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Boeing announced a stock offering on Monday expected to raise up to $19 billion, saying proceeds will go towards repaying debt and investing in its subsidiaries.The aviation giant’s move comes after it reported a whopping $6.2 billion quarterly loss last week in the wake of a paralyzing labor strike.The securities are expected to help the embattled company navigate a precarious financial situation without imminent threat of a credit rating downgrade.Boeing did not specify the timing of the offering, but said it will sell 90 million shares of common stock — valued at around $13.9 billion at current market prices — in addition to $5 billion in depositary shares.”Boeing intends to use the net proceeds from the offerings for general corporate purposes,” the company said in a statement.These include, “repayment of debt, additions to working capital, capital expenditures, and funding and investments in the company’s subsidiaries,” it added.  If oversubscribed, Boeing could potentially sell additional securities worth as much as $3 billion more for a total of $22 billion.The offering comes as Boeing faces myriad problems following safety lapses on commercial planes, problem-filled space projects and cost-overruns on defense contracts. The company is on track for its sixth straight annual loss.During an October 23 earnings conference call, Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg, who joined Boeing only in August, outlined steps to improve the company culture and streamline its mission, telling analysts Boeing should be “doing less and doing it better than doing more and not doing it well.” But Ortberg’s plans hit another stumbling point later that night when a machinist union voted down Boeing’s latest contract offer, extending a walkout of some 33,000 US workers that has shuttered major assembly plants in the Seattle region since mid-September.Boeing faces a continued cash crunch until the strike is resolved and it manages to ramp production back up. Even before the strike, Boeing had been forced to limit output of the 737 MAX under a federal order after an incident in January in which an Alaska Airlines jet made an emergency landing after suffering the blowout of a fuselage panel.”The approximate $19 billion in cash to be raised likely keeps them investment grade through the end of 2025 based on what we know today,” Third Bridge analyst Peter McNally said Monday.McNally pointed to comments from Boeing last week that were more optimistic about cash flow in the second half of 2025. But since that time, the machinist union voted to extend the strike.”The situation remains dynamic,” McNally said.- Bruising strike -Since Ortberg’s arrival, the company has announced measures to strengthen its cash position including a 10 percent reduction in its global workforce, amounting to around 17,000 positions cut.It is also considering the possibility of selling its space business, which includes its problem-plagued Starliner vehicle, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Friday.Meanwhile, the strike by Boeing workers has continued after union members rejected a new contract offer on Wednesday.Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of the members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 rejected the preliminary agreement, prolonging the walkout of thousands of Seattle-region employees.The latest Boeing contract offer included a 35 percent pay rise over four years and a one-time signing bonus of $7,000. However, the deal did not restore a company pension axed a decade ago, a major sticking point for older workers.The strike has halted activity at two factories that assemble the 737 MAX and 777, costing an estimated $7.6 billion in direct losses — including at least $4.35 billion for Boeing and almost $2 billion for its suppliers, according to the Anderson Economic Group consultancy.The offering announced Monday addresses “a timing issue” in terms of cash that has been exacerbated by the latest union vote, said Cai Von Rumohr, an analyst at TD Cowen.Shares of Boeing fell one percent in afternoon trading.

