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Saluda Medical shares plummet on Australian market debut
Saluda Medical shares listed on the Australian Securities Exchange fell nearly 45% in their debut at the Australian Securities Exchange on Friday after raising A$231,000,000 ($152.67,000,000) through its initial public offer. Saluda is a U.S. medical device company that develops neuromodulation treatments to treat chronic neurological conditions. The company sold 87.1 new CHESS depositary interests at A$2.65, which valued the company at approximately A$775 millions at listing. In the first few trading minutes, the stock fell almost half its value to A$1.48. Saluda was founded in Sydney, Australia in 2010. The FDA-approved Evoke Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) System is a closed-loop system that uses neural biomarkers to measure and adapt therapy in real-time. Saluda made its debut after GemLife Communities Group IPO of A$750 Million in early July. This was the largest 2025 listing in Australia and surpassed Virgin Australia's A$685 Million offering at the end of June. (1 Australian dollar = 1.5131 dollars) (Reporting and editing by Alan Barona in Bengaluru)
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Irish media reported that drones were spotted near Zelenskiy's flight path from Dublin.
Local media reported that an Irish navy ship saw up to five drones near the flight path for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as he arrived in Ireland on Monday to make a state visit. Irish Times reported that the sighting caused a major alert due to fears of an attempted interference with the flight path. The Irish Times cited unnamed sources who said that the aircraft was not in danger, despite its arrival a little early. The Ukrainian delegation arrived on Monday late and left late the following day, as part of an effort to drum up support for Kyiv in Europe as Russia continues its war against Ukraine. Ukrainian media reported that Dmytro Litvyn was an adviser to Zelenskiy. He said that Ukrainian officials had been informed of the drones but took no action. Lytvyn is quoted as saying "The host country is responsible for the security." According to their data there were drones. However, this did not impact the visit. There was no need to change the visit. Recent drone flights originating from unknown origins have disrupted airspace operations across Europe. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has called these incursions hybrid warfare. The Journal website first reported that drones were spotted at Dublin Airport. They said they arrived at the exact location where Zelenskiy’s plane had been expected to be, at the exact time it was due to pass. The authorities said they were conducting investigations to determine if the drones had taken off from a ship or landed on land. Both news outlets reported that they were first seen northeast of Dublin at a distance of around 20 km (12miles) from the airport. Ireland's Defence Forces stated that it could not comment on any specifics about any alleged incident for operational security purposes. A spokesperson stated that "However, Defence Forces Support to the Security Operation, led by An Garda Siochana, was successfully deployed through multiple means, ultimately leading to a successful and safe visit," (Reporting and editing by Timothy Heritage Ron Popeski Stephen Coates).
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CANADA CRUDE-Western Canada Select trades at steepest discounts ever since March
The difference between the West Texas Intermediate benchmark futures and Western Canada Select futures, which is North American benchmark, has narrowed slightly on Thursday. However, it remains larger than ever before. CalRock reported that WCS for Hardisty, Alberta delivery in January settled at $12.85 per barrel, which is lower than the U.S. benchmark WTI. This compares to $13 Wednesday. The WCS discount on increased Canadian oil production has recently increased after spending most of the year in historically tight levels. This is largely due to the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline which has provided additional export capacity for Canadian oil producers. According to government statistics, the oil-producing province Alberta has set a record for production in 2024 with an average of 3.98 million barrels per day. The first 10 months of the year 2025 have been 3.8% higher than the same period of last year. * Oil prices fell globally on Thursday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut. Meanwhile, the stalled Ukraine talks dampened expectations that a deal would be reached to restore Russian oil supplies. (Reporting from Amanda Stephenson, Calgary; Editing done by Maju Sam)
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Brazil 2026 Budget Sponsor proposes $1.9 Billion Exclusion for State-run Firms' Fiscal Target
Gervasio maia, the Brazilian congressman who sponsored the bill on budget guidelines for 2026, proposed to exclude up to 10 billion reals ($1.9 billion) of next year's fiscal goal for state-owned enterprises. According to Maia’s amendment, this amount will cover the expenses of companies that have an active and approved economic-financial plan. The proposal gives President Luiz inacio Lula da Silveira fiscal flexibility. It comes at a time when the postal service Correios is facing a cash crisis. Last month, it approved a restructuring program as its losses soared this year. This raised doubts over the viability of state-run Correios. The company reported a loss for the year to date of 6 billion reals ($1.13 billion), nearly three times the amount reported a year ago. The government has to compensate state-owned companies when they exceed their fiscal targets. This often means freezing federal spending. This is what happened with this year's Budget, when the government in November approved it. It was necessary to offset the 3 billion reais deficit that had been expected at state-owned firms due to Correios’ troubles. Maia removed from her proposal a clause on compensation. This effectively prevents the government from implementing it in the event that state-owned companies miss their targets next year. After the bill was passed, the change to the budget proposal for 2026 was announced ahead of the joint session of the Congress on Thursday. Committee approval is expected to be made on Wednesday. Correios stated earlier this week that the Treasury Blockage It was prevented from taking out a loan of 20 billion reais (3.67 billion dollars) from a bank consortium with a guarantee from the government because the interest rates exceeded the limit for deals backed by the state. ($1 = 5.3048 reales) ($1= 5.3133 reales) (Reporting and editing by Diane Craft; Marcela Ayres)
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Irish media reported that drones were spotted near Zelenskiy's flight path from Dublin.
