当地时间4月14日，世界钢铁协会正式宣布，亨里克 亚当（Dr. Henrik ADAM）将自2026年第四季度开始担任协会新一任总干事，全面主持协会的各项工作。亚当现任塔塔钢铁集团荷兰控股公司执行董事长，同时兼任欧洲钢铁协会主席、德国钢铁学会理事长。在世界钢铁协会担任总干事一职逾15年后，埃德温·巴松将于2026年年底正式退休。（界面新闻）
当地时间4月14日，世界钢铁协会正式宣布，亨里克 亚当（Dr. Henrik ADAM）将自2026年第四季度开始担任协会新一任总干事，全面主持协会的各项工作。亚当现任塔塔钢铁集团荷兰控股公司执行董事长，同时兼任欧洲钢铁协会主席、德国钢铁学会理事长。在世界钢铁协会担任总干事一职逾15年后，埃德温·巴松将于2026年年底正式退休。（界面新闻）
China’s petrochemical producers, which supply textile and plastics factories, have cut operations to their lowest seasonal level in three years as rising feedstock costs and soft export demand squeezes margins. Several major makers of purified terephthalic acid — including one of the largest, Hengli Petrochemical Co. — have taken some units offline for maintenance , removing about 20% of national ...
China’s petrochemical producers, which supply textile and plastics factories, have cut operations to their lowest seasonal level in three years as rising feedstock costs and soft export demand squeezes margins. Several major makers of purified terephthalic acid — including one of the largest, Hengli Petrochemical Co. — have taken some units offline for maintenance , removing about 20% of national capacity, according to local industrial news outlet Welink . The industry’s operating rate has dropped as low as 68%, it said. Hengli didn’t immediately reply to an email seeking comment. Brent crude has gained about 30% since Israel and the US first attacked Iran at the end of February, hampering supplies from the Middle East. PTA futures have risen less than a quarter in the period, to their highest since late 2022, squeezing margins for petrochemical producers. Hengli relies entirely on imported crude, mainly from the Middle East, to produce PTAs. The firm’s revenue slumped last year, partly because of a limited ability to pass through higher costs, it said in earnings released on Tuesday. Some producers have pivoted to specialty chemicals. Jiangsu Eastern Shenghong Co. announced a 13 billion yuan ($1.9 billion) investment last week to extend into polyurethane and engineering plastics for mattresses and refrigerators, taking on Wanhua Chemical Group Co., which has dominated the petrochemicals sector thanks to its high-end, tech-driven products that are structurally less vulnerable to China’s aggressive price wars. China’s textile exports fell last month, according to customs data, adding to the petrochemical sector’s woes. Producers are also struggling with oversupply in low-end bulk chemicals.
South Korean AI chip startup DEEPX will expand its partnership with Hyundai Motor Group to develop a computing platform for generative AI robots using its second generation of low-power chips, its top executive said, as it gets set for an IPO. DEEPX is in talks with the government and investors to raise more than 600 billion won ($408 million) in an ongoing funding round, in the run-up to a pot...
South Korean AI chip startup DEEPX will expand its partnership with Hyundai Motor Group to develop a computing platform for generative AI robots using its second generation of low-power chips, its top executive said, as it gets set for an IPO. DEEPX is in talks with the government and investors to raise more than 600 billion won ($408 million) in an ongoing funding round, in the run-up to a potential IPO in South Korea, DEEPX CEO Lokwon Kim said. The company, which began producing chips late last year, is one of a number of South Korean startups riding on Seoul's ambitions to nurture artificial intelligence champions and make the country an AI leader.
Maskot/DigitalVision via Getty Images Investment Action I reiterated my buy rating for SailPoint ( SAIL ) previously as the subscription transition was mostly over, and SAIL was also showing healthy signs of cross-selling. My current view is a hold rating. What changed is not the long-term platform story, which I actually think looks better today. The issue is timing. Emerging products and non-hum...
Maskot/DigitalVision via Getty Images Investment Action I reiterated my buy rating for SailPoint ( SAIL ) previously as the subscription transition was mostly over, and SAIL was also showing healthy signs of cross-selling. My current view is a hold rating. What changed is not the long-term platform story, which I actually think looks better today. The issue is timing. Emerging products and non-human identity are clearly gaining traction, but that stronger adoption is still not flowing into a cleaner near-term outlook. Until that disconnect goes away, I think it may be wiser to stay on the sidelines for a while. New Products Helping With Growth As a recap , SAIL has continued to put up very strong numbers. In the recent quarter, total annual recurring revenue [ARR] grew 28% y/y, with SaaS ARR up 38%. The same strength is seen in revenue growth, which saw 23% y/y, and subscription revenue grew at 25% y/y. The customer base also remained very healthy with 3,235 total customers, each with an average ARR per SaaS customer of >$380,000. What gives confidence that SAIL can continue this momentum is not just because the core product is working but because the newer products are contributing more tangibly now. In my previous write-up, I argued that emerging products were becoming more meaningful and that Agentic Identity Security [AIS] plus flexible pricing should be the next leg of growth. But back then, I didn’t have the numbers to make my case strong. This is no longer true. We now know that emerging products made up ~17% of Q4 net new ARR, and that contribution was >2x sequentially. The total ARR from customers adopting AIS, Machine Identity Security [MIS], and Data Access Security [DAS] also expanded by >50% y/y. At this pace of growth, emerging products are going to be >50% of net new ARR by the end of CY2027. All of this simply shows that SAIL is no longer relying only on the core identity governance and administration [IGA] growth driver. Non-Human Identity is Starti...
