2024-06-19 07:10

STOCKHOLM, June 19 (Reuters) - Sweden's financial supervisory authority has fined Nasdaq Stockholm (NDAQ.O) New Tab, opens new tab 100 million Swedish crowns ($9.59 million) for not complying with bourse rules at several occasions in recent years, the regulator said in a statement on Wednesday. "Investigations show that, in conjunction with ... four company events, there have been deficiencies in how Nasdaq Stockholm has conducted its trading monitoring, which should prevent, identify and report insider dealing," it said. "The investigations also show that Nasdaq Stockholm on two occasions initiated trading in financial instruments in violation of the regulatory framework." ($1 = 10.4251 Swedish crowns) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/sweden-fines-nasdaq-96-mln-over-regulatory-violations-2024-06-19/

2024-06-19 07:05

ATHENS, June 19 (Reuters) - When a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi Islamists landed near his ship in the Red Sea, Costas Rassias vowed to stop sailing through the perilous waters. "I froze," said the Greek 34-year-old second class marine engineer, describing the close call. "I weighed what was more important - my life, or a better income?" As attacks on merchant ships by the Iran-backed Houthis persist, traumatised seafarers are refusing to sail through the Red Sea, according to interviews with more than 15 crew members and shipping industry officials. That's another staffing headache for an industry already facing a shortage of seafarers worldwide, with ranks having shrunk after COVID kept seafarers on board for months and the war in Ukraine posed dangers in the Black Sea. "Seafarers are less and less keen to willingly sail through that region and it is becoming a bigger challenge now," an industry source with knowledge of the crisis said. Houthis first launched drone and missile strikes in the key waterway in November in what they say is solidarity with Palestinian militants in Gaza. In over 70 attacks, they have sunk one vessel, seized another and killed at least three seafarers. Container ship sailings through the Red Sea dropped 78% in May compared with a year ago, analysis from logistics platform project44 shows, as companies choose to go around Africa, raising costs and extending voyages. "My answer is very clear: No," said Rassias, when asked if he would go back again. He is a member of Greece's marine engineers' union PEMEN. "We urge our members not to give in to pressure, to put their safety and lives first and demand not to work in war zones at any cost." ROCKETS FLY Charles Watkins, CEO and clinical psychologist at Mental Health Support Solutions, has met 40 seafarers from two ships that sailed through the Red Sea. Many have experienced trauma and some are considering leaving the trade. "There can be sleep disturbances, nightmares, they can be easily startled, they can be stressed, they can develop a sudden urge not to eat anything anymore," Watkins said. Most ships have deployed armed guards on board to help defend crew during potential attacks, but crew themselves are rarely trained or equipped for conflict. "The majority of merchant ship crews have no military training whatsoever," said John Pavlopoulos, head of Sea Guardian, whose armed guards have made thousands of crossings through the area. "The slightest explosion disconcerts them, stresses them out." Boris Basenko, Ukrainian captain of the Greek-owned bulk carrier Zografia which was struck by a rocket this year near Yemen, said he doubts he will sail again through the region. "Rockets fly into my home city every day but I was caught by a rocket a few hundred miles away" from Ukraine, he said. "Almost everyone from my crew at that time did not want to return to the Red Sea." Johnrhez Balboa, a 26-year-old engine cadet from the Philippines on his first nine-month stint at sea, was aboard the first vessel to pass through the Red Sea last December after another ship, the Galaxy Leader, was hijacked. His crew maintained a "pirate watch", scanning the water for hijackers. "We were afraid and anxious," he said "Guarding our ship was scary." Mariners have support if they choose not to go, said John Canias, head of maritime operations with the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), the leading seafarer's union. The nearly 360,000 seafarers covered by an ITF agreement worldwide have the contractual right to refuse to sail in designated war zones and demand repatriation at the shipowner's expense. In April, one such zone in the Red Sea, known as a "warlike operations area", was expanded at ITF's request, Canias said. "Many shipowners are now more reluctant to sail through the area as they simply don’t want to put seafarers’ lives on the line," he said. GROWING DEMAND Over 80% of global trade is shipped by sea and an estimated 1.8 million seafarers service ships, with growing shortages of qualified mariners. Some 18,000 additional officers would need to join each year to meet demand, according to the most recent seafarer workforce report published in 2021. Thousands of higher level officers are needed to service the 80,000-strong ocean-going fleet. Some Greek captains have already requested to be transferred to other vessels to avoid the Red Sea, a union official said. At least four Greek companies have in recent months decided not to cross the area, company officials said. "We don't like to profit off the pain of others. We won't send our ships there," said George Logothetis, executive chairman of privately owned U.S.-headquartered Libra Group. Other companies are reviewing each case separately, weighing the risks for crews and vessels. Rene Kofod-Olsen, CEO of V.Group, one of the world’s biggest ship management and crewing companies, said their managed fleet's crossings have declined since the beginning of the conflict. He said in the instances where their ship owner clients have opted to sail through, "we give our seafarers the opportunity to not proceed and we can change crew." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/trauma-red-sea-attacks-adds-seafarer-shortage-2024-06-19/