Global stocks diverged and oil prices tumbled on Monday as markets were relieved that Israel’s strikes on Iran had avoided the country’s energy infrastructure.Israel avoided Iran’s oil and nuclear facilities in its air strikes on the country on Saturday, easing investor fears about the extent of Israel’s retaliation to Tehran’s October 1 missile barrage.Iran has downplayed the attack, saying it caused “limited damage” to a few radar systems on military sites.”Investors breathed a sigh of relief as the attack was more restrained than expected,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.Brent North Sea crude, the international benchmark oil contract, fell around six percent on Monday morning with prices hovering around $71 per barrel. “Israel’s strike, carefully avoiding energy sites, has softened fears of a full-scale conflict with Iran,” said Stephen Innes, analyst at SPI Asset Management.”Even more telling is Iran’s response, downplaying the attack’s impact and signaling that its warnings may have deterred any more aggressive action from Israel,” he added.Concerns have shifted back to focus on oversupply in 2025 and a slowdown in demand from China, the world’s largest oil importer, according to analysts.London’s FTSE 100 retreated as crude prices affected both ends of the top-tier index.Oil and gas giants BP and Shell were both hit by the lower crude prices, making them the biggest fallers.Meanwhile airlines easyJet and British Airways-owner IAG led gains on the prospect of lower fuel prices. In the eurozone, Paris advanced and Frankfurt retreated. Dutch medical device maker Philips lowered its full year sales target Monday blaming a deterioration in demand from China, with its share price dropping more than 11 percent on the Amsterdam stock exchange’s blue-chip AEX index.Investors are preparing for a busy week ahead, including the release of key US monthly jobs figures on Friday which could provide more clues about future Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. It’s also a big week for US company earnings as five of the “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks will report third-quarter results, including Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook) and Microsoft.”The market expects the US tech giants to continue to report double digit earnings growth for the next five quarters, so there are some big expectations for these companies,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.On currency markets the yen hit a three-month low, sliding more than one percent against the dollar as Japan’s ruling coalition looked set to lose its majority after Sunday’s general election.Tokyo led gains on Asian markets, closing up 1.8 percent as the yen’s weakness boosted Japanese shares, with exporters benefiting from a cheaper currency.Shanghai also rose while Hong Kong was flat. In India, Mumbai stocks were up 1.1 percent, with shares in solar panel maker Waaree Energies soaring 75 percent on their market debut. – Key figures around 1100 GMT -Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 5.7 percent at $71.29 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 6.1 percent at $67.43 per barrelLondon – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,231.38Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,509.94Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.2 at 19,425.18Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.8 percent at 38,605.53 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 20,599.36 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,322.20 (close)New York – Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 42,114.40 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0819 from $1.0799 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2984 from $1.2958Dollar/yen: UP at 152.53 yen from 152.27 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.35 pence from 83.30 pence

Oil prices tumbled Monday with markets relieved that Israel’s strikes on Iran had avoided the country’s energy infrastructure while the yen fell to a three-month low after Japan’s ruling party suffered an election drubbing.Israel carried out air strikes on military sites in Iran on Saturday in response to Tehran’s October 1 missile barrage, itself retaliation for the killing of Iran-backed militant leaders and a Revolutionary Guards commander.Iran has downplayed the attack, saying it caused “limited damage” to a few radar systems, signalling what analysts say is the Islamic republic’s reluctance to escalate further.Oil prices fell as much as five percent in early trade before paring some of their losses.”Israel’s strike, carefully avoiding energy sites, has softened fears of a full-scale conflict with Iran,” said Stephen Innes, analyst at SPI Asset Management.”Even more telling is Iran’s response, downplaying the attack’s impact and signaling that its warnings may have deterred any more aggressive action from Israel,” he said.”If tensions cool further or peace talks unexpectedly gain traction, we could see oil slide down to $60 per barrel as traders shift focus back to the looming 2025 supply glut — especially if China’s economic stimulus underwhelms,” Innes added.Concerns about the outlook for the world’s largest oil importer have added to the downward pressure on crude prices, with observers waiting for headline figures on Beijing’s stimulus plan to support the wavering Chinese economy.Investors are looking for details of any major stimulus package to be unveiled after the conclusion of a key political meeting in Beijing next week, which coincides with the US presidential election.On currency markets the yen hit a three-month low, sliding more than one percent against the dollar as Japan’s ruling coalition looked set to lose its majority after Sunday’s general election.In morning trade, one dollar bought 153.88 yen, the Japanese currency’s lowest value since late