The government is barreling toward a partial shutdown over DHS funding.
Updated Tue, Jan 27 2026 5:42 PM EST
Garrett Downs
Key Points
The U.S. government is on the brink of a partial shutdown beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday in large part because of a second recent killing of a U.S. citizen by federal agents in Minneapolis. It would be different than last year’s shutdown.
The killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, has galvanized fierce Senate Democratic opposition to a House-passed measure providing funding for the Department of Homeland Security and a slew of other agencies. The more-than-$1.2 trillion package cleared the House of Representatives last week and accounts for the bulk of government spending for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.
Democratic support will be required to pass the bill, which needs 60 votes to avert the filibuster in the Senate that Republicans control 53-47. Democrats are demanding the DHS portion be stripped in exchange for their votes, something Republicans have signaled they will not do.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., suggested on Tuesday that the Trump administration’s recent retreat from its immigration actions in Minnesota would not be enough to drop the shutdown threat — raising the shutdown odds even higher.
“The fix should come from Congress; the public can’t trust the administration to do the right thing on its own,” Schumer said in remarks on the Senate floor.
“In the meantime, I will vote no on any legislation that funds ICE until it is reined in and overhauled, and Senate Democrats are overwhelmingly united on this issue,” Schumer said. “If [Senate Majority Leader John] Thune insists on holding a vote on DHS legislation that he knows will not pass, then he will guarantee yet another unnecessary government shutdown this Friday.”
Thune, R-S.D., said Tuesday on the Senate floor that Pretti’s death was a “tragedy” and warrants a “full and impartial investigation.” He also said talks are underway to break a Democratic logjam of the appropriations bill.
“Productive talks are ongoing, and I urge my Democrat colleagues to continue their engagement and find a path forward that will avoid a needless shutdown,” Thune said.
If the Senate alters the bill at all, it would have to be reapproved by the House, which is out on a prescheduled recess and has not announced plans to return before the deadline.
In addition to DHS, the bill would fund the departments of Defense, Treasury, State, Health and Human Services, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Education.
Should the bill not pass by the Friday night deadline, those agencies would be deprived of funding and enter a shutdown posture — meaning “nonessential” employees would be furloughed and “essential” employees would work without pay. Spending bills that President Donald Trump already signed would keep the rest of the government open.
“Activities that are necessary to protect life and property continue, although the workers in those functions may not be paid while they are working,” said Caleb Quakenbush, associate director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center. “Agencies have a lot of discretion in terms of who is essential and at what period.”
Agencies typically release contingency plans before a shutdown. So far, the agencies at risk of losing funding have not publicly released their plans.
Certain government functions like Social Security payments and Medicare and Medicaid services typically continue during a shutdown, Quakenbush said. The bill that reopened the government last year included funding for the Department of Agriculture through the fiscal year, meaning the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will not see a disruption as it did last year.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/27/us-government-shutdown-over-dhs-funding.html
Cirium, an aviation analytics company, named the most punctual airports and airlines of 2025 in its annual 'On-Time Performance Review' report.
Natalia Senanayake
Published on January 28, 2026 06:00AM EST
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NEED TO KNOW
A new report from Cirium has declared one U.S. airline as the most punctual in North America for a number of reasons.
According to its "On-Time Performance Review 2025," Delta Air Lines was named the most punctual airline in North America, with 80.9% of 1.8 million flights arriving on time last year. The aviation analytics company defines on-time performance as “the percentage of flights departing or arriving within 15 minutes” of the scheduled time.
Delta has earned this title for the fifth consecutive year, and was the only U.S. airline to make it into Cirium’s Top 10 Global Airlines winners.
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Delta Air Lines check-in kiosk at airport.
In a Jan. 6 press release, the airline said of the honor: “Earning top marks for North American operators for five years running is a testament to the industry-leading teamwork of Delta people and a direct result of their dedication to our customers and each other.”
However, Cirium notes that while Delta came out on top for North America, its “on-time arrival rate was down more than two percentage points” in comparison to 2024.
It also highlights the 43-day government shutdown the U.S. experienced through October and part of November, as it “significantly eroded North American on-time performance in 2025” due to air traffic control staffing shortages, widespread delays and schedule reductions at the time.
“In all, the FAA said flight-delay minutes due to equipment issues were about 300% higher in 2025 than the average of 2010-2024,” the report adds.
These issues likely explain why no U.S. airports earned first place for Cirium’s Most On-Time Airports category. However, Honolulu International Airport came in fourth place in the Large Airports category, while Portland International Airport came in sixth for Medium Airports.
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Honolulu International Airport.
