2026-01-21 23:05
Wind and solar now 30% of EU power generation Low-carbon sources produce most EU electricity Record year for green energy despite political headwinds BRUSSELS, Jan 22 - Wind and solar power produced more electricity than fossil fuels in the EU for the first time last year, data published on Thursday showed, indicating the bloc's continued shift towards low-carbon energy despite resistance from some governments. Wind and solar generated 30% of the European Union's electricity in 2025, just above the 29% supplied by fossil fuel power plants running on coal, gas and occasionally oil, according to data from energy think-tank Ember. Sign up here. A 19% jump in solar capacity drove the record output from renewables. That growth offset reduced hydropower generation caused by drought, while gas-fired output rose 8% to help fill the shortfall, Ember said. Solar now provides more than one-fifth of electricity in countries including Hungary, Spain and the Netherlands. Europe's electricity mix is now mostly low-carbon, with renewables and nuclear power together supplying 71% of EU electricity last year, the data showed. While sectors such as transport still rely heavily on fossil fuels, the EU has been gradually shifting to cleaner energy to meet climate targets and reduce reliance on imported fuel, including from Russia. The transition has faced political pushback. Pressure from governments including Germany and the Czech Republic prompted Brussels to weaken key CO2-cutting measures last year. An EU deal with President Donald Trump to massively increase purchases of U.S. energy has also raised questions about Europe's plans to wean itself off oil and gas. Coal's share of EU power generation fell to a record low of 9.2%, with top consumers Germany and Poland both posting all-time lows. Despite strong growth in clean electricity, Europe has struggled to ease costs for households and industry. Underinvestment in power grids has forced wind and solar operators to switch off during periods of high output to prevent network overload, wasting cheap electricity and adding to costs. Ember said price spikes last year coincided with peaks in gas usage and urged the EU to boost investment in grids and battery storage to stabilise power prices. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/wind-solar-overtake-fossil-fuels-eu-power-supply-2026-01-21/
2026-01-21 22:01
ORLANDO, Florida, Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks jumped and Treasury yields fell on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said a framework of an agreement over Greenland had been reached, and that tariffs on several European countries scheduled for February 1 will no longer be imposed. 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. Sign up here. Today's Key Market Moves Today's Talking Points * U.S.-European transatlantic drift Trump's Davos address was highly critical of Europe, but he said the U.S. would not use force to take Greenland from fellow NATO ally Denmark. In that sense, U.S.-Europe tensions cooled slightly, and an agreement on Greenland appears to have been reached. But the U.S.-European alliance is at its lowest ebb in 80 years. In Davos, ECB President Christine Lagarde walked out of a dinner during a speech by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called Denmark "irrelevant". As Canada's Mark Carney noted in reference to the world at large, "We are in the midst of a rupture." * Trump Fed firing hopes in the balance The likelihood of Trump firing Fed Governor Lisa Cook seems to be diminishing, after U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday signaled their skepticism that Cook should be dismissed while her legal challenge to mortgage fraud allegations plays out. This is one of two fronts that have opened up in what many say is a battle over the central bank's independence, the other being the Trump administration's indictment of Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Long-term interest rates and risk premia could fall if the courts rule against Trump. * Wall Street tries to rein in Trump It's not just European leaders, NATO officials and Canada's Carney expressing varying degrees of exasperation with Trump in Davos. Wall Street executives are too. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Trump's proposal to cap credit card interest rates would be an "economic disaster". Other executives are also skeptical of Trump's interventionist measures aimed at tackling the affordability crisis, and are in talks with the White House to try and soften the rough edges. 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/world/asia-pacific/global-markets-trading-day-graphic-2026-01-21/
2026-01-21 21:45
