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The strike in Belem has slowed down construction of the COP30 hotel, which includes heads of state.
The strike of construction workers in Brazil's Amazonian City of Belem - the venue for a global climate conference in November - has disrupted some of the work on Leaders' Village, which is expected to host dozens of leaders from around world in six weeks' time. Cleber Rabelo, the president of the local union of construction workers, said that one section of the compound was about 60% stopped. The union is asking for an increase of 9.5% in the monthly wage. He added that "in the other section we were able to perform temporary shutdowns". The strike that began on Monday has caused Brazil to face new challenges in organizing the COP30 summit. The mood has been dampened by the high hotel costs and demand in Belem. Several country delegations, as well as civil society groups, have complained that they were shut out from the conference due to the cost. The compound which will house the government leaders must be finished in time for a summit of presidents that will take place November 6-7, ahead of the COP30 conference November 10-21. Images taken on Friday revealed that a large, multi-story building with a helipad was still in its final stages of construction. Sources within the federal government who monitor construction have confirmed that four out of five blocks are almost finished. The original intention was to open the compound in October. Sources acknowledged that the strike may delay the project but said that the government expected the construction work to be completed on time. Rabelo criticised employers for presenting an offer which the union rejected because it was too little. This led to workers continuing a strike that is now affecting construction work in the entire city. He added that COP construction sites were partly spared. Rabelo reported that the strike also affected hotel projects related to COP30. However, Rabelo added, companies managing those projects had reached agreements with their workers, allowing for work to resume Monday. Reporting by Lisandra paraguassu and Marx Vasconcelos, both in Belem. Editing by Manuela andreoni and Frances Kerry.
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Trump asks US Supreme Court for enforcement of passport policy against transgender people
The administration of President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow it the ability to block the issue of passports which reflect the gender identity of transgender or nonbinary Americans on Friday. The Justice Department has filed an urgent request to lift the order of a federal court that prevents the U.S. State Department enforcing Trump's policy. The executive order Trump signed on January 20, after he returned to office, directing the government only to recognize two biologically distinct genders, male and feminine. In court documents, the administration argued that "the judge's order has no basis in law or logical." The Justice Department wrote that "private citizens cannot force government officials to use incorrect sex designations in identification documents, especially when they are government-owned and represent the president's constitutionally and statutorily granted power to communicate with other governments." In April, U.S. District Court Judge Julia Kobick of Boston issued a preliminary order that stopped the implementation of the policy for six of seven transgenders and nonbinary individuals who had sued to contest the policy. She then expanded the scope to stop the policy from being enforced against all transgender, intersex and nonbinary passport holders who were in a similar situation. Kobick is an appointee by Democratic former President Joe Biden. He found that State Department policy violated the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees equal protection to transgender Americans. The Boston-based 1st U.S. The Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston declined to suspend the judge's order on September 4, prompting the Trump Administration to request the Supreme Court. The ACLU (the civil liberties group that represents the plaintiffs) did not respond immediately to a comment request. Before Trump's election, the State Department allowed passport holders to update their sex designation for over three decades. Biden's administration in 2022 allowed passport applicants to select "X" on their passport application as a neutral gender marker and self-select either "M" for males or "F" (for females) to indicate whether they are males or women. Trump's executive orders defined "sex", as "an individual’s immutable classification as male or female". The State Department was required to issue passports which "accurately reflected the holder’s sex". In their submission to the Supreme Court, Justice Department lawyers said that "that policy is eminently legal." The Constitution does not prevent the government from defining sexuality in terms of a person's biological classification. (Reporting from Andrew Chung in Washington and John Kruzel, with additional reporting from Nate Raymond in Boston. Editing by Chizu nomiyama and Howard Goller.
