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Norway's Hydro to phase out battery and green hydrogen companies
Norwegian aluminium maker Norsk Hydro is no longer buying its battery and green hydrogen companies and will phase out these operations due to the tough market conditions, it stated on Wednesday. As part of its drive to concentrate on green aluminium, Hydro is introducing a new expense cutting programme targeting 6.5 billion Norwegian crowns ($ 582 million) of cost savings by 2030, with an aim of strengthening its aluminium recycling and extrusions operations towards 2030. Battery materials and green hydrogen will no longer be tactical growth locations for Hydro and no more capital will be designated, it stated in a statement ahead of its financier day. Hydro said it would continue to support battery recycler Hydrovolt as a commercial owner in close relate to its recycling organization and strategic partners. It last month said it was now the sole financier of the joint endeavor established with Sweden's Northvolt in 2020. Northvolt, when hailed as Europe's finest shot at a home-grown EV battery champ, declared U.S. Chapter 11 personal bankruptcy protection last week after talks with investors and financial institutions including Volkswagen and Goldman Sachs for funding failed. The prepared expense savings will come through functional performance, much better procurement processes and digital change, Hydro stated. The group validated its 2030 changed core profit target at the lower end of a 5-8 billion crown range in spite of continued market obstacles. Hydro's aluminium volumes have actually fallen in Europe this year, struck by lower electrical car production coming from Germany's. unexpected termination of EV subsidies and the looming EU. tariffs on China-made imports.
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'The Corrupt Solar Job': Adani embroiled in United States findings of bribery scheme
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by U.S. prosecutors for conspiring with executives of a previously New york city noted company to develop a. $ 265 million plan to pay off Indian officials to increase their. solar power organization. Adani and his executives have actually likewise been accused of making. false and deceptive declarations to investors and lenders in the. United States regarding the business's anti-bribery dedications. and practices while raising money from them. Adani Group rejected the accusations as baseless, while. Indian government authorities haven't commented up until now. Here is a summary of the examination and accusations. exposed in the U.S. indictment: WHAT ARE THE MAIN ACCUSATIONS? U.S. prosecutors charged Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani. who is director at Adani Green, and six others in running an. declared bribery scheme related to renewable resource tasks in. India that benefitted the magnate's company and India's Azure. Power, which was noted on the NYSE until late 2023. In 2020, the indictment shows, executives of Adani Green and. Azure knowingly and wilfully conspired and accepted. corruptly deal, authorise and pay kickbacks to government. officials in India to obtain or retain business benefits. Gautam S. Adani and seven other service executives. supposedly paid off the Indian government to fund rewarding. agreements, said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy. Adani Green on Nov. 27 stated Gautam Adani has been charged. on three counts in the criminal indictment for declared. securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy and. securities scams, however not the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices. Act. In between 2021 and 2024, Adani raised more than $3 billion in. loans and bonds, consisting of from financiers in the United States. Gautam and Sagar Adani were taken part in the bribery plan. during a September 2021 note offering by Adani Green that raised. $ 750 million, consisting of around $175 million from U.S. financiers, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said. The Adanis previously this year made misleading declarations to. the general public, the Indian stock market and financiers regardless of. being warned of the U.S. examination in 2023, the. prosecutors declared. HOW WERE ALLUREMENTS TRACKED, PAID? Sagar Adani, executive director of Adani Green and nephew of. Gautam Adani, utilized his smart phone to track details of the. allurements offered to Indian officials, U.S. authorities declared. In a meeting in between some Adani and Azure executives in. 2022, Gautam Adani comprehensive aspects of the bribery scheme. including steps he personally took to provide cash to federal government. officials, the U.S. authorities said. Executives from Azure also prepared an analysis utilizing Excel. and PowerPoint to summarise the various methods which it could. repay Adani Green for the bribes it had paid to benefit both. business. For one of the projects of 2.3 gigawatts of power,. the kickback was computed at around $30,000 per megawatt. One method discussed was to explain the payment internally at. Azure as a development charge, but it rather used another option. of getting Azure to transfer one of its projects to Adani in. lieu of part of the payment, U.S. authorities declared. Azure in a declaration stated former officers of the company. referenced in the U.S. indictment were no longer connected with. the business, and the business continued to comply with U.S. authorities. WHAT WERE THE POWER PROJECTS IN QUESTION? U.S. authorities called