2025-03-07 00:41
PANAMA CITY, March 6 (Reuters) - Panama's government has closed a 1.2 billion euros ($1.29 billion) loan with a two-year maturity with a subsidiary of Bank of America, the Economy Ministry said a statement on Thursday. The ministry indicated that the financing, which will be disbursed in its dollar equivalent, was authorized on Friday. ($1 = 0.9269 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/panama-closes-12-billion-euro-loan-with-bank-america-subsidiary-2025-03-07/
2025-03-07 00:25
Reserve capitalized with bitcoin already seized by government Crypto czar Sacks says no new buying of tokens initially Bitcoin briefly dips more than 5% to below $85,000 White House hosts first crypto summit on Friday WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to establish a strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies by using tokens already owned by the government, disappointing some in the market who had hoped for a firm plan to buy new tokens. The announcement, made on Thursday ahead of a meeting with crypto executives at the White House later on Friday, sent the price of bitcoin down by around 5% to $85,000. In early European trading on Friday, bitcoin has recovered to trade at $89,200 . A "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve" will be capitalized with bitcoin owned by the federal government that was seized as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings, the White House crypto czar, billionaire David Sacks, said in a post on social media platform X. The order kept open the possibility of the government buying bitcoin in future. The U.S. commerce and treasury secretaries "are authorized to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin, provided that those strategies impose no incremental costs on American taxpayers," a factsheet on the White House website said. "The significance of this executive order is mainly symbolic, as it marks the first time Bitcoin is formally recognized as a reserve asset of the United States government," said Andrew O'Neill, digital assets managing director at S&P Global Ratings. "The reserve will only include Bitcoin already owned by the US government," O'Neill said, adding that "there is no indication yet of how much, if any, would be acquired nor a timeline." Trump's promise of a strategic reserve and expectations for easier industry regulation had seen the token surge to an all-time high at $109,071.86 in January. "This is the most underwhelming and disappointing outcome we could have expected for this week," Charles Edwards, founder of bitcoin-focused hedge fund Capriole Investments, wrote in a post on X. "No active buying means this is just a fancy title for Bitcoin holdings that already existed with the Govt. This is a pig in lipstick." Separately to the bitcoin reserve, there will also be a "U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile", consisting of tokens other than bitcoin, but the government will not add to the stockpile "beyond those obtained through forfeiture proceedings", Sacks said. Trump this week named five digital assets he expected to include in a government reserve, spiking the market value of each. The five are bitcoin, ether, XRP, solana and cardano. CRYPTO INDUSTRY SUPPORT Attendees at Friday's White House crypto summit expect the event to serve as a stage for Trump to formally announce his plans. It is not clear how such a reserve would work or how it would benefit taxpayers. Sacks said the federal government will have a strategy to maximize the value of its holdings in such a reserve, without offering details. "The U.S. will not sell any bitcoin deposited into the Reserve. It will be kept as a store of value. The Reserve is like a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called 'digital gold'," Sacks said. Trump's moves to support the crypto industry, which spent millions of dollars backing him and other Republicans in the November elections, have drawn concern from some conservatives and crypto backers over giveaways to an already wealthy community and delegitimizing the digital currency industry. Proponents argue that a reserve would help taxpayers benefit from crypto's price growth. Sacks estimated the U.S. government owns about 200,000 bitcoin and the premature sale of the cryptocurrency has cost the American taxpayer $17 billion. It was not clear how Sacks arrived at these estimates. The president's support for the crypto industry has also sparked conflict-of-interest concerns. Trump's family has launched cryptocurrency meme coins, and the president also holds a stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform. His aides have said Trump has handed over control of his business ventures, which are being reviewed by outside ethics lawyers. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/trump-signs-order-establish-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-white-house-crypto-czar-2025-03-07/
2025-03-07 00:09