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Iraq is close to a deal that will restart oil exports to Turkey from Kurdistan, say sources
Iraq, OPEC’s second largest producer, has given its preliminary approval to a proposal to resume pipeline oil sales from its semiautonomous Kurdistan through Turkey after delays in a hoped for restart. The agreement between the federal government of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and international oil companies may add 230,000 barrels of new supplies per day at a moment when OPEC producers increase output to regain share on the market. Iraq exports approximately 3.4 million barrels per day of oil from its southern ports. However, the Kirkuk-Ceyhan Pipeline in the north is closed since March 2023. This was after a court arbitral ruled that Turkey must pay $1.5 billion as damages for exports unauthorised between 2014 and 2018. Turkey has appealed the ruling. Ankara has said that it would like to resume exports. However, they are still suspended due to ongoing legal and politics disputes between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government of Erbil and international oil companies. Two sources familiar with these talks confirmed that the Iraqi cabinet gave preliminary approval to an export plan. International oil companies in Kurdistan also agreed to this plan. APIKUR, which represents Genel Energy, DNO, and Gulf Keystone among others, declined to comment citing ongoing discussions. "Discussions are intensifying and we're closer than ever to a trilateral agreement... as everyone is showing flexibility", said an executive of one of the multinational oil companies. According to the preliminary plan the KRG committed to deliver at least 230,000 barrels per day to Iraq's SOMO state oil marketing company, and keep an additional 50,000 barrels per day for local consumption. Ceyhan's sales would be handled by an independent trader using SOMO official prices. Each barrel sold would receive $16 in escrow and be distributed to the producers proportionately. The rest of the revenue will go to SOMO. The draft plan does not also specify when or how producers will be paid the arrears of about $1 billion, which accumulated from September 2022 to March 2023. Luke Clements (CFO of Genel Energy) told a conference held in Oslo, Norway, last week, that significant progress had been made in the drafting of agreements to restart pipelines exports. "But we still need to push it over the top," he said. Reporting by Nerijus Adomiaitis in Oslo, and Ahmed Rasheed from Baghdad. Writing by Yousef Sabah; Editing by Aidan Lewis & Jan Harvey
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Serbia's NIS Oil Company seeks 7th waiver of US sanctions
The Serbian oil company NIS, which is owned by Russia, has asked for a seventh exemption to delay U.S. sanction that could put its crude oil supplies at risk. It also wants its name removed from Washington's list of sanctions. The waiver granted last month expires September 26. NIS, a company owned by Gazprom and Gazprom in majority, operates the only oil refinery of Serbia, located outside the capital Belgrade, at Pancevo. NIS confirmed that the request was made on 18 September. The statement said that the request was also made for the removal of its name from the list Specially Designated Nationals, but acknowledged that this would be a long and complex process. On January 10, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Russia's oil industry over Moscow's involvement in Ukraine and gave Gazprom a 45-day deadline to sell its NIS shares. Pancevo's annual capacity is 4.8 million tons. This covers most of the Balkan country's crude needs. Sanctions could threaten its supply via Croatia's Janaf. Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou, Daria Sito and Joe Bavier; editing by Joe Bavier
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Maguire: Texas and California extend their clean energy lead over the rest of US
Texas and California have driven U.S. clean electricity supplies to record-high levels so far in 2025. They are also building a wider lead over the remainder of the country when it comes to the share of power generated by clean energy sources. LSEG data shows that the combined clean power output of the main power systems from California and Texas reached new highs from January to August, and grew by 10% compared to the same months in the year 2024. The clean output growth in California and Texas was nearly two times as high as the total electricity generation elsewhere. Texas and California are also leading the U.S. for new installations of combined solar and battery storage capacities so far in 2025. This will likely lead to a further concentration of clean energy growth in these states. Other states could now fall further behind Texas in terms of clean and total energy generation, as federal support for new clean energy capacity is set to decline sharply. It could lead to a lopsided growth in national electricity, as states with large clean capacity footprints will outpace states who have adopted clean generation capacity more slowly over the past few years. FORGING Ahead According to LSEG, data shows that from January to August, 74% of wholesale electricity generated by the California Independent System Operator - CAISO came from clean sources. This was the highest share of clean generation ever recorded for California. It compares with a 68% share in the same months last season and a 60% percentage for the same period in 2023. Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which covers the majority of Texas, generated 46.5% of their power from clean sources between January and August. This was a record-breaking share, up from 43% in 2013 and 41% in 2023. LSEG data show that the total volume of clean energy generated by CAISO from January to August 2024 increased by 4%, to a new record of 3.8 million Megawatt Hours (MWh). ERCOT generated 6.4 million MWh between January and August, which is 14% higher than the same period the previous year. It's also a record high. This combined total of clean generation from these two states reached 10.2 million MWh. This represents a 10% increase from the previous year. The rest of the U.S. generated clean power at a rate of 39.9 millions MWh from January to August, which is also a record. However, this was only a 2.6% rise compared to the same months in 2020. Shares Expanding California and Texas have expanded their clean energy generation faster than the rest the country. Their combined share of national clean electricity generation has reached a new record of 20,4% in 2025. This share is compared to 19.3% from January to August 2024 and 19% between January and August 2023. Clean power supply in CAISO & ERCOT has grown at a rapid pace. In January to August of this year, clean power sources made up 54% of total CAISO & ERCOT power generation. Fossil fuels made up 46%. LSEG data show that the remaining U.S. power generation system is composed of a mix of 39% fossil fuel and 61% clean energy. CAISO and the ERCOT systems also built much of the U.S. new solar and battery storage over the last year. According to the data portal Cleanview, 36% of the new solar capacity and 66% new battery capacity was added. These additions place CAISO/ERCOT in a position of strength to continue outperforming other states in harnessing and deploying new clean energy, even as power operators from other states struggle with reduced federal funding for clean power. This means that Texas and California are more likely to be able to keep up with national power demand growth than other states, and this could result in a divergence of power market dynamics among ERCOT and CAISO. These are the opinions of the columnist, an author for. You like this article? Check it out Open Interest The new global financial commentary source (ROI) is your go-to for all the latest news and analysis. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis on everything from soybeans to swap rates. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on You can find us on LinkedIn.
