2025-11-14 20:09

Pack Fire consumes 3,400 acres, damages 15 structures, 1,400 evacuated Heavy rain may aid in containing Pack Fire Los Angeles faces flood, mudslide risks from weekend storms Nov 14 (Reuters) - A fast-moving wildfire raged across thousands of acres of California prairie near the Nevada border on Friday, while Los Angeles was in the throes of back-to-back storms that could trigger flooding and mudslides in areas scarred by January's devastating wildfires. The new blaze, dubbed the Pack Fire, started on Thursday on scrubland in Mono County about 150 miles (241 km) southeast of Sacramento, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. Sign up here. Having consumed about 3,400 acres (1,375 hectares) as of Friday, the fire has damaged 15 structures and forced 1,400 people to evacuate, Cal Fire said. Most have since been allowed to return to their homes, said Sergeant Brent Gillespie of the Mono County Sheriff's Office. HEAVY RAIN EXPECTED TO HELP CONTAIN FIRE The fire, which was 5% contained as of Friday, was burning about 15 miles from the Mammoth Lakes ski resort, where locals were preparing for the start of the season. Forecasters say heavy rain pushing south from the San Francisco area could help firefighters control the blaze. "The rain hasn't yet put a dent in it, but it stopped it from spreading," Gillespie said. The storm, which brought moderate rain to the Los Angeles area on Friday, is expected to merge with a second weather system driving east off the Pacific on Saturday and Sunday, said Heather Zehr, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather, a private forecasting company. "It's the same storm that brought a messy commute to San Francisco Thursday, but it's undergoing a rapid change," Zehr said. "Los Angeles is getting some puddling rain on the streets today, but by Saturday, Southern California will see serious rainfall." Downtown Los Angeles could get 2 to 4 inches (50 to 100 mm) of rain over the weekend, while other areas could see up to 8 or 10 inches, she said. The steady deluge threatened to trigger mudslides in the burn-scarred land left after the January fires, one of the largest natural disasters to hit Los Angeles County. "There will be flooding, flash floods and mudslides," Zehr said. "This is definitely a big deal." January's Eaton and Palisades fires killed about 30 people and destroyed or damaged more than 16,000 homes and businesses. Up to 180,000 people were evacuated. AccuWeather estimates that damages and economic losses reached $250 billion. The storms are expected to subside on Sunday, but more rain is expected later in the week. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/california-wildfire-rages-los-angeles-threatened-with-floods-mudslides-2025-11-14/

2025-11-14 19:41

WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The United States issued general licenses on Friday authorizing transactions involving certain Lukoil entities in Bulgaria and petroleum services and other transactions related to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, a posting on the Treasury Department's website showed. Another license also authorized companies to talk to Lukoil about buying their foreign assets. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-allow-transactions-involving-lukoil-caspian-pipeline-consortium-website-shows-2025-11-14/

2025-11-14 19:32

WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - A group of nine Republican state attorneys general on Friday raised competition concerns about Union Pacific's (UNP.N) , opens new tab plan to buy smaller rival Norfolk Southern (NSC.N) , opens new tab in an $85 billion deal to create the first U.S. coast-to-coast freight rail operator. The officials, led by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, in a letter to the Surface Transportation Board, which was seen by Reuters, said they were concerned the deal "will result in undue market concentration that stifles competition and therefore creates higher prices, lower reliability, and less innovation at the expense of America’s manufacturers and, ultimately, America’s consumers." Sign up here. The tie-up, if approved, could reshape the U.S. freight rail industry and help streamline operations and eliminate interchange delays in key hubs like Chicago. The attorneys general of the states - which also include Ohio, Florida, North Dakota, South Dakota, Mississippi, Montana and Iowa - said the merger could result in high internal shipping costs that could "kneecap American companies’ ability to compete with foreign manufacturers." They also warned that the "downstream impact of the merger poses significant risk not just for our industrial base but also our agricultural producers. Ultimately, then, this merger could compromise our national security." Union Pacific said in response on Friday that it looks forward to submitting its application to the STB "to detail how this combination is good for America, meets the threshold of advancing public interest and enhances competition." The railroad added it had won support from key unions and others to "ensure rail is not left behind." Norfolk Southern did not immediately comment. Earlier on Friday, the railroads said that more than 99% of shareholders at both companies voted in favor of the deal. The STB review could take about 12 to 18 months. The railroad industry has struggled with volatile freight volumes, rising labor and fuel costs, and growing pressure from shippers over service reliability. In September, President Donald Trump said the merger "sounds good to me" after he met with Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena to discuss the deal for the biggest U.S. rail merger in decades. Union Pacific dominates freight rail operations in the Western United States, while Norfolk Southern is a leading carrier in the East. Together, they form two of the four major U.S. Class I railroads, alongside BNSF Railway and CSX Corp (CSX.O) , opens new tab. https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/republican-state-ags-raise-concerns-union-pacific-deal-norfolk-southern-2025-11-14/

