South Korea's OCI Plans $265 Million Solar Cell Plant in Texas
The plant is expected to have production capacity of around 2 gigawatts of solar cells, with commercial operations slated to start by 2026, according to a statement from the South Korean company on Thursday. The project will be developed by OCI's US subsidiary, Mission Solar Energy.
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24 minutes ago
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India hints it will keep buying Russian oil
India has indicated it will defy threats made by US President Donald Trump and continue buying Russian oil. The world's third-largest crude importer - after China and the US - cashed in on cheap Russian oil when its price plummeted after Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Historically, it had bought most of its crude from countries in the Middle East. But this changed after the invasion in February 2022, when western countries slapped sanctions on Russia in a bid to choke off money fuelling Moscow's war chest. It prompted the recent energy crisis that saw household bills in the UK soar. On Friday, the Indian foreign ministry said its relationship with Russia was "steady and time-tested", and warned against viewing it through the lens of another country. Addressing a weekly meeting, spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said India's general position on procuring energy was guided by supply in the markets and prevailing global circumstances. The sentiment was echoed by two further government sources cited by the Reuters news agency. "These are long-term oil contracts," one of the sources said. "It is not so simple to just stop buying overnight." India is highly dependent on oil imports, which supply 87% of its needs, according to the International Energy Agency. The comments follow a threat made by President Trump to impose a 25% tariff on goods from India, as well as an additional import tax, because of New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil. The US president made ending the war in Ukraine a top priority - pledging to do so within his first 24 hours in office. But recently Mr Trump - who has repeatedly praised the Mr Putin over the years - has started to sour on the Russian leader for failing to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine. He called it "disappointing" and also threatened new economic sanctions on Russia if progress is not made. Mr Trump also this week said he had ordered two US nuclear submarines to be positioned in the "appropriate regions" in a row with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. The pressure on India comes after it upped it Russian crude purchases from 68,000 barrels per day in January 2022 to 1.12 million barrels per day by June that year. Supplies rose as high as nearly 40% of India's imports at one point, making Russia the largest supplier of crude to New Delhi, according to the Press Trust of India, citing data from analytics firm Kpler. Home to 1.3 billion people, India is expected to become an even bigger oil consumer over the remainder of the decade, fuelled by spectacular growth in its economy, as well as rising population and demographics. Demand has been rising fastest for petrol, with rising household incomes sparking a boom in motorcycle and car ownership.
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
How South Korea's K-beauty industry is being hit by Trump tariffs
Cars and smartphones may rank among South Korea's biggest exports to the US, but few goods inspire a more devoted following than the Asian country's beauty products. K-beauty - a term that covers a wide range of skincare, makeup and cosmetics from South Korea - is lauded for its quality and value, driving soaring demand in recent years. The global appeal of South Korean culture has also helped propel the popularity of its cosmetics. US-based Pearl Mak tells the BBC that she was introduced to K-beauty products by her friends. South Korean serums are better-suited for her skin compared to some Western brands that tend to be more harsh, the 27-year-old graphic designer says. Now "95% of my skincare is made up of K-beauty products", she adds. Ms Mak is not alone in her preference for South Korean skincare brands. Americans spent as much $1.7bn (£1.3bn) on K-beauty products in 2024, according to industry estimates. That marks a more than 50% rise compared to the previous year. K-beauty products are often more attractively priced than their Western counterparts - but also feature ingredients that are not as commonly found in the West - from heartleaf to snail mucin. US President Donald Trump has now imposed a 15% import tax on South Korean goods traded between Seoul and Washington. It's less than the 25% levy that Trump had threatened, but many consumers are not taking any chances. The rise of Korean make-up in the West 'Flowerboys' and the appeal of 'soft masculinity' US K-beauty retailer Santé Brand saw orders spike by nearly 30% in April, right after Trump unveiled sweeping US import taxes on most of the world. "When the tariff announcements hit, customers got strategic with how they were going to weather the storm," Santé Brand's founder Cheyenne Ware told the BBC. "Consumers are preparing against the uncertainty." Another K-beauty retailer, Senti Senti, has been ordering more products since Trump started his tariff threats, says manager Winnie Zhong. This week, she received