2025-11-13 20:49

Subsidised electricity price set at 5 euro cents per kWh until 2028 EU approval needed for state aid compliance Gas power plant capacity to increase by 8 gigawatts BERLIN, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Germany's ruling parties have agreed to introduce a subsidised power price for energy-intensive industries until 2028 to reduce costs and boost Europe's largest economy, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday. German companies, including automakers and steelmakers, have long complained that high energy prices put them at a competitive disadvantage. Sign up here. Conservative leader Merz said the subsidised electricity price for industry will be set at 5 euro cents per kilowatt hour until 2028, following coalition talks with his Social Democrat coalition partners. "The aim is to significantly relieve the burden on our economy and reduce production costs," Merz said. The EU must agree to the scheme under rules regulating state aid. "Discussions with the EU Commission are largely complete, and we expect to receive approval for this," Merz said. The VCI association representing the chemicals industry called the measure useful but said the government needed to do more to make Germany competitive for industry. "We now need relief across the board - in energy, taxes and bureaucracy," VCI head Wolfgang Große Entrup said in a statement, warning that the situation for companies was "becoming more acute every day". German voters elected Merz in February on a promise to boost German industry during a prolonged economic malaise. The chancellor and his coalition partners also agreed on Thursday to tender 8 gigawatts of capacity for gas power plant construction and to reduce air traffic control fees — saving the aviation sector 350 million euros ($408 million). ($1 = 0.8575 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/german-coalition-agrees-subsidised-power-price-industry-2025-11-13/

2025-11-13 20:12

Ksi Lisims LNG capacity planned at 12 million tonnes annually Shell and Total Energies have signed 20-year LNG purchase agreements Company CEO says final investment decision expected in early 2026 CALGARY, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Canada said on Thursday it will add the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG facility to its major projects list for fast-tracking, a designation the company behind the project said makes it more likely to proceed. Prime Minister Mark Carney made the announcement in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, where the facility would be located with direct shipping access to Asia. Ksi Lisims has a planned capacity of 12 million metric tons per year, which would make it Canada's second-largest liquefied natural gas export terminal after Shell-led LNG Canada, which began operations this year. Sign up here. Carney is aiming to speed up natural resource project construction to boost the economy that has been damaged by U.S. tariffs. The government created this year a major projects office tasked with streamlining approvals and helping to coordinate financing for large-scale infrastructure projects deemed in the national interest. INVESTMENT DECISION EXPECTED NEXT YEAR The proponents of Ksi Lisims — Houston-based Western LNG; a consortium of Canadian natural gas producers called Rockies LNG; and the Nisga'a First Nation, who own the land for the project — have not made a final investment decision to proceed. But Western LNG CEO Davis Thames told Reuters inclusion on Canada's major projects list brings Ksi Lisims closer to fruition, adding the proponents expect to decide whether to proceed early next year. "It's pretty obvious that the different constituents of the project will see this (designation) as being favorable," Thames said, adding expedited permitting times would decrease the likelihood of construction delays once Ksi Lisims is under way. "Time is money, and when you have to stop construction because you didn't get a permit in time, that's what just kills budgets," he said. Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab have signed 20-year LNG purchase agreements with Ksi Lisims. The company is working to finalize other commercial agreements with LNG purchasers before committing to a final investment decision, Thames said. Construction is already under way on the 900-km (560-mile) Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline, which will transport natural gas from northeast B.C. to Ksi Lisims and was also on the government's list. Canada's major projects office has also been tasked with collaborating with affected Indigenous groups to help fast-track infrastructure development. Having the backing of the major projects office increases the odds of the project going ahead, but is not a guarantee that a positive final investment decision will be reached, said RBN Energy analyst Martin King. "Locking up the needed financing is also something that needs to be finalized," King said. Carney's government said fast-tracking the latest round of projects will spur private investment worth C$56 billion ($39.93 billion). Other projects announced on Thursday for inclusion on the fast-track list include the North Coast Transmission line - an estimated C$6 billion electrification project by BC Hydro that is expected to provide clean energy to the province's LNG and mining industries - and the Crawford Nickel project, an open-pit nickel and cobalt mine in Ontario by Canada Nickel Company. ($1 = 1.4024 Canadian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/canada-names-proposed-ksi-lisims-lng-project-fast-tracking-2025-11-13/

2025-11-13 19:46

MILAN, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Italy's biggest utility Enel (ENEI.MI) , opens new tab on Thursday improved its guidance on full-year net income after reporting nine-month earnings marginally above market expectations. Ordinary earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at 17.26 billion euros ($20 billion) in the January-September period, compared to an average estimate by analysts of 17.17 billion euros. Sign up here. Ordinary net income was 5.7 billion euros, also slightly above analyst expectations, and up 4.5% on the same period of last year, net of the effect of assets disposals. In 2025, ordinary net ordinary income is expected to rise slightly above the high end a previous 6.7-6.9-billion-euro guidance range, the company said. Ordinary EBITDA is expected to be in line with the previous guidance range of 22.9 billion to 23.1 billion euros. Spanish unit Endesa (ELE.MC) , opens new tab and Enel's activities in Latin America were among the engines of growth. Enel's Italian business dragged on results due to a fall in hydroelectric power generation and lower selling prices applied to retain retail customers, the group said. Its top managers said in a post-result conference call that hydroelectric production in Italy was not expected to return to the exceptional levels of 2024. SEVERAL POTENTIAL SITES FOR DATA CENTRE Enel, which will present its updated medium-term strategy at a capital market day in February, is aiming to grab business opportunities from the development of data centres in its home country. "We are finalising the first preliminary agreement in Italy, where we have several potential sites in our pipeline," said Chief Financial Officer Stefano De Angelis. The group will offer data centre operators a package including authorized industrial sites, energy network connections and facility services on top of long-term electricity supply agreements priced at a premium over standard wholesale rates, he said. Enel introduced a share buy-back programme this year worth 1 billion euros that will run until year-end. The improvement in investor reward boosted the stock, which rose to a record high earlier this month. ($1 = 0.8575 euros) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/italys-enel-ups-guidance-full-year-net-income-2025-11-13/

