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Sources say that the sale of Brazil's CSN Cement unit is still undecided due to price differences.
According to two sources familiar with the situation, the sale of Brazil's CSN's cement unit is still undecided. The final price tag has been a major obstacle to a quick?deal. CSN, Cementir's parent company, confirmed earlier this month in a regulatory filing it had received bids for the unit, but did not name the bidders. Previous reports had stated that China's Huaxin, a Brazilian Votorantim consortium and Italy's Cementir were the top bidders. Although sources confirmed that bidders are still in the running, CSN's initial expectations were not met by initial offers. One of the sources, who requested anonymity due to the private nature of the talks, said that CSN's initial target of 15 billion reais has been reduced to 12 billion reais. The second source confirmed that CSN's original target of 15 billion reais and said that they might accept an offer lower than that. However, they did not specify a new number. The sale is intended to reduce CSN?debt and raise cash. Morgan Stanley will be advising the deal. One of the two people added that the market is concerned that CSN may pivot to other debt-management strategies if the bids continue falling short. This would delay the divestment. Votorantim Cement declined to comment. Huaxin did not respond immediately to requests for comment. CSN also hired Bradesco BBI to handle the sale of its infrastructure and logistic operations. (Reporting and editing by Aurora Ellis; Luciana Magnalhaes)
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UAE claims that the two missiles discovered earlier were launched by Iran
Defense ministry of the United Arab?Emirates said Tuesday?that they detected two ballistic?missiles launched from?Iran. This is the first?such?incident?reported?since a strike on the Fujairah Port on May 4. One missile was said to have fallen in territorial waters while the other one fell outside. Iran has not yet responded to the report. The missile launch comes as the 60-day window of U.S.-Iranian talks ended?on?Monday without a breakthrough. This has raised fears of a re-escalation of the conflict, which has caused shipping to be disrupted through the Strait of Hormuz ever since?February. The defense ministry said that it was "fully prepared to deal with threats and to firmly combat anything that seeks to destabilize state security." The UAE's interior ministry had sent out a phone message to residents earlier on Tuesday stating that the situation was safe, and they should resume their normal activities following an alert warning about a?missile threat. The UAE accused Iran of attacking its state-owned ADNOC ships while they were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has not claimed responsibility for the attacks on ADNOC vessels. Iran's Revolutionary Guards had previously threatened to take action against vessels that transited the strait if those vessels were 'linked' to Tehran's enemies?or failed to follow Iranian directives.
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US Judge allows Trump to end deportation of thousands of Ethiopians
A federal judge on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration to terminate legal protections for?over 5, 000 Ethiopians, which allowed them to work and live in the United States. U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy lifted the final judicial block against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ending the Temporary Protection Status designation for specific countries. This came after the U.S. Supreme Court in June allowed the administration to end similar protections in June for thousands of people in Haiti and Syria. The Supreme Court ruling, supported by its conservative majority of 6-3, limited the ability of judges in reviewing DHS' efforts under Trump to terminate TPS designations for thirteen countries that provided humanitarian protection to eligible migrants from these nations. James Percival's, DHS general counsel, announced the decision on social media. "All TPS terminations have been implemented!" He wrote. ADVOCACY - GROUP: LIVES AT RISK Several Ethiopian nationals, as well as the advocacy group African Communities Together (ACF), expressed their disappointment at Tuesday's decision. Diana Konate said, "The crisis in Ethiopia continues, and this decision puts thousands of Ethiopians in the U.S. in grave danger." TPS is available under federal law to those whose countries have been affected by natural disasters, wars or other extreme events. The program provides temporary protection against deportation and work authorization to eligible migrants. Ethiopians who were already living in the United States received this status in 2022. The administration of former Democratic President Joe Biden cited the need to protect Ethiopians from humanitarian crisis and armed conflict. Kristi Noem, former Homeland Security Secretary of DHS, announced that the protections would be ended in December on the grounds that conditions did not pose a serious