2026-01-23 22:20
CHICAGO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Tyson Foods (TSN.N) , opens new tab will temporarily continue to prepare beef for sale at a slaughterhouse it is closing in Lexington, Nebraska, the meatpacker said on Friday, offering a short reprieve to 9% of the facility's 3,200 workers. The company said in November it would close the beef plant around January 20 as tight cattle supplies raised costs for U.S. processors. Sign up here. In a new notice to Nebraska officials this week, Tyson said layoffs began on that date but that it would extend the employment of about 292 workers for three to 185 days to perform duties related to the plant's closure. Less than half of those employees will remain past the end of the month. "Limited further processing will continue at our Lexington facility during this transition period," Tyson said in an emailed statement. U.S. cattle supplies dwindled to their lowest level in nearly 75 years after a persistent drought dried up pastures used for grazing and drove ranchers to reduce their herds. Low inventories, coupled with strong demand for beef from consumers, pushed retail ground beef prices to a record high of $6.69 per pound in December, a 19% increase from a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. President Donald Trump in October said he was working to bring down beef prices, but prices for hamburger meat and steaks continued to creep higher. Though high prices benefit Tyson, the company has also had to pay record prices to buy cattle to slaughter. In Nebraska, government officials have hoped that Tyson will sell the plant or find another use for it to minimize economic damage to Lexington, which has about 10,000 residents. Tyson has said the Lexington beef complex has been in operation since 1990. https://www.reuters.com/business/tyson-foods-continues-limited-operations-closing-us-beef-plant-2026-01-23/
2026-01-23 21:56
Indexes on Friday: Dow down 0.58%, S&P 500 flat, Nasdaq up 0.28% All down for the week: Dow 0.53%, S&P 500 0.36%, Nasdaq 0.06% Intel slides as forecast misses estimates Most megacaps gain with tech earnings due next week Jan 23 (Reuters) - The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down on Friday, while the S&P 500 ended largely unchanged, as investors' risk appetite was dimmed at the end of a topsy-turvy week by Intel's plunge on a downbeat outlook. All three Wall Street benchmarks had rebounded in the past two sessions following Tuesday's sharp selloff triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to impose tariffs on European allies, an effort to pressure them to accept his claims to Greenland. Sign up here. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 285.30 points, or 0.58%, to 49,098.71. The S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab edged up 2.26 points, or 0.03%, to 6,915.61, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 65.23 points, or 0.28%, to 23,501.24. Even the Nasdaq's Friday gains were not enough to rescue the benchmarks from having a down week, with the S&P 500 off by 0.36%, the Dow lower by 0.53% and the Nasdaq slipping by 0.06%. Despite the week's limited pullback, investors appeared to remain confident that while geopolitical-induced volatility is a present danger, the overall state of the American economy continues to be robust. "When we think about what it means from an investor's standpoint, we feel pretty good about where we are today," said Jason Blackwell, chief investment strategist at Focus Partners Wealth. He noted that volatility was expected this year, given the midterms later in 2026. However, corporate earnings are expected to continue to come in strong, and the economy is going along fine. "We're feeling pretty good, but mindful we might have some significant twists and turns throughout the rest of the year," Blackwell added. THE 'SHOW-ME' SEASON One twist on Friday, which weighed on market sentiment, was chipmaker Intel (INTC.O) , opens new tab. Its shares sank 17% after the company forecast quarterly revenue and profit below market estimates, saying it struggled to satisfy demand for its server chips used in AI data centers. With many technology and semiconductor companies still trading at sky-high valuations, 2026 is viewed by many as the year where the huge excitement for the artificial intelligence trend, and the huge amounts of capital expenditure to attain it, need to start showing up as corporate revenue. Julian McManus, portfolio manager on the Global Alpha Equity team at Janus Henderson, noted how last week's earnings from TSMC(2330.TW) , opens new tab, the world's main producer of advanced AI chips, could portend well for the latest earnings from the space. “Going into results, we’re going to be in a ‘show-me’ period, where you have to actually put up the revenue growth to justify the run-up in stocks,” he said. “It’s going to be a period of the haves versus the have-nots, and I personally don’t see Intel being in the haves.” MAG 7 EARNINGS TEST This show-me point will be particularly pertinent for investors next week, with earnings on deck from many of the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks, including Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab, Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab and Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab. On Friday, most of the megacaps rose, with Microsoft, Meta (META.O) , opens new tab and Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab up between 1.7% and 3.3%. Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab gained 1.5% after Bloomberg News reported Chinese officials have told Alibaba (9988.HK) , opens new tab, Tencent (0700.HK) , opens new tab and ByteDance they can prepare orders for Nvidia's H200 AI chips. Of the S&P sub-sectors, seven ended in positive territory, led by the 0.9% increase in materials (.SPLRCM) , opens new tab. The energy (.SPNY) , opens new tab index rose 0.6% on Friday, to its third successive record closing high. It was also the top performing sub-index for the week, while its 10.1% advance so far in 2026 is unmatched. The number of shares changing hands on U.S. exchanges on Friday was 17.34 billion shares, compared with the 17.07 billion average over the last 20 trading days. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-stock-futures-dip-intel-plunges-geopolitical-concerns-linger-2026-01-23/
