2025-05-29 20:41
Backlog of exemption requests built up during President Biden's administration Trump administration looking to unwind the backlog without disrupting market Plan under consideration would rule on 2024 requests, delay others WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - The White House is weighing a plan to clear a record backlog of requests from small refineries for exemptions from U.S. biofuel laws, which could include approving many current applications and requesting industry input to deal with older ones, according to three sources familiar with the plans. The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard requires refiners to blend biofuels like corn-based ethanol into the nation's fuel supply or buy renewable fuel credits, known as RINs, from those who do. Sign up here. Small refiners can petition the Environmental Protection Agency to receive an exemption if they can show financial hardship. There are more than 160 outstanding requests for exemptions that represent potentially billions of dollars worth of tradeable credits. A decision from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to clear the backlog would have consequences for the oil and agricultural industries, and impact the price of commodities from gasoline and renewable diesel to soybeans and corn, along with the companies that produce them. In the past, widespread exemptions have sent credit prices lower, along with prices for soybeans and ethanol. The White House is considering granting many of the 19 requests for exemptions from 2024, and issuing a rule seeking input on how to deal with the others, some of which date back to 2016, the sources said. The Trump administration sees approving some requests and delaying others as less of a shock to the multi-billion-dollar credit market than deciding on all of them at once, the sources said. The White House would also likely force larger refiners to make up for the exempted gallons in a process known as reallocation, but the details are still being worked out, the sources said. No final decision on a path forward has been made, the sources said, and details could change as industries step up engagement with the administration. The White House declined to comment. Molly Vaseliou, an EPA spokesperson, said there have been multiple reports about how the administration plans to tackle the exemptions, with different conclusions. She said news reports were "rumors" from people trying to influence the biofuel credit market. She did not confirm or deny the details reported by Reuters. Renewable fuel (D6) credits fell to trade at 90 cents each after Reuters reported the White House consideration, traders said. Credits were trading around 94 cents before the report. Decisions on small refinery exemptions are made in a collaborative effort by the U.S. Department of Energy and the EPA, but the White House's Energy Dominance Council - along with White House aide Stephen Miller - has taken a lead role this time around, underscoring its importance, the sources told Reuters. During the first Trump administration, the EPA significantly increased the number of exemptions approved, driving down the price of the renewable fuel credits and angering the Farm Belt, which said the exemptions hurt a program that drove investment in the Midwest. The administration of former President Joe Biden was critical of the exemptions and let the applications linger without any decisions, resulting in the buildup. The RFS gives refiners who need to buy credits to comply with the program roughly two years to submit them to the EPA, complicating the administration's efforts to resolve outstanding credits from 2016 until 2022 that are effectively worthless. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/white-house-considers-plan-clear-record-backlog-small-refinery-biofuel-waivers-2025-05-29/
2025-05-29 20:12
May 29 (Reuters) - U.S. energy company Williams Cos (WMB.N) , opens new tab said on Thursday it was working with federal and state regulators to revive two previously canceled natural gas pipelines from Pennsylvania to New York. The pipelines are the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) from Pennsylvania to New Jersey and New York and the Constitution Pipeline from Pennsylvania to New York. Sign up here. Williams canceled Constitution in 2020 after years of fighting for permits from New York regulators and canceled NESE in 2024 after fighting for permits from regulators in both New York and New Jersey. The company sought to revive the projects after gaining support from the Trump administration. The administration lifted a month-old stop-work order on May 19 on Norwegian energy company Equinor's (EQNR.OL) , opens new tab $5 billion Empire Wind offshore wind project off New York. U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who issued the stop-work order on Empire Wind in April, said he was encouraged that New York Governor Kathy Hochul will now allow new gas pipeline capacity to move forward. Hochul, who wanted the Trump administration to lift the stop-work order on the offshore wind farm, did not specifically endorse the gas pipes but said in a statement that New York would work with the U.S. administration and private entities on projects that meet the legal requirements under state law. A spokesperson at Williams told Reuters in an email that the company "has submitted a petition to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for reinstatement of the certificate of public convenience and necessity for the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Project." The company also said it has begun working through state permitting matters with environmental regulators in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York and will be promptly filing applications with those agencies to secure the necessary permits for advancing both the NESE and Constitution Pipeline projects. Williams said the projects are "essential to address persistent natural gas supply constraints in the Northeast, constraints that have led to higher energy costs for consumers and increased reliance on higher-emission fuels like fuel oil." https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/williams-working-with-federal-state-regulators-revive-pennsylvania-new-york-2025-05-29/
