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☆ Can hydrogen be green? The debate heats up as the White House pours $7 billion into hydrogen hubs
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The White House is spending $7 billion to spur "clean" hydrogen. The goal is to spur the production of "clean" hydrogen, because the way it's currently produced is a dirty business. Anna Menke, the task force's senior hydrogen-hubs manager, said she wants the debate to move away from green versus blue hydrogen because each technology has its pros and cons. Korgel noted that the federal definition of "clean" hydrogen has been evolving, but should be more clear soon. The Internal Revenue Service has to decide what "clean" hydrogen is eligible for a tax credit worth up to an estimated $100 billion over its lifetime.

Persons: Joe Biden, it's, Robert Howarth, Howarth, Anna Menke, Menke, Brian Korgel, Biden, Korgel Organizations: Service, Cornell University, Air Task Force, US Department of Energy, Energy Institute, University of Texas, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Sempra Infrastructure, Internal Revenue Service Locations: Gulf Coast, Pacific Northwest, Appalachia, Austin, Gulf

☆ Gold steadies as investors brace for key cenbank verdicts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Brijesh Patel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Spot gold was flat at $1,923.40 per ounce by 09:59 a.m. EDT (1359 GMT). Non-yielding gold tends to fall out of favour among investors when interest rates rise. [USD/Chinese gold prices hit record highs last week, extending a months-long rally as consumers snap up the safe-haven asset to offset a depreciating yuan. "While the developments in China are worth watching, we currently do not believe that this will change the outlook for the gold market," said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke. Reporting by Brijesh Patel and Anjana Anil in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Edward Moya, CME's, Kazuo Ueda, Julius Baer, Carsten Menke, Brijesh Patel, Anjana Anil, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Wednesday, U.S . Federal Reserve, The Bank of, U.S, Treasury, Thomson Locations: requisitions, The Bank of England, China, Bengaluru

☆ Robust equities erode gold's safe-haven allure as ETF holdings fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Deep Kaushik Vakil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) -Receding fears of a U.S. slowdown, surging bond yields and the robust performance of equities have gradually eroded the appeal of exchange-traded funds (ETF) backed by traditional safe-haven gold this year, despite sticky inflation. The biggest ETF, SPDR Gold Trust, saw holdings dwindle to pre-pandemic levels. [GOL/ETF]Investors typically buy gold during times of financial and economic uncertainty and rising inflation. [GOL/]“Gold has fallen into disfavour as a hedge against economic uncertainty for many institutional investors,” said Ross Norman, chief executive of Metals Daily. Equities have outperformed gold despite higher interest rates, while rival safe-haven Treasury bonds have attracted investors away from gold, which doesn’t earn any interest or dividends.

Persons: Ilya Naymushin, ”, Ross Norman, Carsten Menke, Julius Baer, Gold, Philip Newman, Newman, hasn’t Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, World Gold Council, Investors, U.S, Metals Daily, U.S . Federal, Treasury, Metals Locations: U.S, Siberian, Krasnoyarsk, Russia, disfavour, “

☆ ‘Made In Heaven’ creators dispute claims they appropriated author Yashica Dutt’s story
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Harmeet Kaur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The show’s creators responded with a statement saying the character of Pallavi is fictional and denying any claim that they appropriated Dutt’s life or work. Throughout the episode, Pallavi brushes up against how her choices to publicly embrace her caste have affected her brother and parents. The creators of "Made In Heaven" said in a statement that they deny any claim that they appropriated Dutt's work. Prime VideoThe statement goes on to point out that the character Pallavi is fictional and details the ways that her story differs from Dutt’s. It continues, “None of the above is drawn from Yashica Dutt’s life or her book — ‘Coming Out As Dalit’.

Persons: Pallavi Menke, “, Yashica Dutt, ”, ” Dutt, Dutt, ” Zoya Akhtar, Reema, Tara Khanna, Karan Mehra —, —, Pallavi, Neeraj Ghaywan, Prakash Ambedkar, B.R . Ambedkar, — Dutt isn’t, Ghaywan, ’, ” Ghaywan, Instagram, Sumit Baudh, Akhtar, Kagti, Alankrita Shrivastava, “ Neeraj, Yashica, I’m, they’ve, Ghaywan’s Instagram Organizations: CNN, Amazon, Columbia University, Pallavi, US, Dalit, ” CNN, Prime Video India Locations: India, Dutt’s, Delhi, Britain

Three months ago, a Reuters poll predicted prices would average $1,950 in 2023. Standard Chartered analyst Suki Cooper said gold is "more likely to test the downside until rate cuts materialise unless a new catalyst emerges". For silver , the poll forecast average prices of $23.52 an ounce in 2023 and $25.00 in 2024. "Anaemic performance from gold and concerns over economic outlook especially in China" have weighed on silver, O'Connell added. But silver could still find support from solar panels demand, analysts said.

