2026-01-20 12:40
LISBON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Portugal's Lifthium Energy has been awarded a 180 million euro ($210 million) government grant to build a lithium refinery in the country's north for the fast-growing electric vehicle battery market. With 60,000 metric tons of reserves, Portugal is Europe's top lithium producer, supplying mainly the ceramics industry. It has only recently sought to produce battery-grade lithium. Sign up here. The company said the non-refundable grant was awarded under the European Union's Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, which allows state incentives to speed the green and industrial transition. Lifthium, 85% owned by Portuguese conglomerate Jose de Mello with the remainder by its subsidiary Bondalti, will build the refinery in the northern town of Estarreja, about 50 km (31 miles) south of Porto. Bondalti, Portugal's largest chemicals producer, already operates sites there and Lifthium aims to start operations by 2030. Lifthium CEO Duarte Braga said the project was advancing "with rigour and prudence", as the lithium market and Europe's industrial environment had become significantly more challenging over the past two years. He said the public incentive was important, but the focus now was on securing a strategic partner and firming up market and financing conditions before a final investment decision. In addition to the Estarreja plant, Lifthium may build another refinery in Spain, he said. The company is aiming for annual refining capacity of 50,000 tons of lithium hydroxide, enough to supply batteries for two million EVs, using proprietary technology designed to meet Europe's environmental and industrial standards. The government hopes to launch a long-delayed tender for lithium prospecting licences this year, seen as key to building a domestic lithium value chain and cutting Europe's reliance on imports from countries including China. ($1 = 0.8594 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/portugals-lifthium-wins-210-million-grant-lithium-refinery-2026-01-20/
2026-01-20 12:35
Jan 20 (Reuters) - Western Midstream Partners (WES.N) , opens new tab said on Tuesday it has renegotiated contracts with Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N) , opens new tab related to its Delaware Basin assets, securing a simpler fixed-fee structure for natural gas gathering and processing. As part of the deal, Occidental will transfer 15.3 million common units worth about $610 million back to Western Midstream, which would reduce the company's ownership to roughly 40%. Sign up here. Western Midstream also signed new natural gas gathering and processing agreements with ConocoPhillips (COP.N) , opens new tab for a portion of its Delaware Basin volumes. The ConocoPhillips agreement, which runs into the early 2030s, will diversify revenues by reducing related‑party revenue by more than 10%, Western Midstream said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/western-midstream-renegotiates-occidental-contracts-get-610-million-unit-2026-01-20/
2026-01-20 12:23
Parts of Russia's Far East hit by heaviest snowfall in 60 years Cold snap disrupts transport in Japan and China Japan Meteorological Agency urges people to avoid non-essential travel Jan 20 (Reuters) - Russia's Far East was buried under metres of snow by its heaviest snowfall in 60 years on Tuesday as a winter blast swept across Asia, dusting Shanghai white and grounding flights in Japan's northwest. The cold snap disrupted transport across the region, closing roads in China, stranding air travellers in Japan and leaving parts of Russia’s Far East paralysed. Sign up here. Scientists said the weather was related to waves of cool air coming in from the Arctic, which was simultaneously affecting Eastern Russia and Asia, and a second, affecting Eastern Europe. "You've got these two simultaneous bursts of cool air coming down from the Arctic due to a waviness in the jet stream," said climate scientist Theodore Keeping, referring to air currents in the upper atmosphere which define weather patterns. "The Arctic polar vortex, which is this massive cold air which circulates the Arctic is relatively weak right now, and what that means it drives the jet stream less intensely, and that leads to waves of cool air coming down from the Arctic," said Keeping, an extreme weather researcher for World Weather Attribution at London's Imperial College Centre for Environmental Policy. VAST SNOWDRIFTS IN RUSSIA'S FAR EAST In Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, vast snowdrifts several metres high blocked building entrances and buried cars, after more than 2 metres (6.5 feet) of snow fell in some areas in the first half of January, following 3.7 metres in December, according to weather monitoring stations. Some vehicles were almost completely