Pressure on Iran echoes into Oil Markets: Crystol Energy
Carol Nakhle, CEO of Crystol Energy discusses her key takeaways from U.S. President Trump's visit to the Gulf.
She also weighs in on the UAE's "Make it in the Emirates" campaign, calling it a significant move toward economic diversification and regional supply chain resilience.
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The Hill
10 minutes ago
- The Hill
Senate GOP unveil long-awaited SNAP proposals for Trump bill
Senate Republicans on Wednesday rolled out a suite of proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as a key component of President Trump's 'big beautiful bill' – but it dials back some of the proposals sought by the House that drew intraparty concerns. The new legislative text from the Senate would require states to cover some of the cost of SNAP benefits, which are currently completely funded by the federal government, if they have a payment error rate above 6 percent beginning in fiscal 2028, while allowing states with rates below that level to continue paying zero percent. It also proposes states with higher payment error rates cover a greater share of benefit costs. If the error rate is 6 percent or higher, states would be subject to a sliding scale that could see its share of allotments rise to a range of between 5 percent to 15 percent. The House, by contrast, called for all states to cover 5 percent of the cost of allotments in its agricultural proposal passed as part of a broader plan to advance Trump's tax agenda last month, with states that had higher payment error rates having to pay anywhere between 15 to 25 percent. The softened proposal comes as Senate Republicans expressed concerns about how the House pitch would have impacted states. 'This bill takes a commonsense approach to reforming SNAP-cutting waste, increasing state accountability, and helping recipients transition to self-sufficiency through work and training,' Senate Agriculture Chairman John Boozman (R-Ariz.) said in a statement on Wednesday. 'It's about being good stewards of taxpayer dollars while giving folks the tools to succeed.' 'At the same time, our farmers and ranchers are facing real challenges,' he said. 'This legislation delivers the risk management tools and updated farm bill safety net they need to keep producing the safest, most abundant and affordable food, fuel, and fiber in the world. It's an investment in rural America and the future of agriculture.' Like the House bill, the Senate bill would also decrease the administrative cost the federal government is required to pay to help cover program operations in the states by 25 percent, but beginning in fiscal year 2027. The proposals in both chambers also seek to limit the federal government's ability to increase monthly benefits in the future and beef up work requirements, as well as farm provisions that GOP leaders have argued will make it easier to craft a bipartisan farm bill in the months ahead – although Democrats have said otherwise. Republicans on the Senate Agriculture Committee estimated the recent legislation would generate $144 billion in net savings in the years ahead as the party looks to ramp up cost-cutting measures in Trump's plan amid concerns about the overall deficit impact of his tax priorities.
Fox News
17 minutes ago
- Fox News
Trump's nuclear strategy takes shape as former Manhattan Project site powers up for AI race against China
Over 80 years after scientists of the 'Manhattan Project' harnessed the power of the atom to end World War II, the top-secret worksite has a new mission to help dominate AI before China does. The first phase of the United States' latest uranium enrichment facility opened in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in May. Uranium powers the nuclear reactors the AI data centers are turning to for reliable energy. They will use more energy as AI becomes more sophisticated, according to Orano USA CEO Jean-Luc Palayer. "The United States can lead in AI, only if we can power AI," Palayer said. "Having that in mind and our new project on enrichment in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, we step forward on a new mission of equal consequence." Numerous Tennessee lawmakers joined Palayer for a ribbon cutting of his new facility in Oak Ridge. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported 99% of U.S. nuclear fuel is imported from other countries. In 2023, most of America's uranium products came from Russia, Canada, Australia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. The U.S. banned the import of uranium products from Russia in May 2024, but companies can still apply for waivers until 2028. "America is staring down the barrel of an energy crisis," Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said. "We can't lose the AI war to China. We can't lose the energy war to Russia. In order to do that, we have to win the nuclear energy renaissance war in America." At the end of May, President Trump signed four executive orders aimed at quadrupling domestic nuclear energy production by 2050. The orders include a deadline for the publication of a report on how to strengthen domestic uranium conversion capacity and enrichment capabilities. It orders the government to update its nuclear energy policies to streamline production. At least 10 large nuclear reactors must be under construction no later than 2030, according to the order. Meanwhile, China plans to build 10 new nuclear power reactors each year for the next decade, totaling 100 reactors by 2035. A list of U.S. nuclear reactors posted by the National Energy Institute shows the U.S. has built three in the last 30 years. Despite rapid capacity growth in 2022, nuclear power made up only about 5% of China's cumulative power generation that year. Nuclear power accounts for about 18% of the electricity generation mix in the United States. "We can't wait 10 years to build nuclear reactors in this country. "That's how long it used to take to approve them, to permit them, to build them," Lee said. "We don't have 10 years. China will have built 150 in 10 years." In 2023, the Department of Energy reported data centers used an estimated 176 TWh. That number is expected to rise to between 325 and 580 TWh by 2028. The department estimated AI data centers will use about 12% of U.S. energy annually by 2028, enough to power New York City for 11 years.
