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Companies withdraw their guidance in the wake of Trump's tariffs
The tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed on April 2, and the subsequent pauses in some cases, have created uncertainty among companies around the world. Some of these companies have withdrawn or stopped giving financial guidance. This is a list that includes companies who have taken such steps: AUTOS & TRANSPORTATION AUTINS GROUP A UK-based company that sells car components delayed its release of market guidance for the month of April, citing the uncertainty created by U.S. Tariffs. CUMMINS The U.S. truck engine maker withdrawn its annual forecast on 5 May. Ford The U.S. automaker suspended its annual guidance May 5 after claiming that the levies will cost the company approximately $1.5 billion before interest and tax in adjusted earnings. GENERAL MOTORS On May 1, General Motors, the U.S. automaker, cut its profit forecast for 2025 two days after removing its annual guidance despite reporting strong quarter results and receiving some clarity on automotive tariffs from the White House. It also suspended plans to purchase $2 billion worth of shares during the first half year until the economy is more clarified. MERCEDES On April 30, the German group retracted its earnings guidance for 2020 after it reported a sharply lower first quarter profit. POLESTAR On April 30, the U.S.-listed Swedish electric vehicle maker put a pause on its 2025 forecast as it prepares for possible tariffs. STELLANTIS The French-Italian-American group on April 30 suspended its guidance for a moderate recovery this year, after a profit drop in 2024, and said it would review capital spending plans. VOLVO CARS On April 29, the group, which is one of the European automakers most vulnerable to U.S. Tariffs, announced a cost-cutting program of 18 billion Swedish crowns (about $1.9 billion), a restructuring of their U.S. operations, and it retracted its earnings forecasts for the next two year. AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE ALASKA GROUP ALASKA Air Group, Seattle's airline, withdrew on April 23, its financial forecast for the full year citing macroeconomic uncertainties. AMERICAN AIRLINES On April 24, the U.S. carrier canceled its financial forecast for 2025. JETBLUE AERIALWAYS On April 29, the U.S. airline group canceled its forecast for 2025, citing economic uncertainty as a reason. DELTA AIR LINES On April 9, the U.S. airline retracted its financial forecasts for 2025. It said that travel demand has "largely stalled", as tariffs have fueled economic uncertainty. FRONTIER GROUP On April 11, Frontier Airlines' parent company, Frontier Group, retracted its full-year outlook and warned that it would suffer a loss for the first quarter. SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWAST AIRLINES SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEAT AIRLINES SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHWEST ASIA The U.S. airline group canceled its financial forecasts on April 23 HEALTHCARE BELLUSCURA On April 8, the U.S. medical device manufacturer retracted its 2025 guidance due to U.S. Tariffs on China. UNITEDHEALTH GROUP The Company suspended its annual forecast because of surging medical costs, while CEO Andrew Witty resigned May 13. Retail and Consumers AMERICAN OUTFITTERS - The apparel company retracted its annual forecasts from May 13 because of economic uncertainty fuelled by tariffs. Beyond Meat The California-based company retracted its annual sales goal on May 7, Citation Weak consumer demand in the U.S. due to macroeconomic volatility, high inflation and macroeconomic volatility. CHARACTER GROUP On April 11, the British toymaker abandoned its annual forecast, saying that it expected tariff effects to be felt on China in the second half 2025. CROCS On May 8, the U.S. shoemaker retracted its outlook for 2025 due to macroeconomic uncertainty. Krispy Kreme The doughnut chain Withdrawal McDonald's released its 2025 projections on 8 May due to the macroeconomic weakness and uncertainty surrounding the McDonald's deployment schedule DIAGEO On February 4, the British spirits manufacturer retracted its forecast for medium-term growth in organic sales, citing a long-lasting decline in demand as well as uncertainty about tariffs. LOGITECH, a Swiss-American manufacturer of computer parts, canceled its forecast for 2026 on April 10 citing uncertainty arising from Trump's policies. It kept its 2025 forecast. MASCO CORP On April 23, the U.S. house improvement company retracted its annual profit forecast after it missed first-quarter profit and sales estimates. This was due to macroeconomic uncertainty caused by Trump's tariffs. MATTEL On May 5, the Barbie doll producer retracted its annual financial target, adding that it would raise prices in the U.S. for certain products to offset higher input costs as a result of Trump's tariffs against key trading partners. SKECHERS On April 24, the footwear manufacturer retracted its annual results projection, citing Trump's unpredictable trade policies as fueling economic uncertainty. SPECTRUM BRANDS The retailer said that on May 9, it did not have enough visibility to continue to provide a 2025 earnings framework. SPIN MASTER The Canadian toy manufacturer retracted its 2025 outlook on the 29th of April until the climate stabilizes. STEVEN MADDEN The U.S. footwear maker retracted its guidance for 2025 on May 7 citing uncertainty over the impact of tariffs on imported goods into the U.S. OTHERS ALPHAWAVE IP GROUP On April 17, the British semiconductor company announced that it could not provide a financial outlook for 2025 and beyond due to global economic uncertainty caused by U.S. Tariffs. Arm HOLDINGs Due to the uncertainty of global trade and economy, the UK-based chip manufacturer decided to not issue full-year guidance as of May 8. AVERY DENNISON On April 23, the U.S. company, which manufactures packaging and labels products like radio frequency tags, retracted its annual forecast, adding that it would now be shifting to quarterly estimates due to macroeconomic uncertainty. PAGEGROUP PAGEGROUP, a British recruiter, did not provide a financial outlook in its quarterly report on April 9, citing "increasingly uncertain" economic conditions.