2025-11-14 19:31

Court invalidates permits due to insufficient climate impact assessment Fields continue production, for now OSLO, Nov 14 (Reuters) - A Norwegian appeals court ruled on Friday that three offshore oilfield development permits issued by the government were invalid due to a lack of environmental consideration, but gave the state six months to rectify shortcomings. Production from the fields, meanwhile, would be allowed to continue, the court said. The case was brought by environmental campaigners hoping to block the development of Norway's oil and gas industry. Sign up here. Environmentalists argued that the government had failed to assess the environmental impact from the use of the fields' oil and gas, known as Scope 3 emissions. "The Court of Appeal believes that the climate impacts from combustion emissions have neither been sufficiently investigated nor assessed," the Borgarting court said in a statement, adding that the permits did not meet procedural requirements. "The Court of Appeal's conclusion is that the approvals of the plans for development and operation are declared invalid." One of the reasons the court did not immediately stop production was to ensure Norway continued to deliver stable oil and gas to Europe, it said. EUROPE'S LARGEST GAS SUPPLIER Norway produces 2% of global oil and became Europe's largest supplier of natural gas after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The lawsuit brought by Greenpeace Norway and Young Friends of the Earth Norway in 2023 concerns the approval of Equinor's (EQNR.OL) , opens new tab Breidablikk and Aker BP's Tyrving and Yggdrasil fields. Two fields - Breidablikk and Tyrving - are already producing, while Yggdrasil, Norway's largest offshore petroleum project since 2019, is scheduled to come on stream in 2027. Aker BP, in a statement, said the verdict allowed the company to continue its projects. Equinor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "The Court of Appeal is absolutely clear that there is no basis for stopping activity at these fields now," the attorney general's office said in an emailed statement to Reuters. It was likely the verdict would be appealed to the Supreme Court, it added. Greenpeace said in a statement it was glad the permits had been found invalid. Its lawyer said all ongoing activities at the fields were "at the companies own risk". "Their permits are invalid and could well be denied following new assessments," Jenny Sandvig, a lawyer at Oslo-based Simonsen Vogt Wiig, who represented the environmentalists, said. (This story has been refiled to correct the lawyer's surname to 'Sandvig,' not 'Sandvik,' in paragraph 16) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/norway-government-loses-appeal-case-over-oilfield-developments-2025-11-14/

2025-11-14 19:24

Nov 14 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund on Friday said its executive board had approved a new two-year, $24 billion flexible credit line for Mexico to act as a buffer against external risks, noting the country has steadily reduced its reliance on the precautionary fund in recent years. The Mexican authorities intend to treat the new arrangement as precautionary and canceled their previous line of about $35 billion, the IMF said in a statement. Sign up here. This marks Mexico's eleventh such arrangement since 2009, with the credit line's size shrinking from a peak of around $88 billion in 2017. The IMF said the lower amount "reflects the Mexican economy's increased buffers and resilience." Mexican officials had requested a new credit line for another two years at a lower access level, citing the government's strong finances that make it less vulnerable to sudden shifts in capital flows, the Bank of Mexico and Mexico's finance ministry said in a joint statement. However, IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke noted the country's economy faces headwinds. "Economic activity in Mexico remains soft, constrained by needed fiscal consolidation and still restrictive monetary policy, as well as the dampening effect of trade tensions," he said. He added that while the country has shown resilience, "trade-related risks have risen since the last FCL review." The new credit line will continue to play an important role in supporting Mexico's macroeconomic strategy and provide "insurance against tail risks while bolstering market confidence," according to the fund. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/imf-approves-fresh-smaller-24-billion-credit-line-mexico-2025-11-14/

2025-11-14 19:19

WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Friday it would next week publish August's construction spending, factory orders and international trade, data that were delayed because of the recently ended shutdown of the federal government. The construction spending report will be published on Monday, with the factory orders data released the following day. The Trade report will be published on Wednesday. All reports were initially due in early October. Sign up here. The 43-day shutdown, the longest in history, halted the collection, processing and publishing of government-issued economic data, including the closely watched monthly employment and inflation reports. "The U.S. Census Bureau will continue updating its economic indicator release calendar in coordination with other agencies and the Office of Management and Budget to address the impacts of the recent lapse in federal funding," the agency said in a statement. "We will provide the updated release dates as soon as they become available." https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-census-bureau-will-release-august-trade-construction-reports-next-week-2025-11-14/