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Trump tariffs on Brazil's chemical exporters lead to order cancellations
Brazilian chemical companies, who exported $2.4 billion in products to the U.S. during the past year, are facing a wave of contract cancellations, as President Donald Trump threatened a new tariff of 50% on Brazil's exports starting August 1. Andre Cordeiro of Brazilian chemical lobby Abiquim said that since Trump's announcement export orders for certain resins, compounds and other materials used in the production of fertilizers have been cancelled. Brazil supplies these products to the U.S. agricultural sector. Cordeiro explained that "fundamentally these decisions are made because it is bet on whether he will apply the tariff." Cordeiro added that some other companies have also had contracts cancelled. In some cases, sellers have secured export finance for an order that was later revoked. He refused to identify the exporters. He said that the losses associated with tariffs extend beyond direct exports. Almost every industry, from steel to oil, machinery to agricultural products, uses chemicals to manufacture their products. No one can produce coffee or grains without using some type of chemical product. Cordeiro said that the chemical industry is losing both export business as well as local sales from clients who export goods to the U.S. He said that Brazilian plywood exporters use chemicals to bond and have themselves faced cancellations of orders from the United States. Chemical preservatives are also used by orange juice producers, who sent 42% their exports to America last year. Brazilian companies such as Braskem could be affected by the U.S. Dow Chemical, with its 10 plants in Brazil, and large exports of silicon for processing to the U.S. is also in danger. Braskem and Dow have not yet commented. Exxon Mobil operates in Brazil, but declined to comment. It serves clients from various industries. Abiquim said that tariffs were unjustified due to Brazil's chemical industry running a trade deficit of $7.9 billion with the U.S. (Reporting and editing by David Gregorio.)
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MSF reports that at least 652 Nigerian children have died of malnutrition during the last six months.
Medecins Sans Frontieres reported on Friday that at least 652 children in Nigeria's state of Katsina died of malnutrition during the first half of 2025. The organization attributed this to the funding cuts made by international donors. Insecurity is a problem in Katsina in the north. MSF (also known as Doctors Without Borders) said that the massive budget cuts in the United States, United Kingdom and European Union are having a real impact on malnourished children. The United Nations Food Agency announced on Wednesday that it would be forced to stop food and nutrition assistance for 1.3 millions people in the northeast of Nigeria, which is ravaged by insurgency. Stocks have run low. The United States withdrew funding from the health sector, and Nigeria budgeted 200 billion Naira ($130million) to cover the shortfall. MSF reported that the number of Katsina children with severe malnutrition increased by 208% in comparison to the same period in the previous year. "Unfortunately, 652 children have died in our facilities as of the start of 2025." Insecurity in Katsina has forced many to abandon their farms due to banditry. In an effort to curb the activities of criminals, both the government and local vigilante groups have worked together.
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It's time to get rid of capital gains tax on your house.
The original version of this article was published in On The Money, a newsletter that shares personal finance insights and tips from the United States every two weeks. Subscribe here to get it free. It's time to get rid of capital gains tax on your house. My humble opinion: The most important personal finance story! This week, President Donald Trump has announced that he is considering eliminating capital gains taxes from home sales. Trump told reporters at the Oval Office that if the Fed lowered the rates, then we wouldn't have to do anything. "But we're thinking of no tax on capital gain on houses." According to current law, homeowners may exclude up $250,000 (single filers), or $500,000 for joint filers (increased gains) from the sale of their primary residence. These thresholds are unchanged since 1997. According to a study by the National Association of Realtors, 34% of homeowners (30 million) have equity in their home that exceeds the $250,000 threshold. More than 10% (8 millions) have equity enough to go beyond the $500,000 limit. Recently, Congress passed legislation to make permanent the tax cuts that were passed during Trump's first term in office. The bill also fulfills Trump's election promises by including new tax breaks for seniors, auto loans, tips, overtime pay and seniors. Who could benefit from the end of capital gains tax on home sales? Would you be more likely to sell your home if capital gains tax were eliminated? Would you be more inclined to sell your house? Let me know what you think by writing to me. It's a Gas Recently, have you noticed lower gas prices? U.S. gas prices may fall below $3 per gallon for the first summer in four years, as bad weather has dampened fuel demand. Imports have also risen to fill up inventories. Gasoline is at a low price, which is great news for Americans who are traveling this summer. