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☆ SSAB profit hit flags EU steel's parlous state
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - SSAB (SSABa.ST) has kicked off European steelmakers' quarterly earnings season with a profit drama. Poor demand in Europe, declining steel prices and severe rises in energy and production costs are to blame. With steel consumption expected to decrease further in the second half of the year, investors sent SSAB stock down more than 15%. Without a deal, trade tariffs, which have been temporarily frozen, would return in December along with retaliatory measures from the EU. For SSAB, whose heavy plate business in North America was relatively stable during the second quarter, that would take things from bad to worse.

Persons: SSAB, steelmakers, Valdis Dombrovskis, Pamela Barbaglia, whir, George Hay, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, SSAB, European Central Bank, Union, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Europe, U.S, North America

[1/3] Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon speaks during the Goldman Sachs Investor Day at Goldman Sachs Headquarters in New York City, U.S., February 28, 2023. David Wagner, a portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors, exited his small position in Goldman Sachs months ago because he was unimpressed with managers' handling of the consumer business. Marcus, the consumer business, lost $3 billion in three years, and is being wound down. 1Solomon took the top job in 2018, leaning into Goldman's consumer business to broaden earnings beyond volatile revenue from trading and dealmaking. The retail operations struggled to gain traction against well-established consumer banks, prompting the bank to set aside billions to cover potential loan losses.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, Brendan McDermid, David Solomon's, Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Tom Montag, Solomon, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley's, David Wagner, Wagner, Marcus, Montag, David, Narendra Modi, Lakshmi Mittal, ArcelorMittal, Saeed Azhar, Lananh Nguyen, Megan Davies, Anna Driver Organizations: Goldman, REUTERS, JPMorgan, Aptus Capital Advisors, Bank of America, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Solomon, India, New Delhi

☆ Does British tourism really need the royal family?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Ross Bennett-Cook | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Love them or loathe them, the royal family are up there with red telephone boxes and scones when it comes to images of Britishness. The royal family does bring tourism to the UK. But if the royal family were to disappear, would the UK’s tourism industry suddenly implode? And while the international perception of Britain is certainly intertwined with the royal family, this does not tell us whether a reigning royal family is necessary for tourism. After all, the history surrounding the monarchy and places associated with them would still be here even if the royal family was not.

☆ ArcelorMittal beats profit expectations on higher steel demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Marine Strauss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, May 4 (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal, the world’s second largest steelmaker, said it had a "good growth" in the beginning of the year as it reported higher than expected first-quarter earnings. ArcelorMittal said on Thursday global steel demand, excluding China, should grow in 2023 between 2% and 3%, and maintained its expectation that its own shipments will increase by around 5% this year. The Luxembourg-based company said on Thursday first-quarter core profit (EBITDA), the figure most watched by the market, was $1.82 billion, much lower then the year-ago figure of $5.08 billion but higher than the average forecast in a company poll of $1.64 billion. ArcelorMittal said it had benefited from a gradual recovery in steel demand, resulting in apparent steel consumption growth and rebound in steel spreads as well as better mining performance. Reporting by Marine Strauss @StraussMarine; editing by Philip BlenkinsopOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Morning Bid: Next up ECB - Will it be a hawkish 25 or dovish 50?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Signage is seen outside the European Central Bank (ECB) building, in Frankfurt, Germany, July 21, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File PhotoA look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Vidya Ranganathan. The spotlight moves swiftly from the Fed's "possible pause or pivot" message overnight to the European Central Bank, where the direction of rates is not in question. It will be a seventh rate rise for the ECB, the central bank for a 20-country zone whose headline inflation is 7%, and it has so far dismissed the ongoing banking crisis as U.S.-specific. Will the ECB go for a heavier 50 basis-point hike and signal a possible pause, allowing President Christine Lagarde to echo Fed Chair Jerome Powell's "credit tightening" excuse?

