Latest news with #US53
The Age
18-06-2025
- Business
- The Age
Fight to the death: The world has to prepare for a Middle East energy storm
It has not yet targeted the vast oil terminal at Kharg Island, which accounts for 90 per cent of Iran's crude exports and essentially funds the clerico-military regime. Croft sees a clear and rising risk that Israel will cross this line, setting off a perilous chain reaction. You could read market insouciance as evidence that oil no longer matters as much as we used to think. The 'oil intensity' of global GDP has fallen by 60 per cent since the energy crisis of the 1970s. Right now, the world is awash with crude. Saudi Arabia and Gulf states have launched an undeclared price war against non-OPEC rivals – and OPEC cheaters – adding 400,000 barrels a day to supply each month at a time when the Trump-battered global economy is too weak to absorb it. Behind this is a larger and relentless headwind for petrostates: China is moving with breathtaking speed to electrify its economy and end its reliance on seaborne fossil imports. Electric vehicles already make half of all new cars sold in the world's largest car market. The trajectory is unstoppable and near vertical in historical time. It is spreading to trucks, and spreading across East Asia. Loading This is the deeper reason why Saudi Arabia has stopped trying to prop up crude prices, and switched to chasing market share. But you can still have violent oil price spikes even within a structural bear market. Iran's oil export revenues were $US53 billion ($82 billion) last year. Half goes directly to the military, funding nuclear enrichment, drone production and the missile forces of the Revolutionary Guard Corps. The cardinal problem for Netanyahu is that he does not have the bunker-busting bomb – the Massive Ordnance Penetrator – the only weapon able to blow up the Fordow nuclear complex, built deep underground near Qom and beyond the strike-power of the Israeli air force. It should be obvious by now that he will not stop until he has destroyed Iran's nuclear capability and crippled the regime beyond recovery. So unless he can knock out the Fordow site by other means, which will prove very difficult, the fallback strategy is to smash the Kharg Island facilities and squeeze the Iranian revenue stream until the pips squeak. Iran has been shipping 1.5 million barrels per day despite Western sanctions, mostly smuggled to China in 'dark fleet' tankers with the full complicity of Beijing. This is up from near zero in 2022. Saudi Arabia has enough spare capacity to offset the total loss of Iran's exports if need be. But an Israeli strike on Kharg Island would not end there. Iran's Revolutionary Guard has always threatened to shut the Strait of Hormuz, set off maximum energy havoc, and globalise the conflict, if their own oil export facilities are ever attacked. Iran lacks the means to close the narrow chokepoint entirely, and its ships would risk annihilation by the US Fifth Fleet if it tried. But it can still cause chaos by launching pinprick attacks on tankers as it did in 2019, rendering commercial ships almost insurable. 'They could mine the Strait,' said Croft. S&P Global Market Intelligence said the Iranian regime may lash out at energy infrastructure across the region as a final, desperate move once it depletes its missile stock and loses its main tool of leverage. It might try to mobilise the Iraqi Shiite militias, such as the Kataib Hezbollah and the Popular Mobilisation Forces, to paralyse the Basra oil terminals – threatening up to 3.4 million barrels per day of exports. Loading Iran does not want a parallel conflict with Sunni Arab states. It is already reeling from the loss of its strategic ally in Syria, and the decapitation of its Hezbollah proxies in Lebanon. It repaired ties with Saudi Arabia two years ago in a deal brokered by China. Nor does it want to irritate China. But there are limits to forbearance if the regime is pushed to the wall. 'We do not think the Iranian leadership will prioritise keeping crude supplies steady to China over trying to ensure their own survival,' Croft said. Oxford Economics said a full-blown oil crisis of this kind would push oil to $US130, and push both global and US inflation to 6 per cent. It is China that now depends most on oil and LNG from the Gulf. America imports almost no fossil fuels from the region, except for a little Arabian heavy crude to balance its refineries. That shields the US from immediate supply risk, but not from a price shock. Arbitrage through the futures market instantly links US and global oil prices. Petrol at the pump shoots up for Americans too in such a crisis. They drive twice as far as Britons or Germans on average, and their cars use 50 per cent more fuel per mile. Donald Trump may conclude that it is better to join the war and drop his bunker-buster on Fordow rather than risk a cost of living shock on his watch. But that would create a far-reaching and dangerous situation of a different kind.