The company’s 2025 Platinum Award for Operational Excellence was awarded to Istanbul Airport, as it “broke a European record” with 81 departures in a single hour. The airport also became Europe’s “first airport to implement triple independent parallel runway operations,” the report states, declaring it a “major infrastructure milestone”
Meanwhile, the airline that received the 2025 Platinum Performance award was Qatar Airways not only for its on-time arrivals, but for its exceptional “schedule execution, daily operational control, and recovery capability over a full year,” per the report.
Cirium conducted its 17th "On-Time Performance Review" by analyzing flight data from over 600 sources, including “airlines, airports, global distribution systems, and civil aviation authorities,” per its official website.
Of why the report is important, Cirium’s CEO Jeremy Bowen said: “Maintaining consistent on-time performance requires sophisticated network planning, operational coordination, and the ability to recover quickly when irregularities occur. These results reflect the operational discipline that defines aviation’s top performers.”
(Reuters) – The head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said global oil demand will remain above 100 million barrels per day through 2040, while demand for both liquefied natural gas (LNG) and electricity will grow by 50% or more.
Managing Director and CEO Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber told the India Energy Week conference on Tuesday that electricity demand will be driven by the need to power cooling systems as well as AI infrastructure and data centres.
“Demand at this scale and pace requires investment in all forms of energy,” Al Jaber said. “The biggest risk is not over supply, it is underinvestment.”
ADNOC now counts India as its top market for LNG, and Al Jaber said the Abu Dhabi state firm is also expanding its gas portfolio to Asia and Africa.
This month, India signed a $3 billion deal to buy LNG from the United Arab Emirates, making it the UAE’s top customer, as the leaders of both countries held talks to strengthen trade and defence ties.
The deal will see ADNOC Gas supply 0.5 million metric tons of LNG a year to India’s Hindustan Petroleum Corp for 10 years beginning in 2028.
UAE climate fund ALTERRA will also invest in India’s renewable energy sector, Al Jaber said.
Reporting by Sethuraman NR; Writing by Emily Chow; Editing by Tom Hogue and Christopher Cushing
https://energynow.com/2026/01/oil-demand-to-hold-above-100-million-bpd-through-2040-says-adnoc-ceo/
Oil and gas majors Shell and Eni, key stakeholders in Kazakhstan’s Karachaganak field, have lost a key stage in an international arbitration case in London and may be required to pay the Kazakh government between $2 billion and $4 billion in compensation. The decision was first reported by Bloomberg.
According to the ruling, the arbitration panel upheld Kazakhstan’s argument that the project operators had charged the state under a production sharing agreement (PSA) for unapproved cost overruns and other ineligible expenses. The tribunal found that a significant share of the disputed costs should not have been recovered from the state, siding with Kazakhstan on the central legal question.
The arbitration proceedings were conducted behind closed doors, in line with standard practice for PSA disputes. The final compensation amount has yet to be determined, and the ruling remains subject to appeal. However, Bloomberg reported that the tribunal concluded the consortium must return a substantial portion of the contested funds, a decision that could require changes to the PSA’s oil and gas distribution formula.
Karachaganak is one of Kazakhstan’s largest oil and gas projects and a cornerstone of the country’s energy sector. The field is operated by the Karachaganak Petroleum Operating consortium, which includes Shell, Eni, Chevron, Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company KazMunayGas, and Russia’s Lukoil.
The Kazakh government initially sought more than $6 billion in compensation, arguing that improper cost recovery had reduced state revenues over several years. The dispute was formally launched in 2023 and followed a broader effort by Kazakhstan to assert stricter oversight over major hydrocarbon projects governed by PSAs.
In 2024, international partners reportedly proposed resolving the dispute by constructing a long-delayed gas processing plant at Karachaganak to supply the domestic market, an offer seen as an attempt to reach a negotiated settlement. The plant has long been a point of contention, with Kazakhstan pushing for increased gas processing capacity inside the country rather than exporting raw gas.
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy has declined to provide further details on the arbitration, citing confidentiality provisions.
In response to an inquiry from BAQ.KZ, the ministry said: “All arbitration materials are subject to the confidentiality of the production sharing agreement and the arbitration agreement between the parties. Until the restrictions are lifted, it is not possible to provide any information.”
The ruling marks one of the most significant recent legal setbacks for foreign oil companies operating in Kazakhstan in recent years and could have broader implications for how costs are approved and recovered under PSAs across the country’s energy sector.
Chinese state-owned giant PetroChina, which hasn’t bought Venezuelan crude since the U.S. imposed sanctions on Venezuela in 2019, is not too keen to start buying again after the U.S. authorized global traders to market the crude from the world’s biggest reserves holder.