alerts from suppliers urging retailers to "stock up before tariffs". Both retailers said prices of K-beauty products are likely to increase as the levies push up costs across the industry. "Anyone telling you prices will stay flat through the next two years is naive," says Ms Ware. Prices are bound to rise, especially for smaller sellers of beauty products on platforms like Amazon, who operate with slim profit margins, economist Munseob Lee from the University of California San Diego says. Despite higher prices, the global popularity of South Korean culture means K-beauty products are likely to remain in demand in the US, he says. "Casual buyers might be turned off by the higher price, but fans won't find an easy substitute." Ms Zhong agrees. She thinks customers will still want to buy K-beauty products but price rises may mean they purchase fewer items than before. Higher prices are unlikely to stop Ms Mak buying her favourite products. "It depends on how much the price shoots up, but as of now, I am willing to pay more to purchase the same products," she says. 'No easy substitute' Big K-beauty brands are in a much better position to absorb the cost of tariffs than their smaller rivals, says South Korea-based business consultant Eyal Victor Mamou. These larger companies will be able to avoid major price rises for their customers as they have higher profit margins, he says. But smaller K-beauty firms that make their products in South Korea will struggle to keep a lid on costs, Mr Mamou adds. "It will take some time to take effect since most goods being sold in the short-run have already been commissioned at current prices, but we'll see it play out soon." In recent days, President Trump has struck deals with Japan and the European Union that will see their exports to the US subject to the same 15% tariffs as South Korea. That means countries that are home to some of the world's biggest cosmetics brands face the same levies as the K-beauty industry. Central to Trump's trade policies is his ambition to see more goods being made in America. But it's yet to be seen whether or not this will mean US buyers switch to American beauty products. Ms Mak says she doesn't see US-made products as attractive alternatives. "I do search for American-made alternatives often, but I have yet to find any that are as effective as the ones I use. So I wouldn't go for American products yet." Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
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White House lobbying for a Nobel prize for Trump takes a farcical turn
Donald Trump's desperate and yearslong desire for a Nobel prize is well documented. In fact, after his defeat in 2020, the Republican president released a weird, campaign-style video that suggested he'd already received a Nobel prize. But as pitiful as this has become, Trump isn't lobbying by himself. Congressional Republicans have tried to please the president by nominating Trump for a Nobel prize, and foreign leaders eager to curry favor with the American leader have done the same thing. And then, of course, there's the White House. The Hill reported: White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Thursday that President Trump deserves a Nobel Prize for his commitment to 'restructuring' global trade rates. 'I'm thinking that since he's basically taught the world trade economics, he might be up for the Nobel on economics...,' Navarro said during an appearance on Fox Business Network. He didn't appear to be kidding. Just so we're all clear, when economists receive Nobel prizes, it's because of their academic work and the impressiveness of their scholarship. Navarro seemed to suggest that the president should get the same honor for imposing trade tariffs — which as University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers explained, Trump appears to have settled on by 'scribbling numbers with a Sharpie.' Roughly six hours later, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, reading from prepared notes, told reporters that Trump 'has brokered on average about one peace deal or ceasefire per month during his six months in office.' She added, 'It's well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.' She seemed to overlook Trump's vow to end the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza — a promise he apparently doesn't know how to keep. Nevertheless, to recap, the White House called for the president to receive one Nobel prize in the morning and a different Nobel prize in the afternoon. But why stop there? Every year, the Nobel committee awards a prize for medicine — and Trump has presented some groundbreaking ideas about injecting disinfectants into people. Sure, the medical 'establishment' frowns on these sorts of treatments, but that's all the more reason to reward the president's 'outside the box' creativity. There's also a Nobel Prize in literature that could theoretically go to Trump. Has the Nobel committee seen his weird letters to foreign leaders? How about his hysterical tweets filled with misspellings, weird capitalization and enough exclamation points to make an ill-tempered tween blush? Or maybe everyone involved can just cut to the chase and simply rename Nobel prizes and agree to call them 'Trump Prizes'? Given recent events, it seems inevitable that some GOP lawmaker will introduce a resolution along those lines sometime soon. This article was originally published on