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, consumers faced record-high prices at the pump. The summer is usually the U.S.'s peak gasoline season, but this year the demand has been lower. The U.S. gasoline demand is expected to drop permanently from its 2018 peak due to the increased use of fuel-efficient cars and changes in driving habits following the pandemic. What will be the impact of lower gas prices on your driving habits and how? READ, WATCH and LISTEN Coke's switch to cane sugar will be costly and hurt US farmers Goldman and BNY launch tokens linked to money market funds Trump Executive Order to Open Up 401(ks) to Private Markets Delta's plans to use AI for ticket pricing is criticized by US lawmakers Luxury heavyweights battle to overcome shopper fatigue What's behind the recent rally in meme stock? How Americans deal with late career layoffs Portfolio manager: Don't risk everything, but preserve capital Big Alcohol is ready to fight back against buzzy cannabis drinks that steal sales Are you holding too much technology? Are you bursting at the seams with technology stocks in your portfolio? Due to the recent strong performance of technology stocks, equity investors may be overweighting them. The Magnificent 7 stocks have risen by almost 25% over the last year, compared to 17% growth for the Nasdaq Composite Index. The performance of the Magnificent 7 (which includes Google, Tesla and others) has been mixed in recent years. They have all recovered since April after a fallout following Donald Trump’s "Liberation Day", which announced sweeping tariffs around the world. According to LSEG Datastream, the group accounted for one-third the weight of S&P 500 on Friday due to its massive market cap. This is their biggest combined presence since the beginning of the year. My retirement portfolio is made up of target-date funds that are rebalanced regularly. The tech sector is at 24% which is slightly lower than the average. Have you rebalanced your portfolio recently? Tell me what you think about the Magnificent 7 or the tech sector in general! (by Lauren Young)
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Arpege, a Parisian restaurant with three Michelin stars, switches to plant-based meals
Alain Passard is a French chef who has mastered the art of roasting. He decided to remove almost all animal products in his Arpege restaurant. Arpege had already eliminated red meat in its dishes back in the early 2000s. Passard's new menu will exclude meat, dairy and fish. However, honey from the restaurant's beehives is an exception. Passard said that his passion for the natural world motivated him. He added that seasonal vegetables could also help reduce the environmental impact of a restaurant. Passard's 68-year-old fame was largely due to his roast dishes such as "poulet à foin", or chicken cooked with hay. But he has become a leading figure in the growing vegetable dining scene in Paris. Passard said, "Everything I did with the animal is a memory that will last a lifetime." Today, I'm more inclined to a cuisine of emotions, a culinary style that I would describe as artistic. It's more like painting and sewing... today I'm a new chef. Arpege, the first three-star restaurant in France, has made the switch to plant-based foods. It joins Eleven Madison Park, a New York restaurant that did the same under the chef Daniel Humm. The menu includes a "mosaic", a tomato dish, aubergine flambée with melon confit and a carrot, onion and shallot dish. The most expensive set menu is 420 euros (about $493) and the lunch cost 260 euros. In recent years, meat consumption has declined in some countries. Organisers of the Paris Olympics in 2012 set out to reduce the amount meat served to spectators and athletes. ($1 = 0.8526 euro) (Reporting and writing by Noemie Olivier and Lauren Bacquie; Editing and proofreading by Gabriel Stargardter, Louise Heavens and Lauren Bacquie)
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Holtec's request for restarting Michigan nuclear plant is approved by the NRC
Holtec International has received approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to submit a number of requests that will lay the foundation for the restart of the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Michigan. The agency and the company announced this on Thursday. Holtec will be able to load fuel with the approvals, but it will still need additional approvals for the plant that ceased operation under a new owner in May 2022. Holtec plans to restart the Palisades plant, a decommissioned 800 megawatt facility. It will also install two small modular units (SMRs) based on the existing technology of light water reactors (LWRs), at the same site. Holtec, in partnership with Hyundai Construction, plans to build ten gigawatts worth of SMRs across North America by 2030, starting first at Palisades. Holtec purchased the plant in order to decommission, but hopes to now reopen it. It is the first U.S. Commercial reactor to restart operations after ceasing to operate. Holtec stated that "Once Palisades is returned to service it will generate over 800 megawatts (safe, reliable and carbon-free) of baseload power, enough to power 800,000 homes... increase grid reliability and meet growing energy demands in Michigan and beyond." The company did not specify a date for the start-up. Holtec announced in March that it hoped to reopen its plant by the fourth quarter 2025. The NRC stated that "while these NRC approvals allow Holtec fuel to be loaded, there are several licensing actions still under NRC review, and additional requirements need to meet before the plant can begin operating under its original operating license which expires March 24, 2031," The NRC transferred the operating authority of PNP from Holtec Decommissioning International LLC to Palisades and restored key documents including emergency plans, security plans, and maintenance and inspection programmes. (Reporting by Sarah Qureshi in Bengaluru Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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Three trapped workers are rescued from Newmont's Red Chris Mine in Canada
