2025-07-16 20:35
July 16 (Reuters) - Kinder Morgan (KMI.N) , opens new tab posted a 24% rise in second-quarter profit on Wednesday, as higher volumes of natural gas were transported through its pipelines and demand for the company's infrastructure rose. Pipeline operators such as Kinder Morgan are benefiting from an increase in demand for natgas, primarily driven by LNG exports as well as rising electricity needs. Sign up here. The United States was the largest exporter of LNG in 2024, and exports of the superchilled gas are expected to increase even further, as new terminals come online after President Donald Trump lifted a pause on new permits in January. Kinder Morgan has long-term contracts to move 8 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of natural gas to LNG facilities and expects to move 12 bcfd by 2028. "With historic growing natural gas demand forecasts, a positive federal regulatory environment, and highly supportive federal permitting agencies, the future for our company is very bright," said Executive Chairman Richard Kinder. "We are also actively pursuing well over 5 Bcfd of opportunities to serve the natural gas power generation sector," Kinder added. Roughly 50% of the company's $9.3 billion project backlog is dedicated to projects supporting power generation. Kinder Morgan's results come as the energy industry braces for the impact of Trump's tariffs on most imports, which the company said poses "some challenges". It expects tariffs to impact only 1% of the existing project costs. The company, which moves roughly 40% of the country's total natural gas output, said it transported about 44,585 billion British thermal units per day of natgas in the reported quarter, compared with 43,123 BBtu/d last year. Total delivery volumes, which includes refined products such as jet fuel and diesel fuel, also rose over 2% to 2.21 million barrels per day. The Houston, Texas-based company's net income came in at $715 million, or 32 cents per share, for the second quarter, compared with $575 million, or 26 cents per share, last year. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/pipeline-operator-kinder-morgan-posts-higher-second-quarter-profit-2025-07-16/
2025-07-16 20:04
July 16 - Holders of the digital tokens issued by World Liberty Financial, one of the crypto ventures of the family of Donald Trump, voted on Wednesday to make them tradeable, paving the way for their wide sale and purchase -- potentially boosting the value of the president's holdings of them. The World Liberty tokens, known as $WLFI, were sold to investors after the Trump family and their partners launched the venture - a "decentralised finance" platform that has also issued a stablecoin - last autumn. Sign up here. The tokens were not made tradeable at their initial sale. Instead, they gave holders a right to vote on some changes to the business, such as its underlying code. Early investors have said the primary draw of $WLFI was the connection to Trump and, in turn, their expectations the tokens would grow in value due to his backing. Making the tokens tradeable would see investors determine their price, enabling speculation, earning trading fees for exchanges that list them and likely stoking interest from a wider swath of crypto investors. The extent to which the Trump family, which reaps three-quarters of revenues from the initial sales of the tokens, will benefit from their wider trading is not clear. Gains in the tokens' price would, however, swell the value of the family's token holdings, the exact level of which is unclear. World Liberty and Trump's other crypto businesses have faced criticism from Democratic lawmakers and ethics experts as the president's administration reshapes regulations in the booming crypto sector. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and Democratic Representative Maxine Waters sent a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year in which they said, "The Trump family's financial stake in World Liberty Financial represents an unprecedented conflict of interest with the potential to influence the Trump Administration's oversight—or lack thereof—of the cryptocurrency industry." The World Liberty tokens have not been designated as securities by the SEC, meaning they are not subject to the same scrutiny as investments like stocks. The White House has said Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children and that there are no conflicts of interest. The White House has not released the details of the trust arrangement. The Trump family business has been placed into a trust whose sole beneficiary is the president, meaning that the hundreds of millions of dollars from crypto deals struck while Trump is in office could hypothetically be withdrawn at any time, or at the latest, be at his disposal when he leaves office in less than four years. Trump's company, DT Marks DEFI LLC, was set to receive 22.5 billion out of a total 100 billion $WLFI tokens, according to a description of the project released in October. The president held 15.75 billion of the tokens at the end of last year, according to a public financial disclosure report published last month. The Trump family has made around $500 million from World Liberty since the platform was launched, according to Reuters calculations based on the company's terms and conditions, transactions traced by crypto analysis firms and publicly-disclosed deals. Asked by Reuters how the vote would impact the value of $WLFI tokens held by Trump and his family, the White House press office said: "This is not an inquiry for the White House." The Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment. In response to Reuters' questions about how the tokens will become tradable, a World Liberty spokesperson said: "Additional details are forthcoming." The venture says on its website that making $WLFI tradeable "brings us one step closer to building a more open, transparent, and powerful financial system." "The American public should be very concerned about the president's vested interests in the cryptocurrency market," said Chris Swartz, a former longtime attorney at the U.S. government's Office of Government Ethics, including under both Trump administrations, who now serves as senior ethics counsel for Democracy Defenders Action, a legal advocacy group. "Not only is it a potential conduit for foreign emoluments and other illicit payments, but it puts the president in competition against other cryptocurrency issuers at the same time he is advocating for digital asset marketplace legislation. That is a clear conflict of interest." 