2025-04-29 20:49
MEXICO CITY, April 29 (Reuters) - Mexico's largest broadcaster Grupo Televisa (TLEVISACPO.MX) , opens new tab posted a 66% drop in net profit in the first quarter, sinking to to 319.8 million pesos ($15.63 million), according to a filing published by the company on Tuesday. The company's revenues totaled 14.97 billion pesos, a 6% decrease from the same period last year. Sign up here. The broadcaster, the world's biggest producer of Spanish-language content, said the quarterly loss was largely due to lower revenues from its satellite TV unit SKY. Televisa's satellite television unit SKY saw about 330,800 disconnections with a 13.2% dip in revenue. Televisa's cable segment saw almost 79,000 disconnections between broadband and video subscribers and a revenue drop of 3.1%. In February, company executives said Televisa's capital expenditure (CAPEX) budget for 2025 would be $665 million. ($1 = 20.4604 pesos at end-March) https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/mexican-broadcaster-televisa-posts-66-profit-slide-first-quarter-2025-04-29/
2025-04-29 20:41
Voluntary ban praised by conservationists for preserving Amazon Court allows state to withdraw tax incentives from signatories SAO PAULO, April 29 (Reuters) - Brazil's Supreme Court will allow the country's biggest farming state to withdraw tax incentives from signatories of the so-called "Soy Moratorium," a voluntary ban by grain traders on soybean purchases from Amazon areas deforested after 2008, in a setback for the conservation movement. Conservationists have praised the 2006 Soy Moratorium initiative for slowing damage to the world's largest rainforest. But the agreement is under growing pressure from farmers' lobbies interested in expanding plantings to meet rising demand for soy from Brazil, the leading producer globally. Sign up here. Separately on Tuesday, Brazil's Mato Grosso farmers lobby Aprosoja-MT filed a fresh lawsuit against global grain companies and their Brazilian lobbies over the rules of the moratorium, according to a copy of the complaint filed with the court and seen by Reuters. They want the court to force the defendants to cease what they called "the illegal conduct that has been practiced within the scope of the Soy Moratorium." Farmers are seeking to persuade the judge to make the defendants pay compensation for the losses this agreement allegedly imposed on Brazilian soybean farmers. Aprosoja-MT is suing the Brazilian units of ADM (ADM.N) , opens new tab, Bunge (BG.N) , opens new tab, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus Company and COFCO and lobbies for grain exporters, such as Abiove and Anec. Louis Dreyfus Company referred Reuters to Abiove for comment. Cargill and Abiove declined to comment on the lawsuit. Anec and the other firms did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Mato Grosso state, which supplies almost a third of Brazil's soybeans, passed a law last year pulling tax advantages for those joining the Soy Moratorium. The Supreme Court had provisionally suspended enforcement of the law pending a ruling on its compliance with the constitution. RULING TO BE CONFIRMED In the decision handed down on Monday following arguments from Mato Grosso, Justice Flavio Dino acknowledged the moratorium as an important conservation tool; however, he wrote it cannot be used to constrain the actions of the state. The state "may base its tax incentive policy on criteria that are different from those of a private agreement, as long as it is in compliance with national legislation," Dino wrote. "It seems reasonable to me that [Mato Grosso] state should not be obliged to grant tax incentives or public land [use] to companies failing to comply with laws that took effect after the signing of the Soy Moratorium," he added. The ruling must now be confirmed by a panel of Supreme Court justices before it can be enforced from January 1, 2026, the decision said. Abiove, which represents soybean traders, said last week before a Senate committee that the case gave the soy industry a chance to improve the moratorium. On the Supreme Court's decision itself, Abiove vowed to open talks with the Mato Grosso government to discuss the application of the new law if the panel confirms the latest ruling on the matter. Abiove praised the fact Justice Dino gave time in his decision for private and public agents to have talks. Abiove added Dino's decision "makes it clear" that all previous legal acts and acquired rights "are guaranteed," meaning the incentives already granted to the trading companies cannot be withdrawn, according to the statement. The current moratorium agreement bars soy purchases from a whole farm if it includes areas deforested since 2008, and one potential change could allow more flexibility by drawing a distinction between individual soy fields. Farmers and traders, however, have yet to reach a compromise. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-supreme-court-deals-blow-amazon-soy-moratorium-2025-04-29/
2025-04-29 20:37
