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Trump tariffs spark 'deep concern' among Brazil chemical firms
A Brazilian association of chemical companies, which includes large U.S. companies like ExxonMobil, Dow Chemical, and ExxonMobil, has expressed "deep concerns" about a U.S. Executive Order that raised tariffs on Brazilian imports to 50%. Abiquim, in a Friday statement, said that the Brazilian chemical industry is inextricably linked with the United States. The relationship was marked by "integration," and "cross investments." Andre Cordeiro said that the impact on Brazilian chemical exports would be significant, as it would compromise supply chains, jobs and investments both in Brazil and in the U.S. Abiquim reported that more than 20 of the chemical companies in Brazil are owned by Americans. Abiquim, along with the American Chemistry Council, submitted a joint declaration to the Brazilian and United States governments "requesting action to prevent damage to integration and resilience in chemical supply chains. The statement focused on trade facilitation and regulatory collaboration." According to Abiquim, Brazil exported $2.4 billion worth of chemical products to America last year. This sector has a deficit of almost $8 billion. The executive order of President Donald Trump from July 30, affects approximately $1 billion annually in Brazilian chemical exports into the U.S. while only exempting five products that represent $697 million sales to the U.S. by 2024. Abiquim also said that its companies will suffer more losses as the chemical products are used in many industries, including furniture, textiles and leather goods. Some of these industries have already experienced cancellation of orders from the United States due to this new tariff. Abiquim announced last week that its own sector was already facing contract cancellations due to Trump's tariffs. (Reporting and editing by Andrea Ricci; Ana Mano)
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Baxter, a medical products manufacturer, has cut its 2025 forecast and shares have plunged to a 19-year low.
Baxter International cut its profit forecast for 2025 and reported disappointing earnings on Thursday as the lingering effects of Hurricane Helene, and hospital fluid conservation continued to weigh on its medical product business. The shares of the medical product maker fell about 23% during morning trading, reaching their lowest level since 2006 The CFO Joel Grade said that despite the fact that he never wants to lower expectations, his overall goal is to reduce the outlook in order to take into account more of the possible downside risks. Baxter has voluntarily halted shipments after receiving reports of multiple injuries and two deaths. The manufacturer of medical products now expects adjusted earnings between $2.42 to $2.52 per shares, down from the previous expectation of $2.47 - $2.55. Analysts expected $2.52 per shares. Hurricane Helene, which struck in North Carolina last year and damaged Baxter’s North Carolina facility, caused the production of IV solutions to be disrupted. Hospitals were then forced to conserve fluids. The company reported that while supply has been restored, the demand is still low. The company stated that the volume declines of IV solutions had a significant impact on operating income and profit/share. Its outlook assumes fluid conservation will remain at 20 percent below normal levels through the remainder of 2025. Robbie Marcus, JPMorgan analyst, said that many investors had been concerned about this scenario due to the absence of an announcement following the appointment of a new CEO at the beginning July. Earnings for the second quarter were 59 cents, which was below expectations of 61 cents. Revenue came in at $2.81 billion - just shy of expectations. Baxter’s pharmaceuticals division also underperformed with anesthesia sales dropping by low double-digits and injectable drug sales declining by 1% globally. Baxter has reduced its estimate of the impact on 2025 to $40 million from $60 million or $70 million. (Reporting from Bengaluru by Kamal Choudhury; editing by Vijay Kishore).