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Asia's high-sulfur fuel oil nears record highs
LSEG and market data indicate that the cracks in Asia's 380 cst high sulphur fuel (HSFO) closed on Friday at a record high. LSEG data show that the 380-cst HSFO/Brent cracked for June closed at a premium of $3.70 a barrel, which is the highest ever recorded. The 380-cst HSFO/Dubai cracked closed at a $4.45 premium per barrel. Market sources and analysts stated that HSFO cracks were supported during recent trading sessions because of the expectation of seasonal strength in the market and lower crude prices. Markets usually firm up in the second half of the year, as summer power generation peaks across the Middle East. This also caps exports. Emril Jamil is a senior analyst at LSEG Oil Research and he said that the expectation of a stronger seasonal demand for power generation has made the high-sulphur complex stronger in comparison to Dubai, and this has led to broader intermonth spreads. Once sufficient inventories have been built up, the cracks will likely be under downward pressure. In recent sessions, the spot benchmarks of HSFO remained at a maximum. Singapore's cash differentials were pressured by the abundance of prompt supplies. Ivan Mathews of Vortexa's APAC Analysis said that the higher HSFO cracked prices are mainly due to a fall in crude oil prices. He added that market fundamentals have not changed recently. (Reporting and editing by Shinjini Ganuli; Jeslyn Lerh)
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China is now the top buyer of Canadian crude oil on Trans Mountain pipeline due to US trade war
Ship tracking data revealed that China is the largest customer of Canadian oil transported on the expanded Trans Mountain Pipeline. This shift in crude flow has been caused by the U.S. Trade War, which has affected the flow of crude since the pipeline began operating. China's renewed interest in Canadian crude oil coincides with President Donald Trump’s trade war, which has caused tensions between Washington and Ottawa. The price of Canadian oil also reflects U.S. sanctions against crudes from Venezuela and Russia. Canada's main oil producing province, Alberta, is landlocked and has limited access to ports on the tidewater. The majority of Canadian oil, about 4 million barrels a day or 90 percent, is exported via pipelines running north-south to the U.S. Trans Mountain, Canada's east-west oil pipe line, is worth C$34 billion (US$24.40 billion). It transports oil to the Pacific Coast for export. The pipeline expansion began on May 1, 2020 and tripled its capacity to 890,000.0 barrels per day. It also opened up new markets for Canadian oil in the U.S. West Coast, as well as Asian markets. Canada, despite being exempt from U.S. import duties for its crude oil and Trump's threats of annexing the country, has been trying to diversify their exports. Ship tracking data from Kpler revealed that Canada has shipped an average of 207,000 barrels a day to China, since June 2016, when the Trans Mountain expansion began full operation. This was a massive increase from the average of 7,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the decade up to 2023. In the same period, the U.S. removed 173,000 barrels per day from the pipeline. China's position as the largest buyer of crude oil shipped through the pipeline owned by Canada defies early expectations that the U.S. will be the biggest buyer. Most people expected that the barrels would land on West Coast, as opposed to Asia which has cheaper Russian oil. According to Philippe Rheault of the China Institute of the University of Alberta, Trump's protectionist policy has made Canada more appealing to Chinese buyers in recent months. Rheault stated that China is also reluctant to become overly dependent on Russian energy. He added that "a lot of China's refining plants are also aware of U.S. sanction and have tried to diversify away oil from Venezuela and elsewhere." SHIFT FLOWS Statistics Canada reports that in the first year following the expansion of the pipeline, Canadian crude exports to other countries than the U.S. increased by nearly 60%, reaching a record annual volume of 183,000 bpd. Ship tracking data revealed that South Korea, Japan and Brunei are also taking Canadian crude. In recent months, a number of Canadian politicians have called on new pipelines that would connect to coastal terminals for exports in order to reduce Canada's dependence on the U.S. But financial, regulatory and political obstacles continue to hinder this development. TMX's average capacity in 2024 was 77%, as per documents filed with Canada Energy Regulator. This is below the 83% that the company had forecasted, due in part to the high tolls charged by the operator to compensate for construction cost overruns. This year, the pipeline is expected be 84% filled and will increase to 92% by 2027. Trans Mountain Corp., the operator of the system, said that it was looking into expansion projects which could add between 200,000 to 300,000 bpd in capacity. Skip York, chief energy analyst at Turner, Mason & Company, stated that the majority of the additional capacity of TMX will likely go to Asia and not the U.S. West Coast, given China's increasing desire to find stable, new supplies of crude. He said that "you're going see almost all of those incremental ships flow west" to China for export. $1 = 1.3936 Canadian Dollars (Reporting and editing by Liz Hampton, David Gregorio and Amanda Stephenson from Calgary and Arathy Sommesekhar from Houston)
