2025-06-18 21:36

NEW YORK/LONDON, June 18 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto (RIO.L) , opens new tab, (RIO.AX) , opens new tab agreed to pay $138.75 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the Anglo-Australian mining giant of defrauding investors by concealing problems with its $7 billion underground expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia. A preliminary settlement of the proposed class action was filed late on Wednesday with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and requires a judge's approval. Sign up here. The lawsuit sought damages on behalf of shareholders of Montreal-based Turquoise Hill Resources between July 2018 and July 2019, when that company was majority-owned by Rio Tinto. Shareholders were led by funds advised by Chicago-based Pentwater Capital Management. The settlement also resolved claims against former Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques, who stepped down in March 2021. All defendants denied wrongdoing, but settled to eliminate the uncertainty, burden and cost of litigation, court papers show. "The proposed settlement has been concluded without any admission by Rio Tinto or the individual defendants," a Rio Tinto spokesperson said, adding that the class action was resolved on appropriate and reasonable terms. Pentwater declined to comment. Turquoise Hill had been a single-asset company owning 66% of the Oyu Tolgoi mine, with Mongolia's government owning 34%. Pentwater accused Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill of fraudulently assuring that the Oyu Tolgoi mine was "on plan" and "on budget," even as it was falling up to 2-1/2 years behind schedule and running as much as $1.9 billion over budget. In 2022, Rio Tinto bought the 49% of Turquoise Hill it did not already own for $3.3 billion, fully integrating the mine into its copper portfolio. The lawsuit stemmed partly from allegations by whistleblower Richard Bowley, who worked at the mine and claimed Rio Tinto knew about problems with the expansion before it publicly disclosed them. Rio announced the possible $1.9 billion overrun in 2019, and projected total capital expenditures of $6.5 billion to $7.2 billion. Lawyers for the shareholders plan to seek legal fees of up to 13% of the settlement amount, or about $18 million excluding interest, plus up to $2.6 million for expenses, court papers show. The case is In re Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 20-08585. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/rio-tinto-reaches-13875-million-settlement-over-mongolian-mine-2025-06-18/

2025-06-18 21:33

Treasury yields pare earlier drop after Fed Chief Powell speaks Concerns about Middle East persist Iran leader rejects Trump's demand for surrender Indexes: Dow down 0.1%, S&P 500 down 0.03%, Nasdaq up 0.1% NEW YORK, June 18 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended nearly flat on Wednesday, giving back earlier gains after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said inflation in goods prices is expected to go up over the summer as President Donald Trump's tariffs work their way to consumers. The U.S. central bank left interest rates unchanged, as expected. In the statement, policymakers maintained expectations for two cuts this year, but a rising minority expected no rate cuts at all. Also, they slightly slowed the expected pace to a single quarter-percentage-point cut in each of 2026 and 2027. Sign up here. Stocks were moderately higher before Powell's comments. As he spoke, U.S. Treasury yields also pared most of their earlier drop. "He made it quite clear he's not going to change monetary policy until they are sure of the tariffs' effect on inflation," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities. So, "you have the combination of yields going up, and the fact that it's going to take time to see the effects" of the tariffs, he said. Investors also have been closely watching developments in the Middle East. Some worry about the possibility of a more direct U.S. military involvement in the Israel-Iran aerial war. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Trump's demand for unconditional surrender. Trump said his patience had run out, though he did not indicate what his next step would be. Energy (.SPNY) , opens new tab led declines among S&P 500 sectors, while information technology (.SPLRCT) , opens new tab was up the most. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 44.14 points, or 0.10%, to 42,171.66, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab lost 1.85 points, or 0.03%, to 5,980.87 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 25.18 points, or 0.13%, to 19,546.27. Early in the day, initial jobless claims data showed the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, but stayed at levels consistent with a further loss of labor market momentum in June. Powell's "message was consistent with what has been telegraphed. Inflation is still elevated, but tariffs in the coming months will be a wild card. Powell said if not for tariffs he would be cutting rates now," said Sahak Manuelian, managing director of global equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles. Shares of stablecoin issuer Circle Internet (CRCL.N) , opens new tab rose 33.8% after the U.S. Senate passed a bill to create a regulatory framework for dollar-pegged cryptocurrency tokens known as stablecoins. Steelmaker Nucor (NUE.N) , opens new tab rose 3.3% following a second-quarter profit forecast that came above analysts' estimates. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.28-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 102 new highs and 55 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 2,613 stocks rose and 1,882 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.39-to-1 ratio. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 16.48 billion shares, compared with the 17.99 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. https://www.reuters.com/business/wall-street-futures-steady-ahead-feds-interest-rate-verdict-2025-06-18/

