2025-02-06 20:09

Trump's orders freeze billions for clean energy, conservation, transportation projects Democrats claim halts are illegal, Republicans argue for deficit assessment Thousands of jobs at risk, local economies impacted by funding delays WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump has placed holds on tens of billions of dollars in congressionally-approved spending for projects across the U.S. that range from Iowa soybean farmers adopting greener practices to a Virginia railway expansion, a Reuters analysis found. Project managers and advocates warn continued delays could take a toll on local economies. Democratic lawmakers say the halts are the building blocks to "impoundment," presidential refusal to release money authorized and appropriated by Congress, which they say is illegal. The man Trump has nominated as his budget chief, Russell Vought, has disagreed, saying presidents have the right to withhold spending. The Republican-majority Senate is expected to confirm Vought on Thursday evening after Democrats staged an all-night session in opposition. A federal court on January 31 temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s government-wide pause on federal grant funding. But soon after, the administration argued the president’s directives were still in effect. Trump's orders have restrained at least tens of billions of dollars of funding for clean energy projects, conservation initiatives and transportation projects across the country. Dozens of interviews with grantees in more than 20 states, along with industry managers and experts that track how the federal government distributes its money, captured just a snapshot of federal spending that Trump's orders continued to freeze. The Trump administration has not provided an overall estimate of the frozen funding, but thousands of new jobs in communities are at risk, people working on the halted projects said. "It's a major concern if this doesn't get done," Mike Foley, a Cuyahoga County, Ohio, official who oversees energy projects with more than $100 million in paused funding, said. "I need to hire engineers and I can’t do that." The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power over federal spending and a decades-old law requires the president to give Congress advance notice of impoundments before taking action. "We will speak out, we will press this administration, we will open investigations, and we will demand accountability," Senator Patty Murray, the senior Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Republican lawmakers argue the pauses are necessary to give the new administration time to assess what money is being spent on and look for ways to lower the U.S. deficit. "The executive branch of government in our system has the right to evaluate how executive branch agencies are operating and to ensure that not only the intent of Congress in funding mechanisms, but also the stewardship of precious American taxpayer dollars, is being handled well," House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday. The initial January 20 White House orders were broad and told federal agencies to "immediately pause the disbursement of funds" from two large bills that were marquee accomplishments of then-President Joe Biden, including a 2021 bipartisan effort. DISRUPTED FUNDING The town of Painesville, Ohio, about 30 miles (50 km) northeast of Cleveland, received part of a $129 million climate pollution reduction grant last year to replace its 137-year-old coal-fired power plant. It would be replaced with solar panels and a battery backup system, but the project and its estimated 200 jobs remains on hiatus because of the funding pause. “To have the grants paused or frozen is really disrupting and disheartening,” Foley, the project lead, added. Hundreds of millions of dollars also remain paused throughout Ohio and seven other states ranging from Pennsylvania to Kansas for projects to help around 17,000 lower-income households save on energy costs. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday indicated to some grantees, in a list viewed by Reuters, that only one educational program out of dozens of varying projects funded by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act that Republicans opposed would likely move forward. Tom Taylor, senior policy analyst at Atlas Public Policy, a climate think-tank, estimated that thousands of grant recipients could be defunded as a result. In Virginia, a $2.3 billion "Long Bridge" improvement that would significantly increase passenger and freight railroad service is also in limbo, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine said. "They seem to be if it happened during the Biden administration we want to pause this, even if it’s doing good in red and blue states,” he told reporters. REPUBLICAN STATES Of the approximately $21 billion of funding that could be clawed back by the Department of Transportation, almost $7 billion is directed for projects in states that voted for Trump in 2024, said Corrigan Solerno, the policy manager for the research group Transportation for America. Trump rescinded the previous administration’s goal of 40% funding to disadvantaged communities, which includes the “climate smart” commodities grants for thousands farmers to implement conservation practices like cover crops. “This suspension puts the program and its participating farmers at risk,” Brent Swart, the president of the Iowa Soybean Association wrote in a Monday letter to all Republican members of Congress from Iowa, saying farmers involved in this regional project “are contractually owed $11 million for practices implemented in 2024.” Meanwhile, businesses and local officials find themselves hoping for the best as budget battles rage. "I try not to get too anxious about things until I know it's real," Danville City Manager Ken Larking said of any potential cuts to a $1.3 billion industrial development park just outside of his Virginia town. (This story has been corrected to change the name to Mike Foley in paragraph 7) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/billions-dollars-us-projects-remain-frozen-by-trump-managers-advocates-say-2025-02-06/