2025-05-29 20:00
Best Buy slumps after cutting annual sales, profit forecasts Boeing climbs as CEO aims to boost 737 MAX production Indexes: Dow up 0.3%, S&P 500 up 0.4%, Nasdaq up 0.4% NEW YORK, May 29 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday as shares of Nvidia gained after its quarterly results, while investors digested a late-afternoon court ruling that reinstated the most sweeping of President Donald Trump's tariffs. The appeals court ruling came a day after a trade court had ordered an immediate block on the tariffs. Sign up here. Trading was choppy for much of the day and indexes ended well off their highs of the session, however, with investors trying to digest the rulings and as shares of Salesforce (CRM.N) , opens new tab fell 3.3%. Salesforce's stock was down even as the enterprise software provider raised its annual revenue and adjusted profit forecasts. "Trump has already rolled back most of these tariffs anyway, so these court rulings are just headlines," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments in New York. "As long as the market doesn't tank on the news, it's just a secondary" thing, he said. Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab gained 3.2% after the company late on Wednesday reported upbeat sales results, driven by customers stockpiling AI chips ahead of U.S. export restrictions on China. The company, however, warned that the new curbs are expected to cut $8 billion from its current-quarter sales. Optimism about corporate earnings and Nvidia in particular is providing some support, said Oliver Pursche, senior vice president, adviser for Wealthspire Advisors in Westport, Connecticut. "It's about corporate earnings in general," he said. Nvidia, which is now up just 3.6% for the year, was the last of the "Magnificent Seven" megacap tech and growth companies to report results for this earnings period. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 117.03 points, or 0.28%, to 42,215.73, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 23.62 points, or 0.40%, to 5,912.17 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 74.93 points, or 0.39%, to 19,175.87. Trade developments have whipsawed the stock market this year, especially after Trump's April 2 announcement of sweeping tariffs on imports globally. The S&P 500 has rebounded from a selloff in early April as trade tensions have eased and as first-quarter earnings have been mostly better than expected. The index is now up 0.5% for 2025 but off its February record high. Still, investors have become accustomed to Trump announcing steep tariffs, only to postpone them soon afterward. That has led to the acronym TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out), coined by the Financial Times. "It's cute; it's not a strategy," said Pursche, referring to the acronym. "However, from a purely American business perspective, there have been incremental gains achieved by the Trump administration on trade, and that shouldn't be ignored." Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab rose 3.3% after CEO Kelly Ortberg said the planemaker aims to increase production of its best-selling 737 MAX jets to 42 aircraft per month in the next few months and boost output to 47 a month in early 2026. On the economic front, a second reading from the Commerce Department showed gross domestic product contracted 0.2% in the first quarter. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.3% contraction. In other earnings-related news, Best Buy (BBY.N) , opens new tab shares fell 7.3% after the electronics retailer lowered its annual comparable sales and profit forecasts amid concerns that U.S. tariffs would weigh on consumer demand for big-ticket items. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.26-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 114 new highs and 35 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 2,673 stocks rose and 1,806 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.48-to-1 ratio. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 18.65 billion shares, compared with the 17.7 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-stock-futures-climb-federal-court-rules-against-trumps-tariffs-2025-05-29/
2025-05-29 20:00