2025-06-18 21:28

First LNG expected to be produced in Canada on the weekend LNG Canada expected to operate initially at 25% capacity LNG tanker on the way to collect first cargo from new plant HOUSTON, June 18 (Reuters) - Canada could produce its first ever liquefied natural gas this weekend, from the LNG Canada export facility in Kitimat, British Columbia, two people familiar with the startup of the plant told Reuters on Wednesday. The facility, the first of a handful of Canadian LNG projects to begin production, will be the first LNG facility in North America with direct access to the Pacific coast, significantly reducing sail time to Asian markets. Sign up here. When fully operational it will have a capacity to export 14 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa), according to company statements. "We began cooling down Train 1 on Monday and as long as there is no unforeseen difficulty we expect to produce LNG six days from Monday. So I would say between Saturday and Sunday we can expect first LNG," one of the people familiar with the startup told Reuters. Cooldown of Train 1 is expected to continue until Thursday June 19 and extensive flaring is expected, LNG Canada told staff in a memo last Friday. First LNG will be produced from Train 1, with first LNG cargoes by the middle of this year, LNG Canada told Reuters on Tuesday. Only a portion of the processing plant will be operating this weekend, according the two sources. Train 1 which has a capacity of 6.5 mtpa, or half of the total output of LNG Canada, has had difficulties with one of its lines and it will only produce at half its capacity until it is able to solve the problem, one of the two sources told Reuters. LNG Canada did not comment on the production challenges. LNG tanker Gaslog Glasgow is on its way to LNG Canada's Kitimat port, according to LSEG ship tracking data. The vessel is expected to arrive on June 29 and will be loaded with LNG, the people said. It is now seven years since the partners, Shell Plc (SHEL.L) , opens new tab, Petronas (PGAS.KL) , opens new tab, (PGAS.KL) , opens new tab, PetroChina (601857.SS) , opens new tab, Mitsubishi Corporation (MITSBQ.UL) gave the project a financial go ahead. Once LNG Canada enters service, Canadian gas exports to the U.S. will likely decline, traders said, as Canadian energy firms will have another outlet for their fuel and will sell more to other countries. For now, the U.S. is the only outlet for Canadian gas. Canada exported about 8.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of gas via pipelines to the U.S. in 2024, up from 8.0 bcfd in 2023 and an average of 7.5 bcfd over the prior five years (2018-2022), according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That compares with a record 10.4 bcfd in 2002. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/canada-could-produce-first-lng-by-this-weekend-sources-say-2025-06-18/

