United Kingdom

TotalEnergies announced on Monday that it would merge its British North Sea oil assets with NEO NEXT Energy. This is a partnership between Spain’s Repsol, and HitecVision. Total said that it would take a 47.5% share in the renamed NEO NEXT+ as a trade for its assets. The company made the announcement in a Monday statement. Repsol will have a 23.625% stake in the venture while HitecVision holds the remaining 28.875%. The statement stated that NEO NEXT+ will have a production capacity of over 250,000 barrels oil equivalent per day by 2026. This deal is part of a recent trend...

In an auction of crude oil held by the state-run PPSA on Thursday, a consortium of Petrobras (Petroleum) and Shell (Shell) secured two offshore fields in Brazil's Tupi & Atapu oilfields. The consortium was the sole bidder at the auction. It offered 7.79 billion reais (1.47 billion dollars) for the Tupi region, which is 2% higher than the minimum price. For the Atapu region, it offered 1 billion reais, or 16% more. The Mero field's third area did not receive any bids. The auction included stakes in fields that were already producing oil but had not been contracted. This gave...

Two sources with knowledge of the matter claim that Bernd Bergmair (former majority owner of adult entertainment group Pornhub) has approached the U.S. Treasury to buy international assets from sanctioned Russian oil giant Lukoil. As part of its efforts to press Moscow to end the war in Ukraine, the U.S. imposed Sanctions on Lukoil - Russia's largest private oil producer. Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and other oil giants have approached U.S. authorities to get permission to speak to Lukoil. Bergmair, through his lawyer, declined to say which assets he is interested in. He also refused to confirm whether he has already...

TAE Technologies is a private company that has been backed by Alphabet, Google, and Chevron. On Tuesday, it announced a joint venture to develop neutral beams in nuclear fusion with the United Kingdom’s nuclear agency. The UK Atomic Energy Authority has agreed to invest 5.6 million Euros ($6.50 Million) as equity in a new venture, TAE Beam UK. Nuclear fusion, a new technology, aims to harness the same process that powers our sun in order to produce electricity. It promises a vision of unlimited energy, free from pollution, radioactive waste and greenhouse gases. Nuclear technology is a growing industry, and...

U.S. officials and Ukrainian officials had what both sides described as productive talks about a Russia-Peace Deal on Sunday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed optimism about the progress made despite challenges in ending the war that has lasted more than three years. Rubio met a Ukrainian delegation headed by a newly appointed chief negotiator at his home in Florida. He said the talks were to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. Rubio, after the end of the talks, told reporters that "we continue to be realistic about how difficult this situation is but optimistic." "It's about securing Ukraine’s...

The Information reported Sunday that Databricks, a data analytics company, is in discussions to raise $5 billion. This would be at a valuation $134 billion. That's roughly 32 times the expected sales for this year of $4.1 billion. Investor documents and someone familiar with the situation were cited. Could not verify the report immediately. Databricks declined comment. The Information reported that Databricks increased its sales forecasts from $3.8 billion in September to $4 billion before slightly revising them upwards again. It expects sales growth of 55% in this year. The Information reported that the company told investors at the same...

The oil price steadied Thursday as traders weighed the impact of Western sanctions on Russian supply against the talks to end Ukraine's war. Trading was expected to be thin because of the U.S. holiday Thanksgiving. Brent crude futures increased 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $63.22 a barrel as of 1102 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude futures increased 19 cents, or 0.3%, to $58.84 a barrel. Steve Witkoff, U.S. ambassador to Russia and other senior U.S. officials will travel to Moscow with Russian leaders next week for discussions on a potential plan to end the nearly 4-year-old conflict in Ukraine....

The government announced on Wednesday that it will allow oil and natural gas to be produced on existing fields or in close proximity to them, but with certain conditions. It also shattered the hopes of oil and gas producers for an early termination of windfall tax on their sector. During its election campaign in 2024, the Labour government pledged to stop issuing new oil and natural gas licenses. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announced that the move on Wednesday allows the government the option to issue new oil and natural gas licenses, if the licences do not...

