United States

The government removed the consumer carbon tax that was in place since 2019 on Tuesday, resulting in a sharp drop of gasoline prices across Canada. Mark Carney, Canada's new Prime Minister, signed an order removing the Justin Trudeau era consumer carbon taxes on his first official day in office. He declared that the decision will help Canadians who are struggling to make ends meet. The Conservatives had been campaigning against the tax for years. GasBuddy, a fuel market tracker, reported that fuel prices in eight provinces fell by more than six cents a litre after taxation was officially ended on...

Energy Information Administration of the United States reported on Wednesday that the U.S. produced a greater amount of uranium concentrat, which is used as fuel for nuclear reactors, during the final three months in 2024 than in any other quarter over the past six years. The EIA reported that the increase in output was due to higher uranium prices and the restart of production at White Mesa Mill, the only uranium-producing mill in the United States. Why it's important Data centers, onshored production and electrification in buildings and transportation have all contributed to the rise of electricity demand in the...

The Russian central bank warned on Wednesday that U.S. tariff increases could slow world economic growth, fuel inflation and cause oil prices to be lower than expected for several years due to reduced global demand. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced "Liberation Day", a day of celebration in the United States. This would escalate a trade conflict with other countries, increase costs and threaten a decades-old trading order. The Russian regulator warned that "the increase in import duty in the USA, and the retaliatory actions by other countries, have increased the risks of a slowerdown in global growth and an...

The Dutch and British gas price fell on Wednesday morning, as the warmer weather forecasts reduced demand. Meanwhile, the market closely monitors Trump's "Liberation Day tariff plan". LSEG data shows that the Dutch front-month contract fell by 0.54 euros to 42.13 Euro per megawatt hour or $13.34/mmBtu at 0811 GMT. The Dutch day-ahead contracts was down by 0.72 euros at 41.95 Euro/MWh. The British day-ahead contracts was down 0.85 cents at 101.75p/therm. On Wednesday, U.S. president Donald Trump was ready to impose tariffs on all global trading partners. He would likely increase costs and invite retaliation. "Today's market could be...

EnerSys, a provider of energy services, announced on Tuesday that it will close its lead-acid manufacturing plant in Mexico due to flooding and move production to a US facility. The announcement coincides with the preparations of U.S. president Donald Trump to impose reciprocal duties on countries that impose tariffs on U.S. products, beginning on April 2, a day he has called "Liberation Day". A pre-tax charge in the amount of $20 million would be incurred in the first half 2025 due to the closure of the Monterrey plant in Mexico, and the subsequent transfer of production from that facility to...

Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland, said on Tuesday that a group of former leaders from around the world are urging Europe not to let trade wars or defence spending divert attention away from climate change issues. The Elders, the group created by Nelson Mandela as former South African president, will meet with EU and NATO in late this month to discuss ways to soften upcoming corporate climate disclosure regulations to address concerns about competitiveness. Robinson, Ireland's former president from 1990-97, said that she was concerned about the plans, but that the bloc has an opportunity to seize the leadership...

Barclays data shows that corporate agitators targeted more companies worldwide in the first quarter to increase pressure on them to improve their performance. The majority of these demands were directed towards U.S.-based corporations. Activist investors, such as Elliott Investment Management and Mantle Ridge, pushed companies like oil giant BP and rideshare company Lyft to make changes in the first quarter. The number of global campaigns grew by 17% and reached 70. The data revealed that the number of U.S. campaigns increased by 46%, to 41. Jim Rossman is the global head of shareholder advice at Barclays. He said: "Activists continue...

The plan of convenience store giants Couche-Tard & Seven & i to sell thousands of stores in North America, to reduce regulatory concerns before a possible merger, is being tested by rival bidders. According to several antitrust experts and people who are familiar with the situation, it is likely that the two store operators will struggle to attract offers from other convenience stores chains. They may be wary about their own antitrust risks from a potential deal. Seven & i is the owner of the 7-Eleven chain, which operates more than 12,000 convenience stores in the U.S. Sources said that...