99.9% SUPPORT The World Liberty proposal to "formally initiate the tradability of the token," posted on its website on July 9, was approved by 99.94% of around 20,900 votes. Some voters cited expectations of price gains or support for Trump as reasons for their choice. "We invested to get rich," one wrote on the World Liberty website. "To make america great again," wrote another. The identities of nearly all holders are hidden behind wallet addresses. A Milan-based person using the name Paolo, who declined to give his full name, told Reuters he had bought 95,000 $WLFI tokens for about $5,000. $WLFI tokens were sold in two initial tranches at $0.015 and $0.05. Paolo said he voted in favour of making the tokens tradeable and planned to hold the tokens until they reach $12. "Then I try to buy more when the price drops," he said. The World Liberty proposal said the timing for making the tokens tradeable, and the eligibility requirements, would be determined at a later, unspecified date. Tokens held by World Liberty's founders, team and advisers would not be initially "unlocked" for trading and would be subject to a longer "unlock schedule," it said. The implementation of approved proposals would "occur within a reasonable time from the passage of the applicable proposal,” according to the project description from October. https://www.reuters.com/business/trumps-world-liberty-crypto-tokens-become-tradable-2025-07-16/
2025-07-16 19:27
House aims to advance three cryptocurrency bills Stablecoin framework bill poised for Trump's signature after House approval Republicans look to attach central bank digital currency bill to defense spending measure WASHINGTON, July 16 (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives cleared key procedural hurdles on crypto legislation on Wednesday, a day after President Donald Trump intervened to save the initiative, paving the way for the first federal law for digital assets. The votes came after more than nine hours of private talks as leaders worked to win over lawmakers skeptical of how the package was structured. Sign up here. A bill to establish a federal framework for stablecoins is likely to be the first to be passed, in what would be a watershed victory for the crypto industry. It has already been approved by the Senate, and if approved by the House, it would go to Trump for his signature. Stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value, usually a 1:1 dollar peg, are commonly used by crypto traders to move funds. They have gained much momentum in recent years, offering faster and cheaper transaction costs than moving money through a bank. In addition to stablecoins, the House is set to consider a bill to establish market structure rules for crypto products, including defining when the products are a commodity and not subject to oversight from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Senate has yet to take up a similar measure. The third bill, strongly backed by conservatives, would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital currency of its own. Some Republicans argue a Fed digital currency could give the government too much control over Americans' finances. Current Fed leaders have said they are not considering such an initiative. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said on X late Wednesday that the third bill would be attached to a separate defense authorization bill as part of the overall compromise. House Republicans had suffered a setback in their bid to advance the bills on Tuesday, when several conservative Republicans joined with Democrats to block an earlier procedural vote. But Trump met with the hold-outs and paved the way for another vote on Wednesday. Even after those talks, subsequent procedural votes required to consider the legislation proved fraught, as Republican leaders had to spend several hours convincing conservative lawmakers to allow the bills to proceed. A handful of members had resisted efforts to consider the three main pieces of crypto legislation separately. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-house-clears-procedural-hurdle-cryptocurrency-legislation-2025-07-16/
2025-07-16 19:24
Bank of America timeline unclear Morgan Stanley monitoring stablecoin developments Citigroup considering issuing stablecoin for digital payments NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters) - Some large U.S. lenders, including Bank of America (BAC.N) , opens new tab and Citibank (C.N) , opens new tab, are working on launching stablecoins at a time when the country is looking to adopt more crypto-friendly regulations. BofA CEO Brian Moynihan said on Wednesday the bank is working on launching a stablecoin, and investors can expect the lender to move forward with it, without giving a timeline. Sign up here. Stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value, are usually pegged to a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar and are commonly used by crypto traders to move funds between tokens. "We feel both the industry and ourselves will have responses. We've done a lot of work," Moynihan, CEO of the second-largest U.S. bank, said. "We are still trying to figure out how big or small it is, because in some places there are not big amounts of money movement. So you would expect us all to move, our company to move on that," Moynihan told analysts on a post-earnings conference call. Moynihan said Bank of America was trying to understand client demand, which was not high currently, and would roll out a stablecoin at an appropriate time, likely in partnership with other players. He compared banks' interest in stablecoin with their adoption of peer-to-peer digital payments platforms such as Zelle and Venmo. U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to be the "crypto president," popularizing its mainstream use in the country. A series of crypto industry-friendly bills is expected to progress through Congress this week, paving the way for digital assets to potentially further integrate into traditional finance. One