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Elliott and Gold Reserve affiliates are working on bids for Citgo parent company as the bidding deadline approaches
The U.S. court is about to announce the winner of an auction of shares in Citgo Petroleum, the parent company of the U.S. refiner. Affiliates of the hedge fund Elliott Investment Management as well as miner Gold Reserve are leading the competition. Robert Pincus, a U.S. court official, has until Monday to decide whether the $7.4 billion offer from Gold Reserve subsidiary Dalinar Energy that he had previously recommended remains in front or if a rival bid is superior. In the final round of bidding, Elliott's affiliate Amber Energy and a unit from commodities firm Vitol as well as a consortium headed by Black Lion Capital Advisors made offers. The court extended the deadline for bidding to Friday, and delayed the final sale hearing until September. According to court documents and sources familiar with the preparation of the bids, Amber and Gold have now surpassed the other bidders in the competition. Their offers are substantially different. The main differences include the cash amount offered and non-cash considerations. Also, a negotiation was conducted to pay holders who had a Venezuelan defaulted Bond collateralized by Citgo equity. Amber said to the Delaware court that it had reached an agreement with more than two thirds of holders. The Gold Reserve Group, which does not have a payment plan for the bondholders in its bid, believes that its offer is superior because it covers 11 of 15 claimants who are lining up cash proceeds. Judge Leonard Stark instructed Pincus, and the court advisors involved in the auction earlier this year to put price ahead of "certainty" of closure. This term describes a proposal's chance of becoming a takeover. Amber's bid, which offers $5.86bn to creditors and 2.86bn to bondholders, must prove to the court that it has reached agreements. Gold Reserve has the right to object to any competing bid based on procedural issues. If it loses, the group can increase its own bid. Amber and Dalinar didn't immediately respond to requests for comments. According to a new court calendar approved on Friday, Gold Reserve’s Dalinar has only three days to match any better proposal. Gold Reserve announced on Friday that it had engaged Cantor Fitzgerald as its financial advisor to help with the bid. Sources said that Dalinar's potential strategy to increase its bid might include adding more creditors to the proposal. This is currently being discussed. Amber has also been in contact with at least 2 creditors who are willing to convert their claims in to credit bids. In some auctions, credit bids are accepted to allow creditors to purchase assets or shares at auction to pay off their debts. The court said that in this case credit bids and cash offers must be combined. The auction is intended to compensate 15 creditors for Venezuela's debt defaults and expropriations by paying up to $19billion. The court that has been handling this case since 2017 found Citgo Holding's parent PDV Holding responsible for Venezuela's debts.
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Braskem continues to negotiate with Tanure Fund despite the end of exclusive window
Braskem reported in its Friday securities filing that talks for Brazilian firm Novonor (formerly Odebrecht) to sell a majority stake in the petrochemical Braskem company to a Nelson Tanure-backed fund continue despite a 90 day exclusive negotiation deadline. The exclusivity period has ended without an agreement between the parties that would have exempted the fund from paying damages in a suit that claims that the firm's mines of salt caused the ground to sink in Maceio, and that forced evacuations were a result. Petroquimica Verde, the Tanure-linked fund of investment, has a source who says that they will not sign any deal until it is certain that environmental liabilities won't be transferred to new partners and creditors. Tanure stated in a press release earlier this month that an agreement was "a sine qua non" (condition) for the deal. According to a second source, the resolution of the environmental liability issue is fundamental for the progressing of negotiations with Tanure. The source said that Novonor's choice to continue talks with Tanure leaves the door open for a possible deal. It also "sends a important signal to banks who were uncomfortable about the situation." Sources said that private equity firm IG4 Capital was working on a rival bid to acquire Braskem's majority stake. It aims to consolidate Novonor Bank's debt and exchange them for Braskem Shares. The shares of Braskem rose by 2.4% during the afternoon trading, nearly matching Brazil's benchmark index Bovespa which rose around 2.5%. Reporting by Luciana Araujo and Gabriel Araujo. Isabel Teles is the writer. Mark Potter, Alistair Bell and Isabel Teles edited the work.
