Latest News
-
Traders say that Taiwan purchases approximately 95,450 tons of wheat from the United States.
In a Thursday tender, the Taiwan Flour Millers' Association purchased an estimated 95.450 metric tonnes of milling grain to be sourced in the United States, European traders reported. Two consignments of different wheat types were purchased for shipment to the U.S. Pacific Northwest Coast. The first shipment for August 9-23 consisted of 28,250 tons U.S. dark Northern Spring Wheat with a minimum protein content of 14.5%, purchased at an estimated price of $302.03 per ton (free on board). The cost and freight per ton was $336.83, including ocean shipping from Taiwan. The contract also included 11,750 tons hard red winter grain with a minimum protein content of 12.5%, purchased at $250.69 per ton FOB/$285.49 per ton C&F and 7,050 tonnes of soft white flour with a protein content of 8.5% to maximum 10%, bought at $238.83 per ton FOB/$273.63c&f. Traders said that CHS, a trading house, sold the soft white and dark northern spring in the first consignment. Columbia Grain International, meanwhile, was believed to be the seller of the hard red winter. They said that the second consignment was 29200 tons of dark spring wheat from northern Canada with a minimum protein content of 14.5%, purchased at an estimated price of $329.51 per ton c&f. The second consignment was not available in FOB terms. Second consignment included 12,000 tons hard red winter wheat with a minimum 12.5% content of protein, bought for $284.91 per ton c&f and 7,200 tonnes of soft white wheat with a minimum of 8.5% and a maximum of 10% protein, bought for $275.96 per ton FOB. Trading house Viterra claimed to have sold the entire second consignment. The reports reflect the opinions of traders, and it is still possible to estimate prices and volume later. (Reporting and editing by Mark Heinrich, with Michael Hogan)
-
EDHEC releases ratings to track the impact of climate on infrastructure assets
The founder and CEO of a climate rating firm founded at the French business school EDHEC, has said that it is the first company to have estimated financial losses for thousands infrastructure assets under different climate change scenarios. It is becoming increasingly important to understand the costs of climate changes, as political pressures are leading some countries (including the United States) to reduce environmental policies and climate targets. "We observed a critical disconnect." Climate risks are increasing, but most financial decisions ignore them or dismiss them as non-financial concerns, said EDHEC CEO Remy Estran. Scientific Climate Ratings will cover around 6,000 assets initially, before expanding to more than 5,000 listed stocks in 2026, according to him. While many companies have attempted to assess their exposure to physical risks from climate change such as wildfires and floods, the majority of assessments on the possible effect of infrastructure are at a high level. It is crucial to understand the financial risks embedded in the system, as billions of dollars have been invested in infrastructure, such as airports, ports and utilities that are susceptible to extreme weather. The ratings, which are based on a global EDHEC dataset tracking assets in great detail, will provide granular information to improve the financial risk assessment of investors and businesses. Two stages are included in the methodology: A Potential Exposure Ratings will assess how exposed an asset is to future climate risk under current government policies. A Climate Risk Effective Ratings will estimate the financial impact of various climate scenarios between 2035 and 2050, using probability analysis. This includes the likely dollar impact in terms of the net asset value. Estran-Fraioli stated that out of 6,050 assets, 1,088 will experience losses of 24% or more by 2035 if nothing is done. This figure could rise to 50% by 2050. He added that the assets with the highest rating (A or B) only account for 2% of expected losses, while the assets with the lowest rating (F and G) are responsible for almost 50%. (Reporting and editing by Emelia Sithole Matarise; Reporting by Simon Jessop)
-
Source: Air India plane crashes in India's Ahmedabad Airport
Air India and police officials confirmed that an Air India flight with more than 200 passengers on board crashed near Ahmedabad airport, in India's west city of Ahmedabad. They did not specify if there were any deaths. Air India reported that the plane was heading to London Gatwick Airport in the UK. Police officers, however, said the crash occurred in an area close to the airport. Air India announced on X that it was "ascertaining details" and would provide further updates. Television channels reported that the crash happened as the aircraft took off. The images showed smoke and thick black fire rising into the air near the airport. The video also included images of people being transported in stretchers or ambulances. The news agency ANI, citing the police control room in Gujarat, reported that 242 passengers were aboard. The CNN News18 TV station in India, however, reported that there were 220 passengers on board the aircraft and 12 crew members. Reporting by Tanvi mehta, Shivam patel; Writing and editing by Sakshi dayal and YP Rajesh
-
Austrian investigators slowly develop profile of school shooting suspect
