Switzerland

Trafigura, a global energy trading company, has a plan to restore African woodlands. It has selected its first four projects for carbon removal and plans to invest at least $1 billion in each project over. The projects are part of the Miombo Restoration Alliance - a public-private partnership with 11 governments in central and southern Africa. They cover over 675,000 acres and aim to restore forests that will remove more than 50 million tons climate-damaging gasses. The alliance, which will be launched at New York Climate week?2024, aims to restore Miombo Woodlands, an eco-system that supports more than 300 million...

Trafigura, a trading house, has sold its first shipment of Venezuelan crude oil, as part of an agreement between Caracas, Venezuela, and Washington for the supply of 50 million barrels of oil. The Spanish refiner Repsol is expected to receive a shipment of this quantity. Two sources stated that the cargo should be delivered to Repsol by mid-February. Trafigura and Repsol have declined to comment. The agreement would be one of the first to sell Venezuelan oil in Europe since the United States captured Venezuela's leader at the beginning of this month, and struck an agreement with Caracas for the...

Sources in the industry said that Trafigura sold its first cargo of Venezuelan crude oil as part of a 50 million barrel supply agreement between Caracas, Washington and Spain. The shipment was taken by Spanish refiner Repsol. Two sources confirmed that the cargo will be delivered in Spain to Repsol in February. Trafigura did not respond immediately to a comment request. Repsol refused to comment. This deal marks the first time that Venezuelan oil has been sold to Europe since the United States seized?the South American nation's leader earlier this month, and struck agreements with Caracas for the export of...

Saudi Arabia's National Infrastructure Fund and Humain - the artificial intelligence company of the Kingdom - announced on Wednesday that they had reached a financing deal of up to $1.2 billion. The agreement is intended to'support the expansion' of AI and digital technology in the country. According to a press release, the agreement sets out non-binding terms of financing for the development up to 250 Megawatts of AI data centre capacity to support Humain’s customers. It was announced in Davos, Switzerland. As part of an 'overall effort' to diversify economic activity and income sources away from hydrocarbons, the world's largest...

BBVA is the only major bank in the world with a significant 'presence' in Venezuela. Its chairperson said that BBVA was well positioned to 'take advantage of the new business opportunities created by the U.S. intervening in the country which has the largest oil reserves in the world. Venezuela has an interim government since the United States captured Nicolas Maduro in early?this?month. The situation presents potential business opportunities for international banks. However, analysts have warned that there will still be many challenges. Carlos Torres, BBVA's Carlos Torres, told Expansion that if greater stability is achieved in the future, they will...

Economy Minister Faisal Al-Ibrahim said Saudi Arabia will hand over the scope of some Vision 2030 Projects to the private sector, as it adjusts timetables to avoid economic "overheating". Ibrahim stated in an interview conducted in Davos in Switzerland that the government was "agile" when managing its ambitious pipeline of development projects. He said some projects were rescoping, but maintained momentum in its Vision 2030 goals for economic transformation. Ibrahim stated on Monday that the private sector was ready and eager to participate. He added: "Recently some whole scopes of project were given to private sector with regulatory support and...

Next week, business and political leaders will be attending the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos to test their vision of a global economic order based on rules. The expected appearance of U.S. president Donald 'Trump' in the Swiss resort shows the difference between his agenda, and the consensus-driven approach taken by the?the?WEF. This organization has been criticized for years as a talk shop for the rich. His "America First' policy has resulted in trade tariffs as punishment, military interventions in Venezuela, a threat to take over Greenland with force, and the U.S. retreating from international cooperation on climate...

Next week, business and political leaders will be attending the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos to test their?vision for a global economic order based on rules. The expected appearance of U.S. president Donald Trump in the Swiss mountain resort highlights the difference between his agenda, and the consensus-driven approach taken by the WEF. It has been criticized for years that the WEF is just a rich people's talking shop. His "America First' policy has resulted in trade tariffs as punishment, military interventions in Venezuela, threats to take over Greenland and a retreat by the U.S. from international cooperation...