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Syria and DP World sign $800 million port development deal
SANA, the Syrian state-run news agency, reported on Friday that the Syrian government and DP World had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), worth $800,000,000, to develop the port of Tartous in Syria. The deal was made possible by the lifting of U.S. sanctions. The agreement to establish industrial and free-trade zones in Tartous is part of the deal for developing, managing and operating a multipurpose terminal. DP World, a subsidiary company of United Arab Emirates investment firm Dubai World, is a multi-purpose terminal operator. Syria wants to attract foreign investment to boost its struggling economic situation. The deal was signed the same week as U.S. president Donald Trump announced his plans to lift sanctions against Syria during a trip to Riyadh. Trump said that he decided to lift the sanctions after talking with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the Turkish President Tayyip Erdoan, whose governments both strongly advocated the lifting of the sanctions. Trump also met with the Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa before the GCC Summit in Riyadh, on Wednesday. Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary for State, said that Trump plans to grant waivers in accordance with the "Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act", which Washington used to impose harsh sanctions against former President Bashar Al-Assad's regime and secondary sanctions upon outside companies or government that worked alongside it. The removal of U.S. financial sanctions on Syria will allow humanitarian groups to work in the country more effectively, and ease foreign trade and investment as the nation rebuilds. (Reporting and writing by Timour Azhari, Editing by Leslie Adler & Tom Hogue).
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Nigeria's Trans Niger oil pipeline bursts, spills crude, rights group says
An environmental rights group reported on Thursday that the Nigerian Trans Niger Pipeline burst, spilling oil into B-Dere Community in Ogoniland. The pipeline is a major oil route transporting crude oil from onshore oilfields towards Bonny's export terminal. It is the second time in two months that the Trans Niger Pipeline has been affected. The pipeline was closed in March after an explosion caused a fire. Nnimmo Bassey, executive of Health of Mother Earth Foundation said that the spill on May 6 had yet to be stopped. He added that the slow reaction showed a lack of concern for the people, and was "unconscionable." He said: "We live in a disaster area and even an accident can cause a new disaster." "The fact that the spill from a week back has not been stopped is a strong argument for why the government should focus its efforts on cleaning Ogoniland, and not open any new oil wells. The old oil wells need to be closed and decommissioned. Ogoniland is one of Africa's oldest crude oil producing regions. It has dealt with oil pollution since decades. However, its profits often went to big oil companies or to Nigerian government coffers. Local residents have complained for years about toxic wastes and inadequate compensation. The Nigerian oil group Renaissance Group confirmed the explosion. It now owns Shell’s former onshore company that operates the pipeline. A team of investigators has been sent to determine the cause. The Trans Niger Pipeline, with a daily capacity of approximately 450,000 barrels, is one of the two conduits used to export Bonny Light crude oil from Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer. The TNP had not yet been closed. TNP didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. However, a prolonged outage may force the operators to declare force majore for Bonny Light exports. Oil majors such as Shell, Exxon Mobil and Total sold their shallow-water and onshore fields in Nigeria so they could concentrate on deepwater operations. The acquisition of Shell’s former onshore assets was completed by the Renaissance Group in March. This group includes Nigerian oil and gas exploration and production firms Aradel Energy and First E & P as well as the international energy company Petroline. (Written by Chijioke Ahuocha, edited by Aurora Ellis).
