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Danish PM visits Greenland on a three-day trip amid Trump pressure
Denmark's Prime Minister landed in Greenland for talks on Wednesday with the incoming government of the semi-autonomous Danish territory. This was in response to President Donald Trump's expressed interest in controlling this vast Arctic island. Mette Frederiksen starts her three-day journey less than a month after the visit by U.S. vice president JD Vance to the territory was met with a cold reception from authorities in Denmark. She said that her goal was to strengthen Copenhagen’s ties with Greenland and stressed the importance of respecting cooperation in the face of what she called "great pressure" on Greenland. Frederiksen is expected to address the media on Wednesday. Greenland’s new Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen welcomed Frederiksen’s visit, saying that Denmark remained "Greenland’s closest partner". The new coalition led by Nielsen is expected to officially take office on the 7th of April. The relationship between Greenland, Denmark and the United Kingdom has been strained since recent revelations of colonial mistreatment of Greenlanders. Denmark has been prompted to work faster to improve relations with Greenland due to Trump's desire to control the island. This is part of an international competition to gain influence in the Arctic. Nielsen said late on Monday night that Greenland will strengthen its ties to Denmark until they can fulfill their ultimate desire of becoming a sovereign country. 'RESPECTFUL' Greenland wants to have a "respectful relationship" with the United States. "Talking of annexation, and about acquiring Greenland without respecting sovereignty is not being respectful. Let's begin by showing respect to each other, and then build a strong partnership in all areas," he said. Ulrik Pram Gd, a professor at the Danish Institute for International Studies, explained that Frederiksen’s visit was primarily to signal support during a period of intense scrutiny. He said that Denmark should signal to Greenland its position as Greenland's most important friend and ally, and also to the U.S. During his visit to a U.S. military base in northern Greenland last Friday, Vance accused Denmark of not doing a good job of keeping the island safe and suggested the United States would better protect the strategically-located territory. Vance's description about Denmark was deemed "unfair" by Frederiksen who said that it is the responsibility of Greenland's people to determine their own future. Greenland is a country of 57,000 people. A majority support independence, but some are against it. They fear that their island will suffer and become vulnerable to U.S. interest. Reporting by Tom Little, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, and Stine Jacobsen, in Copenhagen; additional reporting by Terje Solsvik, in Oslo; editing by William Maclean, and Gareth Jones.
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Gold rises amid tariff news, but stocks make little progress
U.S. stocks were little changed on Wednesday, while European shares fell. Gold was sought after as investors awaited the details of U.S. president Donald Trump's plans for tariffs and feared an intensifying trade war. Investors focused on Wednesday on the reciprocal levies that the White House will announce following the close of the U.S. Stock Market, on what Trump called America's 'Liberation Day. Trump is expected add new tariffs to the already existing levies on autos, aluminium and steel, as well as increased duties on all Chinese goods. This has rattled markets, with fears growing that a full-blown global trade war may trigger a sharp economic slowdown. The head of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, said that on Wednesday, the tariffs would be detrimental to the entire world. This will depend on the extent, duration and success of the negotiations. Stock futures were barely affected by the recent survey on U.S. private-sector employment, which showed that 155,000 more workers than expected had been added to payrolls. The Labour Department reported on Tuesday that U.S. jobs were down in February. We're all eagerly awaiting the final tariff policy. Don Calcagni is the chief investment officer of Mercer Advisors, based in Denver. Tariffs are already priced in. How final will this tariff policy be when President Trump speaks today at 4PM? It will fuel volatility if it sounds as if there is room for the policy to be changed again. "The market is currently looking for certainty, and it's up to President Trump if he can deliver." The Dow ended a little lower, while Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index and Nasdaq both finished Tuesday's choppy trading session with gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 68.25, or 0.16 percent, at 11:01 am on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the S&P500 rose by 6.05, or 0.11 percent, to 5,639.12, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 6.81, or 0.04 percent, to 17,457.40. The MSCI index of global stocks rose by 0.21 points or 0.02% to 832.32. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell by 0.67%. On Wednesday, the U.S. Dollar fell against major currencies such as the yen, euro and sterling as traders awaited details on tariffs, which could disrupt global trade and cause financial market turmoil. The dollar index fell by 0.38%, to 103.80, measuring the greenback in relation to a basket including the yen, the euro and other currencies. The euro rose 0.55% to $1.0852, while the sterling grew 0.34% to $1.2962. The dollar gained 0.08% against the Japanese yen to 149.72. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes increased 0.7 basis points, to 4.165% from 4.156%, late on Tuesday. The 30-year bond rate fell 0.1 basis point to 4.5136%, from 4.515% on Tuesday. The yield on the 2-year bond, which is usually in line with expectations of interest rates for the Federal Reserve (Fed), rose by 2.6 basis points, to 3.889% from 3.863% at late Tuesday. Gold, which is a popular safe-haven during times of economic and political turmoil, has climbed to a new intraday record. Gold prices have risen by 19% this year. This is on top of a 27% increase in 2024, which was the best performance ever since 2010. Gold spot rose by 0.49% on Wednesday to $3,125.85 per ounce. U.S. Gold Futures increased 0.59% to an ounce of $3,137.30. Oil prices on energy markets were mixed, after U.S. statistics showed that crude oil inventories in the United States had been unexpectedly large. U.S. crude oil rose by 0.14%, to $71.30 per barrel. Brent dropped to $74.45 a barrel on Monday, a 0.05% decline. (Ankur Banerjee contributed additional reporting from Singapore; editing by Shri Navaratnam and Tomasz Janowski)
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The largest EV charging network in Europe is launched by a group of EV charging companies.
Four of Europe's largest electric vehicle charging companies announced on Wednesday that they are teaming up to build the largest public charging networks on the continent. Spark, a new alliance between Atlante in Italy, Ionity in Germany, Fastned from the Netherlands, and Electra of France, will be formed to share their networks. There will be 11,000 charging points, and 1,700 charging stations in 25 European countries. Customers in Europe can now access ultra-fast charging of up to 400 kW through the Spark Alliance app. The European Auto Lobby ACEA is pushing for a quicker roll-out of charging infrastructure in order to reassure consumers who are worried about driving distances and increase demand for EVs. The announcement comes as demand for EVs is declining and the EU's emission regulations are being relaxed. According to the European Commission 3.5 million charging stations will be needed by 2030. To reach this target, it would take around 410,000 public chargers per year (or almost 8,000 per week) to install the same number of charging points as currently installed. Fastned CEO, Michiel Langezaal, said in an interview that "we benefit as a sector from the predictability provided by the European Commission". (Additional reporting and editing by Gilles Guillaume)
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The tin market is nearing a three-year high on tightness and short-covering
The price of tin jumped on Wednesday to its highest level in almost three years as traders scrambled for supplies and speculators juggled their positions after disruptions in two important tin-rich nations. After an earthquake on Friday that struck Myanmar, the world's third-largest tin producer and producer of tin, a record high was reached on the London Metal Exchange, as well as the Shanghai Futures Exchange. One trader stated that speculators have been buying back short positions or negative positions, particularly in Shanghai. The most active SHFE May futures tin rose as much as 4.7% to 299 990 yuan per metric ton on Wednesday, while LME tin surged to $38,395 per ton after a 30% increase this year. LME data show five large short positions for April futures. One of these represents 10-19% or the total open interest. Tom Price, Panmure Liberum's head of commodities strategy, said: "There are many bullish drivers in this market with the confusion and unease around Myanmar." The tin-mining areas of Myanmar have not been affected by the earthquake, which is the strongest in over a century to strike the Southeast Asian nation. The epicentre of the quake is about 425km away. Mines in Wa State, a tin-rich state that produces 70% of Myanmar's Tin, are located approximately 265 miles (425km) from its epicenter. In August 2023, the state of Wa suspended mining in the areas under its control to protect the resources. Before the earthquake, the state was considering resuming the activity. After Alphamin Resources announced last month that it would cease operations at the third largest mine in the world, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, due to rebels' advances towards the site. Investors are worried about supply and have bid up the near-term LME Futures. The premium of the cash LME to the three-month futures has reached $264 per ton. This is the highest it's been in a year. Alastair Mudro, senior metals strategist with broker Marex, said: "The term structure suggests a tightening market." He added that "price behavior also attracts a systematic bid", referring to funds which trade using computer programs based on technical signals like momentum. (Reporting and editing by Ed Osmond, Pratima Deai, and Polina Demovitt)
