Rio Tinto chief Stausholm to step down later in 2025
DUBLIN The Iseq All Share opened in the red on Thursday, falling 0.34 per cent (-39.24bps)...
Jakob Stausholm, the chief executive of Australian mining firm Rio Tinto will step...
German long-term bond yields hit a two-month high on Thursday, as investors' concerns...
London's FTSE 100 began Thursday's trade in the red, following the trend seen...
The Iseq All Share opened in the red on Thursday morning and dropped 0.35 per cent...
The European Union's investment vehicle is investing €40 million in a dedicated...
Profits at Telegram leapt to $540 million last year, as the messaging app achieved...
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Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
European investors cautious as China-US trade talks consume attention
European shares eased in cautious trade on Monday as investors avoided making big bets pending the outcome of Sino-U. S. trade talks in London. The pan-European STOXX 600 ended slightly lower at 553.24 points, after four straight sessions of gains, its longest consecutive winning streak in three weeks. Dublin Falling slightly from a peak in afternoon trading, the Iseq All-Share index ended the session at a record close of 11,651.80, rising 29.59 points, or 0.25 per cent. READ MORE Shares in Glanbia plc rose 1.50 per cent to €12.83, following the commencement of the company's share buyback scheme on Friday. The Irish food group purchased more than 70,000 of its own shares at an average price of €12.6283. It was a good day of trading for the banking sector. Permanent TSB rose 1.68 per cent to €12.83, and Bank of Ireland rose 0.93 per cent to €12.48. Bank of Ireland remained largely static, dropping 0.14 per cent to €7.07. Insulation specialist Kingspan, remained largely static in trading on Monday after making gains last week following the announcement that it would increase its planned investment in the US roofing business to $1 billion over the next five years. Shares rose 0.26 per cent to 75.75. In housing and construction, Glenveagh rose 1.14 per cent to €1.77, Irish Residential Properties REIT increased 0.93 per cent to €1.09, and Cairn Homes rode the rising sectoral tide to €2.19, up 0.92 per cent. It was a mixed day for leisure and travel stocks, hotel group Dalata rose 0.32 per cent to €6.25, while Ryanair fell slightly, down 0.08 per cent, to €24.26. London The blue chip FTSE 100 index fell 5.63 points, 0.1 per cent, to 8,832.28. The more domestically focused FTSE 250 ended up 128.63 points, 0.6 per cent, at 21,285.91. On the FTSE 100, M & G rose 3.2 per cent as UBS upgraded to 'buy', but WPP fell 2.8 per cent after it said Mark Read will step down as chief executive officer at the end of 2025 after seven years leading the company. In London, shares in Cordel plunged 12 per cent after it warned full-year revenue will be lower than forecast. The London-based company, which uses artificial intelligence to supply transport corridor analytics, expects to report revenue in the range of £4.7 million (€5.6 million) and £5 million for the financial year to June 30th. It would represent growth of up to 12 per cent from £4.4 million the year before. But chief executive John Davis said it will be 'lower than forecast', despite the firm making 'excellent strategic progress' in the financial year. Broker Cavendish lowered its financial 2025 revenue forecast to £4.8 million from £6.2 million. Elsewhere, Dunelm fell 3.9 per cent after RBC Capital Markets downgraded to 'sector perform' from 'outperform', while, Trustpilot slid 5.8 per cent as Panmure Liberum slapped a 'sell' rating on the company. Europe The pan-European Stoxx 600 index remained largely unchanged, down 0.072 per cent, in a quiet day when several markets were closed due to holidays. Trading was thin as markets in Switzerland, Denmark and Norway were among those closed due to the Whit Monday holiday. The utilities sector was among the biggest losers. Often tracked as a bond proxy – a slide in Eurozone bonds pressured the index. China said on Friday that it was willing to accelerate the examination and approval of rare earth exports to European Union firms. Automakers – a sector vulnerable to any rare earth supply disruptions – was flat. Among individual stocks, Spectris soared 60.1 per cent after the scientific instruments maker said it would accept a 3.73 billion pounds (€4.43 billion) bid from Advent. New York Wall Street's main indexes were mixed in mid-amidafternooning on Monday as investors watched a fresh round of US-China negotiations aimed at mending a trade rift that has rattled financial markets for much of the year. Top officials from both countries have kicked off discussions at London's Lancaster House, looking to get back on track with a preliminary trade agreement struck last month that had briefly cooled tensions between the world's largest economies. Nvidia gained as most megacap and growth stocks were up. Tesla was down marginally after brokerage Baird downgraded the stock to 'neutral'. Warner Bros Discovery shares jumped after the company said it would separate its studios and streaming business from its fading cable television networks. Robinhood Markets fell after S&P Dow Jones Indices left S&P 500 constituents unchanged in its latest rebalancing, following recent speculation that the online brokerage would be added to the benchmark index. – Additional reporting, Reuters, PA.
