2025-07-22 20:53

NEW YORK, July 22 (Reuters) - MISO, a top North American power grid operator, will fast-track the process for new power plants to connect to the grid after U.S. federal regulators approved the plan, the organization said on Tuesday. WHY IT MATTERS U.S. grids have seen demand shoot up in recent months from Big Tech data centers, sending the country's electricity consumption to record highs and creating a sudden urgency to quickly add new electricity supplies. Sign up here. MISO, which controls the flow of electricity on transmission lines across 15 states and the Canadian province of Manitoba, will reduce the interconnection study process time for some power plant projects seeking to connect to the grid. The measure is "a temporary and targeted solution designed to bring urgently needed generation resources online quickly amid unprecedented load growth and increasing reliability challenges," MISO said in a statement. THE DETAILS MISO's plan follows a similar effort by PJM Interconnection, which is the biggest U.S. power grid, to cut the time it takes to approve new additions to the grid. A maximum of 68 projects will be processed under the expedited program, which will sunset by August 31, 2027. The projects must show they can be up and running in three-to-six years. MISO will start accepting the expedited interconnection requests next month, with the first quarterly study starting on September 2. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/miso-speed-up-power-plant-grid-connections-after-us-approval-2025-07-22/

2025-07-22 20:41

PARIS, July 22 (Reuters) - France's EDF is cutting its headcount overseas and scrapping bids on some nuclear projects abroad as it focuses on a major construction programme at home under new CEO Bernard Fontana, said two sources familiar with the matter. France, once a global leader in nuclear energy and Europe's largest nuclear power producer, is pulling back at a time of global calls for nuclear expansion, opening the door to new players as high costs and design issues hurt its ability to compete internationally. Sign up here. Fontana was appointed in April to take over the state-run utility after the government became increasingly frustrated with EDF's slow progress in revamping the French nuclear fleet. The new chief executive told a parliamentary hearing on his nomination that he would focus on developing the company's domestic nuclear projects rather than its international business, which employs hundreds of people and has previously built reactors in China, Finland and Britain. He has outlined changes to the overseas business in recent weeks, said the sources, including pulling back from some bids to build reactors outside Europe. The company will focus on tenders for nuclear projects in the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland, where it has a higher chance of winning the bids, said an industry source familiar with the plans. It will also de-prioritise projects in Poland, India, Canada and elsewhere outside Europe, the person said. Reducing its international footprint will allow it to cut costs and redirect people to higher-priority projects, said another industry source familiar with the situation. EDF's recent international projects have faced long delays and cost overruns. Last year it lost out to South Korea's KHNP in a bid for two new reactors in the Czech Republic. Fontana will also reduce headcount on the international sales team, said the sources, with one saying there are plans to cut about 60 jobs, including 10 managers. No decision has been made, EDF said. The group continues its international activities while remaining attentive to the profitability of its commitments, the company said. Europe has always been its first priority and it is focusing on strengthening its European supply chains, a spokesperson for the company said. "The new French nuclear programme is the group's priority," said an official in Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's office. President Emmanuel Macron announced plans in early 2022 for six new French reactors to replace ageing plants and secure future energy supplies, with costs estimated at 67 billion euros ($78.7 billion), according to a media report last year. The company is heavily indebted, however, after expensive repairs to its nuclear fleet in recent years. EDF is also looking to sell some of its renewable energy assets in North America and Brazil. The company's subsidiaries Framatome and Arabelle, which produce reactor parts, will continue to bid to supply international projects, such as the AP 1000 in Poland, one of the sources added. ($1 = 0.8516 euros) (This story has been corrected to fix the location of the AP 1000 reactor to Poland, not Canada, in paragraph 18) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/frances-edf-withdraw-some-overseas-projects-cut-jobs-sources-say-2025-07-22/