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EBRD will provide 1 billion Euros to Ukraine's energy sector, which has been devastated by war in 2025
Matteo Patrone, vice president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), said that the EBRD plans to give Ukraine about 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) in this year to rebuild its damaged power sector and to improve energy resilience. In more than three war years, Russia has bombarded Ukraine's infrastructure with drones and missiles, causing damage to transmission and generation facilities, and blackouts. Patrone, in remarks published for publication on Tuesday, said that the EBRD was one of Ukraine's major lenders and that supporting the energy sector would remain a top priority. "... "The energy security program is one of the most important ones, and has already been funded with 2 billion Euros," Patrone said to reporters. These 2 billions of euros will grow substantially by 2025, with the finalisation of the projects and the pipeline that we have in place, especially in the public sector. By the end of this year, it (will) be about 3 billion. Officials have stated that as Russia intensified its attacks in March 2020, Ukraine lost half of its generation capacity. It managed to survive the winter thanks to a mild climate, quick repairs, and funding and equipment provided by Western allies. Ukraine also tries to decentralise, as it rebuilds, modernises and uses more solar, wind and small modular gas turbines. Patrone stated that renewables accounted about 10% of Ukraine’s energy mix, and the EBRD is looking into projects to increase this share. Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, said that the EBRD is working on a package with Naftogaz to finance the purchase of natural gas by the company for the winter. Since the beginning of Russia's full scale invasion in February 20, 2022, the EBRD has invested a total amount of 6.4 billion euro in Ukraine. Reporting by Olena Hartmash. $1 = 0.9240 Euros
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Trump's plan to increase domestic mineral production is resisted by an adviser
Unknown advisor to the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation is opposing a plan of President Donald Trump that would use it to increase domestic investment in mining production. Why it's Important: DFC is one of the world's leading sources of development financing. It has more than 50 billion dollars in portfolios of projects ranging from critical infrastructure to food, energy and health. Over 70% of this funding goes to low- and lower middle-income countries. Experts in development are worried that Trump's executive order of March 20, which invoked emergency power to boost domestic production of critical minerals and named DFC a key funding source, could lead the agency to pull back from its international commitments. KEY QUOTES "DFC is focused on countries with low and lower middle-income levels." The DFC does not currently have the authority for investing in the U.S. This could change but would cause pushback from the DFC's most ardent supporters, said Robert Mosbacher who was the former head of Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) under President George W. Bush. "I am optimistic that the reauthorisation will try to strike a balanced and keep the agency focused primarily on development, while increasing its focus on foreign policy goals." CONTEXT: The order follows Trump's decision to cut $76 billion from project funding at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Development analysts and nongovernmental organisations are concerned that the DFC mandate will also be altered. Development experts say that Trump's choice of Ben Black as DFC's CEO, the son of Apollo Global Management's co-founder Leon Black, has not done much to ease concerns. Black wrote a blog in which he disparaged DFC's support of "virtue signalling" green projects, and argued in favor of Greenland's natural resources. WHAT'S NEXT: Mosbacher stated that once appointed, Black would have the ability to contribute to an ongoing review of DFC’s governing rules. The review is expected to be completed by early October. However, any radical policy changes may be moderated by the bipartisan support the current mandate enjoys in both chambers. Last week, it was reported that DFC would be in line to handle a crucial minerals fund Trump proposed as part of the ceasefire talks between Ukraine & Russia. (Reporting and editing by Tomaszjanowski)
