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Tronchetti Provera: Sinochem's share in Pirelli is affecting the US business of the company
Marco Tronchetti Provera, executive vice chairman of the Italian tyremaker, said that Pirelli has difficulty investing in the United States as its largest shareholder is China’s state-owned Sinochem in a newspaper article on Tuesday. Pirelli's Chinese shareholders and Italian investors are in disagreement over the group's management as Washington clamps down on Chinese tech in the auto industry by banning software and hardware. Tronchetti Provera, a journalist for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, said that Sinochem's stake of 37% had been a problem when Pirelli was negotiating with local authorities about doing business in Alabama and Virginia. "Now, we are negotiating in Georgia, where there is already a factory and objections have been raised once again," said Tronchetti, Provera who was Pirelli CEO from 1980 to 2022. Tronchetti said that he believed an agreement could be reached between Sinochem and the U.S. to address their concerns. He said, "We will find ways to comply with American law in the interest of Pirelli." It is too important for us to not be able play on an equal playing field with our competition. (Reporting and editing by David Goodman, Jamie Freed, and Gavin Jones)
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Wall Street Journal, April 8,
These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. PNC Financial Services Group appointed Mark Wiedman, a former BlackRock executive, as its president on Monday. Apple intends to send more iPhones from India to the U.S. to offset the high tariffs on China, according to people familiar with the situation. According to a memo by Chief Executive Tobi Lutze, Shopify will not hire new employees unless their managers can prove that artificial intelligence cannot do the job. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi announced on Tuesday that the United States and Iran will hold indirect high-level discussions in Oman on 12 April. The President Donald Trump directed on Monday a U.S. National Security Panel to take another look at Nippon Steel’s bid to acquire U.S. Steel in order to determine whether "further actions" are appropriate. This has raised hopes that this deal may finally get the green light. The Supreme Court, with a 5-4 vote, lifted an order from a judge that blocked the deportation to a Salvadoran jail of suspected Venezuelan gangsters. It also granted the Trump Administration's request for expedited removals in accordance with the 18th century Alien Enemies Act.
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Austria's OMV expects a petrochemicals joint venture to boost its Q1 earnings
OMV, Austria's oil and gas group, said that it expects its first-quarter results to be boosted by the merger of Borealis and Borouge with ADNOC. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and OMV agreed last month to merge their polyolefin business to create Borouge Group International. The new company will have a $60 billion enterprise valuation. Vienna-based company stated that the positive impact of its clean operating results would be a mid-double digit million euro range for the first quarter compared to the final three months in 2024. Clean operating results are based on current costs of supply and exclude one-off items, short-term gains or losses and energy inventory holdings. OMV stated that the future impact of the depreciation stopping on the clean operating results will be approximately 140 million euros (153.47 millions) per quarter. The company said that it also recorded higher average energy costs in the first three months, driven by an increase of nearly 25% in its average realized natural gas price. The average realized crude oil price increased by 1.25%, to $72.8 per barrel.