Singapore government bonds are extending their outperformance over US Treasuries to levels not seen since 2007, as a drop in local interbank borrowing costs points to a surge in haven demand. By tightening monetary policy this week, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has helped attract greater global liquidity, allowing local securities to defy oil-driven inflation and also the lure of higher US ...
Singapore government bonds are extending their outperformance over US Treasuries to levels not seen since 2007, as a drop in local interbank borrowing costs points to a surge in haven demand. By tightening monetary policy this week, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has helped attract greater global liquidity, allowing local securities to defy oil-driven inflation and also the lure of higher US yields. The divergence underscores a growing decoupling, with Singapore’s two-year yields falling below their US counterparts by as much as 243 basis points in March. “A firmer SGD policy stance tends to anchor confidence in SGD assets and reinforces the relative appeal of local bonds,” said Wei Ming Cheong , a portfolio manager at Eastspring Investments, adding that they are also supported by ample liquidity conditions and haven flows. The Singapore Overnight Rate Average has fallen to a near four-year low, underscoring the rising liquidity in the city-state. MAS, which uses the exchange rate as its main policy tool rather than interest rates, said Tuesday it would increase the slope of its policy band. A stronger Singapore dollar would potentially attract more capital inflows . In comparison, shorter-maturity US Treasuries have been weighed down by oil-fanned inflation concerns. US overnight indexed swaps are pricing a 40% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut by the end of the year, down from expectations of more than two quarter-point rate cuts before the outbreak of the US-Iran war. The difference in bond yields in Singapore and the US highlights a stark divergence in global sentiment. While US Treasuries are being bruised by a higher-for-longer interest rate outlook, Singapore’s assets have seen haven demand as a result of the Middle East conflict. Read more: Singapore Interbank Rate Nears Four-Year Low on Haven Demand “Looking ahead, as long as MAS maintains its current stance and global growth risks persist, Singapore government bonds are likely to remain resilient an...
Western Australia Establishes Strategic Fuel Reserve Australia is facing a historic energy crisis with much of its gulf-sourced energy facing not one but two blockades. But at least some parts of the country are doing something about it, even if it is too little, too late. Western Australia will establish its own strategic reserves of diesel fuel to ease “acute shortages,” the state’s government s...
Western Australia Establishes Strategic Fuel Reserve Australia is facing a historic energy crisis with much of its gulf-sourced energy facing not one but two blockades. But at least some parts of the country are doing something about it, even if it is too little, too late. Western Australia will establish its own strategic reserves of diesel fuel to ease “acute shortages,” the state’s government said. As Bloomberg reports , the government signed a deal with Cambridge Gulf to buy and store 4 million liters of diesel, which is expected to arrive in the coming weeks, according to a statement . The inventory may be expanded to 12 million liters , which should be enough to last the local infrastructure at least a few days. The move comes as the war in Iran and resulting blockades of the Strait of Hormuz hampered global oil flows, with panic buying in Australia leading to fuel shortages. Australia has a far bigger national fuel reserve, which included more than 2.8 billion liters of diesel as of April 7, but much of that is located on the nation’s east coast — thousands of miles away from Western Australia. Read More: Are Australia’s Low Fuel Reserves Cause for Concern?: Explainer Western Australia consumes a high amount of diesel due to its large mining and agricultural industries. Gas stations around the state have reported shortages , though just 18 of the 771 stations did so in the week to April 10, down from 61 in the prior period. Western Australia is the country’s biggest producer of wheat and is home to vast mining operations including iron ore and gold, with Sanderson estimating the state accounts for 25% of the nation’s diesel consumption. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is due to visit more Southeast Asian nations this week in an effort to shore up fuel supplies as the Iran war shows no signs of abating. “This would be solely for West Australians and be directed at the discretion of the state government to areas that need it most,” Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sa...
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has denounced proposed tolls in the Strait of Hormuz as a worrisome step in the wrong direction, while noting that several thousand stranded seafarers remain the international shipping community’s foremost concern. “Freedom of navigation has to be one of the pillars of free trade, and it would be a retrograde step – a really bad step,” said John Denholm,...
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has denounced proposed tolls in the Strait of Hormuz as a worrisome step in the wrong direction, while noting that several thousand stranded seafarers remain the international shipping community’s foremost concern. “Freedom of navigation has to be one of the pillars of free trade, and it would be a retrograde step – a really bad step,” said John Denholm, chair designate of the ICS, referring to the idea of charging vessels to transit the oil...
