2025-02-21 19:19

PARIS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Patrick Pouyanne, the chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab, said on Friday the European Union may wish to consider its own government downsizing programme, like the one implemented by U.S. President Donald Trump. Many critics of the EU say its bureaucratic processes hold back the bloc compared to the U.S. and China, which have faster growing economies. "It's a machine we have created in Brussels - I don't know if we need a DOGE programme - plenty of civil servants, which are in fact there to create regulations. That's a problem ... Sometimes you must say, 'Okay, let's eliminate it,'" Pouyanne said at the Council on Foreign Relations, referring to the Department of Government Efficiency, which is overseeing a sweeping government cost-cutting programme in the U.S. "It's a question, can Europeans really re-think their own model?" he added. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/head-totalenergies-says-eu-may-wish-consider-its-own-doge-programme-2025-02-21/

2025-02-21 18:49

Feb 21 (Reuters) - U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a fourth week in a row to the highest level since June, energy services firm Baker Hughes (BKR.O) , opens new tab said in its closely followed report on Friday. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by four to 592 in the week to February 21. , , Despite this week's rig increase, Baker Hughes said the total count was still down 34, or 5% below this time last year. Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose by seven to 488 this week, their highest since September, while gas rigs fell by two to 99. Drillers added five rigs in Oklahoma, bringing the total count to 49, the highest since May 2023, while in West Virginia, they added one rig, bringing the total to 11, the highest since August 2023. The oil and gas rig count declined by about 5% in 2024 and 20% in 2023 as lower U.S. oil and gas prices over the past couple of years prompted energy firms to focus more on boosting shareholder returns and paying down debt rather than raising output. Even though analysts forecast U.S. spot crude prices would remain unchanged in 2025, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected crude output would rise from a record 13.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024 to around 13.6 million bpd in 2025. On the gas side, the EIA projected a 73% increase in spot gas prices in 2025 would prompt producers to boost drilling activity this year after a 14% price drop in 2024 caused several energy firms to cut output for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic reduced demand for the fuel in 2020. The EIA projected gas output would rise to 104.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2025, up from 103.1 bcfd in 2024 and a record 103.6 bcfd in 2023. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-oil-gas-rig-count-rises-highest-since-june-says-baker-hughes-2025-02-21/

2025-02-21 18:46

GEORGETOWN, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Guyana's average oil production fell to some 620,000 barrels per day in January from 656,000 bpd in December, the lowest monthly figure since August, the Natural Resources Ministry said on Friday in a report. A consortium led by U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab and involving Hess (HES.N) , opens new tab and China's CNOOC (600938.SS) , opens new tab controls all crude and gas output in the South American country through three floating facilities. Guyana's average oil output increased to 616,000 bpd last year from 391,000 bpd in 2023 following facility upgrades and production ramp-up at one of the group's vessels, Prosperity, which began operations in late 2023. The ministry's report did not elaborate on the fall. The government also reported revenues of $230 million in January from the country's share of oil output that was exported by the government, and royalties. For all 2025, Guyana forecasts $2.5 billion in revenue from the oil sector, a slight decline from 2024 mainly due to expected lower crude prices. A fourth producing vessel built by infrastructure firm SBM Offshore (SBMO.AS) , opens new tab this week departed from Singapore on its way to Guyana's waters. It is expected to begin output in the third quarter, Exxon said earlier this week, expanding the consortium's output capacity to some 940,000 bpd. Guyana's economy achieved its fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth last year, expanding 43.6% as oil output and exports showed solid increases. Latin America's newest oil producer last year became the region's fifth-largest crude exporter after Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia, and was identified as one of the main contributors to global oil supply growth. Energy executives and officials gathered in Georgetown this week to discuss offshore projects and investment opportunities as the government pushes for a shift towards natural gas in the oil-dominated country. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/guyanas-oil-output-fell-620000-bpd-january-government-says-2025-02-21/