☆ A solid start to earnings season will be put to the test in the week ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

The biggest week of this earnings season showed us that things aren't as bad as many feared. The week ahead of earnings, including several more Club names, should tell us more. The results are always important, but it's the guidance and management commentary we will really hone in on to better understand the path ahead. In Amazon's case, a solid first quarter for its AWS cloud business was overshadowed by management seeing a material slowdown in April. ET: Nonfarm Payrolls Looking back It was the biggest week of this earnings season for the Club as several of our mega-cap holdings and industry bellwethers reported results.

☆ BHP, engineering firm Hatch to design electric smelting plant in Australia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 23 (Reuters) - BHP Group (BHP.AX) on Thursday signed an agreement with an engineering and project management firm Hatch to design an electric smelting furnace pilot plant in Australia in an attempt to slash its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. The facility will help lower carbon dioxide intensity in steel production using iron ore from the global miner's Pilbara mines. The plant will be able to produce steel from iron ore using renewable electricity and hydrogen replacing coking coal. Last October, the mining giant teamed up with steelmaker ArcelorMittal (MT.LU) and two others to test a new technology to reduce carbon emissions in steelmaking at two plants in Belgium and North America. Reporting by Navya Mittal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ This is one metal investors can consider buying on dip 'at any chance' they get, according to an analyst
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The benchmark 62%-grade iron ore last traded at $126.80 per ton. Vincent Mundy | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesFalling prices for global crude steel output could also contribute to lower iron ore prices. "Global crude steel output fell modestly in year-on-year terms last month ... The result was driven by a fall in steel output amongst most of the world's largest steel producers." World crude steel output recorded a 3.3% drop in January compared to the same period last year, according to the World Steel Association.

☆ Ukraine's economy stabilizes after shock of war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Olena Harmash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

The economy shrank by a third last year, the largest fall since Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine's largest steel mill, said its production was currently at about 25% of pre-war levels amid electricity blackouts. Ukraine's central bank predicts GDP will grow by 0.3% this year, while the economy ministry forecasts 3.2% growth. The agreement saved Ukraine's agriculture, which accounted for about 12% of GDP and some 40% of overall exports before the war. The steel sector, a key pillar of the economy, is among the hardest hit.

☆ Seen Big Ben already? Here's a Londoner's guide to visiting other parts of the city
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Lucy Handley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Central London's City of Westminster is its political heart, while the City of London is where the capital's financial decisions happen. But be warned: Several paths across Hyde Park are pedestrian-only, and police often fine people who cycle on them. The City of London is a blend of old and new, with St Paul's Cathedral close to skyscrapers as well as Roman ruins. While north London has Hampstead Heath, south of the river is Richmond Park, which dwarfs its northern counterpart in size. There's also a branch in central London's Covent Garden — the flower-filled restaurant The Petersham — that has an sit-down deli and bar.

Concerns of an impending recession in the U.S., coupled with the war in Ukraine, have caused prices for steel to fall and customers to empty their inventories. That has impacted Thyssenkrupp's materials trading division, where profits tanked by 91%. "There is limited visibility in respect of future economic developments," Chief Financial Officer Klaus Keysberg said in a statement. Adjusted earnings before interest and tax, or EBIT, came in at 254 million euros ($272 million) in the October-December period, while sales remained stable at 9.02 billion euros, the company said. ($1 = 0.9328 euros)Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Tom Kaeckenhoff; Editing by Sandra Maler, Miranda Murray and Nivedita BhattacharjeeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ArcelorMittal expects to increase steel shipments by 5% in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 9 (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal (MT.LU), the world's second-largest steelmaker, on Thursday said it expects its steel shipments to increase by around 5% this year, as it reported fourth-quarter earnings that were in line with expectations. The Luxembourg-based company said its fourth-quarter core profit (EBITDA), the figure most watched by the market, was $1.26 billion, down from $5.05 billion a year before but in line with the average forecast in a company poll. Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Iron ore prices could rally as one leading producer remains reluctant to share, analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"Indian iron ore exports … have really come off in the last few months. India's exports of iron ore plunged by 90% year on year in October last year, and recorded an year-on-year decline as steep as 96% in September. Udit Kulshrestha | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAccording to Refinitiv, around 60% of global iron ore exports are destined for China. Iron ore exports from India were affected by a 50% tax on low-grade iron ore exports, which was reversed in late November. India's iron ore exports won't be the biggest factor in price volatility, however.