2025-06-18 21:24

Trump's bill proposes ending wind and solar incentives by 2028 Renewable projects like solar, wind, and batteries face shutdown risk Republican lawmakers from Utah, Alaska, N. Carolina, Kansas at odds over the rollbacks Red states capture 75% of IRA clean energy investments Utah clean energy investments total $3 bln, with $10 bln in announced projects June 18 (Reuters) - In an industrial building in the Salt Lake City suburb of Clearfield, Utah, long strips of U.S.-made steel were fed through machines that punctured, bent and cut them into rods that will soon hold solar panels on rooftops. Next door, workers with rivet tools assembled the pieces into finished products, bundled them into packages with "Made in the USA" stickers and wheeled them onto trucks to be delivered to a customer 800 miles (1,300 km) away in San Diego. Sign up here. The adjacent factories, run by solar racking company PanelClaw, are among the dozens that have popped up since 2022 to meet soaring demand for American-made clean energy equipment incentivized by tax credits in former President Joe Biden's climate change law, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Republican-led states like Utah have captured 75% of manufacturing investments supported by the law, even though no member of the party voted for it, according to think tank Energy Innovation. Just two years into its Utah expansion, however, PanelClaw’s factories, along with countless other clean energy projects across the country, are in jeopardy as U.S. lawmakers consider rolling back those credits in President Donald Trump’s "One Big Beautiful Bill" now in front of the Senate. Earlier this week, a Senate panel published a version of the bill that would end the incentives for wind and solar power by 2028, several years ahead of schedule. Republican Trump had campaigned on a promise to repeal the clean energy tax credits in the IRA, arguing they are expensive, unnecessary and harmful to business. However, the potential loss in jobs and investment that ending those incentives could cause has some Republican lawmakers from red states Utah, Alaska, North Carolina and Kansas at odds over the rollbacks, a dynamic that is complicating final negotiations over the bill. There are 53 Republicans in the Senate, and 51 votes are needed to pass the budget reconciliation bill. "They would be in significant trouble," PanelClaw CEO Costa Nicolaou said of his company's Utah facilities, which are on track to pump out 15 million parts this year. "I mean, we could essentially shut them down if the market goes away, which is what (removing) these credits will do." THE UTAH RIFT Utah’s Republican senators, Mike Lee and John Curtis, disagree over the subsidies supporting clean energy businesses. Lee likes the proposed cuts to government support for renewable energy technologies and predicts the move could save U.S. taxpayers $1 trillion over the next decade. Curtis, on the other hand, is among four Republican senators who penned a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune in April saying that repealing the tax credits would disrupt investment. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Jerry Moran of Kansas also signed the letter. Neither Lee's nor Thune's office, nor the White House responded to requests for comment. Curtis visited PanelClaw’s facility last year, praising it for creating jobs in his state. And more recently, he highlighted the benefits of the IRA subsidies at a Tooele County factory that makes batteries to store power on the grid. The company behind the factory, Fluence Energy (FLNC.O) , opens new tab, an energy storage company backed by industry giants Siemens (SIEGn.DE) , opens new tab and AES (AES.N) , opens new tab, invested $700 million in manufacturing facilities in Utah and other red states, including Texas and Tennessee. "We can’t cut the legs off of these enterprises," Curtis said in a statement. "Doing so would damage Utah’s economy, put America’s energy future in jeopardy, and weaken our national security. We must take a reasonable, responsible approach to energy tax credits." rPlus Energies, which is building the $1.1 billion Green River Energy Center solar and battery project in Emery County, said changes to the credits would threaten its 15-gigawatt pipeline. Green River will add $55 million over 20 years to the tax base for a county historically reliant on coal, and the credits will keep the price of power low, according to rPlus CEO Luigi Resta. "This is a great project," Resta said. "It's a poster child for the benefits of the IRA in Republican states." CROSSING PARTY LINES Clean energy is nothing new in Utah. Nearly a fifth of the electricity comes from renewable sources, primarily solar, and about 9% of homes are powered by solar panels. Tom Mills, who has sold residential solar in the state since 2014, said some homeowners are seeking environmental benefits while others just want to be self-reliant. "This topic crosses party lines," he said. Park City-based Alpenglow Solar, where Mills serves as technical sales director, would have to downsize its 18 employees if incentives for residential solar are eliminated, he said. Utah was the fourth fastest-growing state in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Utah County, just south of Salt Lake City, accounted for more than a third of that growth and needs revenue to fund new schools. Amelia Powers Gardner, one of the county's three commissioners, said she backs solar power because it can be built quickly - in half the time needed for natural gas plants - and attract revenue-paying data center owners like Google (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab that want clean power. "I am a Republican," Gardner said. "I would be fine building a gas-fired power plant. But in this case, modular nuclear or solar power - those things can help solve our problems." In Utah, the IRA credits have generated $3 billion in investment, with an additional $10 billion in announced projects, according to Energy Innovation. Nationwide, the IRA has generated $132 billion in announced investments in major energy projects, according to clean energy business group E2. Nearly two-thirds of those investments are in Republican Congressional districts, and the largest beneficiaries include North and South Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, and Texas. "I don't think people necessarily went out of their way to think, 'Oh, I'm going to build these things in red states,'" said Fluence's Americas President John Zahurancik. "That's just where the demand is." GEOTHERMAL RELIEF U.S. solar stocks have slumped on the proposed credit phase-out although some analysts remain skeptical of whether Congress will pass the bill in its current form before Trump's self-imposed July 4 deadline, which could open a window for solar and wind industry lobbyists. The Senate Finance Committee preserved tax credits for hydro, nuclear, and geothermal energy through 2036 after companies urged it to save them. One of the companies, Fervo, backed by Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy, is constructing an advanced geothermal energy plant in tiny Milford, Utah, that will start supplying customers, including Southern California Edison (EIX.N) , opens new tab and Shell Energy (SHEL.L) , opens new tab, with power next year. "The Senate Finance Committee's markup of the OBBB (One Big Beautiful Bill) appropriately recognizes the valuable role burgeoning firm, clean energy resources like geothermal play in cementing American energy dominance," said Sarah Jewett, Fervo's vice president of strategy. The plant's construction has been a boon to the local economy. Milford Mayor Nolan Davis advocated for the project to replace jobs lost when pork producer Smithfield Foods (SFD.O) , opens new tab cut ties with hog farms in the area. Melissa Wunderlich, a lifelong Milford resident, used to own one of those farms. These days she owns a drive-through diner that is generating more than half of its sales by feeding workers at the Fervo plant. "I've catered for the governor, I catered for Bill Gates," Wunderlich said. "Fervo has been really good." https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/clean-energy-has-fans-trumps-america-complicating-budget-talks-2025-06-18/