Commodities trading houses Trafigura &?Vitol agreed to provide marketing and logistical services for the sale of Venezuelan oil, at the request of?U.S. A Trafigura spokesperson confirmed this via email. First reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the discussions, that both companies were in negotiations with the U.S. Government for such deals. They were in competition with U.S. producers of oil and other commodities traders for lucrative deals to export Venezuelan oil. U.S. officials have said that they want to control Venezuelan Oil Sales Indefinitely After the U.S. captured South American country's president Nicolas Maduro Saturday. Richard Holtum, the Chief...

The companies announced on Friday that Gecamines, Congo's state-owned miner, is working with Swiss commodities group Mercuria in order to increase transparency and revenue for the world's largest cobalt producer. The Democratic Republic of Congo is also a major supplier of copper. It has undertaken reforms to gain more control over the mining output of its country and increase its global influence. In October, it introduced a cobalt export quota to reduce oversupply. Last month, the country launched its first batch traceable artisanal copper. Gecamines, based on the memorandum it signed earlier this summer, will have direct control over its...

The companies announced on Wednesday that Glencore, a Swiss miner and trader, and Chilean state-owned copper producer Codelco have signed a preliminary agreement to work together on a smelter in Chile. Codelco will provide the copper concentrate, and Glencore will build the smelter, which has a processing capacity of about 1.5 million tons per year, in Antofagasta in the northern part of Chile. Experts in the industry say that a project this large would require an investment of $1.5 billion - $2 billion. Glencore will carry out a feasibility study and the companies aim to finalize the agreement by the...

Local media reported that Bulgaria was drafting changes to its laws to allow it to take control of the Russian oil company Lukoil’s Burgas Refinery, which has been sanctioned by the U.S. Burgas, Bulgaria's sole oil refinery, was an important part of Lukoil’s international business empire. This began to crumble in recent days, after the U.S. and Britain imposed sanctions last month on Russia’s two largest oil firms over Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Mediapool, a Bulgarian outlet, reported the draft legislation on Wednesday. It would allow a special manager to supervise the sale of Burgas Oil Refinery. The owner, Lukoil,...

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is Ukraine's biggest steelmaker. It announced on Monday that it will close one production unit?in the 2nd quarter. The company cited EU environmental policies and high local power prices due to Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. The plant in Ukraine's south-east, approximately 70 km from the frontline, will close its blooming mill. This mill produces?billets to be used by the small-gauge mills and wire mills of the enterprise. The company stated that the introduction of the Carbon Border adjustment Mechanism by the European Union on?January 1, effectively closed the market for a significant part of Ukrainian metallurgical...

Global Commodities Holdings Ltd. (GCH), a UK-based company, launched the trading of premiums on physical nickel Thursday. The initial "nickel" product that was introduced last year did not gain much traction. GCH began trading nickel products at fixed prices last year, giving the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SFE) and London Metal Exchange an additional?venue. After a nickel shortage in 2022, the LME lost many of its users' confidence. However, LME nickel volume has recently recovered. GCH reported that fixed-priced Nickel trading was not popular, as participants were unable to hedge their price risks due to the lack of tools. The new...

The European share market was subdued Friday due to weakness in mining and luxury stocks. This marked a gloomy end to a week that had been dominated by?the beginning of a busy earning season along with geopolitical concerns. The pan-European STOXX 600 index finished at 614.38, while the luxury index fell 3.2%. This was its largest daily drop since early October. Richemont, one of the biggest losers, fell 5.4%, after BofA Global Research cut its recommendation for the Swiss jewellery firm to neutral from buy, and advised investors to "wait", citing inflated valuations following a recent rally. "European stocks are...

In 2025, precious metals outperformed all other "safe haven" investment options. This is remarkable, especially in an year that was marked by turmoil, conflict and artificial intelligence bubble concerns. The market landscape for this year was shaped by a number of factors: a booming economy, politicians pushing for easy money, fading recession fears, an AI frenzy, and rising geopolitical tensions. Precious Metals outperformed almost everything else. Silver and platinum have more than doubled and gold has risen over 60%. This is its biggest jump since 1979's oil crisis. This performance was far superior to the roughly 20% gain in global...