2025-07-22 20:32

GM maintains tariff impact of $4 billion to $5 billion for the year Automakers shift focus to gas vehicles as EV demand slows, tax credits end Shares down 8% Tuesday EV growth slows, GM invests in gas-powered vehicle production GM's US sales rise 7%, strong pricing on trucks and SUVs July 22 (Reuters) - General Motors' (GM.N) , opens new tab second-quarter earnings took a $1.1-billion hit from tariffs, but the automaker still beat analyst expectations for the period on Tuesday, supported by strong sales of its core gasoline trucks and SUVs. The largest U.S. automaker by sales said it expects the tariff impact to worsen in the third quarter and stuck to a previous estimate that trade headwinds threaten to hit the bottom line by $4 billion to $5 billion this year. GM said it could take steps to mitigate at least 30% of that impact. Sign up here. Shares fell 8%. The automaker's revenue in the quarter ended June 30 fell nearly 2% to about $47 billion from a year ago. Its quarterly adjusted earnings per share fell to $2.53 compared with $3.06 a year earlier. Analysts on average expected adjusted profit of $2.44 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. Its adjusted earnings before interest and taxes fell 32% to $3 billion. GM was among corporations that revised annual guidance due to the impact from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, lowering it to an annual adjusted core profit of between $10 billion and $12.5 billion. The company on Tuesday stood by that forecast. CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson wrote in a Tuesday morning note that one of the reasons shares dropped was because investors were disappointed the automaker did not raise guidance. Beyond tariffs, GM’s underlying business in the quarter was solid. Sales in the U.S. market – its main source of profit – rose 7%, while the company continued to command strong pricing on its pickup trucks and SUVs. GM swung back to a small profit in China, after losing money there a year earlier. Analysts said GM may need to cut investment in future projects or find other ways to trim spending to offset the effect of tariffs. The automaker is so far keeping pricing consistent and absorbing added tariff costs rather than passing them on to customers. Jeep-maker Stellantis (STLAM.MI) , opens new tab on Monday warned that tariffs would significantly affect results in the second half of 2025, and said tariffs cost it about 300 million euros in the first half of the year. Shares of Ford Motor (F.N) , opens new tab fell about 1% on Tuesday, and U.S.-traded shares of Stellantis edged up less than 1%. GM took several steps in recent months to bolster its combustion-engine operations through increased investment in its U.S. factory base, calling into question its goal of ending the production of gas-powered cars and trucks by 2035. "Despite slower EV industry growth, we believe the long-term future is profitable electric vehicle production, and this continues to be our north star," GM CEO Mary Barra told analysts Tuesday. GM announced in June that it would invest $4 billion at three U.S. facilities in Michigan, Kansas, and Tennessee, including a plan to move production of the Cadillac Escalade and increase output of its two big pickup trucks. It added production of its previously Mexico-produced Chevy Blazer to the Tennessee plant. The automaker imports about half of the vehicles it sells in the U.S., mainly from Mexico and South Korea. Crosstown rival Ford produces about 80% of its U.S.-sold vehicles domestically. Ford is expected to report second-quarter results next week Car companies are increasingly shifting their focus to bolstering the core lineup of gas trucks and SUVs, as the growth rate of EV sales has slowed. Demand for battery-powered models already has slowed after rapid growth earlier this decade. The trend is intensified by the pending disappearance of government support for the battery-powered models. Sweeping tax and budget legislation approved by Congress will eliminate $7,500 tax credits for buying or leasing new electric vehicles and a $4,000 used-EV credit at the end of September. Trump also signed tax and budget legislation that eliminates fines for failures to meet fuel economy rules, a move that makes it easier to build more gas-powered vehicles. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/trump-tariffs-take-1-billion-bite-out-gm-earnings-shares-fall-2025-07-22/

2025-07-22 20:25

MEXICO CITY, July 22 (Reuters) - Mexican broadcaster Televisa (TLEVISACPO.MX) , opens new tab on Tuesday reported a net profit of 474.5 million pesos ($25.3 million) for the second quarter, landing in the black after logging a 25.6 million peso loss in the year-ago period. Revenues slid 6%, meanwhile, to 14.73 billion pesos, in line with the estimate from analysts polled by LSEG. Sign up here. ($1 = 18.7654 pesos at end-June) https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/mexican-broadcaster-televisa-flips-profit-second-quarter-2025-07-22/