Steel producers are estimated to produce 7-9% of all harmful emissions, according to the World Steel Association. Boston Metal makes parts for cells in which electricity splits iron ore, creating liquid iron and no byproducts or emissions apart from oxygen. "What is the point of having an electric car running on a battery and carrying dirty steel?" ArcelorMittal's investment marks a shift in steel companies' willingness to invest in the technology since Boston Metal first went out looking for funding in 2018, Carneiro said. Now all the steelmaking companies are very interested in following what we are doing because they need a solution."

☆ Microsoft and ArcelorMittal back MIT spinout trying to green the $1.6 trillion steel industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The $1.6 trillion steel industry is the backbone of the modern world. That's why massive global businesses, including international steel giant ArcelorMittal and tech stalwart Microsoft , are investing in Boston Metal, a company that spun out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and developed a new way of making clean steel. "There is no economy, there is no infrastructure without steel," Boston Metal CEO Tadeu Carneiro told CNBC in a video call on Wednesday. The same year they launched a company, Boston Electrometallurgical Corp., to scale and commercialize that technology. He is a veteran of 40 years career in the steel industry, mostly at Brazilian metals giant CBMM.

☆ The threat of a transatlantic trade war is dominating Davos
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Trade tensions between the EU and the US are dominating the talk in Davos. Transatlantic trade tensions are dominating conversations at the World Economic Forum this week. On the one hand, European officials are saying they will come up with more financial support for European firms. On the other hand, the business community is excited about green subsidies stateside and argue the EU needs to match what the U.S. administration is doing. At the same time we have to support our competitiveness," European Commissioner for Economics, Paolo Gentiloni, told CNBC in Davos.

☆ China’s reopening has gotten Wall Street excited. Here’s how the pros are playing it
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Over the past week, a host of Wall Street banks have turned increasingly bullish on the world's second-largest economy and have upgraded their outlook on Chinese stocks. Morgan Stanley expects China's GDP to grow by an "above-consensus" 5.4% in 2023, on the back of a "fast-tracked" reopening and more proactive policy easing. Meanwhile, UBS says Chinese stocks look increasingly attractive. How to play the reopening Against this backdrop, analysts have named a slew of both Chinese and global stocks they think will benefit most from China's reopening. Bank of America's domestic reopening beneficiaries include consumer stocks such as alcoholic beverage makers Kweichow Moutai and Tsingtao Brew , airline stocks including China Southern Airlines , as well as online travel platform Trip.com .

LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - March 2022 will go down in the history books as the moment the global nickel market broke down. The search is on for a new nickel price discovery process. Global Commodities Holdings (GCH) thinks it has a solution, a blast from the LME's own distant past that could have far-reaching consequences for industrial metals trading. This is self-evidently true of the LME nickel contract, which simply could not absorb the scale of short positions accumulated by China's Tsingshan Group. It may not just be nickel players keeping a close eye on GCH's proposed new metals pricing solution.

☆ Form Energy to build long-duration battery plant in West Virginia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Form Energy Inc, a startup hoping to make long-duration storage batteries from materials including iron to store power from renewable energy, will partner with West Virginia to build a manufacturing plant in the state, the company and politicians said on Thursday. West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and Form Energy, backed by supporters including Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Ventures, said the plant will be built with a total investment of up to $760 million. Form Energy aims to build batteries using iron, air and water. Form says the batteries can store power for days, much longer than ones based on lithium-ion, and using less expensive materials. "The path forward is innovation, not elimination, and with this announcement West Virginia and Form Energy are doing just that," Manchin said in a statement.