the negotiations in their indictment. The Corrupt Solar Task. In between 2019 and 2020, Adani Green and Azure were awarded. renewable energy tenders by Solar power Corporation of India. ( SECI), a federal government-owned entity. U.S. authorities alleged Adani and others designed a plan. to pay off Indian state officials to enter into contracts with. SECI, which would benefit Adani subsidiaries and Azure. Adani facilities in Rajasthan and Gujarat states in India. provided the power contracted in the Adani deals. One of those. marquee projects is the Adani energy park in Khavda , which the company states is the world's biggest renewable. energy project. HOW DID U.S. FEDERAL AGENTS EXAMINE, SEIZE EVIDENCE? In March 2023, FBI special representatives approached Sagar Adani. with information of the grand jury's ongoing examination into the. group and other entities. They took custody of electronic. devices in Sagar's belongings and served him with a search. warrant and grand jury subpoena. The search warrant determined offenses, people and. entities under examination by the U.S. for offenses of the. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, securities fraud, and wire scams. WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE ADANI GROUP? Adani Group in a statement said it would look for all possible. legal recourse. The grand jury in its order stated if any of the. executives were condemned of the charges they would have to. surrender any property or earnings obtained directly or indirectly. as a result of the offences. Federal prosecutors have actually also released arrest warrants for. Gautam and Sagar Adani. The U.S. Securities and Exchange. Commission has released summons to Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar to address the. accusations. Gautam and Sagar have actually not been arrested and their. whereabouts are unknown, though they are thought to be in. India.
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French and Benelux stocks-Factors to see
Below are companyrelated news and stories from France and Benelux which might have an influence on the region's markets or individual stocks. FNAC Darty: The European Commission approved French retailer Fnac Darty's acquisition of Unieuro. Hal Trust: Bermuda-based investment firm Hal Trust reported web asset worth for the very first 9 months up at 14.99 billion euros. It also stated Mathijs van Kouwen would replace Arie van't. Hof as CFO. Neoen: French renewables company Neoen cut its full-year adjusted. EBITDA target, now seeing it at 475 to 490 million euros from. 530 to 560 million euros formerly. Teleperformance: French call centre operator Teleperformance obtained ZP. Better Together for $490 million. The deal expected to. close in early 2025. Valneva: French biotech firm Valneva sent a label extension. application for its Chikungunya vaccine, Ixchiq, to the U.S. FDA. It likewise anticipates marketing permission in Brazil of the. vaccine before year-end. Pan-European market information:. European Equities speed guide ... ... ... ... FTSE Eurotop 300 index ... ... ... ... ... ... DJ STOXX index ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Top 10 STOXX sectors ... ... ... ...... Leading 10 EUROSTOXX sectors ... ... ...... Top 10 Eurotop 300 sectors ... ... ...... Top 25 European pct gainers ... ... ... ... ... Leading 25 European pct losers ... ... ... ... ... Main stock markets:. Dow Jones ... ... ... Wall Street report ... Nikkei 225 ... ... ... Tokyo report ...... FTSE 100 ... ... ... London report ...... Xetra DAX ... ... ... Frankfurt products ... ... CAC-40 ... ...... Paris items ...... World Indices ... ... ... ... ... ...... Reuters study of world bourse outlook ... ... European Asset Allowance ... ... ... ... ... Reuters News at a glimpse:. Top News ... ... ... Equities ... ... ... Main oil report ...... Main currency report ...
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Thyssenkrupp lacks comprehensive prepare for 11,000 steel unit job cuts, Handelsblatt reports
German commercial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp has not prepared a detailed proposal on how it intends to cut some 40% of tasks in its steel department, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported, raising questions on the practicality of its restructuring strategies. Under the strategies announced today, Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (TKSE), which has a labor force of 27,000, stated it would cut 11,000 jobs in overall - 5,000 of which would be removed by 2030 and another 6,000 shed through spin-offs or divestitures. Beyond the figure of 11,000 tasks, however, it is unclear how Thyssenkrupp prepares to carry out the job cuts or reduce steel production capabilities, Handelsblatt reported on Tuesday night, pointing out sources familiar with the restructuring propositions. Handelsblatt suggested that the approach, credited to a. small group led by Thyssenkrupp CEO Miguel Lopez, leaves. unanswered questions about the practicality of the proposed. restructuring. A spokesperson for the steel system did not immediately. respond to an emailed request for comment on Wednesday. Employees have actually promised intense resistance to the cuts at. Germany's biggest steelmaker, which has actually been under pressure from. cheaper Asian rivals, high power prices and a weakening. worldwide economy. The steel system's works council and union IG Metall are. scheduled to hold an amazing meeting with board members. behind closed doors on Wednesday afternoon, followed by a press. conference.