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Canadian Indigenous group buys $511 million stake in Enbridge Westcoast pipeline
Enbridge, a Canadian pipeline operator, sold a stake in the Westcoast Natural Gas System to a group of 36 First Nations. This was the first deal that included financing through a federal loan program designed to help Indigenous groups to own parts of resource project. Enbridge announced on Thursday that Stonlasec8 Indigenous Alliance would buy a 12.5% share in its Westcoast Pipeline for C$715,000,000 ($511.19million). The pipeline runs 2,900 km (1,802 mi) from the northeast of British Columbia to Canada-U.S. Border, with a daily capacity of 3.6 Billion cubic feet of gas. First Nations in Canada are buying more stakes in energy companies as they look for economic benefits on their land. Companies, meanwhile, want to secure Indigenous support and raise capital to help them get regulatory approval. Enbridge has signed equity deals with four Indigenous groups. This includes the sale in 2022 of a C$1.12 billion minority stake in seven Alberta Oil Pipelines to a First Nations group. The Canadian government said that it was interested in selling an interest in the Trans Mountain oil pipeline, valued at C$34 billion, to Indigenous groups. Stonlasec8 is set to receive C$400,000,000 in loan guarantees for the deal announced Thursday, which Enbridge claims has been in the works since two years. The federal entity launched in December aims to provide Indigenous loan guarantees of up to $10 billion to help First Nations gain access to capital. In a letter sent to the leaders of federal political parties in March, CEOs from 14 energy companies - including Enbridge - said that increasing Indigenous ownership is essential if Canada is to expand the oil and gas industry and build pipelines. Chief David Jimmie is the president and chairperson of Stonlasec8 as well as the head of Squiala First Nation. He said that energy assets like the Westcoast Pipeline have crossed Indigenous territories for decades, but communities have not been able to reap any financial benefits. He expressed his satisfaction that energy companies are increasingly recognizing the importance of co-ownership in securing First Nations support for projects on Indigenous lands. Jimmie stated that "they recognize that without Indigenous involvement, it's going to be more difficult for you to approach these kinds of projects." Reporting by Amanda Stephenson, Calgary; Tanay Dhumal, Bengaluru. Editing by Vijay Kishore & Rod Nickel.
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The'shadow fleet of Russian oil tankers': Key facts
Western sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, aimed at cutting down its oil revenue, have led to a massive "shadow fleet" (or shadow fleet) of tankers that help Moscow maintain its crude exports. These unregulated vessels are a prime example of what you need to know. Why is this fleet in the news? The UK imposed sanctions on an oil tanker that was sailing in international waters in the Baltic Sea between Estonia and Finland without a flag, which is against maritime regulations. Estonia tried to stop it, prompting Moscow's fighter jet to fly around it. Last week, the UK announced new sanctions against up to 100 tankers, which it described as "a key part of Vladimir Putin's (Russian president Vladimir) shadow fleet operation". The EU Commission also proposed similar measures against 100 vessels on top of the 153 previously sanctioned. The U.S. also has imposed several rounds of sanctions on the tankers transporting Russian oil. VESSELS AGEING The so-called "shadow fleet" transports Russian oil and includes hundreds of old tankers. Shipping and insurance sources familiar with this matter said that the vessels are often opaquely owned and sail without top Western insurance or safety certification coverage. They also have unknown insurers or assessors for vessel seaworthiness, both of which are required for ocean going commercial ships. These tankers are a common sight as they sail through the Baltic Sea, moving oil to the Gulf of Finland. This is a vital route for Russia's exports of energy. NATO and EU regulators are keeping a close eye on the fleet, as new sanctions target vessels that have been blacklisted due to their involvement in Moscow's Ukraine war effort or for skirting price limits. Twelve Western countries, including Britain, Germany and Poland, as well as the Netherlands and five Nordic nations, agreed to "disrupt" and "deter" Russia's Shadow Fleet in response to several unexplained cables cuts and incidents in the Baltic Sea. Britain, Denmark and Sweden are inspecting insurance documents for vessels in the Channel, Danish Straits, Gulf of Finland and the strait connecting Sweden and Denmark. HOW DOES THE SHADOW FLEET OPERATE? Lloyd's List Intelligence, Finland's Coast Guard and other sources have stated that the shadow fleet employs tactics such as ship-to ship transfers in international waters where port control