Local media reported that an Irish navy ship saw up to five drones near the flight path for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as he arrived in Ireland on Monday to make a state visit. Irish Times reported that the sighting caused a major alert due to fears of an attempted interference with the flight path. The Irish Times cited unnamed sources who said that the aircraft was not in danger, despite its arrival a little early. The Ukrainian delegation arrived on Monday late and left late the following day, as part of an effort to drum up support for Kyiv in Europe as Russia continues its war against Ukraine. Recent drone flights in Europe have disrupted airspace operations. Their origin is mostly unknown. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has called these incursions hybrid warfare. The Journal website first reported that drones were spotted at Dublin Airport. They said they arrived at the exact location where Zelenskiy’s plane had been expected to be, at the exact time it was due to pass. The authorities said they were conducting investigations to determine if the drones had taken off from a ship or landed on land. Both news outlets reported that they were first seen northeast of Dublin at a distance of around 20 km (12miles) from the airport. Ireland's Defence Forces stated that it could not comment on any specifics about any alleged incident for operational security purposes. A spokesperson stated that "however, the Defence Forces' support to An Garda Siochana's (police) security operation was successfully deployed by multiple means, ultimately leading to a successful and safe visit,"
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US investigations report that Waymo's self-driving car illegally passed 19 school buses in Texas
The U.S. government said Thursday that it had asked Waymo for more information after Texas officials claimed that Alphabet's self-driving cars had passed school buses illegally 19 times since the beginning of the school year. In October, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation after an incident that occurred in Georgia. A Waymo was not stationary as it approached a school bus while its red lights were flashing and its stop arm was deployed. The Austin Independent School District posted a letter on November 20, 2018 by the NHTSA. In the letter, they stated that five incidents had occurred in November following the announcement from Waymo that it had updated its software to fix the problem. They asked the company not to operate around schools at pick-up or drop-off hours until it was able to ensure the vehicles wouldn't violate the law. Waymo didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. A lawyer for the district wrote: "We cannot let Waymo continue to endanger our students as it tries to fix the problem." Citing an incident in which a Waymo was "recorded" driving past a school bus that had stopped only moments after the student who crossed in front, while still on the road, had been in front of the vehicle. A spokesperson for the school district did not respond immediately to whether Waymo had met this request. NHTSA was prompted by the letter to ask Waymo if it would comply to the request that self-driving vehicles cease operations during pick-up or drop-off hours for students. They also asked: "Was a software fix developed or implemented to mitigate this concern?" If so, will Waymo file a recall to fix the problem? In a letter sent to Waymo by the NHTSA on Wednesday, it demanded answers to questions about school bus incidents and software updates that address safety concerns. David Shepardson is reporting.
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US investigations report that Waymo's self-driving car illegally passed 19 school buses in Texas
The U.S. government said on Thursday that it had asked Waymo for more information after Texas officials claimed that Alphabet's self-driving cars had passed school buses illegally 19 times since the beginning of the school year. In October, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation after a Georgia incident where a Waymo failed to remain stationary as it approached a school bus that had its red lights flashing with a stop arm deployed. In a letter published by NHTSA on Nov. 20, the Austin Independent Schools District stated that five incidents had occurred in November, after Waymo claimed to have made software updates to fix the problem. The district asked the company to stop operations near schools at pick-up or drop-off hours until it could be ensured the vehicles wouldn't violate the law. Waymo didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. David Shepardson reports.
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Sources: Deutsche Bahn will return to profitability this year and next.