NuScale CEO says new design is more economical NuScale aims to build the first U.S. SMR by 2030 Company axed first project in 2023 CEO: NuScale in talks with 5 unnamed hyper-scalers WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday approved NuScale Power's (SMR.N) , opens new tab design for 77 megawatt reactors, clearing a hurdle for the company as it seeks to be the first company to build a U.S. small modular reactor. NuScale sought approval for the 77 MW design to improve economics and performance of its planned small modular reactors (SMRs), after having originally received NRC approval in 2020 for a 50 MW reactor design. Sign up here. SMRs are designed to be built in factories with relatively easily replicated parts instead of onsite like conventional nuclear power plants. Backers say the reactors will be safer to operate, their uranium cycles will be more resistant to access from militants seeking to obtain fissile materials, and their modular aspect will reduce costs for multiple plants. SMR critics say they will be more expensive to operate than conventional reactors, which have larger reactors, and they will continue to produce radioactive waste for which the U.S. has no permanent repository. NuScale is the only U.S. company with an approved design, but reaching the point of building a plant has been elusive. In 2023 NuScale axed its first project with a Utah municipal power group, despite a U.S. government promise of $1.35 billion in funding over 10 years for the plant, known as the Carbon Free Power Project. As costs rose, several towns had pulled out of the project. John Hopkins, NuScale's president and chief executive, said Thursday's approval, which came two months earlier than had been expected, allows the company to construct and operate a plant. "We now have an American technology that is near-term deployable," Hopkins said. As many as 12 of the 77 MW reactors can be put together in a plant, he said, which would be about the size of a typical conventional reactor. Hopkins said the company could have an SMR in operation by the end of the decade if a customer moves quickly. "It's really in the customer's hands." NuScale shares were down 3.9% at $33.96 in afternoon trade. Interest in nuclear energy has spiked as U.S. power demand rises for the first time in two decades on the boom in so-called hyper-scalers building data centers needed for artificial intelligence. Last week President Donald Trump signed four executive orders aiming to overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, including reducing staffing levels in some offices. The orders also directed the Energy and Defense departments to work together to build nuclear plants on federal lands. The orders did not direct any new public funding but could open the way for financing from the Loan Programs Office. Hopkins said NuScale is in talks to build SMRs with five "tier one hyper-scalers that we have non-disclosure agreements with." He did not identify them. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-approves-bigger-nuclear-reactor-design-nuscale-document-says-2025-05-29/
2025-05-29 18:57
LONDON, May 29 (Reuters) - Britain said on Thursday the northwest of England was now officially in drought status after the driest start to spring in decades caused water levels in rivers and reservoirs to decline. Through March, April and May, Britain has basked in its sunniest spring on record, according to the Met Office weather forecaster, though the lack of rainfall has raised some concerns about conserving water supply. Sign up here. The Environment Agency (EA) said reservoir storage levels in northwest England - home to the picturesque Lake District as well as the cities of Manchester and Liverpool - were lower than during the same time in the 1984, 1995 and 2022 drought years. Scientists say climate change is making droughts and drier summers more frequent. The EA said it would ensure that water companies, including major northwest supplier United Utilities (UU.L) , opens new tab, are ready to support customers to reduce demand if needed. "I'm doing everything in my power to hold United Utilities to account to ensure we have the regular supply of water that is needed across the region," Water Minister Emma Hardy said in a statement. The agency said ministers would convene a meeting of the National Drought Group next Thursday to assess the situation across the country. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/drought-declared-northwest-england-amid-sunniest-spring-record-2025-05-29/
2025-05-29 18:20
SAO PAULO, May 29 (Reuters) - Brazil's central government recorded a primary budget surplus of 17.8 billion reais ($3.1 billion) in April, Treasury data showed on Thursday, above the 15.9-billion-real surplus projected by economists polled by Reuters. The figure represents an increase from the 11.6-billion-real surplus in the same period of last year, driven by higher tax collection, as well as a jump in revenues coming from dividends and the exploration of natural resources, specially oil. Sign up here. Year-to-date, the central government primary surplus reached 72.4 billion reais, more than double the 31.8-billion-real surplus posted a year earlier. The improvement has been helped by a favorable base effect, as the government chose to push a hefty bill for court-ordered payments to the second half of the year, whereas those payments were made in the first half in 2024. In the 12-month period, the primary deficit stood at 5.3 billion reais, or 0.02% of gross domestic product (GDP). Speaking at a press conference, Treasury Secretary Rogerio Ceron said the central government will probably post a 12-month primary surplus in May. The government targets a zero primary deficit this year, with a tolerance margin of 0.25% of GDP, meaning it can record a deficit of up to 31 billion reais and still comply with fiscal rules. ($1 = 5.6574 reais) https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-central-government-posts-higher-than-expected-primary-surplus-april-2025-05-29/
