2025-03-10 11:46

Program aims to control bird flu, prevent new pandemic Vaccinated eggs to be sold only within Netherlands March 10 (Reuters) - The Netherlands, one of the world's largest egg exporters, has launched a pilot program on a laying-hen farm to vaccinate poultry against bird flu with the aim of achieving large-scale vaccination, the government said on Monday. The highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has killed or led to the culling of hundreds of millions of poultry globally in recent years, most of them laying hens, which sent egg prices rocketing. It can also spread to humans and other animals, raising fears of a new pandemic. The Dutch pilot follows field tests that demonstrated the effectiveness of two vaccines last year. It will be conducted at one farm initially, and then potentially expanded to others, the government said in a statement. "The aim is to investigate how the market responds to the sale of products (from vaccinated poultry) and to gain experience with the implementation of the surveillance program," it said. The Netherlands opted for a gradual introduction because large-scale vaccination requires adjustments in veterinary infrastructure and can have trade consequences, the government said, without naming them. Bird flu vaccination programs can sometimes trigger export bans, on concern that vaccinated birds not showing signs of infection could pose risks to healthy birds in the export countries. France's country-wide vaccination program in 2023 of ducks prompted several countries to ban French poultry on such concerns. Chicks will be vaccinated at Dutch hatcheries before being moved to laying farms, with eggs sold only within the Netherlands. The program will run until early 2027. "I am pleased that the poultry sector wants to take this step with me. Vaccination offers a huge opportunity to better control bird flu," said Agriculture Minister Femke Wiersma. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/netherlands-starts-bird-flu-vaccination-program-hen-farm-2025-03-10/

2025-03-10 11:39

TSX ends down 1.5% at 24,380.71 Posts lowest closing level since November 4 Tech loses 3.6%, with Shopify down 6.9% Whitecap Resources tumbles 14% on merger deal March 10 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell to a four-month low on Monday, including declines for technology and metal mining shares, as investors globally grew more worried that the unpredictability of U.S. trade policy could derail economic growth. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended down 378.05 points, or 1.5%, at 24,380.71, its lowest closing level since November 4, the day before the election of U.S. President Donald Trump. U.S. stocks posted even steeper declines. Trump on Sunday declined to rule out that his tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China may cause a U.S. recession. A Reuters poll found that recession risks were mounting for the U.S., Mexico and Canada. "The market selling off tech is a direct indication that future growth is being called into question," said Allan Small, senior investment advisor of the Allan Small Financial Group with iA Private Wealth. "Technology is where you see people invest when they're bullish on growth potential for the future." The Toronto market's technology sector fell 3.6%, with shares of e-commerce company Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) , opens new tab down 6.9%. The materials group, which includes fertilizer and metal mining shares, lost 2.6% as gold and copper prices fell. Heavily weighted financials were down 1.6% and industrials ended 2% lower. The utilities sector was the only major one to end higher, advancing 0.4% as bond yields declined. The Bank of Canada is expected on Wednesday to cut its benchmark interest rate by a further 25 basis points to support the economy, after lowering the rate by two percentage points since June to its current setting of 3%. Whitecap Resources Inc (WCP.TO) , opens new tab shares fell 14.5% after the oil producer agreed to merge with Veren Inc (VRN.TO) , opens new tab in an all-stock deal valued at C$15 billion ($10.43 billion) including debt. Shares of Veren were up 16.0%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/tsx-futures-fall-trade-war-concerns-persist-boc-rate-decision-focus-2025-03-10/