The author of the report that plunged BBC into crisis claimed the broadcaster wasn't "institutionally bias" but had editorial flaws. He hoped his criticisms could help to fix these. Michael Prescott, former external editorial advisor, has compiled a dossier of issues at BBC News. This includes allegations of bias regarding its coverage of the Israel/Hamas conflict and trans issues. The leaked report led to the resignations by Director General Tim Davie, and Deborah Turness as head of news, as well as a threat from Trump to sue up to $5 billion. This plunged the public broadcaster in its worst crisis...

The author of the report that plunged BBC into crisis claimed the broadcaster wasn't "institutionally bias" and had hoped to improve things with his criticisms. Michael Prescott, former editorial advisor, has compiled a dossier of issues at BBC News. This includes allegations of bias regarding its coverage of the Israel/Hamas conflict and trans issues. Leaked reports led to the resignations by Tim Davie, Director General, and Deborah Turness as head of news, and Trump threatened to sue the broadcaster for up to five billion dollars. This was the biggest crisis the public broadcaster has faced in decades. Prescott said to...

Investors said that BHP should focus on its own growth strategy and move away from Anglo American, following the Australian firm's last minute appeal to the London listed company, which is close to a $60 billion deal with Canada's Teck Resources. In recent days, the world's biggest miner contacted Anglo's board to determine if there was any interest in a merger. This was reported by Sunday. BHP announced on Monday that it would not pursue the bid, but instead focus its efforts on growth. The decision to leave comes before the votes of Teck and Anglo shares - scheduled for...

Investors said that BHP should focus on its own growth strategy and move away from Anglo American, following the Australian firm's last minute appeal to the London listed company, which is close to a $60 billion deal with Canada's Teck Resources. In recent days, the world's biggest miner contacted Anglo's board to determine if there was any interest in a merger. This was reported by Sunday. BHP announced on Monday that it would not pursue the bid, but instead focus its efforts on growth. The decision to leave comes before the votes of Teck and Anglo shares - scheduled for...

Gold ?edged down on Tuesday as investors, having mostly priced ?in ?a Federal Reserve rate cut, looked ahead for clues that the U.S. central bank might opt for a gentler-than-expected easing cycle when its two-day policy meeting begins later in the day. As of 0609 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.3% at $4,174.91 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for delivery in December fell 0.4% to $4.202.70 an ounce. Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst at OANDA, said that investors are largely repositioning themselves ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting. During his press conference earlier in the month, Jerome Powell signaled...

The price of gold was flat on Tuesday, as investors had already priced in a Federal Reserve rate cut. They were also preparing for signs that the U.S. Central Bank may adopt a more moderate easing cycle than expected at its two-day meeting beginning later that day. As of 0444 GMT, spot gold was flat at $4,189.17 an ounce. U.S. Gold futures for December delivery were flat at $4.218.50 an ounce. Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst at OANDA, said that investors are repositioning themselves largely ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy-setting meeting. Powell had given a hawkish rate cut guidance...

BHP, a global miner, announced on Friday it had taken delivery of two electrical haul trucks for a trial to begin at its Jimblebar Iron Ore Mine in Australia's Pilbara. The truck trials are intended to reduce diesel consumption and greenhouse gas emission. BHP stated that the battery-electric trial, in partnership with Rio Tinto, and Caterpillar industrial equipment manufacturer, aims to test whether the technology can be used as an alternative for diesel in large-scale mining operations of iron ore. BHP stated that after the trial, miners will independently determine the progress they have made towards scaling up trials in...