Sydney Morning Herald
18-06-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Fight to the death: The world has to prepare for a Middle East energy storm
It has not yet targeted the vast oil terminal at Kharg Island, which accounts for 90 per cent of Iran's crude exports and essentially funds the clerico-military regime. Croft sees a clear and rising risk that Israel will cross this line, setting off a perilous chain reaction. You could read market insouciance as evidence that oil no longer matters as much as we used to think. The 'oil intensity' of global GDP has fallen by 60 per cent since the energy crisis of the 1970s. Right now, the world is awash with crude. Saudi Arabia and Gulf states have launched an undeclared price war against non-OPEC rivals – and OPEC cheaters – adding 400,000 barrels a day to supply each month at a time when the Trump-battered global economy is too weak to absorb it. Behind this is a larger and relentless headwind for petrostates: China is moving with breathtaking speed to electrify its economy and end its reliance on seaborne fossil imports. Electric vehicles already make half of all new cars sold in the world's largest car market. The trajectory is unstoppable and near vertical in historical time. It is spreading to trucks, and spreading across East Asia. Loading This is the deeper reason why Saudi Arabia has stopped trying to prop up crude prices, and switched to chasing market share. But you can still have violent oil price spikes even within a structural bear market. Iran's oil export revenues were $US53 billion ($82 billion) last year. Half goes directly to the military, funding nuclear enrichment, drone production and the missile forces of the Revolutionary Guard Corps. The cardinal problem for Netanyahu is that he does not have the bunker-busting bomb – the Massive Ordnance Penetrator – the only weapon able to blow up the Fordow nuclear complex, built deep underground near Qom and beyond the strike-power of the Israeli air force. It should be obvious by now that he will not stop until he has destroyed Iran's nuclear capability and crippled the regime beyond recovery. So unless he can knock out the Fordow site by other means, which will prove very difficult, the fallback strategy is to smash the Kharg Island facilities and squeeze the Iranian revenue stream until the pips squeak. Iran has been shipping 1.5 million barrels per day despite Western sanctions, mostly smuggled to China in 'dark fleet' tankers with the full complicity of Beijing. This is up from near zero in 2022. Saudi Arabia has enough spare capacity to offset the total loss of Iran's exports if need be. But an Israeli strike on Kharg Island would not end there. Iran's Revolutionary Guard has always threatened to shut the Strait of Hormuz, set off maximum energy havoc, and globalise the conflict, if their own oil export facilities are ever attacked. Iran lacks the means to close the narrow chokepoint entirely, and its ships would risk annihilation by the US Fifth Fleet if it tried. But it can still cause chaos by launching pinprick attacks on tankers as it did in 2019, rendering commercial ships almost insurable. 'They could mine the Strait,' said Croft. S&P Global Market Intelligence said the Iranian regime may lash out at energy infrastructure across the region as a final, desperate move once it depletes its missile stock and loses its main tool of leverage. It might try to mobilise the Iraqi Shiite militias, such as the Kataib Hezbollah and the Popular Mobilisation Forces, to paralyse the Basra oil terminals – threatening up to 3.4 million barrels per day of exports. Loading Iran does not want a parallel conflict with Sunni Arab states. It is already reeling from the loss of its strategic ally in Syria, and the decapitation of its Hezbollah proxies in Lebanon. It repaired ties with Saudi Arabia two years ago in a deal brokered by China. Nor does it want to irritate China. But there are limits to forbearance if the regime is pushed to the wall. 'We do not think the Iranian leadership will prioritise keeping crude supplies steady to China over trying to ensure their own survival,' Croft said. Oxford Economics said a full-blown oil crisis of this kind would push oil to $US130, and push both global and US inflation to 6 per cent. It is China that now depends most on oil and LNG from the Gulf. America imports almost no fossil fuels from the region, except for a little Arabian heavy crude to balance its refineries. That shields the US from immediate supply risk, but not from a price shock. Arbitrage through the futures market instantly links US and global oil prices. Petrol at the pump shoots up for Americans too in such a crisis. They drive twice as far as Britons or Germans on average, and their cars use 50 per cent more fuel per mile. Donald Trump may conclude that it is better to join the war and drop his bunker-buster on Fordow rather than risk a cost of living shock on his watch. But that would create a far-reaching and dangerous situation of a different kind.
Sydney Morning Herald
17-06-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
The company with zero revenue that is worth $31 billion
A biotech stock focused on herbal medicine has surged by more than 64,000 per cent so far this year, although the company has made zero revenue, much less turned a profit. The unbelievable rally has transformed Regencell Bioscience Holdings, a penny stock as recently as April, to one worth more than $US20 billion ($30.7 billion) in market value. A year ago, the company had a market capitalisation of $US53 million. This is despite having a net loss of $US4.4 million for its fiscal year that ended June 2024, a 28 per cent decrease from the previous year. Regencell Bioscience this month said its board approved a 38-for-1 stock split. When the split took effect, shares rose as much as 434 per cent – their biggest one-day jump ever – to a record high, triggering more than 10 volatility halts. Shares of the company have been on a bizarre 640-fold tear in 2025, with little to no news released. The Hong Kong-based company, which debuted on the Nasdaq Capital Market in 2021, is in the research and development stage and has not generated any revenue since inception, according to its most-recent annual filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. A representative for Regencell didn't immediately respond to a Bloomberg request for comment. Incorporated in the Cayman Islands, the company aims to treat neurological conditions such as ADHD and autism spectrum disorder through traditional herb-based medicines, according to its website. Its traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula, which forms the basis of its product candidates, 'contains only natural ingredients without any synthetic components'. 'We have not generated revenue from any TCM formulae candidates or applied for any regulatory approvals, nor have distribution capabilities or experience or any granted patents or pending patent applications and may never be profitable,' the company said in an October filing.