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Gold's current rally - echoes from the 1980s, but with a more durable core
Gold's recent gallop to record highs has drawn comparisons to the 1980s, when political and economic turmoil was the primary driver of record prices. Market players, however, say that the nature of this rally and its potential ability to last is different. Analysts say that with tensions high between historical allies due to U.S. trade tariffs, wars in Ukraine, and Middle East, it is unlikely that they will come together quickly to resolve issues that are driving the interest in gold as a safe haven. HSBC analyst James Steel noted that the metal's recent surge above $3,000 per ounce was driven by President Donald Trump's latest round of tariffs against trading partners. This is the first time since a long period of time when geopolitics and uncertainty in the economy have been the main factors driving the gold market. Gold spot reached a record of $3,167.57 a troy ounce in the last week. It is up by 16% this year and 27% for 2024. Analysts say that while the market's path will not be linear, gold's entry to uncharted territories looks more sustainable than it did 45 years ago. Analysts said that because gold has an inverse relationship with trade flows and Trump's tariffs, including the announcement on Wednesday of Washington's highest trade barriers in over 100 years, has driven new investors to gold, fuelled from fear of a full-blown trade war. Dollars are also known as safe-haven assets, but some signs suggest that their status is eroding due to the uncertainty surrounding tariffs. Since taking office two-and-a half months ago, Trump upended the global order by signaling that the U.S. might not guarantee Europe's safety as Washington has done since World War Two and by radically changing the U.S. attitude to the war in Ukraine. He has also suggested that the U.S. could annex Greenland. HSBC's Steel stated that the issues driving gold in the past 45 years - namely the Iranian Revolution and oil crisis – were resolved relatively quickly. This led to a decline in gold. He said that the failure of international cooperation over the past few years had led to the price of gold remaining high. It leads one to believe... that there is a larger geopolitical demand in the market. BREAKDOWN COOPERATION Gold is being driven higher by a number of factors, including trade tensions. In the 2020s, we saw a two-year pandemic of coronavirus, followed by Russia's war with Ukraine in 2022, China's property market crisis and Israel's Gaza war. In the Ukraine War, Western sanctions were used to freeze half of Russia's reserves of foreign currency. Moscow was able to retain only gold. This led non-Western central bankers to turn towards gold as they wanted to diversify away from the US dollar. Western bullion investment increased last year due to monetary easing, and concerns about budget deficits. To resolve any of these issues, global cooperation may be required of a type not seen yet in the current chaos surrounding tariffs. George Griffiths is the head of trading at AMT Futures. He said that unlike other crises in recent years, there was no prospect of global policy alignment. The market has achieved many milestones this year, but one remains. StoneX analyst Rhona o'Connell pointed out that gold reached its peak in 1980 at $850, which is equivalent to $3,486 in today's dollars. HSBC's Steel stated that while we had certainly reached new heights in nominal terms, it could be argued that we hadn't achieved the milestone in real terms. This could change. This backdrop has led to a broader expectation of a longer run up, with 2026 being seen as the peak, rather than this year. Michael Widmer, commodity strategist at BofA, raised his gold forecast on March 26 to $3,063 in 2025, and $3,350 respectively in 2026, up from $2,750 previously. He reiterated this on Sunday. He sees the spot gold price reaching $3,500 in two years. Calling for $3,000 is easier than $3,500 in gold. What's the second risk? Widmer said. "The risk that we go back to the situation of two years ago is that we will be in a world where there are no trade wars and where rates have been raised by the U.S. Federal Reserve, where economies have stabilized, and where sentiment has stabilised." The gold trade would then be over." "But I don't think that it is likely." (Reporting and editing by Polina Devlin, Veronica Brown, and Jan Harvey).
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Sumitomo metal, a Japanese company, predicts a larger global nickel surplus in 2025
Sumitomo Metal Mining, Japan's biggest nickel smelter, said that the global nickel market will see a greater surplus in this year as a result of Indonesian production expanding. SMM's half-year market forecast presentation said that the surplus was projected to reach 215,000 metric tonnes in 2025. This is up from 173,000 tons last years, as Indonesian production of low-grade Nickel Pig Iron is expected to increase 5.7%, to 1.62 millions tons. SMM stated that global nickel demand will grow by 3.2% this year, whereas supply is expected to rise 4.3%, to 3,64 million tonnes. SMM Executive Director Yusuke Nisha stated that it was difficult to predict the impact of U.S. Tariffs. Niwa stated that there was a possibility of a global decline in demand for nickel-based alloys used to make aircraft engines if the U.S. economic slowdown occurred. Nickel is used primarily in stainless steel but also in lithium-ion battery packs that power electric cars (EVs), and the demand for this component was expected to increase. However, growth is slowing as lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, which are cheaper than nickel-rich alternatives, gained market share, Niwa said. According to the International Energy Agency, LFP batteries will account for two thirds of all EVs sold in China by 2023. These batteries are more environmentally friendly and cost-effective than other battery technologies because they rely only on lithium. SMM, which provides cathode material for the Panasonic Li-ion Batteries used in Tesla Electric Vehicles, has predicted that by 2025, global nickel demand will reach around 480.000 tons, an increase of only 10,000 tons compared to 2024. (Reporting and editing by Varun H K; Yuka Obayashi)
