Latest News
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Financial Times - Jan. 8
The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not validated these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headings - Fujitsu's UK goodwill eliminated in wake of Post Office scandal - Apple steps up growth of its News platform - Shein implicated of 'not respecting' UK MPs in grilling on labour practices - Thames Water junior lenders implicate rivals of 'predatory'. loan conditions Summary - Fujitsu's choice to limit bidding for UK. government agreements following the Post Workplace Horizon scandal. has actually resulted in a total write-off of goodwill worth on the balance. sheet of its UK company. - Apple plans to broaden its News app to new. countries, boost UK-focused news protection, and present its. puzzles area in the UK, intending to boost its influence in the. releasing industry, sources state. - Shein has come under fire from UK MPs for not appreciating. a cross-party parliamentary committee as the online fast-fashion. seller dealt with examination over its labour practices and strategies to. list on the London stock exchange. - Thames Water's junior bondholders have actually accused the. having a hard time utility's senior financial institutions of imposing predatory. conditions to a 3 billion pounds
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British Grid warns about tight supply of electricity on Wednesday evening
The National Energy System Operator in Britain (NESO) warned on Wednesday night of a shortage of electricity and urged the utilities to increase their power supply. The NESO has a number of measures to make sure there is enough power to meet the demand. On Tuesday evening, as the cold weather gripped much of Britain, the government issued an electricity margin notification asking generators to provide more power on Wednesday night. It said that at 1200 GMT there was still a possible system margin of 1,120 Megawatts short of what it wanted to have available. The notice was also withdrawn shortly afterwards. The capacity market scheme pays generators to ensure that power is available when the demand is high. In an emailed message, a NESO spokeswoman said that "these notices do NOT mean that the electricity supply is at risk or there is not enough to meet demand." Both of these notifications are part of NESO’s operational toolkit, and are routinely used during winters. Reporting by Susanna Twidale, Editing by Bernadettebaum and Kevin Liffey
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South Korea's KFA Busan purchased 65,000 T of corn in a private deal, traders claim
According to European traders, the Korea Feed Association in South Korea bought an estimated 65,000 tons of animal feed grain in a private transaction on Wednesday. There was no international tender. The corn was purchased by KFA Busan and believed to have come from United Grain Corporation for an estimated cost and freight of $238.40 per ton plus a $1.50 surcharge per ton for port unloading. Arrival in South Korea was expected around March 20. If the shipment originated from the U.S. Pacific Northwest Coast, it was made between February 5 and March 5, 2019. The reports reflect the assessments of traders. Further estimates on prices and volume are possible in the future. The deal was made amid concerns that Argentina's corn crop may be damaged by dryness and in advance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) monthly estimates of world agricultural demand and supply on Friday. Michael Hogan is reporting.
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South Korea's MFG purchases 132,000 T of corn in a private deal, traders claim
Major Feedmill Group of South Korea (MFG) bought an estimated 132,000 tons of animal feed in a private transaction on Wednesday, without holding an international tender. Two consignments of 66,000 tons were purchased. The origins could be anywhere in the world. Both were purchased at an estimated cost and freight of $238.33 per ton (c&f), plus an extra $1.25 per ton for port unloading. Both consignments were believed to have been sold by ADM, a trading house. They arrived in South Korea on March 30th for one and April 12th for the other. The reports reflect the opinions of traders, and it is still possible to estimate prices and volume later. The purchase followed a previous purchase of 140,000 tons animal feed corn by South Korean animal food maker NOFI in an international auction on Wednesday. Michael Hogan reports.
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Maguire: US gas-fired energy boom will have major emissions benefits in 2024.