The Age
17-06-2025
- Business
- The Age
The company with zero revenue that is worth $31 billion
A biotech stock focused on herbal medicine has surged by more than 64,000 per cent so far this year, although the company has made zero revenue, much less turned a profit. The unbelievable rally has transformed Regencell Bioscience Holdings, a penny stock as recently as April, to one worth more than $US20 billion ($30.7 billion) in market value. A year ago, the company had a market capitalisation of $US53 million. This is despite having a net loss of $US4.4 million for its fiscal year that ended June 2024, a 28 per cent decrease from the previous year. Regencell Bioscience this month said its board approved a 38-for-1 stock split. When the split took effect, shares rose as much as 434 per cent – their biggest one-day jump ever – to a record high, triggering more than 10 volatility halts. Shares of the company have been on a bizarre 640-fold tear in 2025, with little to no news released. The Hong Kong-based company, which debuted on the Nasdaq Capital Market in 2021, is in the research and development stage and has not generated any revenue since inception, according to its most-recent annual filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. A representative for Regencell didn't immediately respond to a Bloomberg request for comment. Incorporated in the Cayman Islands, the company aims to treat neurological conditions such as ADHD and autism spectrum disorder through traditional herb-based medicines, according to its website. Its traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula, which forms the basis of its product candidates, 'contains only natural ingredients without any synthetic components'. 'We have not generated revenue from any TCM formulae candidates or applied for any regulatory approvals, nor have distribution capabilities or experience or any granted patents or pending patent applications and may never be profitable,' the company said in an October filing.
West Australian
29-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Donald Trump news: Judge blocks US President's move to ban Harvard University enrolling international students
A US court has extended an order blocking the Trump Administration's attempt to revoke Harvard University's ability to enrol international students. The ruling marks the latest twist in the US President's intensifying offensive against Harvard, which has seen him slash billions of US dollars in funding. The Ivy League university can continue admitting foreign students while the lawsuit plays out, after US District Judge Allison Burrough extended the temporary restraining order she issued last week. Sustained by a $US53 billion ($A82 billion) endowment, the nation's wealthiest university is testing whether it can be a bulwark against Mr Trump's efforts to limit what his Administration calls anti-semitic activism on campus, which Harvard sees as an affront to the freedom to teach and learn nationwide. Harvard graduates in caps and gowns have urged the Ivy League school to stand strong in the wake of a public battle with the US President. Graduating students cheered speeches emphasising the maintenance of a diverse international student body and standing up for truth in the face of attacks by the Trump Administration. 'We leave a campus much different than the one we entered, with Harvard at the centre of a national battle of higher education in America,' Thor Reimann told his fellow graduates. 'Our university is certainly imperfect, but I am proud to stand today alongside our graduating class, our faculty, our president with the shared conviction that this ongoing project of veritas is one that is worth defending.' The US Government has already cancelled more than $US2.6 billion in federal research grants, moved to cut off Harvard's enrolment of international students and threatened its tax-exempt status. Visa interviews for international students admitted to schools nationwide were halted on Tuesday, and Mr Trump said on Wednesday that Harvard should reduce its international enrolment from 25 per cent to about 15 per cent. Harvard President Alan Garber, who has repeatedly defended the school's actions, didn't directly touch on the Trump Administration's threats on Thursday. But he did get a rousing applause when he referenced the university's global reach, noting that it is 'just as it should be'. Several of the graduating speakers spoke more directly about the challenges facing the school and society. Speaking in Latin, Salutatorian Aidan Robert Scully delivered a speech laced with references to Trump policies. 'I say this: ... Neither powers nor princes can change the truth and deny that diversity is our strength,' Mr Scully said. It was a sentiment echoed by Yurong 'Luanna' Jiang, a Chinese graduate who studied international development. She said she grew up believing that the 'world was becoming a small village' and that she found a global community at Harvard. 'When I met my 77 classmates from 32 different countries, the countries I knew only as colourful shapes on a map turned into real people, with laughter, dreams and the perseverance to survive the long winter in Cambridge,' she said of the other students in her program. 'Global challenges suddenly felt personal.' Now, though, she said she wonders whether her worldview is under threat. 'We're starting to believe those who think differently, vote differently or pray differently, whether they are across the ocean or sitting right next to us, are not just wrong — we mistakenly see them as evil,' she said. 'But it doesn't have to be this way.' - With AAP