These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. Chevron agreed to sell 70% of its East Texas Gas assets to TG Natural Resources for $525 Million as part its strategy to optimize the portfolio. Meta executives have asked U.S. officials in charge of trade to take action against a fine that is expected from the European Union and a cease-and-desist letter. SoftBank Group agreed to fund a for profit subsidiary of OpenAI with up to 40 billion dollars, which values the ChatGPT maker to $300...

Sources familiar with the plant's operations on Monday said that a fluidic catalytic cracked (FCC) in Motiva Enterprises refinery Port Arthur, Texas is expected to be closed for at least two weeks following a second failed restart attempt last weekend. On January 21, the unit called FCC3 and an alkylation was shut down for a planned two-month overhaul. FCCs transform gas oil into unfinished fuel, while alkylation systems convert refinery byproducts into components that are typically added to gasoline. Motiva didn't immediately respond to a comment request. Sources said that the second attempt to restart FCC3, which is capable of...

Analysts and traders claim that gold stocks in Comex storage facilities are likely to reach new records within the next few days, due to the possibility of tariffs preventing shipments from other countries to the United States. According to the latest data from Comex (part of CME group), gold in US warehouses has reached a record high of 43.3 millions troy ounces, worth $135 billion, compared with 17.1 in November, when Donald Trump became U.S. president. On Monday, spot gold prices soared to new highs of $3,100 an ounce. Bullion prices are up 19% this year, after a 27% increase...

The "Buy Canadian' movement has sent new waves of concern to the U.S. consumer companies who had hoped to sell their products in Canadian retail stores. Jessica Hung, CEO of California-based Parasol Co, said that the company has been working with a distributor since January to increase sales to new retailers, including convenience shops, in Canada. Hung said that the distributor, whom she declined to identify, had stopped working on the deal in early March due to the growing anti-American sentiment? Canada. Hung, referring the distributor, said that "they were instructed by a retail to pause any American-brand launch." They...

Mexico and Canada were spared new tariffs Wednesday, as President Donald Trump excluded the top US trading partners from his 10% global tariff baseline. Previous duties are still in place. Tariffs will not be applied to most goods from Mexico and Canada which comply with the USMCA agreement between the three nations, except for steel and aluminium and auto exports. Trump imposed tariffs of 25% on Mexico and Canada because they did not do enough to stop migration and the trafficking of fentanyl. However, he later announced a concession for USMCA-compliant goods. The White House fact sheet stated that "for...

Fed Governor Adriana Kulgler argued on Wednesday that rising tariffs could lead to a longer period of inflation than expected. She disputed the view that only imported goods would see an increase in price. Kugler stated that "there may be reasons" why tariffs cause a more lasting effect than merely a spike in the price for imported goods. New tariffs already implemented by President Donald Trump Target intermediate goods such as aluminum and steel. Kugler, speaking at an event held at Princeton University, said that "this will affect all sectors via supply chain networks...It might take longer to filter this...

U.S. president Donald Trump escalated the trade war by announcing on Wednesday that he would impose reciprocal duties to match duties placed on U.S. products by other countries. Trump told an audience in the White House Rose Garden that "it's our declaration" of independence. "We will set a minimum base tariff of 10%." The rates for China will be 34% while those for the European Union, Japan and Canada would be 20% and 24% respectively. S&P futures fell 3%, indicating that investors are expecting deep losses on Wall Street when it opens Thursday. S&P 500 Futures fell 3%. This suggests...

According to an analysis of tariff codes in a Federal Register notice published on Wednesday, President Donald Trump's auto tariffs of 25% will cover imports of nearly $600 billion of cars and auto parts annually. They also include all computer imports to the U.S. including laptops. Updated Trump's auto-tariff proclamation last week, it included almost 150 auto part categories that would be subject to tariffs beginning on May 3, one month after the 25% tariffs were activated on Thursday at midnight. List includes codes for major components such as engines, transmissions and lithium-ion battery, but also less expensive ones like...

Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he will impose a baseline 10% tariff on all imports into the United States, and higher duties for some of the biggest trading partners. This could lead to a trade conflict and upset the global economy. Countermeasures from trading partners could result in a dramatic increase in prices of everything, including bicycles and wine. SETH GOLDSTEIN MORNINGSTAR ANALYST FOR U.S. SETH GOLDSTEIN, MORNINGSTAR ANALYST ON U.S. "I expect lower volumes due to tariffs." Tariffs are likely to be passed on to the consumer in order to increase prices of products. "I expect that consumers...

Gold prices continued to rise on Wednesday, hovering near their all-time-highs. This was boosted by the inflows of safe-haven assets after U.S. president Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs which would escalate a global trade war. At 2053 GMT, spot gold was trading at $3129.46 per ounce. This is a 0.6% increase. U.S. Gold Futures closed 0.6% higher at 3,166.20. Tai Wong is an independent metals dealer. He said that the reciprocal tariffs were more aggressive than anticipated, and should result in asset market salesoffs as well as a lower dollar. Gold's prospects here are excellent, with $3.200 as the new...

The administration of U.S. president Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that the 25% tariffs on global cars and trucks will go into effect on Thursday as planned and that duties on imports of automotive parts will begin on May 3. In a Federal Register announcement that added details to Trump's proclamation on auto tariffs issued last week the White House instructed the Commerce Department within 90 days to set up a process for adding more parts, including those requested by domestic producers. According to the Federal Register, the 25% auto tariffs will take effect on Thursday at 12:01 am EDT....

On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced that it would impose a 25% duty on all beer imports. The beverage and empty aluminum aluminum cans will be added to a list containing derivative products which are subject to aluminum tariffs. In a Federal Register announcement, the Commerce Department stated that duties on beer will be collected at 12:01 am EDT Friday, April 4, starting with empty aluminum cans. The notice reversing Trump's previous aluminum tariff changes only lists the tariff code for malted beer. The notice does not mention a subordinate tariff code for beer imported in glass bottles. The Commerce...

Unknown advisor to the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation is opposing a plan of President Donald Trump that would use it to increase domestic investment in mining production. Why it's Important: DFC is one of the world's leading sources of development financing. It has more than 50 billion dollars in portfolios of projects ranging from critical infrastructure to food, energy and health. Over 70% of this funding goes to low- and lower middle-income countries. Experts in development are worried that Trump's executive order of March 20, which invoked emergency power to boost domestic production of critical minerals and named DFC...

Analysts at JPMorgan estimate that more than a third (35%) of emerging market firms will be "significantly" affected by U.S. tariffs once they are implemented. Taking into account the possibility that Chinese and Mexican companies would be hard hit, they estimated that 36 percent of the over 750 firms in the closely watched CEMBI EM Corporate Debt Index by the bank would fall under this bracket. In that bracket, 16% of companies could experience a "significant impact". The 36% figure was described as "not negligible" by the analysts, although they did point out that over half of the companies in...

According to a Wednesday decree, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized Armenian investment firm Balchug Capital, to purchase shares held by Goldman Sachs Russian subsidiary, in nine major Russian companies, mainly in the energy sector. Balchug Capital, Goldman Sachs and other companies did not respond immediately to our requests for comments. Balchug Capital is The green light According to a separate order, the U.S. Bank will purchase Goldman Sachs’ subsidiary in Russia by January. This will allow the bank to exit the Russian market, and to extract some of the capital that is stuck there. Since the beginning of the Ukraine...

The gold price continued to rise on Wednesday after hitting a new record in the previous session. Investors sought comfort in the metal as they waited for the impact of U.S. tariffs. As of 0240 GMT, spot gold was up 0.7% to $3,131.25 per ounce. Bullion reached a record high of $3148.88 Tuesday. U.S. Gold Futures increased 0.4% to $3.159.90. The main reason behind these consecutive record highs is safe-haven purchasing, and the geopolitical uncertainties that underpin this show no signs of abating," said Philip Newman. Newman stated that a U.S. slowdown in economic growth, a potential increase in inflation...