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Russian central bank warns US Tariff hikes could slow global growth
The Russian central bank warned on Wednesday that U.S. tariff increases could slow world economic growth, fuel inflation and cause oil prices to be lower than expected for several years due to reduced global demand. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced "Liberation Day", a day of celebration in the United States. This would escalate a trade conflict with other countries, increase costs and threaten a decades-old trading order. The Russian regulator warned that "the increase in import duty in the USA, and the retaliatory actions by other countries, have increased the risks of a slowerdown in global growth and an acceleration in inflation." The expectation of a lower global demand is already exerting pressure on commodity prices. It added that the risks of oil prices falling below the baseline forecast for February in the future have increased. The comments, which were published on Wednesday, came from the latest board meeting held on March 21. The participants in the meeting said that although inflationary pressure was lower due to a weaker rouble and a decrease in domestic demand, it remained high. Since the beginning of the year, the rouble has gained around 25% against the U.S. Dollar. The central bank suggested that the rise could be attributed to the ease of tensions between Russia, the United States and other countries. The strengthening of the rouble may have been due to an increased interest in Russian assets in light of a better geopolitical environment. It said that this interest could have been driven by the higher interest rates in Russia in comparison to other countries. Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya; writing by Gleb Brianski; editing by Mark Trevelyan
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JPMorgan says that tariffs will have a'meaningful impact' on over a third EM companies
Analysts at JPMorgan estimate that more than a third (35%) of emerging market firms will be "significantly" affected by U.S. tariffs once they are implemented. Taking into account the possibility that Chinese and Mexican companies would be hard hit, they estimated that 36 percent of the over 750 firms in the closely watched CEMBI EM Corporate Debt Index by the bank would fall under this bracket. In that bracket, 16% of companies could experience a "significant impact". The 36% figure was described as "not negligible" by the analysts, although they did point out that over half of the companies in the index may only be "minimally " affected. CEMBI's index includes 6,3% of companies from China, and 4,3% from Mexico. A breakdown of the sectors most affected by the CEMBI shows that 9% of firms are industrial and 6.5% are metals and mining. JPMorgan's study also found that the average spread or interest rate premium that investors require to hold EM debt does not currently indicate that markets are pricing the type of tariffs that could cause a U.S. economic recession. The spread is now 226 basis point, up from 190 in recent weeks. However, it's still over 100 basis points lower than its average post-2010 of 320 basis point. The spread could increase to close to 300 basis points if recession fears start to grow, as it did in 2018, when U.S. president Donald Trump sparked the first trade tensions. The CEMBI spread widened by 132 basis points or 60% in just nine months. This was higher than the spreads on EM sovereign debt and U.S. Corporate Credit spreads. The weight of Asia's exposed sectors is now 21%. This is a smaller number than the previous time, when it was 35%. The slightly higher weighting of industrials has been more than offset by the lower contribution of the commodities sector. CEMBI is made up of firms from the region, which make up a little over 40%. It has a large group of tech exporters who may be affected by tariffs. Mexico is the most vulnerable country in Latin America. This is not surprising, given that more than 80% of Mexico’s exports go to the U.S. Other major economies, such as Brazil, should be less at risk. JPMorgan published a report on Wednesday that said: "There will be natural differentiation between countries in terms sectors that are more or less affected, and those with further mitigating factor such as U.S. Operations."
Couche-Tard and 7-Eleven's store divestiture plans face an early obstacle
The plan of convenience store giants Couche-Tard & Seven & i to sell thousands of stores in North America, to reduce regulatory concerns before a possible merger, is being tested by rival bidders.
According to several antitrust experts and people who are familiar with the situation, it is likely that the two store operators will struggle to attract offers from other convenience stores chains. They may be wary about their own antitrust risks from a potential deal. Seven & i is the owner of the 7-Eleven chain, which operates more than 12,000 convenience stores in the U.S.