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Barclays is the latest British lender to leave climate banking alliance
Barclays is the latest British lender that has quit the Net Zero Banking Alliance. The bank announced this on Friday. It argued that it was no longer able to support its green transition due to the departure of other global lenders. Barclays' decision, which follows that of HSBC as well as several major U.S. financial institutions, to leave the leading banking alliance aimed at tackling climate changes raises concerns about the group's ability to influence the sector in the future. In a website statement, the bank stated that it had "decided to withdraw from Net Zero Banking Alliance". The bank said that its commitment to achieve net zero by the year 2050 was unchanged, and that they still saw an opportunity in energy transition for themselves and their clients. Barclays released its first sustainability strategy update in several years earlier this week. The company said that it will make 500 million pounds ($666.20) from transition financing for low-carbon and sustainable projects by 2024. Jeanne Martin is the co-director for corporate engagement of ShareAction, a responsible investment NGO. She called the decision to leave Net Zero Banking Alliance an "incredibly disappointing step and a wrong direction in a time where the dangers of global warming are rapidly increasing." Barclays stated that the alliance no longer met its original purpose. "With most global banks having left, the organisation does not have the membership to support our transformation." On its website, the Net Zero Banking Alliance (a global initiative launched under the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative) lists more than a hundred members, including major international financial institutions. The alliance, according to a spokesperson, is committed to "supporting members in their efforts to be leaders on climate change by addressing barriers that prevent clients from investing into the net-zero transformation." The NZBA overhauled their rules earlier this year after key members left. Banks voted to abandon some of the more stringent rules. Virginia Furness is reporting, Iain Withers is editing and Philippa Fletcher is a contributor.
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US construction spending extends decline in June
U.S. Construction Spending dropped even further in June, mainly due to a sharp drop in expenditures on single-family homes projects as a result of rising mortgage rates and a growing inventory. Census Bureau of the Commerce Department reported on Friday that construction expenditures fell by 0.4% following a 0.4% decline in May. The economists polled had predicted that construction spending would remain unchanged following a 0.3% decline in May. In June, spending fell 2.9% year-over-year. The amount spent on private construction projects fell by 0.5%. Residential construction investment fell by 0.7%. Outlays for new single-family housing projects dropped 1.8%. The latest government data released this week shows that residential investment has contracted at the fastest rate since the fourth quarter 2022. The Federal Reserve has paused its rate-cutting cycle due to the uncertainty created by tariffs on imported products. The new housing inventory has reached levels not seen since late 2007. In June, the expenditures on multi-family housing units remained unchanged. Investments in non-residential private structures such as offices and factories decreased by 0.3%. The second consecutive quarter saw a decline in spending on non-residential buildings. The spending on public construction projects increased by 0.1%. State and local government spending on construction increased by 0.5% while federal government expenditures dropped by 4.4%. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani, Editing by Chizu nomiyama
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Senegal announces recovery plan relying on domestic funding
On Friday, Prime Minister Ousmane sonko unveiled a plan to revive the economy of Senegal. He pledged to finance 90% through domestic resources in order to avoid further debt. Senegal is facing financial difficulties and criticism over misreporting of debt. The plan aims to stabilize the finances of this West African nation, which began producing oil and natural gas last year. The IMF has frozen its loan program because the country is struggling with hidden debts worth billions of dollars from the previous administration. Sonko, during a presentation at the capital Dakar, said: "We have identified over 4.6 trillion CFA Francs ($8.16billion) in resources available between 2025-2028 without increasing the debt of the state." The goal of the plan is to reduce the deficit in the budget to 3% GDP by 2027, down from 12%. The government has proposed a number of measures, including merging and shrinking state institutions. This, according to the government, could save 50 billion CFA Francs. It also proposes eliminating tax exemptions for certain sectors, especially in the digital economy, which is largely untaxed. He gave mobile money and online gaming as examples. Visa fees will be introduced to visitors from non-African states and African countries that require visas from Senegalese citizens. The fees for visas are expected to raise 60 billion CFA. Sonko stated that the government anticipates raising 884 billion CFA Francs through the renegotiation and renewal of contracts in the oil, mining and energy sectors. An additional 200 billion CFA will be raised by the renewal of the telecom license. The government is easing access to land titles in order to attract investment. It will also raise the age limit on imported vehicles, a demand made by the diaspora of Senegal. Senegal will continue to mobilize resources and seek out external partners for recycling existing assets. Domestic market in local currency. Sonko says that foreign currency debt should target hydrocarbons, oil and gas, mining and other sectors. He added that the reforms will also allow the government to better target social programs and subsidies to meet the needs in the population. Since years, the IMF has called on Senegal's government to reduce what it calls expensive and inefficient subsidies for energy. In March, it estimated that these subsidies could amount to up to 4 percent of GDP. The problem with these subsidies, is that they don't benefit the most vulnerable households. In an interview with the IMF mission head Edward Gemayel in Dakar, in March, he said that most of these subsidies go to wealthy households. He added that the Senegalese should understand why the cuts were necessary and be informed of the reasons for the reductions. Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian and Ayen deng Bior, editing by Bate Felice, Robbie Corey Boulet and Mark Heinrich
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Codelco Chile says it is still searching for missing workers at El Teniente Mine
Andres Musik, El Teniente’s general manager, said that Codelco had not yet contacted five workers who were missing at the Andesita Unit of El Teniente following a seismic event which killed one person. He said that Codelco expected the aftershocks to subside in the next twelve hours, which would allow it to start efforts to contact the workers. Music stated in a recent press conference that "the event we recorded yesterday was one of, if not the biggest event" the El Teniente Mine has ever experienced. He noted that the incident was a magnitude 4.2 earthquake. Andesita was one of Codelco’s newest projects, located at the El Teniente complex. It was scheduled to start production in the second half of this year. Music didn't address how the incident will affect Codelco’s output in the producing areas of mine. Codelco will report its financial results on Friday as originally scheduled. Codelco is investigating the cause of the accident, according to music. He said that although explosives or drilling did not cause the incident, mining activities can sometimes trigger seismic events in El Teniente. Chile is also prone regularly to earthquakes with varying magnitudes.
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Gold gains nearly 2% after US payrolls data boosts hopes of rate cuts
Gold prices rose by almost 2% on Friday, reaching a new high. Weaker-than-expected U.S. employment data increased expectations of lowered Federal Reserve rates, while fresh tariff announcements sparked demand for safe-haven assets. As of 0931 am, spot gold rose 1.9%, to $3,351.61 an ounce. ET (13.31 GMT), achieving its highest level since the 25th of July. Bullion has gained 0.3% this week. U.S. Gold Futures increased 1.7% to $3405.20. "Payrolls came in below expectations but slightly higher than what the market had projected. This gives a higher probability that the Federal Reserve (rates will be cut) later this year, said Bart Melek. "We have a situation in which we continue to face inflationary pressures from wages and tariffs, but the job numbers are still disappointing." In that case, if (rates) are cut by the Fed, it will have a material positive impact on gold. In a low interest rate environment, gold, which is a non-yielding investment, performs well. The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Labor Department reported that U.S. employment growth was slower than expected in July. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 73,000 last month after increasing by 14,000 jobs in June. The market participants now expect two rate reductions by the end of the year, starting in September. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said it was too early to predict whether the central banks interest rate target will be cut in September. Trump's latest tariffs on dozens of countries, including Canada and Brazil, have sent the global markets into a tailspin as nations pushed to negotiate better deals. Gold is a safe-haven during times of economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Silver spot was up by 1.1% at $37.14 an ounce. Platinum rose 0.6% to 1,296.58 while palladium rose 2.3% to $1,217.91. (Reporting by Sarah Qureshi in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
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BYD's production in July fell for the first time in 17 months as BYD expansion spree slowed
BYD’s vehicle production dropped 0.9% from a year ago in July, ending a 16 month growth streak which had catapulted BYD into the top spot for electric vehicles makers worldwide. BYD produced 317,892 plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles (PHEVs), globally, last month. Sales increased 0.6%, to 344 296 vehicles. This is a sharp slowdown from the 12% growth in June. In July, EV production and sales grew compared to last year. However, PHEV production and sales fell by 24.6%. In February 2024 the company's production shrank, as did the industry, due to the timing and length of the Chinese Lunar New Year, which was in February, versus January the year before. In February 2024, sales also decreased. BYD is the largest Chinese competitor to Tesla. Both production and sales reached record highs in 2024's fourth quarter before declining this year. BYD, the world's largest EV seller, has overtaken the U.S. electric vehicle specialist with its 41% share of sales in the last year. BYD has been a part of a brutal price war on the world's biggest auto market. It has slowed down its production in recent months, by cutting shifts in some factories in China, and delaying plans to add more production lines. This was reported in June. Reporting by Qiaoyi Li and Brenda Goh, Editing by Susan Fenton and Frances Kerry, Emelia Sithole Matarise.