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The US corn crop is projected to be the highest in 2025, but disease may affect yields
Pro Farmer, a crop consultancy, said that U.S. growers will also reap a bumper soybean crop, although dry conditions in parts of the eastern Midwest and pockets of disease pressure in Iowa may limit yield potential. Pro Farmer, which conducted its annual four-day trip across seven of the top-producing states, said that growers can also expect a bumper crop of soybeans, despite dry conditions in some parts of eastern Midwest, and pockets of disease in Iowa. The United States ranks as the top corn exporter in the world and is ranked No. The United States is the world's No. 2 soybean exporter. Favorable weather conditions in many of the major growing states helped support crops, but also pushed prices down to multi-year lows. Warm and moist conditions, which favored crop growth, also bred fungal diseases, such as southern rust, northern blight, and tar spot in corn. Sudden death syndrome is a fungal disease that affects soybeans. "We've been noticing the disease pressure on corn every day. We've never seen tar spot and southern rust so widespread. Lane Akre is a Pro Farmer economist who was one of the tour leaders for the eastern leg. Pro Farmer estimated that the U.S. will produce a record 16,204 billion bushels of corn in 2025, with a yield average of 182.7 bushels/acre. The soybean production is projected at 4.246 trillion bushels with a yield average of 53.0 bushels/acre. The forecast is lower than the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest forecast. Corn production will reach a record of 16.742 billion Bushels, with average yields of 188.8 Bpa. Soybean production will be 4.292 billion Bushels, with average yields of a record 53.6 Bpa. SICKNESS IN FIELD This week, crop scouts from the Pro Farmer Tour saw more diseased fields than usual across the Midwest farming belt. However, it is still not clear if these diseases will result in significant yield losses. One stop in the northwest Illinois The corn field looked healthy and green when viewed from the roadside. But 30 to 40 feet in, the leaves were streaked in rust. This left the crop scouts splattered with color. Bright yellow crop dusters sprayed white plumes from their wide-banked, low-banked crop dusters. Jake Guse is a Minnesota The eastern leg of the tour was a tour for row crop farmers and crop scouts. Many crop scouts said that the disease levels on this tour were the worst they had ever seen. As we travelled across Indiana We started to see more (disease). Guse stated that the situation in Illinois began to deteriorate, and spread throughout Iowa. Crop scouts found that there were also exceptional yield prospects, which could cushion any yield decline due to disease. USDA data shows that the strong production prospects are not welcome news for farmers who face a third consecutive year of falling corn prices because of excess supplies, and only a slight improvement in soybean prices. While trade tensions with key market like The top soybean importer has left the demand for soybeans uncertain. USDA data shows that while the USDA predicts that the farm economy of the United States will improve by 2025, this boost will be largely due to a massive federal funding influx that the Trump Administration plans to send rural America. The Chicago Board of Trade corn and soybean futures firmed up this week after reports from the crop tour indicated that USDA's recent harvest forecasts could be too high. The benchmark CBOT November corn contract finished the week with a 1.5% gain, marking its first weekly increase in five weeks. Meanwhile, November soybeans rose by 1.5% to a new one-month high.
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North Dakota oil production will rise in August, as operators return to reduced output, says state regulator
The state regulator announced on Friday that oil production in North Dakota will increase in August, as operators bring some production back online they had curtailed earlier this year after oil prices fell. Last quarter, oil prices dropped to multi-year lows after U.S. president Donald Trump announced a list of tariffs on April. This led operators in the U.S.to reduce their rig count. In May and June certain operators curtailed production in the State due to the low prices. Nathan Anderson, Director of the North Dakota Department Of Mineral Resources, said that the Department of Mineral Resources believed that the curtailed production would be coming online in the months of August and July. U.S. crude oil futures recovered some of the losses they suffered last quarter. They bounced back to $63.40 per barrel on Friday, after hitting around $57 a barrel on May 5. This was their lowest level since February 2021. "Given the frac crews and completion numbers in summer, I expect to see a significant increase in oil production levels for July. August numbers have been fairly consistent with July's numbers." Justin Kringstad is the director of North Dakota Pipeline Authority. He said, "I do expect two good months to come." The state regulator reported that there are 29 active rigs currently in North Dakota. This is the same as July. The frac crew number is now at 14, compared to 13 in July. North Dakota is the third-largest oil producing state. The latest monthly data released by the North Dakota Industrial Commission shows that oil production increased 39,000 barrels a day in June to reach 1.15 million bpd. (Reporting and editing by Susan Fenton in Houston, Georgina McCartney from Houston)
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Chile's Codelco lowers its production forecast and posts a pre-tax profit decline
Codelco Chile, the world’s largest copper producer and the country’s biggest exporter, lowered Friday its production guidance for 2025 following an accident in its flagship El Teniente Mine, as well as reporting lower pre-tax profits in the first six months of the year. The miner expects to produce 1,34-1,37 million metric tonnes of copper in 2025. This is down from the March estimate of 1,37-1,40 million tons. Codelco’s production hit a quarter century low in 2023. The company has struggled to compensate for old deposits and delays with major expansion projects. The accident that occurred on July 31, at El Teniente mine, Codelco’s most profitable one, was a major blow. It forced the shutdown of mining and smelting for several days, and resulted in a loss 33,000 metric tonnes of copper, which is equivalent to $340 millions. Codelco warned on Friday that there could be further delays in the mine's ramp-up, stating that the sector still in the process of ramping up "needs to be revised" following the accident which affected the new Andesita Unit. The accident also caused the company to delay its financial results announcement for the first six months of the year originally scheduled for August 1. Codelco reported a pre-tax profit between January and June of $429 millions, down 34% on the $653million recorded in the same period a year ago. The state-owned mining company reported its own production totaled 634,00 metric tons. This is an increase of 9% compared to the same period in 2013. (Reporting and editing by Fabian Cambero, Daina Beth Solon; Sarah Morland).