2025-11-13 19:45

Fed policy should still target high inflation, Hammack says Cleveland Fed chief says monetary policy barely restraining economy Hammack shrugs off worries about weaker dollar NEW YORK, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack said on Thursday monetary policy needs to remain in a position where it can help lower inflation pressures, suggesting she leans against the U.S. central bank cutting interest rates again in the near future. "This is a difficult time for monetary policy," given challenges to the Fed's inflation and job mandates, Hammack said in an appearance before the Pittsburgh Economic Club. "But when I look at both of those things, on balance, I think we need to remain somewhat restrictive to continue putting pressure to bring inflation down towards our target." Sign up here. "It seems to me likely that to maintain a restrictive stance of policy, we need to keep rates around these levels," Hammack said, adding "when I look at the overall performance of the economy, it's not obvious that monetary policy should be doing more right now." Hammack and other Fed officials are weighing whether a rate cut is needed at the central bank's December 9-10 meeting. The Fed trimmed its benchmark overnight interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to the 3.75%-4.00% range at the end of October as officials sought to buoy a softening job market while still keeping rates in a place where they can lower still-high inflation. She noted recently that she opposed the last rate cut due to ongoing inflation concerns, and a number of other Fed officials have also signaled concern about pressing forward with a reduction in borrowing costs next month, citing still-strong price pressures and the impact of the Trump administration's import tariffs. After last month's rate cut, Fed Chair Jerome Powell cautioned another easing next month was not a certainty. TARIFFS AMONG FACTORS AFFECTING INFLATION Hammack said on Thursday the economy was on balance doing well amid a balanced job market that's shown some nascent signs of weakness. She noted that while she wants monetary policy to remain in a place where it can help bring inflation back to the 2% target, she is watching hiring data and will change her monetary policy views if needed. "If I see more material weakening on the employment side, that would shift my viewpoint," Hammack said. "But right now, I see persistence in inflation. We've been above our target for four and a half years" and "my forecast would have us staying above target for another two to three years." Hammack also noted that tariffs were raising price pressures and that she expects more of those higher costs will be passed on to U.S. consumers over time. But she said data also suggests that strong price pressures are being driven by more factors than just tariffs, as evidenced by service-sector price data. She also downplayed the drop in the U.S. dollar this year. "It's important to remember that we started from a place of extreme dollar strength, and so the weakening that we've seen this year has largely brought us more in line with a lot of theoretical fair valuations of the currency relative to other currencies," she said. https://www.reuters.com/business/feds-hammack-restrictive-monetary-policy-needed-cool-inflation-2025-11-13/

2025-11-13 19:25

Nov 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Thursday announced the opening of a sterile fly dispersal facility in Tampico, Mexico, in the fight against New World screwworm (NWS). "The Tampico facility will allow USDA to disperse sterile flies aerially across northeastern Mexico, including in Nuevo Leon," the USDA said in a statement. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/usda-opens-sterile-fly-facility-mexico-combat-screwworm-2025-11-13/

2025-11-13 19:07

Nov 13 (Reuters) - Grayscale reported a 20% drop in revenue in the first nine months of 2025, the crypto-focused asset manager disclosed in its U.S. initial public offering paperwork on Thursday, as analysts expect the IPO market to restart. With America's longest-ever government shutdown ending, the IPO market is expected to regain momentum after the Securities and Exchange Commission operated with skeletal staffing during the shutdown. Sign up here. Stamford, Connecticut-based Grayscale reported a net income of $203.3 million on revenue of $318.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, compared with net income of $223.7 million on revenue of $397.9 million a year earlier. "2026 midterm elections are on the horizon, which could potentially change the landscape for crypto. I expect many crypto companies like Grayscale and BitGo want to go public ahead of that uncertainty," said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs. Several high-profile crypto firms, including stablecoin giant Circle (CRCL.N) , opens new tab and Winklevoss twins' crypto exchange Gemini (GEMI.O) , opens new tab, have gone public this year, supported by a crypto-friendly Trump administration. "With Thanksgiving coming up in two weeks, realistically, we don’t see IPOs starting back up until early December, with some of the activity coming in early January," said Edward Best, co-head of capital markets group at Willkie Farr & Gallagher. "You also have most companies having to file an amendment with 3Q2025 financials, which may either delay their filings or slow down the SEC review a bit." Founded in 2013, Grayscale manages about $35 billion in assets and is a prominent player in the crypto landscape. Grayscale's landmark court victory against the SEC in 2023 helped pave the way for approval of spot bitcoin ETFs last year. Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, Jefferies and Cantor are the lead-managing bookrunners. Grayscale will list on the NYSE under the symbol "GRAY." https://www.reuters.com/business/crypto-focused-grayscale-makes-us-ipo-filing-public-2025-11-13/