Newmont said that three contract workers were rescued from the Red Chris copper-and-gold mine in British Columbia after 60 hours of being underground. Bernard Wessels said that some operations have been resumed at the mine, but the underground mine is still suspended. He made this statement at a Newmont news conference. Wessels stated that Newmont would reopen its underground mine following a thorough investigation of the incident. Kevin Coumbs (Hy-Tech Drilling), Darien Maduke and Jesse Chubaty, were trapped in the mine after two "falls of ground" at the accessway. The walls and floors collapsing in a mine is a serious safety concern for the mining industry. The miners were sheltered in the designated refuge bay of the mine for two days. Wessels stated that the men were "in good spirits" and had walked themselves to their vehicle. They were also relieved to have escaped. He added that the three miners stayed where they were told to stay and followed all safety protocols. Newmont owns 70% of the mine and Imperial Metals Corp. holds the remaining 30%. Wessels stated that Newmont conducted a thorough psychological check on the miners. Newmont says it conducts monthly investigations into its operations and that this incident was a surprise to the company. Newmont acquired the Red Chris mine in 2023 as part of its larger purchase of Australian miner Newcrest. Red Chris has two mines, an open-pit mine and an underground mine.
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Copper demand falls ahead of critical week
The dollar rose on Friday, and copper prices dropped. Physical buyers took a break ahead of the week which could be pivotal in bringing clarity to the U.S. tariffs on imports of copper and the U.S. agreements with other nations. The price of three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange fell by 1.0%, to $9,772 per ton, as of 1600 GMT. This was below the 21-day average, which is $9,802. The COMEX copper contracts, which reached a record-high of $5.959 per lb last Thursday, fell 0.9% to $5.752 and were trading at a premium of 30% over the LME benchmark. The premium is still below the proposed 50% tariff by President Donald Trump, as the market awaits confirmation of the deadline of August 1, and the list of copper products that will be affected. Will the announcement of the tariff be delayed because there is so much uncertainty? Will there be any exemptions?" Alastair Munro is a senior base metals analyst at Marex. Chile, Canada, and Mexico are the U.S.'s main copper suppliers. The current copper prices have slowed down physical buying. This was a very active activity when the price of copper was $9,600 around mid-July. However, the availability of relatively little stock in LME registered warehouses has also been reduced. Munro said that the support is being provided ahead of September which is a time of seasonal growth in demand. The Shanghai Futures Exchange monitors copper inventories in storage warehouses The exchange reported that the number of metric tons fell by 13% to 73 423 this week. This is the lowest level since last December. The U.S. already has trade agreements with Japan Indonesia and the Philippines. Trump will be in Scotland this Friday to inaugurate a new golf course and to meet British Prime Minister Keir starmer. Trade talks between the United States and China are scheduled to begin next week in Sweden. LME aluminium dropped 0.5% to $2.632 per ton. Zinc fell 0.7% to $2.823; lead slipped 0.4% to $1,015; tin declined 1.3% to $34,050, and nickel fell 1.8% to $15,170. (Reporting and editing by Kirsten Doovan, Vijay Kishore, and Paul Simao; Reporting by Polina Devitt)
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Sources say that Citigroup's head for energy transition has moved to Moelis.
Citigroup's global director of clean energy investment banking will leave the U.S. bank to advise on mergers and acquistions at boutique Moelis. This was confirmed by people familiar with this matter on Friday. Serge Tismen will officially join Moelis at the end of September after a gardening leave. One source said that he will advise clients of the bank on all aspects of dealmaking and will be reporting to Anton Sahazizian who is the head of Moelis mergers and acquistions. I was unable contact Tismen to get a comment. Citi and Moelis spokespeople declined to comment. LinkedIn shows that Tismen worked at Citi's Investment Bank for over two decades. He took over the leadership of a new division in 2021 to attract more business from companies that are working to reduce carbon emissions by developing hydrogen fuel, vehicle charger infrastructure, carbon sequestration, and biofuels. Donald Trump has been putting pressure on the U.S. government to promote clean energy. His administration has attempted to rollback environmental regulations, and measures that were put in place by the former president Joe Biden to encourage renewable energies. Trump has canceled tax credits that support renewable energy generation and ordered the Department of the Interior review any regulations that favor wind and solar power over other sources of energy. The rest of 2025 is expected to be a year of significant deal-making, and the forecast includes a number of mega-mergers. (Reporting and editing by David French, David Gregorio, and Isla Binne in New York)
IAEA Board Resolution declaring Iran in violation of Non-Proliferation Duty
Here are some key passages of a four-page Iran resolution that the 35-nation Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency passed on Thursday, according to diplomats. The text was still classified and only seen by.