☆ UBS reveals global stocks that will win — or lose — when China reopens
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

But when they do, Swiss bank UBS has identified stocks in the MSCI Europe index that will do better than others "in an environment where China's growth rebounds." The investment bank screened for companies in Europe that meet the following criteria: A high percentage of sales exposure to China. The stocks in the table below have been ranked using UBS' composite score, which brings together the above factors. London-listed engineering groups IMI and Weir Group and Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered were among the top 15 stocks with high exposure to China, according to UBS. According to UBS, shares of chemicals and specialty materials companies BASF , Solvay , Arkema and Sika are also exposed.

☆ As Wall Street strikes a bearish tone, these global stocks with margin growth could be safe bets
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

After what has been a tumultuous year for stocks, many investors are hoping that markets are at a turning point. Defensive stocks ArcelorMittal , the world's largest steelmaker, made CNBC's screen. The stock is rated buy by nearly 60% of analysts covering it, who give it potential upside of 26.3%. The company is expected to grow its margin by 17.9% next year and analysts give it potential upside of 23.4%. Analysts give the stock potential upside of 34.8%.

☆ India's Essar Group is debt-free after repaying $25 bln
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, Nov 21 (Reuters) - India's Essar Group has become debt-free, having settled the remainder of its $25 billion debt after the sale of two ports and a power plant to ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel Ltd (AM/NS), the group said on Monday. Essar, built by brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruia, has sold some of its assets in sectors such as telecom, oil refining and steel over the years to settle its $25 billion debt. "Essar has concluded its asset monetisation programme and completed the debt repayment of $25 billion effectively making the group debt-free from Indian banks and financial institutions," Prashant Ruia, director, Essar Capital, said in a statement. AM/NS, which agreed to buy some infrastructure assets from Essar group for $2.4 billion, in a statement said that the ports and the power plant are captive to its India's operations and are expected to generate operation synergies for the company. Acquisition of these assets will help move raw materials and finished goods between the company's manufacturing facilities in western, eastern and southern India.

☆ ArcelorMittal's Q3 profit beats expectations on energy savings
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 10 (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal (MT.LU), the world’s second-largest steelmaker, reported higher-than-expected third-quarter earnings on Thursday as cost cutting and energy savings offset declining demand. The Luxembourg-based company said third-quarter core profit (EBITDA), the figure most watched by the market, was $2.7 billion. This was less than half the year-ago figure, but higher than the average forecast in a company poll of $2.34 billion. ArcelorMittal said it had cut its gas consumption in Europe by 30% in a bid to counter surging energy prices, as a slowdown in economic growth across the globe weakened demand for steel. The company said that in the face of weaker demand and higher energy costs, it had cut capacity accordingly, adding that demand should pick-up once industry destocking was completed.

☆ Morning Bid: Red wave
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The "red wave", however, showed up in markets. The S&P 500 (.SPX) fell 2% on Wednesday and the dollar seemed to catch a bid from a wave of cryptocurrency selling. Bonds rallied with the risk-averse mood, which opens the door for disappointment as U.S. inflation data comes into focus later on Thursday. Share markets fell around Asia, with MSCI's broadest ex-Japan index (.MIAPJ0000PUS) down 1%. European futures fell 0.6%.

☆ Midterms could be a positive catalyst for stocks as investors await next big inflation report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

There are two big hurdles for markets in the week ahead - another potentially hot consumer inflation report and the Congressional midterm elections. "100% of the time, the S & P 500 has been up 12 months after the midterm election." Midterm rallies Stocks tend to gain in the final months of midterm election years, and strategists have been expecting the market to move higher. CFRA Chief Market Strategist Sam Stovall said even when interest rates are climbing, the midterm election has been a catalyst for stocks. He examined market performance in other midterm election years when interest rates were going up.

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