Tausi Insider

Stelco Holdings Inc. says its net earnings for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 were down by almost 74 per cent year-over-year to $158-million, or $2.33 per diluted share. The Hamilton-based steelmaker says challenging market conditions in the third quarter, which are expected to continue, included lower steel prices and inflationary pressure. The company’s revenue was $217-million for the quarter, down 38 per cent from last year and down 18 per cent from the second quarter. The company says its revenue decrease was primarily due to a 36 per cent decline in average selling price per net ton, as well as lower shipping volumes and lower non-steel sales, all compared to last year. However, executive chairman and chief executive Alan Kestenbaum says despite inflation and downward steel pricing trends, the company saw shipping volumes increase over last quarter. The company reiterated its fourth-quarter guidance that lower prices and shorter lead times will continue to affect results thro...

Benchmark Brent oil edged lower on Thursday while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude held steady, hovering in sight of two-month lows as the level of a proposed G7 cap on the price of Russian oil raised doubts about how much it would limit supply. A bigger-than-expected build in U.S. gasoline inventories and widening COVID-19 controls in China also added downward pressure on crude prices. Brent crude futures were down 29 cents, or 0.3%, to $85.12 a barrel by 15.15 p.m. ET (2015 GMT), while U.S. WTI crude futures rose 2 cents, to $77.96. Trading volumes were thin because of the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. Both benchmarks plunged more than 3% on Wednesday on news the planned price cap on Russian oil could be above the current market level. European Union governments remained split over what level to cap Russian oil prices at to curb Moscow’s ability to pay for its war in Ukraine without causing a global oil supply shock, with more talks possible on Friday if positions c...

The Federal Reserve’s signalling of a slowdown in the pace of U.S. interest rate hikes takes pressure off global peers to keep on raising rates and offers relief to emerging markets, which have suffered their biggest rout in over a decade this year. Central banks around the world have taken their cue from Washington in lifting borrowing costs at record pace. So a signal in the minutes of the Fed’s November meeting that policy tightening will soon slow has global ramifications, from a drop in global yields and rising stocks to a rebound in currencies against the dollar. More importantly, the Fed’s hint suggests that inflation may be coming under control, bolstering hopes of a “soft landing” for the world’s biggest economy that could in turn cushion others, many of which are already in recession. The inflation fight is far from over, especially in Europe, where the energy shock from the Ukraine has hurt most, but the Fed’s shift eases the pressure on central banks to keep moving in big...

The European Union has agreed to add shipping to its carbon market for the first time, forcing vessels to pay for their planet-heating emissions and increasing pressure on the maritime sector to invest in greener technologies. The shipping sector has so far escaped the EU carbon market, which requires factories and power plants to buy permits when they emit carbon dioxide, providing a financial incentive to emit less. That is set to change from 2024, when shipping companies will have to buy EU carbon permits to cover 40 per cent of their emissions, rising to 70 per cent in 2025 and 100 per cent in 2026. “This will not only help the climate but also improve air pollution in cities close to rivers and the coast,” Peter Liese, lead EU lawmaker on the rules, said on Wednesday. The deal, agreed late on Tuesday by lawmakers and negotiators from the 27-country bloc, would add to the carbon market all carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen dioxide emissions from maritime voyages within the EU....

Climate activists block the airport near St Gallen, Altenrhein, Switzerland, on Jan. 16. DEBT FOR CLIMATE SWITZERLAND/Reuters Big oil firms came under pressure at the start of the World Economic Forum (WEF) from activists who accused them of hijacking the climate debate, while a Greta Thunberg-sponsored “cease and desist” campaign gained support on social media. Major energy firms including BP, Chevron and Saudi Aramco are among the 1,500 business leaders gathering for the annual meeting in the Swiss resort of Davos, where global threats including climate change are on the agenda. “We are demanding concrete and real climate action,” said Nicolas Siegrist, the 26-year-old organizer of the protest who also heads the Young Socialists party in Switzerland. The annual meeting of global business and political leaders opens in Davos on Monday. “They will be in the same room with state leaders and they will push for their interests,” Siegrist said of the involvement of energy companies durin...