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How long can iron ore and coking coal survive amid the tariff chaos? Russell
In the wake of U.S. president Donald Trump's tariff war, iron ore has performed better than other commodities such as crude oil and copper. Iron ore futures trading on the Singapore Exchange closed at $99.54 per metric ton Monday. This is a three-month high and down 4.1% compared to the close of $103.77 on April 2, when Trump imposed tariffs against U.S. trade partners. The Singapore contracts reflect the views and opinions of participants on the market outside of China. China buys around three quarters of global seaborne ore, and produces just under half of all steel in the world. Even China's domestic Iron Ore Futures at the Dalian Commodity Exchange are holding up. They have lost just 3.6% from April 2 to Monday’s close of $762.50 ($104.31 a ton). Brent crude futures fell 14.1% between April 2 and Monday's closing price of $64.36 per barrel, which is a four-year-low. London-traded contracts for copper also dropped 10%, ending at $8.732 per ton. China is the largest buyer of crude oil and copper in the world, but unlike ore they have a wider investor base that tends to reflect market dynamics and sentiment more quickly. Iron ore's performance is still at odds with Trump’s announcement of 34% tariffs on U.S. imported goods from China last week, on top of the 20% already imposed. The volatile U.S. President doubled down Monday and threatened an additional 50% tariff on imports coming from China. Beijing had responded by imposing a 34% duty on its own imports of goods from the United States. It also imposed export controls on several minor metals that are critical for defence and technology. If the tariffs are implemented, China's exports will be subject to a 104% tax, which could have the effect of stopping all trade between two of the largest economies in the world. OUTLOOK DARKENS It's difficult to argue that iron ore is going to continue to perform better than other commodities. In fact, it would be easier to imagine it performing worse. Steel consumption in China is directly related to manufacturing, which accounts for 25% of the total demand. Beijing must decide whether it will act decisively to stimulate the parts of the economy that are affected by tariffs, as well as other sectors which may not be so exposed but can still contribute to overall economic growth. It is a question of whether China's efforts to stimulate its economy, through sectors like infrastructure and consumer spending for manufactured goods, will be sufficient to maintain steel demand at relatively high levels. Iron ore prices should also rise if steel production and demand continue to increase. The data from March, collected by commodity analysts Kpler, suggests a solid but not spectacular result. China imported 102.1 millions tons of iron ore from Australia in March. This is up from the 84.36 in February. However, that month's total wasn't as high as expected due to weather disruptions. Kpler data shows that the March figure is only marginally below the 104.9 millions tons of the same month 2024. The other important steel raw material, metallurgical coke, has shown a more subdued response to the tariff war. Singapore Exchange contracts that track the price for metallurgical coking coal from Australia - the world's largest exporter of this fuel - have actually increased, rising 5.9% since the close of April 2, to $186 per ton. The price increases are due to weather-related disruptions that have occurred in Queensland, Australia, which is home to most of Australia's metallurgical mines. China's coking-coal contracts fell 3.1% between April 2 and Monday's close of 971.50 Yuan per ton, which may be a better indication of demand concerns that have emerged amid the uncertainty surrounding tariffs. These are the views of the columnist, an author for.
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India's NTPC aims at building small nuclear reactors in order to replace old coal-fired plants
According to a document on the tender, India's NTPC has begun exploring the option of building small modular nuclear reactors to replace older thermal power plants. This is the first proposal like this since India opened its highly-protected nuclear industry. India's largest power producer has asked consultants to conduct feasibility tests on small modular reactors. These reactors are simpler than large nuclear plants, and can be scaled-up to meet demand. According to the Monday tender, NTPC mainly operates coal-fired power plants. It wants to identify those that can be retired within the next five year period, and replaced with SMRs. In February, the company reported that it was in discussions with foreign companies, including those in Russia and the U.S.A., about building SMRs. The company's current coal power capacity is 63 gigawatts. This includes joint ventures. India announced in early February that it would amend the nuclear liability law, to encourage foreign and private investment. The country aims to reach 100 GW of capacity by 2047, up from 8 GW currently, which are all operated by the state-owned Nuclear Power Corp of India. NTPC has been the first company to tender for SMRs. Companies such as Tata have shown interest in SMRs. NTPC plans to also build large nuclear reactors, with a combined capacity of about 15 GW. The company has begun work on two 2.6 GW nuclear plants. Sethuraman N.R. and Savio D.Souza edited the report.