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Source: Canada will remove many of the retaliatory duties on US goods
Sources familiar with the situation say that Canada will announce Friday it is removing retaliatory duties on U.S. products as a gesture of goodwill to restart stagnated trade talks. Source who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the situation said that Canadian tariffs will continue for the time being on U.S. steel, aluminum and autos. The Prime Minister Mark Carney will hold a press briefing at 16:00 GMT (12:00 Eastern Time) on Friday. News helped extend the Canadian dollar's gains. By 11:05 am, it was up by 0.5% to C$1.3837 per U.S. Dollar or 72.27 U.S. Cents. Canada and the United States have been in talks for several months about a new relationship on economics and security, but they are still far apart. Carney On Thursday, the U.S. president Donald Trump spoke to him for the first since June. His office described it as a productive discussion. Carney's Office did not respond to an inquiry for comment. Reporting by David Ljunggren, Editing by Chizu nomiyama
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Swiss bank Safra Sarasin fined 3 million francs for 'Car Washing' probe
The Swiss Attorney General has fined Swiss bank J. Safra Sarasin SA $4.3 million in a corruption and money-laundering case that lasted for years, involving Brazilian state oil company Petrobras. The highest Swiss prosecutor's office issued a statement in which it said that the bank settled with Petrobras - a claimant - for 16 million Swiss francs. It added that there was no need to pay any further compensation. Safra stated that the "ordinance" of the prosecutors does not represent an admission of guilt, or an acceptance of criminal or civil liability by the bank or its representatives. The statement stated that a former Safra Sarasin worker was sentenced to six months of custody with a suspension for money laundering crimes committed between November 2011, and July 2014, while working for another Swiss Bank, totaling $29.2 millions. It added that the money laundering against which Safra failed to take action around that time totalled $71 million. The statement said that the investigation covered several accounts at Safra, which were used to pay bribes to senior executives of Petrobras in order to secure contracts for 10 companies from the oil and construction sector. In 2019, the prosecutors began their investigation. The prosecution of the "Operation Car Wash" scheme has led to the arrest and imprisonment of the former Brazilian president Luiz inacio Lula da So, among other people. In Brazil, more than 130 businessmen and politicians have been found guilty. The prosecutor added that the fine is based on the corrective actions that the bank took since and that all parties have stated that they won't appeal the penalty.
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Scientist warns that hurricane risk to Gulf Coast is increasing 20 years after Katrina
A new study warns that the Gulf Coast of America is becoming increasingly vulnerable to hurricanes. This comes 20 years after Katrina destroyed New Orleans and hundreds of kilometers of coastline. Marc Bove is a German Reinsurer Munich Re meteorologist who warned that with time, the likelihood of major hurricanes making landfall in the area will increase and the effectiveness post-Katrina of flood defense systems would diminish. Katrina, the worst hurricane to ever hit the United States, made its debut in August 2005. It began in Florida, then intensified when it reached the Gulf of Mexico. The storm caused nearly 1,400 fatalities and a total of $205 billion, inflation-adjusted, in damage. "The hurricane risk is increasing, and it's not just in the Gulf area." Bove told. Bove stated that today's Katrina would cost more, and not just due to inflation. The flood protections in New Orleans will gradually erode due to rising sea levels and sinking ground levels. (Reporting and writing by Alexander Huebner, editing by Rachel More).
Brazilian energy auction to generate $1 Billion in investment
Aneel, the Brazilian regulator of electricity, said that Brazil's first auction focusing exclusively on small and medium dams would generate investments worth around 5.5 billion Reis ($1 billion).
Aneel said that the auction resulted in 815 Megawatts (MW) capacity and included 65 plants with a maximum of 50 MW per plant.
According to auction rules, these projects, which may include new plants or extensions of existing plants, are contracted for 20 years and will start supplying power in January 2030.
At an event in Brasilia the Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira noted that smaller hydroelectric plants have a limited impact on environment.
Silveira stated that Brazil could expand its hydro power from major dams. Silveira said that he had spoken to President Luiz inacio Lula da So about moving ahead with new large hydroelectric projects after Brazil signed an agreement with Bolivia for the Madeira River project, located in the Amazon region.
Brazil has stopped building large-scale hydroelectric plants after Belo Monte. This project was controversial because of its impact on the Amazon region and Indigenous communities.
(source: Reuters)