PetroChina has told traders not to buy or trade Venezuela’s oil—a trade that is now under U.S. control after the capture of Nicolas Maduro, trading sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.
The Chinese oil and gas giant stopped imports of Venezuelan crude in 2019, when the first Trump Administration slapped sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, for fear of running afoul of the restrictions. Before the 2019 sanctions, PetroChina was the single biggest buyer of crude from Venezuela.
Now PetroChina is refraining from buying crude marketed by the world’s top oil trading houses – with U.S. blessing – as it assesses the situation, according to Reuters’ sources.
One reason is the concern that the U.S. controls the oil from Venezuela, another is that the offers aren’t competitive compared to other supplies of heavy crude, including from Canada, the sources told the publication.
The discount of Venezuela’s flagship crude grade Merey relative to Brent has narrowed by about $10 per barrel since the ousting of Maduro.
Vitol, the world’s biggest independent oil trader, is offering Venezuelan crude to Chinese refiners at a discount that’s three times narrower compared to the illicit sales from Venezuela before Maduro’s ousting, anonymous traders with knowledge of the development told Bloomberg last week.
Vitol has recently offered cargoes of Venezuela’s flagship Merey heavy sour crude grade to China at a discount of $5 per barrel to ICE Brent, according to Bloomberg’s sources.
This compares with a discount as wide as $15 a barrel to ICE Brent on a delivered basis before the U.S. blitz in Venezuela and the capture of Maduro.
Meanwhile, Chinese independent refiners, which gorged on cheap sanctioned Venezuelan crude in the past few years, are likely welcoming what could be their last imports of sanctioned Venezuelan oil, which loaded before the U.S. blockade.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe
South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe has reached a new peak in his wealth, with his net worth rising to $4.3 billion, according to Forbes . The jump comes as gold prices hit a fresh all-time high, surpassing $5,100 an ounce on Monday, thus reflecting both the precious metal’s rally and the strong performance of Motsepe’s mining holdings.
ARM, Harmony boost Motsepe fortune
Motsepe, who became Africa’s first Black billionaire in 2008, has seen his fortune climb by $600 million since the start of 2026. His net worth rose from $3.7 billion on Jan. 1 to $4.3 billion , reflecting the gains from his patient investments in mining. The boost stems from Motsepe’s stakes in African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) and Harmony Gold. He owns 45.9 percent of ARM, a diversified mining company active in iron ore, coal, copper, gold and platinum group metals.
ARM shares have surged more than 27 percent since Jan. 1, lifting the company’s market capitalization to R53.57 billion ($3.33 billion) and the value of Motsepe’s holding to R24.58 billion ($1.53 billion). Harmony Gold, South Africa’s largest gold producer, has gained over 20 percent this year . Motsepe’s indirect 11.8 percent stake is now worth R29.43 billion ($1.83 billion), bringing the combined value of his mining interests to roughly $3.36 billion.
This solidifies Motsepe’s spot as South Africa’s third-richest individual and places him among the world’s top 1,000 billionaires . On the Forbes list, he ranks 965th, ahead of fellow South African Koos Bekker, whose wealth slipped to $3.8 billion from over $4 billion in December.
Gold demand surges worldwide
The sustained gold rally is linked to rising geopolitical tensions and global fiscal uncertainties. Spot gold reached $5,102 an ounce before settling slightly lower at $5,086 , while U.S. futures for February delivery rose to $5,087. Investors have increasingly turned to the yellow metal for protection against uncertainty, a trend Goldman Sachs says is broadening beyond traditional channels. ETF holdings in the West have increased by about 500 tonnes since 2025, and purchases by high-net-worth individuals have strengthened demand.
Central banks are also buying more gold. Goldman estimates average monthly purchases of 60 tonnes, up from a pre-2022 average of 17 tonnes, as emerging-market banks shift reserves into the precious metal. The bank expects these hedges against global macro-policy risks to remain in place through 2026, helping sustain gold’s price levels. Goldman recently raised its year-end 2026 forecast to $5,400 an ounce from $4,900, citing the appeal of gold as a safe haven.
Hi-View Resources (CSE:GXLD) has appointed Nader Mostaghimi as the company’s Vice President of Exploration, to focus on advancing its project portfolio through disciplined exploration, strong technical fundamentals, and collaborative leadership.
Mostaghimi is a geologist with more than eight years of experience in mineral exploration across the Americas. His expertise includes detailed structural and alteration studies on epithermal and porphyry systems.
Recently, Mostaghimi spent two and a half years at Barrick Mining (TSX:ABX), focusing on regional greenfield and brownfield district-scale exploration programs across a range of geological settings. He has led field programs, drilling programs, and technical workstreams.