MEXICO CITY, March 6 (Reuters) - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday that problems with a higher-than-usual content of salt in the crude oil that state energy company Pemex pumps and exports have been resolved. Mexico is an important supplier to U.S. refineries and in mid-February, Sheinbaum and Pemex Chief Executive Officer Victor Rodriguez conceded that some platforms had produced crude oil with higher salt and water contents. "The problem of salt in crude has been solved," Sheinbaum said during her regular morning press conference, adding that the new Olmeca refinery in the port of Dos Bocas was also making progress. Reuters reported earlier on Thursday that Pemex has been in talks with potential buyers in Asia, including China, and Europe, as it seeks out alternative markets that may not face tariffs. Mexico is a major producer but output from the country's older oil fields, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico, has slumped in recent years. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/mexico-president-says-problems-with-salt-content-crude-oil-solved-2025-03-07/
2025-03-06 23:50
LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) - The United States is planning to charge fees for docking at U.S. ports on any ship that is part of a fleet that includes Chinese-built or Chinese-flagged vessels and will push allies to do similar or face retaliation, according to a draft executive order dated February 27 and seen by Reuters on Thursday. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is drafting an executive order that aims to resuscitate domestic shipbuilding and weaken China's grip on the global shipping industry. The draft executive order proposes fees should be imposed on any vessel that enters a U.S. port, "regardless of where it was built or flagged, if that vessel is part of a fleet that includes vessels built or flagged in the PRC (People's Republic of China)." The full executive draft seen by Reuters on Thursday also calls on U.S. officials to engage allies and partners to do similar or risk retaliation. The U.S. would also impose tariffs on Chinese cargo-handling equipment, according to the draft order. "The national security and economic prosperity of the United States is further endangered by the People's Republic of China's unfair trade practices in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors," the draft order said. Reuters had reported on Wednesday on plans to impose fees on Chinese-made ships from a draft fact sheet of the 18-point executive order. The U.S. Trade Representative's office proposed last month to levy fees of up to $1.5 million on Chinese-built vessels entering U.S. ports after a probe into China's growing domination of global shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-levy-fees-ships-linked-china-push-allies-do-similar-draft-exec-order-2025-03-06/
2025-03-06 23:43
Cyclone Alfred to hit early on Saturday near Brisbane More than 80,000 homes without power in two states Airport, public transport in Brisbane suspended SYDNEY, March 7 (Reuters) - Australia ordered thousands of people in its eastern regions to evacuate before Tropical Cyclone Alfred hits land on Saturday, as the storm brought heavy rain, huge waves and strong winds that cut off power, swamped beaches and shut airports. Alfred's slow progress toward the coast fed concern it could bring a prolonged period of heavy rain and is expected to hit land as a Category 2 storm north of Brisbane, Australia's third-most populous city, the Bureau of Meteorology said. "The evacuation centres are a last resort," Queensland Premier David Crisafulli told a news conference on Friday, adding that dozens had been opened. "Have an evacuation plan if you are in one of those areas," he urged those in the cyclone's path, advising them to secure their homes before evacuating. "If in doubt, go and stay with friends and families." Wind gusts of more than 100 kph (62 mph) lashed the coastal regions of Queensland and New South Wales states overnight. The storm moved slowly west 120 km (75 miles)from Brisbane and 85 kilometres (53 miles) from the tourist city Gold Coast, the weather bureau said. It brought turmoil that snapped power links to more than 80,000 homes across the two states, electricity firms said, around half of them in Gold Coast. Television images showed surfers riding the huge seas and people strolling near beaches, forcing officials to warn residents to stay indoors or prepare to evacuate. "This isn't a time for sightseeing or for seeing what it's like to experience these conditions firsthand," said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. "Please stay safe. Be sensible." Albanese told reporters that 120 defence personnel would help emergency crews in rescue and relief efforts. FLOOD IMPACT Heavy rains dumped more than 400 mm (16 inches) of rain in some parts of northern New South Wales over the last 48 hours, exceeding the mean total for March, data showed, as residents scrambled to save properties from the risk of floods. New South Wales business owner Thomas Gough was busy stacking sandbags at his shop in Lismore, a rural town about 700 km (440 miles) north of Sydney, which was devastated by major floods in 2022. "It's a beautiful place to live most of the time, but it feels like we have one-in-100-year events every five years - there's nothing we can do about it," Gough told broadcaster ABC News. Brisbane Airport shut operations on Thursday and the city suspended public transport. More than 1,000 schools in southeast Queensland and 280 in northern New South Wales have been closed. Officials have described Alfred as a "very rare event" for Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, which was last hit by a cyclone more than half a century ago in 1974. The city of about 2.7 million had near misses from cyclones in 1990 and 2019. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thousands-australia-told-evacuate-tropical-cyclone-alfred-nears-east-coast-2025-03-06/