2025-02-21 18:38

HAVANA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel inaugurated the first of 92 solar parks on Friday as part of a Chinese-backed plan to ease hours-long blackouts across the Caribbean island nation. The park in Havana was one of 55 expected to come online this year, generating 1,200 megawatts, with the remainder opening by 2028. The Communist-run country's outdated power grid collapsed several times last year and a dire fuel shortage has made it impossible to run smaller clusters of diesel-fired generators that typically back up the system. Years of lengthy blackouts have undercut the economy and led to scattered protests among hard-pressed residents tired of a multifaceted crisis that includes scarcity of food, medicine and other basic goods. The parks are being heavily promoted by the government as a partial solution to people's burdens, which it blames largely on U.S. sanctions. "The recovery of the power grid is a priority and this is one of its safest routes," Diaz-Canel said in a tweet on Friday. Cuba has a maximum demand of around 3,500 MW, but it regularly fails to meet up to 1,500 MW of that, resulting in power outages. Cuba agreed in April for China to help it boost the role of solar power in its grid, though neither government elaborated on financing details. China's ambassador to Cuba, Hua Xin, attended the inauguration of the solar park in Havana. The event was closed to foreign journalists. Currently less than 5% of Cuban energy comes from alternative sources. Cuba's goal for 2030 is 24%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/cuba-opens-first-92-solar-parks-bid-tame-energy-crisis-2025-02-21/

2025-02-21 18:04

MEXICO CITY, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Mexico's annual inflation rate likely rose during the first half of February as the core index remained flat, a Reuters poll predicted on Friday, boosting bets that the central bank will again opt to significantly lower borrowing costs in March. The median forecast from 11 analysts estimated that the annual headline rate likely crept up to 3.73% in the first two weeks of the month, compared to the 3.48% rate of rising consumer prices in the second half of January, when prices hit their lowest level in more than four years. (MXCPIA=ECI) , opens new tab Core inflation, which strips out especially volatile food and energy prices, is forecast at 3.61% in the first half of February, according to the poll, unchanged compared to the previous two-week period. (MXCPIC=ECI) , opens new tab Earlier this month, Mexico's central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to settle at 9.50%. The monetary authority pointed to cooling inflation and suggested it could cut the key rate by a similar level at future meetings. The February rate cut came in at double the 25-basis-point reductions the bank has implemented since it began lowering borrowing costs from a high of 11.25% last March. The bank's head, Governor Victoria Rodriguez, told Reuters shortly after the latest rate cut that the monetary authority's fight against inflation had entered "a new phase" and that work to bring prices down was not over. A separate poll earlier this week from global investment bank Citigroup showed that the overwhelming majority of economists surveyed expect the bank to approve a 50-basis-point cut at his next policy meeting on March 27. Monthly inflation during the first half of February, meanwhile, likely edged up 0.14% compared to prices in the second half of January, according to the Reuters poll, while the monthly core rate was seen up 0.24%. (MXCPIF=ECI) , opens new tab, (MXCPIH=ECI) , opens new tab Mexico's official statistics institute INEGI is scheduled to release consumer price data for the first two weeks of February on Monday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-headline-inflation-likely-ticked-up-first-half-february-2025-02-21/

