Stock Markets
Elon Musk’s whirlwind China trip included talks with vice premier
Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk departed Shanghai on Thursday, wrapping up a two-day trip to China in which he met senior Chinese government officials including the highest-ranking vice premier.
Photos and a video of Musk’s visit late Wednesday to Tesla Shanghai factory – the automaker’s biggest production hub – showed him holding up a “Giga Shanghai” sign, flanked by hundreds of staff including Tom Zhu, head of global manufacturing.
The video released by Tesla showed Musk praising employees for “overcoming so many difficulties and challenges” and making a heart sign with his hands.
Earlier in the trip, Musk met with China’s foreign, commerce and industry ministers in Beijing and dined with the chairman of battery supplier Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL).
He also met with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang on Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter said. Ding is the sixth highest-ranked leader in the Politburo Standing Committee, the top governing body led by President Xi Jinping.
This marks the first time that Ding is known to have had a one-on-one meeting with a foreign CEO. China values its relationship with Tesla and in 2019 Musk had a one-on-one meeting with then premier Li Keqiang.
Tesla, the State Council Information Office, which handles media queries on behalf of the Chinese government, did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Musk also met with Chen Jining, Shanghai’s party secretary, who welcomed Tesla to increase its investments and expand businesses in the city, according to a statement from the municipal government on Thursday.
Since his arrival in China on Tuesday morning, the U.S. billionaire has been showered with praise by the Chinese public, but Musk himself has been uncharacteristically silent and has yet to make any public statements.
Little is known of the conversations he had with Chinese government officials so far. The sources, who were not authorized to speak to the media and declined to be identified, did not provide details of Musk’s discussions with Ding.
The industry ministry said only that Musk and its head exchanged views about the development of electric vehicles and connected cars; the commerce ministry announced Musk had discussed Tesla’s development in China with its minister.
The U.S. billionaire’s private jet took off from Shanghai’s Hongqiao airport on Thursday morning, heading for Austin, Texas, where Tesla’s global headquarters is located, according to flight-tracking platform Variflight.
Constellation Energy (NASDAQ:) Corp. is on the verge of acquiring Calpine Corp., a move that could mark one of the most significant transactions in the power generation industry, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
Baltimore-based Constellation is negotiating with Calpine’s private equity owners to finalize the terms of a deal that could place the value of Calpine at approximately $30 billion, including the assumption of debt, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
The potential acquisition, which could be announced within the next few weeks, is still subject to ongoing deliberations, report added.
Constellation’s interest in Calpine underscores the strategic moves within the power sector as companies seek to consolidate and expand their market presence.
While the exact terms of the deal are still being discussed, the acquisition’s completion would likely have considerable implications for both Constellation and the wider power generation sector.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.
By John Irish and Alexander Ratz
PARIS/BERLIN (Reuters) -European Union sanctions in Syria that obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid and hinder the country’s recovery could be lifted swiftly, France’s foreign minister said Wednesday.
The United States on Monday issued a sanctions exemption for transactions with governing institutions in Syria for six months after the end of Bashar al-Assad’s rule to try to ease the flow of humanitarian assistance.
Speaking to France Inter radio, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the EU could take a similar decision soon without giving precise timing, while adding that lifting more political sanctions would depend on how Syria’s new leadership handled the transition.
“There are other (sanctions), which today hinder access to humanitarian aid, which hinder the recovery of the country. These could be lifted quickly,” said Barrot, who met Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday with Germany’s foreign minister.
“Finally, there are other sanctions, which we are discussing with our European partners, which could be lifted, but obviously depending on the pace at which our expectations for Syria regarding women and security are taken into account.”
Three European diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity said the EU would seek to agree to lift some sanctions by the time the bloc’s 27 foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Jan. 27.
Two of the diplomats said one aim was to facilitate financial transactions to allow funds to return to the country, ease air transport and lessen sanctions targeting the energy sector to improve power supplies. A third said Germany had put forward a position paper on the potential sanctions to be lifted.
“Due to the new situation, existing sanctions are under scrutiny. Germany has already pitched ideas on this issue,” German foreign ministry spokesperson Christian Wagner said on Wednesday.
“The focus lies on economic questions and return of funds of the Syrian diaspora,” he said.
Syria suffers from severe power shortages, with state-supplied electricity available two or three hours per day in most areas. The caretaker government says it aims to provide electricity for up to eight hours per day within two months.
The U.S. waivers allow some energy transactions and personal remittances to Syria until July 7, but do not remove any sanctions.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that Nippon Steel’s blocked acquisition of U.S. Steel received a “thorough analysis” by an interagency national security review body that was sent to President Joe Biden.
Yellen, in a live interview on CNBC, said she could not discuss specifics of the review of the merger blocked by Biden last week that is now the subject of a lawsuit that alleges that the review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) was not conducted in good faith and was prejudiced by Biden.
“I think, as you know, there is ongoing litigation over this case, and as head of CFIUS, I regret there is very little substantive that I can say to you about this,” Yellen said. “Other than that, CFIUS did analyze the specifics, as it always does of this situation, and prepared a thorough analysis to go to the president.”
Forex2 years agoForex Today: the dollar is gaining strength amid gloomy sentiment at the start of the Fed’s week
- Forex2 years ago
How is the Australian dollar doing today?
- Forex2 years ago
Unbiased review of Pocket Option broker
- Forex2 years ago
Dollar to pound sterling exchange rate today: Pound plummeted to its lowest since 1985
- Cryptocurrency2 years ago
What happened in the crypto market – current events today
- World2 years ago
Why are modern video games an art form?
- Commodities2 years ago
Copper continues to fall in price on expectations of lower demand in China
- Forex2 years ago
The dollar is down again against major world currencies
