Western Europe

The?Italian?government and Pirelli, the?tiremaker, are looking at new ways to stop Sinochem from investing in the?company based in Milan. This is due to pressure coming from?the United States. The Financial Times reported Tuesday that the United States was exerting pressure on Pirelli. Camfina, Pirelli's Italian-American investor, had complained earlier that Sinochem was preventing the tyremaker from expanding in the U.S. as Washington tightens restrictions on Chinese technology for the automotive industry. According to LSEG 'data, Sinochem is Pirelli’s?largest shareholder with a stake in the company of approximately 34.1%. Rome is considering a new intervention, as Washington's upcoming ban on Chinese-backed...

The oil prices dropped on Tuesday as the market anticipated a large global supply in the face of a weak demand and weighed the possibility of a higher Venezuelan crude production following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro by the U.S. Brent crude futures dropped?0.2% or 14 cents to $61.62 a barge by 0450 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was at $58.13 a barge, down 0.3%, or 19 cents. Priyanka sachdeva, senior analyst at Phillip Nova, said that the response of oil prices to major geopolitical issues, like the U.S. action in Venezuela or the ongoing strikes against...

Phillips 66, a U.S. refiner, announced on Monday that it has agreed to purchase the assets and infrastructure from the?Lindsey Oil Refinery located in northern England after the site was liquidated. Phillips 66 will also integrate?the main facilities into its Humber Refinery. The Lindsey Refinery closed down in July of last year, after the previous owner Prax went bankrupt. This put the 420 jobs on the site in danger. Phillips 66 did not reveal the value of the deal, but said that it decided to not restart standalone operations in the refinery after a thorough review during the bid process....

Phillips 66, a U.S.-based refiner, announced on Monday that it had?agreed? to purchase the assets and infrastructure from the Lindsey Oil Refinery located in northern?England after the site was liquidated. It will also integrate the key facilities with its Humber?Refinery. The Lindsey Refinery closed last July after the previous owner Prax went bankrupt, putting 420 jobs on the site in danger. Phillips 66 did not reveal the value of the deal, but said that it decided to not restart standalone operations in the refinery after a thorough review during the bid process. The site, they stated, was 'unviable as is,...

Keir starmer, British Prime Minister said that the United States was responsible for justifying its actions after it captured President Nicolas Maduro. He described the situation as being "not straight forward." "What Venezuela needs is a peaceful, democratic transition." Starmer said that this was the?position we held before the weekend and it is still our position. "International law is a framework, anchor, or benchmark against which we judge all other governments' actions. It is up to the U.S., of course, to justify "the actions" that they have taken. It's not easy. Even today, new developments continue to occur." Maduro was...

Oil prices fell on Monday, as global supplies were plentiful and offset concerns about the impact of U.S. capture President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, the country with the largest global oil reserves. Brent crude futures fell 23 cents or 0.4% to $60.52 a barrel at 0940 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was 21 cents or 0.4% lower at $57.11 a 'barrel. Investors reacted to the Venezuela situation, an OPEC country whose crude exports have been subject to a U.S. ban, and assessed its potential impact on the oil supply. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that Washington would take over...

In a New Years interview, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro stated that his country was willing to accept?U.S. Investment in Venezuela's oil sector is welcome, as are efforts to coordinate the fight against drugs and hold serious discussions with the United States. "We have to start speaking seriously with facts in hand," Maduro stated in his annual interview, which was originally published in the Mexican newspaper La Jornada, and broadcast by Venezuelan state TV on New Year's Day. Venezuela is prepared to accept U.S. investments, such as those made by Chevron, whenever, wherever and however they choose. The comments echo statements...

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro extended an olive branch towards U.S. president Donald Trump by proposing serious discussions on fighting drug?trafficking, and offering U.S. firms ready access to Venezuelan crude oil. Maduro called Venezuela a "brother" country and friendly government to the United States. He noted that, when they last spoke in November the U.S. President acknowledged his authority and addressed him as "Mr. President." An interview with the long-time Venezuelan leader was filmed New Year's Eve, and aired by Venezuelan state TV in the evening of New Year's Day. Maduro, his interviewer and the journalist walked through a militarized area...

