2025-05-07 23:23

BoE expected to cut rates by a quarter point to 4.25% First BoE forecasts since Trump's April 2 tariffs announcement Central bank seen lowering its inflation projections Investors watching for signals of any change in rate cut pace LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - The Bank of England is poised to extend its slow run of interest rate cuts on Thursday with investors watching for any signs that it could soon pick up the pace as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs weigh on the world economy. Governor Andrew Bailey and his BoE colleagues have long stressed the need for a gradual and careful approach to lowering borrowing costs, something most analysts say is likely to continue given the scale of uncertainty about the outlook. Sign up here. The BoE has cut rates just three times so far since last August, moving more slowly than the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank due to its concerns about inflationary heat in the jobs market. Although Britain's economy is far from robust, its growth this year looks set to be faster than in Germany and France. But Bailey has recently stressed the risks to the economy from the surge in global trade tensions. On Wednesday, the Fed kept its key interest rate on hold and said uncertainty about the economic outlook had increased with higher risks of a rise in both unemployment and inflation. A latest quarter-point cut by the BoE is widely expected on Thursday and investors are almost fully pricing in three more reductions by the end of 2025 which would take its benchmark Bank Rate to 3.5% from 4.5% at the moment. Most economists polled by Reuters last month expected the BoE to remain on its once-a-quarter rhythm which would leave Bank Rate at 3.75% at year-end. But BofA Global Research analysts said they now saw four BoE rate reductions to come this year with UK inflation set to rise by less than previously thought, in part due to cheaper imports from China which have been effectively shut out of the U.S. However, it was probably too soon for the BoE to change its stance on the way forward. "For now, we expect the BoE to retain the careful, gradual and meeting-by-meeting guidance, in the midst of uncertainty," the BofA analysts said. BNP Paribas Europe economist Dani Stoilova predicted the BoE's new forecasts would show inflation returning to the central bank's 2% target at the end of 2026, a year earlier than the BoE previously expected. However, Bailey and the rest of the Monetary Policy Committee would probably want to wait and see if Trump's tariffs and retaliation by China and other countries ultimately push up inflation by damaging supply chains, she said. The BoE is due to announce its May interest rate decision and its latest economic forecasts at 1102 GMT - two minutes later than usual to avoid disrupting a moment of silence to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe. Bailey and other top officials are due to hold a press conference at 1130 GMT. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/bank-england-set-cut-rates-amid-worries-about-trump-tariff-fallout-2025-05-07/

2025-05-07 23:15

May 7 (Reuters) - Atmos Energy (ATO.N) , opens new tab reported a rise in second-quarter profit, as the natural gas utility benefited from higher prices and customer growth. Average natural gas prices have risen over the past few quarters, reaching a two-year high on March 10, driven by strong demand from liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities and supply concerns leading into the summer season. Sign up here. The company said that operating income for its distribution segment increased by 13.5%, year-over-year, to $483.7 million in the second quarter, with rate hikes contributing $86.4 million in growth, and residential customer growth and other factors contributing $8.3 million. Atmos delivers natural gas to about 3.3 million distribution customers in eight U.S. states and operates regulated utility operations in Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. It raised its full-year profit forecast to $7.20 to $7.30 per share from $7.05 to $7.25 per share. The Dallas, Texas-based company reported a net income of $486 million, or $3.03 per share, for the quarter ended March 31, compared with $432 million, or $2.85 per share, for the same period last year. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/atmos-energy-reports-quarterly-profit-rise-raises-full-year-forecast-2025-05-07/

2025-05-07 23:08

LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - Britain's National Wealth Fund will lend 600 million pounds ($802 million) to Iberdrola-owned ScottishPower to help fund upgrades to the country’s power grid, they said in a joint statement on Thursday. The announcement comes a week after Spain and Portugal suffered widespread blackouts that industry experts say highlight the need for massive investment across Europe's electricity infrastructure. Sign up here. Britain also plans to largely decarbonise its power sector by 2030, which will require major grid upgrades to help integrate new renewable plants, like wind and solar, into the energy system. "This investment will help to deliver clean power by 2030 by speeding up grid upgrades – bringing cheaper, homegrown renewable power into homes and businesses, while supporting skilled jobs across the country," Britain's energy minister Ed Miliband said in the statement. The funding will help speed up seven of ScottishPower’s priority transmission grid upgrade projects, including its Eastern Green Link projects 1 and 4, which will help transport renewable power generated in Scotland to England. The financing will also deliver grid upgrades in five Scottish locations, including the building of new substations, overhead line reconfiguration and the improvement of overhead transmission cables to increase capacity and resilience, the statement said. Britain’s National Wealth Fund was set up in 2024 to help spur growth and invest in clean energy projects. The investment is part of a 1.35-billion-pound financing package, led by Bank of America as sole debt arranger and including Bank of America, BankInter, BNP Paribas, Caixabank, Lloyds Bank, NatWest and Banco Sabadell as lenders, the statement said. ($1 = 0.7484 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/britains-national-wealth-fund-lend-iberdrola-800-mln-uk-power-grid-upgrades-2025-05-07/