2025-07-22 20:20

US dollar subdued as investors await tariff clarity Gold extends gains against soft dollar US-EU trade deal prospects fade as deadline nears Oil prices drop amid demand concerns NEW YORK, July 22 (Reuters) - The Dow gained while the Nasdaq lost ground on Tuesday and crude settled lower as investors assessed a spate of mixed earnings and signs that President Donald Trump's protracted trade war is hitting corporate profit margins, even as Trump's dealmaking deadline approached. The S&P 500 closed with nominal gains as underperforming tech shares (.SPLRCT) , opens new tab dragged the Nasdaq into the red. Sign up here. Gold extended its gains in opposition to the softening dollar, and U.S. Treasury yields eased for the third-straight session. "(Investors are) looking for additional catalysts and you're seeing some cautious comments coming out of companies," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut. "They're hearing mixed guidance when it comes to all this uncertainty revolving around tariffs and the direction things are heading." Second-quarter earnings season has hit full stride, with nearly one-fifth of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 79% have beaten analyst expectations, according to LSEG data. Analysts expect year-on-year S&P 500 earnings growth of 7%, on aggregate, a sizable improvement over the 5.8% growth predicted as of July 1, per LSEG. Still, the effects of the trade war have begun seeping into corporate results. General Motors' (GM.N) , opens new tab second-quarter core profit slid 32% as steep tariff costs took a $1.1-billion bite from its bottom line. Prospects of a U.S.-European Union trade deal appeared to be fading as Washington's August 1 deadline loomed, prompting EU members to ramp up possible "anti-coercion" retaliatory measures. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday he would meet with his Chinese counterpart to discuss delaying the August 12 trade talks deadline with China again, as the world's two largest economies wrestle with the flow of technology and rare earth materials. "These are pretty classic negotiations; nothing ever happens until it has to happen," says Chuck Carlson, CEO at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana. "Nothing gets done until the deadline, then either the deadline gets extended or there's some resolution that comes out of nowhere." "The flip side of this is Trump's going to have to follow through eventually," Carlson added. "Otherwise, he’s going to be the boy that cried wolf, and his negotiating power is going to be sapped because people will believe he's never going to follow through." The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 179.12 points, or 0.40%, to 44,502.19, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab rose 3.99 points, or 0.06%, to 6,309.59 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab fell 81.49 points, or 0.39%, to 20,892.69. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab rose 0.68 points, or 0.07%, to 930.31. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) , opens new tab index fell 0.41%, while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index (.FTEU3) , opens new tab fell 8.50 points, or 0.39% Emerging market stocks (.MSCIEF) , opens new tab fell 3.93 points, or 0.31%, to 1,249.53. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) , opens new tab closed lower by 0.17%, to 657.56, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) , opens new tab fell 44.19 points, or 0.11%, to 39,774.92. The dollar continued to edge lower amid a subdued currency market as investors awaited any sign of progress in trade talks ahead of the August 1 deadline. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.5% to 97.36, with the euro up 0.49% at $1.1752. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar weakened 0.56% to 146.56. Bitcoin gained 1.98% to $119,320.90. Ethereum declined 2.41% to $3,668.31. U.S. Treasury yields appeared set to notch a third-straight day of declines as the market took a breather on the heels of Monday's rally. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 2.8 basis points to 4.342%, from 4.37% late on Monday. The 30-year bond yield fell 2.6 basis points to 4.9111% from 4.937% late on Monday. The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, fell 1.9 basis points to 3.833%, from 3.852% late on Monday. U.S. crude slid 1.47% to settle at $66.21 per barrel, while Brent settled at $68.59 per barrel, down 0.9%. Spot gold rose 1.07% to $3,431.87 an ounce. U.S. gold futures rose 1.15% to $3,441.00 an ounce. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-update-6-graphic0-2025-07-22/

2025-07-22 20:18

MEXICO CITY, July 22 (Reuters) - Mexico's finance ministry announced an upcoming operation on Tuesday aimed at strengthening the finances of the country's heavily-indebted state energy company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex). In a statement, the ministry said the operation would consist of issuing financing instruments called pre-capitalized notes, but that the operation would not constitute a guarantee for the company. Sign up here. The ministry's statement did not say how much the sale aimed at raising for Pemex. Earlier on Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported, citing unnamed sources, that the government was looking to raise between $7 billion and $10 billion with the sale. Pemex, the world's most indebted energy company, has an outstanding debt with an extensive list of suppliers and contractors of around $20 billion, in addition to another financial debt of $101 billion, despite the injection of billions of dollars from the government in the last few years to face the amortizations. Pemex's international dollar bonds rallied on Tuesday after the government announced the debt operation. Pemex bonds rose across the curve, with the 2050 issue up 2.6 cents at 80.65 cents on the dollar. Most maturities between 2027 and 2031 rose over 1 cent each. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/mexico-announces-debt-sale-fortify-pemexs-troubled-finances-2025-07-22/