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Donald Trump, the U.S. President, said that the deadline of Tuesday for Iran to reach a peace agreement is final. He called Iran's "peace proposal" significant but not enough. Trump warned that U.S. troops would launch a broad attack on Iranian infrastructure in the event his deadline of Tuesday night is not met. Iran rejected Trump's Tuesday deadline. "They made a proposal, and it is a significant one. This is a major step. "It's not good enough," Trump said to reporters at an Easter Egg event on the South Lawn of the White House. The war could be over very...

Brent futures extended gains following a'record monthly % increase in March. Middle East volatility continued to keep markets jittery, despite reports suggesting that the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran could be coming to an end. Brent front-month contract for June rose $1.40 or 1.4% to $105.37 a barrel at 0430 GMT. Brent logged a monthly gain record of 64% in march, according to LSEG's data dating back to June 1998. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), crude futures for the month of May increased by $1.59 or 1.6% to $102.97 per barrel. Brent futures for June delivery recovered some...

Here are some company news and stories that could impact the markets in France or Benelux. ECB/VILLEROY : According to the Italian newspaper La Stampa, France's central bank chief Francoisvilleroy de Galhau, the?European Central Bank aims to stop any inflation caused by energy. However, it is still too early to talk about dates for interest rate increases. France/Israel: According to a German Foreign Office statement, the foreign ministers from Germany, France, Italy, and Britain have urged Israeli lawmakers to drop a bill that would allow the death penalty to be imposed in Israel. HAL TRUST HAL Trust, a Dutch investment...

Investors tend to raise money first, and then ask questions. Investors who are aware of this phenomenon will not have a problem. It's a great opportunity. Gold dropped by nearly 4% in the four days following the first U.S./Israeli strike on Iran. So did European defence stocks. It seems strange. Gold has been historically a safe investment in turbulent times. Conflicts are usually the driving force behind military equipment demand. This is due to investor positioning, or more specifically, crowded trading. Many fund managers will execute a “program trade” to de-risk quickly and mechanically in order to raise money when...

The markets overshoot. And the recent dramatic increase in "bets" on higher interest rates due to the Middle East energy crisis is just the latest example: the move is logical but its magnitude is questionable. The Iran?war is not over and the markets are still 'in flux' as the dust settles after one of the most busy central bank weeks of recent years. Rates traders may want to take a pause and reevaluate. The abrupt change in global rates reflects concerns about the short-term impact on inflation of the soaring prices for oil and gas. Federal Reserve now has a...

The antitrust regulator of the South American country has given the green light to a joint mining plan between Codelco and Anglo American for the Andina Los Bronces project. Chile is the top copper producer in the world. Anglo American is one of the major operators in this Andean nation. Codelco said that the project is progressing with the regulatory approval process. The project has already been approved by competition watchdogs from China, Brazil and South Korea. The remaining steps are the acquisition of environmental permits, creation of the joint entity and consultations within the local community. Codelco and Anglo...

The markets overshoot and the recent dramatic increase in bets placed on higher interest rates due to the Middle East energy crisis is the latest example: although the move was logical, its magnitude remains questionable. The Iran War shows no signs of stopping and the?markets are still in flux. Rates traders may need to take a break and re-evaluate. The abrupt change in global 'rate outlook' reflects concerns about the short-term impact on inflation of the soaring prices for oil and gas. Federal Reserve now has a higher probability of raising U.S. interest rates in this year rather than cutting...

The British government announced on Monday that the Iranian ambassador in the UK was summoned. Last week, an Iranian national and a British-Iranian dual citizen were arrested on suspicion of aiding Iran's spy services. Two men were accused in a London Court last week of 'being involved in gathering information from Iranian spy services and conducting reconnaissance of Jewish targets within?Britain over a five-week period in the summer of last year. The British Foreign Office said that "national security is our number one priority and we take the threats posed by Iran and those who follow its orders 'extremely serious."...