Tuesday's oil prices were unchanged after a rise of over 2% the previous day. Investors sought clarification on Ukraine peace negotiations to gauge potential supply disruptions. Brent crude futures, for delivery in February, expiring on Tuesday, fell 2 cents to $61.92 per barrel at 0314 GMT. The March contract, which is more active, was down 5 cents at $61.44. West Texas Intermediate crude oil in the United States fell 5 cents to $58.03. Brent and WTI benchmarks closed more than 2% higher the previous session, after Moscow accused Kyiv that it was targeting President Vladimir Putin's residence. This stoked fears...

The Brazilian union Sindipetro-NF (one of the largest in Brazil) has rejected the latest proposal from the state-run oil company to end the 12-day strike. It said this in a Friday statement. Sindipetro NF represents?about 25,000 oil industry workers, including those in Petrobras?offshore oil platform in the Campos Basin, which is the second highest oil production area in Brazil. Petrobras stated in a press release that the strike so far has not had an impact on production as they are using contingency crews to continue operations. Sindipetro-NF is the largest union within FUP, a umbrella organization of oil workers. The...

Pirelli, a tiremaker, said that on Thursday the majority of holders of the 500 million euro bond due to expire this month have chosen to convert the bond into new shares in the company. This has diluted the stakes owned by existing investors. Pirelli announced that bond holders had chosen to convert their bonds into shares at a price of 5.8493 euros per share, which was announced in June. Pirelli said that to meet the conversion, it would issue around 84.88 millions new shares, which will dilution its shareholder's?holdings. Sinochem, the largest shareholder in Pirelli, is expected to reduce its...

Eni announced on Thursday that it had sold a 49.99% share of its carbon storage and capture unit to BlackRock’s infrastructure fund Global Infrastructure Partners. This gives the two groups joint control over the business. This deal is part Eni's plan to spin-off specific businesses, and to bring in partners who can help fund investment for these units. The deal is a larger share than previous deals with its low-carbon units Plenitude and Enilive, where it restricted the'share of partners' to 30%. Eni's CCUS Holding is responsible for the Liverpool Bay?and Bacton project in Britain in addition to the L10...

According to an EU filing, the proposed merger between London-listed miner Anglo American and Canada's Teck Resources is headed for antitrust clearance in Europe after EU regulators indicated that there were no competition concerns. The EU's competition enforcer has reviewed the deal, which is?the second largest ever in the mining industry,? under a streamlined procedure, after the companies requested approval on Tuesday. This means that the EU watchdog is not concerned about a merger causing'significant competition problems.' It will only conduct a routine inspection. Commission's decision on deal to create the fifth largest copper company in the world will be...

De Beers' CEO,?Tony?Taylor, said that Anglo American is looking to sell its stake in De Beers and has received interest from business groups as well as African governments. Al Cook, CEO of De Beers said that Botswana Angola Namibia, all of which are major diamond producers, have shown an interest in purchasing equity in the company. He did not comment on the current status of the talks or who the parties were. In June, it was reported, citing reliable sources, that Anil 'Agarwal and Indian diamond groups, as well as Qatari investment funds, were among the people who had expressed...

Allegro, a Polish ecommerce company, announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to sell its operations in Slovenia and Croatia?to Mutares of Germany. Allegro is aiming to simplify?its global footprint. Allegro claimed that the sale was the last step to turning around Mall Group. The group bought the company in 2022 as a first move beyond its home market Poland. Allegro expanded its presence in Central Europe with the deal, but so far international operations have weighed on its profitability. Allegro announced in March that it would pause the rollout of its third-party market in other countries until it increased...

China's refined copper exports surged to records levels in the last year, as the world’s top buyer found themselves in unusual competition with the U.S. CME's U.S. Copper contract continues to command an impressive premium over the London Metal Exchange's (LME) international copper price as the "market prices" in anticipation of possible U.S. Tariffs. The decision was deferred to June of this year. The ripple effect of U.S. metal delivery premiums is now emptying China’s bonded storage zones. China's exports jumped from 698,500 tons to 143,000 in November. This is already a record. The total for November included 57.700 tons...

