, although one source indicated it might be up for negotiation.
Salunda to Equip Transocean Endurance Rig with Monitoring Solution
Salunda, a provider of digitized solutions for safety critical industries, has secured a contract to install its HaloGuard zone monitoring solution on the Transocean Endurance semi-submersible rig in Australia.
The award marks Salunda’s first installation of the patented zone monitoring product in Australia and the wider Asia Pacific region.
The HaloGuard system, which incorporates Salunda’s patented CrewHawk real-time location technology, combines real-time location technology together with a machine vision system.
The technology is designed to locate personnel on the drill floor during operations.
When a crew member comes within a certain distance from working equipment, he or she is notified by an alarm through a wearable device. In the event the crew member remains near the equipment, the system can pause the equipment from moving until that worker returns to a safer, more distant position.
Additionally, if unauthorized personnel enter the zone, HaloGuard sends an alert directly to the area authority. By enabling machines with the technology to sense and recognize the location of personnel on the drill floor, Haloguard provides an advanced layer of individual protection that can, if needed, warn personnel of hazards and pause operations.
(Credit: Salunda)
“Our ultimate goal for HaloGuard is to enhance the safety of critical operations. As the oil and gas industry continues to automate, the deployment of advanced technologies that can detect and notify personnel and equipment on the drill floor, and if needed, pause operations, can enhance the safety and improve the efficiency of operations,” said Alan Finlay, Salunda Chief Executive.