2025-03-10 11:34

USDA grant freeze impacts farmers' financial stability Farmers face bankruptcy, economic uncertainty due to freeze Trump administration's freeze affects USDA conservation, food programs CHICAGO/WASHINGTON, March 10 - Nate Powell-Palm, an organic farmer outside Belgrade, Montana, was relying on a $648,000 grant from USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service to help build a feed mill - an economic lifeline for about 150 area organic grain farmers. But construction is on hold following the Trump Administration's freeze on some agricultural grants and loans as it conducts a broad review of federal spending. Now, about 500 tons of baled alfalfa sits untouched in stacks in his fields, and a bill from a Colorado equipment manufacturer is past due. Last week, he traveled with a group of farmers to Washington, D.C. to meet with lawmakers and try to get their frozen USDA grant funding released. Farmers and food organizations across the country are cutting staff, halting investments and missing key funding amid a USDA freeze on a broad swath of grants, more than two dozen farmers and agricultural support groups in seven states told Reuters. All this comes as Trump has imposed new tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China, sparking trade wars with the biggest buyers of U.S. farm products. Trump on March 6 said he would exempt farm products like potash fertilizer from the tariffs until April 2. But if they eventually go into effect, the tariffs would hurt the $191 billion American agricultural export sector, raise costs for farmers struggling with low crop prices and send consumer grocery prices higher, farm groups warn. "As the president said, farmers need to start growing crops to sell here in the U.S.," Powell-Palm said, referencing a March 3 post by Trump on his Truth Social website in which Trump said farmers should prepare to sell more domestic product. "This is what we are trying to do. We just need our approved grant funding to be released." Trump has historically enjoyed widespread support across the U.S. Farm Belt, where he won most states in the November election. But recent actions - like a freeze on most humanitarian aid and a broad review of federal spending that paused disbursements - have disrupted some agricultural markets and caused stress and confusion in farm country. For example, some agricultural production lines have been halted. Two farmers, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive personal financial matters, told Reuters they were weeks away from being forced to file for bankruptcy because of the USDA freeze. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said the administration is making agencies more efficient, including to better serve farmers. A USDA spokesperson said the administration is reviewing the frozen programs. BILLIONS IN AID Though the U.S. farm sector previously faced sweeping trade wars under Trump, many have remained loyal even as his policies and tariffs damaged American farm sales and resulted in lost global market share that soybean growers still haven’t recovered. But many farmers last fall believed they were so politically important to Trump winning back the White House, that he would help cover their financial losses. After all, it happened before. Under the first Trump administration, farmers received about $217 billion in farm payments, including crop support, disaster, and aid programs - more than in any prior four-year period since 1933, according to a Reuters examination of USDA data. Adjusted for inflation, the only period with more spending on farmers was 1984 to 1988, when a farm economic crisis battered rural America. Agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins has said USDA is considering direct payments to farmers again if trade wars lead to farm losses. Currently, the USDA administers hundreds of programs that support the agriculture sector, either through grants and loans, or direct payments and other subsidies. From financial assistance programs alone, U.S. farmers and ranchers received $161 billion from USDA between fiscal years 2019 through 2023, according to a December report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office , opens new tab. Several of the grant recipients interviewed by Reuters said their money came from former President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which provided more than $20 billion for farm and forestry conservation programs. Trump froze IRA disbursements in his first days in office, though the White House said on January 22 that the freeze only applied to clean energy projects. Rollins said on February 20 that the agency is beginning to unfreeze some IRA money for farmers, but the scope of the release is unclear. The USDA did not comment on how much money has been released from IRA or other funding sources. The White House did not respond to questions about under what authority the funds are frozen or when they may be released. The full scope of economic impact on farmers is not known. Two federal judges have blocked Trump from issuing broad freezes of federal spending. 'YOUR WORD MEANS SOMETHING' Many farmers are worried they won't be spared from Trump's government downsizing. Seeking answers, farmers have called their Congressional representatives and local contacts at field USDA offices. Sometimes, the calls were answered. Sometimes, not. Dave Walton, a row crop farmer in Muscatine County, Iowa, said farmers had expected Trump's administration to improve the federal safety net, not slash it. "In farming, your word means something. If you sign a contract, that means something," said Walton, who said he's waiting on $6,000 from a USDA-funded program for climate-friendly farming. Grain farmer Steve Tucker was awarded a $400,000 grant through Agricultural Marketing Service, which promotes domestic and foreign farm markets, to build a mill in southwest Nebraska. He had planned to grind this year's sorghum crop into flour and sell it to U.S. snack manufacturers, but now that's on hold. The broader grant freeze has also affected some farmers' customers. Ed and Becky Morgan scrimped for years to grow their livestock herd as demand for their sausage varieties boomed, thanks to local public schools hungry for lunchtime links. But the fate of USDA grants that help schools buy foodstuffs from local farmers - like the Morgans' flavored sausages - remains uncertain, said Spencer Moss, the executive director of the West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition in Charleston, West Virginia. Some of the frozen USDA money is linked to soil and water conservation, organic and local food, regional and rural food systems, and minority and women farmers, according to Reuters interviews with farmers and farm organizations. Food and farm groups with grants unrelated to conservation also told Reuters they were not receiving promised funds. The West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition received about 80% of its funding from federal sources, including USDA nutrition programs that help low-income consumers buy more produce, Moss said. The group, which works with local farmers markets and provides technical assistance to farmers, said it was still waiting for guidance from the USDA on its invoices, Moss said. The group has been paid for some grant-related invoices, but has been told it won't - at least for now - be paid for expenses incurred after January 19, after Trump took office. "We've made promises to our farmers, because the federal government signed contracts with us," Moss said. SPRAWLING NETWORK Farmers have also been affected by spending freezes at other agencies, like USAID, which support programs that buy bulk farm commodities. At the State Department, the Trump administration has said it would release less than $100 million of the roughly $40 billion in USAID programs administered annually before the freeze, according to a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters. The Supreme Court on March 5 ruled that the administration cannot withhold payments to aid groups for work already performed. The freeze has exacerbated pain felt by farmers under pressure from low grain prices. The number of U.S. farm bankruptcy filings jumped 55% in 2024, compared to a year earlier, according to the latest United States Court data. Jillian Blanchard, vice president of climate change and environmental justice at the nonprofit Lawyers for Good Government, said the group was working with about 100 grantees who are impacted by the USDA spending freeze. "You need to have certainty if you’re going into business with the federal government," she said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/farmers-put-plans-investments-hold-under-trump-usda-spending-freeze-2025-03-10/