2026-01-23 21:47
RIO DE JANEIRO/BRASILIA, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Brazil's federal police on Friday served search and seizure warrants against Rio de Janeiro state's pension fund in the latest development tied to the collapse of lender Banco Master, three sources told Reuters. The operation was part of an investigation into about 970 million reais ($183.56 million) in so-called financial bills issued by a private bank, the police said in a statement, without naming their target. Sign up here. Sources familiar with the matter said the probe was related to Master, which was shut down in November by Brazil's central bank during a liquidity crisis and following violations of financial-system rules. The liquidation triggered the largest-ever payout by Brazil's private deposit guarantee fund, but the securities purchased by Rio de Janeiro state's pension fund Rioprevidencia were not eligible for coverage. In a statement, Rioprevidencia said it was protected by a court ruling issued in December, which ordered the retention of roughly 970 million reais related to the invested amounts in order to safeguard the retirement assets of active and retired civil servants and pensioners. "As a result, the investment is already being repaid through the retention of proceeds from payroll-deducted loans that would otherwise have been transferred to Banco (Master)," the fund said. According to Rioprevidencia, this means the funds are available to the pension system's cash flow, and the investment is expected to be fully settled within around two years. The pension fund added that all of its investments "strictly complied with current legislation and oversight rules." Later on Friday, Rio de Janeiro state Governor Claudio Castro removed the pension fund's President Deivis Antunes from his role, the state government said in a statement, without citing the federal police operation. The state government also noted that it had initiated an internal procedure last month to investigate all the facts related to investments made by Rioprevidencia. ($1 = 5.2844 reais) https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/brazil-police-target-rio-pension-fund-probe-linked-banco-master-sources-say-2026-01-23/
2026-01-23 21:31
Crude and natural gas output declines as winter storm arrives Power grid operators prepare backup resources to mitigate blackouts Gasoline demand set to drop, diesel prices rise amid storm HOUSTON/BOSTON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - U.S. crude and natural gas production fell and spot power prices spiked as a winter storm with frigid temperatures started to sweep across the country on Friday. The storm system, named Fern by The Weather Channel, is expected to bring heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain to a broad swath of the U.S. - from the southern Rockies to New England - through Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Widespread travel disruptions, downed power lines and prolonged electricity outages are anticipated. Sign up here. U.S. crude output is set to slip as the cold snap and stormy conditions push operators to shut in production in key basins, according to state regulators and analysts. That could lead to a total loss of around 300,000 barrels per day, said Energy Aspects, adding that the production outage could climb further. The storm could cut 86 billion cubic feet of natural gas production over the next two weeks, Energy Aspects said, noting that the Appalachia region could lose 35 bcf of output. Freezing temperatures are expected to reach the Permian Basin - which accounts for around half of total U.S. crude production - this weekend and could lead to a drop in 200,000 barrels a day from that oilfield alone, according to Energy Aspects. The area, which straddles Texas and New Mexico, is set to produce 6.63 million bpd of crude in January, according to the Energy Information Administration. North Dakota crude output, meanwhile, is currently down by between 80,000 bpd and 110,000 bpd, accounting for around 5 to 10% of the state's output, as operators shut production in due to cold weather, the state regulator said on Friday. North Dakota is the third-largest oil-producing state, and output rose by 12,000 bpd to 1.189 million bpd in November, the latest monthly data from the state Industrial Commission showed. The state's well-head associated gas output was currently down by 0.24 billion cubic feet per day to 0.33 bcfd. POWER GRID OPERATORS PREPARE U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on Thursday asked the nation's power grid operators to be prepared to make backup generation resources at data centers - which are sensitive to even minor disruptions - and other major facilities available as needed. The Department of Energy estimates that more than 35 GW of unused backup generation remains available nationwide. That could help mitigate blackouts and reduce costs for potentially hundreds of millions of Americans during the winter storm. The Southwest Power Pool, a regional grid operator that spans 14 states stretching from North Dakota to Louisiana, reported real-time spot wholesale prices that soared above $200 per megawatt-hour from congestion on high-voltage power lines bringing electricity from the south to the upper Midwest and Great Plains. By contrast, an abundance of wind generation as the storm rips through parts of New Mexico and Oklahoma has caused wholesale prices to be negative, with wind generators forced to pay the grid to take their excess electricity and avoid shutting down their own generation. The largest U.S. power grid, PJM, warned that, depending on temperatures, it could set a new all-time winter peak load on Tuesday, January 27, and is taking additional precautions with its generation and transmission owners to prepare. U.S. utilities CenterPoint Energy (CNP.N) , opens new tab and Duke Energy (DUK.N) , opens new tab on Friday issued a statement telling consumers they were rolling out preparation plans to minimize impact on power availability. FUEL MARKETS BRACE FOR COLD BLAST Traders expect gasoline demand to take a major hit as people stay indoors through the cold blast, but diesel prices have been rising as the fuel is often used in heating and power generation. "There is the potential for a surge in distillate demand where scores of trucks load fuel that needs to be used while natural gas is unavailable," said Tom Kloza, veteran oil analyst. Potential disruptions to refining operations also helped lift U.S. ultra-low-sulfur diesel futures to their highest since November during Friday's session. ULSD futures were last up 3% to $2.44 a gallon. Major fuel delivery hubs of the Colonial Pipeline, the largest U.S. fuel conduit, are expected to be blanketed in ice and snow for days, U.S. fuel distributor TACenergy said on Friday. That has pushed prices for shipping gasoline on Colonial's Line 1 into negative territory, with demand at those delivery hubs expected to take a hit. Most of the major refinery origin points are currently expected to be spared by the worst of the storm, TACenergy said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-energy-sector-braces-winter-storm-crude-natural-gas-output-fall-2026-01-23/
