An Oil refinery is seen from Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela on March 19, 2025.
Image: AFP
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Venezuela to export $2 billion worth of oil to US in deal with Washington
Caracas and Washington have reached a deal to export up to $2 billion worth of Venezuelan crude to the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, a flagship negotiation that would divert supplies from China while helping Venezuela avoid deeper oil production cuts. The agreement is a strong sign that the Venezuelan government is responding to Trump's demand that they open up to U.S. oil companies or risk more military intervention. Trump has said he wants interim President Delcy Rodriguez to give the U.S. and private companies "total access" to Venezuela's oil industry. Venezuela has millions of barrels of oil loaded on tankers and in storage tanks that it has been unable to ship due to a blockade on exports imposed by Trump since mid-December. The blockade was part of rising U.S. pressure on the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro that culminated in U.S. forces capturing him this weekend. Top Venezuelan officials have called Maduro's capture a kidnapping and accused the U.S. of trying to steal the country's vast oil reserves. Venezuela will be "turning over" between 30 and 50 million barrels of "sanctioned oil" to the U.S., Trump said in a social media post.
Hyundai Motor shares rise 15% to hit record high amid Nvidia tie-up speculation
Shares of Hyundai Motor rallied on Wednesday by as much as 14.9% to hit a record high in morning trade, outperforming the benchmark KOSPI's 1.2% gain amid market speculation about a potential deeper tie-up with Nvidia. Shin Yoon-chul, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said Hyundai's announcement about the planned deployment in its factories of Atlas humanoid robots, made at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, was insufficient to fully explain the rally. He noted that robot production is planned at around 30,000 units by 2028 and that the Atlas product was showcased only as a static mock-up display. However, he said investor expectations appeared to be rising that Hyundai Motor Group's partnership with Nvidia could extend beyond a simple chip supply relationship, following a meeting between Hyundai Motor Group Chair Euisun Chung and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at CES.
Musk's xAI raises $20 billion in upsized Series E funding round
Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI announced Tuesday it raised $20 billion in an upsized Series E funding round, exceeding its $15 billion target as it ramps up development of new AI models and computing infrastructure. Valor Equity Partners, StepStone Group, Fidelity Management & Research Company and Qatar Investment Authority participated in the round, xAI said. Nvidia and Cisco Investments joined as strategic investors, and xAI said their backing would help it expand computing capacity.
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