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Source in the Parliament says that Berlin will take a minority stake in TenneT Germany's power grid
The German budget committee approved the purchase of a minority share in the German division?of the Dutch high-voltage transmission grid 'TenneT', according to a German parliamentary report on Friday. This is part of a longstanding plan by the German government to consolidate its control over key infrastructure. The source said that conservatives, centre-left SPD, and the Greens were all in favor of the decision, but the far-right AfD was against it, and the Left Party abstained. In a November letter, the economy ministry'said that it intended to sign a 'agreement to buy a 25% stake in TenneT Germany in early 2026. It allocated 5.8 billion euro ($6.73 billion), as well as additional payment obligations, as part of capital increase from 2026-2029. The Dutch government agreed in September to sell up to 9.5 billion euro of TenneT Germany shares to a consortium made up of pension fund manager APG and Singapore's sovereign fund GIC, as well as Norges Bank Investment Management. Berlin has been considering buying a 25% stake in the company as part of an effort to maintain greater control over "critical energy infrastructure assets" but this was unsuccessful when a previous attempt failed in 2024.
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Wall Street Journal, January 16,
These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These?stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch for their accuracy. Mitsubishi Corp, a Japanese trading company, has agreed to buy Aethon’s shale-gas assets in Texas and Louisiana. This is its largest acquisition ever. Verizon Communications received the final approvals needed to purchase fiber-optic broadband service provider Frontier Communications, after agreeing to some concessions with California regulators. This included a commitment to small-business expenditure. After a period of?two? years,?Walmart Chief Executive Officer Kathryn McLay is stepping down. Ford Motors and BYD have begun discussions about a partnership where the American automaker would purchase batteries from the Chinese company for some of Ford's models. The Trump Administration is planning to propose that the country's largest grid operator, which operates America's power grids, hold an "emergency" auction where tech companies could bid for new power plants to be built. Mark Carney, Canada's prime minister, took a major step in reinvigorating Canada's trade with China. Beijing is increasingly trying to win over U.S. allies who are frustrated by American protectionism. (Compiled by Bengaluru Newsroom)
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Tokyo commuter trains are affected by a power outage, which affects 673,000 passengers
A railway power outage in Tokyo disrupted Friday morning commutes for approximately 673,000 passengers as two lines serving some of the busiest stations around the world were shut down. East Japan Railway (JR East's) Yamanote and Keihin Tohoku lines were shut down for up to 9 hours on Friday. JR East reported that both lines were left without power early Friday morning after overnight maintenance work at Tokyo's Tamachi Station. A spokesperson confirmed that smoke was visible coming from an equipment box located near the station. Firefighters and railway staff helped passengers disembark from the Keihin Tohoku train that was stuck between two stations. Social media images showed commuters crammed into crowded stations. The Yamanote Line passes through Shinjuku station, which is used by about 3.5 million passengers per day. The Keihin Tohoku Line is a major line that serves hubs like Tokyo and Yokohama. (Reporting and editing by William Mallard, Chang-Ran KIM, and Satoshi Sugiyama)
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Transport Authority: Dubai Air Taxis to start commercial flights in the year-end
Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority said that electric air taxis developed Joby Aviation will begin commercial operations in Dubai before the end of this year. Joby Aviation's first fully electric air taxi test flight in the emirate was conducted in June 2025. This is a significant milestone in Dubai's efforts?to introduce them to its existing transport networks. The Joby Aerial taxi, developed by a Californian company, is the "flagship" electric vertical take-off-and-landing aircraft. It can travel up to 160 km (100 miles), at speeds of 320km/h (200mph). Joby’s air taxi has zero emissions and is quiet enough to be used commercially in urban areas. Joby signed an agreement with Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority in early 2024 that gave the company the exclusive right to operate aerial taxis?in Dubai for the next six-year period. (Reporting and writing by Federico Maccioni, Editing by Christian Schmollinger & Jane Merriman).
