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London Metal Exchange suffers fresh glitch as it attempts to restart nickel trading 

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London Metal Exchange suffers fresh glitch as it attempts to restart nickel trading 

The London Steel Alternate suspended digital buying and selling in nickel on Wednesday, simply moments after the world’s predominant marketplace for the metallic reopened for enterprise following a week-long shutdown.

Wednesday’s recent buying and selling halt got here after the value of nickel tumbled when the market opened. Newly put in curbs to assist the resumption have been meant to forestall the value from declining by greater than 5 per cent, however a handful of trades breached the restrict of $45,590 a tonne, in response to Refinitiv information.

That pressured the LME to halt digital buying and selling simply after 8am on Wednesday to “examine” the issue whereas phone dealing and enterprise across the well-known crimson sofas on its Ring venue continued, though costs there additionally dropped by the 5 per cent restrict. The market reopened for a second time at 2pm, however with none buying and selling.

The chaotic resumption of enterprise is an extra embarrassment for the LME, which units international references costs for industrial metals. The alternate has confronted fierce criticism of its choice to droop the market final week following an enormous brief squeeze.

“The size of promote orders is illustrative of the temper available in the market — longs simply wish to get out of a market that has grow to be and is prone to stay dysfunctional,” stated Alastair Munro of brokerage Marex in a report.

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Wednesday’s bungled restart follows one of the dramatic episodes within the 145-year historical past of the LME. Final week, a number of smaller LME members got here near failing after the value of nickel surged 250 per cent in two days. The sharp rally was brought about largely by Xiang Guangda, the tycoon behind Tsingshan Holding, China’s main chrome steel group, who struggled to fulfill calls for for further money on an enormous bearish guess that backfired.

The LME suspended buying and selling after the value surge on March 8 and likewise cancelled a number of hours of trades, triggering a livid backlash from hedge funds and digital merchants.

The alternate determined to renew buying and selling — with worth limits — after Xiang reached a cope with his banking counterparties to keep away from additional margin calls. Tsingshan has stated it would scale back its brief place in a “truthful and orderly method as irregular market situations subside”.

Stories from state-backed media in China on Wednesday claimed Tsingshan had struck a cope with two firms to swap its decrease grade nickel merchandise with a purer type of the metallic that can be utilized to shut its brief place on the LME.

“Everybody knew the contract could be restrict down instantly,” stated Colin Hamilton, analyst at BMO Capital Markets. “You’ll have thought the LME and suppliers would have run just a few checks for that situation.”

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The LME stated on Wednesday it was assessing whether or not it might improve the 5 per cent restrict for Thursday’s session to assist the market uncover a “true worth”. Nickel was buying and selling at round $37,000 a tonne on the Shanghai Futures Alternate on Wednesday.

Nickel is used to make chrome steel however its fastest-growing market is within the batteries that energy electrical automobiles. Tesla’s chief govt Elon Musk has stated nickel is the metallic he worries most about.

Russia is an enormous producer of high-grade nickel utilized in batteries, and merchants have been involved that provides might be disrupted by western sanctions on Moscow.

The worth fall shall be a aid for Xiang, who was dealing with billions of {dollars} of potential losses on his bearish guess, which he began constructing final 12 months, as the value of nickel surged because of the warfare in Ukraine.

Nevertheless, it’s prone to irritate buyers who have been sitting on large income final week, solely to have their commerce cancelled. On the day nickel was suspended it doubled to a report excessive above $100,000 a tonne.

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Don Wilson, one of many world’s largest derivatives merchants, has hit out on the LME’s choice final week to cancel trades.

Wilson, founder and chief govt of DRW, a Chicago buying and selling agency, described the transfer as “one of the inept strikes an alternate has made that I can consider”.

LME stated final week it had taken the choice to cancel trades “within the pursuits of the market as a complete”.

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Donald Trump revokes security clearance for Joe Biden

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Donald Trump revokes security clearance for Joe Biden

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US President Donald Trump has revoked Joe Biden’s security clearance, barring his predecessor from receiving daily intelligence briefings as he continues a political revenge campaign throughout Washington.

“There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information. Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden’s Security Clearances, and stopping his daily Intelligence Briefings,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday.

The president’s move was payback for when Biden pulled Trump’s security clearance in the wake of the January 6 attack on the Capitol: “He set this precedent in 2021,” Trump said.

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The revocation was the latest in a campaign of retribution from Trump, which began hours after he was sworn in a second time. He has already revoked the security clearance and protective detail for John Bolton, his former national security adviser who has become one his harshest critics.

