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SEBI claims Adani companies paid 15 million rupees as settlement for disclosure violations
India's markets regulator announced on Tuesday that four Adani companies, including Adani Enterprises, and a former group firm, had paid a total of?15 million rupees (about $157,966.31) in settlement proceedings for alleged disclosure violations. In its order, the Securities and Exchange Board of India said that Adani Enterprises had failed to disclose an alleged related-party transaction in its annual report of the year ending?March 2013 AWL Agri Business Ltd, (formerly 'Adani Wilmar Ltd) and other companies were found to be in possession of audit or review reports signed by firms who did not hold a valid peer review certificate. SEBI sent these companies show-cause letters in 2024, detailing its allegations. The companies settled without admitting guilt or denying it. The regulator investigated a total of 24 cases after Hindenburg Research, a short-seller, claimed in January 2023 that Gautam Adani's group had manipulated its?share price by using tax havens. Adani's spokesperson?did not immediately respond? to a request for comment? on whether the settlement resolves all litigation. The group has denied these claims in the past.
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India's Lohum wants to buy nickel mines from Indonesia and the Philippines
Lohum, an Indian producer of critical minerals, is looking to purchase nickel mines in Indonesia or the Philippines to meet a growing demand for battery minerals. India wants to maintain its rapid economic development by increasing the use of renewable energy, electric vehicles, and reducing its dependence on Chinese suppliers. It also wants to develop its own resources of critical raw materials such as nickel for the transition to green technologies. Lohum's CEO Rajat Verma stated that the company aims to increase the?nickel-production capacity to 10,000 tons of nickel per year in the next 18 month. The plant, located in Gujarat state, produces about 1,000 tons of nickel per year from recycled materials. Talking to Potential Investors Verma stated that the company aimed to raise 10 billion rupees ($105 millions) in equity and up to 20 billion rupees (in debt) over the next 12-18 months to fund their overall plans. He declined to identify the potential investors. He said that depending on the possible acquisitions, the "increased capacity" of nickel could even be greater. He said that if he could get access to an excellent mine, he would consider expanding the capacity. Lohum also plans to invest $100 Million in Zimbabwe to mine lithium, a critical mineral, and has acquired 10 mining blocks estimated to contain 30 to 40 millions tons of ore. Lohum announced its plans earlier this month to become the first Indian company to produce lithium using an overseas asset. It said it would process ore in Zimbabwe into lithium sulphate before shipping it back to India for refinement into higher-value lithium carbonate needed by battery makers. Verma stated that Lohum is also setting up a plant capable of producing cathode-active material at a rate of 5,000 metric tons per year. The plant is scheduled to open in March, and will require lithium and nickel. Verma added that Lohum, in partnership the local government in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates is developing a battery recycling plant for lithium-ion batteries. The facility is expected to become operational in early 2019. China's dominance in supply chains can be seen?particularly clearly? with rare earths. These are widely distributed around the world but difficult to refine commercially. Verma stated that Lohum also searches for rare earths throughout Southeast Asia. A rare earth magnet factory is being built in Uttar Pradesh with a capacity of 1,200 tons per year.
