Anna Edwards, Guy Johnson, Tom Mackenzie and Mark Cudmore break down today's key themes for analysts and investors on "Bloomberg: The Opening Trade." (Source: Bloomberg)
Anna Edwards, Guy Johnson, Tom Mackenzie and Mark Cudmore break down today's key themes for analysts and investors on "Bloomberg: The Opening Trade." (Source: Bloomberg)
Russian and Iranian oil producers are offering deepening discounts as they compete for the same limited group of Chinese buyers after India retreated from purchases. India’s imports from Russia could drop by 40% from January levels to around 600,000 barrels a day, according to a scenario from Rystad Energy. Much of the displaced cargoes are now heading east, spurring a price war with Iranian suppl...
Russian and Iranian oil producers are offering deepening discounts as they compete for the same limited group of Chinese buyers after India retreated from purchases. India’s imports from Russia could drop by 40% from January levels to around 600,000 barrels a day, according to a scenario from Rystad Energy. Much of the displaced cargoes are now heading east, spurring a price war with Iranian suppliers that have long been favored by China’s private refiners. Russia’s Urals grade is selling at around $12 a barrel below ICE Brent, according to traders familiar with such deals, compared with a $10 discount last month. Iranian Light is going for as much as $11 less than the global benchmark, they said, asking not to be named as they’re not authorized to speak to media. That’s widened from $8 to $9 in December . The independent Chinese refiners, known as teapots, have historically acted as the oil market’s pressure valve, absorbing barrels shunned by others. But their capacity is finite, given they only account for around a quarter of the country’s processing capacity and are also subject to government-set import quotas. With China unable to fully soak up the displaced crude, unsold oil is piling up in Asian waters and Russia and Iran are running out of options. The Kremlin has already been forced to curb output , depriving it of funds for its war in Ukraine. Iran, meanwhile, is trying to ship as much oil as it can as it girds itself for a potential attack by the US. “Chinese private refiners cannot take in much more as their capacity is likely maxed out,” said Jianan Sun , an analyst at Energy Aspects, pointing to sanctioned barrels building up in both onshore and offshore storage. The major Chinese state-owned refiners have traditionally avoided Iranian crude and have, more recently, largely absented themselves from the Russian trade as well. So far, it looks like Iran is taking a hit as Russia muscles in on the market. Deliveries of Russian oil to Chinese ports rose to...
Against the news of China’s record trade surplus of US$1.19 trillion last year, some have warned it is making trade impossible, arguing that the rest of the world has fewer goods they can sell, or are willing to sell, to China. Critics point to China’s competitive edge in producing better and cheaper goods. For Beijing, this feels less like criticism and more like a subtle compliment. In many ways...
Against the news of China’s record trade surplus of US$1.19 trillion last year, some have warned it is making trade impossible, arguing that the rest of the world has fewer goods they can sell, or are willing to sell, to China. Critics point to China’s competitive edge in producing better and cheaper goods. For Beijing, this feels less like criticism and more like a subtle compliment. In many ways, it affirms China’s long-term strategy to bolster its global manufacturing. Supporting...
winhorse/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images By Min Joo Kang , Senior Economist, South Korea and Japan The Bank of Japan will base its rate hike decision on data, despite dovish tilt on board and government pressures Despite ongoing concerns regarding the Bank of Japan's independence from government influence, the BoJ unanimously decided to raise rates in December. The Board consists of nine member...
winhorse/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images By Min Joo Kang , Senior Economist, South Korea and Japan The Bank of Japan will base its rate hike decision on data, despite dovish tilt on board and government pressures Despite ongoing concerns regarding the Bank of Japan's independence from government influence, the BoJ unanimously decided to raise rates in December. The Board consists of nine members: the governor, two deputy governors, and six others. With the appointment of two new members, a broader range of perspectives will be brought to monetary policy discussions, but no single view is expected to dominate decisions. Looking ahead, increased complexity in rate decisions and more divided votes are anticipated. Nevertheless, the board will continue to base its decisions on economic data. Two new academic candidates with “reflationist” views were nominated by the government today to replace board members Asahi Noguchi and Junko Nakagawa, who are retiring in March and June. The market appears to anticipate that these two members (pending approval) – Ayano Sato, an Aoyama Gakuin University professor and Toichiro Asada, a Chuo University professor – will serve as strong opponents to monetary easing, thereby establishing a consistent bloc likely to dissent against any prospective rate increases. However, in our view, the overall dove-hawk balance on board is likely to be tilted slightly toward the dovish side but unlikely to change significantly from its current state because Noguchi is already the most dovish member and Nakagawa tends to be neutral or dovish among current board members. If upcoming growth and inflation figures are consistent with the Bank of Japan's projections, the process of policy normalisation is expected to proceed. Nevertheless, the introduction of two dovish members may result in the adoption of stricter criteria for rate decisions and an increase in divided votes. Meanwhile, the most hawkish members – Hajime Takata and Naoki Tamura – consiste...
NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) wants you to believe the adage that good things can come in small packages. The company focuses on small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) designed for various uses, including powering data centers and desalination plants. It's scheduled to report fourth-quarter results after the markets close Thursday. NuScale's shares are down more than 33% over the past 12 months and mor...
NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) wants you to believe the adage that good things can come in small packages. The company focuses on small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) designed for various uses, including powering data centers and desalination plants. It's scheduled to report fourth-quarter results after the markets close Thursday. NuScale's shares are down more than 33% over the past 12 months and more than 11% so far in 2026 -- but there are three key reasons I think this stock is a solid long-term buy prior to its earnings report. Continue reading
Another Migrant Sex Offender Granted Asylum In Britain Despite Skipping Bail In Europe Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News, An Afghan man accused of rape in Austria jumped bail and fled to Britain, where he was granted asylum and lived freely for over six years. It is the second such case to be exposed this month after a similar incident involving a Syrian convicted of sexually assaulting a t...
Another Migrant Sex Offender Granted Asylum In Britain Despite Skipping Bail In Europe Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News, An Afghan man accused of rape in Austria jumped bail and fled to Britain, where he was granted asylum and lived freely for over six years. It is the second such case to be exposed this month after a similar incident involving a Syrian convicted of sexually assaulting a teenager in Germany, who failed to attend his probation hearings and illegally entered the U.K. As revealed by The Sun newspaper, Omar Ali Noori, 31, arrived illegally in Britain in 2019 after fleeing Austria. He had been arrested in connection with the rape of a woman in Linz in 2018, but absconded while on bail before proceedings concluded. Despite this, he was granted indefinite leave to remain for five years by the Home Office in 2023. His 23-year-old wife joined him in Britain last year. Court records cited during an extradition hearing revealed that Noori had used four identities and five different dates of birth on official documents. At Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Judge Neeta Minhas ordered that Noori, currently held at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London, be returned to Austria to serve a three-year prison sentence for absconding, in addition to facing the rape charge. Judge Minhas said, “Noori was directly asked if he had committed or been accused of an offence in any country or whether he had been detained in any country. His response to both questions was in the negative. This was clearly not accurate. I find that Noori is a fugitive.” Noori is now appealing his extradition back to Austria. An almost mirror case was reported earlier this month after it emerged that Syrian national Azizadeen Alsheikh Suliman, 34, was convicted in Germany of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in Osnabrück in 2022. According to German media reports, he approached the victim in the city center, under the pretext of asking for a cigarette, before attempting to kiss her and ...
Bolttech Holdings Ltd. is in talks to buy Nasdaq-listed MoneyHero Ltd. , people familiar with the matter said, a move that would combine two financial technology firms backed by billionaire Richard Li . Closely held Bolttech is doing due diligence and valuation work for a potential takeover of MoneyHero, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Consideration...
Bolttech Holdings Ltd. is in talks to buy Nasdaq-listed MoneyHero Ltd. , people familiar with the matter said, a move that would combine two financial technology firms backed by billionaire Richard Li . Closely held Bolttech is doing due diligence and valuation work for a potential takeover of MoneyHero, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Considerations are ongoing and there’s no guarantee they’ll lead to a binding agreement, the people said. Bolttech last year raised $147 million in a Series C round from investors including Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp. and Portuguese private equity firm Iberis Capital . The funding gave the company a valuation of $2.1 billion. Following earlier losses and restructurings, MoneyHero started to see improving revenues and profitability last year in metrics such as adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. MoneyHero shares closed at $1.37 Tuesday, giving the company a market value of $60 million. Bolttech and MoneyHero are backed by Li’s investment firm Pacific Century Group . A representative for Bolttech declined to comment, while MoneyHero didn’t have an immediate comment. Founded in 2020, Bolttech runs an exchange where insurers, distributors and customers buy and sell insurance and protection products, according to its website . The company has more than 700 distribution partners in 39 markets and handles over $75 billion quoted premiums on an annual basis. Bolttech had considered a US initial public offering about two years ago, people familiar with the matter said at the time. The listing never took place and the company opted to do a private funding round instead. MoneyHero, formerly known as Hyphen Group or CompareAsia Group, is an Asian personal-finance comparison website. In 2023, it agreed to go public in a deal with Bridgetown Holdings Ltd., a blank-check company backed by billionaires Peter Thiel and Li. The merger valued MoneyHero at about...