Western Europe

The U.S. economic system is experiencing a productivity boom, and it may even be spreading globally. Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to accelerate these trends. However, there are some early signs that AI's benefits may be spreading. The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), released on Friday, showed that British businesses have started the year off on a high note. Demand at home and abroad has been robust. This is the fastest growth in output since April 2024. The pace of job loss has also increased since December. Since late 2024, the sub-indices of employment in Britain's PMI have been below that...

The "Sell America' trade is back in the news, and even though it may quieten down after reports of U.S. president Donald Trump's possible Greenland deal it's safe to assume that it won't?go away. We've done this before. Last year, the term "de-dollarization", which was coined by Trump's tariffs-based trade war, became a buzzword. Investors were worried that they would reduce their exposure to U.S.-based assets. This?didn’t happen. U.S. Treasury official figures show that foreigners purchased a net of $1.27 trillion in U.S. Securities during the first eleven months of last year. This was primarily due to a flood of...

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...

Palantir's leaders announced that the U.S. tech company had clinched a contract to sell more software in South Korea, boosting its heavy industry work. A person with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday that Palantir will receive hundreds of millions over a period of several years. Palantir has declined to comment on the terms of the agreement. The companies held a signing at the office Palantir had set up in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum annual meeting. Palantir has expanded its work with HD Hyundai since 2021, when it began working with one of the largest shipbuilders...

Palantir's leaders announced that the U.S. tech company had signed a deal with HD Hyundai to increase its work in heavy industry in South Korea. A person with knowledge of the matter said that Palantir will receive hundreds of millions over several years. Palantir has declined to comment on the terms of the agreement. The companies planned to sign at the office Palantir had?set-up for?the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland this week. Palantir has expanded the work it began with HD Hyundai in 2021, one of world's biggest shipbuilders. The companies claim that since?then HD Hyundai has...

The latest trade war and foreign policy salvos from Donald Trump are upsetting the global markets. But the question is if these ructions escalate or disappear, like they did in the past 12 months. It is more likely that the latter scenario, but it is clear that investors struggle to accurately price the fundamental shifts of the geopolitical plates. The changes that have already occurred in 2026 will be truly astounding. The Trump administration removed Venezuela's leader, and it appears that he is now the de facto ruler of the Latin American nation. The threat of an American response is...

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...

Peter Magyar, the leader of Hungary's opposition party, has hired former Shell executive Istvan kapitany to fill a key economics position in his team. He is attempting to defeat Viktor Orban, the nationalist prime minister in upcoming elections. The campaigning for the 12th of April is focused on how to wake up the economy from its three-year sleep. Magyars' centre-right Tisza Party leads Fidesz by a wide margin in the majority of polls. However, many voters remain undecided. Kapitany is a former executive vice-president at Shell and a former Hungarian association president between 2020 and 2025. She said that the...

Bloomberg News reported on Friday that Swiss commodity trading group Mercuria had a profit last year of $1.3 billion, despite paying almost no taxes. Bloomberg, citing its accounts, reported that the company had reported taxation of $ 1?million? on its profit of $1.31?billion, which is an effective tax of 0.08%. Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that Mercuria, which is privately held, does not publish its results, but it recently shared its accounts for the year ending in September with lenders. Bloomberg reports that the company will prepare separate results for its calendar year ending in December. It will then finalize these...

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...

The nickel price has been on a rapid rise as investors bet that Indonesia, which is the world's biggest producer of battery metals, will slow down its explosive output growth. The London Metal Exchange (LME) 3-month metal has risen from a low of $14.235 per metric tonne in mid-December to a peak of $18,905 on January 14, a level last traded in 2022. Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources minister Bahlil lahadalia, in mid-December, triggered a nickel resurgence with his?promise? to cut production. An official from the Energy Ministry confirmed that this year, the annual mining permits for ore will be...

Chile's Environmental regulator announced?on Friday that Antofagasta Minerals was fined?about $775,000. This is because the company failed to comply with water management regulations in its Centinela Copper Mine. Centinela's Esperanza project and El Tesoro, Antofagasta, will produce 223,800 tons of copper by 2024. SMA, the regulator, said that the company did not follow the monitoring rules in the "El Tesoro project's" environmental impact study or the additional monitoring plan. This was evident because the regulator did not have records of a well called 'LE-1. They also failed to measure water flow at "La Cascada", spring, as often as they were...