2025-02-06 20:05

WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump met U.S. Steel (X.N) , opens new tab Chief Executive David Buritt at the White House on Thursday as the struggling steelmaker has been pushing for a decision on its long-sought takeover by Japan's Nippon Steel (5401.T) , opens new tab. A $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel was blocked last month , opens new tab by former President Joe Biden. Trump has also opposed the deal but has welcomed Japanese investment in the technology sector. He will meet on Friday with Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House. It was not immediately clear what was discussed at the meeting between Trump and U.S. Steel's Buritt. Last year, Trump said "I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan." However, Nippon Steel said on Thursday that its bid fits with Trump's goal of a stronger U.S. as the leaders of the two allies prepared to meet. "We are convinced that our acquisition plan is the best proposal for U.S. Steel, and I hope that the (Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru) Ishiba-Trump meeting will convey that to Trump and open the way for a deal," Takahiro Mori, Nippon Steel's vice chairman, told reporters on Thursday. Meta Platforms' (META.O) , opens new tab Mark Zuckerberg and FedEx (FDX.N) , opens new tab Executive Chairman and Founder Frederick Smith were also at the White House for meetings on Thursday. It remained unclear if they met Trump. A Meta spokesperson said on social media platform X Zuckerberg was at the White House to discuss how Meta can help the administration advance American tech leadership abroad. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-meet-with-us-steel-fedex-ceos-abc-news-reports-2025-02-06/

2025-02-06 19:19

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Brazil's central bank chief Gabriel Galipolo said on Thursday that crypto asset usage in the country has surged over the past two to three years, with around 90% of the flow linked to stablecoins. Stablecoins are pegged to real-world assets, such as the U.S. dollar, and therefore fluctuate much less than other crypto assets like bitcoin. Speaking at a Bank for International Settlements event in Mexico City, Galipolo said policymakers see this trend as primarily driven by the use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, posing challenges for oversight and regulation. "Most of that is to buy things and to shop things from abroad," said Galipolo, emphasizing that this usage "maintains some kind of opaque vision for taxation or for money laundering." He also argued that Brazil's Drex is not fundamentally a central bank digital currency but rather an infrastructure aimed at improving credit with collateralized assets, in a context where local financing costs are high due to the limited use of guarantees. Drex will use distributed ledger technology to settle wholesale interbank transactions, while retail access will be based on tokenized bank deposits. After stressing that payment integration holds significant potential to facilitate cross-border transactions across the Americas, Galipolo also said Brazilian hugely popular instant payment system Pix could enable integration with international instant payment networks due to its programmability. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/brazils-galipolo-sees-surge-crypto-use-says-90-flow-tied-stablecoins-2025-02-06/