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Stocks rise on AI optimism, oil at $100
The global shares rose on Tuesday due to a renewed optimism about AI. Meanwhile, the oil price fell to its lowest level in two weeks as the Middle East supply began to improve. A senior Iranian official told investors on Tuesday that Tehran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz in seven days, if the United States eased military pressure and lifted its blockade of Iranian ports. Three sources informed on the subject said that Saudi Arabia had restarted its East-West Pipeline, and exports could resume from the Red Sea Port of Yanbu on Tuesday. Oil dropped as much as 3 percent before modestly recovering to $97.6 per barrel. The stock market was already in a good place thanks to the viral success of Meta Platforms’ Muse AI assistant, launched two weeks ago. This sent the company’s stock soaring Monday. It also rekindled enthusiasm for the technology sector following the grim warnings issued by AI chief executives one week earlier. Semiconductors ranked among the top gainers in Europe. The STOXX 600 index was up 0.5% on the day, continuing the previous days 1% rise. Meta shares rose by over 11% at the close of Monday, their biggest one-day gain since April 2024. This helped propel a number of AI-related stocks such as AMD which reached the $1 trillion milestone, while Intel, Arm Holdings and AMD each jumped 12.2%, and 17%, respectively. Kathleen Brooks is the research director for XTB. She said: "This shows that the demand for expensive AI tools are robust and worth hundreds of billions in capex expenditures by hyperscalers." "If Muse is widely adopted, it will increase demand for other AI tools. This could help the AI sector recover after a difficult few months." Nasdaq Futures rose 0.1%, indicating a slight rise for the index at the opening, after it hit record highs Monday. S&P Futures also rose 0.1%. TRUMP-XI METING IS AWAITED Investors are watching for signs that US President Donald Trump can stop a further deterioration of relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi arrived in Washington for the first in over a decade on Wednesday, fueling optimism that a deal to extend a truce in trade between the two nations will be extended. There could also be a potential collaboration in artificial intelligence. The general tone is positive but there is still no agreement, according to?Jim Reid, a Deutsche Bank strategist. RATE INCREASES ARE ON THE WAY The global bond yields have reversed a previous rise and fallen in line with oil prices. Investors have priced in another round of rate hikes by major central banks that could limit the fall in debt yields. The 10-year Treasury yields in the US fell 3 basis points in one day, to 4.93%. This brought the yields further below the threshold of 5%, and weakened the support for the dollar. It was pushed below a seven week high against a basket currency earlier in the morning. The dollar slid?lower against the yen, which was down 0.15% to 157.14. This is a drop from a 3-week high. Last week, the Bank of Japan increased rates to a record high. However, two dissenting voices and a lack of explicit hawkish guidance disappointed investors. This left the yen vulnerably vulnerable and traders on guard for any signs of official intervention. Matthew Ryan, Ebury's head of market strategy, said that "FX interventions remain a blunt tool for proping up currencies. Without a strong monetary response, it will be hard for Japanese authorities, to rein in the saleoff in the Japanese yen." The Federal Reserve on the other hand, increased rates last week, and warned that its fight against inflation is not over.
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Kremlin welcomes the fact that Germany's AfD is interested in dialogue with Russia
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it was pleased with the fact that Germany's AfD party wants to dialogue with Moscow. It contrasted this with what they called the confrontational attitude of Chancellor Friedrich Merz. On Sunday, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), a group that opposes immigration, won a state-level election in Mecklenburg/Western Pomerania. This builds on their victory a few weeks ago in Saxony/Anhalt and intensifies?political pression on Merz. Last week, it was reported that the AfD and Vladimir Putin's economic envoy had begun preparing to meet in order to discuss restarting Russian gas supplies to Germany. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesperson, told reporters that he did not have any information on reported attempts by AfD to contact Moscow. "However, this is a political force in Germany that's?popular and?showing an upward trend, while also talking about the necessity of establishing relations with our country," he said. Peskov stated that Merz on the other hand had only made confrontational remarks against Russia.
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The dollar is firm, but Chinese demand for copper drives up prices.