submerged, four-wheel drives struggling for traction or immobilised entirely, as residents dug narrow paths through the snow to reach apartment entrances. In the port city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, locals were filmed walking atop snowbanks beside traffic lights, with some jumping from the drifts for fun. "It's like a sand dune," resident and blogger Polina Tuichieva said of the mammoth snow in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, 6,800 km (4,200 miles) east of Moscow. RARE SNOW IN SHANGHAI The same system swept south into China, where a wave of low temperatures brought rare snowfall to the financial hub of Shanghai as authorities warned the frigid weather could last for at least three days. The east coast city last experienced heavy snowfall in January 2018. "It was the first time I have seen such heavy snowfall in Shanghai," 23-year-old student Li Meng said. The wintry scenes marked a sharp reversal from just a week earlier, when Shanghai basked in unusually high temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), prompting some osmanthus trees to bloom, local media reported. "The weather seems rather strange this year," 30-year-old Shanghai resident Yu Xin said. "Last week, it was still over 20 degrees Celsius, but this week it dropped below zero and started snowing. In general, the temperature fluctuations have been quite significant, so some people might feel a bit uncomfortable." Chinese state media said sharp temperature drops also hit provinces south of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, including Jiangxi and Guizhou. In Guizhou, temperatures are expected to fall by 10 to 14 degrees Celsius, Zhejiang News reported. As icy conditions spread, authorities shut sections of major roads across 12 provinces — including Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang — due to snowfall and icy roads, state broadcaster CCTV said. TRAVEL WARNING IN JAPAN In Japan, strong winds and heavy snowfall disrupted travel along its northwestern coast, grounding dozens of flights and hitting popular ski regions at the height of winter. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that heavy snow would hit northern and western regions between January 21 and 25, urging people to avoid non-essential travel. ANA Holdings (9202.T) , opens new tab cancelled 56 flights affecting around 3,900 passengers, while Japan Airlines scrapped 37 flights affecting 2,213 travellers. Nearly all of ANA’s cancellations were concentrated at New Chitose Airport near Sapporo in Hokkaido. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/russias-far-east-buried-snow-transport-disrupted-china-japan-2026-01-20/
2026-01-20 12:23
WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump may decide on who the next chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve will be as early as next week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday. "My guess is that the president will reach a decision, maybe as soon as next week. We've had substantial conversations about this," Bessent said in an interview with CNBC. Sign up here. "We've run a process that started in September. Eleven very strong candidates. We're now down to four counts. The president has personally met with all of them." Trump has sharply criticized Jerome Powell, whose term as Fed chair ends in May, for not lowering interest rates fast enough. The leading four candidates for the role are Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett, Fed Governor Christopher Waller, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh and BlackRock's chief bond investment manager, Rick Rieder. Powell, nominated by Trump in 2017, does not have to leave the Fed entirely after his leadership term ends in May, and he has not indicated what he will do. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-may-reach-fed-chair-decision-early-next-week-bessent-says-2026-01-20/
2026-01-20 11:55
NEW DELHI, Jan 20 (Reuters) - India's infrastructure output (ININFR=ECI) , opens new tab grew 3.7% year-on-year in December, its fastest pace in four months, driven by strong cement and steel production, government data showed on Tuesday. The index, which tracks activity across eight sectors and makes up 40% of the country's industrial production, grew at a revised 2.1% year-on-year growth in November. Sign up here. Industrial output last grew at a faster pace of 6.5% in August 2025. KEY NUMBERS * Cement output rose 13.5% year-on-year in December as compared to a revised increase of 14.6% in November. * Steel production grew 6.9% year-on-year in December versus a revised increase of 6.7% a month ago. * Electricity generation increased 5.3% year-on-year in December versus a revised fall of 1.5% a month ago. * Crude oil output fell 5.6% year-on-year in December as compared to a fall of 3.2% in November. * Natural gas production declined 4.4% year-on-year in December as against a drop of 2.5% in November. * Fertiliser production increased 4.1% year-on-year in December as compared to a growth of 5.6% in November. * Coal production rose 3.6% year-on-year in December as compared to a growth of 2.1% in November. * Refinery products output declined 1% year-on-year in December as against a fall of 0.9% in the previous month. * Infrastructure output rose 2.6% year-on-year in April-December as against a revised growth of 4.5% a year ago. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-december-infrastructure-output-grows-37-yy-2026-01-20/