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After a selloff, the price of base metals in China has stabilised.
The base metal price in China stabilized on Tuesday, after the previous day’s drop, as the market took a wait-and see stance, amid an escalating trade war that has fueled recession fears. As of 0348 GMT the most traded copper contract at the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 1.4%, to 73290 yuan per metric ton ($10,000.82), hovering around a three-month-low since January 3. The market had opened in Asia with a 7% drop. The benchmark 3-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.8% at $8,803 per ton. This is a rebound from its low of $8,105 that it reached on Monday, which was its lowest since November 2023. China's Commerce Ministry stated on Tuesday that it would never accept "the blackmail nature" by the United States, after President Trump threatened on Monday to impose a 50% additional tariff on China if Beijing did not withdraw its retaliatory duties. China, the world's largest consumer of metals, responded last Friday by imposing additional tariffs of 34% on all U.S. products from April 10 after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 34% on most Chinese items as part his sweeping tariff program. Base metals traders said that prices have stabilized after yesterday's steep decline. People are waiting and watching as the retaliatory trade tariffs continue. SHFE aluminium rose 0.7% to 19.675 yuan per ton. Zinc gained 0.1% at 22,280 yuan. Lead fell 0.8% at 16,585 Yuan. Nickel was up by 0.1%, to 119.460 Yuan. Tin fell 1.3%, to 267.410 Yuan. The LME aluminium price rose 0.4%, to $2379 per ton. Lead increased 0.5%, to $1879; zinc 0.1%, to $2617. Tin was down 0.6%, at $33,725; and nickel rose 1.5%, to $14,580. $1 = 7.3284 Chinese Yuan Renminbi (Reporting and editing by Janane Vekatraman).
US Health Department to issue new recommendations on fluoride
A spokesperson announced on Monday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would reconvene an independent panel of experts in order to make a recommendation regarding fluoride being added to drinking water.
Since decades, the use of this mineral in water, which strengthens tooth enamel and promotes dental health, is a controversial political issue.
A spokesperson for HHS said that "HHS will reconvene the Community Preventive Services Task Force in order to study fluoride and make new recommendations on it."
This statement was made in response to an Associated Press article quoting Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, saying that he would tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention not to recommend fluoride for drinking water at an event held in Salt Lake City.
According to an EPA announcement, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with HHS will also review the new scientific information regarding the potential health effects of fluoride, as an initial step towards deciding standards for its inclusion. Administrator Lee Zeldin stated this at the same event.
Utah is the first U.S. State to have banned the use of fluoride as a water treatment agent after Governor Spencer Cox passed legislation in this regard last month.
The American Dental Association has opposed the Utah law, and continues to support community water fluoridation as a way to prevent tooth decay.
The U.S. Public Health Service suggests that fluoride levels in drinking water should not exceed 0.7 milligrams per liter.
It is known that levels above 1.5mg/l, or twice the recommended limit of that level, increase health risks, such as thyroid disease, bone fractures and nervous system damage.
The EPA has set a limit of 4.0 mg/L as the enforceable limit. A federal judge in California issued an order to the EPA on September 20, 2024 to tighten its regulations. The judge said that the compound poses a risk to children, even at the levels currently common across the country.
Kennedy, who opposes adding fluoride in public water systems has claimed that, despite the lack of conclusive proof, water fluoridation is linked to numerous health problems including cancer.
According to CDC data, as of 2022, fluoride is present in the water of 63% of Americans. Ahmed Aboulenein, Washington; Jasper Ward, Additional Reporting Editing by Caitlin and Matthew Lewis
(source: Reuters)