The copper price?extended its gains for a six-session session on Tuesday, as the?top metals consumers China stocked up before holidays. However, a'stronger dollar' dampened the increase. Benchmark 'three-month' copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.7% to $14,770 per metric ton at 0930 GMT after gaining 1% the previous session. LME copper prices have risen 18% this year, mainly due to large metal flows to the US on speculation regarding tariffs on refined Copper. Sources told US officials that they were worried that tariffs could increase costs for manufacturers. EwaManthey, commodities analyst at ING, said that tightening physical market conditions in China are supporting copper. "Falling inventory, seasonal restocking demands and constrained availability are?offsetting stronger dollar and tariff uncertainties." The most traded copper contract at the?Shanghai Futures Exchange increased 1.2% to 111,320 Yuan ($16.616) per ton. This was also aided by renewed speculative interest. Sandeep Daga of Metal Intelligence Centre said that Chinese consumers are purchasing ahead of the holidays and shutdowns of smelters. China's next holidays are from September 25-27 and October 1-7. Copper stocks in warehouses are monitored by?SHFE Since early June, the market has fallen by 70%. Robert Montefusco, broker at Sucden, believes that prices may be nearing a ceiling. "I believe it's a little bit overinflated here." "I think it's a little bit inflated here," Montefusco said. Traders were waiting for the meeting between US president?Donald Trump, and Chinese president Xi Jinping to take place later this week. They wanted to get a sense of what trade ties are like and how global economic?outlook is. Other metals include LME aluminium, which fell 0.2%, to $3.261 per ton. Zinc grew 0.5%, to $3.944; lead rose 0.2%, to $1.940; nickel climbed 1.3%, to $16,525; and tin slipped 0.2%, to $54,030.
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Hurricane Polo reaches category 5 near Mexico's Pacific Coast
The US National Hurricane Center reported on Tuesday that Hurricane Polo has a category 5 rating as it continues?to intensify and'sweeps towards the Mexican Pacific?coast. The advisory said that despite its proximity to the coast and the heavy rainfall it will bring, Polo should move slowly away from the coast in the next few days. The category 4 hurricane, with sustained winds up to 150 mph (240km/h), is located 215 miles (345km) south of Zihuatanejo and 345 miles south-southeast from the port city of Manzanillo. NHC warned that heavy rains in the coastal states of Guerrero & Michoacan could cause life-threatening flooding & mudslides. Authorities in Mexico warned of heavy rains forecast for the western and southern regions of the country. This could cause rivers to overflow. The National Civil Protection Agency asked residents to avoid walking or driving on flooded roads and to remove furniture and beach equipment to avoid wind-related hazards. The agency said on X that "if you live in an area prone to flooding, identify higher ground and best routes to get there." According to NHC, a rapid intensification of the storm is still expected. Polo could reach category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale later Tuesday.
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France asks EU to delay methane reporting due to tight energy supply
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, wrote to the European Commission to urge it to delay new rules on methane reporting for oil and 'gas importers. He argued that they could create legal risks if energy supplies are tightening. Les Echos, a French newspaper, first reported on Macron's September 18 letter to Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. The new regulations, which will come into force on 'January 1', will require monitoring and verifying methane emission for fuel deliveries in the?Block. They aim to reduce leaks of this powerful greenhouse gas, and to impose a?fine if companies violate the regulation. Macron asked for the regulation to be delayed an additional year, until? January 1, 2028. Methane is second in importance to global warming after?carbon dioxide. Germany, Europe's largest gas market, has already called for the delay of the regulations. The European Commission responded by instructing EU member states in July to waive financial penalties related to the regulation until the end 2029. Macron also asked the EU in his letter to "temporarily relax fuel quality rules" so that European production of diesel and kerosene could increase by up to 20%, as demand for these products increases. Macron wrote in his letter that French refiners believe that loosening some specifications would increase fuel production from 5% to 20 percent, depending on refinery. The French president proposed a relaxation of the blending limits for biofuels, such as allowing distributors replace B7 diesel (which contains up to 7 % biodiesel) with B10 diesel, which has up to 10 %.
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Tech stocks surge on renewed AI fever, while oil and bond yields rise.