The Board of Governors ,...
(d) Referring to the Board of Governors resolutions of 19 juin 2020..., of 8 june 2022..., of 17 november 2022 ..., of 6 june 2024 ...,, and of 21 november 2024 ...,, which called on Iran to cooperate fully with the Agency, and decided it was essential and urgent for Iran to act in accordance with its legal obligations, and to clarify all outstanding issues to take all specified action without delay
(e) Regretting the fact that, despite numerous opportunities given by the Director-General since 2019, Iran failed to provide co-operation under its Safeguards Agreement. This included impeding Agency activities, sanitizing sites, and failing to repeatedly provide the Agency with technical credible explanations of the presence of uranium particle of anthropogenic source at several undeclared places in Iran, or information on current locations of nuclear material, or contaminated equipment. Instead, Iran claimed, contrary to the Agency's findings that,
The Director General concluded that Iran had not declared nuclear material or nuclear-related activities in three undeclared Iranian locations, specifically Lavisan-Shian and Varamin. Due to the Agency's inability to obtain technically credible answers from Iran, it is unable determine whether nuclear material in these undeclared Iranian locations has been consumed, combined with other declared materials, or remains outside Safeguards.
(g) Noting the Agency's conclusion, that these undeclared sites were part of a structured, undeclared programme that Iran carried out until the early 2000s and that some activities involved undeclared nuclear materials,
(h) Noting the Agency's conclusion, which is of concern, that Iran retained unidentified nuclear material or heavily contaminated equipment and other assets arising from a former undeclared nuclear programme at Turquzabad from 2009 to 2018, after which the items were removed, but the whereabouts remain unknown.
(k) Noting Iran's repeated failure to cooperate in facilitating the implementation of Safeguards while engaging in activities consistent with concealment, including extensive sanitization, and providing inaccurate explanations, is a significant obstacle to the Agency’s ability to verify and clarify Iran’s declarations as well as the exclusive peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.
(n) Regretting Iran’s failure to provide technical credible explanations for undeclared nuclear materials.
(o) Repeating its concern that Iran still hasn't provided the necessary, full, and unambiguous co-operation with the Agency, and hasn't taken the urgent and essential actions as determined by the Board in June and November 2024 Resolutions...
(p) Worried that the Agency has reached a deadlock in resolving this issue,
1. We regret that despite numerous opportunities and repeated requests from the Board, Iran has not fully cooperated with the Agency as required by the Safeguards Agreement.
3. The Agency finds that Iran has failed to comply with its Safeguards Agreement since 2019, by failing to cooperate fully and promptly with the Agency regarding undeclared material and activities in multiple undeclared locations. ...;
4. The Agency's inability to verify the absence of diversion of nuclear materials required to be safeguarded by the Agreement for nuclear weapons or other explosive devices is also consistent with Article 19;
5. It also finds that, in accordance with Article III.B.4 in the Statute of the Agency, the Director General’s inability to... provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful raises questions that fall within the jurisdiction of the United Nations Security Council as the principal organ responsible for maintaining international peace and safety, and it expresses grave concern at this point.
6. ... The Board will discuss the timing and the content of the report that is required by Article XII.C in the Agency Statute, as well as Article 19 of Iran’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and the notification that is required by Article III.B.4 in the Agency Statute.
7. Reaffirms that in order to verify the nondiversion nuclear material, it is imperative and urgent that Iran fulfill its legal obligations. To clarify all remaining Safeguards questions, the following immediate actions should be taken: Give technical credible explanations as to why uranium of anthropogenic source is present in two undeclared places in Iran. Inform the Agency about the location of nuclear material or contaminated equipment. Please provide all the information, documentation, and answers that are required by the Agency for this purpose. Access to the locations and materials the Agency needs for this purpose as well as the taking of sample as the Agency deems appropriate;
10. Demands that Iran remedy its noncompliance to its Safeguards Agreement as soon as possible by taking any steps necessary to the Agency and Board so that the Director-General can give the assurances necessary regarding the accuracy and completeness in Iran's declarations made pursuant to the Safeguards Agreement.
11. It stresses its support for a solution diplomatic to the problems caused by the Iranian Nuclear Programme, including the talks that took place between the United States of America and Iran. This led to an agreement which addressed all international concerns about Iran's nuclear activities.
(source: Reuters)