risk to Ethiopians' return safely. Murphy blocked DHS action in April by saying that it ignored statutory procedures and used a "pretextual rationale" for ending protections. Murphy issued a new order after the Supreme Court ruling that continued to block temporarily the end of Ethiopians TPS as he considered if he should 'continue to stop DHS's?action' on grounds the Supreme Court ruling did not address. These arguments included the fact that the 1990 law creating TPS only gave the Attorney General authority to extend or end the deportation?protections and not DHS. DHS was created later, after the 9/11 attacks. In recent days, judges in similar cases, involving people from South Sudan and Somalia, have rejected this argument. Murphy also did so on Tuesday. He rejected that claim and others, but said he would let the plaintiffs continue a 'litigate' over whether DHS was motivated by racism or national origin animus as a violation of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The plaintiffs claimed that the administration had ignored the dangerous conditions in Ethiopia, and that the termination was part of an ongoing practice to eliminate deportation protections that were available for non-whites and non-Europeans. (Reporting and editing by Aurora Ellis, Rod Nickel and Nate Raymond from Boston)
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Nasdaq falls, yields rise as Mideast conflict fears increase
The yields on U.S. government bonds eased a little bit on Tuesday. However, longer-dated yields remain near multi-year highs. Earlier in the day, the 30-year Treasury yield had reached a level that was not seen since 2007. Fears of an escalating Middle East?conflict have fueled inflation concerns and put pressure on stocks. Oil prices rose for the third consecutive session as prospects of a U.S. - Iranian peace deal dimmed. Tehran announced it would take a more aggressive stance, and Washington said that it wouldn't extend a ceasefire agreement. U.S. crude climbed 0.82%, to $85.17 per barrel. Brent was up to $91.37 a barrel on the same day. The yields on Treasury bonds have increased despite recent soft economic data in the United States, which has eased concerns over an impending Federal Reserve rate increase. The Fed will only raise rates by 35% at its September meeting, but the odds are 68% that it will do so in December. Resurgent inflation may lead to a renewed expectation of a quicker pace in rate increases. Will Compernolle is a macro-strategist at FHN Financial. He said: "We live in a world that will have supply shocks after supply shocks." Costs of the ongoing Iran war are also adding to concerns over the U.S. financial trajectory. Last week, the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell 2.32 basis points to 5.2868% after having reached 5.3371% - the highest level since 2007. Benchmark 10-year yields dropped 1.6 basis points to 4.708%. They reached 4.7478% - the highest level since January 2025. Analysts are concerned that domestic investors, particularly pension funds and insurers, could start shifting their capital from U.S. bonds to Japanese bonds as Japanese yields become more attractive. This would increase the pressure on Treasury rates. Japan's 10-year yield hovered just below 3% for the first since the mid-1990s. Euro zone bond yields were also near multi-year heights. Markets turn cautious Wall Street's major indexes have fallen to their lowest levels in two weeks due to losses in heavyweight tech stocks. Kim Forrest is the chief investment officer of Bokeh capital Partners. She said, "The yields worry people because they portend a tighter economy and that borrowing money will be more costly." "Especially with this AI thing, where the time to repay it is uncertain. This creates a nervous environment for investors. The high yields on stocks tend to make them less appealing to investors and increase borrowing costs for companies that invest heavily in AI infrastructure. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.05%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell?0.12%. And the S&P 500 fell?0.50%. The MSCI index of global stocks fell by 0.63% and the pan-European STOXX 600 Index dropped by 0.69%. The CBOE Volatility Index (Wall Street's fear gauge), hit its highest level in over a week. Investors will now turn their attention to the release of Wednesday's minutes from the Fed's most recent policy meeting, as well as this week's Jackson Hole Symposium, which is expected to be closely monitored for clues about how policymakers interpret recent economic data. Jonas Goltermann is the chief markets economist for Capital Economics. He said that the minutes of FOMC meetings are a more important way to convey the views of policymakers, given the fact that the FOMC's statement of policy and Fed chair Kevin Warsh's speeches have less information. The Federal Open Market ?Committee is the Fed's interest-rate-setting body. The dollar index, which measures greenbacks against a basket including yens and euros, rose by 0.06%, to 99.60. The euro gained 0.03%, at $1.1582. Gold spot fell by 1.11%, to $4366 per ounce.