Mostaghimi says he will continue to advance the Toodoggone portfolio – which is increasingly attracting interest.
“My experience in the world-class El Indio-Pascua metallogenic belt reinforced how structurally controlled epithermal and porphyry environments continue to deliver discoveries when approached with integrated geoscience and disciplined targeting,” he says.
“I’m confident the district has more to give, and I look forward to advancing that potential with the Hi-View team.”
CEO Nick Horsley adds that the district consistently features mineralisation controlled by structural features, and Mostaghimi’s expertise in structural geology represents the key missing element in the company’s pursuit of the next major discovery.
Hi-View Resources is a mineral explorer focused on discovering gold, silver, and copper in northern British Columbia, Canada.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
https://mining.com.au/hi-view-brings-on-former-barrick-gold-structural-geologist/
What Is Ivanhoe Mines' Investment Narrative?
To own Ivanhoe Mines, you generally need to believe that its large African copper and platinum group metal projects can keep scaling efficiently while management balances heavy capital needs with the path to stronger cash generation. The latest 2025 operating results fit that story: Kamoa-Kakula again met copper guidance, and the Phase 3 concentrator ran about 30% above design capacity with solid recoveries, which supports near term production and earnings expectations rather than changing the investment case outright. In the short term, this outperformance may sharpen attention on the upcoming Q4 2025 results on February 18, where costs, cash flow and any updated guidance will matter more than volume headlines. The biggest risks still sit around execution, funding requirements and exposure to volatile copper and zinc prices, but investors may now view operational delivery risk at Kamoa-Kakula as somewhat lower than before this update.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-ivanhoe-mines-tsx-ivn-070858420.html
Nucor's HRC price rose to $965/t, while the market is seeing a gradual recovery in demand and prices
American steel company Nucor has raised its weekly spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled coil (HRC) for the second time in a row, indicating stronger price sentiment in the US domestic market. This is stated in the company’s official announcement.
Starting Monday, January 26, 2025, the spot price for end users rose by $5 per short ton to $965/ton.
Thus, Nucor recorded its first consecutive two-week price increase since the beginning of the year. At the same time, the company notes that order fulfillment times remain stable at 3-5 weeks, indicating no significant production constraints, but at the same time a gradual recovery in demand.
Separately, Nucor announced price increases at its joint venture on the US West Coast, California Steel Industries (CSI). CSI’s spot price for HRC also rose by $5 per week and currently stands at $1,015 per short ton, which is significantly higher than the national average.
According to Kallanish’s assessment as of January 22, the spot price range for hot-rolled coil in the US fluctuates between $940 and $955/t. Thus, Nucor’s offer is at the top of the market, which may signal the manufacturer’s desire to set a new price benchmark.
It should be noted that during November-December 2025, Nucor raised its hot-rolled coil prices by $75/t. The series of increases lasted for nine consecutive weeks.
Overall, the global hot-rolled coil market was under pressure in 2025. Despite an upward trend at the end of the year, average annual prices for products fell by 5–12%. The exception is the US, where the indicator rose by an average of 11.1% over the year.
This story was originally published on Manufacturing Dive.
After a relatively slow year for mergers and acquisitions in the metals industry, experts expect an uptick in activity during 2026. Foreign metals manufacturers investing in U.S. companies, aiming to shore up their stateside footprints, circumvent tariffs and situate themselves closer to high-growth end markets could dominate the scene.
The trend kicked off with a mammoth deal from Japan-based Nippon Steel, which acquired U.S. Steel for $14 billion last June. Ian Myers, managing partner at Kalibr Partners, said the acquisition spurred discussions at other companies about nearshoring and domestic production.
“That was the catalyst to say, ‘How do we get back into the U.S. in strategic ways?’” Myers said.
Since then, other metals manufacturers have followed a similar playbook. Last September, South Korea-based steel manufacturer Posco inked a memorandum of understanding with Cleveland-Cliffs. While the two companies haven’t disclosed the full terms of their agreement, Posco is reportedly expected to invest more than $700 million to acquire at least a 10% stake in the U.S. steelmaker this year. Posco also recently took a 20% stake in Hyundai Steel’s electric arc furnace steel mill in Louisiana, with plans to invest $582 million through 2027.
The interest in nearshoring and domestic production appears to be building. Vince Pappalardo, managing director and leader of the metals and advanced metals manufacturing group at Brown Gibbons Lang & Co., has fielded inquiries from companies in Japan and Korea seeking U.S. manufacturing assets.
