Maersk reopens import cargo acceptance to Israel's port of Haifa
COPENHAGEN, June 26 (Reuters) - Danish shipping company Maersk (MAERSKb.CO), opens new tab said on Thursday it had reopened cargo acceptance to Israel's Haifa port for imports as of June 25 and that it expected to reopen exports from the location once a lower safety risk had been confirmed.
Iranians and Israelis have sought to resume normal life after 12 days of the most intense confrontation ever between the two foes and a ceasefire that took effect Tuesday.
Maersk on Friday said it had temporarily paused vessel calls at Haifa port, amid Israel's conflict with Iran.
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Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Even as markets rally, Trump's policymaking causes market angst
June 28 (Reuters) - As Wall Street puts April's tariff shakeout in the rearview mirror and indexes set record highs, investors remain wary of U.S. President Donald Trump's rapid-fire, sometimes chaotic policymaking process and see the rally as fragile. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite index advanced past their previous highs into uncharted territory on Friday. Yet traders and investors remain wary of what may lie ahead. Trump's April 2 reciprocal tariffs on major trading partners roiled global financial markets and put the S&P 500 on the threshold of a bear market designation when it ended down 19% from its February 19 record-high close. This week's leg up came after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Iran brought an end to a 12-day air battle that had sparked a jump in crude prices and raised worries of higher inflation. But a relief rally started after Trump responded to the initial tariff panic that gripped financial markets by backing away from his most draconian plans. JP Morgan Chase, in the midyear outlook published on Wednesday by its global research team, said the environment was characterized by "extreme policy uncertainty." "Nobody wants to end a week with a risk-on tilt to their portfolios," said Art Hogan, market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. "Everyone is aware that just as the market feels more certain and confident, a single wildcard policy announcement could change everything," even if it does not ignite a firestorm of the kind seen in April. Part of this wariness from institutional investors may be due to the magnitude of the 6% S&P 500 rally that followed Trump's re-election last November and culminated in the last new high posted by the index in February, said Joseph Quinlan, market strategist at Bank of America. "We were out ahead of our skis," Quinlan said. A focus on deregulation, tax cuts and corporate deals brought out the "animal spirits," he said. Then came the tariff battles. Quinlan remains upbeat on the outlook for U.S. stocks and optimistic that a new global trade system could lead to U.S. companies opening new markets and posting higher revenues and profits. But he said he is still cautious. "There will still be spikes of volatility around policy unknowns." Overall, measures of market volatility are now well below where they stood at the height of the tariff turmoil in April, with the CBOE VIX index now at 16.3, down from a 52.3 peak on April 8. "Our clients seem to have become somewhat desensitized to the headlines, but it's still an unhealthy market, with everyone aware that trading could happen based on the whims behind a bunch of" social media posts, said Jeff O'Connor, head of market structure, Americas, at Liquidnet, an institutional trading platform. Trading in the options market shows little sign of the kind of euphoria that characterized stock market rallies of the recent past. "On the institutional front, we do see a lot of hesitation in chasing the market rally," Stefano Pascale, head of U.S. equity derivatives research at Barclays, said. Unlike past episodes of sharp market selloffs, institutional investors have largely stayed away from employing bullish call options to chase the market higher, Pascale said, referring to plain options that confer the right to buy at a specified future price and date. Bid/ask spreads on many stocks are well above levels O'Connor witnessed in late 2024, while market depth - a measure of the size and number of potential orders - remains at the lowest levels he can recall in the last 20 years. "The best way to describe the markets in the last couple of months, even as they have recovered, is to say they are unstable," said Liz Ann Sonders, market strategist at Charles Schwab. She said she is concerned that the market may be reaching "another point of complacency" akin to that seen in March. "There's a possibility that we'll be primed for another downside move," Sonders addded. Mark Spindel, chief investment officer at Potomac River Capital in Washington, said he came up with the term "Snapchat presidency" to describe the whiplash effect on markets of the president's constantly changing policies on markets. "He feels more like a day trader than a long-term institutional investor," Spindel said, alluding to Trump's policy flip-flops. "One minute he's not going to negotiate, and the next he negotiates." To be sure, traders seem to view those rapid shifts in course as a positive in the current rally, signaling Trump's willingness to heed market signals. "For now, at least, stocks are willing to overlook the risks that go along with this style and lack of consistent policies, and give the administration a break as being 'market friendly'," said Steve Sosnick, market strategist at Interactive Brokers.