authorities are less vigilant. They also use falsification techniques, such as fake ship identification, spoofed data on location, and flag countries which offer lower oversight. The majority of tankers are also owned by shell firms in Dubai. They are bought and sold by anonymous or newly-formed firms. This complicates accountability. According to Norwegian authorities the fleet is largely comprised of old tankers that rely on non-Western insurance or fake insurance. This raises concerns over maintenance, safety and environmental standards. Who's Cashing In and What's Being Done? The UK and France claim that Russia has been the biggest beneficiary of the sanctions. It is able to maintain oil exports in spite of the Western sanctions. This ensures steady revenues for its war against Ukraine. China and India are now the biggest buyers of Russian crude and benefit from steep discounts. They often purchase oil below the $60 per barrel cap imposed by the West, according to data on shipping and port loading. If ships use Western services, such as ports, insurance, or financing, they must show compliance with this price limit. Monitoring compliance can be difficult. Despite the fact that some tankers lost their insurance coverage due to suspected sanctions violations, many others continue to operate with other insurers or jurisdictions who are willing take on the risk. The shadow fleet is growing as new vessels replace the blacklisted ones. Documents show that more Russian insurers have emerged to offer alternative coverage for Russian oil shipments. Western insurance sources claim that it is not clear how any claims settlement for an oil spill will work, given the banking sanctions. The price cap has been offset by the rising global oil prices, and the shadow fleet is still operating with minimal disruption. What are the risks? Shadow fleets may be a threat to the environment, as they are often old, poorly-regulated tankers that are prone for spills, mechanical breakdowns and leaks. This can threaten marine ecosystems. In December of last year, Russian authorities tried to stop the spillage of oil in the Kerch Strait caused by two damaged 50-year old tankers. The damage was caused during a stormy weekend. The spill may become one of the worst environmental disasters in the past few years to hit the region, but the extent of insurance claims is not yet known.
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Ukrainian soybean producers expect export prices to increase in May
Ukraine's UAC agricultural producers union said that soybeans are undervalued, and Ukrainian producers anticipate a return to growth in the price of soybeans by May end. Analysts and farmers claim that Ukraine's soybean harvest reached a record high of 6.5 millions tons in 2024. However, this year farmers are likely to reduce the area they sow by 12% - to 2.4million hectares - because they could switch to corn or sunflower which is more profitable. UAC stated that the current price correlation between corn and soybeans shows a significant undervaluation for soybeans. This creates conditions for a shift in market trends. UAC stated that it expects soybean prices to exceed $400 per tonne in Ukrainian ports by the end May. APK-Inform, a consultancy for agriculture, said that Ukrainian soybeans traded between $390 to $395 per metric tonne Carriage Paid to (CPT) at the end of last weekend. APK-Inform revised its forecast of the 2025 Ukrainian soybean harvest to 6,11 million metric tonnes from an earlier estimate of 5,90 million tons. (Reporting and editing by Elaine Hardcastle; Reporting by Pavel Polityuk)
Ugandan parliament approves government spending for 2025/26
The parliament announced that Ugandan lawmakers had approved the proposed budget of the government for the fiscal period beginning in July. Spending is expected to be roughly the same as the previous year.
In a late-night post on social media platform X, the East African nation said that it will spend 72.4 trillion Ugandan shillings (about $20 billion) during the financial year 2025/26. This is not much different from the 72.1 trillion shillings spent in the current year which ends next month.
The House approved the annual budget proposal for fiscal year 2025/2026.
Parliament did not say which sectors will receive majority of the funds but the government has previously said spending priorities in the next financial year would be in agro-industrialisation, tourism and minerals including petroleum.
The Finance Minister Matia Kasaija will present the budget to the parliament in a formal manner on 12 June and give more information on how the money is to be spent.
Uganda has begun implementing infrastructure projects in order to begin commercial crude oil production next year.
This infrastructure includes a crude oil pipeline worth $5 billion that will help the landlocked nation ship its oil via Tanzania to international markets. ($1 = 3,645.0000 Ugandan Shillings) (Reporting and editing by George Obulutsa, Shri Navaratnam).
(source: Reuters)