July.New Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s gamble calling snap elections appeared to have backfired badly, with his Liberal Democratic Party projected to have fallen short of an absolute majority on its own for the first time since 2009.Investors are betting the political uncertainty makes it less likely the LDP will be able to follow through on tax hikes that Ishiba had hinted at and could slow the pace of further rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.”The general sense is that there’s a risk here that the government will have to concede in terms of its fiscal discipline agenda, so in order to get more people to join the coalition, they will have to become a little more fiscally loose,” Rodrigo Catril at National Australia Bank said on the Morning Call podcast.”At the same time there’s a risk there that support for policy normalisation for the government, in terms of the Bank of Japan policy normalisation, it may be that the LDP may not be able to be as supportive of the Bank of Japan’s process. So that’s the major concern particularly from the central bank perspective.”Tokyo led gains on Asian markets, closing up 1.8 percent as the yen’s weakness boosted Japanese shares, with exporters benefiting from a cheaper currency.Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul and Manila all advanced. Mumbai was up 1.1 percent, with shares in solar panel maker Waaree Energies soaring 75 percent on their market debut.Hong Kong and Singapore were flat while Taipei, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta retreated.In Europe, London was lower while Paris and Frankfurt rose in early trade.- Key figures around 0815 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.8 percent at 38,605.53 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 20,599.36 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,322.20 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,234.82Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0801 from $1.0799 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2968 from $1.2958Dollar/yen: UP at 153.33 yen from 152.27 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.35 pence from 83.30 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 4.4 percent at $72.71 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 4.7 percent at $68.43 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 42,114.40 (close)

India’s top solar module producer Waaree Energies shone on its market debut Monday after raising $514 million, as traders bet on increased global demand for clean energy components.A booming stock market in the world’s fifth-largest economy has stoked an initial public offering frenzy over the last two years, with start-ups and companies scooping up billions of dollars from domestic and foreign investors.The IPO had valued Waaree — which had an aggregate installed capacity of 12 GW as of June 2024, the largest among Indian solar module makers — at $5 billion at the upper end of the issue’s price range.Shares of the panel maker however jumped in early trade to 2,624.40 rupees ($31.20), up 74.6 percent from their issue price of 1,503 rupees, before giving up some gains to trade at 2,401.65 rupees.A “sustainable future is not just a goal, but it is today’s necessity,” said Waaree chairman Hitesh Doshi at the listing ceremony in India’s financial capital Mumbai.The company, whose shares have attracted investments from Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, has benefited from coal-dependent India’s decision to rapidly expand non-fossil fuel energy capacity.While a boom in Chinese production has partly caused a glut in the global supply of solar panels, Waaree’s fortunes have surged as countries like the United States look to reduce their dependence on supplies from Beijing.Indian manufacturers exported $1.96 billion worth of solar modules and cells in the 2024 fiscal year, according to estimates by ratings agency CRISIL, a jump from the $1.03 billion they exported the year before.Regulatory filings by Waaree note it has seen a “substantial increase” in exports due to tariffs imposed by President Joe Biden’s administration on imports of solar modules from China.In December 2023, the company announced that it would invest up to $1 billion to build a factory in Texas, tapping into soaring US demand for solar energy.

The German CEO of major Japanese optical equipment manufacturer Olympus has stepped down after allegedly buying illegal drugs, the company said on Monday.Stefan Kaufmann became chief executive officer in April 2023, having served as a board member since 2019. He first joined the European arm of Olympus in 2003.Olympus shares plunged six percent in morning trade as the company apologised in a statement “for the concern this has caused to our shareholders, customers and all stakeholders”.”Upon receiving an allegation that Mr Stefan Kaufmann had purchased illegal drugs, Olympus, in consultation with outside legal counsel, immediately investigated the facts, made a report to the investigative authorities, and cooperated fully with their investigation,” it said.The company’s board of directors then “unanimously determined” that Kaufmann “likely engaged in behaviours that were inconsistent with our global code of conduct”.Kaufmann, who is reportedly the company’s second non-Japanese president, was asked to offer his resignation which the board then accepted, Olympus added.Olympus said in 2020 it was selling its struggling camera division to focus on medical equipment. It had been in the camera business since 1936, but struggled along with industry rivals after the advent of smartphones.The storied company has seen success in the medical equipment field, and controls much of the global endoscope market.Olympus chairman Yasuo Takeuchi will stand in as CEO “for the time being” while the board’s nominating committee considers “all options for a successor”, the company said.