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Russia's Putin talks energy with Myanmar leader
Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in Moscow on ?Tuesday with Myanmar's junta chief-turned-president, Min Aung Hlaing, ?discussing a wide range of issues including prospective energy deals. Min Aung Hlaing's first visit to a non-neighboring country since becoming Myanmar president in April is Russia. This shows the deepening of ties between the two countries in response to the pressures from the West. After the meeting, Putin called Min Aung Hlaing a friend of Russia, and said that the two countries are cooperating in a variety of sectors including energy, defence, and even space exploration. Putin said that Russia and Myanmar are in discussions on the construction of an oil refinery, as well as hydrocarbon production and exploration on Myanmar's continental shelves. He said that there are good prospects of supplying Russian liquefied natural gas to Myanmar. This includes for transit to other countries. He also?said there were good prospects for supplies of Russian liquefied?natural gas to Myanmar,?including for onward transit to other countries. Russia, like China, supports Myanmar's military. Moscow has?expanded defence cooperation and looked for opportunities for Russian companies in Myanmar. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the 2021 when its military overthrew Nobel Peace Prize-winning?Aung San Suu Kyi's administration, sparking a civil conflict. Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar's president, has been to Russia on several occasions. Last year, he and Putin met in the Kremlin for talks. Min Aung Hlaing gave six elephants to Russia and signed an agreement with Russia's nuclear power corporation that they would build a small nuclear plant in Myanmar. (Written by Alessandra Prente and Maxim Rodionov, edited by Hugh Lawson).
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Trump Administration moves to rescind a rule that protects millions forest acres
Tuesday, the?Trump Administration took a first step towards?rescinding?a decades-old regulation that protects undeveloped forest. The administration claims this will help to manage wildfire risks, but environmental groups say it will do just the opposite. Donald Trump has reversed environmental regulations and removed land from conservation to be used for energy extraction. According to a Department of Agriculture press release, the 'proposed rule' filed by the U.S. Forest Service will rescind 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule which bans logging and roads in undeveloped forest and transfer authority to the local national forest managers. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, wildfires in the U.S. are at their worst level ever. As of August 17, 7.3 million acres (3,000,000 hectares) had been burned by around 49,000 fires. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins stated in a press release that the repeal of the rule will improve forest health and decrease wildfire risks. She said: "Today we filed a proposed to restore authority to the local forest managers, who know the land the best. We removed the barriers that prevented them from doing the necessary work for the land." Environmental groups claim that the rule's revocation would increase wildfire risks by exposing forest land to more human activity. Wildfire density was found to be lowest in protected forests and wilderness areas and highest near roads, according to a 2025 analysis conducted by the Wilderness Society. Josh Hicks is the director of conservation campaigns for the group. He said that "too many communities depend on these forests to be healthy and untouched." Hicks added that "opening up our backcountry forest to more roads, development and,?therefore, more ignitions" is not and will never be a solution for wildfires. According to USDA, the Roadless Rule restricts development on?nearly 59 million acres of forest (24 million hectares), or about 30% of the National Forest System. The agency will accept comments on the proposed rule up until September 21. Reporting by Leah Douglas, Washington; Additional reporting by Andrew Hay, Taos New Mexico; Editing by Timothy Gardner and Rod Nickel
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Chile's economy misses its forecasts due to a mining slump that drags down GDP
Official data released on Tuesday showed that Chile's economy experienced a decline of 1% in the second quarter. This was below expectations, as lower copper production affected its key mining sector. Data from the central bank showed that Andean economy shrank by 0.2% compared to a year earlier. Gross domestic product, despite a slight improvement from the revised 0.3% contraction year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, missed economists' expectations for 0.1% growth. The central bank stated that the economy of the largest copper producer in the world was hindered by the key mining sector, which decreased 6.4% because of lower production of red metal. The central bank explained in a recent report that "lower ore grades, maintenance work and reduced production at major deposits" affected copper mining operations. The recent drop in inflation and the surprisingly low Q2 GDP result in Chile will lessen the pressure on the Central Bank to tighten its monetary policy, according to Capital Economics analyst Kimberley sperrfechter. Chile's central bank is expected to maintain its benchmark interest rate at 4.5% in September, and hold that level for 24 months. In the second quarter, the Andean economy remained flat compared to the previous three-month period. This was below the forecast of a 0.3% growth in a poll. poll. The quarter was better than the last one which had a contraction of 0.3%. Reporting by Aida Peaez-Fernandez, Carlos Serrano and Alison Williams; editing by Chizu Nomiyama & Alison Williams
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As fears of a Mideast conflict grow, stocks are falling and yields rising.