The FIM Cisl trade union said that the production of Stellantis vehicles in Italy fell 20% annually in 2025, to 379.706 cars. This is a new concern for the future health of the Italian auto industry. The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Melons said that in 2023, it wanted Stellantis' Italian auto production to reach 1 million units a year. However, the automaker has continued to shrink. FIM Cisl's?Ferdinando Uliano, who presented the union report, said that in 2025 the production of passenger vehicles, excluding light commercial vehicle, will fall by 24.5% on an annual basis to 213,706 cars, the...

Four people who are familiar with the talks say that Germany's Thyssenkrupp may sell its steel division to India Jindal Steel International over a period of time, as they try to reach a deal on the complex business. Jindal Steel began conducting due diligence in October, after making a bid indicative for Europe's largest steelmaker. Thyssenkrupp needs to focus on becoming leaner. The deal will help them achieve this. The people who spoke to us said that Jindal would take a majority share in?TKSE in a first move, most likely 60%. The remaining 40% could be acquired in two 20%...

Four people familiar with the discussions said that Germany's Thyssenkrupp might sell its steel division in several stages to India's Jindal Steel International, as both sides attempt to reach a deal for this complex business. Jindal Steel is conducting due diligence on Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (TKSE) after submitting an indicative bid to acquire Europe's second largest steelmaker. Thyssenkrupp needs to focus on becoming leaner by acquiring the deal. The people who spoke to us said that Jindal would take a majority share in TKSE in a first move, most likely 60%. The remaining 40% could be acquired in two 20%...

The price of copper soared on Tuesday, as concerns about supply fueled a rally in the early part of the year. Nickel also reached a 15-month high above $18,000 per metric ton due to?Indonesia’s mine production curbs. In official open-outcry trading on the?London Metal Exchange, benchmark three-month copper was up 1.8% to $13,225 per ton. It had earlier jumped by as much as a whopping 3.1% to $13,387.50. Red metal prices have already increased by 6.6% since 2026. On Monday, they crossed $13,000, after a 42.2% increase last year. Ewa Mannthey, ING analyst, said that "Copper's?"move above $13,000" is driven...

Prices of copper soared to record levels on Monday, as fears about supply?intensified after a strike in a Chilean mining facility and forecasts of deficits?as well as low stocks at London Metal Exchange-approved warehouses. The benchmark copper price on the London Metal Exchange rose 2.7% to $12,811 per metric tonne at 1138 GMT, from an earlier peak of $12,905.5. The metal used for power and construction reached a record price of $12,960 per ton. The theme of shortages was reinforced by traders after a strike took place at Capstone Copper’s Mantoverde gold and copper mine in northern Chile. Mantoverde is...

European stocks rose on Monday as investors bought up defense stocks following the U.S. military strikes against Venezuela. This sparked new 'geopolitical' concerns. The STOXX 600 pan-European index was 0.3% higher by 0810 GMT. As investors return from their New Year holidays, trading volumes should normalize. Defense?index grew by 2.7%, reaching its highest level in two months. The technology and basic resources also rose by 2.1% and 2% respectively. Investors continue to monitor the impact of the 'dramatic capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas?Maduro over the weekend by U.S. forces. Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he would temporarily place Venezuela...

According to Barclays, activist investors who want companies to improve their performance launched a record-breaking number of campaigns in 2025. Market volatility, favorable financing terms, and increased deal activity created the ideal environment for lobbying for change. Blue-chip activists including Elliott Investment Management and a large number of newcomers launched attacks in 2025 on global companies, urging them to improve operations, replace board members, or even sell themselves. Activists attacked well-known brands like athleisure brand Lululemon Athletica and ride-hailing service Lyft. PepsiCo, the maker of soda and snacks, and Yeti, a cooler and drinkware manufacturer, were also targeted. The data...

Nickel reached its highest level in over 14 months Friday, 'after Vale Indonesia suspended mining operations. Aluminium crossed the $3,000 barrier for the first time since 2022. The London Metal Exchange's three-month nickel rose as much as 1,8% to $16,945 per metric ton, its highest level since October 2024. By 1037 GMT, the metal used to make stainless steel and batteries had risen 1.4% to $16,875. PT Vale Indonesia Tbk said it was unable to?conduct mining operations due to a delay in the approval of its annual production plan. The company said that it believes this delay won't?disrupt the overall...