2025-08-01 19:11

WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Four Democratic U.S. senators on Friday slammed last month's directive by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum requiring his office to review decisions on every wind and solar power project on federal lands, saying it will lead to delays and discourage private investment as power demand rises. The lawmakers said the directive creates a bottleneck that will block progress on wind and solar energy, which accounted for the vast majority of new U.S. power generation added to the grid last year. Sign up here. "Rather than ensuring an efficient permitting process for all energy resources, it appears this directive actively disfavors renewable projects in favor of more expensive, and more polluting, technologies" such as fossil fuels, said the letter to Burgum from Senators Martin Heinrich, Ron Wyden and two others. They urged Burgum to rescind the directive and restore a transparent and timely permitting framework for renewable energy. The Interior Department did not comment on the letter. But a spokesperson said the "enhanced oversight will ensure all evaluations are thorough and deliberative." President Donald Trump has called wind and solar unreliable and expensive, and has pushed policies to boost U.S. production of oil, gas and coal. Heinrich, ranking Democrat on the Senate energy committee, represents New Mexico, which has bountiful oil, gas, wind and solar resources. Interior has said the reviews would apply to rights-of-way, leases, construction and other permitting activities. Trump has ordered several measures aimed at restricting wind and solar. His spending law accelerated by several years the phase-out of tax credits for the renewable power sources. Solar and wind companies have said Interior's directive was at odds with Trump's broader goal to slash burdensome regulations and boost energy for new data centers and artificial intelligence, which are hiking U.S. power demand for the first time in two decades. Former President Joe Biden's Interior Department had been reviewing more than 65 utility-scale onshore clean energy projects, with nearly 200 more in the queue, the senators said. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/democrats-decry-extra-us-scrutiny-solar-wind-projects-public-lands-2025-08-01/

2025-08-01 18:46

CALGARY, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Construction costs at Canada's Woodfibre LNG project have increased, driving up capital costs for all partners involved, Canadian pipeline company Enbridge (ENB.TO) , opens new tab reported on Friday. The Woodfibre LNG project is a 2.1-million tonne liquefied natural gas export facility under construction near Squamish, British Columbia. The project is one of several new LNG facilities planned for Canada's Pacific coast, and is expected to be complete in 2027. Sign up here. The project's capital cost was initially estimated at US$5.1 billion. But Enbridge, which owns a 30% stake in the project, said Friday on a conference call that costs have recently increased due to permit delays, building code changes, a second floating hotel to accommodate workers, and challenging on-site conditions. "Our share of the project costs have increased from US$1.5 billion to US$2.9 billion, and our partners' proportionate share has increased similarly," an Enbridge spokesperson said in an email. The 70% remaining stake in the Woodfibre project is owned by Pacific Energy Corp Ltd, which is part of the Singapore-based RGE Group of companies. Woodfibre LNG did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. Enbridge said Friday it is still expecting low double-digit returns from the project, relatively consistent with what it had initially expected. The company remains excited about the project and the LNG market, Enbridge's spokesperson said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/construction-costs-rise-canadas-woodfibre-lng-project-2025-08-01/