Sources said that so far, private equity firms have been the most interested in buying the stores. The potential for a headache for Canada’s Couche-Tard, and Japan’s Seven & i is that U.S. regulators frown on private equity firms buying divested stores as they are not likely to be long-term investors.
Experts say that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission doesn't view private equity firms as attractive buyers of divested retail stores because the model is based on short-term profits.
Michio Suzuki is an antitrust partner with Baker McKenzie, based in Tokyo. From their perspective, the buyer of the divested stores should be strong enough so that they can run them as a competitive unit.
The companies have proposed a divestiture package that includes more than 2,000 U.S.-based stores. Experts said that there was no precedent in which private equity ownership of convenience store chains would be created after a large merger.
Financial acquirers bought grocery and dollar store divested from larger retail mergers. However, they have had mixed success running these stores.
When Dollar Tree bought Family Dollar for $9 billion in 2015, the FTC ordered the companies to divest hundreds stores. Dollar Tree selected investment firm Sycamore as the buyer of 330 stores. But two years later Sycamore sold them to Dollar General as it was no longer able to operate the stores as a standalone business.
Sources familiarized with Couche-Tard & Seven & i argue that their divestiture packages consist of competitive stores across many states, which a private equity company can successfully operate.
Five sources claim that buyout firms have shown early interest in the companies. They are eager to explore owning scaled-up convenience stores with a national footprint. Three sources stated that some firms are cautious when it comes to bidding for an asset that will be the result of a merger which is still not signed.
KROGER ALBERTSONS FALLOUT
In recent years, antitrust regulators around the world have been increasingly challenging large retail mergers.
In order to avoid the overhang of a failed mega-deal in U.S. groceries, Couche-Tard & Seven & i took the unusual step before merging talks began: they preemptively shrank their combined potential business in North America.
Seven & i wants to avoid a repetition of "the disastrous story" of Kroger/Albertsons. Seven & i received a warning from the FTC about an investigation of a possible merger with Couche-Tard - a rare occurrence before a formal deal is signed.
The Kroger-Albertsons merger was announced for the first time in 2022. However, despite numerous attempts to convince U.S. Antitrust authorities to approve the deal - such as a $2.9 billion proposed divestiture of C&S Wholesale Grocers' 579 stores - this deal has not been approved. The FTC rejected C&S and called the divestiture packages a "hodgepodge" of unconnected shops.
Alex Livshits is a partner with the law firm Fried Frank. He said, "Any target of a large-scale retail-store merger will take notice and become very cautious following that." Since August, 7-Eleven's owner has rejected Couche-Tard takeover attempts out of fear that it will suffer the same fate. The grocers gave up their $25 billion merger in December after significant regulatory opposition. This has been argued before as a cautionary story for retail mergers.
Couche-Tard has agreed to the proposal of early joint regulatory work by Seven & I to alleviate potential antitrust concerns.
Seven & I is the largest operator of convenience stores in the United States, with approximately 12,650. Couche-Tard is second-largest with about 7,100. Couche-Tard, with approximately 7,100 stores, is the second-largest operator in terms of convenience stores in the United States. The combined company would almost be seven times larger than the next biggest competitor, Casey's.
There is a risk when you divest to a third-party that's legally binding, said Kathy O'Neill. She's a partner with Fried Frank and a former member of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.
She said, "The agency may not like the buyer that you have selected or they might decide to divest more assets or store."
Normally, companies seek regulatory approval after signing contracts.
Experts said that the failure of the Kroger and Albertsons merger has provided a road map to successful regulatory approval in future retail mergers. It is a lesson on what not do. Experts said that Couche-Tard's and Seven & i's pre-emptive action also gives them the opportunity to get regulators on board with the idea. Reporting by Abigail Summerville and Anton Bridge, New York; Additional reporting by Rocky Swift, Tokyo; Editing and production by Anirban Sen, Edwina G Gibbs and Matthew Lewis.
(source: Reuters)