Dressed in a pristine white knit top, Robyn Qiu cut an incongruous figure in her parents’ dusty, hangar-like metal hardware factory in eastern China as she gestured excitedly while an assistant filmed her on a smartphone.The 29-year-old is one of many second-generation factory owners fighting to elevate the country’s manufacturing sector, pitting digital native skillsets against the rising costs and geopolitical tensions pushing clients abroad.Qiu said she grew up with “the noise of machines running day and night”, but working in manufacturing was not always her first choice.When Qiu was a child, her parents encouraged her to aim for a white-collar office job far from the dust and din of the factory floor.”Even when they were starting the factory, their goal for me, their expectation for me is to really get a good education and break out of the cycle of farmers,” Qiu said of her parents, who come from agricultural communities.But after years spent working in consulting, the Yale-educated Qiu now feels she has “this very strong responsibility to give back to manufacturing”.Qiu has set up a marketing business that directly connects factories with foreign audiences, through videos posted on Instagram and TikTok, which in China can only be accessed using a VPN.It’s a stark contrast from the way earlier generations conducted business, often with many middlemen and at the mercy of major buyers.In her videos, a cheerful Qiu speaks in fluent English, narrating as she buys street snacks in Shanghai or listing China’s key manufacturing zones while walking along a factory assembly line.- Manufacturing woes -Qiu’s parents, who founded the factory in the 1990s, were part of a massive wave of entrepreneurship that marked the first decades of China’s reform and opening up, when the country transformed into the world’s factory — and eventually, its second largest economy.However, rising wages in China and geopolitical tensions with trade partners including the United States have made alternative locations such as Cambodia and Bangladesh increasingly attractive to clients.The Qius lost major customers in the 2010s after refusing an offer to move their production to Cambodia.Flagging domestic demand in recent years has further weighed on the sector, with the official factory activity index in China contracting for five months in a row since May.The Qius have adapted — they recently purchased more advanced equipment to automate more of the manufacturing process.They are also experimenting with making their own products, laser levels for construction use, rather than only making parts for clients.Qiu said she sees the supply chain as a pyramid, with international brands at the top and raw material suppliers at the bottom.”China is in the middle,” she said. And now, “either we go up or we will go down”.- Being seen -Rose Law, the daughter of a cosmetics factory owner in southern Guangdong province, echoed many of Qiu’s thoughts, telling AFP her personal goals include “being able to have a more positive impact on the industry”.She is overseeing the development of product brands for the family business —- a step up the supply chain from originally making other brands’ goods. Law runs her own shampoo brand, with packaging and formulas inspired by traditional Chinese herbal remedies.”In my parents’ generation, all industries were new, and everyone in various sectors was competing from a similar starting line,” Law told AFP.Now, she sees creating brand loyalty rather than remaining an anonymous supplier as a way to keep orders stable and profitable.”In a market with oversupply, being seen and trusted is extremely important,” she said — and social media is an important way to gain that crucial visibility. – Online success -Qiu said the reaction to her videos has been “amazing”, with more than 500 buyers contacting her since May this year, and more than 150,000 users following her Instagram page.Her online success is mirrored by other “Changerdai”, the Chinese name for second-generation factory owners — a play on “Fuerdai”, a phrase used to describe often idle scions of generational wealth. Changerdai content has gone viral both at home and abroad, albeit sometimes as inadvertent memes.On Instagram, Guangzhou-based LC Sign has drawn half a million followers through videos in which a man, “Tony”, shows off LED signs and does impressions of former US president Donald Trump.On domestic platforms, a six-episode short video drama called “The Empire of Towel” — made by a towel factory Changerdai — has billions of views. Nowadays, “if you want to do marketing, you want to get people’s attention, you have to invest in short videos”, said Qiu.