According to sources close the company, Deutsche Bahn will return to profitability this year and next, despite its underinvestment in trains and delays. After more than a decade underinvestment by the state-owned Deutsche Bahn, it has begun upgrading its tracks and overhead lines, as well as cutting administrative costs. This has led to major delays and cancellations across the country. Positive outlook is also a result of CEO Evelyn Palla's task to turn the company around. She took over on October 1. Palla will present her restructuring plan for the company at a meeting of the supervisory board scheduled to take place on Wednesday. Significant job cuts are expected. Deutsche Bahn has declined to comment. Sources said that the company expects a slightly positive profit before interest and tax (EBIT) in 2025 after a loss last year of 388 million euros. EBIT is expected to reach 500 million euros by 2026. The German Bahn also aims at reducing its net loss from 820 million euros to 180 million next year. Revenues are expected to stay stable, around 28 billion euro next year.
Maguire: Key US wind energy trends and metrics for tracking
Wind farms are the second-largest source of clean energy in the U.S., behind nuclear power plants.
In the past two years, the construction of wind farms has been slowed by a lack of parts, a rise in labour costs, and a delay in development.
Recent drops in development costs and lucrative tax credits that will be available in 2025 has rekindled the growth of wind projects in 2024.
This should elevate wind power to a higher status in the U.S. mix of generation, and make wind farms a major pillar of U.S. electricity system for the next few years.
Here are some key data and trends that will help you track the development of this vital power source.
GROWING FOOTPRINT
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the installed wind power capacity in the U.S. currently stands at 152 gigawatts.
This capacity is up by 46% since 2019 and 135% from 10 years ago.
According to Ember, the U.S. averaged an annual growth in wind capacity of 9% over the last decade. This is a little more than Europe, but lower than the global average, which was 13% per year.
China, which is the largest wind producer in the world, has a growth rate of 19% per year.
The U.S. is still ranked second behind China in terms of wind power, with 441 GW. Germany (69GW), India (445GW), and Spain (31/GW) are also on the list of top 5.
Change Power Mix
Wind power has been steadily increasing in the United States, resulting in a significant shift in the generation mix of this country.
According to EIA, wind power contributed an average of 15 percent of the capacity added to the U.S. electricity system between 2000 and 2010, and 27 percent of capacity since 2010.
Solar and wind power capacity combined accounted for about 60% of U.S. capacity additions in 2010 highlighting the U.S. drive to clean energy over that period.
Ember data indicates that by 2023 wind power will account for 12 percent of the U.S. capacity for electricity production. This compares to 11 percent for solar energy, 8 per cent for nuclear power, 7 per cent for hydropower, 16 per cent for coal, and 43percent for natural gas.
STATE & SYSTEM SPA
According to EIA, Texas will be the state with the most wind energy capacity, with 28% of all installed capacity by 2023.
Texas has a wind power capacity of 42 GW, compared to 13 GW for Iowa, 12.6 in Oklahoma, and 9 in Kansas, the top five states in terms of wind power.
Iowa is the state with the highest wind share, at nearly 60%.
South Dakota (55%) is ranked first, followed by Kansas (46%), Oklahoma (42%), and New Mexico (38%). Texas produces 22% of the state's power through wind.
Southwest Power Pool, which spans 14 states from Oklahoma to North Dakota, generates 37% of the power it uses from wind farms.
Next in line is the Midcontinent Independent System Operator system (MISO), with a share of 14%.
TALLER, WIDER & COST-EFFECTIVE
As wind power capacity has grown, so too have the size and scale.
According to the American Clean Power Association and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the average nameplate power of U.S. turbines was 2 megawatts.
The average capacity of each turbine will increase to 3.4 MW in 2023 due to the increased size and height averages for the hubs and rotors.
The average diameter for a turbine rotor, which rotates the blades to produce power, has increased by 31% since 2015 from 102.4 meters to 134 metres (440 feet).
The height of the turbine hub, which is the main drivetrain for a turbine, has also increased from 83 meters in 2015 to around 103 meters in 2023.
The cost of wind turbines has decreased.
According to LBNL, the average global price for a Vestas turbine - one Europe's biggest turbine manufacturers – has fallen from $1,700 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2010 to 2014 to $1,050 since 2018.
This has resulted to a drop of more than 35% in the average capacity-weighted cost of a wind power project. From around $2,600/kWh in 2010 through 2014, it is now around $1,650.
The levelized cost for wind power has been lowered by lower turbine and generation costs. This allows comparisons to be made between the generation costs of different power sources once projects have been completed.
According to LBNL, a typical 2023 power purchase agreement for energy project developers would have wind power costs of around $26 per Megawatt Hour (MWh).
This compares to $37 for a utility scale photovoltaic farm and $28 for a natural gas combined cycle plant. Wind power is now one of the cheapest forms of energy in the United States.
Additional cost savings are expected as more wind projects are being built and the competition between turbine manufacturers keeps prices down.
(source: Reuters)