BHP, the global mining company, said that striking contract workers were disrupting an important route which?provides access? to Chile's Escondida copper mines and Zaldivar?copper?mines. This is causing problems with shift changes and a?intermittent vehicle traffic?. Workers employed by Finning, who have been on strike for the past month, have set up intermittent blocks on the roads leading to BHP’s Escondida mine and Antofagasta Minerals’ Zaldivar mining. BHP confirmed the roadblocks affected vehicle traffic at Escondida and shift changes. "Our company was affected by a conflict with a third party for four days. The blockades on the mining route have caused...

Investors rushed into safe-haven assets amid the geopolitical turmoil, and also on expectations of U.S. rate cuts. Metal prices rose 147% in 2017 due to a combination of?strong demand for investment, challenges with scaling up the refining process, and a persistent shortage on the market. How does silver trade work? Over the Counter London is the largest marketplace for silver and gold, and it's where brokers and banks handle all of the buy and sell orders. The trading is done over the counter between financial institutions. An investor must be in a relationship to gain access to this market. Bars...

The nickel price has been rocketing as investors bet that Indonesia, which is the world's biggest producer of battery metals, will slow down its explosive output growth. The London Metal Exchange's (LME) 3-month metal price has risen from a low in mid-December of $14,235 to a high of $18,905 on January 14, a level that was last traded in 2022. Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil?Lahadalia, mid-December, sparked the nickel revival with a promise of reducing production. An official from the Energy Ministry confirmed that this year's annual "mining" permits will be reduced to 250-260 millions wet tons ore,...

The German metal trading and recycling company Heraeus has set aside $540 million for the risk of "irregularities", which were revealed by a whistleblower. Frankfurt prosecutors said Friday they have been investigating suspicions since June that materials delivered to Heraeus by customers for processing had been 'illegally taken over a period of 2015-2025. In an email, prosecutors stated that there is "reason to suspect" that illegal withdrawals have been made from delivered customer materials. Financial Times was the first to report on the investigation. Heraeus revealed in its annual report for 2024 a provision amounting to 457.7 millions euros (537.29...

In a joint statement issued on Friday, Italy and Germany committed to ensure safe'supply chains' for raw materials that are vital to their economies. Rome is urging partners to join forces to combat China’s increasing influence on price. The document seen by was part of an Intergovernmental Summit The two countries will be meeting in the Italian capital, with the Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Prime Minister Giorgia Meroni. Antonio Tajani, Foreign Minister of Italy and Germany, said: "We cannot?accept China as the sole authority to determine the price of raw material." "Italy, Germany and other countries should share a similar...

Copper prices rose on Friday, after Capstone Copper announced that a workers’ strike forced a production?halt at the Mantoverde Mine in Chile. The most traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed daytime trade up 0.64% at 101,340 yuan ($14.553.65) per metric ton but ended the week lower by 0.52%. As of 0700 GMT, the benchmark three-month Copper on the London Metal Exchange had gained 1.30% and was expected to finish the week with a gain of 0.93%. The strike was triggered after Capstone and the largest union of mine workers failed to reach an agreement on collective bargaining....

Copper prices rose on Friday as supply concerns grew after Capstone Copper, a miner in Chile and a local trade union reported that a strike had forced the company to halt production at its Mantoverde Mine. As of 0330 GMT, the most traded copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange had risen?0.32%, to 101,020 Yuan ($14,507.49), a metric tonne, but was expected to end the week with a loss of 1.15%. The benchmark copper for three months on the London Metal Exchange rose 1.01%, to $12.884.50 per ton. The strike was triggered after Capstone and the largest union at the mine...

Gold prices rose on Thursday, as geopolitical tensions boosted demand for a "safe haven" asset, the U.S. Dollar weakened and anticipation of Federal Reserve rate cuts this year aided. As of 11:32 am, spot gold rose 0.8%, to $4,874.94 an ounce. ET (16:32 GMT) after falling by nearly 1% in the earlier session. On Wednesday, the metal reached a new record high of $4,887.82. U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery increased by 0.8% to $4.877.20 an ounce. The U.S. Dollar fell?0.4% versus rival currencies, making greenback priced bullion more appealing to overseas buyers. Peter Grant, senior metals analyst at Zaner...

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...