Latest news with #US17
West Australian
27-06-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Macquarie's latest nickel downgrade further dampens hopes of revival for BHP's suspended Nickel West
Macquarie Group has again downgraded its prognosis for nickel and by virtue increased the probability BHP's idle Nickel West is going to shut permanently. The Australian investment bank published its quarterly commodities price forecasts on Friday, which casts even more doubt on the ability of Western Australia's largest nickel mining and refining operation — Nickel West — to come back to life. Macquarie is predicting a tonne of nickel will now be $US14,500 by the end of this year, compared to the $US15,500/t price it had anticipated in a previous update three months ago. The medium and longer-term forecasts for the battery metal have also taken another whack. Nickel is slated to average $US14,625/t in 2026, then $US16,500/t in 2027, $US17,500/t in 2028 and $US19,000/t in 2029. In its March update, Macquarie projected $US16,500/t, $US17,000/t, $US19,000/t and $US20,000/t over the next four years. Macquarie in December was pencilling in $US20,000 for 2028, which has now been slashed to $US17,500/t. Macquarie — known colloquially as the 'millionaires factory' for the huge pay packets its legion of investment bankers receive — stated its repeated nickel downgrades reflect 'a likely structural over-supply' of nickel from new refineries in China and Indonesia. 'The pace of growth in class 1 production remains high, fed by ongoing rises in production of Indonesian low-cost MHP (mixed hydroxide precipitate),' it stated. 'Over-supply has led to the closure of over 500,000 tonnes per annum of non-Indonesian production since 2020 and pressure for further closures remains, but prices may have to have one final push to the downside to induce that. 'The overall market is closer to balance due to large scale production cuts.' BHP in July last year announced its WA Nickel arm, which sustained 3000 jobs and counted the Nickel West mining operations as its centrepiece, would be put into care and maintenance. The Big Australian will decide whether to shut the operation for good by February 2027. When BHP made its care and maintenance decision Nickel West's break-even cost was about $US20,000/t. BHP Australia boss Geraldine Slattery said the mining giant had 'sufficient conviction' the nickel prices would stage a comeback towards the end of the decade and beyond, implying a predicted price materially above $US20,000/t. Nickel has dropped from $US17,100/t to $US15,200/t over the past year, heaping more pressure on WA's last major nickel operation — Glencore's Murrin Murrin. 'Virtually all the world's laterite ores now come from just three countries, Indonesia, the Philippines and New Caledonia,' Macquarie stated on Friday.
West Australian
30-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Global corporate travel a casualty of Donald Trump's war on trade
Optimism in the global business travel sector has dropped by more than half this year, according to a report published by the Global Business Travel Association. Positive sentiment fell from 67 per cent in November 2024 to 31 per cent in April 2025, according to the report which surveyed more than 900 business travel professionals on the affect of tariffs, tightened border policies and other US government policies announced this year. More than one in four respondents in Canada, the US and Europe said they felt 'pessimistic' or 'very pessimistic' about the industry outlook this year. However, 40 per cent of those surveyed said they felt neither positive nor negative. 'Since I have been in my role for four years, I haven't seen this high of a level of uncertainty,' Suzanne Neufang, the association's CEO, said. The survey showed nearly 30 per cent of business travel buyers anticipate their companies will reduce employee trips this year, while some 20 per cent said they weren't sure, it showed. 'They're not even confident enough to be able to say things will be fine or things won't be fine,' she said. Some 27 per cent of respondents also said they expect business travel spending to decrease as well. A third of business travel buyers said their companies have either changed, or are considering changing, policies regarding travel to or from the US, the report showed. Some 6 per cent said their companies had relocated events from the US to another country. 'From an APAC perspective, and certainly from a European perspective, maybe even LATAM, there's the opportunity to be the source of where these meetings take place,' Neufang said. 'There are many other opportunities to be a winner in this trade game.' Business travel professionals expressed several concerns about the potential for the long-term impact caused by decisions of the Trump Administration this year, led by worries over business travel costs (54 per cent) and problems processing visas (46 per cent). Global airfares, however, are slightly down — about $US17, or 2.2 per cent year-to-date — according to FCM Consulting, a division of the business travel company FCM Travel. Nevertheless, the global business travel market is still on track to top $US1.6 trillion by the end of 2025, Neufang said. However, she said that's only 'if the last 100 days don't impact negatively everywhere'. By 2028, the Global Business Travel Association expects, that number will cross the $US2tr mark, she said. She noted that while business travel volumes haven't returned to pre-pandemic levels, business travel spending fully recovered in 2024, partly as a result of inflation. But she said the trade war initiated by the Trump Administration could spell a bout of new business trips. 'During times of trade wars, business travel may actually increase for at least a period of time — for new partners to be found [and] new markets to be built,' she said. 'You lose a customer, you need to find another one. So I think that perspective doesn't mean all doom and gloom for us.' However, if tariffs remain elevated, 'There will definitely be an impact to U.S. travel ... But I think Europe, Asia, Europe to Asia, Asia to Europe. I think anywhere to Africa, all of those are probably fine.' Leisure travel to the United States has fallen in 2025. International visitor spending is projected to drop 4.7 per cent from 2024, representing some $8.5 billion for the U.S. travel industry, in a year revenues were once widely expected to grow. CNBC
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Mount Pleasant Aldi expected to open in June
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) — The new Mount Pleasant Aldi store on US 17 North is expected to open at the end of June, according to a town councilman. Councilmember Daniel Brownstein posted that the grocery store should be open by June 25 after an opening delay. Brownstein explained he reached out to the general contractor who said the delays are due to finishing up 'punch list items.' Once these items are completed, a fire suppression system will be installed, and final inspections will be completed. 'I am a fan of Aldi and am eager for this location to open as well,' Brownstein said. 'The town is aware of the anticipation and will conduct the inspections in a timely manner when they are requested.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AU Financial Review
06-05-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
People are changing how they use LinkedIn. So is the platform
Congratulate LinkedIn on its work anniversary! Next month, the business world's favourite social network will turn 22. The 1.1 billion users of LinkedIn – which is a year older than even Facebook – can celebrate two decades of humblebrags, motivational quotes and automated congratulations from long-forgotten acquaintances. Microsoft, its owner, can meanwhile toast a canny acquisition. Since the tech giant bought LinkedIn eight years ago, for $US26 billion, the platform's annual revenue has grown from $US3 billion to $US17 billion.
AU Financial Review
29-04-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Woodside greenlights $27b US gas project
Woodside has pulled the trigger on its $US17 billion ($27 billion) Louisiana liquefied natural gas project on the US Gulf Coast, stepping up its bet on US gas amid President Donald Trump's push to ramp up energy exports. The decision to approve Louisiana LNG, scheduled for completion by 2029, positions Woodside to operate more than 5 per cent of global LNG supply by the 2030s, the company said on Tuesday.
