Russia suspends Chinese citizens from entry to Russia from Feb. 20

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia will suspend entry of Chinese citizens to its territory starting from Feb. 20, Russian authorities in charge of coronavirus prevention said on Tuesday.

The suspension will be for Chinese citizens entering Russia for employment, private, educational and tourist purposes. The suspension will be temporary, the statement said.

Sugar exports expected to pick up

About 9 million tonnes deficit in global market; prices go up

Indian sugar exports are expected to gain momentum in the coming months as global sugar prices have increased.

According to a press statement from the Indian Sugar Mills’ Association (ISMA), there is a deficit of nearly nine million tonnes in the global market during the 2019-2020 sugar season and Thailand’s exports are likely to be 3-4 million tonnes lesser due to lower production there.

Global sugar prices for raw and white sugar are currently 20% to 25% more than what prevailed three months ago, when India started its exports. Accordingly, Indian sugar exports may get accelerated in the coming months, the ISMA said. Nearly 16 lakh tonnes of sugar have been exported so far this season of the 32 lakh tonnes for which contracts have been signed.

Some of the sugar mills do not plan to export sugar against their allocated export quotas and some have surrendered a part of their MAEQ (Maximum Admissible Export Quantity) to the government.

It is understood that the government is actively considering reallocation of quotas of mills that have not contracted the stipulated quantity for exports, the association said. By the end of the current season, which started last October and will end in September this year, the total sugar exports from the country is expected to be more than 50 lakh tonnes.

On the production front, as on February 15, the mills had produced 169.85 lakh tonnes of sugar as against 219.66 lakh tonnes during the corresponding period last season.

Dell To Sell Cybersecurity Division RSA For $2.075 Bln

A consortium led by Symphony Technology Group, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and AlpInvest Partners have agreed to buy Dell Technologies’ (DELL) cybersecurity division RSA in an all-cash transaction for $2.075 billion.

The deal includes the purchase of RSA Archer, RSA NetWitness Platform, RSA SecurID, RSA Fraud and Risk Intelligence and RSA Conference. The deal is expected to close in the next six to nine months. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

RSA provides risk, security and fraud teams with the ability to manage digital risk, including threat detection and response, identity and access management, integrated risk management and omnichannel fraud prevention.

“As one of the world’s elite security brands, RSA represents a great opportunity for solving some of the rapidly developing customer challenges that go along with digital transformation,” said William Chisholm, Managing Partner at Symphony Technology Group. “We are excited and fully committed to maximizing the power of RSA’s talent, expertise and tremendous growth potential and continuing RSA’s strategy to serve customers with a holistic approach to managing their digital risk.”

The transaction is subject to customary conditions. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Dell Technologies. Hogan Lovells is acting as legal advisor to Dell Technologies.

Bunge agrees to buy two Brazil soy plants, assume debts -sources

SAO PAULO, Feb 18 (Reuters) – The Brazilian unit of U.S. grains trader Bunge has agreed to buy two soy processing plants in Paraná state from local crusher Imcopa and assume debts related to the plants, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The sources said Bunge agreed to pay about 50 million reais ($12 million) for the plants and assume related debts of around 1 billion reais. On the website of Imcopa, which is undergoing a restructuring in bankruptcy court, the company touts capacity to crush 1.5 million tonnes of soybean per year, producing up to 240,000 tonnes of soy protein concentrate.

3 arrests after protesters attempt to block B.C. Premier John Horgan’s home ahead of budget

Three people have been arrested after protesters attempted to block the home of B.C. Premier John Horgan on Tuesday morning.

The protesters appeared to be associated with the group Extinction Rebellion, which had been planning to disrupt the B.C. budget, set to be unveiled on Tuesday afternoon.

Trump commutes sentence of former Illinois Gov. Blagojevich

President Donald Trump has commuted the sentence of former Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Blagojevich had been serving time on multiple federal corruption convictions related to trying to personally profit from his power to fill the Senate seat vacated by former President Barack Obama. Trump previously had indicated that he was reviewing the possibility of commuting Blagojevich’s sentence.

Gold futures mark highest settlement since March 2013

Gold futures rallied on Tuesday to log their highest finish since late March 2013, with analysts attributing the rise to expectations for central bank stimulus as the spread of COVID-19 raised concerns about the global economy. April gold GCJ20, +1.08% rose $17.20, or 1.1%, to settle at $1,603.60 an ounce. That was the highest most-active contract settlement since March 27, 2013, FactSet data show.