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Car makers 'in full panic' over rare-earths shortage amid China's export controls
Frank Eckard, chief executive of a German magnet maker, has been fielding a flood of calls in recent weeks. Exasperated car makers and parts suppliers have been desperate to find alternative sources of magnets, which are in short supply due to Chinese export curbs. Some told Eckard their factories could be idled by mid-July without backup magnet supplies. "The whole car industry is in full panic," said Eckard, chief executive of Magnosphere, based in Troisdorf, Germany. "They are willing to pay any price." Car executives have once again been driven into their war rooms, concerned China's tight export controls on rare-earth magnets — crucially needed to make cars — could cripple production. US president Donald Trump said on Friday that Chinese president Xi Jinping agreed to let rare earths minerals and magnets flow to the United States. A US trade team was scheduled to meet Chinese counterparts for talks in London on Monday. The industry worries the rare-earths situation could cascade into the third massive supply chain shock in five years. A semiconductor shortage wiped away millions of cars from car makers' production plans, from roughly 2021 to 2023. Before that, the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 shut factories for weeks. Those crises prompted the industry to fortify supply chain strategies. Executives have prioritized backup supplies for key components and reexamined the use of just-in-time inventories, which save money but can leave them without stockpiles when a crisis unfurls. This time, as the rare-earths bottleneck tightens, the industry has few good options, given the extent to which China dominates the market. The fate of car makers' assembly lines has been left to a small team of Chinese bureaucrats as it reviews hundreds of applications for export permits. Several European auto-supplier plants have already shut down, with more outages coming, said the region's auto supplier association, Clepa. "Sooner or later, this will confront everyone," said Clepa secretary-general Benjamin Krieger. Cars today use rare-earths-based motors in dozens of components — side mirrors, stereo speakers, oil pumps, windshield wipers, and sensors for fuel leakage and braking sensors. China controls up to 70% of global rare-earths mining, 85% of refining capacity and about 90% of rare-earths metal alloy and magnet production, consultancy AlixPartners said. The average electric vehicle uses about 0.5kg of rare earths elements, and a fossil-fuel car uses just half that, according to the International Energy Agency. China has clamped down before, including in a 2010 dispute with Japan, during which it curbed rare-earths exports. Japan had to find alternative suppliers, and by 2018, China accounted for only 58% of its rare earth imports. General Motors and BMW and major suppliers such as ZF and BorgWarner are working on motors with low-to-zero rare-earth content, but few have managed to scale production enough to cut costs. The EU has launched initiatives including the Critical Raw Materials Act to boost European rare-earth sources. But it has not moved fast enough, said Noah Barkin, a senior adviser at Rhodium Group, a China-focused US think tank. Even players that have developed marketable products struggle to compete with Chinese producers on price. David Bender, co-head of German metal specialist Heraeus' magnet recycling business, said it was only operating at 1% capacity and would have to close next year if sales do not increase.
Irish Examiner
11 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Because it's worth it: L'Oreal to buy skincare brand Medik8 in €1bn deal
L'Oreal has agreed to buy a majority stake in the UK company Medik8 as the French cosmetics group strengthens its presence in the booming skincare market. The private equity firm Inflexion will keep a minority stake as part of the deal while the current management will stay on, L'Oreal said on Monday without disclosing financial details. L'Oreal has been boosting its portfolio, seeking to take advantage of the interest in skincare driven by social media influencers who use and promote creams and serums on platforms like TikTok. The Financial Times reported last week that the deal was worth roughly €1bn. L'Oreal shares fell less than 1% in early Paris trading. They have rebounded about 11% so far this year after a slowdown in the US and China weighed on the stock in 2024. Medik8, founded in 2009 by Elliot Isaacs and based just north of London, specializes in anti-aging treatments. It will join L'Oreal's luxury division. Inflexion bought Medik8 for an undisclosed amount in 2021. The brand's founder, Mr Isaacs, will remain on the board of Medik8, L'Oreal said. The deal gives L'Oreal a wider offering in skincare at different prices. Medik8 products are typically more affordable than SkinCeuticals, which L'Oreal bought two decades ago and is now part of its dermatological beauty unit. Cyril Chapuy, who heads the group's luxury division, highlighted Medik8's 'accessible price point'. The dermatological beauty unit saw the fastest growth among L'Oreal's four divisions last year. The unit also includes affordable brands like CeraVe and Vichy. The group also bought Australian cosmetics brand Aesop in 2023 to strengthen the luxury division, which is the second-largest in sales after the consumer-products unit. Other well-known L'Oreal brands include mascara maker Maybelline New York and shampoo labels Garnier and Kérastase. The company in April reported stronger-than-expected sales in the first part of the year, led by demand for high-end make-up and perfumes. Bloomberg