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Trump denies US plan to offer Iran $30bn civilian nuclear deal
Donald Trump strongly rejected media reports that the US considered giving Iran up to $30bn to develop a civilian nuclear energy programme in exchange for halting uranium enrichment. The reports, published by CNN and NBC News this week, cited unnamed officials who claimed discussions had taken place within the Trump administration about a possible deal involving the release of billions in frozen Iranian assets and regional cooperation to support its non-military nuclear development. 'These proposals were preliminary and under consideration,' CNN reported, quoting officials familiar with the discussions. NBC said such ideas marked a dramatic policy shift from Mr Trump's previous position which had seen him abandon during his first term a nuclear agreement with Iran, claiming it provided Tehran with 'a lifeline of cash'. The idea, if pursued, would represent a significant diplomatic opening during a period of heightened tensions in the Middle East. Tehran and Washington were engaged in talks on Iran's nuclear programme until Israel launched a surprise attack on the Islamic Republic earlier this month. The US quickly joined the conflict on Israel's side, bombing three Iranian nuclear sites last weekend. Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, insists its programme is peaceful. The US maintains its objective is to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Mr Trump furiously denied the reports late on Friday. 'Who in the Fake News Media is the Sleazebag saying that 'President Trump wants to give Iran $30 Billion to build non-military Nuclear facilities.' Never heard of this ridiculous idea,' he said on his social media platform, Truth Social. 'Just another HOAX put out by the Fake News.' The denial came just days after Mr Trump declared a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, following a deadly regional conflict that began on 13 June when Israeli forces attacked Iran. The conflict had stoked fears of instability across the Middle East, already volatile due to Israel's ongoing war in Gaza since October 2023. After the US struck Iranian nuclear facilities, Iran retaliated by hitting an American base in Qatar on Monday. Iran's health ministry reported 627 civilian deaths from Israeli attacks while Israel claimed 28 fatalities from Iranian strikes. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, lashed out at Mr Trump on Saturday for what he described as his 'disrespectful and unacceptable' remarks. The rebuke came after Mr Trump claimed credit for saving supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from an 'ugly and ignominious death'. Mr Araghchi warned that if Mr Trump 'is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful tone and stop hurting millions of heartfelt supporters' of Khamenei. 'The Great and Powerful Iranian People, who showed the world that the Israeli regime had NO CHOICE but to RUN to 'Daddy' to avoid being flattened by our Missiles, do not take kindly to Threats and Insults,' Mr Araghchi added in a post. His comments came ahead of a state funeral in Tehran for about 60 people, including top military commanders, killed in the conflict with Israel. Meanwhile, in a separate Truth Social post, Mr Trump, appeared to link the diplomatic rift to Iran's rhetoric. 'During the last few days, I was working on the possible removal of sanctions…But no, instead I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust,' he said, referring to Mr Khamenei's declaration of victory in the conflict with Israel. 'The sanctions are BITING!' Israel, widely believed to be the only country in the region with nuclear weapons, said it launched its war against Iran to keep it from acquiring similar capabilities. The UN watchdog has stated it has 'no credible indication' that Iran is currently pursuing a nuclear weapons programme.
The Guardian
7 hours ago
- The Guardian
Denmark and Sweden's Øresund bridge turns 25: have the benefits run in both directions?
After 19 years of commuting to Denmark from Sweden, Helen Sjögren is so used to crossing the bridge that she identifies as Scandinavian rather than Swedish. The researcher at a Danish pharmaceutical company lives in the Swedish university town of Lund with her three children but has become accustomed to Danish working practices, and the idea of working in Sweden is now difficult to imagine. 'Because I'm Swedish, colleagues would expect me to behave like a Swede,' she said, referring to their reputation for seeking consensus. 'So I would be seen as rude – too direct to fit in Sweden.' Danes, she has found, are more forthright. 'I really like the Danish mentality and way of being. It suits me much better.' 'I really like the Danish mentality and way of being. It suits me much better.' At work, she and her colleagues speak slightly adapted versions of Swedish and Danish so that everybody can understand one another. One of her few misgivings is that her taxes go to Copenhagen rather than her own municipality, where her children have gone to school and where she uses the healthcare services. In the quarter of a century since it opened on 1 July 2000, the bridge – known as Øresundsbroen or Öresundsbron depending on whether you are on the Danish or Swedish side of the eponymous strait – has not only opened up Copenhagen's vast job market to largely rural southern Sweden, but changed the prospects and even identities of many who use it. The 15.9km (9.9 miles) rail and road link between Copenhagen and Malmö (which includes an 8km bridge, 4km tunnel and 4km artificial island) has also transformed the world's perception of the region. But the trajectory of the two ends of the bridge has been a story of two halves. Copenhagen has soared to international super status, becoming a must-see tourist destination, global fashion and design leader, host to the biggest airport in the Nordics, as well as being home to the maker of Ozempic, Novo Nordisk. Thanks to the weak Swedish krona, it has become a magnet for Swedish workers, bringing in 2bn DKK (£230m) a year in tax revenues. Last year 105,000 daily journeys were made by car, train or boat over the strait, but most commuter traffic is travelling towards Denmark. Malmö has not thrived to the same extent. Despite being home to the beloved fictional detective Saga Norén of the hit Scandi crime drama The Bridge – which catapulted the bridge to international fame with its unsolved murders, crashing ships and tense dark drives across Øresund – Malmö has been an observer on the sidelines of the Danish capital's success story. This is perhaps best captured by the decision by politicians to name the area around the bridge covering southern Sweden and eastern Denmark 'Greater Copenhagen'. Of the 21,585 people who commuted regularly across the bridge to work in the final quarter of last year, 96% were people who live in Sweden, according to the Øresund Institute, an independent Swedish-Danish knowledge centre. By 2030, Greater Copenhagen, run by representatives of each of the included Swedish and Danish regions, aims to increase the total to 30,000. 