The Hill
30 minutes ago
- The Hill
Asian shares are mixed as markets shrug at latest China-US trade deal
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed early Thursday after Wall Street's rally stalled as investors appeared not to react much to the results of the latest round of China-U.S. trade talks. U.S. futures slipped while oil prices rose. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.7% to 38,160.80. Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank 0.7% to 24,206.69, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% lower to 3,400.30. In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.4% to 2,919.67, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% higher to 8,604.70. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 6,022.24 for its first loss in four days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually unchanged at 42,865.77 after edging down by 1 point. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.5% to 3,400.30. All told, the S&P 500 fell 16.57 points to 6,022.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1.10 to 42,865.77, and the Nasdaq composite sank 99.11 to 19,615.88. Several Big Tech stocks led the way lower, and a 1.9% drop for Apple was the heaviest weight on the market. It's been listless this week after unveiling several modest upcoming changes to the software that runs its devices. The action was stronger in the bond market, where Treasury yields eased after a report suggested President Donald Trump's tariffs are not pushing inflation much higher, at least not yet. U.S. consumers had to pay prices for food, gasoline and other costs of living that were 2.4% higher overall in May than a year earlier. That was up from April's 2.3% inflation rate, but it wasn't as bad as the 2.5% that Wall Street was expecting. A fear has been that Trump's wide-ranging tariffs could ignite an acceleration in inflation, just when it had seemed to get nearly all the way back to the Federal Reserve's 2% target from more than 9% three summers ago. It hasn't happened, though economists warn it may take months more to feel the full effect of Trump's tariffs. Trump said Wednesday that China will supply rare-earth minerals and magnets to the United States, while his government will allow Chinese students into U.S. universities in a deal that still needs an agreement by him and by China's leader. Trump also said that 'President XI and I are going to work closely together to open up China to American Trade. This would be a great WIN for both countries!!!' Investors are still hoping for a more sweeping trade deal that would ease tensions between the world's two largest economies. Hopes for such deals between the United States and countries around the world have been one of the main reasons the S&P 500 has charged nearly all the way back to its all-time high after dropping roughly 20% below a couple months ago. Without them, the fear is that Trump's high tariffs could drive the economy into a recession while pushing inflation higher. The S&P 500 is now sitting 2% below its record. Tesla swung between gains and losses before finishing with a rise of 0.1% to continue its shaky run. It's been recovering much of its big losses taken last week after Elon Musk's relationship with Trump imploded, which in turn raised fears about a loss of business for the electric-vehicle company. Musk on Wednesday backed away from some of his earlier comments and said they went 'too far.' In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.41% from 4.47% late Tuesday. Shorter-term yields, which more closely track expectations for what the Fed will do with overnight interest rates, fell more. Wednesday's better-than-expected reading on inflation raised expectations along Wall Street that the Fed could cut its main interest rate at least twice by the end of the year. In other dealings early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 13 cents to $68.28 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 10 cents to $69.87 per barrel. The U.S. dollar slipped to 144.05 Japanese yen from 144.60 yen. The euro rose to $1.1521 from $1.1487. ___ AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