The technology shares were boosted by a renewed optimism about AI on Tuesday. However, the broader stock market struggled as oil prices rose?above $100 per barrel and bond yields increased?once again. Meta Platforms' Muse AI Assistant has been a viral hit since its launch two weeks ago. The stock of the company soared on Monday after a sell-off caused by gloomy warnings issued by AI executives a week prior. Semiconductors were one of the few gainers on the STOXX 600 index in Europe, which fell by 0.2% after gaining 1% the previous day. Meta shares jumped more than 11% on Monday, their biggest one-day gain since April 2024. This helped propel a number of AI-related stocks such as AMD which reached the $1 trillion mark. Intel and?Arm Holdings jumped 12,2% and 17% respectively. Kathleen Brooks is the research director at XTB. She said: "This indicates that demand for expensive AI tools are robust and worth hundreds of billions in capex expenditure by the hyperscalers." She said that if Muse is widely adopted, this could increase demand for other AI-based tools. This could help the AI industry recover after a few difficult months. Nasdaq Futures?were down by 0.1%, indicating a slight drop at the opening for the index which reached record highs on Sunday, while S&P Futures were down by 0.1%. TRUMP-XI METING IS AWAITED Investors are watching to see if the two leaders of the largest economies in the world can avoid a further deterioration of relations. Xi arrived in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday - the first time he has been there in over a decade. This is fueling optimism that the trade truce agreement between the two nations will be extended. There could also be a potential for cooperation in artificial intelligence. The general tone is positive but there is still no agreement, according to Jim Reid, a Deutsche Bank strategist. Brent crude futures rose 1.4% to $101.67 per barrel, after falling over 3% on Monday, when they briefly dropped below $100 for the very first time in the past two weeks, based on speculation that Trump could meet Iranian President Masoud Pesehkian at the UN General Assembly next week. Oil futures have still risen about 12% in the past month. The physical market, however, is showing signs of stress. Prices for immediate delivery in the northwest Europe region, for instance, are over $130. This is a nearly 50% increase in September. RATE INCREASES ARE ON THE WAY Investors are pricing in another round of rate increases from major central banks. This helped to underpin the US dollar but drove up global bond yields. The dollar gained the most against the Japanese yen. It rose 0.26% to 157.7. This is near the three-week high. Support for the Japanese currency was fading as the Bank of Japan's rate hikes were expected to be more rapid. Investors were disappointed by the BOJ's decision to raise rates in last week, a move that marked a new high for 31 years. However, two dissenting voices and lacked of explicit hawkish advice left the yen vulnerable. Matthew Ryan, Ebury's head of market strategy, said: "FX interventions remain a blunt tool for proping up currencies. Without a strong monetary policy response, it will be hard for Japanese authorities to stop the selloff of the yen." The Federal Reserve on the other hand, increased rates last week, and warned that its fight against inflation is not over. The 10-year Treasury yields in the US have risen to 4,969%. This is not far from October 2023, when it reached its 16-year-high.
Analysis finds that the Patriot missile used in the Bahrain attack was likely US-owned.
According to an academic analysis, the Patriot air defense system operated by the United States likely fired the missile that caused the pre-dawn blast in Bahrain which injured dozens and destroyed homes 10 days after the start of the war against Iran. Both Bahrain and Washington blamed the March 9 explosion on an Iranian drone. The Gulf kingdom reported that 32 people were injured, including some children, in the blast. U.S. Central Command stated on X on the day after the attack that an Iranian drone had struck a residential area in Bahrain. Bahrain acknowledged on Saturday, in response to questions, that an Iranian Patriot missile was responsible for the explosion over the Mahazza neighbourhood on Sitra Island, off the coast of Manama, which is also home to a refinery. A Bahraini spokesperson stated that the missile intercepted a drone in mid-air and saved lives. The spokesperson stated that the damage and injuries were not caused by a direct impact of the Patriot interceptor on the ground or the Iranian drone. The incident at Mahazza was not linked to an Iranian drone, according to either Washington or Bahrain. It has been a hallmark of the war to use expensive, advanced weapons in order to defend against drone attacks. This incident highlights the limitations and risks of this strategy. The powerful Patriot's?blast,? whether