2025-02-21 18:02

Move would end years-long legal battle SEC under Trump has quickly overhauled approach to crypto Federal judge has paused SEC lawsuit against Binance Feb 21 (Reuters) - Coinbase (COIN.O) , opens new tab said on Friday the U.S. securities regulator planned to withdraw its lawsuit against the crypto exchange, ending a contentious years-long legal battle once considered existential for the trading platform and the broader sector. The Securities and Exchange Commission has moved quickly to overhaul its approach to policing the crypto sector under Republican leadership since President Donald Trump took office. The agency has established a dedicated task force and rescinded key crypto-related accounting guidance. The SEC, which declined to comment, has been expected to review pending court cases and walk back its litigation even before overhauling its regulations, Reuters previously reported. Still, the decision to recommend dismissing its lawsuit against Coinbase, one of a number of lawsuits brought under the SEC's prior chair, would be the most dramatic move yet under the acting Republican leadership. "The war against crypto, at least as it applies to Coinbase, is over," Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said in an interview. In a blog post, the exchange said SEC staff has "agreed in principle" to dismiss the case, although the final decision has not yet been voted on by the commission. Republican officials at the SEC have immediately begun to overhaul the agency's crypto policies, even before the arrival of Paul Atkins, Trump's crypto-friendly pick for SEC chair. Revisiting cases against crypto firms - especially those which violated the SEC's rules but were not alleged to have defrauded investors - has been broadly anticipated, though many legal experts told Reuters they expected the SEC to seek settlements and any mass effort to dismiss all pending matters would be seen as unprecedented. The SEC sued both Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, and rival trading platforms Binance in 2023. A court has separately paused the agency's lawsuit against the other firm after a request from the SEC and Binance, citing implications of the new task force. The agency also sued crypto exchange Kraken in 2023. The SEC alleged Coinbase flouted its rules and facilitated trading in at least 13 crypto tokens that it said should have been registered as securities. The lawsuit also targeted Coinbase's "staking" program, in which it pools assets to verify activity on blockchain networks and takes commissions, in exchange for "rewards" to customers. The SEC said that program should have been registered with the agency. Coinbase has argued that crypto assets, unlike stocks and bonds, do not meet the definition of an investment contract, a position held by the vast majority of the crypto industry. As outlined in a U.S. Supreme Court case, a key test for whether an investment product is a security is whether people are investing in a common enterprise with the expectation of profit. Better Markets, which advocates for stricter government oversight of the financial sector, said the SEC dropping its lawsuit against Coinbase would be "a historic mistake." "The SEC used to enforce the law without fear or favor but is now favoring the crypto industry and fearing billionaire crypto kingpins who are publicly belittling the agency," said Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of the group, in a statement. Shares in Coinbase opened up more than 3.5% as investors cheered the news. Analysts at Piper Sandler said in a research note the dismissal of the case "removes a significant overhang that we believe has kept some investors on the sidelines for nearly two years." 'ARM IN ARM' Gary Gensler, the former Democratic agency chair, had made fighting misconduct in a sector he termed the "wild west" a priority for the SEC, targeting not only fraudsters but also the large firms that facilitate trading such as Coinbase. The regulator boosted the size of the crypto enforcement unit as part of that effort. The SEC has now scaled back that crypto enforcement effort, reassigning lawyers and earlier this week renaming the unit to focus on "cyber and emerging technologies". Acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda and fellow Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce have taken issue with Gensler's approach to litigation, arguing instead for new crypto-specific rules. "We have a very positive, productive relationship with this new SEC and are working (in) lock step with them, arm in arm, to get this addressed," Grewal said. Peirce, dubbed "crypto mom" by many in the sector, is leading the agency's new efforts to overhaul its policy. The new task force has held at least eight meetings to discuss changes, according to public logs available on the SEC's website. “I would not be surprised to see major cases resolved in the next couple months," said Richard Levin, chair of Fintech practice at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough law firm. "There are other matters under investigation that also more than likely are being reviewed.” In his first week in office, Trump ordered the creation of a cryptocurrency working group tasked with proposing new digital asset regulations and exploring the creation of a national cryptocurrency stockpile, making good on his promise to quickly overhaul U.S. crypto policy. Trump on the campaign trail pledged to be a "crypto president" and courted cash from the industry by promising to promote the adoption of digital assets. In an executive order, Trump also ordered that banking services for crypto companies be protected, alluding to industry claims that U.S. regulators have directed lenders to cut crypto companies off from banking services -- something regulators deny. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-securities-regulator-drop-lawsuit-against-coinbase-exchange-says-2025-02-21/