Rows of robotic arms move with precision to assemble nickel-based battery cells on the production line at Indonesia’s inaugural electric vehicle battery plant, the first in Southeast Asia.After being chosen by a joint venture of South Korea’s Hyundai and LG for the $1.1 billion factory, Indonesia is now looking to boost investment to give it an edge in the race to become a regional EV hub.When he opened the West Java plant in July then-president Joko Widodo said such investments would make Southeast Asia’s biggest economy an “important global player” in the EV supply chain.But while the country boasts the world’s largest nickel reserves, analysts pointed out that it still faces a battle owing to its poor processing and refining capacity, environmental worries and the rise in other types of batteries.It also has some way to go to rival Thailand, which Krungsri bank said had market share of 78.7 percent of Southeast Asia’s EV sales as of early 2023, with Indonesia following with eight percent.AFP was given rare access to the factory floor to get a glimpse of the plant’s complex battery cell production, most of which will be shipped to Hyundai subsidiaries in South Korea and India.Hyundai said the new factory was a commitment to helping the archipelago become a supercharged Southeast Asian EV maker.”It shows we are ready to support the government’s desire to become a hub for Southeast Asia,” Fransiscus Soerjopranoto, chief operating officer of Hyundai’s Indonesian subsidiary, said.- Incentives -The government has unveiled a number of incentives to boost the EV market, including a luxury goods tax exemption that has boosted sales and seen a flurry of key brands entering Indonesia’s 280 million-strong market, including China’s BYD and Vietnam’s VinFast.More than 23,000 battery-powered cars were sold to dealers between January and August this year, compared with 17,000 in all of 2023, Indonesian automotive association data showed.Under the regulations unveiled last year, EVs imported to Indonesia are free of duties until 2025 if companies commit to building production facilities and producing as many cars in the country as they import by the end of 2027.And Chinese automaker Wuling announced a plan last month to produce EV batteries at its Indonesia factory by the end of 2024, local media reported.”We see a huge potential for EV purchase in Indonesia compared to other countries in Asia,” said BYD Indonesia official Luther Panjaitan.Key to Jakarta’s strategy has been luring automakers before they establish plants elsewhere, said Rachmat Kaimuddin, a government official who left in the transition to President Prabowo Subianto’s administration last week.”If they have already established factories in some countries, maybe they don’t need to build in Indonesia,” he said. Rachmat also pointed to Indonesia’s nickel reserves as a difference-maker.”It is possible to make a battery industry in Indonesia. That is what Thailand, Vietnam don’t have,” he said.However, the burgeoning industry faces challenges.- Challenges -While Indonesia aims to become one of the world’s top three producers of EV batteries, investment in the sector remains relatively small.Realised nickel sector investment between 2020 and September 2024 was 514.8 trillion rupiah ($33.3 billion) and 19.14 trillion in the EV battery sector, investment ministry data showed.While Indonesia is number one for nickel reserves, it will be importing materials for the new factory including processed nickel from South Korea and China owing to its lack of related industries, said Hong Woo-pyoung, president director of the joint venture, PT HLI Green Power.And environmentalists warn nickel mining is one of the key drivers of Indonesian deforestation, while analysts added that the rise of cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, widely adopted in China, could hurt demand. Andry Satrio Nugroho, researcher at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance, said the policies were “not pro-nickel” because all carmakers got the same incentives.But Rachmat said Indonesia has raw materials to make LFP batteries as well.A global oversupply of batteries could make it harder for Indonesia to attract more investment, said Putra Adhiguna, managing director of think tank Energy Shift Institute.Yet as boxes of packed battery cells towered behind him, Hong was unfazed about the future.”This factory and ecosystem is very important for Indonesia’s future,” he said, adding that in the “near future, the material will come from Indonesia to make a battery cell, to make EVs”.”Indonesia is growing and growing every year about five percent,” he said.”The automotive market will be growing as well.” 

After over a decade of snapping up Bordeaux wine estates, buying into a dream of elegant living in France and good earnings in their home market, many Chinese investors are now selling up.Capital controls back home, softening Asian demand for wine and the underestimated costs of running French estates have combined to push the once-enthusiastic buyers from China towards the exit.Chateau Latour Laguens in 2009 was among the first Bordeaux vineyards to be bought by a Chinese company, convinced its wines would bring in handsome dividends on China’s domestic market.More than 200 other estates in southwestern France followed. Owner Daisy Haiyan Cheng, heir to the Longhai International group, was originally full of ideas for the neo-Medieval building –- a tasting room, a boutique, luxury guest rooms. Today Chateau Latour, with its rising damp and its bat colony -– the only occupants — is up for auction. The starting price, without the vines, is just 150,000 euros ($162,000). Other estates have recently lost their Chinese owners too.In May, the French authorities confiscated nine chateaux acquired in the 2010s by Chinese magnate Naijie Qu, founder of the Haichang conglomerate, after he was convicted of corruption. In 2022, the chateaux of Golden Rabbit, Imperial Rabbit, Great Antilope and Tibetan Antilope disappeared from the Bordeaux map. The four estates –- thus named by owner Chi Keung Tong, much to the ire of people in Bordeaux -– reverted to their original French titles when the head of Hong Kong’s SGV Wines sold them back to French investors. Many other chateaux are up for sale for peanuts, explained Li Lijuan, an estate agent and Asian market specialist at Vineyards-Bordeaux.She said Beijing’s decision to impose strict controls on capital had dealt a blow to a market already undermined by an overproduction of Bordeaux wine.”Chinese people can’t invest abroad any more because their money is stuck in China,” said Li.