In 2024, the United States' gas-fired electricity stations released over 1 billion tons of CO2 in one year. This is a record for the largest gas consumer and producer in the world. According to Ember, the 1.003 billion tons of emissions is a 3.6% increase from 2023 and a 40% increase in emissions from gas-fired electricity generation since 2015. These numbers are large but they lack context. The discharge from the U.S. coal-fired stations last year was just over 620 million tonnes, a new record low because of the lowest coal-fired electricity generation ever recorded. The lower coal production totals show that the U.S. electricity system has made significant reductions in overall pollution, even though gas emissions are on the rise. COAL VS CLEAN The reduction in coal usage has resulted in a total increase of only 0.5% from 2023, to 1.64 billion tonnes, but a decrease of 19% from 2015. This is despite the fact that total electricity production will reach a record high in 2024. The rapid growth in clean energy generation, including solar, wind and hydro assets, has helped to meet most of the increase in consumption over recent years. The total clean electricity production was 35% greater in 2024 than it was in 2015. This is primarily due to the nearly eightfold increase in solar power and a more-than-doubling of output from wind farms. Fossil fuels are still the mainstay of U.S. electricity generation, providing just over 58% last year. The fossil fuel share was 73% natural gas, and 26% coal. The power companies plan to further reduce coal consumption over the rest of the decade while adding renewables to their generation mix in order to keep up with the demand for electricity. Power suppliers will also become more dependent on natural gas in the future, especially to balance systems when intermittent energy production from renewable sources is not enough to meet overall demand. GAS FIX Ember reports that over 30 U.S. States rely on gas to meet 30% or more their electricity requirements. Gas is used in 13 of these states to generate 50% or more electricity. Nine additional states rely between 15% and 30% on gas. According to Global Energy Monitor's report, there are also nearly 50 gas-fired power plants in the U.S. that are either under construction or pre-construction, with a total capacity of around 30,000 megawatts. Natural gas is a major component of the U.S. energy system, and will continue to be so for many decades to come. This means that the overall emissions of natural gas in the U.S. are also expected to continue increasing. Some of these gas plants are being used to replace coal power stations that have been in operation for an average of 45 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. This means that even though more gas capacity is coming online, some of the most polluting coal plants in the U.S. will be shut down over the same period. This should help to cap overall fossil fuel emissions even as the U.S. energy system becomes ever gassier. These are the opinions of the author who is a market analyst at.
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Guyana's oil exports increase, gaining a market share of Europe in 2024
Guyana's oil output increased 54% to 582,000 barrels a day last year, fueled by European refiners who wanted to replace Middle Eastern crude grades with sweet crudes that were easy to process. The burgeoning oil country has become the fifth largest Latin American crude oil exporter since it began exporting oil early in 2020. It is now behind Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela. Guyana's lighter, sweeter crude grades are gaining market share in Europe. Most refineries there aren't as complicated as those on the Gulf Coast and Latin America, which typically offer heavy, sour oils. A trader for Latin American grades who was not authorized by the media to speak said that Europe is the best market for Guyana crude. He added that Europe was the fastest to adopt and test Guyana's crude grades, Liza, Unity Gold, and Payara Gold, due to their proximity, high quality, and ease of access to suppliers. Shipping data shows that in 2024, Guyana exported 66% or 388,000 bpd of its crude oil to Europe compared to 62% last year. Guyana's crude oil gained popularity in Europe after the Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022. Many refiners avoided sanctioned Russian oil and sought alternative supplies. Homayoun Falikshahi is a senior analyst at Kpler, who specializes in data analytics. He said that last year, the attacks in the Red Sea affected the oil flows coming from the Middle East. This gave crudes from Guyana, Brazil and other countries a better chance of finding buyers in Europe. He added that the higher freight costs for moving oil from the Persian Gulf into the Mediterranean or Northwest Europe made Guyanese Crude more attractive to European refiners. OPENING ROUTES The LSEG data also showed that exports from Guyana to the United States almost doubled last year, to 23,000 bpd. Exports to Asia increased by a smaller amount, to 139,000 bpd. The sales to Latin America and Caribbean remained almost the same at 32,000 bpd. Exports have increased due to the expansion of three floating production units led by U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil. A fourth facility is expected to add 250,000 bpd capacity in this year. According to Kpler, Exxon Fawley refinery is the largest buyer of Guyanese oil in Europe. Exxon Hess, CNOOC and Exxon Hess, who control the entire oil and gas production in Guyana sell their barrels individually, whereas the Guyanese Government awards each year a marketing contract for its share of the output. BB Energy, a European trading firm, and JE Energy, a global energy company won the contract in 2025 for a second consecutive year. The auction was held in a highly competitive environment with other producers from around the world. In October, the government announced that it had secured a higher premium than market prices this time. Guyana's Energy Minister Vickram Bharrat said that since the two trading companies are based in Britain, they were expected to market the crude oil in Europe successfully. "However there is no preferential market," he said in reference to the markets that the government would most like to see its oil reach. Exxon's consortium currently has three projects in operation - Liza 1 & 2, and Payara. These were producing around 675 000 bpd by the end of last year after upgrades. Exxon will receive a fourth production vessel within the next few months and begin work on Yellowtail this year. Exxon has not commented on its Guyanese crude oil marketing efforts. However, last month it said that 60% of the company's upstream production will come from its "advantaged asset" which includes Guyana.