2026-01-23 20:54
Lawsuit claims oil companies colluded to hinder competition from renewable energy Chevron calls lawsuit baseless, cites court dismissals in climate change cases Exxon and Chevron accused of delaying EV technology advancements WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Friday filed an antitrust lawsuit against four major oil companies, asserting they have colluded for decades to forestall competition from renewable energy, including electric vehicles. The lawsuit , opens new tab by Nessel, a Democrat, was filed in U.S. District Court in western Michigan and names BP (BP.L) , opens new tab, Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab, Exxon (XOM.N) , opens new tab, Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab and the American Petroleum Institute. Sign up here. The complaint said the companies acted "as a cartel, agreeing to reduce the production and distribution of electricity from renewable sources and to restrain the emergence of electric vehicles and renewable primary energy technologies in the United States." A lawyer for Chevron in a statement called Michigan's lawsuit “baseless as demonstrated by multiple related court dismissals" in other venues, including New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware. It and the other companies have been fighting for years against a slew of lawsuits by state and local governments against major energy companies seeking to hold them responsible for climate change, many of which remain pending. "This lawsuit also ignores the fact that Michigan is highly dependent on oil and gas to support the state’s automakers and workers,” Theodore Boutrous Jr, Chevron's lawyer, said. Shell declined to comment. Representatives from BP, Exxon and the American Petroleum Institute did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The lawsuit said the companies "abandoned renewable energy projects, used patent litigation to hinder rivals, suppressed information concerning the hidden costs of fossil fuels and viability of alternatives... and used trade associations to coordinate market-wide efforts to divert capital expenditures away from renewable energy—all to further one of the most successful antitrust conspiracies in United States history." The suit noted that in the 1970s, Exxon developed the first hybrid gas-electric vehicle technologies and in 1978 Exxon publicly showed an electric motor integrated into a hybrid gas-electric propulsion system, installed in a Chrysler Cordoba and in 1979, Exxon partnered with Toyota to develop a hybrid gas-electric vehicle using a Toyota Cressida chassis. "But Exxon never marketed that innovative hybrid engine technology and consistently has deferred meaningful investment in its lithium-ion and graphite-based battery technologies for EVs," the lawsuit said, adding Exxon's internal research in 1979 "predicted that renewable energy would increasingly become a competitive threat to fossil fuels." The suit also said Chevron took steps to delay a critical EV and battery technology known as nickel-metal hydride rechargeable batteries by acquiring patents to restrict their use in automobiles. The Trump administration has taken a series of actions to make it easier for automakers to avoid building EVs and make it more expensive for consumers to buy EVs after the Biden administration had adopted rules that would have required automakers to build a rising number of EVs. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/michigan-sues-oil-companies-saying-they-colluded-restrain-ev-competition-2026-01-23/
2026-01-23 20:33
Jan 23 (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) , opens new tab on Friday urged passengers traveling this weekend to reschedule their flights as a major winter storm threatens to disrupt operations and force widespread cancellations. The storm is disrupting U.S. air travel, prompting airlines to cancel flights, warn of delays and issue travel waivers as ice, snow and strong winds sweep across major hubs and regional airports in the South, East and central part of U.S. Sign up here. The airline operator said customers should expect flight cancellations across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, including Nashville and Raleigh–Durham, as the storm threatens to disrupt weekend travel. Delta Air Lines canceled flights at several airports in five states on Thursday, warning that slow operations could trigger more delays and cancellations, and complicate rebooking during one of the busiest winter travel periods. About two-thirds of the 815 flights scheduled to depart Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport on Saturday have been canceled, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Separately, American Airlines (AAL.O) , opens new tab said it would add more than 3,200 extra seats to and from its Dallas–Fort Worth hub from Friday to Sunday. The National Weather Service warned that a mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow could make travel hazardous and cause power outages and tree damage across the Southeast, with heavier snowfall expected farther north as the storm moves up the country. Airlines urged passengers to keep a close eye on their flight status and use mobile apps or airline websites for the quickest rebooking options as the storm advances. Travelers have already begun adjusting plans in anticipation of mounting disruption. https://www.reuters.com/business/delta-air-lines-urges-travellers-rebook-winter-storm-fern-threatens-weekend-2026-01-23/
