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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.
Don't get too excited about China's growing gas usage: Maguire
China has boosted imports of melted natural gas (LNG) this year to the greatest considering that 2021 and has actually lifted naturalgas fired electricity generation to record levels.
At a high level, rising purchases and usage might recommend that China is beginning to rely more on gas to produce power and electricity in the country, which further boosts in both gas imports and intake are looming.
Nevertheless, a more detailed take a look at China's electrical power patterns expose that gas plays just a minimal role in the generation mix, and that renewables and other clean power sources hold much greater prominence when it pertains to electricity production.
What's more, gas costs stay raised compared to power produced from coal and renewables, which is undermining gas' appeal as a power source amongst industrial firms which have actually been hit by China's sustaining property crisis and economic downturn.
If smokestack firms continue to favour more affordable fuels for industrial applications while energies prioritise renewables, there might be only really minimal scope for more gas usage boosts in China over the near to medium term.
A SMALLER SIZED PIECE OF A BIGGER PIE
Natural gas-fired electrical energy generation in China hit a. record 188 terawatt hours (TWh) over the very first 8 months of. 2024, Ash information shows.
That overall was 1.5% up from the exact same months in 2023, and for. natural gas bulls was a sign of continued expansion of natural. gas in China's electricity generation system following a 6.4%. increase in gas-fired generation in 2023.
Nevertheless, gas's share of overall utility-scale. electricity generation decreased to a seven-year low of 2.8% so. far in 2024, which is below a 3% share in 2023.
The erosion of gas's piece of China's generation mix plainly. suggests that electrical power producers have other top priorities when. it comes to increasing electricity products.
Certainly, only bioenergy plants have a smaller share of. national utility-scale electrical energy supply, while production from. solar, wind and hydro properties are all at least 3 times larger. than gas-fired output.
LNG IMPORTS
China's imports of LNG so far this year have leapt by. nearly 15% from the very same months in 2023, according to LSEG.
That growth speed smoothly exceeded the roughly 5% rise seen. into South Korea and the 2.5% development published by Japan over the. very same period.
The cumulative overall of LNG delivered to China up until now this. year was simply shy of 80 billion cubic meters, according to LSEG,. and the greatest since 2021 for the very same period.
That upturn in LNG need does show higher gas usage by. both power companies and other end users such as factories and. industrial plants.
However, the power produced from imported LNG is approximated. to be approximately $30-$ 40 more costly per megawatt hour than that. produced using coal, according to the Institute for Energy. Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
That implies that just those companies that have actually currently changed. coal-fired boilers with gas-fired set-ups are burning that gas,. while those plants that can still utilize coal or other fuels for. power are burning that rather and keeping clear of costly gas.
A sustained healing in total commercial demand will. most likely trigger further LNG imports and use in China going. forward, particularly by those firms that do not have the methods to. use coal instead.
However unless LNG expenses come materially lower over the near. term, couple of other Chinese industrial users are expected to sign up. for a switch to gas - specifically if China's overall economy. stays wobbly and industrial earnings scarce.
OUTGROWN
Gas's usage potential customers also look restricted in the electrical power. production world.
Considering that 2018, Chinese energies have actually increased output from solar. farms by 378% and by 163% from wind farms, however have raised. gas-fired generation by just 36%.
What's more, utilities have actually added almost 14 times more. renewables generation capability as gas-fired capability since 2018,. and continue to accelerate the build-out of solar and wind farms. across the country.
The resulting electrical power production network is clearly. geared to prioritise clean power over fossil power, despite the fact that. coal stays the largest single fuel source in China's. generation system.
Indeed, cumulative electrical power output from solar, wind,. hydro and nuclear plants struck new highs so far this year, and has. climbed 20% from the very same months in 2023.
That strong jump pressed clean power's share of the overall. generation mix to a brand-new high of 38%, and assisted cut fossil. fuel's share to a record low 62%.
Provided Beijing's pledge to end up being carbon neutral by 2060,. even more steep increases in clean energy generation are needed,. while just limited increases in fossil power are expected.
Further, China's energies mean to rely more on coal than. other fossil fuels as the primary pillar of electrical power output, and. are building brand-new coal capability to change outdated plants and. make sure grid stability as overall power demand continues to grow.
That leaves little scope for any considerable rise to natural. gas's generation footprint in China, even if LNG imports and. gas-fired output continue to nudge slowly higher in the close to. medium term.
<< The viewpoints expressed here are those of the author, a. columnist .>
(source: Reuters)