中东战火烧断了全球铝供应链，全球铝库存已薄如纸——只剩9天。 据追风交易台消息，4月13日，摩根大通大宗商品研究团队发布铝市场深度报告《进入真空期》（ Into the Void ）指出，受中东冲突重创，全球铝市场正面临二十余年来最严峻的供应危机。 全球可见铝库存（交易所库存加社会库存）目前约为190万吨，折合仅9天的需求量。 这一数字有多紧张？对比一下：2021年初，全球库存覆盖约20天需求，部...
中东战火烧断了全球铝供应链，全球铝库存已薄如纸——只剩9天。 据追风交易台消息，4月13日，摩根大通大宗商品研究团队发布铝市场深度报告《进入真空期》（ Into the Void ）指出，受中东冲突重创，全球铝市场正面临二十余年来最严峻的供应危机。 全球可见铝库存（交易所库存加社会库存）目前约为190万吨，折合仅9天的需求量。 这一数字有多紧张？对比一下：2021年初，全球库存覆盖约20天需求，部分亚洲国家以外地区更高达约40天。如今的缓冲空间，已不足当年的二分之一。 供应“事件视界”：中东损失240万吨 摩根大通用黑洞“事件视界”（event horizon，一种时空的曲隔界线）来比喻当前局面——一旦越过这个临界点，无论后续局势如何演变，供应损失都已无法挽回。 报告认为，随着3月28日阿布扎比Al Taweelah冶炼厂和巴林Alba冶炼厂遭到袭击的损失信息持续披露，铝市场"很可能已越过这一临界点"。 具体来看： Al Taweelah冶炼厂 （EGA旗下，年产能150万吨）已确认停产，修复周期长达12个月，仅此一项就将削减2026年供应逾100万吨。 Alba冶炼厂 （巴林）目前估计仅4、5号产线停产（叠加此前1-3号产线已停），仅6号产线维持运转，产能利用率约30%，与Wood Mackenzie初步假设一致。 伊朗的产量损失尚待进一步评估。 综合来看，摩根大通预计中东铝产量2026年同比下滑36%，损失约240万吨；2027年仍将比冲突前预测少产约95万吨。 全球供应端净削减近200万吨，这将是2019年以来全球铝产量首次出现同比收缩。 其他地区难以填补缺口 缺口能从别处补上吗？摩根大通的答案是：很难，至少2026年内很难。 中国： 摩根大通将2026-2028年中国供应预测上调约30-40万吨/年，理由是高价格和更好的利润率将推动产能利用率向45万吨/年上限靠拢。但报告明确指出，中国上调产能上限的概率"相对较低"——这一上限自2017年起就是中国长期政策框架的一部分，是"反内卷"的政策成果。即便政策松动，实际产量响应也需数月乃至数季度，对2026年帮助有限。 印度尼西亚： 摩根大通小幅上调印尼2026年供应预测（Kaltara项目加快投产），预计2026年全年产量增长约100万吨，4Q26较4Q25年化增量约140万吨。但更大的增量预计要到2027年及以后...
Mythos, a new artificial intelligence model that Anthropic PBC has teased as too dangerous to release, looked at first like a problem for banks. Days after the company announced the new technology, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent summoned Wall Street leaders to make sure they were taking precautions to defend their systems, creating invaluable publicity for Anthropic and raising questions abou...
Mythos, a new artificial intelligence model that Anthropic PBC has teased as too dangerous to release, looked at first like a problem for banks. Days after the company announced the new technology, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent summoned Wall Street leaders to make sure they were taking precautions to defend their systems, creating invaluable publicity for Anthropic and raising questions about who gets an exclusive peek at its threatening progeny. The Treasury is now pushing for access to Mythos. One organization that already has it is the UK’s AI Security Institute, which has become the world’s top neutral arbiter of what counts as safe and secure AI. It found that some of the hype around Mythos is warranted. It is indeed more capable of being used for complex cyberattacks than other AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini. But it is most perilous for “weakly defended” or simplified systems. Large banks have some of the most secure IT in the world, and while Mythos and other powerful AI poses a threat in the wrong hands, it’s the much broader array of small and medium-sized companies that look most vulnerable to hackers and bad actors using the tools. Cyber specialists have long complained that companies treat security as an afterthought, and the result is online services and software that are riddled with bugs, handing hackers a possible way to infiltrate a computer system. Tech companies have an approach for dealing with this, called “responsible disclosure.” Once a flaw is found in their software, they’ll announce it to the world with a suggested fix, giving their customers time to make the patch and move on with their lives. Microsoft Corp.’s version of this is Patch Tuesday, which despite its name refers to a monthly disclosure of flaws the company has found in Office 365, Windows and other products. IT staff at banks like Barclays Plc and Wells Fargo & Co. will take those suggested patches, test them to make sure they don’t break any of thei...