2025-03-06 23:38
Survey data spanned millions of butterflies in 554 species Population declines were largest in the southwestern US Butterflies are important pollinators and food for birds WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - The population of butterflies - the beautiful insects that play a vital role in pollination and the health of ecosystems - has fallen in the United States by more than a fifth this century, according to research spanning hundreds of species from the red admiral butterfly to the American lady to the cabbage white. Data from about 76,000 butterfly surveys conducted by various groups documenting millions of the insects representing 554 species showed that their numbers dropped by 22% from 2000 to 2020 in the contiguous United States, researchers said. The scientists attributed the decrease to factors including habitat loss, pesticide use and climate change. Population declines were largest in the southwestern region spanning Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Among the 342 butterfly species documented in the study that had sufficient data to analyze their numerical trends, 114 of them - about a third of the total - sustained losses, including 107 down by more than 50% and 22 off by more than 90%. The numbers for four butterflies - the Florida white, Hermes copper, tailed orange and Mitchell's satyr - plummeted by more than 99%. Nine species - about 3% of the total - showed gains. Among some common species, the red admiral declined by 58%, the cabbage white slipped by 50% and the American lady dropped by 44%. "The results of this study are pretty depressing. But butterflies have the capacity to recover if we can improve things for them," said ecologist Collin Edwards, formerly of Washington State University and now with the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife, lead author of the study published on Thursday in the journal Science , opens new tab. "Butterflies have fast life cycles - at least one generation per year, often two or three. And each of those generations lays a ton of eggs. This means that if we make the world a more hospitable place for butterflies, butterfly species have the capacity to respond very quickly and take advantage of all our efforts," Edwards added. The study included monarch butterflies. But because the clearest evidence on their numerical declines comes from their overwintering grounds in Mexico and the researchers used only U.S. monitoring data, the study did not identify a clear trend for these butterflies. "We've lost one out of every five butterflies in just 20 years. That means if you went out to watch butterflies in 2000 and you saw 100 butterflies, in 2020 you would only see 80. That's an astounding loss over such a short time span," said conservation biologist and study co-author Eliza Grames of Binghamton University in New York. "There are a lot of different stressors affecting butterfly populations, and it is hard to pinpoint just one. In the Southeast, for example, drought is likely a big threat. In the Midwest, insecticides are the number one driver of butterfly biodiversity loss. In other regions, the story is not so clear, and it is likely a combination of anthropogenic stressors that is leading to the drastic declines we're seeing," Grames said. While reliable information on global butterfly population trends is lacking, studies in some other countries have documented declines at roughly the same rate as in the U.S. data. Butterflies are the most systematically monitored insects in the United States. The researchers calculated that there are 650 butterfly species whose range intersects with the contiguous United States, with at least some monitoring data on 554 of them. The drop in butterflies, which have inhabited Earth for more than 100 million years, is one piece of the ongoing global biodiversity decline, with losses among insects particularly worrisome given their crucial roles in many ecological processes. "Ecologists use butterflies like a canary in a coal mine. The results of this study suggest that there may be declines in the many insect species for which we don't have good data," Edwards said. "For me, butterflies are important because they are beautiful and inspire us. They deserve to exist simply for the sake of existing," Grames said. "In terms of ecosystem function, butterflies are really important pollinators, herbivores and also serve as prey for insectivores," especially birds. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/butterfly-populations-plummet-by-22-us-since-turn-century-2025-03-06/