- False expectations -About 50 Bordeaux chateaux are currently up for sale, she said. Other disappointed owners are waiting for the market to pick up so they can offload their investments. Buyers are so scarce that some chateaux are selling for less than half their purchase price.False expectations have also scuppered the Chinese dream. “Some investors bought into the French art of living,” said Li. “They bought a beautiful building, way cheaper than a flat in Hong Kong or Shanghai. But they didn’t think about the financial stability of the estates or investments for the future,” she said. There are other misconceptions too, according to Safer Locale, a company that helps buyers access property in rural France. Some Chinese investors, more used to family-run vineyards back home, “underestimated the costs” of running a big French estate and “overestimated the possibilities” of selling expensive-to-produce wines in China’s already crowded domestic market. “Their economic model was to buy bottom-of-the-range estates, hoping for an immediate return by producing wine at less than five euros and selling via their own distribution networks for 20, 40 or even 100 euros a throw,” surmised Benoit Lechenault, head of BNP Paribas subsidiary Agrifrance. While that tactic may have worked for some in the past, it is no longer the case. Since Covid, China’s domestic wine consumption has nosedived, falling by a quarter in 2023 alone, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine. Then there are climatic factors in France such as hail and mildew, which have dampened the enthusiasm of recent investors, perhaps unaware that it takes several years to start making any money. “Europeans reason in generations. Chinese investors think in terms of five-year cycles, after which it’s quite normal to sell,” said Hong Kong financier Hugo Tian.- Long-term project -Li agreed, noting the additional complications posed by “different business cultures” and “never-ending changes of management”. One technical manager, who preferred not to give his name, told AFP that he had only met his former boss “once in the space of four years” and had been bombarded with “impossible demands” that “didn’t take into account the lifecycle of the vine”.Some major Chinese investors are here to stay, however.Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba, has spent millions on restructuring a Sours estate in Entre-Deux-Mers. Hong Kong businessman Peter Kwok meanwhile has taken a longer view by restructuring the vineyards and the edifices on his seven once-dormant estates, one of which produces a rare Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe. Hong Kong businessman Tian, whose Chateau Fauchey produces high-end Cadillac Cotes de Bordeaux, is also staying.He said he was counting in “the medium to long term” on the more refined palate of younger Chinese consumers “looking for natural or organic wines rather than prestigious crus”. “New Chinese investors will come in a few years,” he predicted. “They’ll be more rational and more reasonable.” 

Global stock markets diverged Friday in an end to a week’s trading dominated by earnings updates and angst over rising bond yields amid US election uncertainty.Wall Street stocks finished the day mixed, with the Nasdaq pressing higher and the Dow pulling back.Besides the neck-and-neck US election, investors are looking ahead to major economic data next week and earnings from tech giants.”There’s more uncertainty out there than anything else,” said LBBW’s Karl Haeling.But a rise on US bond yields — at least partially due to speculation that a return to the White House by Donald Trump would lead to tax cuts that fuel inflation — have acted as a headwind.Next week will see five of the “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks reporting earnings, including Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook) and Microsoft.Key US monthly jobs numbers come out on Friday.”This could prove a big test for the markets, while also being a driver of sentiment as we head towards year-end,” said Trade Nation analyst David Morrison.In Europe, London ended the day down 0.3 percent as investors awaited the first budget of Britain’s new Labour government on Wednesday, expected to include tax rises on businesses.Meanwhile, shares in British bank NatWest jumped nearly five percent before paring gains as investors welcomed the lender’s strong increase in profits, with income higher thanks to interest rates remaining elevated.Frankfurt edged higher after data showed Germany’s business confidence rebounded in October.That ended a four-month streak of declines and offered some rare good news for Europe’s beleaguered top economy.Mercedes-Benz stock shed around 1.5 percent after the German luxury carmaker said group profits slumped more than 50 percent, hit by weakness in the key Chinese market. In Asia, Shanghai and Hong Kong markets rose amid hopes of stronger growth in China following the country’s recent attempts to stimulate its stalling economy. Crude futures climbed and the dollar strengthened against main rivals heading into the weekend break.Tokyo’s stock market closed down and the yen dipped against the dollar ahead of Japan’s national elections on Sunday.Independent analyst Stephen Innes pointed to uncertainty over the vote and an upcoming Bank of Japan policy meeting as complicating the outlook for Japanese equities.”Between election jitters and BoJ chess moves, Tokyo markets are probably in for a busy opening on Monday.”