Investigators in Austria are still trying to piece together the identity of the 21-year old man who committed the worst school shootings the country has ever seen. They have been unable to contact anyone who was close with the victim. Arthur A. was identified as the Austrian killer by local media. He shot 10 people at his former school in Graz before killing himself. The incident sent shockwaves throughout Austria which declared a three-day national mourning period. Police discovered discarded bomb plans and a nonfunctional bomb in his home following the shooting. However, it is unclear what caused his destructive impulses. Authorities stated that the suspect did not complete his studies in the school. Local media reported that the man who lived on the outskirts Graz with his mother felt bullied by the school and wanted to revenge. However, police have not confirmed these reports. He was described by his neighbours and local officials as a shy, slight man, who wore headphones and a cap to cover himself. Few locals wanted to speak about the suspect. Some people said they'd seen him but none claimed to know him. Sabine Jakubzig, a local council official, told Austrian TV that "he's not known at all in the area, meaning we were unable to speak with friends or acquaintances" yesterday. According to the newspaper Heute investigators stated that he didn't have a social media account. The police, who refused to comment, are holding a presser later on Thursday. Austrian magazine Profil reported that three months prior to the shooting, the suspect began practicing at a range near his house. It cited an unidentified regular. The man said that he had praised his son for accuracy but did not receive any response. The shooting club member quoted by Profil said: "He looked like someone from another world." Norbert Urabl was asked by ORF about the allegations of bullying at the Dreierschutzengasse School where the young man went to ask him questions. "Bullying" is a sensitive topic. "Bullying occurs at so many different levels, it is difficult to define the term in this situation," he said. "But, the fact is, if bullying is a trigger, then it is urgently necessary to recognize bullying processes earlier." (Reporting and writing by Alexandra Schwarz Goerlich and Francois Murphey, Editing by Ed Osmond, Dave Graham)
-
Armenians are increasingly worried about war with Azerbaijan due to escalating ceasefire violations
Khnatsakh residents are anxious at nightfall. Locals claim that every evening, around 10 pm, Azerbaijani soldiers fire into the night skies from their positions high above. Villagers say that bullets have been hitting houses regularly, but no one has been injured so far. Azerbaijan has denied that its troops are firing across the border and accused Armenian forces of violating ceasefire. Karo Andranyan (66), a retired mechanic, said, "It is very tense at home because we have children, little ones and elderly." Azerbaijani flags and a military position on a hillside are only 100 metres away from his door. This is a reminder that Armenia's bitter enemy is close by. Since the early 1990s, the heavily militarized 1,000-km border is closed. Two major wars have been fought in the last 40 years. This has destabilised the Caucasus, a region which is important for Russia, Iran, and Turkey because it contains major oil and natural gas pipelines towards Europe. Experts say that the rising tensions along the border increase the likelihood of a new conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as the two countries approach a crucial juncture in their tortuous peace process. In March, both sides announced that they had reached an agreement on the outline of a treaty of peace to be signed by 2026. This raised hopes for reconciliation. The draft envisages both sides delineating their shared borders, but requires Armenia to amend the constitution before Azerbaijan can ratify the deal. After months of relative calm, the reports of ceasefire breaches along the border are now soaring. Andranyan believes the gunfire at night is meant to intimidate both the local villagers and the small garrison Armenian troops that are stationed in the village. He said that the village, which according to census data had 1,000 residents, was emptying because locals were afraid of a return to war. What are we to do? Despite the fact that there has been no death on the border in over a year, cross-border gunfire is reported frequently. Azerbaijan has made the majority of accusations against Armenia since March. These include cross-border gunfire, and damage to property. Both sides have denied claims of ceasefire violation. Since 2020, the simmering conflict has decisively shifted in Azerbaijan’s favor. The oil and gas producer regained territory lost during the 1990s. It also progressively reestablished control over Nagorno Karabakh where ethnic Armenians established de facto autonomy since the collapse the Soviet Union. It retook Karabakh in 2023, causing 100,000 ethnic Armenians from the region to flee to Armenia. Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, told a hearing of Congress last month that there was "a real risk" of war. He stated that the U.S. wished Azerbaijan to "accept a peace accord that doesn't cause them to invade a neighboring nation, Armenia." Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev has been in power since 2003. He said that in January, Armenia was a "fascist menace" that must be eliminated. Laurence Broers is an expert in Armenia and Azerbaijan from London's Chatham House. He said that a full-scale conflict was possible but more localised clashes are more likely. He said Azerbaijan's population, which is 10 million, is three times that of Armenia. It has little incentive to sign a peace agreement quickly and could instead use smaller scale escalation to force its neighbor to make further concessions during the talks. Ilham Aliyev's strategy of escalation and militarization was a great success, he said. The Armenian authorities have insisted that there will not be a war. Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia, said in a speech delivered last month that "despite all arguments and all provocations", the two countries will not fight again. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry responded to questions regarding the tensions along its border by referring to previous comments. In a May statement, Baku said it was committed to peace and had no territorial claims against Armenia. In a statement in May, it said that Yerevan’s actions "call Armenia’s commitment to peace into question". The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry has denied Armenian reports that cross-border gunfire had taken place. Tensions in the South The conflict is centered in Armenia's southernmost region of Syunik, where the majority of ceasefire violations have been reported. Syunik divides Azerbaijan's main body to the east and the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhchivan in the west. It is also a crucial trade route between Armenia and Iran, with which it shares a border to the south. Azerbaijan demands that Armenia build a route through Syunik and Nakhchivan since 2020. Baku said the passage would be Armenian territory, but with minimal control from Yerevan. Azerbaijani officials also claim that the southern part of Armenia was historically Azerbaijani land, but they haven't made a formal territorial claim. Armenia has closed its border with Azerbaijan and its frontier with Turkey, a close ally to Baku. This makes its border with Iran the lifeline of trade. Syunik's corridor could cut off the country's access to its remote mountainous border. Armenia and Iran share a warm relationship, despite Armenia’s Christian faith and its increasingly pro-Western orientation. Iran was Armenia's largest importer in 2022. Tehran's Defence Minister visited Yerevan in May. Iranian media reported that he expressed Iran's opposition against redrawing borderlines in the region. Armenia's tensions with its traditional ally Russia are a major problem. Russia opposes Armenian efforts to move closer to the west and has strengthened its ties with Azerbaijan. "Armenia has open borders with Georgia and Iran. "This keeps the country moving," said Tigran Grizaryan, director at the Regional Centre for Democracy and Security, a think tank in Yerevan. Grigoryan stated that Azerbaijani demands for the corridor may be the spark to future military escalation. He said that the ceasefire violation could be an attempt to force Armenia to make concessions over the issue. He said: "If Armenia lost its border with Iran that would be a disaster." Requests for comments from the Iranian and Russian Foreign Ministries were not answered. The Iranian connection is evident throughout Armenia's south. Iranian road workers work to widen a mountainside road that is clogged by lorries coming from the south, headed north toward Georgia and Russia. Some locals are selling red wine in plastic bottles to newly-arrived truckers from Iran where alcohol is prohibited. Meghri is the historic town at the southernmost point of Armenia, and the gateway to Iran. Bagrat Zakaryan, Bagrat's deputy mayor, said that the town, which is only 16 km from Azerbaijan and has a population of 4,000, had its everyday life overshadowed due to tensions with Baku. He said that "given the recent events of Karabakh and what President Azerbaijan says, there's this feeling of terror." Opportunity for Peace Some people are more optimistic than others about the prospects of peace. Armen Davtyan, who was deputy director at Meghri railway station from 1993 to 1993, sat on a crossroads that connected Yerevan with Baku and Iran with the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. After the Karabakh War of 1988-1994 and the closing of the border, Davtyan began working as a borderguard. A derelict train with an emblazoned Soviet emblem lingers in the parking lot of the station, just metres away from the Iranian border. Davtyan said that he remembered fondly the days before the war, when Armenians worked with Azerbaijanis on the railways. He hopes to see cross-border trains again arrive at Meghri Station one day. He said: "I understand that some people fear that the Azerbaijanis may return if the rail reopens." "But if people in 2025 are still afraid of us opening up transport links, that seems a bit absurd." (Reporting and editing by Daniel Flynn; Felix Light)
-
Ukrainian pea prices could rise due to expected exports to China. Producers say
Ukrainian producers' union UAC stated on Thursday that prices for Ukrainian peas could rise dramatically by mid-summer due to the expected large supply to China which opened its market this spring to Ukrainian peas. According to data from the farm ministry, farmers sowed peas on 250,000 hectares in 2020, compared to 212,000 hectares sown in 2024. UAC stated in a press release that "China has opened their market and a substantial part of the peas are likely to go there." UAC stated that an increase in demand may push pea prices as high as 16,000 hryvnias (385.33) per ton EXW in late summer, compared to the current 14,000. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, pea production could rise from 409,000 metric tons during 2024/25 to 476,000 tons during 2025/26's July-June. The ministry stated that Ukraine exports peas mainly to Turkey, India and Malaysia.