2025-03-10 11:33

March 10 (Reuters) - HSBC on Monday downgraded U.S. equities, citing uncertainty around tariffs, while turned bullish on European stocks following boost from Germany loosening its fiscal reforms. The brokerage lowered U.S. equities to "neutral" and raised rating on European stocks, excluding UK stocks to "overweight" from "underweight." The Trump administration's massive moves on trade and other policies have injected uncertainty, while a proposed $1.2 trillion European fiscal bazooka and the emergence of China as the tech race leader are marking a potential turning point for investor capital away from the United States. The S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab has pulled back about 6.1% from its February 19 record high on worries that the trade war will hurt corporate profit and slow growth. "It is important to stress that we are not turning negative on US equities - but tactically, we see better opportunities elsewhere for now," said HSBC's Global Equity Strategist Alastair Pinder said. Morgan Stanley Equity Strategist Michael Wilson believes the S&P 500 could fall another 5% to 5,500 points by mid-year, before ending the year at around 6,500, which is a 12.7% upside from the benchmark index's last close. "The path is likely to be volatile as the market continues to contemplate these growth risks, which could get worse before they get better," Morgan Stanley's Wilson said in a note on Monday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/hsbc-downgrades-us-stocks-turns-bullish-european-equities-2025-03-10/

2025-03-10 11:27

March 10 (Reuters) - The British pound further eased against the euro and hovered at one-and-a-half month lows on Monday following its biggest weekly loss in over two years versus the shared currency, though it steadied against the U.S. dollar. The euro has had a strong run over the past week after Germany's game-changing fiscal reforms boosted the European growth outlook, while the dollar has languished against major currencies due to worries about a U.S. economic slowdown and flip-flops in tariff policy. The spotlight will be on the release of Britain's monthly gross domestic product later this week. "Unless there is a significant deviation from the consensus, the data is not likely to impact expectations regarding Bank of England policy," George Vessey, lead FX and macro strategist at Convera said. The Bank of England is expected to hold interest rates at 4.5% next week. Britain's jobs market cooled in February, with hiring activity slowing and starting salaries rising at the slowest rate in four years, according to a survey on Monday that underscored companies' concerns about higher employment costs and a soft economy. The euro was up 0.14% at 83.97 pence, , while the pound was steady on the dollar at $1.29265. Vessey said the pound was struggling to regain technical levels against the euro, and if it could not, "further downside could be on the horizon, particularly as the fiscal divergence between the UK and euro zone may favour the euro due to differing growth trajectories", Vessey said. Germany last week proposed to ramp up spending with a 500 billion euro special fund sought for infrastructure and plans to reform its debt rules to boost defence spending. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/british-pound-extends-losses-versus-euro-steadies-against-dollar-2025-03-10/

2025-03-10 11:18

March 10 (Reuters) - Social media platform X went down intermittently on Monday, with owner Elon Musk blaming an unusually powerful cyberattack. "We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved," Musk said in a post on X earlier Monday. He did not clarify exactly what he meant by "a lot of resources" and his comments drew skepticism from cybersecurity specialists, who pointed out that attacks of this nature — called denials of service — have repeatedly been executed by small groups or individuals. X faced intermittent outages, according to Downdetector, restricting 39,021 users in the U.S. from accessing the platform at its peak at 10 a.m. ET. By 5 p.m., there were reports of the service being down for roughly 1,500 users. A source in the internet infrastructure industry said X had been hit by several waves of denial of service beginning around 9:45 UTC. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity as the person was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Denial of service works by overwhelming targeted websites with rogue traffic. Such attacks are not necessarily sophisticated but they can cause significant disruption. Musk later said in an interview with Fox Business Network's Larry Kudlow the cyberattack came from IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area. The industry source disputed Musk's account, saying that large chunks of the rogue traffic bombarding X could be traced back to IP addresses in the United States, Vietnam, Brazil and other countries, and that the amount of rogue traffic coming directly from Ukraine was "insignificant." In any case, denial of service attacks are notoriously hard to trace back to their authors and the IP addresses involved rarely provide any meaningful insight into who was behind them. Musk has joined U.S. President Donald Trump, whom he serves as an adviser, in criticizing Ukraine's continued efforts to fight off a Russian invasion. Musk said on Sunday that Ukraine's front line "would collapse" without his Starlink satellite communications service, though he said he would not cut off Ukraine's access to it. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/social-media-platform-x-down-thousands-users-downdetector-shows-2025-03-10/