April 29 (Reuters) - Top U.S. natural gas producer Expand Energy (EXE.O) , opens new tab beat analysts' estimates for first-quarter profit on Tuesday, driven by higher natural gas prices and production, and signaled minimal near-term potential impact from tariffs. Share were up about 1% at $108.50 in extended trading. Sign up here. Average natural gas prices have been on an upward trajectory over the past few quarters and touched a two-year high on March 10, supported by record flows to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities and concerns over supply in the lead-up to the summer season. Expand Energy's average realized price for natural gas during the quarter was up 23.2% year-over-year, at $3.51 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf), while production almost doubled to 6,254 million cubic feet per day (MMcfpd). Expand Energy, formerly known as Chesapeake Energy, said in February it was on track to boost output by more than 5% in 2026 from levels expected in 2025 so long as market conditions warrant such a move. U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on trading partners has heightened uncertainty in the natural gas industry on worries that a global trade war could curb global economic growth and crimp demand for energy. However, the natural gas producer said it expects minimal near-term potential impact from tariffs on the back of favorable outlook for service pricing and added that long-term impact is largely dependent upon outcome and scale of the levies. The Oklahoma City-based company, which acquired Southwestern for $7.4 billion to become the top U.S. independent natural gas producer, reported an adjusted profit of $2.02 per share for the quarter ended March 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.88, according to data compiled by LSEG. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/expand-energy-beats-first-quarter-profit-estimates-strong-natural-gas-prices-2025-04-29/
2025-04-29 20:35
GEORGETOWN, April 29 (Reuters) - Guyana's government has submitted an oil pollution bill to the Parliament proposing to make responsible parties liable for damages caused by oil spills, including from vessels, according to a copy of the act published in the Official Gazette. The South American country, whose oil production is controlled by an Exxon Mobil-led (XOM.N) , opens new tab consortium is expected to surpass 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year, is trying to reinforce oversight of its nascent energy industry, where all crude and gas output comes from offshore fields. Sign up here. Responsible parties shall provide financial assurance to cover spills, conduct regular inspections and audits, and address any issues found, according to the bill, to be discussed by lawmakers in coming weeks. The bill includes penalties for companies that fail to comply with regulations, including the suspension of licenses to explore and produce oil for those that do not provide the financial assurance required. According to legislation previously approved, the net-zero carbon emission country does not allow routine flaring from vessels producing crude and gas offshore. More than 80% of Guyana's land is covered by forest. Guyana last year became Latin America's fifth largest oil exporter after Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia. The Exxon group, which includes U.S. Hess (HES.N) , opens new tab and China's CNOOC (600938.SS) , opens new tab, produced an average of 631,000 bpd of oil in the first quarter, 3% higher than in the same period last year. Under the proposed measure, the country's Oil Spill Committee would be assigned more formal duties to oversee the industry and coordinate response to any spills. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/guyana-make-companies-liable-oil-spill-damages-proposed-bill-2025-04-29/
2025-04-29 20:28
Honeywell, Sherwin-Williams, Coke lift Dow General Motors pulls forecast on tariff uncertainty HSBC cuts S&P 500 year-end target Indexes up: Dow 0.75%, S&P 500 0.58%, Nasdaq 0.55% NEW YORK, April 29 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed solidly in positive territory on Tuesday, after seesawing between modest gains and losses in choppy trading as investors assessed the latest round of corporate earnings, economic data and changes on the trade policy front. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicted China could lose 10 million jobs quickly due to tariffs, but signaled progress on trade deals with other countries including Japan and India. Sign up here. The world's two largest economies have been at the center of a global trade war, sparked by tariff announcements on April 2 by the Trump administration on countries around the globe, which has stoked investor concerns about rapidly slowing global growth and a rekindling of price pressures. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said U.S. President Donald Trump would sign an order, which he in fact did just before the closing bell on Tuesday, giving automakers building vehicles in the U.S. relief from part of his new 25% vehicle tariffs to allow them time to bring parts supply chains back home. Automaker shares showed little reaction to the potentially lighter tariffs, and General Motors (GM.N) , opens new tab shares ended 0.6% lower after the company reported strong quarterly results but rescinded its annual forecast. The blue-chip Dow (.DJI) , opens new tab was led by gains in Honeywell (HON.O) , opens new tab, which jumped 5.4% after reporting a rise in adjusted profit for the first quarter, and paint maker Sherwin-Williams (SHW.N) , opens new tab, which rallied 4.8% after its quarterly profit beat estimates. Also among Dow components, Coca-Cola (KO.N) , opens new tab closed 0.8% higher after beating revenue and profit estimates. "A lot of the economic data is going to be mixed, it's going to be really hard to discern tariff impacts probably for the next month or two," said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial in Troy, Michigan. "Corporate profits, the companies that are most impacted by tariffs, are doing what we would expect, they're cutting guidance or they're suspending guidance." Economic data pointed to an increasing impact from the trade picture. The U.S. trade deficit in goods widened to a record high in March as businesses ramped up efforts to bring in merchandise ahead of tariffs while a separate report from the Conference Board showed its consumer confidence index dropped to its lowest reading since May 2020, while job openings indicated a relatively stable labor market. "Trump‘s tariffs have pushed expectations off a cliff," said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. "Maybe the silver lining is that it’ll be hard to not see some improvement in expectations over the next few months." The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 300.03 points, or 0.75%, to 40,527.62, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 32.08 points, or 0.58%, to 5,560.83 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 95.19 points, or 0.55%, to 17,461.32. More economic data is due this week, culminating in Friday's key government payrolls report, along with earnings from several of the "Magnificent Seven" group of megacap stocks such as Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab and Microsoft (.MSFT.O) , opens new tab, with investors likely to home in on any signs of tariff impact. United Parcel Service (UPS.N) , opens new tab slipped 0.4% after its quarterly results and said it would cut 20,000 jobs as it sheds deliveries for Amazon.com (AMZN.O) , opens new tab. While each of three major indexes remains in negative territory for the year, stocks have shown signs of stabilizing in recent weeks, with the S&P 500 registering its sixth straight session of gains, its longest win streak since a seven-day run in November. HSBC became the latest brokerage to trim its year-end target for the S&P 500 index, cutting it to 5,600 from 6,700 earlier. Wells Fargo (WFC.N) , opens new tab gained 2.4% after announcing a stock buyback program of up to $40 billion. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.38-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.55-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted six new 52-week highs and six new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 37 new highs and 59 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 20.02 billion shares, compared with the 19.46 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-stock-futures-edge-up-tariff-relief-with-earnings-data-focus-2025-04-29/
2025-04-29 20:20
April 29 (Reuters) - Cadbury-parent Mondelez International (MDLZ.O) , opens new tab beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Tuesday, driven by the high prices for its chocolates and biscuits. Mondelez implemented several rounds of price increases in recent quarters to offset rising costs of inputs, such as cocoa in 2024, helping the company's earnings. Sign up here. This, along with its new product rollouts including the launch of the Glow Ups variant of its Sour Patch Kids candy and heavy-handed promotional activities and advertising spending helped the company draw in consumers amid high competition in the market. However, Mondelez faces potential uncertainty due to an anticipated surge in product prices following U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies, which may impact consumer spending in the U.S., while the trade wars may affect its expansion efforts into emerging markets. Shares of the Chicago-based company were up about 2% after the bell. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 74 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31, ahead of analysts' average estimate of 66 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. The Toblerone maker reported an increase in its prices by 6.6 percentage points in the quarter, while its volumes fell 3.5 percentage points. Mondelez's net revenue rose 0.2% to $9.31 billion for the quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of $9.33 billion. The company also reaffirmed its annual forecast, including organic net revenue growth of about 5% and a 10% decline in adjusted profits, noting it does not reflect any potential tariff changes. "Our Q1 pricing and share performance, along with the global strength of our categories, provide us with continued confidence in our full-year outlook," said Mondelez CEO Dirk Van de Put in a statement. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/mondelez-beats-first-quarter-profit-estimates-2025-04-29/