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South Korea's NOFI purchases approximately 140,000 T corn, traders claim
European traders reported that the leading South Korean animal feed manufacturer Nonghyup Feed Inc., (NOFI), bought approximately 140,000 metric tonnes of animal feed corn at an international auction on Wednesday. The corn was bought in two consignments of 70,000 tons each. A consignment of one ton was purchased at an estimated cost and freight price of $238.84 per ton from Dreyfus Trading House for arrival on April 5, South Korea. The second purchase was made at a price estimated to be $238.89 per ton c&f by CHS, for an April 10th arrival. The port-unloading surcharge is $1.25 per ton for both. The reports reflect the opinions of traders, and it is still possible to estimate prices and volume later. The consignment was to be shipped for arrival on April 5, if it came from the U.S. Pacific Northwest Coast for March 3-22 or the U.S. Gulf coast for February 11-March 2. It could also come from South America between February 6-25, or South Africa from Feb. 16-March 7. Only 52,000 tonnes of the consignment must be provided if it is coming from South Africa. The consignment was to be shipped for arrival on April 10, if it originated from the U.S. Pacific Northwest Coast between March 8-27. If from the U.S. Gulf, between February 16 and 7, or from South America, between February 11 and 2; or South Africa from Feb. 21 to 12. Some Asian traders have expressed interest in buying corn due to the persistent concern that Chicago corn prices will rise because Argentina's corn crops are damaged by drought, despite rain being forecast for Argentina. NOFI purchased approximately 65,000 tons feed wheat at an international auction on Wednesday. (Reporting and editing by Jason Neely, with Michael Hogan)
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South Korea's NOFI purchases about 65,000 T of feed wheat, traders claim
European traders reported that the leading South Korean animal feed manufacturer Nonghyup Feed Inc. (NOFI) bought about 65,000 metric tonnes of animal feed wheat at an international auction on Wednesday. The cost of the consignment was estimated at $249.99 per ton, plus freight. Plus a surcharge of $1.50 per ton for port unloading. It was thought that the seller is CHS, a trading company. The reports reflect the opinions of traders and it is still possible to estimate prices and volume later. Wheat was to be delivered in one shipment around April 15, from anywhere except Argentina, Russia Pakistan, Denmark, and China. No loading ports are allowed in Ukraine or Russia. The U.S. Pacific Northwest Coast, Australia or Canadian west coast will ship wheat between March 13 and April 1, the U.S. Gulf or Canadian east coast will send wheat between February 21 and March 12, the U.S. Gulf or Europe, or Canada's east coast, between February 21 to 12; from Europe, via the Cape of Good Hope, between the dates of Feb. 6 and 25, from South America, between the dates of Feb. 16 to 7 or South Africa, between the dates of Feb. 26-17. NOFI also released a tender on up to 138,000 tonnes of animal feed corn, which closed also on Wednesday. (Reporting and editing by Michael Hogan)
Finland recuperates anchor in Baltic Sea cables examination
Finnish police said on Tuesday they had recovered a lost anchor from the seabed as part of an investigation of presumed sabotage versus power and internet cables in the Baltic Sea.
Finland last month took the Eagle S tanker carrying Russian oil on suspicion that the vessel had actually harmed the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and four telecoms cables by dragging its anchor across the seabed.
The place where the anchor was discovered is along the route of the Eagle S ... towards the western end of the drag trace found on the seabed, Finland's National Bureau of Examination ( NBI) stated in a statement.
A Finnish lawyer representing United Arab Emirates-based Caravella LLC FZ which owns the Eagle S, has stated Finland hijacked the vessel at sea and must release it, a request that was rejected by a court on Friday.
The company's attorney and Caravella LLC FZ did not instantly respond to a request for talk about Tuesday.
Pictures of the Eagle S taken considering that the event reveal the vessel is missing its port side anchor.
Baltic Sea nations are on high alert after a string of power cable, telecom link and gas pipeline blackouts considering that Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022. The NATO military alliance has said it will boost its presence in the region.
The anchor was recovered from the seabed with the aid of Finland's border guard and defence forces along with the Swedish navy, the police said.
It will add to the progress of the criminal investigation, and it is now subject to forensic analysis, NBI Investigator Superintendent Risto Lohi stated in the statement.
(source: Reuters)