2024-06-19 07:00

China marks 50 years of diplomatic ties with Malaysia Malaysia, China renew five-year economic cooperation pact Premier Li Qiang on three-day trip to Malaysia Says willing to study a plan to expand ambitious rail project Project would enhance regional connectivity, Li says KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 (Reuters) - China said it was willing to study a plan to connect Malaysia's $10-billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) to other China-backed railway projects in Laos and Thailand, potentially expanding Beijing's Belt and Road initiative across Southeast Asia. Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who is on a three-day visit to Malaysia, said on Wednesday the proposal would make the central line of a proposed Pan-Asia Railway, running from Kunming in China to Singapore, a reality. "This will better promote the construction of new international land and sea trade corridors, enhance regional connectivity, and deepen the building of the ASEAN community," Li said. Li was speaking during a ground-breaking ceremony at a construction site for the ECRL - a 665-km (413-mile) railway that will link peninsular Malaysia's east and west coasts by the end of 2026. Malaysia's government said in March it would consider extending the China-backed project to its border with Thailand. Li is on the third leg of a trip that has included New Zealand and Australia, as China looks to expand influence and investments in the Asia-Pacific region amid an ongoing rivalry with the United States. He met Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in the administrative capital of Putrajaya, following his arrival in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday for a visit to mark 50 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries. After Wednesday's closed-door meeting, Li and Anwar witnessed the signing of more than a dozen pacts, including renewing a five-year programme to collaborate in areas such as trade and investment, agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure and financial services, a statement after the meeting showed. The programme, which will expire in 2028, was first introduced in 2013. FRESH DURIAN IMPORTS China also agreed to allow imports of fresh durian from Malaysia after it meets sanitary requirements, the statement added. Malaysia, one of the world's biggest producers of the spiky, smelly fruit, was previously allowed to ship only the whole frozen fruit and its products to China, with exports valued at 1.19 billion ringgit ($253 million) in 2023. The two countries also vowed to review visa-free travel arrangements set to expire in coming months. China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner since 2009, and the foreign ministry said total trade was valued at $98.9 billion in 2023. Anwar has pledged to remain neutral on China's geopolitical rivalry with the United States. Malaysia has announced large investments by companies from both countries this year, including from China's ByteDance and U.S. tech giants Google and Microsoft. Anwar has said Malaysia considered China an important trading ally and accused some Western powers of "China-phobia", amid ongoing clashes between neighbouring the Philippines and China in the disputed South China Sea. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. Anwar and Li on Wednesday agreed that China and relevant countries from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should independently handle the South China Sea issue, according to a report by Chinese news agency Xinhua. The two leaders also pledged to work towards an early conclusion of a free trade agreement between China and ASEAN, Xinhua reported. ($1=4.7080 ringgit) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/malaysia-china-mark-50-years-ties-with-deals-development-durians-2024-06-19/