The Italian competition regulator imposed a fine on Monday of 4 million euro ($4.6 million) against online review platform Trustpilot, and its subsidiaries for failing to verify reviews' authenticity and misleading consumers regarding the services they offer. Italian Competition Authority said that the 'platform's collection of reviews allowed businesses to choose which consumers would receive review invitations, thereby reducing the representationalness of published ratings. This was true even when the reviews were labeled as "verified". Trustpilot issued a statement saying that it "strongly disagrees with the conclusions reached in this finding of?the AGCM" (regulator). We will appeal it vigorously." The...

Keir starmer, the Prime Minister of Britain, called a national meeting to discuss the economic fallout from the war in Iran. The escalating conflict has led to the highest government borrowing costs since the 2008 global crisis. Early this week, the storm on financial markets intensified after Iran threatened to strike energy and water systems in Gulf countries if U.S. president Donald Trump followed through with his threat to attack Iran's electrical grid. Britain's dependence on imported gas, high inflation, and stretched public finances has pushed government bonds to a steeper decline than their international counterparts. The "Cobra" (a cabinet...

Reliance Jio Platforms, owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, is preparing to submit papers to seek regulatory approval for a 'Mumbai listing' in what will likely be the largest-ever stock offer?in India. Here are some facts and figures about Jio Platforms. It is the second largest?telecom service provider in terms of users, after China Mobile. TELECOM BUSINESS Reliance Jio Platforms, a division of Ambani's oil to retail conglomerate Reliance Industries, is the unit that manages Reliance Jio Platforms. Reliance Jio Infocomm is its most well-known business. It has more than 500,000,000 subscribers and is the largest telecom company in the...

South African coal miner Thungela Resources announced a?loss? for the full year on Monday. Thermal coal exporter reported headline losses per share of $6.47 ($0.3752) for the year ended December 31. This compares to headline earnings per shares of $25.59 rand in the previous year. Thungela’s revenue dropped 17% in 2025 to 29,6?billion Rand, due to lower benchmark coal prices and a stronger South African currency exchange rate against the U.S. Dollar. In 2025, the international thermal coal market will be depressed primarily due to the weak demand from China and India, two of the largest coal-consuming nations. Thungela stated...

Copper prices fell on Thursday for the first time in five sessions, as investors grew more concerned about economic growth following Donald Trump's promise to continue a flurry of strikes on Iran. Open outcry official activity on the London Metal Exchange showed that benchmark three-month copper was down 1.6% to $12,235.50 a metric tonne. The metal is considered to be a bellwether of the global economy and was expected to finish the Easter holiday-shortened weekend up 0.4%, after a run of four consecutive daily gains. "Copper is trading like a risk asset that's sensitive to macroeconomics, moving in line with...

Here are some company news and stories that could have an impact on markets in France and Benelux or individual stocks. RENAULT Jean-Dominique Senard, Chairman of the French automaker Renault Group, will not seek to continue his term in spring 2027. This was confirmed by a source familiar with the matter on Wednesday. AIRBUS SE Airbus, the aerospace manufacturer, has announced a new subsidiary that combines Skywise digital and Navblue into a single entity. KERING SA Kering, the owner of Gucci, announced on Wednesday that it had struck a deal with Qatar's Al-Mirqab Group in which they would?sell? an 80%...

The Iranian war has tightened global supply, boosting margins and some forecasts of flat shipments have been revised higher. Before the war, the Gulf supplied roughly 9% of all global supplies. However, the Strait of Hormuz has closed most of this supply. Iran's recent attack on two of the largest aluminium smelters in the region has increased the risk of a shortage even if waterway is reopened. It's going to be difficult for damaged aluminium production lines to recover quickly, which will lead to some orders flowing to China. Kiki Xi is an analyst with Aize China and said that...

The copper price rose on Wednesday, reaching its highest level in the past two weeks amid hopes that the Iran war may be nearing an end. Open-outcry official trading on the London Metal Exchange saw benchmark three-month copper rise 0.2% to a metric ton of $12,365 after hitting $12,492.50 - its highest level since March 18. This was copper's fourth consecutive session of gains. However, it is still far below the record high of $14,527.50 that was reached on January 29, 2017. Ole Hansen is the head of commodity strategy for Saxo Bank, Copenhagen. "The market wants us to believe...