2025-06-18 21:07

ORLANDO, Florida, June 18 (Reuters) - TRADING DAY Making sense of the forces driving global markets Sign up here. By Jamie McGeever, Markets Columnist Key equity, bond, currency and commodity prices mostly ended little changed on Wednesday, as investors digested the fast-moving developments in the Middle East and the Federal Reserve's latest policy decision and guidance. In my column today I explain why the Bank of Japan's cautious approach to reducing its balance sheet will help keep domestic real rates and yields deeply negative, and keep Japanese money overseas. More on that below, but first, a roundup of the main market moves. If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today. Today's Key Market Moves Markets calm in eye of hurricane With the Israel-Iran war entering its sixth day, President Donald Trump leaving the world hanging over his next move and Washington's involvement in the conflict, and the Federal Reserve flagging rising 'stagflation' risks, world markets were remarkably calm on Wednesday. At least, they were calm by the end of U.S. trading, regaining their poise after some intra-day turbulence and settling pretty close to where they ended the previous day. In some ways, this was surprising, given the newsflow. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Trump's demand for unconditional surrender, and the U.S. president said his patience had run out. Asked if he had made a decision on whether to join Israel's bombing of Iran, Trump said: "I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do." Later on Wednesday the Fed kept interest rates on hold as expected, but officials' revised economic projections pointed to slower growth and higher inflation and unemployment over the next couple of years. Stagflation. Trump also resumed his verbal attacks on Fed Chair Jerome Powell before the central bank's policy announcement, calling him "stupid" and berating him for not lowering rates like other central banks. On the other hand, there was ultimately little change in the immediate landscape or near-term outlook for investors to price on Wednesday. The situation in the Middle East is extremely tense, but no more so than 24 hours ago. Trump's equivocation may fuel the uncertainty and tension, but also leaves the door open to more benign outcomes. Perhaps. Similarly, Fed officials may think higher inflation risks mean fewer rate cuts are warranted in 2026 and 2027, but they maintained their central forecast of 50 basis points of rate cuts this year. Investors could reassess on Thursday. U.S. markets will be closed for the Juneteenth federal holiday, but markets everywhere else will be open and investors will have a raft of policy decisions from other central banks to digest too, most notably from the Bank of England and Swiss National Bank. The SNB, flirting with negative interest rates again, will be particularly fascinating. Economists expect it to cut rates 25 basis points to zero, and go negative by the end of the year. Traders are attaching a one-in-four chance it cuts half a point on Thursday. As much of the world frets about the price impact of tariffs, Switzerland is fighting deflation. The franc has never been stronger in broad terms, and its safe-haven status could spur even greater appreciation in the weeks and months ahead. BOJ caution could keep Japanese capital overseas The Bank of Japan is taking a more cautious approach to reducing its balance sheet, meaning Japanese capital invested overseas is less likely to be coming home anytime soon. In the face of heightened economic uncertainty and recent volatility at the long end of the Japanese Government Bond curve, the BOJ announced on Tuesday that it will halve the rate of its balance sheet rundown in fiscal year 2026 to 200 billion yen a quarter. The central bank began gradually shrinking its bloated balance sheet 18 months ago and last August began an even more gradual interest rate-raising cycle, representing a historic shift after years of maintaining ultra-low and even negative nominal rates. All else being equal, this modest tightening would be expected to narrow the yield gap between Japanese and foreign bonds, making JGBs more attractive to domestic and foreign investors while also strengthening the yen. So why hasn't Japanese capital been coming home? In part, because Japan's real interest rates and bond yields remain deeply negative, and the latest BOJ move suggests this is likely to remain the case for the foreseeable future. The prospect of Japanese real returns staying deeply negative is enhanced by current inflation dynamics. Inflation in Japan is the highest in two years by some measures and may prove sticky if Middle East tensions continue to put upward pressure on oil prices. Japan imports around 90% of its energy and almost all of its oil. Japan's yield curve could also potentially flatten from its recent historically steep levels if the BOJ's decision caps or lowers long-end yields. And the curve will flatten further if the BOJ continues to 'normalize' interest rates - something BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda insists is still on the table, although markets think the central bank is on hold until next year. MARKET MUSCLE Either way, a flatter yield curve won't be particularly appealing to Japanese investors who may be considering pulling money out of U.S. or European markets. And there is a lot of money to repatriate, meaning even marginal shifts in Japanese investors' positioning could be meaningful. While Japan is no longer the world's largest creditor nation, having recently lost the crown to Germany after holding it for more than three decades, it still has plenty of financial muscle with a net $3.5 trillion in overseas stocks and bonds, the highest total ever. Analysts at Deutsche Bank estimate that Japanese life insurers and pension funds hold more than $2 trillion in foreign assets, around 30% of their total assets. What would prompt Japanese investors to repatriate? In a deep dive on the topic last month, JP Morgan analysts said several stars would have to align, namely a sustainable rise in long-term Japanese interest rates, an improvement in the country's public finances, and steady yen appreciation against the dollar. That's a tall order. But if this were to materialize, and banks and other depositary institutions reverted to pre-'Abenomics' asset allocation ratios of 82% domestic bonds and 13% foreign securities, repatriation flows from these institutions alone could amount to as much as 70 trillion yen. That's just under $500 billion at current exchange rates. That's not JPMorgan's base case though, certainly not in the near term. But over the long term, they think some reversal of the flow of capital from JGBs into U.S. bonds over the last decade or more is "plausible". The BOJ's decision on Tuesday probably makes the prospect of any significant capital shift less plausible, though, at least for now. What could move markets tomorrow? Want to receive Trading Day in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for my newsletter here. Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles , opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/global-markets-trading-day-graphic-pix-2025-06-18/

