Author: Press Room

A_Carina The S&P 500 Materials sector jumped +4.04% this week, with the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLB) also up +4.29%. The sector was buoyed by strength in precious and industrial metals amid better-than-expected China industrial data and market sentiment that the Federal Reserve would stop raising interest rates. Gold and silver prices made large gains this week after higher U.S. unemployment claims for November and weaker producer prices reinforced expectations that Fed interest rates would stay stable. Front-month Comex gold (XAUUSD:CUR) ended +1.2% to reach a two-week high of $1,983.90/oz, while silver (XAGUSD:CUR) settled +1.7% to $23.892/oz, the highest…

The U.S. is “closer than we have been in quite some time” to broker a deal with Israel and Hamas to release hostages being held in Gaza, deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said Sunday. “I believe we are closer than we have been in quite some time, maybe closer than we have been since the beginning of this process, to getting this deal done. And we are following this minute by minute, hour by hour, and have been for a number of weeks,” Finer said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Finer was responding to questions regarding Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh…

Yemeni Houthi rebels hijacked a cargo ship in the Red Sea on Sunday.The group has pledged to take action against Israeli ships until attacks on Gaza stopped.Israel claimed Iran was behind the incident. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on the go. download the app Israel said that a cargo ship was hijacked in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Iran’s orders.The cargo ship, Galaxy Leader, was traveling from Turkey to India and sailing under the flag of the Bahamas when the incident occurred, the IDF…

© Reuters. CAIRO – Egypt’s stock market witnessed a day of historic gains with the benchmark EGX30 index reaching nearly 24,900 points, marking a significant milestone. This surge reflects a 2.12% increase from the previous session, underscoring the bullish sentiment prevailing in the market. The broader indices also shared in the upward trend, with the EGX70 and EGX100 climbing to approximately 4,910 and over 7,200 points respectively. The overall market capitalization experienced robust growth, now standing at an impressive 1.6 trillion Egyptian pounds after adding 32 billion pounds since Thursday. Driving the rally was Misr Hotels, which saw its shares…

Nadzeya Haroshka/iStock via Getty Images According to a recent survey conducted by Jefferies, a significant number of healthcare executives expect the healthcare sector to make a comeback in 2024, backed by M&A activity and the GLP-1 class of weight loss drugs, as COVID-19 takes a back seat. In conjunction with its London Healthcare Conference, Jefferies said that a rising proportion of healthcare executives continue to expect a rebound in M&A in 2024 after two years of muted activity. In 2022, the number and average size of global healthcare M&A fell more than 30% and around 15%, respectively, as companies took…

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said former President Donald Trump would be a risky 2024 GOP nominee, saying he has a “small” chance of beating President Biden, and would have a tough time attracting the necessary talent to “get the job done” should he win.DeSantis, who is locked in a heated battle for second place in the Republican primary race with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, was asked about his thoughts on the frontrunner Trump on CNN’s “State of the Union.””Donald Trump is a high-risk proposition as a nominee because I think the chance of him getting elected is small, but…

In 2023, a record number of low-income students took Advanced Placement exams.The College Board made about $500 million in revenue as a result.The problem? A sizable number of those low-income students didn’t pass. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on the go. download the app For high school students across the United States, Advanced Placement courses offer a curriculum that not only exposes them to university-level work but can give them credits for college should they score high enough on end-of-course exams.For many students from low-income and working-class…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Conservative MPs have called for the government to use the UK’s national security laws to investigate the attempt by the Barclay family to take back control of the Telegraph newspaper group using funding from Abu Dhabi.MPs, including Edward Leigh, John Hayes and Baroness Margaret Eaton, have written to deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden, business secretary Kemi Badenoch and culture secretary Lucy Frazer questioning the use of overseas sovereign wealth to buy the UK national newspaper.The Daily Telegraph is traditionally the newspaper most…

JOHANNESBURG – Germany is stepping up its support for renewable energy initiatives in Southern Africa, with significant financial contributions aimed at fostering sustainable development in the region. The latest move includes a sizable loan to South Africa for its renewable energy transition and an investment into a green hydrogen project in Namibia. The German state-owned development bank KfW has agreed to lend South Africa R9 billion (approximately $540 million) to aid the country’s shift towards renewable energy sources. This funding is part of the broader Just Energy Transition Partnership, which has amassed R160 billion (around $9.6 billion) since its inception…

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the annual results news conference of the German drugmaker in Leverkusen, Germany February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay By Tom Hals (Reuters) – A Missouri jury ordered Bayer (OTC:) to pay $1.56 billion to four plaintiffs who claimed the company’s Roundup weedkiller caused injuries including cancer, a verdict that could intensify investor pressure on the German drugs and agricultural chemicals company to change its legal strategy. The Cole County, Missouri jury found on Friday that Bayer’s Monsanto (NYSE:) business was liable for claims of negligence, design defects and failing to…