2024-06-19 06:57

DUBAI, June 19 (Reuters) - Iranian oil exports will continue regardless of who is elected as the next U.S. president, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji said on Wednesday, amid concerns that a Donald Trump presidency could curb Iranian crude sales. "Whatever government comes to power in the United States will not be able to prevent Iranian oil exports," Owji said in comments quoted by Iran's official news agency IRNA. In 2018, then-President Trump withdrew from a 2015 nuclear pact with Iran and re-imposed sanctions which hurt Iran's oil sector, with production dropping to 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd). U.S. President Joe Biden took office in 2021 and since then Iran has managed to raise output to 3.5 million bpd while tripling exports, according to Owji. Iran has expanded oil trade with China. Iran will elect a new president on June 28 following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May. The U.S. presidential election is scheduled for November 5. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/no-future-us-government-can-prevent-iran-oil-exports-minister-says-2024-06-19/

2024-06-19 06:51

Conflict in Europe, Middle East support oil prices Brent and WTI rose $1 in previous session US crude stocks rise, gasoline inventories fall, API data says June 19 (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Wednesday after hitting seven-week highs as summer demand optimism and concerns over escalating conflicts offset an industry report that said U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly rose. Brent crude futures slipped 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $85.27 a barrel by 1943 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 10 cents, or 0.1%, at $81.47 per barrel. Brent reached $85.84 a barrel earlier in the session, its highest since May 1, while WTI traded up to $81.96 a barrel, the highest level since April 30. Trading activity was thin due to a U.S. federal holiday. "The current snapshot presents an underwhelming picture but there are green shoots that indicate a more optimistic outlook," said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM. The Brent price being $8 over the lows hit in early June "shows genuine optimism that the global oil balance will eventually tighten," Varga added. Both benchmarks, having recovered strongly in the last two weeks, gained more than $1 in the previous session after a Ukrainian drone strike led to an oil terminal fire at a major Russian port. In the Middle East, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz warned of a possible "all out war" with Lebanon's Hezbollah, even as the U.S. attempted to avoid a broader conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed group. An escalating war risks supply disruption in the oil-producing region. "The potential escalation of tensions in the Middle East is adding some supply risk to the oil demand equation," said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Bank, adding recent U.S. economic data supported bets the Federal Reserve would move towards cutting interest rates in coming months. China data this week showed May industrial output lagged expectations, but retail sales, a gauge of consumption, marked the quickest growth since February. Meanwhile, U.S. crude stocks rose by 2.264 million barrels in the week ended June 14, market sources said on Tuesday, citing American Petroleum Institute figures. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 2.2-million barrel draw in crude stocks. However, gasoline inventories fell by 1.077 million barrels, while distillates rose by 538,000 barrels, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Official stocks data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due on Thursday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/oil-inches-up-war-jitters-outweigh-surprise-build-us-crude-stocks-2024-06-19/

2024-06-19 06:46

May US retail sales softer than expected Weekly jobless claims data due on Thursday June 19 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged up on Wednesday after data suggesting lacklustre U.S. economic activity kept alive hopes for at least one interest rate cut this year. Spot gold was up 0.1% at $2,330.23 per ounce as of 12:32 p.m. ET (1632 GMT). Most of the markets in the U.S. are closed for the Juneteenth holiday. U.S. retail sales barely rose in May and figures for the prior month were revised considerably lower, data showed on Tuesday, suggesting economic activity remained lacklustre in the second quarter. That slightly boosted the odds of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September to 67% from 61% a day earlier, the CME FedWatch tool showed. The main drive for gold's price action remains the market expectations over the Fed's monetary policy and despite prices creeping up, the move is quite subdued as the market waits for more substantial news, said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades. Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. "Market expectations point to at least one rate cut from the Fed. That scenario has been fully priced in the value of the dollar. Government purchases (of gold) remain stable as well. So, unless there is any significant change in this scenario, prices are expected to remain supported above the $2,300 level," Evangelista said. Gold prices rose about 1.3% last Friday on signs of inflation cooling in the United States amid a selloff across European equities as French stocks were battered by political turmoil. Political uncertainty surrounding Europe can be a positive, with elections in France and the UK nearing, Kinesis Money market analyst Carlo Alberto De Casa said. The more immediate focus, however, is on the U.S. weekly jobless claims data on Thursday and flash purchasing managers' indexes on Friday. Spot silver was up 0.6% at $29.69 per ounce, platinum rose 0.8% to $977.49 and palladium gained 2.1% to $905.51. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/gold-ticks-up-fed-rate-cut-bets-burnish-appeal-2024-06-19/