He cancelled protection for Anthony Fauci, the immunologist who spearheaded the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and for former secretary of state Mike Pompeo.

Biden’s secret service protection is still in place.

Trump campaigned on promises to go after his political enemies in government, with his vendetta extending to the intelligence community and law enforcement. Earlier this week, FBI agents sued the Trump administration to prevent it from publicly naming staff involved in a probe into the January 6 Capitol attack in 2021, which sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

“Never again will the immense power of the state be weaponised to persecute political opponents,” he said in his second inaugural address.

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On his first night in office, he signed an executive order on the “weaponisation” of government, authorising sweeping reviews of US intelligence and other agencies to rectify “past misconduct” through “appropriate action”.

For taking away Biden’s clearance, Trump cited the politically damaging 2024 report by Robert Hur, the justice department special counsel who said Biden was a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory”.

“The Hur Report revealed that Biden suffers from ‘poor memory’ and, even in his ‘prime,’ could not be trusted with sensitive information,” Trump said. “I will always protect our National Security — JOE, YOU’RE FIRED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

As a courtesy, former presidents traditionally continue receiving daily intelligence briefings, which can include classified information.

There was no immediate response from Biden. 

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Trump says he is revoking Biden's security clearances

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Trump says he is revoking Biden's security clearances

President Trump delivers remarks in the Oval Office on Friday. In a posting on his Truth Social site, Trump said he was revoking former President Joe Biden’s security clearances.

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President Trump says he is “immediately revoking” former President Joe Biden’s security clearances — access that Biden stripped from Trump four years ago.

Former presidents are historically given intelligence briefings after leaving office. In 2021, Biden revoked Trump’s access just weeks after being sworn in, arguing Trump exhibited “erratic behavior.”

Now, Trump appears to be repeating the move.

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In a post Friday on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Biden “set this precedent” by taking away his clearances shortly after Trump left office.

Trump criticized the former president’s cognitive ability and referenced a report by special counsel Robert Hur that described Biden as having a “poor memory.” Biden was investigated by Hur for his alleged mishandling of classified materials after he left the vice presidency, but prosecutors ultimately determined that charges were not warranted.

“The Hur Report revealed that Biden suffers from ‘poor memory’ and, even in his ‘prime,’ could not be trusted with sensitive information,” Trump said on Truth Social. “I will always protect our National Security — JOE, YOU’RE FIRED.”

A spokesperson for the former president could not be immediately reached for comment.

“What value is giving him an intelligence briefing?” Biden said in an interview with CBS News four years ago. “What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?”

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Trump’s decision to revoke Biden’s access follows similar moves taken by the administration against past critics of the president. Last week, the Pentagon revoked retired Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley’s security detail and suspended his clearance. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former National Security Adviser John Bolton have also had their security details removed by Trump.

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Accenture ditches diversity and inclusion goals

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Accenture ditches diversity and inclusion goals

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Accenture has scrapped its global diversity and inclusion goals after an “evaluation” of the US political landscape, becoming the latest big company to ditch its targets since the election of Donald Trump.

A memo to staff from chief executive Julie Sweet said the New York-listed consulting group would begin “sunsetting” its diversity goals set in 2017, as well as career development programmes for “people of specific demographic groups”.

Sweet said in the memo that the change followed an “evaluation of our internal policies and practices and the evolving landscape in the United States, including recent Executive Orders with which we must comply”.

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Accenture, which employs 799,000 people around the world, joins Meta, McDonald’s and Target in ditching diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals in response to the new political climate since Trump’s election.

The US president has been highly critical of what he calls the “absolute nonsense” of “discriminatory” diversity, equity and inclusion measures.

He signed a series of executive orders cutting federal DEI programmes when he came into office last month, tapping into a vein of corporate fatigue for diversity goals.

Other companies, such as Costco and JPMorgan Chase, have reaffirmed their commitment while some are reassessing their inclusion policies for the Trump era.

In 2017, Accenture set a target that half its staff would be women by the end of 2025. It also set a goal for 25 per cent of its managing directors to be women by 2020, a target it later updated to 30 per cent by 2025. At the time, 41 per cent of its employees and 21 per cent of managing directors were women.

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The group also set itself goals for ethnic minority representation in its workforce in the US, UK and South Africa.

As well as rolling back the targets, which Sweet said would no longer be used to measure staff performance, Accenture would no longer submit data to external diversity benchmarking surveys.

The group would also “evaluate” external partnerships on the topic “as part of refreshing our talent strategy”, she added.

Accenture declined to comment.

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