The motivation is twofold, Pappalardo said. “Part of it is to get around tariffs. Part of it is because they expect growth.”
Behind the tariff wall
Since June 2025, imports of steel and aluminum from nearly all trading partners have faced tariff rates of 50%. The Trump administration in August expanded the list of goods subject to tariffs to include items such as motorcycles, truck trailers, microwaves and dishwashers.
The shifts and increases in tariffs “created a new degree of ambiguity and economic uncertainty,” leaving many companies taking a “wait-and-see” approach to M&A, said Brad Serlin, president of United Scrap Metal.
In fact, as of August 2025, M&A activity in metals manufacturing was down 30% compared to the same timeframe in 2024, according to Capstone Partners. At the time, there were just 62 deals announced or completed, although valuations remained steady or even increased.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/global-metals-manufacturers-expanding-us-085200737.html
In 2025, Ukrainian steel enterprises increased imports of coke and semi-coke (HS 2704) by 5.9% compared to 2024, to 700.65 thousand tons. This is evidenced by GMK Center calculations based on data from the State Customs Service.
In December, imports of coke amounted to 57.85 thousand tons, which is 32.2% less than in the previous month and 49.1% more than in December 2024.
The bulk of supplies for the year came from Poland – 657.84 thousand tons. Another 27.67 thousand tons of coke were imported from Indonesia and 15.08 thousand tons from the Czech Republic. In December, supplies from Poland fell by 33.4% month-on-month (55.83 thousand tons), while the Czech Republic supplied 2.01 thousand tons (+36.8% month-on-month). No raw materials were imported from Indonesia.
Spending on raw material imports in 2025 increased by 1.4% y/y to $238.66 million, while in December it fell by 29.2% m/m and increased by 64.2% y/y to $20.66 million.
Between 2013 and 2024, coking coal production in Ukraine fell by 74%, while coke production fell by almost 85%. Most of the mines and coke chemical plants remained in uncontrolled territories – 64% of the total number.
According to GMK Center estimates, to maintain production at the current level, namely the production of up to 6.5 million tons of steel using converter and open-hearth methods and 1.3 million tons of commercial pig iron, Ukraine needs 3.2 million tons of coke per year, of which up to 20% was imported in 2024.
In early April, the first ship of 2025 with coking coal from the US, chartered by the Metinvest Group, arrived in Ukraine. The bulk carrier delivered 80,000 tons of raw materials from the United Coal Company, which is part of the group. Metinvest plans to carry out similar import deliveries every month.
It should be noted that in 2024, Ukraine imported 661,490 tons of coke and semi-coke, which is twice the figure for 2023. A significant increase in supplies occurred in the second half of the year. Import costs for the year increased by 81.9% y/y to $235.47 million.
https://gmk.center/en/news/ukraine-imported-700-000-tons-of-metallurgical-coke-in-2025/amp/
During the survey period (January 20–26), the operating rate of rebar rolling lines in steel mills in the Central China region declined, while the capacity utilization rate increased slightly; both the operating rate and capacity utilization rate of wire rod rolling lines remained stable.
During the survey period (January 20–26), the operating rate of rebar rolling lines in the Central China region decreased, but the capacity utilization rate rose modestly. Specifically, production conditions varied slightly across regions this week. In Hubei and Hunan, one rebar rolling line resumed production in the previous period, and the number of operating days in the current period exceeded that of the prior period, driving an increase in the capacity utilization rate. In Henan, however, some steel mills opted to temporarily halt one rebar rolling line due to relatively weak rebar sales and poor profitability, leading to a decline in the operating rate. Overall, the impact of the reduction was smaller than that of the increase, resulting in a slight rise in rebar supply. In terms of mill inventory, the market cooled significantly in the first half of the survey week, with procurement willingness low in most areas due to rain and snow, causing regional inventory to continue accumulating.
Rebar production in the Central China region is expected to continue growing in the next period, primarily because some steel mills in Hubei have plans to resume blast furnace operations, which may lead to the simultaneous restart of rebar rolling lines, driving a slight increase in both the operating rate and capacity utilization rate.
During the survey period (January 20–January 26), steel mills in the Central China region generally maintained their current production pace, with wire rod production remaining relatively stable.
In terms of mill inventory, wire rod demand in the central region performed weakly during the survey period, and the digestion rate was relatively slow, leading to a slight increase in regional wire rod inventory.
In the next period, wire rod production in Central China is expected to shift from stable to increasing, mainly due to production resumption plans for blast furnaces at individual steel mills in Hubei. One wire rod rolling line is expected to resume production simultaneously, driving a slight rise in both the capacity utilization rate and operating rate.