2026-01-20 11:46
Source said Macron intends to decline invitation Trump's board intended to address Gaza and expand to other conflicts US is the largest market for French wine and spirits WASHINGTON/PARIS, Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to hit French wines and champagnes with 200% tariffs in an apparent effort to cajole French President Emmanuel Macron into joining his Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts. Trump's initiative, which would start by addressing Gaza and then expand to deal with other conflicts, raises questions about the role of the United Nations and a source close to Macron said the French president intended to decline the invitation to join. Sign up here. When asked about Macron's stance, Trump said, "Did he say that? Well, nobody wants him because he will be out of office very soon." "I'll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he'll join, but he doesn't have to join," Trump said. WINE TARIFF THREAT PART OF BROADER SALVO AGAINST EU Macron is due in Davos for the day on Tuesday before a scheduled return to Paris in the evening. Elysee aides have said there are no plans to extend his stay to Wednesday, when Trump arrives in the Swiss mountain resort town. In another shot at the French leader, Trump published a private message from Macron in which he said he did not understand Trump's actions over Greenland. France holds an election to replace Macron in 2027. Wines and spirits exported to the United States from the European Union currently face a 15% tariff - a rate the French have been lobbying hard to reduce to zero since Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed a U.S.-EU trade deal in Scotland last summer. The United States is the largest market for French wine and spirits, with shipments at 3.8 billion euros in 2024. "The fact that we're getting more threats is going to make the industry harder to invest in, it's going to make it harder for companies to make decisions for their own investments," said Laurence Whyatt, head of European beverages research at Barclays. "They will have to be more reserved, keep a bit of cash back, not invest, because they need to be able to weather the storms as and when they come." Shares in luxury conglomerate LVMH (LVMH.PA) , opens new tab, which owns major champagne producers including Moet & Chandon, were down 2% in early trading. "These declarations by the President of the United States must be taken seriously but with composure," Gabriel Picard, chairman of the French wine and spirits export lobby FEVS, said in a statement. The issue must be handled at the European level, in a united and coordinated way, the association said. France's wine and spirits industry suffered a 20%-25% hit to its U.S. business in the second half of last year after previous tariff measures, Picard had told Reuters on Monday, before the latest threat. A Macron aide said the Elysee took note of Trump's remarks and stressed that tariff threats to influence a third party's foreign policy were unacceptable. TRUMP'S THREATS ARE "BRUTAL", FARM MINISTER SAYS Europeans are weighing their own 93 billion euro tariff riposte and even the use of the bloc's "Anti-Coercion Instrument" to retaliate against a separate threat of tariff hikes against a group of European states over Greenland. "It's brutal, it's designed to break us, it's a tool for blackmail. All of this is outrageous," French Farm Minister Annie Genevard told news channel TF1. "We have the tools; Europeans must take responsibility. We cannot allow such an escalation." Trump has threatened a 200% tariff on wine and other alcoholic beverages imported from the EU before, including last year in March as transatlantic trade tensions escalated. Governments have reacted cautiously to Trump's Board of Peace invitation, a plan that diplomats said could harm the work of the United Nations. A draft charter sent to about 60 countries by the U.S. administration calls for members to contribute $1 billion in cash if they want their membership to last more than three years, according to the document seen by Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/trump-threatens-tariffs-french-wines-get-macron-join-board-peace-2026-01-20/