Emirates Global Aluminium’s Al Taweelah plant in the United Arab Emirates has halted its operations following a?Iranian missile and drone attack that damaged a power?plant on Saturday, Wood 'Mackenzie' said in a Wednesday research note. Wood Mackenzie said that the smelter of Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), which was also attacked on Saturday, had "suffered significant damage and will operate with an estimated utilization?of 30 percent". EGA and Alba said that they would be assessing damage to their sites at the weekend, but did not specify what was affected. The Wood Mackenzie report on the current conflict in the Middle East and...

Topps Tiles, a British tile retailer, announced on Wednesday it would close 23 underperforming stores as part of cost-savings measures. The goal is to boost medium-term profits amid a weakening demand. Topps Tiles, for example, has seen their sales volume and revenue grow as a result of a slowdown in home improvement and DIY. The UK's largest tiling retailer reported a 0.1% drop in revenue for the first half of this year, to?142.7million pounds ($189.31million). The company's?initiatives will?have an impact on revenue but it is focusing on measures that support profitability. Alex Jensen, Chief Executive Officer of the company, said...

Aluminum prices rose on Tuesday. They were near their four-year highs and poised to make the biggest monthly gain since?almost 2 years. This was due to fears that a supply shortage would continue after Iranian strikes over the weekend damaged some of the Gulf's key smelters. The benchmark 'three-month' aluminum on the London Metal Exchange increased 2.1% by 1600GMT to $3,471.50 per metric ton, after earlier reaching $3,536, which was its highest level since March 12. Metal prices are up 10.6% in March. The attacks on Iran damaged two aluminum plants in the Gulf region operated by Aluminium Bahrain, and...

Savannah Resources, a London-listed company, is speeding up work on its 'lithium project' in Portugal. The CEO,?Emanuel Proenca, said that the company was confident of being able to?become globally competitive, and reduce Europe’s dependence on Chinese supplies for the metal used to make?batteries. Resources at the Barroso deposit in northern Portugal, a lithium bearing mineral, were increased in September from 28 to 39 million tons. This was already Europe's biggest deposit. Proenca stated that 'potential extensions between 35 and 62 millions metric tonnes could push resources above 100 million metric tonnage, more than doubling the mine lifespan projected to more...

Sources with direct knowledge of the matter reportedly said on 'Tuesday that Tether had?let go? two senior precious metals trader?it hired only three months earlier from HSBC. El Salvador-headquartered Tether cut the roles as spot gold prices headed for their steepest monthly drop since the 2008 financial crisis, pressured by fading expectations of rate cuts and rising energy costs amid the war in ?Iran. Tether holds about 130 metric tonnes of physical gold backing their products by the end of 2025. CEO Paolo Ardoino told in January that they also planned to allocate 10-15% of their own investment portfolio to...

BRCK Group's shares soared more than 24 percent on Tuesday, after the UK-based construction materials supplier announced that it had rejected a 65-pence-per share takeover?approach by U.S. private-equity firm Atlas Holdings last week. The group claimed that its board unanimously rejected the non-binding offer of cash on 23 March, saying that it fundamentally undervalued?the?company. Atlas stated that BRCK board will only provide limited additional information. While it will'review what is shared,' it doubts such minimal details will 'allow it to confirm a proposal. LSEG data shows that the proposal valued BRCK (which distributes bricks and roofing tiles, as well as...

European shares rose in choppy trade on Monday, as energy stocks rose. Investors awaited the inflation data that would be released by Germany, the largest economy of the euro zone, which could shed light on the impact the Middle East War has had on the Eurozone. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.2% to 576.55 as of 0938 GMT after two consecutive days of losses. The European stock index is down 9% this month, and will likely have its biggest monthly drop since March 2020. Michael Hewson is a senior analyst at iForex and expects that European stocks will...

European shares were little changed on Monday, ahead of a local inflation report. Investors also continued to watch the Middle East conflict that has impacted global markets. As of 0809 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index was flat at 574.98. Defense sector was the worst hit with a 0.8% drop. The focus is on Germany's CPI data and HICP numbers due later in the day, to gauge the effect of the war on Europe’s largest economy. The Middle East conflict has pushed oil prices higher, causing inflation fears. This is pushing Europe's STOXX600 toward its steepest drop since March 2020....