Latest News
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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.
Sources say that foreign CEOs will flock to China to attend the Xi summit and key summit.
Dozens of foreign CEOs will visit Beijing this month for a flagship development conference where some are expected to meet President Xi Jinping, according to a draft agenda and three sources familiar with the matter.
The annual China Development Forum will take place on March 23-24 at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in the capital, two sources told .
Beijing is keen to attract foreign investment at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, as policymakers try to boost domestic consumption to offset fresh U.S. tariff pressure.
Those attending include the CEOs of FedEx, Siemens , automakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz , chip designer Qualcomm, AstraZeneca, Nestle, Saudi Aramco, Citadel, Rio Tinto, Estee Lauder, Standard Chartered and KPMG, according to a draft agenda seen by . The chairman of Deutsche Bank is also on the list.
A Mercedes-Benz spokesperson confirmed to that CEO and Chairman Ola Kallenius would attend the forum. A spokesperson for pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca declined to comment on whether the CEO was attending and meeting Xi.
BMW's China chief Sean Green will also attend, according to people familiar with the matter, adding CEO Oliver Zipse would make clear to the Chinese government that the German carmaker planned to continue to support the market. BMW declined to comment.
None of the other firms immediately responded to requests for comment.
Top executives of several major mining, engineering and healthcare firms will also take part, according to the draft agenda, which could be subject to last-minute changes, one of the sources said. Compared to previous years, a higher proportion of European CEOs are represented.
Xi is likely to meet a select group of foreign chief executives on March 28, which could include European and British CEOs, said one source, adding that the list of attendees and timings could be subject to last-minute changes. was not able to determine the list of overseas CEOs expected to meet Xi.
U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 20% tariffs on Chinese exports this month, prompting China to retaliate with additional duties on American agriculture products.
Foreign direct investment into China fell 13.4% year-on-year in January, according to official data released last month.
"Any trip to China by American CEOs would be very low-key given the current heightened scrutiny on American investment in China from Washington," said the source, adding that fewer U.S. CEOs would attend this year.
However, some leading American chip firms such as Broadcom and Synopsys are sending their CEOs, according to a list of foreign delegates seen by . Micron said on Tuesday its CFO Mark Murphy has been invited to attend the forum this year.
American firms subject to current investigations or scrutiny by Chinese authorities including Google, Illumina, PVH and Walmart were also not on the draft agenda.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is not likely to meet with foreign CEOs this year, the source added, after he skipped a customary meeting last year - one of the rare opportunities for foreign executives to have face time with a top Chinese official.
"I think it's still important for the Chinese to showcase their interest in foreign businesspeople but it's hard to see how there is a real dialogue going on," Joerg Wuttke, partner at DGA Group and former president of the European Chamber of Commerce in China, told reporters in Shanghai on Monday.
"It would be nice if (Xi) has a new message of real openness and the question is would he do this. In the European business community we've coined this phrase 'promise fatigue'."
On the sidelines of last year's forum, Xi told around 20 American CEOs that China's growth prospects remained bright and dismissed concerns of a "China peak theory".
This year's visit marks a rare interaction between American CEOs and Chinese government representatives as high-level meetings have dwindled since Trump took office. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi did not meet any American government counterparts during a visit to New York last month.
EMPHASIS ON CONSUMPTION
Notable domestic attendees listed on this year's draft agenda include CEO of Unitree Robotics Wang Xingxing and Miranda Qu, co-founder and president of social media app RedNote, which became a sensation in the U.S. earlier this year as ByteDance-owned TikTok was on the cusp of being banned.
RedNote and Unitree did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Wang attended a rare meeting Xi held with some of China's biggest tech firm CEOs last month. The tightly choreographed pro-business rally sent a strong signal of support to China's embattled tech sector and reflected policymakers' concern about U.S. efforts to limit China's technological development, analysts said.
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan as well as senior officials from the IMF will also attend, according to the draft agenda.
This year's draft forum agenda includes themed seminars on the development of China's medical sector and boosting domestic consumption.
Chinese policymakers have made expanding domestic demand their top priority this year as they try to cushion the impact of the U.S. tariffs on its crucial export engine.
China's top leaders have maintained an economic growth target of around 5% for 2025, but analysts say that may be a tall order given pressure on exports, tepid household demand and a protracted property crisis. (Reporting by Laurie Chen and Beijing Newsroom; Additional reporting by Brenda Goh and Casey Hall in Shanghai, Miyoung Kim in Seoul and Christina Amann in Berlin; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Ros Russell, Kate Mayberry and Lincoln Feast.)
(source: Reuters)