2025-05-07 23:07

Selic rate raised to 14.75%, highest since August 2006 Policymakers say scenario requires prolonged restrictive policy Economists suggest potential rate pause in June BRASILIA, May 7 (Reuters) - Brazil's central bank raised interest rates by 50 basis points on Wednesday in a sixth straight hike that pushed borrowing costs to their highest in nearly 20 years, and left future steps open amid global uncertainties and sticky domestic inflation. The bank's monetary policy committee, known as Copom, raised the Selic to 14.75% in a unanimous decision, matching forecasts from 32 of 35 economists in a Reuters poll. Sign up here. Policymakers stressed that the current environment calls for a "significantly contractionary monetary policy for a prolonged period" to bring inflation to target, dropping previous language about the need for "a more contractionary" stance. "For the next meeting, the scenario of heightened uncertainty, combined with the advanced stage of the current monetary policy cycle and its cumulative impacts yet to be observed, requires additional caution in the monetary policy action and flexibility to incorporate data that impact the inflation outlook," they added in the decision's statement. Flavio Serrano, chief economist at BMG Bank, said the central bank left the door open for a smaller rate hike in June if needed, though he sees it as unlikely. "My base case is zero increase in June, holding at 14.75%. There may be room for a cut at the very end of the year, depending on how the outlook evolves," he said. In March, the central bank had already flagged the need for further tightening this month, though at a slower pace than the previous three 100 basis-point hikes. With Wednesday's move - announced just hours after the U.S. Federal Reserve held rates steady but cited the risk of rising inflation and unemployment - the Selic benchmark rate has now reached its highest level since August 2006. The sky-high rates come against a backdrop of a 5.49% annual inflation rate, well above the official 3% goal, with markets skeptical that inflation will return to target even by as far out as 2028. The aggressive tightening has added 425 basis points to the benchmark rate since September, but policymakers stressed on Wednesday they observe "an incipient moderation in growth," with indicators of domestic economic activity and the labor market still exhibiting strength. GLOBAL UNCERTAINTIES Now, however, the inflation risk balance is no longer described as tilted to the upside, but rather as featuring higher-than-usual risks on both sides - including a new disinflationary risk tied to falling commodity prices. "Indeed, the external scenario points to a greater disinflationary outlook than previously expected, which could support a pause in monetary tightening as early as June," said Rafaela Vitoria, chief economist at lender Inter. Global uncertainties, triggered by sweeping U.S. trade tariffs that have clouded the outlook for the world's largest economy, have led Copom members to emphasize the need for greater caution and flexibility in remarks ahead of the decision. The current environment, they previously argued, not only limits their ability to provide any guidance but also requires policymakers to consider a broader and diverse set of data to assess whether monetary policy is achieving its intended effects. Their concern about the trajectory of Latin America's largest economy came despite some favorable inflationary developments since the Brazilian central bank's latest policy meeting, including a stronger currency and lower commodity prices. On the other hand, the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has unveiled new stimulus measures, such as changes to rules governing payroll-deductible loans, as it struggles to reverse a plunge in the leftist leader's approval ratings. Considering changes in macroeconomic conditions, Brazil's central bank on Wednesday lowered its 2025 inflation forecast to 4.8%, down from 5.1% projected in March. For the fourth quarter of 2026, the period most influenced by current monetary policy decisions, the bank now projects the 12-month inflation rate to reach 3.6%, down from 3.7% estimated in the quarterly monetary policy report released late March. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-cenbank-lifts-rates-50-bps-signals-data-dependent-path-2025-05-07/

2025-05-07 22:49

WASHINGTON, May 7 (Reuters) - Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab President Brad Smith on Thursday will urge U.S. lawmakers to streamline federal permitting for artificial intelligence energy needs and open more government data sets for AI training, according to written testimony seen by Reuters. "America’s advanced economy relies on 50-year-old infrastructure that cannot meet the increasing electricity demands driven by AI, reshoring of manufacturing, and increased electrification," Smith's written testimony for the Senate Commerce Committee AI hearing says. Sign up here. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will tell the committee that "as AI systems become more capable, people will want to use them even more. Meeting that demand requires more chips, training data, energy, and supercomputers." https://www.reuters.com/business/microsoft-urge-senators-speed-permitting-ai-boost-government-data-access-2025-05-07/

2025-05-07 21:48

WASHINGTON, May 7 (Reuters) - California and 15 other states sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, saying the federal government was illegally withholding billions of dollars awarded to states for building electric-vehicle charging stations. The U.S. Transportation Department in February suspended the EV charging program and rescinded approval of state plans pending a review. Sign up here. Senate Democrats said President Donald Trump was withholding more than $3 billion from the program, which was approved as part of former President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. The lawsuit, joined by the District of Columbia, New York, New Jersey and Colorado among others, was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington State. The states said the administration's decision "will devastate the ability of states to build the charging infrastructure necessary for making EVs accessible to more consumers, combating climate change, reducing other harmful pollution, and supporting the states’ green economies." A spokesperson for Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy did not immediately comment. In February, a group representing automakers and electric vehicle charging companies called on the transportation department to restore funding quickly. Since his inauguration in January, Trump has moved to reverse Biden administration policies promoting a transition from fossil fuels to clean energy and battling climate change. Trump has advocated for a return to coal-fired power plants and an increase in domestic oil exploration and production. As part of his stance, the president has taken aim at electric vehicles, halting distribution of government funds for vehicle charging stations from the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund. Trump revoked a 2021 order by Biden that sought to ensure half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. were electric by 2030. He called for an end to state efforts to adopt zero-emission vehicle rules and a halt in funding for high-speed rail in California. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/16-states-dc-sue-trump-over-ev-charging-station-funds-2025-05-07/