The following are the major factors that could affect Swiss stocks on Monday. HOLCIM The parties to the case reported on Monday that a court in Switzerland had decided to admit a lawsuit against Holcim, the Swiss cement manufacturer, which alleged the company was doing too little to reduce carbon emissions. The CEO of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche said on Saturday that the price of new drugs in Switzerland will be affected by the deals between 'pharmaceutical companies' and Washington, which aim to lower the prices of medicines?in the United States. Statements of Company * Novartis announced on Friday that...

Holcim announced on Tuesday that it had paid $550 million to acquire a majority stake in Cementos Pacasmayo in Peru, in order to expand the Swiss cement manufacturer's presence in South America. Holcim will take a 50.01 % stake in Cementos Pacasmayo in the deal, which values the Peruvian firm at $1.5 billion, including debt or $1.1 billion in equity value. According to the Peruvian law on takeovers, Holcim is required to offer more shares of the 'company and will likely increase its stake in the company, Holcim said. Cementos Pacasmayo expects sales of $630 millions for 2025, with a...

The United States Development lender announced on Friday plans to take a stake to market Congo minerals, which could give U.S. users of copper and cobalt the right to first refusal. The U.S. and China are in a heated competition to gain access to minerals that are crucial to the manufacture of everything from cars to iPhones. Congo has 72% of the world's cobalt reserves, and supplies 74% of that amount. Many of these mines are artisanal. The plans for investment were revealed a day after U.S. president Donald Trump hosted leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo...

Melanie Joly, Minister of Industry for Canada, announced on Wednesday that the merger between Anglo American Resources and Teck Resources would be subject to a review by Canada's national security agency. Joly said Ottawa will also make a final decision within the next few months. She told reporters via a teleconference that "the national security review of any transaction is always a part of the procedure... we are following the process." Teck shares were up 1% at midday in Toronto. Anglo American's shares closed Wednesday with a 2.4% gain at the London Stock Exchange. A proposed deal worth $53 billion,...

Residents of Pari Island sue Swiss Cement Maker Holcim Climate change is blamed for higher temperatures and warmer seas Indonesian coastline is being eroded by mangroves. By Leo Galuh The Women's Group of Pari Island is hoping that mangroves will protect its coastline from rising sea levels, tidal flooding, and stronger waves. Mangroves absorb greenhouse gases, which are harmful to the planet. The sea has changed. "It's hotter and rougher. It scares us," Asmania, a mom of three, said as she dug her hands in the sand below the shallow sea. Pari Island, near Jakarta's capital, is home to only...

ABB, the Swiss engineering group that has been restructured to focus on industrial automation and electrification, raised its profit margin target on Tuesday. The company is targeting an operating profit margin before interest, taxes and amortization of 18-22% in the next few year, up from 16-19%. ABB confirmed that it is on track to meet its sales targets. ABB's products are used in factories, buildings, mines, ports, and cruise ships to power them. ABB shares fell by 2.3% during pre-market trading. Analysts at Zuercher Cantonalbank stated that "there may have been higher expectation". ABB, based in Zurich, said it expects...

According to the Swiss government, a new trade framework agreement will allow the United States to reduce its tariffs from 39% on Swiss goods down from 15%. U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer had said that the U.S. "basically reached a deal" with Switzerland and would reveal details later on Friday. The Swiss government announced that it would soon announce details. Greer told CNBC that the deal will see Switzerland moving "a lot" of manufacturing to the United States, including pharmaceuticals, gold-smelting and railway equipment. We're excited about the deal, and what it means for American manufacturing. Greer stated that the...

On Friday, the U.N. Human Rights Council held a special session to discuss the situation in al-Fashir in Sudan. States will be considering a request for an investigation into the reported mass murders that occurred as the city of Darfur fell under paramilitary control. A draft resolution would include a fact-finding investigation to identify those responsible for alleged violations committed in al-Fashir by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allies. In his opening remarks to delegates, U.N. Human Rights Chief urged the international Community to Act. "There's been too much show and pretense, but too little action." "It must...