2025-02-06 19:12

BRASILIA/WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Countries are staying committed to their national climate plans and looking to lead the clean energy transition, as the United States plans to exit the Paris climate agreement, the UN's top climate official said in his first speech of the year on Thursday. Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, laid out priorities ahead of annual climate talks in November, and encouraged countries to prepare stronger national climate plans this year, even after U.S. President Donald Trump said he will remove the world's second-biggest greenhouse gas emitter from the Paris agreement. "A country may step back, but others are already stepping into their place to seize the opportunity, and to reap the massive rewards: stronger economic growth, more jobs, less pollution and far lower health costs, more secure and affordable energy," Stiell said in a speech in Brazil's capital Brasilia, alongside COP30 President Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago. Asked about which countries are stepping up, Stiell says they will know at the end of the year, as the countries deliver a new round of NDCs. "The call is for greater ambition, for these plans to be economy wide. These will be the most comprehensive climate plans ever developed, the third generation of NDCs. We'll be able to give better commentary as we synthesize that toward the end of the year", said the UN climate chief. "But in terms of actions being taken, just looking at what is happening within the markets, region by region, country by country, it's very clear, as I said, those that are pushing forward, regardless of whatever rhetoric there is about those who wish to step back", he argued, citing, for example, what China, Brazil and India are doing on reducing emissions. Stiell said in the 10 years since the Paris Agreement was adopted, the world has become more divided but the climate negotiation process has "managed to buck the trend." Some governments have faced political backlash to climate policies. Green candidates in Europe are losing support and the U.S. elected Trump, who campaigned against the Biden administration's climate-centered agenda. Even so, Stiell said the world has mobilized around $2 trillion in climate finance, money to support poorer countries' efforts to reduce emissions and adapt to climate impacts, from "nearly nothing" over the last decade. He called on countries to increase the amount of climate finance they agreed to target at last year's climate summit of $300 billion annually by 2035. Stiell said the Paris Agreement provides all the mechanisms to drive countries to reduce emissions, but recognizes it "lacks enforceability". "And at the end of the day, it is for countries to nationally enforce and manage. And what we're seeing there is that gap between what needs to be done and what is being done", he said. Stiell said also that he expects the vast majority of countries to submit new national climate plans under the Paris agreement this year. The UNFCCC has a February 10 deadline for submissions of those plans but many countries said they would submit them later in the year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/countries-staying-committed-climate-plans-after-us-paris-pact-exit-un-climate-2025-02-06/

2025-02-06 18:23

Loonie trades in a range of 1.4304 to 1.4366 Ivey PMI shows activity contracting in January Price of oil falls 0.5% 10-year yield rises 4.3 basis points TORONTO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar steadied against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as investors awaited monthly employment data that could guide expectations for further divergence in policy between the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada. The loonie was trading nearly unchanged at 1.4310 per U.S. dollar, or 69.88 U.S. cents, after moving in a range of 1.4304 to 1.4366. The currency has rebounded from a 22-year low of 1.4793 on Monday as Canada escaped immediate implementation of U.S. trade tariffs. "More range trading is likely in the short run," Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at Scotiabank, said in a note. "Positioning remains heavily short CAD, suggesting scope for a decent squeeze if the trade news does turn suddenly better. But the CAD's yield deficit remains a big impediment to a major rebound at the moment." With the BoC cutting interest rates faster than the Fed, the Canadian 2-year yield has fallen about 160 basis points below its U.S. equivalent, the largest gap since September 1997. U.S. and Canadian employment data for January is due on Friday. Economists forecast that Canada's economy added 25,000 jobs, downshifting from roughly 91,000 in December. Ivey Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data on Thursday showed that Canadian economic activity contracted for the first time in five months in January as employment grew at a slower pace and prices heated up. The Canadian dollar is set to edge lower over the coming months as the threat of U.S. trade tariffs remains in place, but the currency is expected to recover and trade at a higher level in one year, a Reuters poll found. The price of oil , one of Canada's major exports, was trading 0.5% lower at $70.69 a barrel, while Canadian bond yields moved higher across the curve. The 10-year was up 4.3 basis points at 2.994%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/canadian-dollar-steadies-ahead-january-jobs-report-2025-02-06/

2025-02-06 18:10

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Trump Media and Technology Group (DJT.O) , opens new tab said on Thursday it has applied to trademark six investment products that track bitcoin and the U.S. manufacturing and energy sectors. The trademarks include Truth.Fi Bitcoin Plus ETF, Truth.Fi Made in America ETF, and Truth.Fi U.S. Energy Independence ETF. Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) is yet to file for all six products with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. TMTG is also looking to launch three separately managed accounts (SMAs) focused on these assets, in partnership with financial services firm Charles Schwab (SCHW.N) , opens new tab. SMAs are investment portfolios managed by professional asset managers for individual investors or institutions. U.S. President Donald Trump is the majority owner of TMTG, which runs the social media platform Truth Social. Last week, TMTG said its board approved the launch of a financial services and fintech brand, Truth.Fi. The new products are part of the strategy and include investments of up to $250 million, which will be custodied by Charles Schwab. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/trump-media-files-trademark-investment-products-targeting-bitcoin-us-industries-2025-02-06/