Latest News
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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.
EU plan to phase-out Russian gas by 2027
It said that the European Commission would propose next month legal measures for the EU to gradually phase out its imports of Russian gas, including liquefied gas, by the end 2027.
Here are some key details:
GAS AND LNG
Before the full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia supplied around 45% (or a little more) of all gas consumed by the European Union. This share dropped to 19% in the past year and the EU is determined to eradicate it completely as a result of the war.
In plans published Tuesday, the European Commission announced that it will present legal proposals in June to ban new Russian Gas and Liquid Natural Gas (LNG), and to ban EU imports in existing spot contracts by 2025.
Next month, the Commission will propose to ban imports of LNG under long-term contracts until 2027. TotalEnergies, Naturgy and other companies have Russian LNG contracts which extend to 2030.
The EU plan would affect countries such as Hungary and Slovakia which receive Russian gas through pipelines and Belgium, France and the Netherlands which purchase Russian LNG.
Other countries, such as Poland and the Baltic States, have already stopped purchasing Russian gas.
In order to improve the tracking of imports from Russia the Commission will propose rules that require companies to reveal the volume and duration their Russian gas contracts.
The EU has not imposed sanctions against most Russian oil imports. Slovakia and Hungary are the only exceptions. These countries, who have maintained close political ties with Russia, have warned that they will block the gas sanctions which, according to them, would increase energy prices.
The EU will require Slovakia and Hungary produce plans on how they plan to stop using Russian oil by the end of 2027. Both countries import over 80% of their crude oil from Russia.
Only 3% of the total EU oil imports come from Russia now, compared to around 27% prior to the Ukraine War.
The Commission stated that member countries would also have to submit national plans aimed at phasing-out Russian gas by the end of 2027.
NUCLEAR FUELS
In June, the European Commission will propose measures to target Russian uranium enriched. The EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen stated that this would be equivalent to a tax on imports.
The Commission has not specified a date by which Russian uranium will be phased out.
Five EU countries, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic Finland, Hungary, and Slovakia, have Russian-designed nuclear reactors that run on Russian fuel. All but Hungary have signed alternative supply contracts since 2022. However, the long wait time means they cannot switch immediately.
What happens next?
The European Commission will present its legal proposals in June. They must be approved by the European Parliament, and then by a majority of the member states. This means that one or two countries can't block the plans.
If the EU and its lawmakers want to implement the ban on any new Russian gas agreements by the end the year, they will have to speed up these negotiations.
The legal options that are used will determine the effectiveness of EU measures. However, the Commission has not specified these on Tuesday. Jorgensen stated that the proposals amounted to "force majeure", an unexpected event which companies could use to terminate gas contracts.
Lawyers warn that, in the absence sanctions, it may be difficult for gas buyers to terminate contracts by force majeure without being subjected to financial penalties or arbitration.
Last year, the EU imported 32 billion cubic meters (bcm), of Russian gas by pipeline. It also imported 20 bcm Russian LNG. The rest was "spot" purchase, with only two-thirds under long-term contract. (Reporting and editing by Tomasz Janovowski)
(source: Reuters)