- Key figures around 2030 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 42,114.40 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 5,808.12 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 18,518.61 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,248.84 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.8 percent at 7,497.54 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 19,463.59 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6 percent at 37,913.92 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 20,590.15 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3,299.70 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0799 from $1.0828 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2958 from $1.2975Dollar/yen: UP at 152.27 yen from 151.83 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.30 pence from 83.44 pence Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.3 percent at $76.05 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 2.3 percent at $71.78 per barrelburs-jmb/bgs

Mining giants BHP and Vale on Friday signed a deal with Brazil’s government to pay nearly $30 billion in damages for a 2015 dam collapse that triggered the country’s worst environmental disaster.President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attended the signing of the deal over the November 5, 2015 collapse of a tailings dam at a mine in the southeastern town of Mariana, which triggered a giant mudslide.The river of mud swamped villages, rivers and rainforest, killing 19 people on its way to the sea.”I hope the mining companies have learned their lesson: it would have cost them less to prevent (the disaster), much less,” Lula said at the ceremony attended by representatives of Brazil’s Vale and Australia’s BHP, co-owners of the Brazilian company Samarco that operated the iron mine.The agreement, which Lula declared to be the biggest environmental payout in modern history, comes on the fifth day of a separate mega-trial in London over BHP’s role in the dam’s failure.More than 620,000 complainants, including 46 Brazilian municipalities and several Indigenous communities, are seeking an estimated £36 billion ($47 million) in damages in the civil trial.BHP denies responsibility.The company said Friday that the agreement reached in Brasilia did not end the lawsuits pending against the companies, nor prevent others being taken.- ‘Our whole world collapsed’ -The dam’s failure released a torrent of over 40 million cubic meters of highly toxic sludge, the equivalent of 12,000 Olympic swimming pools, which coursed through the Doce River all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, over 600 kilometers (373 miles) away. Five-year-old Emanuele Vitoria was among the people buried by the ocher-colored muck in the village of Bento Rodrigues near Mariana in Minas Gerais state.”We felt as if our whole world had collapsed,” her mother Pamela Rayane Fernandes told AFP ahead of the London trial.Over 600 people were left homeless.Scientists say the mouth of the Doce River and parts of the southeast Atlantic coastline are still contaminated with metals from the spill, affecting the area’s population of fish, birds, turtles, porpoises and whales.BHP and Vale had already agreed in 2016 to pay 20 billion reais (about $3.5 billion at today’s rate) in damages, but the negotiations were reopened in 2021 due to what the government called their  “non-compliance” and the slow progress of Brazil’s justice system in resolving the dispute.Friday’s agreement in Brazil, which is subject to approval by the country’s Supreme Court, covers the companies’ past and future obligations to assist people, communities and ecosystems affected by the disaster.- Victims ‘not consulted’ -“The agreement marks a new moment of hope for the people,” said Brazil’s Attorney General Jorge Messias, who represented the Brazilian state and local authorities in the negotiations.But some of the victims said they felt the mining giants got off too easily.”We recognize the importance of the agreement and the advances for those affected (by the disaster), but it has deficiencies,” the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB) said in a statement. The group said that the damages agreed were “insufficient to achieve the full reparation of the rights” of the victims, and called for those responsible to be brought to justice.The companies agreed to pay 100 billion reais (17.5 billion dollars) to local authorities over twenty years and 32 billion reais ($5.6 billion) towards compensating and resettling the victims, as well as repairing the harm caused to the environment.The remaining 38 billion reais ($6.6 billion) is the amount that the companies say they have already paid in compensation.In London, the head of the law firm representing the complainants, Tom Goodhead, said the agreement “only serves to underline exactly why the proceedings in the English courts are so critical.””The victims have not been consulted about the agreement and part of the reparations will be spread over 20 years,” he said.The victims in the London case say BHP, which had global headquarters in Britain and Australia at the time of the spill, let Samarco accumulate too much toxic sludge, which they say contributed to the disaster.BHP says it cannot be held responsible because it did not own or operate the dam.