Latest news with #Ukraine-focused
Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Watch: Albanian PM Edi Rama Repeats His Ritual For Meloni In Rome
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama once again knelt before Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, this time in Rome during the Ukraine-focused 'Coalition of the Willing' summit. The dramatic gesture, met with Meloni's trademark smile and a hug, quickly went viral. While some hailed it as chivalrous diplomacy, others found it theatrical and overdone. This isn't Rama's first such moment, he's made it a ritual, doing so in Abu Dhabi with a birthday gift and even under the rain in Tirana. Though he insists it's a sign of gratitude for Italy's support on migration, critics suggest it's turning into a diplomatic spectacle. Read More
Business Recorder
02-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
FTSE 100 rises with Shell at helm amid easing China-US tensions
Britain's blue-chip index advanced on Friday, led by Shell, as potential easing in China-US trade tensions and generally positive earnings reports boosted market sentiment. By 0955 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.8%, on track for its fifteenth consecutive winning session - the longest on record, and poised to mark its third straight week of gains. Despite the recent market turbulence, due to US import tariffs, the blue-chip index remains just 3.6% below its record closing high achieved on March 3, 2025. Oil giant Shell gained 3.4% after beating analyst expectations for first-quarter net profit and maintaining its share buyback programme despite falling oil prices and lower refining margins than last year. The energy index rose 2%, boosted by Shell's results. NatWest inched up 1.2% after the lender reported a forecast-beating 36% rise in first-quarter profit, thanks to healthier margins on deposits and higher loan balances. Standard Chartered reported a 10% profit rise, though it joined peer HSBC in saying increased tariffs would weigh on credit quality. The bank's shares were down 0.5%. On the tariff front, China's Commerce Ministry said that Beijing was 'evaluating' an offer from Washington to hold talks over US President Donald Trump's 145% tariffs and that Beijing's door was open for discussions. FTSE 100 flat as investors assess mixed corporate earnings However, China said Washington needed to show 'sincerity' in negotiations and should be prepared to cancel its unilateral tariffs. The domestically focused FTSE 250 was nearly flat in the day, but it was heading towards its fourth consecutive weekly advance. SSP Group jumped 6% and was among the top performers on the midcap index after Financial Times reported activist investor Irenic Capital Management has built a 2% stake in the food outlet operator. The stock hit its highest in about a month and a half. Shares of Ukraine-focused miner Ferrexpo surged for the second consecutive day, rising 10%, boosted by the US-Ukraine minerals deal.
Business Recorder
02-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
FTSE 100 flat as investors assess mixed corporate earnings
LONDON: Britain's benchmark stocks index ended flat on Thursday, as investors assessed a mixed bag of corporate earnings, amid hopes of easing trade tensions between the US and China. Rolls-Royce was among the top performers on the blue-chip FTSE 100 index, up 1.7% after the jet engine maker said it could offset global tariffs to meet 2025 profit targets. The aerospace and defence index gained 1.1%. Premier Inn owner Whitbread jumped 5.8% on a share buyback plan and an upbeat bookings outlook, boosting the travel and leisure index, which led sectoral gains with a 3.4% rise. Informa advanced 4.2% as the events and academic publishing group reaffirmed its 2025 outlook. Haleon gained 3.3% after the consumer healthcare group raised its medium-term profit forecast. Keeping gains in check, Lloyds Banking Group dropped 2.7%, after reporting a near 7% drop in first-quarter profit. National Grid fell 1.1% after the company said CEO John Pettigrew was stepping down. The midcap index gained 1.3%. Ukraine-focused miner Ferrexpo soared 22.2%, the biggest rise on the index, after Washington and Kyiv struck a minerals deal. While mostly positive quarterly results helped calm the market, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state media said that the US had approached China seeking talks over President Donald Trump's 145% tariffs, potentially signalling Beijing's openness to negotiations. Back home, British homebuyers increased their mortgage borrowing by the most in nearly four years in March as they rushed to beat the end of a tax break, but Bank of England data also showed signs of caution among consumers. Meanwhile, investors added to their bets on BoE interest rate cuts over the remainder of this year and short-dated government bond yields fell sharply ahead of the central bank's meeting next week. Separate data showed British factory exports shrank at their sharpest pace in almost five years and cost pressures intensified in April.
Reuters
17-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Ferrexpo hit with fresh suspension of VAT refunds in Ukraine
April 17 (Reuters) - Ukraine-focused miner Ferrexpo (FXPO.L), opens new tab said on Thursday that Ukrainian tax authorities have decided to suspend the refund of value-added tax worth 456.6 million hryvnias ($11.03 million) for February to two of its Ukrainian units. This follows a similar suspension of its January VAT refunds in March when 512.9 million hryvnias were withheld. The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here. Ferrexpo previously said the VAT refund suspension was related to the imposition of personal sanctions on Ukrainian billionaire Kostiantyn Zhevago, who is the largest shareholder of the London-listed company. "Personal sanctions on Zhevago should not be used as an instrument to place financial pressure on Ferrexpo," the miner said. Zhevago is facing allegations that he embezzled money from the now-bankrupt lender Finance & Credit Bank, in which he had a 95% indirect shareholding before its 2015 collapse. Ferrexpo said it has undertaken significant cost-cutting measures to preserve liquidity, impacting its workforce, mining, and processing operations, among other areas. ($1 = 41.3900 hryvnias)
Al Arabiya
11-04-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
US, Ukraine hold tense talks as mineral deal remains elusive, source says
US and Ukrainian officials met on Friday on a US proposal to gain access to Ukraine's mineral wealth, a source with knowledge of the matter said, adding that prospects for a breakthrough were scant given the meeting's 'antagonistic' atmosphere. The strains in the Washington talks stemmed from the Trump administration's latest draft proposal, which is more expansive than the original version, the source said. 'The negotiating environment is very antagonistic,' the source said, pointing to the 'maximalist' draft submitted by the Trump administration last month. A Treasury Department spokesperson confirmed the discussions, calling them 'technical in nature.' The latest draft would give the US privileged access to Ukraine's mineral deposits and require Kyiv to place in a joint investment fund all income from the exploitation of natural resources by Ukrainian state and private firms. The proposed deal, however, would not provide US security guarantees to Kyiv - a top priority of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy - for its fight against Russian forces occupying some 20 percent of its territory. The source said that one of the 'Easter eggs' found in the document was a US demand that the US government's International Development Finance Corporation take control of a natural gas pipeline from Russian energy giant Gazprom across Ukraine to Europe. The Ukrainian government has hired law firm Hogan Lovells as an outside adviser on the minerals deal, the source said. Zelenskyy on Wednesday said a minerals deal should be profitable for both countries and could be structured in a way that would help modernize Ukraine. Top Ukrainian officials including Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko will be in Washington in two weeks for International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings, including a Ukraine-focused ministers' meeting on April 25, multiple sources familiar with the plans said. US President Donald Trump is seeking a deal covering Ukraine's minerals, which include prized rare earths, as part of his effort to end the war and as a way to recover billions of dollars in US military assistance to Kyiv.
