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US delegate trip sees $50m investment for NI – BBC.com

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The New York State pension fund is to invest up to $50m (£41m) in Northern Ireland businesses.

The fund’s comptroller Tom DiNapoli made the announcement as part of a US investment mission to Northern Ireland.

The investment will be made indirectly via an allocation to private equity funds.

The pension fund has previously invested in Northern Ireland in this way.

The announcement came on the first day of a delegation of business people led by the United States Special Envoy Joe Kennedy III.

US President Joe Biden promised the delegation when he visited Northern Ireland earlier this year.

He said “scores” of US firms wanted to come to Northern Ireland; some already employing over 30,000 people.

The delegation is a blend of US companies already present in Northern Ireland and potential investors.

Tom DiNapoli

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Mr DiNapoli told the BBC the fund’s interest in Northern Ireland stretches back to a meeting with the late first and deputy first ministers Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness.

“They said ‘we’re coming together to put the past behind us and we’re looking for opportunities to grow the economy and we’d love New York State through its pension fund to be part of that’.”

The size of deals on offer in Northern Ireland would be too small for the pension fund to invest directly.

Therefore it provides capital to an external fund manager who sources the deals, does the due diligence and makes the investment decisions.

Mr DiNapoli said that when the fund first invested in NI he hoped that other US pension funds would follow.

“That hasn’t quite happened but I think there’s the opportunity now given that we’ve been doing it and doing it successfully.

“I hope with this renewed effort under Joe Kennedy and President Biden folks will pull me aside and ask ‘has it really been working for you?’ and I can say it has.”

Who are the delegates?

It is understood this week’s delegation includes representatives from other investment funds, including the California state pension fund.

The delegates include Tim Sweeney, the chief executive of Liberty Mutual Insurance, which has a major IT operation in Northern Ireland, as well as a local insurance business.

Also present will be John Murphy, the president and chief financial officer of Coca-Cola.

On Tuesday, the company launched a new canning line which has created 35 jobs as part of a £17m expansion of its site near Lisburn.

Mr Kennedy suggested the trip would be a learning experience for some delegates who had not previously considered Northern Ireland.

“They will learn about Northern Ireland’s highly skilled and motivated talent pool, driven by its world-class universities and colleges,” he added.

In the absence of devolved ministers the delegation will be hosted by the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Jayne Brady.

She said there had been a “collaborative effort between business, academia and government” to showcase key elements of the region as an investment proposition.

“We will be providing curated sessions across Northern Ireland to highlight sectors, where we already compete globally, including advanced manufacturing and net zero, software and fintech, life and health sciences and the creative industries,” Ms Brady added.

Strong jobs market ‘may be weakening’

Meanwhile, new figures show the unemployment rate in Northern Ireland has returned to its record low but other measures suggest the job market may be weakening.

The unemployment rate of 2.3% in June-August equalled the low point recorded in the autumn of 2019.

However, the monthly measurement of how many people are claiming unemployment benefits rose in September.

There were just under 38,000 claimants, the highest number since February 2022.

interviewees in a waiting room

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Official data also show the total number of weekly hours worked in Northern Ireland between June and August was estimated at 27.7m, a decrease of 3.1% on the previous quarter.

A falling number of hours worked can suggest employers are taking measures such as cutting back on overtime.

The publication of these labour market figures had been delayed because the Office of National Statistics had been concerned about the falling response rate to its Labour Force Survey (LFS) in Great Britain.

It has published what amounts to an adjusted version of the LFS for Great Britain.

Response rates to the survey in Northern Ireland have been much better so the NI Statistics and Research Agency has published unadjusted figures.

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Tesla shares soar more than 14% as Trump win is seen boosting Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company

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NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.

“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”

Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.

Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.

Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.

In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.

The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.

Tesla began selling the software, which is called “Full Self-Driving,” nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability.

The stock is now showing a 16.1% gain for the year after rising the past two days.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.

The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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S&P/TSX up more than 200 points, U.S. markets also higher

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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