2025-08-01 16:42

Strong corporate earnings boost market confidence AI-driven companies lead market gains Short-term volatility expected, but long-term outlook positive NEW YORK, July 31 (Reuters) - With more than half of second quarter earnings reported and stocks near record highs, company results have reassured investors about the artificial intelligence trade that has energized Wall Street, even if tariff worries curtailed buying. With results in from 297 of the S&P 500 companies as of Thursday, year-on-year earnings growth for the second quarter is now estimated at 9.8%, up from 5.8% estimated growth on July 1, according to LSEG data. Sign up here. Next week investors will get a peek at earnings from Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab constituents Disney (DIS.N) , opens new tab, McDonald's (MCD.N) , opens new tab and Caterpillar (CAT.N) , opens new tab, for a look at the broader economy. Strong profit reports for these companies could propel the Dow, trading just shy of its December record high, to a fresh peak. Some 81% of the companies have beaten analyst expectations on earnings, above the 76% average for the past four quarters. "The earnings season has been unambiguously better than expected," Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth in Boston, said. The strength of corporate earnings is particularly reassuring for investors after the pummeling sentiment took in the prior quarter due to the twin threats of tariffs and worries over flagging economic growth. "The first quarter was a bit more mixed and you had some questionable economic data ... which I think gave the market some pause," said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York. "But the second quarter seems to have just been a turnaround," Ghriskey said. The strength of results for names linked to the artificial intelligence trade - the investment thesis that AI will be a transformative force, driving a significant portion of future economic growth and company profits - is particularly heartening, investors and analysts said. "Overall it has been mega caps, growth/technology/AI that is driving a lot of the results," Ghriskey said. "This is where we want to be exposed in terms of companies ... we're at maximum equity exposures and we're comfortable there." Having boosted the market for several quarters, the trade ran into rough waters at the start of the year as the emergence of Chinese-founded artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek rattled investors, stoking concerns over heightened competition that could disrupt the dominance of established tech giants at the heart of the AI trade, including Nvidia. Strong results from Microsoft and Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab reassured investors that massive bets on AI are paying off. Worries over AI demand appear overblown, Macro Hive research analyst Viresh Kanabar said. The trade related tumult earlier this year prompted many investors to pare equity exposure, particularly to higher-risk growth stocks. Even after the market rebound - the S&P 500 is up about 6% for the year and near a record high - institutional investors have been slow to return to equities. Overall, investors' equity positioning is still only modestly overweight, according to Deutsche Bank estimates. Strength in earnings from AI and technology names could draw more investors and lift markets further in coming weeks, analysts said. "If you are trying to beat your benchmark and you were underweight any of the AI names you have to chase them," B. Riley Wealth's Hogan said. After S&P 500's 2.2% gain in July, the seasonally volatile months of August and September, markets might face some short-term turbulence, Hogan said. Historically, August has marked a pick-up in stock market gyrations that peaks in October. August kicked off with stocks selling off sharply on Friday as new U.S. tariffs on dozens of trading partners and Amazon's unimpressive earnings weighed on sentiment, while a weaker payrolls report added to risk aversion. But any near-term market pullback should be seen as a buying opportunity, especially in some of the mega-cap, technology names, Hogan said. With big AI names, Alphabet, Microsoft, Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Amazon, commanding about a quarter of the weight in the S&P 500, the health of the AI trade bodes well for the market at an index level, analysts said. "We're not saying the weakness isn't there in other parts of the economy," Kanabar said. "We're just saying at the index level, the largest companies dominate to such an extent (that) it doesn't matter to some at the moment." https://www.reuters.com/business/wall-st-week-ahead-ai-gains-strong-earnings-support-wall-street-tariff-woes-2025-08-01/