or not it intercepted the drone, caused widespread damage and casualties. Bahrain's air defences were unable that night to prevent attacks on the nearby refinery which declared force majeure a few hours later. The Pentagon did not respond to any questions when asked about the incident. Instead, it referred them to Central Command. A senior U.S. Official responded to White House questions by saying that the United States is "crushing" Iran’s ability to produce or shoot drones and missiles. The official added that "we will continue to address this threat to our country and allies." He also said the U.S. Military "never targets civilians". An Iranian girls' school was directly hit on February 28, the day after U.S. attacks against Iran. Two U.S. officials told the news agency that investigators at the U.S. Defense Department believed U.S. troops were probably responsible for the first report, perhaps because of outdated target data. The video of the aftermath of Bahrain's Mahazza explosion, verified by, shows rubble in and around homes, a thick dust layer in the streets, as well as screaming residents. Bahrain and the United States both operate U.S. Patriot batteries in the Kingdom. The kingdom is a close U.S. ally located on the Persian Gulf, which hosts the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet as well as the regional U.S. Naval Command. According to Bahraini oil company Bapco, on the night of the Mahazza explosion, Iran attacked the refinery in Sitra. Smoke was seen rising from the facility in videos taken on the morning of March 9. Bahrain did not explain in its statement why it hadn't mentioned that a Patriot was involved at the time. The Iranian mission at the United Nations didn't immediately respond to an inquiry about the incident. The Patriot, produced by Raytheon as part of RTX Corp. is the primary high-to medium-range interceptor system for the U.S. Army and is a key component of the air defenses of the United States and its allies. Raytheon did not respond to an inquiry about the incident. Bahrain's government refused to confirm whether the missile detonated March 9 was fired by Bahraini forces or the United States. The Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, Professor Jeffrey Lewis and research associates Sam Lair, Michael Duitsman concluded that they had a moderate to high level of confidence that the missile likely was launched by a U.S. Patriot Battery located approximately 4 miles (7km) southwest of the Mahazza neighbourhood. The conclusions reached by the three American researchers in open-source intelligence and munitions, which were reported for the first-time here, were based upon their analysis of commercial satellite images and visuals from open-source sources. Two target-analysis specialists and a Patriot system missile researcher were shown the Middlebury analysis, but they found no reason for them to disagree with its conclusions. Wes Bryant - a former senior policy analyst and targeting advisor at the Pentagon - said that Lair, Duitsman, and Lewis's conclusion was "pretty unquestionable". Bahrain, a small Gulf state plays a crucial role in the safety of the Strait of Hormuz. This chokepoint carries about one fifth of all the world's oil, and is now almost completely closed by Iran. The Middlebury analysis relied heavily on a video taken from an apartment and shared via social media. The video shows a Patriot suspect roaring through the night sky on a northeastern course at low altitude. The Patriot then turned downwards and disappeared from view. It was detonated 1.3 seconds after a flash of light appeared in the distance. Hany Farid is a professor at University of California at Berkeley who specializes in digital forensics. He reviewed the video to determine if the video was generated using artificial intelligence. He found that "there is no obvious evidence" that the video was fake. Lair, Duitsman, and Lewis geolocated it to a neighbourhood in Riffa. Geolocation was confirmed. The video was posted online as early as 2 am local time, on 9 March. The analysis concluded that "the Riffa site’s location and orientation is consistent with" the trajectory of the Patriot suspect. Multiple videos shared on social media in the morning of 9 March show damage to homes in Block 602 Mahazza. Researchers first geolocated visuals by using landmarks which appeared to match satellite imagery and street addresses. The geolocation was independently verified. Researchers then tracked the suspected missile's trajectory from Block 602 back to the U.S. Patriot Battery, which they determined based on satellite imagery. The battery is located less than half-a-mile from where the video footage of the missile was recorded in Riffa. The battery is made up of a radar, a control hub, and eight launchers. It can be used to track, detect and intercept missiles and aircraft. Researchers used commercial satellite imagery to determine that five