Fortescue hikes procurement from China to deepen ties Fortescue Q2 iron ore shipments rise 2%, costs also up Shares drop 4% Keeps FY26 forecast unchanged CEO says procuring more from China as relationship evolves MELBOURNE, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Australia's Fortescue (FMG.AX) , opens new tab is deepening its ties to China and buying more equipment from its top customer, part of the reason its iron ore is flowing uninterrupted to the country, CEO Dino Otranto said on Thursday. China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG), which buys iron ore on behalf of more than half of China's steel mills, has meanwhile restricted domestic steel mills from purchasing some shipments from rival BHP (BHP.AX) , opens new tab in the midst of 2026 contract talks. Sign up here. That strategy has stoked industry concerns over China's dominance in many commodity markets, where it leverages volume to argue for better terms. To help ensure its iron ore exports keep flowing, Fortescue has bolstered its senior leadership in China and purchases of battery electric storage, solar panels and wind turbines from Chinese companies, Otranto told a results call, including from electric vehicle maker BYD (002594.SZ) , opens new tab. "The relationship with Chinese customers has to evolve to a much more comprehensive ... relationship, and I think we're seeing now the fruits of that, so our volume still flows when the market ebbs and flows," he said. Otranto said that while ties with China were much broader than simple transactions of iron ore, it was still having "robust" conversations with CMRG over supply. "Notwithstanding that, it's critically important for us as we enter into very, very robust, very strong conversations with CMRG. We believe in a free capital market system, which in many cases, having aggregated buying groups somewhat flies in the face of that." RECORD FIRST-HALF OUTPUT Fortescue reported record first-half production on Thursday on upbeat performance from its hematite operations, while also logging a rise in costs that sent its shares down nearly 4%. First-half production from its Iron Bridge magnetite mine, however, suggested the project may not meet its annual target. The world's fourth-largest iron ore miner shipped 50.5 million metric tons of the steelmaking commodity in the three months ended on December 31, compared with 49.4 million tons shipped a year earlier, just beating a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 50.3 million tons. Its C1 unit cost of hematite iron ore rose 5% from the previous quarter to $19.10 a wet metric ton during the quarter, reflecting higher diesel prices, exchange rate fluctuations and the normalisation of inventory impacts that had benefited the prior quarter. Those higher costs hit stocks, said Ben Richards, portfolio manager at Seneca Financial Solutions. Shares fell as much as 3.6% on Thursday to A$21.380. Shipments of high-grade ore from Iron Bridge rose 44% from last year to 2.2 million tons during the quarter. For the half-year, Iron Bridge shipped 4.3 million tons, suggesting the project may struggle to meet its full-year forecast of 10 million to 12 million tons. "Production and shipments continued to miss expectations through the ramp-up of operations, and continue to indicate struggles with the plant," said Jefferies in a note. The Perth-headquartered firm kept its forecasts for fiscal 2026 shipments, unit costs and capital expenditures unchanged. It will report half-year results on February 25. https://www.reuters.com/business/fortescues-second-quarter-iron-ore-shipments-rise-2-2026-01-21/
2026-01-21 21:45
Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. pipeline operator Kinder Morgan (KMI.N) , opens new tab said on Wednesday it remains bullish on long-term U.S. natural gas demand, citing rising electricity consumption from data centers, and beat Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter profit. The company was helped by higher volumes of natural gas transported through its pipelines in the quarter. Sign up here. U.S. midstream companies such as Kinder Morgan are benefiting from strong oil and gas production in the Permian Basin, record liquefied natural gas exports and rising power demand from artificial intelligence infrastructure. Shares rose 1.4% to $28.99 in extended trading. The growth was driven by new natural gas expansion projects, contributions from the acquisition of a natural gas gathering and processing system from Outrigger Energy and strong demand from related services, Chief Financial Officer David Michels said on a call. Kinder Morgan said it transported about 48.4 trillion British thermal units of natural gas per day during the quarter, up from 44.5 trillion Btu per day a year earlier. The company, which transports roughly 40% of U.S. natural gas output, said its total project backlog rose to $10 billion from $9.3 billion in the previous quarter. U.S. natural gas futures rose over 11% sequentially in the fourth quarter, snapping a falling streak that started in the second quarter. Kinder Morgan also expects to begin its Hiland Express pipeline conversion project by the end of the first quarter of this year. The Houston, Texas-based firm posted an adjusted profit of 39 cents per share for the three months ended December 31, compared with analysts' estimate of 37 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. However, its total delivery volumes, which also include refined products such as jet fuel and diesel fuel, fell to 2,035 thousand barrels per day during the quarter, from 2,105 thousand bpd a year ago. https://www.reuters.com/business/pipeline-operator-kinder-morgan-beats-fourth-quarter-profit-estimates-2026-01-21/