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French and Benelux stocks: Factors to watch
Here are some company news and stories that could impact the markets in France and Benelux or individual stocks. AEROPORTS de Paris SA: French airport operator Aeroports -de-Paris reported a full year 2025 traffic of 389.0 million passengers. This is an increase of 4.2% over last year. ALSTOM SA : French train manufacturer Alstom has received a $1.66 billion Canadian dollar order for?70 new trains to be used on Toronto's Line 2 subway. HAVAS N.V.: The advertising and public relations firm Havas was selected to receive a five-year communication framework contract from the European Commission. HEINEKEN NV - The Nicaraguan Antitrust Authority has approved the Dutch brewing company 'Heineken's acquisition of a majority stake in Nicaraguan Brewing Holding S.A. held by FIFCO. KBC GROEP NV : Belgian Banking and Insurance Group KBC has completed the acquisition 365.bank at a total cost of?708 million euros. This strengthens its position in Slovakia, where 365.bank will operate'separately from CSOB under KBC. Pan-European market data: European Equities speed guide................... FTSE Eurotop 300 ?index.............................. DJ STOXX index...................................... Top 10 STOXX sectors........................... Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors...................... Top 10 Eurotop 300 ?sectors..................... Top 25 European pct gainers....................... Top 25 ?European pct losers........................ Main stock markets: Dow Jones ............... Wall Street Report ..... Nikkei 225............. Tokyo ?report............ London report ........... Xetra DAX............. Frankfurt items......... CAC-40................. Paris items............ World Indices..................................... Survey of global bourse outlook ......... European Asset Allocation........................ News in a glance Top News ............. Equities.............. Main Oil Report ........... Main currency report .....
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Vietnam aims to borrow $5.5 billion from abroad by 2026 in order to boost infrastructure development
Vietnam will secure $5.5 billion of foreign loans by 2026 to help speed up the construction of large national infrastructure projects, and to address persistent bottlenecks with development finance. In the last month, construction began on 234 infrastructures projects totaling 3,400 trillion Dong ($129.42 Billion) in Southeast Asia. 18% of the total will be funded by state funds, and the rest will come from investors, private, and others. The government did not provide a breakdown on the foreign loans planned for 2026 or any details about the types, which include official 'development assistance', concessional loans and other forms external financing. According to Tran Quoc Phuong, the Deputy Finance Minister, Vietnam will receive $624 million of new ODA and concessional loans in 2025. This is the same level as 'the previous year. Phuong, the National Steering Committee for ODA, told the committee that only 35.27 percent of the ODA was actually disbursed. This is a drop from the previous year. Phuong explained that the delays are due to a variety of factors, including the need for clearing?land, the difficulties in approving projects within forest areas, the bidding process, the tax complications and the prolonged loan negotiations. He said that issues with land pricing, and adjustments made to loan agreements further compounded obstacles. The government has placed public investment at the forefront of its economic strategy and set a target for GDP growth in 2026 that is over 10%. A new ODA Strategy for the period 2026-2030 aims to attract up to $38 billion for major infrastructure. Vietnam amended its public debt law last year to streamline processes, delegate more authority in ODA negotiations and eliminate procedural inefficiencies.
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Sources say that companies are scrambling to acquire ships and assemble operations for the transfer of Venezuelan oil.
Four sources familiar with these operations have said that oil companies looking to export Venezuelan crude to America after the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro, are in a hurry to find tankers. They also want to put in place operations to safely transfer crude from vessels to Venezuelan ports. Sources say that trading houses and oil companies such as Vitol, Trafigura and Chevron are competing to get deals with the U.S. Government to export Venezuelan crude oil. This is after President Donald Trump announced that Venezuela was set to deliver up to 50 million barrels sanctioned oil from Venezuela to the United States. Trafigura told the White House in a Friday meeting that the first vessel would be loaded in the following week. Venezuela, which has been under a U.S. Blockade for the past few months, has stored oil in tankers. Its storage tanks have also nearly reached capacity. The oil-holding vessels are under sanctions, old and poorly maintained. Sources said that other vessels are unable to make direct contact with ships sanctioned due to insurance and liability requirements. The tanks onshore have not been maintained in years and pose a risk to parties attempting to load the oil. Three sources said that Maersk Tankers, a shipping company, is looking to expand its ship-to-ship transfers in Venezuela. Maersk Tankers could replicate the ship-to-shore-to-ship logistics it ?has used before in Amuay Bay in Venezuela, one source said. Maersk has already established operations in Aruba and Curacao. These islands are frequently used for the transfer of Venezuelan oil. Transfers are also possible at Aruba and U.S. port, but they are much more expensive. Another shipping source stated that the transfer operations would be further complicated by the lack of smaller vessels that can transport oil from storage vessels to the piers where it can be transferred onto another ship. Two sources claim that potential clients are contacting AET to expand its operations. The firm had previously been involved in cargoes from Venezuela before U.S. Sanctions were imposed against the country. AET stated in a press release that "it is not currently working with anyone to call, tranship or load Venezuelan cargo directly or indirectly." AET said in a statement that it "is not currently working with any party to call, tranship, load or discharge Venezuelan cargo directly or indirectly." Maersk Tankers & Chevron didn't immediately respond to comments. Sources said that while supply could reach 500,000 barrels of oil per day, which Venezuela exported to the U.S. prior to sanctions, and would "drain" accumulated stocks in 90-120days, it would be difficult to achieve this goal if oil is taken from both tankers and storage onshore, they added. Companies are also fiercely competing for loading slots in Venezuela's main Jose terminal where speed and capacity are limited. Sources claim that Chevron is aggressively competing to maintain its privileged position in Venezuela, as well as lining up their vessel fleet. An industry source in Venezuela reported that oil companies such as Vitol, Trafigura and Chevron are already sourcing the much-needed naphtha. An industry source in Venezuela said that naphtha was typically blended with heavy Venezuelan crude oil to reduce its density and make it easier for refineries to process and transport.