2025-06-18 21:04

WASHINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced plans on Wednesday to open a sterile fly dispersal facility in Hidalgo County, Texas, as part of the country's effort to fight the encroachment of New World screwworm. The pest, a species of fly that has been eradicated in the U.S. for decades, has been moving northward in Mexico, leading the USDA to close the nation's southern border to cattle imports in May. Sign up here. The Department of Agriculture is also planning to design a sterile fly production facility at Moore Air Base, co-located with the dispersal facility, but that is likely to take two to three years, Rollins said at a press conference at the air base. Rollins also said the USDA is working with state animal health officials to create emergency plans and to stockpile therapeutics in the case of the screwworm crossing into the country. Mexico has also taken efforts to limit the spread of the pest, which can infest livestock and kill within weeks. Rollins said she and her team are working closely with the Mexican government and that USDA staff have been working in Mexico on a collaborative response. One key tool to fighting screwworm is the release of sterile flies, which reduce the mating population of the wild flies. Currently, the only sterile fly production facility in North America is in Panama. The Hidalgo County facility would receive fly larvae from that plant, and raise and disperse the flies by plane, Rollins said. Eighty members of the U.S. Congress, led by Glenn 'GT' Thompson of Pennsylvania, chair of the House Agriculture Committee, sent a letter to Rollins on Tuesday encouraging the USDA to build a domestic sterile fly production plant. Fighting screwworm in the U.S. would require 400-500 million flies per week, while the Panama plant can produce just 100 million per week, the letter said. The USDA has also invested $21 million in updating a plant in Metapa, Mexico, to produce sterile flies. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/usda-plans-sterile-fly-facility-texas-combat-screwworm-2025-06-18/