'The number of commuters has begun to increase again,' said Johan Wessman, Øresund Institute's managing director and editor-in-chief. 'Partly because the labour shortage is increasing in Denmark, and partly because the Swedish krona makes it profitable to work in Denmark and live and shop in Sweden.' While it was not impossible to commute before the bridge – there were boats – it was significantly more time-consuming and difficult. In 1999, the year before the bridge opened, a total of 2,788 people commuted. As the train transported Sjögren towards Sweden and the water of the strait came into view, she said that without the bridge, life as she knew it would be impossible. 'It would never have worked because it would have taken so much longer to commute that I wouldn't have been able to hold my life together.' Although there are border controls in place – every train stops for six to seven minutes at Hyllie station, the first stop coming into Sweden from Denmark – she said she did not think of going to Copenhagen as going to a different country. 'For us who live down here, the border is not a big thing,' she said. But Anders Linde-Laursen, a professor at Malmö University who studies identity and belonging with a focus on the Øresund region, said users of the bridge were 'constantly reminded that they are crossing an international border'. This, he said, became abundantly clear when the bridge was temporarily closed in 2015 during the refugee crisis when the Swedish government said it needed 'respite' from asylum seekers, leading to the introduction of travellers needing to carry ID. And in 2020, during the pandemic, when the bridge was again closed. 'The border hit back at the region discourse and it was made very clear to everyone that there were Danes and Swedes, separated by the [water], and that no bridge would change that.' At the Danish energy agency's offices in central Copenhagen, Ture Ertmann is one of the 19,500 Danish-born people who live in Skåne, Sweden's most southerly county. After dropping his youngest off at preschool in Malmö, he gets the train over to Denmark and arrives a work at about 8.30am – a routine he has been following for 13 years. His wife and his other two children work and go to school in Malmö and, at home, Swedish is their main language. 'Everything is in Malmö,' said Ertmann, who founded the Facebook commuter group BroenLive. 'It is just me that is the odd one out, that works here and has a Danish passport.' Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion They originally decided to move after a sudden change to immigration rules in Denmark meant his wife, who is a nurse from the Philippines, would have issues with her visa. So they got married, moved to Sweden and started a family there. She now works at Malmö hospital and has Swedish citizenship. Cross-border life is not without problems. Because the two governments are not integrated when it comes to administration, paperwork can get tricky – particularly when it comes to property ownership and tax. Demand for the train is such that it is usually standing-room only at peak times, and services are often delayed. About 9,600 Danes now own summer houses in Sweden, compared with 4,400 in 2000, and an additional 11,330 Swedish summer houses have German owners – many of whom use the bridge to get there. Danske Torpare, a paid membership organisation that helps Danish people to navigate the administrative difficulties of buying houses in Sweden, said the price difference – it is almost half the price to buy a summerhouse in Sweden than it is in Denmark – and the opportunity to live in isolation in nature were big draws. Sweden's ambassador to Denmark, Hans Wallmark, said he was convinced the benefits of the bridge ran in both directions, but added: 'You cannot get away from the fact that Copenhagen is a capital city, so it has that attraction.' Citing the life science cluster, known as Medicon Valley, which is mostly centred on the Danish side but is increasingly spreading to the Swedish side, he said Danish successes such as Novo Nordisk had a positive impact on Sweden, too. The establishment of the European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund, a research facility still under construction with a datacentre in Copenhagen, was another example of a cross-bridge success story, Wallmark said. The next 25 years, he predicted, would bring even greater connection and focus on the region – especially after the Fehmarnbelt tunnel opened in 2029, connecting the Danish town of Rødbyhavn with Puttgarden, in Germany, under the Baltic Sea. 'Then maybe we will not just be talking about Malmö, Copenhagen or Skåne, but also north Germany,' he said at his residence in Copenhagen. 'Bridges, connections lead to increased integration, increased prosperity.' But there are many in Malmö who do not use the bridge – either because it is prohibitively expensive (510DKK or £58.25 for the car toll and 160 SEK or £12.31 for a single train ticket from Malmö to Copenhagen), or because of train delays. 'It's too expensive to go over,' said one man taking a rest from cycling on the quayside in Malmö. He recently waited five hours, on midsummer eve, to get a train across the bridge. 'It doesn't work. It's so often [that the train gets delayed]. You can forget about commuting to Copenhagen – unless you have your own boat.'