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Mitsubishi will buy Texas and Louisiana Shale Gas assets for $7.53 Billion
The Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp announced on Friday that it would "take over" the U.S. assets for shale oil production and pipelines of Aethon Energy management, including its debts. The deal, which is?the largest?acquisition by Mitsubishi to date - will give the company an extensive natural gas operation near the U.S. Gulf Coast and the energy export infrastructure being developed there. The company stated that the transaction included $5.2 billion for Aethon equity interests, and $2.33 billion of net interest-bearing loans. This is a 'latest example of Japan investing into the U.S. Energy Sector after Tokyo positioned Gas?as key transition fuel, even beyond 2050. And as Japan prepares to meet the surging demand for power from data centres driven by artificial intelligence boom. Mitsubishi is a global leader in the liquefied natural gas (LNG), spanning the entire value chain, from upstream production, to trading, marketing and logistics. It has equity in several LNG projects around the world, including in Malaysia, Oman and Australia. Russia, U.S.A., Canada, and Australia are also involved. Total equity LNG production is currently about 15 million metric tons per year. Aethon's upstream assets, which are mainly focused on the Haynesville formation in Louisiana and East Texas, make it one of the biggest privately owned U.S. Gas producers. JERA, Japan's largest power generator, announced in October that it would purchase U.S. gas production assets worth $1.5 billion. Japan Petroleum Exploration, which has U.S. tight gas and oil assets, announced in December its biggest-ever acquisition of Verdad Resources Intermediate Holdings, VRIH. Following the news, shares in?Mitsubishi continued to decline, falling 2% against a 0.3% drop on the Nikkei index. In June, it was reported that Mitsubishi was in talks to buy the assets of Aethon Energy Management. Reporting by Yuka Obabayashi and Editing by Chang Ran Kim
Italy updates Arctic position as Greenland tensions increase
A government paper that will be released on Friday cites the "massive" military presence of Russia on its northern belt and the U.S. pursuit for Greenland.
Italy's Arctic Council observer status has been in place since 2013, and it updated its policy when recent tensions between the U.S. and Denmark over Greenland heightened the focus on the region.
Rome, in a draft policy document reviewed by?itself, pointed out that Moscow had refocused its attention on the Arctic "where vital energy and mineral resources are located for the country's safety" which included an increase?of their military presence.
The document stated that "the militarization in the region, a closer partnership between Russia and China, the loss of neutrality by Sweden and Finland after their NATO membership, and U.S. policy on Greenland were among the main drivers of change."
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, has reiterated his calls for American control over Greenland in order to prevent Russia and China from occupying this island. In Washington, the island, which is an 'autonomous territory under Danish control, rejected this idea, exposing a "fundamental difference".
Italy highlighted China's attempts to raise its Arctic profile, as a "self-declared" "near Arctic state," including a growing interest in shipping along the Northern Sea Route. It also noted closer military ties between Moscow and China.
The document stated that the development of Arctic ship routes offers "significant opportunities" to shipbuilders, including Italy's Fincantieri which builds vessels capable of operating in extreme environments. Reporting by Angelo Amante, Editing by Keith Weir & Thomas Derpinghaus
(source: Reuters)