2025-08-01 16:20

SARB surprises by aiming for lower inflation level Finance minister yet to approve formal target change Top finance officials rarely disagree in public Raises questions about policy cohesion JOHANNESBURG, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The South African central bank's decision to lower its inflation target on Thursday without the sign-off of the finance ministry has raised questions among investors about policymaking cohesion in Africa's largest economy. South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana rarely disagree in public, but they have been at odds on this issue. Godongwana on Friday dismissed expectations that he would quickly endorse the bank's preference to aim for 3% inflation rather than the middle of the 3%-6% target range. Sign up here. Kim Silberman, portfolio manager at Matrix Fund Managers, said Thursday's SARB announcement raised "questions around where the mandate for inflation targeting sits". Markets nevertheless cheered the decision, with South African government bonds outperforming and yields at five-year lows. They are set for a 2.2% return this week, outstripping Turkey, Chile, Brazil and Mexico. Piotr Matys, senior FX analyst at InTouch Capital, said the SARB's commitment to anchor inflation would have long-term benefits. "But over the short term it could prove a risky move, being an additional burden on the economy that faces the prospect of tariffs to the U.S." Many investors' base case was that the target would eventually be lowered, but Kganyago going it alone gave investors a jolt. "The decision itself was no surprise to the market. It was the SARB's explicit preference to aim for the lower 3% band of its existing 3-6% CPI target, ahead of the National Treasury formally adjusting the target lower, that caught most by surprise," said Jeffrey Schultz, Head of CEEMEA Economics at BNP Paribas Markets 360. THE TARGET, OR THE PROCESS? Kganyago says the current target band is too wide and erodes competitiveness, while Godongwana says decisions on the target should not be taken without the necessary technical and political engagements. Inflation has moved below the current 4.5% target, and inflation expectations have dropped below that figure. Kganyago said on Thursday that the bank could lock in these gains and make sure that South Africans benefit from them. Godongwana, without openly disagreeing about inflation, said he wanted to stick to procedures for making any target changes. "Any adjustments to our inflation-targeting framework will follow the established consultation process," he said in a statement on Friday. "This means comprehensive consultation between National Treasury, the Reserve Bank, Cabinet, and relevant stakeholders – not unilateral announcements that pre-empt legitimate policy deliberation." Lowering the inflation target could cause some short-term pain. Some analysts, like those at Goldman Sachs, expect the central bank may front-load interest rate cuts. That's based on inflation forecasts more benign than those of the central bank. But equally, it may find itself constrained and need to keep them higher for longer to combat global risks and to force prices lower. Wages and prices also adjust slowly, likely resulting in lower spending, faltering investment, and job losses before benefits can be felt. Trade unions have previously voiced their objections. Governor Kganyago pointed to Section 224 of the constitution, which states the bank must protect the value of the currency, Silberman said. "According to the MPC (Monetary Policy Committee), this decision is procedurally equivalent to when the SARB announced in 2017 that it would explicitly target 4.5%," said Silberman at Matrix Fund Managers. "Despite any possible tensions between the two institutions, we do not expect that the latest change in the MPC’s reaction function with respect to targeting 3.0% will be retracted," she added. At Thursday's briefing, Kganyago said: "Changing policy is never easy." "What you can't do is to refuse to make a decision, because there are costs to a policy. There are costs in sticking to the existing target as well," he said. The finance ministry has previously voiced concerns about the impact on consumers, said Annabel Bishop, chief economist at Investec. "But the MPC has said it will be flexible in aiming to achieve 3% sustainably." https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africas-finance-minister-central-bank-governor-odds-over-inflation-target-2025-08-01/

2025-08-01 13:58

BERLIN, Aug 1 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday said the European Union will negotiate with the United States on steel, focusing on quotas that can be exported without too high tariffs, after the two sides struck a trade deal last month. The EU's trade deal with Trump in July was greeted with a mix of relief and anger, with tariffs set at 15% for most products but negotiations continuing for certain sectors, including steel and aluminium, which carries tariffs of 50%. Sign up here. The task now is to work out the "fine print," Merz said in the city of Saarbruecken. "This will particularly concern quotas that we can then export without being burdened with excessive tariffs." Merz described the agreement as "painful" for the entire European industry but said the EU was not in a position to trigger a full-blown trade dispute. "There would have been only losers, and the biggest losers would probably have been us, the Europeans." https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germanys-merz-will-negotiate-steel-export-quotas-with-us-2025-08-01/

2025-08-01 13:53

BEIJING, Aug 1 (Reuters) - China's central bank has set up a macroprudential and financial stability committee to help defuse financial risks, it said on Friday, pledging to maintain accommodative policy. In its mid-year work summary, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said it will focus on preventing and resolving key financial risks, supporting local government financing platforms in debt resolution, and managing risks in key regions and institutions in an orderly way. Sign up here. It will further strengthen risk monitoring, assessment, and macroprudential management, it said. The PBOC will continue to implement an "appropriately loose" monetary policy in the second half of this year, use various monetary policy tools to keep liquidity ample and guide financial institutions to sustain reasonable credit growth. The central bank will ensure the financing needs of Chinese trade-related firms, and maintain the flexibility of the yuan exchange rate, it said. The PBOC also pledged to push yuan internationalisation "in a steady and prudent" manner, expand the yuan's use in trade, strengthen its role as a financing currency, and optimise policies for currency pools and overseas listings of domestic firms. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/chinas-central-bank-sets-up-new-financial-stability-committee-2025-08-01/