launchers could be seen at the Riffa location two days prior to the incident on March 9. Satellite imagery indicates that the battery has been in place since at least 2009. According to a Lockheed Martin release, the Bahraini Defense Force didn't start operating their own Patriot systems until around 2024. Researchers said that the Riffa site had features that were both unique to U.S. Patriot battery sites in the region, and different from known Bahrain-operated Batteries, such as protective walls, unpaved streets, and a complete lack of permanent structures. The researchers concluded that based on these features, the battery was likely operated by the United States. Patriots are used to defend the naval sites of Bahrain. Researchers were unable with certainty to determine what caused the Patriot's explosion. They added that, based on available evidence including the pattern of damage and the spread on the ground, they believed it to have detonated in mid-flight. The analysis concluded that it is possible that the Patriot was aimed towards a drone that was flying low and that both the missile and the drone exploded together to cause the explosion. The analysis concluded that if this scenario was true, it was an irresponsible attempt to intercept the drone as the missile and drone were both blown up in the air. This is what Bahrain's spokesperson claimed happened. The analysis stated that the direction of the damage, and the absence of evidence of a nearby drone, suggested a different scenario. "The explosion was caused by the detonation" of the Patriot's warhead, and unexpended propellant. The researchers could not independently confirm the presence of an Iranian drone in the area during the incident. According to the analysis, videos and photos released by the?Bahrani government after the incident show that blast damage is concentrated on four streets in Mahazza. The analysis stated that a Bahrain television news broadcast from March 9 and a press release by the government showed an extensive damaged home located about 400 feet (120 metres) away from the main blast zone. Interior photos of the house revealed holes created by shrapnel. Robert Maher, a audio specialist who analyzed the video on request, confirmed that his analysis supported the approximate location of explosion. The video begins with a flash, which is visible for eight seconds. However, the explosion does not occur until 19 seconds after the clip ends. This is because light travels more quickly than sound. The explosion must have been more than four miles from the person who recorded the video based on the time it would take for the sound to reach him. The homes that were damaged were located about 4.6 miles away (7.4km), which is consistent with the timing. Middlebury's analysis found that when all of the damage was taken into account, it matched what would be expected if a Patriot rocket exploded over a neighborhood road intersection. The analysis stated that pieces of the missile flew 120 meters and struck another house. Maher claimed that he did not hear any drones or missiles in the audio of the video, even though their sounds would be faint or unaudible at distances greater than four miles from where the footage was shot. Maher, after reviewing Middlebury's analysis, said that he did not see anything inconsistent with his observations. Defense officials and industry experts say Patriot misfires happen. One example was a 2007 errant missile that struck a farm in Qatar. U.S. Central Command called the Iranian and Russian reports that the incident in Mahazza, was caused by a Patriot failure a "LIE" on March 9th. It claimed an Iranian drone had struck a residential area. Middlebury researchers and I were unable to get or examine any visual evidence of drone or missile fragments. We tried to reach witnesses in Bahrain but many people refused to talk, citing fears of reprisals. Human Rights Watch documented the arrests in Bahrain of people who posted videos of attacks on social media during the war. The researchers determined that the Patriot appeared to be passing a steeper smoke trail in the video of the suspected missile as it flew. This likely came from a previous interceptor. Patriots are sometimes fired in pairs, to increase the chance that one will hit the target. Researchers and could not determine what happened to first missile. Researchers said that the low trajectory and deviation of the second missile from the original launch route could indicate a problem. They could not, however, rule out that the missile was deliberately fired in this direction. Bahrain's spokesperson stated that any claim of misfiring or malfunction of Patriots in Bahrain was "factually incorrect." (Reporting and editing by Jonathan Landay). Pell and Travis Hartman, Additional reporting by Arthur Wei and Samia Nkhoul in Dubai; Andrew Mills and Idrees Al in Washington, Sarah Cahlan, and Frank Jack Daniel.
(source: Reuters)