Saudi “Taqa” expands its international presence from Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan to Syria

The Governor of the Turkish Central Bank, Fatih Kara Khan, said on Wednesday that the bank will continue to follow a tight monetary policy until price stability is achieved, stressing that monetary decisions will remain linked to inflation developments and prospects.

Kara Khan explained, during a presentation on monetary policy in Turkey and macroeconomic expectations, on the sidelines of his visit to Bangkok to participate in a meeting of the World Bank, that core inflation continues to decline despite the rise in energy prices, while weak demand contributes to reducing inflationary pressures resulting from supply shocks, according to Reuters.

He pointed out that proactive measures help contain the potential risks of the repercussions of trade restrictions, pointing to the continued strength of demand for the Turkish lira in light of the tight monetary policy.

He added that continuing the tight monetary policy will enhance the reduction of inflation through demand, exchange rate and expectations channels. He explained that the Monetary Policy Committee will determine the base interest rate based on the actual and expected inflation rates and their trends, provided that decisions are taken in a thoughtful manner at each meeting, with monetary policy tightening if inflation expectations deviate significantly from the interim goals.

Copper prices rose on Wednesday, supported by concerns about supplies from Chile, the world's largest producer of the metal, while markets followed developments in a number of major copper mines.

By 03:03 GMT, the standard 3-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.7 percent to $14,673.50 per metric ton, according to Reuters.

On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the most actively traded copper contract rose 0.4 percent to 111,330 yuan ($16,638) per ton.

Analysts at TD Securities said that supply risks in Chile are still the focus of attention for copper markets, pointing to the strike vote, deaths at work sites, and operational disruptions, in addition to renewed news about the resumption of mine operations, which are factors that have maintained a price premium that reflects the risks of a supply shortage.

Analysts added that any escalation of these risks in Chile would support prices in the near term, at a time when markets are still facing uncertainty regarding customs duties, in addition to the continued redistribution of stocks between markets.

In Chile, the supervisors' union at BHP's Escondida mine, the largest copper mine in the world, announced that it would begin a strike on Wednesday, after mediation efforts aimed at reaching a new collective labor agreement failed.

On the other hand, the management of the Centinla copper mine and two striking unions returned to the negotiating table on Tuesday, seeking to end a work stoppage that has been ongoing for a week, which workers say is affecting the conduct of operational operations.

Over the weekend, the Chilean state mining company Codelco suspended part of its operations at the El Teniente mine, following a landslide that resulted in the death of a worker.

In a related context, copper stocks outside the United States declined as quantities of the metal were shipped to the American market, in anticipation of the possibility of customs duties being imposed.

Performance of other metals

On the London Metal Exchange, aluminum rose 0.2 percent to $3,042 per ton, zinc rose 0.4 percent to $3,745.50, while lead stabilized at $1,901. Nickel also increased by 0.5 percent to $15,665, while tin fell by 0.1 percent to $51,705 per ton.

As for the Shanghai Futures Exchange, aluminum and zinc fell by 0.4 percent each, while lead rose by 0.6 percent, nickel by 0.2 percent, and tin fell by 2.5 percent.

In the nickel market, the International Nickel Study Group said on Tuesday that the global market is likely to end the year 2026 with a slight surplus, a shift from its expectations 6 months ago of a deficit, with expectations that the surplus supply will expand over the next year.

The US Treasury Department imposed a $1.2 billion fine on Bank of America after it failed to monitor and report suspicious financial transactions. Its value exceeded $5 billion, including transactions worth $1 billion, which the ministry said involved risks related to national security and illicit financing.

The ministry said on Tuesday that the violations included failure to report transactions potentially linked to Chinese money laundering networks, in addition to money laundering operations through trade that are largely linked to the southern border of the United States.

The penalty is the third largest fine imposed by the Treasury Department in its history.

The Ministry explained that the bank relied excessively on inquiries received from external parties, such as law enforcement agencies and other financial institutions, instead of relying on its internal controls to proactively detect and report suspicious activities. In practice, she said, this approach resulted in a large part of monitoring and reporting responsibilities being assigned to external parties.

As part of the settlement, the bank admitted that it “willfully” violated the Bank Secrecy Act, as a result of its failure to maintain a compliant anti-money laundering program, conduct the required due diligence regarding foreign correspondent banking accounts, and submit the necessary reports on suspicious activities, according to the Treasury Department.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent said that the failure of a banking institution of this size to fulfill its obligations related to combating money laundering and comply with sanctions, its repercussions are not limited to the bank; Rather, the entire American financial system is exposed to significant risks associated with illicit financing.

Multiple penalties

The total fine includes penalties imposed by the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. The fine from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency amounted to $750 million, becoming the largest in the history of this regulatory body.

As for the Office of Foreign Assets Control, it said that the settlement with the bank relates to 475 potential violations of US sanctions programs, including sanctions related to Russia, Iran, drugs, and global terrorism. The settlement amounted to $11.6 million. The office classified the violations as non-serious.

For its part, Bank of America told the BBC that it has come a long way in the work required to address the issues raised by the regulatory authorities, stressing its commitment to completing these efforts.

The announcement of the fine came less than 24 hours before the bank announced its financial results for the third quarter, on Wednesday. The bank said that its results will include expenses worth $1.2 billion that cannot be deducted for tax purposes, reducing net income by about 17 cents per share.

He added that he had already allocated significant human and financial resources to address the deficiencies, and that the costs of these efforts were included in the current expenditure base.