The UK's FTSE 100 rose on Thursday as investors assessed corporate updates and data that suggested potential weakness. Burberry also gained following an HSBC increase in price target on the luxury goods manufacturer. The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.1% at 11:15 GMT Thursday, and the midcap FTSE 250 gained 0.3%. The S&P Global monthly purchasing managers' Index showed that British construction activity has contracted at the fastest rate since May 2020. The employment index fell to its lowest level since August 2020, as the pace of job losses accelerated. The survey's measure of optimism fell to a three-year low. Cost...

The UK stock market rose on Wednesday as financials and mining stocks gained, after Finance Minister Rachel Reeves unveiled a large tax-raising budget. The blue-chip FTSE 100 posted its best day for two weeks, closing 0.9% higher. The domestically-focused FTSE 250 rose 1.2%. It was its best day for more than a week. Reeves' budget will increase the tax burden on workers, pensioners and investors in order to meet her borrowing target. Release First reported by The Office for Budget Responsibility reported that the remaining headroom in five years would be approximately 22 billion pounds (28,9 billion dollars). UK 30-year...

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,...

UK stocks rose on Wednesday led by financials and mining shares, as investors prepared for a tax-heavy budget. Blue-chip FTSE 100 gained 0.2% at 10:55 GMT. The domestically focused FTSE 250 rose by 0.3%. Gold prices reached a two-week high following positive U.S. data that reinforced expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut in the next month. Hochschild grew 4.4%, Endeavour Mining rose 3.6% and Fresnillo gained 3.9%. Copper prices rose, causing industrial miners to gain about 1%. Anglo American rose by 1.4%, while Antofagasta grew by 1.8%. After media reports that tax increases in the budget would be reduced,...

The UK will stockpile critical minerals as part of its defence procurement plans and is expecting that lithium processing projects in Northern England will begin within the next couple of years, in an effort to reduce its dependence on China. The government announced its critical minerals strategy, last week. It set a target to meet 10% domestic demand by UK mining, and 20% by recycling, by 2035. This was backed up by funding of up to 65.58 million pounds. To reduce the risk in the supply chain, it is also hoped that no more than 60 percent of any mineral...

BHP Group announced on Monday that it has decided to abandon its pursuit of a possible merger with Anglo American following preliminary discussions with Anglo American's board. The company stated that it believes a tie up would have created value for its stakeholders and offered "strong strategic benefits". However, it added that the strength of their own organic growth strategy remains strong. BHP tried to take over Anglo for $49 billion last year. However, the target refused multiple offers and BHP withdrew. BHP should assess the possibility of selling such assets. It does seem a bit messy on the BHP's...

A union official announced on Friday that American Industrial Partners, an investment firm based in the United States, plans to sell or list Aluminium Dunkerque on the stock exchange, France's biggest aluminium plant. Johan Vlietinck told CGT that the local management had informed the workers of AIP’s plan. Bloomberg News reported earlier that AIP considered a sale or listing of Aluminium Dunkerque. The company acquired the property four years ago after GFG Alliance defaulted on its debts. GFG Alliance is owned by commodities tycoon Sanjeev Gupta. A spokesperson from AIP France stated that the fund did not deny the reports...

The competition for essential minerals has now reached the lowest part of the metal supply chain. Maros SEFCIOVIC, EU Trade chief, says that aluminium scrap is a strategic commodity. Over a million tons of aluminium scrap is exported from the EU every year. Sefcovic, the European Commission's Director of Communications and Public Affairs, described this as "a measure that is balanced" in order to keep more recyclable materials in Europe. The industry association European Aluminium blames the United States for the price differential created by the country's import duties, which is causing more European scraps to be exported to the...

Rio Tinto, Australia's largest alumina refinery company, announced on Tuesday that it would cut production at its Yarwun plant in Queensland by 40 percent starting October of next year. This will extend the life of the plant to 2035 while allowing time for modernization. Under current production rates, Yarwun’s tailings storage facility, which is used to store mining waste, will reach full capacity in 2031. The company said it had looked into options for a new tailings facility but that the required investment was "substantial" and "not currently economically viable." Rio Tinto stated that the reduction will affect around 180...