American and Vietnamese companies signed this week several agreements in the energy and minerals sectors estimated to be worth $4.15 billion, as the Southeast Asian country looks to avoid U.S. tariffs and boost cooperation with U.S. firms. Vietnam’s Trade Minister Nguyen Hong Dien visited the United States this week and held talks with the US […]
Gold firmed on Monday after touching a historic milestone last week, as geopolitical tensions, jitters about tariffs escalating trade frictions, and increased hopes of interest rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve continued to fuel safe haven demand. Spot gold rose 0.1% to $2,986.53 an ounce, as of 0307 GMT. Bullion rose above the $3,000/oz […]
Consumption and industrial production in China grew faster to start the year, in an upswing that exceeded forecasts as Donald Trump’s tariffs threaten exporters in the world’s largest trading nation. Retail sales increased 4% in January-February from the same period a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday, exceeding economist forecasts and accelerating […]
The Nigeria Customs Service has intercepted $1.154m and 135,900 Saudi Riyals as undeclared foreign currency at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport. It announced this on Thursday in a statement issued by the Customs National Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Maiwada. Maiwada said the seizure was made recently during a routine baggage check on an inbound […]
The European Central Bank has given UniCredit (CRDI.MI), approval to buy up to 29.9% of Commerzbank (CBKG.DE), the Italian bank said on Friday, adding it would likely wait until next year before deciding whether to pursue an acquisition. ECB approval was expected given UniCredit’s strong balance sheet and the banking supervisor’s supportive stance on consolidation efforts, but […]
Australia’s Westpac Banking Corp has reached an A$130 million ($81.84 million) settlement on a class action lawsuit against the lender over commissions paid to auto dealers over five years, the bank said on Friday. The class action, which was filed by law firm Maurice Blackburn in 2020, claimed Westpac and St George Finance let car dealers hike interest […]
Citigroup recommended that its clients cool off on US stocks while investing more in Chinese equities, a call that suggests an unravelling of the trade on American exceptionalism that buoyed the “Magnificent Seven” US technology stocks over the past two years. The bank downgraded US stocks for the first time since October 2023 to neutral […]
U.S. oil and gas producers are likely to boost output primarily from improved efficiencies rather than new drilling and higher spending, Baker Hughes (NYSE:BKR) chief executive Lorenzo Simonelli told Reuters on Monday. Simonelli’s sentiments mirror those of Exxon Mobil’s (NYSE:XOM) Upstream President Liam Mallon who recently dismissed the notion that U.S. producers will dramatically increase output under a second Trump term. […]
JPMorgan said selling the Panama terminals was “understandable” given that Hutchison’s ownership has come under scrutiny from the Trump administration amid wider US concerns about alleged Chinese government control and influence on Panama Canal operations. But JPMorgan said the sale of Hutchison’s other terminals outside of China was a “surprise” and could be “an opportunistic […]
ZIMBABWE is ready to welcome investment in coal production from the United States after Washington announced a major shift in its energy policy by seeking partnerships with African countries in coal production. The move by the US reverses its long-standing opposition to fossil fuel. Speaking at the high-level Powering Africa Summit in Washington on Friday, […]