?U.S. Government bond yields eased on Tuesday. However, longer-dated yields remain near multi-year-highs. The 30-year Treasury yield had earlier reached a level not seen since 2007. Fears of a Middle East conflict that escalated fueled inflation fears and weighed heavily on stocks. Brent crude reached its highest level since late last week after Washington and Tehran's latest signals crushed hopes for an imminent resolution to the conflict. U.S. crude climbed 0.3% to $84.75 per barrel while Brent dropped to $90.79, a 0.09% drop on the day. The yields on Treasury bonds have increased despite recent soft economic data in the United States, which has eased concerns over an impending Federal Reserve rate increase. The Fed will only raise rates by 31% at its September meeting. However, traders expect an increase of 68% in December. Inflation could resuscitate expectations of a quicker pace in rate hikes. George Bory is the chief investment strategist at Allspring Global Investments. Costs of the ongoing Iran war are also adding to concerns about the U.S. financial trajectory. Last week, the yield on the 30-year Treasury Bond in the United States fell by 1.57 basis points to 5.2943%. It had previously reached 5.3371% - the highest level since 2007. Benchmark 10-year yields dropped 1.2 basis points, to 4.712%. They reached 4.7478% at the end of January 2025. Analysts are concerned that, as Japanese government bonds yields rise to their highest levels in 30 years, investors, particularly pension funds and insurers, could start shifting capital from U.S. debt into Japanese bonds. This would increase the pressure on Treasury rates. Japan's 10-year yield hovered just below the 3 percent threshold for the very first time since mid-1990s. Meanwhile, euro zone bond rates were also near multi-year records. Markets turn cautious Wall Street's major indices fell to a two-week low on Tuesday. This was mainly due to losses in heavyweight tech stocks, which are particularly sensitive to changes in Treasury yields. Kim Forrest is the chief investment officer of Bokeh capital Partners. She said, "The yields worry people because they portend a tighter economy and that borrowing money will be more costly." "Especially with this AI thing, where the time to repay it is uncertain. This creates a tense investor environment. The high yields on stocks tend to be a drag on the equities market by making them less appealing to investors and increasing borrowing costs for companies that invest heavily in AI infrastructure. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.06%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.12%. And the S&P 500 fell 0.49%. The MSCI index of global stocks fell by 0.55% and the pan-European STOXX 600 fell by 0.43%. The CBOE Volatility Index (Wall Street's fear gauge), hit its highest level in over a week. Investors are now turning their focus to the release of Fed policy meeting minutes on Wednesday, as well as the Jackson Hole symposium next week, which will provide clues as to how policymakers interpret recent economic data. Jonas Goltermann is the chief markets economist for Capital Economics. He said that the minutes of FOMC meetings are more important than the FOMC policy statement or the Fed chair's (Kevin Warsh) press conferences because they convey the balance?of policymakers' views. The ?Federal Open Market Committee is the Fed's interest-rate-setting body. The dollar index, which measures greenbacks against a basket including the yen, and euro, rose by 0.02%, to 99.56. The euro was up 0.04%, at $1.1584. Spot gold dropped 0.49% to $4393.61 per ounce.
Ambani's Jio Platforms IPO pivots to pure fundraising, no investor exits, sources say
Sources say that Mukesh ambani's company Reliance Jio has shifted to a pure fundraiser for its planned Mumbai listing, selling 2.5% of the shares and abandoning earlier plans which would have allowed shareholders to exit.
Investors include Alphabet, Google, and Vista Equity Partners, as well as Indian billionaire Ambani’s Jio Platforms. Jio Platforms is the second largest?telecom company in terms of users, after China Mobile.
One source said that investors were not interested in selling and wanted to remain invested for the long-term.
The company 'had earlier held discussions with 'its foreign investors to each sell 8% their individual holdings of the IPO.
The IPO had been originally planned as an offer for sale, which meant that no new fundraising was planned and existing investors were only to exit when the company went public.
The Economic Times was the first to report 'the company’s plans to pivot and raise fresh funds with a new offering on Monday.
The listing is a key part of Ambani’s long-term plan to transform Reliance into a "everything" company, encompassing consumer, retail and technology.
Jio Platforms didn't respond to our request for comment.
(source: Reuters)