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Polish energy PGE posts lower Q3 net profit dragged by coal sector
Poland's biggest utility PGE reported a near 24% yearonyear fall in its thirdquarter net profit on Tuesday, in the middle of ongoing weakness in its coalbased traditional power generation section. WHY IT is very important PGE, in addition to other Polish utilities, is under pressure from falling profitability in its coal-fired power generation segment, having to manage the expense of carbon emission rights and the growing share of electrical power output being taken by renewables. The Polish federal government is working on a plan to spin off coal-fired power plants from energies to increase the concentrate on green energy, as banks seek to prevent funding coal-dependent business. BY THE NUMBERS PGE'S net earnings for the quarter slid to 0.73 billion zlotys ($ 177.84 million) from 0.95 billion in 2023, validating its earlier price quotes. Income fell 28% to 15.56 billion zlotys on the year, mainly due to a decrease in earnings from the sale of electrical energy in the traditional generation sector. CONTEXT In late September, the business revealed strategies to cease electrical energy production in the remaining coal-fired systems at one of the five power plants comprising its traditional power generation segment by the end of 2025.
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Repsol Gets $440K Fine for Halting NEO’s Production at Flyndre Field
The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has issued its highest-ever fine of $440,000 (£350,000) on Repsol North Sea (RNS) for behavior that led to a shut-in at the Flyndre field and hampered economic recovery of petroleum.The Fulmar facility in the Central North Sea, operated by RNS, ceased production in 2018, but continued to be used for the transportation of oil and gas by the Flyndre, Auk and Clyde fields.Auk and Clyde were owned and operated by Repsol Resources UK. Flyndre was owned and operated by TotalEnergies, before being taken over by NEO from July 2020.Before NEO took control of Flyndre, RNS told TotalEnergies that it intended to increase transportation charges through Fulmar and, when TotalEnergies questioned the hike, RNS issued a Termination Notice saying that the agreement would end on August 6.RNS refused TotalEnergies’ request for further talks and the provision of information and on August 6, the transportation agreement ended and, as a result the Fulmar facility – which was undergoing maintenance - did not reopen on August 8 as planned.Flyndre remained shut-in until August 13, when a temporary agreement was reached which allowed transport of oil and gas from Flyndre to resume.Long-term agreement was never reached, and the situation was only resolved when RNS took ownership of the Flyndre field in November 2021.The NSTA’s investigation – which was undertaken under the then MER UK Strategy - found that RNS failed to take the steps necessary to secure the maximum value of economically recoverable petroleum as required by the MER UK Strategy.It also found that RNS did not operate Fulmar in a way that facilitated the maximum value of economically recoverable petroleum from the region in which it was situated and failed to ensure that it was used by or for the benefit of others within the region.RNS applied undue pressure on TotalEnergies and NEO in renegotiating agreements which caused Flyndre to be shut-in for five days. They also set an unrealistic timetable, failed to provide timely information, did not justify the proposed rise in charges, and used the Termination Notice to pressurize negotiations and gain a commercial advantage, NSTA found.The company’s failure to collaborate and to demonstrate the required actions and behaviours under the MER UK Strategy could have a negative impact on investment in the North Sea so it has, therefore, been sanctioned accordingly, according to NSTA.“The North Sea needs to play a key role in progressing the energy transition and energy security in the UK and, in order to do that, operators must follow the Strategy and collaborate and cooperate with each other.“The NSTA will continue to work with industry to help operators meet the required standards of behaviour; and this action shows that we will not hesitate to take action when an operator falls short,” said Jane de Lozey, NSTA Director of Regulation.Separately, the NSTA has also fined ONE-Dyas $94,000 (£75,000) for failing to comply with a condition of its offshore licence.The company plugged and abandoned a well only sending an application for consent to do so on June 9, 2023 – two days after the work had been completed.