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FedEx shares rise as Wall Street celebrates profits despite trade uncertainty
FedEx shares rose 5.4% on Friday in premarket trade after Wall Street was surprised by the company's impressive first-quarter results. The gains were attributed to strong domestic deliveries, cost-cutting initiatives, and a decline in international volume due to tariffs. As it works to cut billions in costs, the company has relied on cost-saving measures, such as closing facilities, parking planes and merging departments. UPS shares jumped nearly 2% just before the bell. The overall average daily volume rose by 4% during the third quarter as strong demand for summer holidays in the United States offset a drop of 3% in exports. Revenue per package climbed 2%. Daiwa Capital Markets analyst writes in a note that "key revenue growth drivers will likely be the ramping up of Amazon volume, yield increases, and absence of USPS" headwind. The peak season volume is expected to increase by mid-to high single digits. FedEx terminated its partnership with the U.S. Postal Service after two decades. Postal Service contract, which had always been a drag on profits due to high costs and low margins. Analysts who were tempered in their expectations due to global trade headwinds expected a loss of profit from the ending of "de minimis exemptions" that allowed duty-free entries for shipments below $800. FedEx instead reported a 2.2% increase in adjusted profit during the quarter ending August. J.P.Morgan analysts noted that FedEx's strong F1Q, and the issuance of an FY26 guide, was a pleasant surprise for a firm that had been hit by many headwinds. However we do note the bar set was low before the publication. The company's profit projection for fiscal 2026 was just below Wall Street expectations. FedEx is trading at 11.83 times its projected 12-month earnings, while UPS is at 12.04. Both stocks, however, are lagging behind the market due to a softening of industrial demand, and a shift towards cheaper ground shipping.
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ResInvest Group to buy Datteln 4 from Uniper as part of the government's rescue
German utility Uniper announced on Friday that it has agreed to sell Datteln 4, a 1 gigawatt coal fired power plant, to commodity traders and investment group ResInvest Group. The company said in a press release that the transaction includes not only the coal infrastructure but also the heat generation plants associated with it. On Wednesday, it was revealed that negotiations were in progress on the sale Datteln 4. This asset is the most valuable of a list of assets to be sold by the EU as part of the agreement for Berlin to bail out Uniper with 13.5 billion euros ($15.87billion) in 2022. The parties failed to disclose the purchase price. Sources familiar with the situation said that the plant could be worth around 1 billion euro, which is less than the 1.5 billion euros it cost to construct. Reporting by Paolo Laudani, Gdansk. Editing by Friederike Hines.
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LME Zinc stocks indicate tight market but physical supplies are plentiful
The London Metal Exchange has reported a decline in zinc inventories registered in their warehouses in recent months. This suggests a tightening market for the metal that is used to galvanize steel. However, industry sources claim there are plenty of supplies available on the physical market. Zinc stocks at LME warehouses are now down 75% since mid-April, to 47,825 tons. This is the lowest level of zinc stock in LME storages since May 2023. The cancellation of warrants that represent metals earmarked for shipment indicates another 16,450 tonnes are expected to leave LME warehouses. The price of zinc is likely to continue to be affected by headwinds over the next year, according StoneX analyst Natalie Scott Gray. She cited a weaker Chinese demand as well as an improved supply. However, she noted that the low stock environment would help support the price. Cash contract premiums have been impacted by concerns about LME Zinc supplies. . This week, the premium reached a record high of $41.33 per ton. The backwardation of the zinc maturity curve suggests that the market is expecting LME supply to be tight for a while. The latest quarterly survey shows that analysts are expecting a small surplus in zinc this year of 80,000 tonnes and 201.500 tons next. The global zinc demand is estimated to be around 14 million tons per year. Zinc inventories are found in warehouses monitored and controlled by the Shanghai Futures Exchange Since late June, the number of tons has more than doubled, reaching 99,315 tonnes, indicating a weakening demand in China, the world's largest consumer. Tom Price, analyst at Liberum, said that the most important factor affecting zinc prices and demand is the decline in global steel production activity in particular in China. We also remind investors that there is greater value in tracking changes in exchange inventory than in tracking the moods of the galvanisers in the zinc industry. According to the World Steel Association, global crude steel production in July was 150.1 millions tons, down 1.3% on the previous year. Chinese output fell 4%, at 79.7million tons. (Reporting and editing by David Goodman.)
Striking Boeing Defense machinists approve union's contract proposal that the company rejected
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers announced on Friday that striking workers at Boeing Defense have approved a proposal for a four-year union contract from the union leadership, which management had previously refused to consider.
Boeing Defense's leadership rejected the offer on Wednesday as "publicity stunt" after it was unilaterally made following a halt in talks. The company said that it would hire replacements to assemble fighters, munitions and other military planes in the St. Louis region.
The IAM proposal builds on previous proposals from Boeing Defense. It adds a higher ratification bonus, more substantial company contributions to retirement plans, and steeper wage hikes for workers earning the maximum hourly wage.
The union officials claimed that they had drafted the proposal as the company was unwilling to resume negotiations since Boeing's previous offer, which was rejected by 57% of the 3,200 IAM District members in 837 on September 12, has been rejected. Reporting by Dan Catchpole, Seattle; Editing and proofreading by David Gregorio
(source: Reuters)