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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.
Marine oil sales in key ports drop as global uncertainty about trade brews
Industry sources report that sales of marine fuel are slowing down at major refuelling stations around the world at the beginning of the year, as the shipping industry struggles with geopolitical uncertainty and the impact of rising tariffs on the global trade.
Official data revealed that marine fuel sales in the first two month of 2025 at the world's No.1 and 3 refuelling hubs - Singapore and Fujairah, both in the United Arab Emirates - totaled 9.78 million metric tonnes (62.09 millions barrels), down 9% compared to the same period last year.
Singapore's marine fuel sales in February hit a 20 month low, while the number of vessels visiting the busiest port on earth also fell sharply.
Fujairah sales fell to a new low in February. The No.2 refuelling center Rotterdam is expected to release bunker sales figures at the end the quarter. European traders have also reported a slowdown in demand.
There has been some slowing down in the demand due to the economic slowdown. A European trader stated that freight rates have also been reduced as a consequence.
Shipping is responsible for 80% of global trade. However, the sector has been shaken by President Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs against key trading partners. This has triggered retaliation.
Christian Roeloffs is the CEO of Container xChange, a container trading and leasing platform. He said that shipping companies have optimised their operations to better navigate volatile tariffs and geopolitical instabilities.
The slowdown in the demand for marine fuel is a reflection on broader global trade uncertainty.
The decline in bunker sales comes after the global sales increased in 2024, following the attacks by Yemeni Houthis on Red Sea shipping that led most operators to divert their vessels around southern Africa.
Singapore fuel purchases in January and Februrary fell by at least 20 percent compared to the same period of last year. This was according to estimates from bunker suppliers.
Data from industry sources show that spot premiums for bunker fuel delivered in Singapore with a 0.5% low sulphur content hover around $10 per tonne after dropping to $5-$10 at the end of February. This is the lowest price in over a year.
A bunker trader from Asia said, "We don't know where the demand has gone." "Normally, if Singapore's demand is slow we would see an increase in demand from other port (in the area), but that hasn't happened."
Sources declined to name themselves as they weren't authorised to talk to the media.
Sources said that the demand at major refuelling hubs in Northeast Asia was also lukewarm. Suppliers at Zhoushan in eastern China have been cutting prices by at least $5 per ton to Singapore levels since mid January to attract customers.
In Europe, trade sources said bunker demand at the key ports of Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) has also slowed ahead of the Mediterranean ECA (Emission Control Area) regulation, which takes effect from May and requires ships operating to use fuel oil with sulphur content capped at 0.1%, down from 0.5%.
Fuel broker: "Big container shipping firms do not want too much VLSFO to be stuck with it once ECA begins in May," said a fuel dealer.
(source: Reuters)