Persons: Ross Norman, Carsten Menke, Julius Baer, Suki Cooper, Rhona O'Connell, Silver, O'Connell, Ashitha Shivaprasad, Harshit Verma, Arpan Varghese, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Federal Reserve, U.S, Thomson Locations: China, Bengaluru

☆ Gold hits 2-month high as dollar struggles on Fed pause views
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Gold bars and gold coins in different sizes are lying in a safe on a table at the precious metal dealer Pro Aurum. Gold prices advanced to their highest in about two months on Thursday, driven by U.S. dollar's weakness and growing expectations that the Federal Reserve would conclude its aggressive rate-hiking cycle at its meeting next week. "The recent reversal in gold prices is very much driven by the expectation that the Fed is almost done in terms of interest rate hikes," said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke. "That said, we believe interest rates are set to stay high and a rapid reversal of monetary policy is not imminent due to the resilience of the U.S. economy. Furthermore, we believe that interest rate levels are too high to lure gold investors back into the market."

Persons: Ross Norman, Julius Baer, Carsten Menke Organizations: Aurum, Federal, U.S ., U.S, Fed Locations: U.S

☆ Gold prices steady on softer dollar, focus on economic cues
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Arundhati Sarkar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Spot gold held its ground at $1,923.09 per ounce by 1200 GMT while U.S. gold futures edged down 0.1% to $1,932.90. The dollar index (.DXY) eased slightly, making dollar-priced bullion more attractive for overseas buyers. Meanwhile, Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke said that high interest rates are offering other alternatives than gold to safe-haven seekers. Spot silver rose 0.5% to $22.88 an ounce and was on track for a third straight session of gains. Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar and Seher Dareen in Bengaluru Editing by Christina Fincher, David Goodman and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Han Tan, Jerome Powell's, Julius Baer, Carsten Menke, Arundhati Sarkar, Seher, Christina Fincher, David Goodman, Louise Heavens Organizations: Federal, Fed, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: U.S, United States, Sintra, Bengaluru

☆ $1.27 million is the magic number for retirement, Americans say. The average person has just 7% of that saved.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Americans on average have saved a fraction of what they think they'll need to "retire comfortably." A new study from Northwestern Mutual found that many age groups think they'll need over $1 million. People have saved 3% to 12% of their retirement goal, depending on which age group you look at. "At the end of the day, the 'magic number' for retirement savings and retirement age are personal for each of us," Kyle Menke, CEO of Menke Financial, a Northwestern Mutual firm, told Insider in an email. "It's clear that rising prices are impacting people's expectations for retirement savings," Menke said.

Persons: —, Kyle Menke, Menke, Gen Z, Xers, you've, they're, Gen X Organizations: Northwestern Mutual, Service, Privacy, Northwestern, Menke, of Labor Statistics

China's refined copper imports and exportsIMPORT SLUMPChina imported 408,174 tonnes of copper in March, down by 19% year-on-year and the lowest monthly intake since October. The preliminary customs report aggregates arrivals of refined metal, anode, alloy and semi-manufactured products. The country also imported 1.8 million tonnes of recyclable materials, the largest amount since 2018, and a record 25.3 million tonnes of mined concentrates. National refined copper output rose by 11% year-on-year in January-February, according to the country's official statistics body. So far this year it seems to have lost its appetite for more refined copper.

Oil prices dropped alongside a continued slide in equities markets (.MIWD00000PUS). A lower rate rise could mean the dollar weakening which in turn is a bullish signal for oil prices. A stronger-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation outcome could put further downward pressure on oil prices. Meanwhile, consumer inflation in China, the world's biggest oil importer, slowed to the lowest rate in a year in February. IEA/SOn the supply side, the American Petroleum Institute is expected to release industry data on U.S. oil inventories at 1630 ET/2030 GMT.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank collapse: What you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

March 13 (Reuters) - Bank stocks around the world plunged on Monday even as President Joe Biden vowed to ensure the safety of the U.S. banking system, after Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) and Signature Bank (SBNY.O) collapsed. U.S. authorities launched emergency measures on Sunday to shore up confidence in the banking system after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank threatened to trigger a broader financial crisis. *California banking regulators closed the bank, which did business as Silicon Valley Bank, and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver for later disposition of its assets. All of the depositors of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank will be made whole, and "no losses will be borne by the taxpayer," the U.S. Treasury Department and other bank regulators said. *In Britain, HSBC (HSBA.L) bought the UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank for a symbolic one pound on Monday, rescuing a key lender for technology startups in England.

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