2026-01-21 21:36
WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he has had calls from credit-card companies, saying those firms should "give people a break," as the Republican leader doubled down on a proposal to cap credit-card interest rates. KEY QUOTE "I've had calls from credit card companies, people that are friends of mine, actually, and I treat them good. I respect them greatly, but they make a lot of money, they got to give people a break," Trump said in an interview on CNBC on Wednesday. Sign up here. Trump did not name any company or executive in particular or share further details about the calls. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Trump, under pressure to address voters' cost-of-living concerns ahead of this year's congressional elections, said earlier this month he was calling for a one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10%, without detailing how he would implement such a step. Trump made the pledge in his 2024 election campaign as well. He said earlier on Wednesday he was asking the U.S. Congress to approve the move. CONTEXT Banking industry bodies have pushed back against the move, arguing it would limit credit access for everyday consumers. Meanwhile, Wall Street analysts have said such a measure would require legislation and that it would have poor odds of passing, with Democratic and Republican lawmakers divided over supporting it. There has been some bipartisan interest in addressing high rates. Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Wednesday that a law must be passed to get a cap on credit card interest rates while dismissing concerns raised by banking groups. Trump's Republican Party currently holds a majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. https://www.reuters.com/business/davos/trump-says-he-has-received-calls-credit-card-companies-2026-01-21/
2026-01-21 21:25
Incentives for nuclear power in exchange for hosting waste sites States would enter dialogue with Energy Department Energy Department likely to invite interest from states this week Energy Department: no decisions have been made "at this time" WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. will seek interest from U.S. states as soon as this week on storing nuclear waste in return for incentives to build nuclear reactors, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday, but the Department of Energy said no decisions have been made. The administration of President Donald Trump wants to quadruple U.S. nuclear power capacity to 400 gigawatts by 2050 as electricity demand surges for the first time in decades driven by sources including data centers for AI and cryptocurrencies. Sign up here. The new strategy is a major policy shift aimed at solving a decades-old problem that has hobbled the U.S. nuclear industry: what to do with its radioactive waste. Overcoming local opposition to waste storage is seen as critical to achieving the administration's ambitious nuclear expansion goals. Trump told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday that nuclear power can be developed at "good prices" and be safe despite having previously expressed reservations about it. A spokesperson for the Energy Department said the story was "false" and that "no decisions have been made at this time." Local concerns about radioactive and toxic nuclear waste have slowed the development of nuclear power in recent years. The waste is currently kept onsite at nuclear power plants, first in spent fuel pools and then in concrete and steel casks. Having states host waste repositories deep underground in exchange for incentives for nuclear power plants would represent a departure from a long-held plan to store the waste under Nevada's Yucca Mountain. The department focused solely on Yucca as a single repository for all U.S. waste starting in 1987, but former President Barack Obama stopped the project due to opposition from state lawmakers. The U.S. government spent at least $15 billion on Yucca over several administrations. After Yucca, the department has focused on consent-based siting for nuclear waste. But there are no current plans for a permanent storage site. The Energy Department will invite interest from states on deals for nuclear power that would also offer incentives for nuclear waste reprocessing and uranium enrichment, the source said. The plan would be non-binding, and states would not have to accept every element of it, the source said. Former President Ronald Reagan lifted a moratorium on reprocessing, or recycling, of nuclear waste, but companies have not commercially developed the technique in the United States due to costs. Many non-proliferation advocates oppose reprocessing, saying its supply chain could be a target for militants seeking to seize materials for use in a crude nuclear bomb. The plan was first reported by Politico on Wednesday. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-offer-states-deals-host-nuclear-waste-source-says-2026-01-21/