-
New York Times Business News - June 12,
These are the most popular stories from the New York Times' business pages. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. Israel is reportedly preparing an attack on Iran soon, according to officials from the United States and Europe. This could delay the efforts of the Trump administration in brokering a deal that would stop Iran's progress towards building a nuclear weapon. A U.S. official stated on Wednesday that the Trump administration is reviewing a security agreement between the United States and Britain to provide Australia with nuclear subs. The agreement is meant to "align with the president's America First Agenda". Sean Duffy, secretary of transportation on Wednesday, endorsed the calls for the inspector general to audit the air safety protocols in Washington DC following a fatal crash between a civilian flight and a helicopter. Officials told senators that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Army will soon sign a policy to prevent such accidents. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health Secretary, named eight doctors and scientists, including four that have expressed their opposition to vaccinations in some form, on Wednesday. They will replace about half of the experts he dismissed from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Compiled Bengaluru Newsroom)
-
Airbus can hit delivery goal despite delays, jetmaking CEO says
Airbus' CEO for its core planemaking division said that the company is "cautiously optimistic" about its ability to meet its target of 820 deliveries by 2025 despite bottlenecks which have seen nearly 40 airframes waiting in its factories for engines. Christian Scherer stated that while overall supply chains "improved considerably," bottlenecks still exist in the supply of CFM single-aisle engines and cabin interiors of wide-body jets. Lavatories have also been added to the list of delays. "We haven’t changed our delivery guidance." Scherer warned reporters not to extrapolate from monthly figures, after a recent series of monthly deliveries that were down compared to the previous year. CFM's engines are gradually increasing in output. We haven't changed our outlook because we think we'll get the engines between now and year-end," he said. "It is a gradual rise - we are a bit behind at the moment, but we remain cautiously optimistic that it will be possible". CFM is owned by GE Aerospace, France's Safran, and GE Aerospace. It supplies more than half the engines for the Airbus A320neo, the most popular family of Airbus aircraft. CFM competes with Pratt & Whitney, which offers alternative engines. CFM is the exclusive supplier of engines for the Boeing 737 MAX. "We have almost 40 gliders in our system," Scherer stated, referring to the nickname of the planemaker for planes which are otherwise completed but cannot be delivered to airlines because they are waiting for their engines. These engines are sold separately. CFM was not available for immediate comment. Top executives at CFM have stated that they've seen improvements in their own supply chain, and are poised to recover after a slow start of the year. Scherer stated that Airbus is on track to achieve its goal of building 75 A320neo family jets per month by 2027. Analysts are cautious in predicting when the goal will be achieved. "On single aisle (A320neo family) we are on the right track to achieve that (75 per month) and are just about to cruise past 60 (per month). We are on track to reach the 60s," Scherer stated. Airbus rarely talks about its monthly production targets in public. It has dropped the interim goal of 65 jets per month by 2023. Scherer spoke at a briefing on Airbus's market forecasts and product offerings ahead of next week's Paris Airshow. He said that the demand for aircraft remains "very high." (Reporting and editing by Jamie Freed; Tim Hepher)
Jetstar Asia, a low-cost airline operated by Qantas Australia, will be closed.
Qantas, Australia's flag carrier, announced on Wednesday that it would close Jetstar Asia in Singapore, its low-cost subsidiary, to recycle as much as A$500,000,000 ($326.40million) for fleet renewal.
Qantas announced that Jetstar Asia Airbus A320s will be redeployed in Australia and New Zealand.
Jetstar Asia is still negatively affected by the rising costs of suppliers, airport fees and competition.
Qantas stated that the low-cost carrier's ability "to deliver returns comparable with the stronger performing core market in the group" was fundamentally challenged.
Jetstar Asia expects to report a underlying EBIT of A$35million in the current financial period.
The airline will cease operations on July 31, but will continue to operate flights for seven weeks. Reporting and editing by Pooja Deai, Alan Barona, and Rishav chatterjee from Bengaluru.
(source: Reuters)