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ABL to Oversee Offshore Installation Works for Iberdrola’s German OW Farm
Energy and marine consultancy ABL, a subsidiary of ABL Group ASA, has been awarded a sizeable contract to provide marine warranty survey (MWS) services to support the offshore construction of Iberdrola’s 315 MW Windanker offshore wind farm, offshore Germany.Hamburg-based ABL Germany will provide MWS services to support the offshore transportation and installation (T&I) campaign relating to the foundations, inter-array cables and wind turbine generators (WTGs).Its scope of work includes the provision of expert technical review and approval of documents, operations and vessels relating to the warranted assets.ABL did not disclose the exact value of the contract, but the company defines a sizeable contract to be between $1 million and $3 million.The Windanker project is a major offshore wind farm in Germany located in the Baltic Sea, located about 25 kilometers offshore.It consists of 21 15MW offshore wind turbines, with a combined capacity of 315MW. The installation activities are scheduled for 2025 and 2026, with project commissioning expected by the end of 2026.“We are pleased to support Iberdrola in their construction of Germany’s all-important Windanker offshore wind farm. This follows on from ABL’s previous collaboration with Iberdrola in Germany on the Baltic Eagle project – reflecting our successful working relationship and the value we are able to bring to Germany’s growing offshore wind market,” said Reuben Segal, CEO of ABL Group.Iberdrola Gives Go-Ahead for Its Third Offshore Wind Farm in GermanyHavfram to Install Wind Turbines at Iberdrola’s Windanker ProjectVan Oord Gets Windanker Monopiles and Cables Installation Job
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Copper trades in narrow range with traders eyeing fresh catalyst
Copper costs edged up on Wednesday supported by a softer dollar but were restricted to a narrow range with market individuals considering more cues. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME). increased 0.2% to $9,021 per metric lot by 0349 GMT, while. the most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures. Exchange (SHFE) was almost flat at 73,870 yuan. ($ 10,180.12) a heap. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Monday released details. of his scheduled tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, in which he. vowed to add an extra 10% tariff on all Chinese products. Rates fell previously in the week, but ultimately bounced. back, as the tariffs on China have actually up until now been less than. previously anticipated. The devil is very much in the information on all these. statements. It's all headlines and no information right now, stated. Guy Wolf, Global Head of Market Analytics at broker Marex. Helping to support costs on Wednesday was a softer dollar. which makes greenback-priced metals more affordable to holders of other. currencies. LME aluminium rose 0.1% to $2,614 a ton, nickel. edged up 0.2% at $16,020, tin dropped 2.6% to. $ 28,150, zinc increased 0.6% to $3,094.50 and lead. innovative 0.5% to $2,031. SHFE aluminium fell 0.4% to 20,520 yuan a lot,. nickel decreased 1.6% to 126,250 yuan, tin. dropped 3.2% to 234,710 yuan, while zinc increased 2% to. 25,610 yuan and lead increased 0.2% to 17,225 yuan. China's October industrial revenues narrowed their earlier. declines, assisted by a low base the previous year, official data. revealed on Wednesday, but headwinds on revenues stay stiff with. the economy still fighting weak demand and deflation pressures. Market individuals have actually been expecting China to launch. more stimulus measures to support the economy, which could increase. metal usage. For the leading stories in metals and other news, click. or
OPEC+ production cuts might support oil rates in near term, Goldman Sachs states
Crude production from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and Russia has declined in compliance with OPEC+. production cuts, supporting a modest near term advantage to Brent. rates, Goldman Sachs stated.
Saudi Arabia is most likely to extend oil production cuts. because of the recent rate drop and we now believe that oil. production cuts will last till April 2025 rather of January,. the investment bank said in a note dated Tuesday.
Goldman Sachs kept its typical Brent rate forecast. for 2025 at $76 per barrel. OPEC+, that includes members of the OPEC and allies such as. Russia, is going over a further hold-up to a planned oil output. trek that was due to start in January, two sources from the. group said. At its most recent meeting on Nov. 3, OPEC+ agreed. to delay a prepared December output increase by a month.
Any ramp-up in OPEC+ production will be gradual and. data-driven, the bank stated.
Goldman added that rising compliance with OPEC+ production. cuts suggests that the group's member countries are working. together to support oil prices.
Production from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and Russia decreased by 0.5. million barrels per day in November, Goldman stated. OPEC member countries are unlikely to unwind voluntary. production cuts in the short term, executives of international. product trading giants Vitol, Trafigura and Gunvor said at the. Energy Intelligence Online Forum in London.
However, in spite of OPEC+'s production cuts and hold-ups to. output hikes, Brent futures have actually mainly stayed in a. $ 70-$ 80 range this year, and were trading below $74 on Tuesday. Recently, Goldman Sachs revised Brent prices to typical around. $ 80 per barrel this year, despite a 2024 deficit and. geopolitical unpredictability, citing an awaited surplus in 2025.
(source: Reuters)