Trump Administration tells oil and Biofuels groups that they must develop a new biofuel policy
According to four sources familiar with the issue, the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump has asked the oil and biofuels industry to reach an agreement on the next phase in the country's biofuels policies to avoid the political conflicts that marked his first tenure.
Big Oil and Farm Belt biofuels producers are competitors who have been fighting for a share of the U.S. multi-billion dollar gasoline market. The two have fought repeatedly over the details of the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard. This program requires that billions of gallons corn-based ethanol, and other biofuels be blended in the nation's fuel supply.
Sources, which include Will Hupman API's Vice President of Downstream Policy and three other sources who did not want to be identified, say that the White House directive led to at least two bilateral meeting, including the one held last week by American Petroleum Institute.
According to Hupman and other sources, at that meeting representatives discussed topics such as the future volume of biofuel blend mandates, the exemptions for smaller refiners and the biofuel tax policies.
Trump's administration could adopt any agreement that is reached between these two powerful industries.
Hupman said that it is easier for the Trump administration to reach a conclusion if they hear from groups who have traditionally been on opposite sides.
Blending Volumes and Waivers
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is responsible for the RFS, has been preparing new blend mandates that will govern volume over the next two or three years. They are also preparing the multi-billion dollar compliance credit market.
Three sources confirmed that the group had already agreed to raise the mandate of renewable diesel and biodiesel by a significant amount from the current level of 3,35 billion gallons. The biofuel industry claims this is far below the production capacity.
Three sources confirmed that the range of volumes discussed was 4.75 billion to 5.5 billion gallons. Some wanted higher volumes by 2026, while others wanted a gradual increase.
Sources said that the blending mandates for gasoline and ethanol have been capped at 15 billion gallons. The parties also saw little room for growth due to the stagnant demand for gasoline.
Sources said that the groups were divided over the small refinery exemptions from the RFS. This was one of the most controversial issues.
In Trump's initial administration, the EPA granted a record-breaking number of exemptions. This allowed small refiners to avoid their blending obligations and triggered political backlash among his Republican allies from the Farm Belt, who claimed that it was punishing farmers.
The former president Joe Biden tried to eliminate the exemptions. This triggered legal challenges which reached the U.S. Supreme Court in this month. EPA is currently considering several exemption requests.
Sources said that the groups were divided over whether the administration would force other refiners, who are exempted from blending, to compensate for the volume. This position is opposed by the U.S. Refining Industry.
A second important issue that was discussed during the meeting last week was the fate a new credit for biomass-based fuels created under the Biden Administration, but which was not finalized. The 45Z program replaced the $1 per gallon blenders' credit with a system that rewards fuel producers according to their carbon intensity.
Trump and Republicans are yet to say whether they will move forward with 45Z.
Sources say that some at the meeting, such as the National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO), supported a return to blenders tax credit. Others wanted to support a new 45Z credit.
One attendee said, "There was no consensus except for a consensus that we should keep talking."
According to Hupman, the discussions marked a new stage of cooperation between Farm Belt and Big Oil.
He said that the gap between industries has widened over the past few years, as major refiners such as Marathon Petroleum and Valero invested in biofuel production.
Hupman said that "Our companies have evolved along with the fuels industry." We have realized that the RFS will be around for a long time and want to ensure it works as intended. (Reporting and editing by Richard Chang; Jarrett Renshaw)
(source: Reuters)