of the most notable is a bill that would establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins and is likely to advance to Trump's desk for approval. The banks are still awaiting legal clarity, Moynihan said, explaining why progress has been slower than some investors anticipated. Morgan Stanley (MS.N) , opens new tab Chief Financial Officer Sharon Yeshaya said on Wednesday the bank was following stablecoin developments closely. "We're looking both at the landscape, the uses, and the potential uses for our own client base. But, it really is a little early to tell, especially for the businesses we run versus businesses that you might see from competitors, on how a stablecoin would play in," she added. Citigroup (C.N) , opens new tab CEO Jane Fraser also said the bank may issue a stablecoin to facilitate digital payments. "We are looking at the issuance of a Citi stablecoin," she told analysts after reporting earnings on Tuesday. "This is a good opportunity for us." JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) , opens new tab CEO Jamie Dimon, who has been a vocal skeptic of bitcoin, said on Tuesday the bank will be involved in stablecoins, without giving details. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/bank-america-expects-launch-stablecoins-morgan-stanley-weighs-use-2025-07-16/
2025-07-16 18:37
Carney introduces new steel tariffs on trade partners to protect the domestic steel industry Canada introduces C$1 billion fund for steel industry projects Domestic steel prioritized in government procurement, Carney says TORONTO, July 16 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday said Canada will introduce a tariff rate quota for countries with which it has free trade agreements, excluding the United States, to protect the domestic steel industry. A 50% tariff will apply to imports from these countries that surpass the 2024 volumes, though Canada will honor existing arrangements with its United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade partners, Carney said. Sign up here. Canada will implement additional tariffs of 25% on steel imports from all countries containing steel melted and poured in China before the end of July. Carney is responding to complaints from the domestic industry, which had said that other countries are diverting steel to Canada and making the domestic industry uncompetitive due to U.S. tariffs. The Canadian steel industry had asked the government to introduce tougher anti-dumping measures to protect the domestic industry. U.S. President Donald Trump increased import duties on steel and aluminum to 50% from 25% earlier this month. Canada is the top seller of steel to the United States. Carney also said domestic steel companies would be prioritized in government procurement, and he introduced a C$1 billion fund to help steel companies advance projects in industries such as defense. "These measures will ensure Canadian steel producers are more competitive by protecting them against trade diversion resulting from a fast-changing global environment for steel," Carney said on Wednesday. For countries without free trade agreements with Canada, the government lowered the tariff-free quota to 50% of 2024 volumes from 100% previously. Above the quota, imports will also face a 50% tariff. Catherine Cobden, president and CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, in an interview with the CBC, said the timing wasn't sufficient for domestic steelmakers confronting a crisis. "This is something we should have been doing all along, but it's fantastic to see that we are making progress," Cobden told the CBC. In a separate statement, Canadian steel maker Evraz said it has filed a complaint against steel imports from Mexico, the Philippines, South Korea, Turkey and the United States, against unfairly priced imports of Oil Country Tubular Goods. (This story has been refiled to add the dropped word 'steel' in the headline) https://www.reuters.com/world/china/canada-announces-new-tariff-measures-imported-steel-protect-domestic-industry-2025-07-16/
2025-07-16 18:35
July 16 (Reuters) - Clean energy companies are asking California leaders for help getting their projects going before changes to federal subsidies in President Donald Trump's sweeping new tax and spending law make them more expensive and difficult to build. In a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom and state legislative leaders circulated on Wednesday, five trade groups representing solar, wind and energy storage companies called on the state to speed environmental reviews and project approvals, initiate new clean-energy procurement and allow more facilities to be sited on agricultural lands. Sign up here. The groups said rollbacks to clean energy tax credits and stricter rules on when a project is considered to have started construction threatened billions of dollars in investment and the Golden State's climate change goals. "Taken together, the new federal landscape creates a serious risk of delay or cancellation for dozens of utility-scale solar and wind projects across the state, threatening jobs, reliability, and progress toward California’s clean energy targets," the letter said. The plea comes two weeks after Trump signed a Republican-passed law that effectively phases out wind and solar energy tax credits after 2026 if projects haven't started construction. For projects that begin construction after that, they must be placed in service by the end of 2027. In addition, Trump last week directed the Treasury Department, within 45 days, to tighten the rules on who can claim the incentives that remain. Democratic-leaning California's climate change policies are among the most ambitious in the world. The state announced this week that more than two-thirds of its retail electricity sales in 2023 came from renewable and zero-carbon-emitting sources. Newsom's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The letter was signed by leaders from the Large-scale Solar Association, the California arm of the American Clean Power Association, the Solar Energy Industries Association, the California Wind Energy Association and the California Energy Storage Alliance. https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/solar-wind-groups-seek-california-aid-after-trump-subsidy-cuts-2025-07-16/
