2025-01-24 18:33
MOSCOW, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Russia's legendary cold winters are not what they used to be. Early snowdrops, mild January temperatures and a lack of ice on rivers and lakes are all unwelcome signs of climate change, according to plant scientists and meteorologists. Three out of 12 species of snowdrops have already bloomed in the botanical garden of Moscow State University, even though their flowering season typically starts in early April, Vladimir Chub, head of the garden, told Reuters. "We are frustrated by the low snow cover, because snow serves not only as insulation for plants in case of frosts, but also as a source of moisture in spring," he said. The coming week promises abnormally warm weather in Moscow, 5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit), weather specialist Yevgeny Tishkovets told the RIA news agency, or as much as 11C above normal for this time of year. The weather has even interfered with religious traditions. In mid-January, authorities in several Russian regions restricted or cancelled winter bathing on Epiphany, an important date for Russian Orthodox Christians. Some believers like to mark the festival by dipping into rivers and lakes through holes cut in the ice, but officials in the areas concerned said that this would be unsafe this year because the ice was too thin for people to walk on. Icy winters are celebrated in Russia's culture and folklore and have played an important part in its history - most famously in 1812, when Napoleon's army was ravaged by the extreme cold during its retreat from Moscow, losing tens of thousands of men. Leonid Starkov, chief meteorologist of the Russian website Gismeteo, said the biggest deviation so far from normal temperatures was over 10C, in central Siberia. "The climate is becoming more extreme," he told Reuters. "Very warm and very cold weather is happening more often, while normal weather is getting rarer." Muscovites interviewed on the streets were divided in their opinions. One resident, Natalya, said she was glad of the warmer temperatures, but Ignat Tarasov, 38, and Alexei Yurov, 57, both said they were missing the chance to ski. "As someone born and raised in the Soviet Union, I remember when Moscow had knee-deep snow and we were happily skiing in January, but now there is no snow," Yurov said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/more-snowdrops-less-ice-russias-famed-winter-has-lost-its-bite-this-year-2025-01-24/
2025-01-24 18:28
Ballard firm formerly employed Trump's chief of staff, attorney general pick 40 clients have signed with the lobby outfit since election Connections spotlight conflict-of-interest concerns in new administration Jan 24 (Reuters) - The companies behind the crypto exchanges Kraken and Blockchain.com have joined the dozens of corporations and wealthy individuals that have hired the President Trump-tied lobbying firm Ballard Partners since November's elections, records show. Founded by lobbyist and Donald Trump fundraiser Brian Ballard, the firm has drawn scrutiny in recent weeks for potentially creating ethical conflicts in the new administration after Trump tapped two of its former partners, Susie Wiles and Pam Bondi, for key positions. Both Payward Inc., which is Kraken's legal name, and Blockchain (US) Inc., part of the Blockchain.com group of companies, hired Ballard in December, together paying the firm $60,000 for lobbying services on crypto policy in the final weeks of the year, records show. A Kraken representative said the firm did not discuss relationships with other firms. "As part of our global policy engagement efforts, we work with a number of lobbying firms in our key markets," the spokesperson said. Blockchain.com and the White House did not respond to requests for comment. Ballard Partners, which represents clients from across the business world, including in the oil, finance, tech and pharmaceuticals industries, also did not respond. Business has blossomed for Ballard since Trump emerged victorious in November, with 40 new clients signed, more than during the prior 10 months, lobbying disclosure records show. As with many Washington lobbying outfits, it has made no secret of its ties to power. "Many members of our firm have been longtime allies" of Trump, partner Justin Sayfie said in April. After years of butting heads with former President Joe Biden's regulators, the crypto industry is pushing for major policy changes, as well as legislation, under Trump's crypto-friendly administration that would provide clarity over the legal status of cryptocurrencies and help to propel them into the mainstream. Like many other major crypto companies, Kraken is embroiled in litigation with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which sued the company in 2023 alleging it should have registered with the securities regulator. Ripple Labs, another major crypto company and issuer of the token XRP, also hired Ballard eight days after the election, records show. The relationship was first reported by Politico. A spokesperson for Ripple confirmed it had retained Ballard but did not answer questions about its reasons. Prior to hiring Ballard, Blockchain.com had not retained a Washington lobby firm in six years. U.S.-based Kraken retains one other firm and also uses in-house lobbyists, records show. After former Florida lawmaker Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration, Trump named Bondi as his pick for Attorney General. Wiles is now White House chief of staff. Bondi, who continued to lobby for Ballard in the final months of 2024, said in an ethics agreement submitted to the Justice Department this month that if confirmed she would consult with an agency ethics official to manage any conflicts of interest that may arise. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/kraken-blockchaincom-join-crowd-signing-with-trump-tied-lobbyists-2025-01-24/
2025-01-24 17:40
Bitcoin steadies after initial Trump-driven surge $TRUMP token faces scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest Trump says his children will manage his assets Executive order protects banking services for crypto companies Bans the development of a U.S. central bank digital currency NEW YORK/SINGAPORE/PARIS, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Crypto markets crept up on Friday, still holding below recent highs even after President Donald Trump ordered a new working group to draw up crypto regulations long hoped for by the industry and explore the creation of a U.S. cryptocurrency stockpile. Bitcoin has been broadly steady since Trump took office on Monday, pushing the world's biggest cryptocurrency to a fresh record of $109,071. It was last trading around $106,000 on Friday as some of the euphoria around a hoped-for revolution in cryptocurrency regulation ebbed. Bitcoin had been one of the most spectacular "Trump trades," gaining 50% to break above $100,000 and hitting fresh highs since Trump's election victory in November. Trump courted crypto campaign cash with promises to reverse the Biden administration's crackdown on the industry and be a "crypto president" and this week his administration began delivering on that pledge. In an executive order on Thursday, he touted the digital asset industry as "crucial" to U.S. innovation, created a working group to draft new crypto rules and explore a crypto stockpile, while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) spiked accounting guidance that the industry said had stymied crypto adoption. Those measures, though light on detail, seemed to alleviate some disappointment after crypto reform failed to feature in Trump's flurry of day-one announcements on Monday. At 1714 GMT, bitcoin was up 2.8% on the day at $106,048 and smaller cryptocurrency ether was up 4.1% at $3,383 . "What we're seeing is a little bit of profit taking in line with the uncertainty we're seeing from Trump now," said Nick Twidale, chief market analyst at ATFX Global in Sydney. "He's not reneging on some of his promises, but they're probably not going to come through as hard and fast." $TRUMP TOKEN Trump-linked crypto ventures, including a meme coin known as $TRUMP and tokens issued by World Liberty Financial, have come off highs in recent days. The $TRUMP token, launched last Friday, was trading at around $32.62, according to CoinMarketCap, having lost about half its value since its peak around $75 on Sunday. It had traded below $10 early on Sunday. Adding to the chorus of critics who have said Trump's coin and a similar $MELANIA meme coin launched by First Lady Melania Trump raise ethical issues, top Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren queried U.S. regulators on the coins on Thursday. "$TRUMP and $MELANIA present grave risks to President Trump’s ability to impartially govern our nation—and to investors in these coins," she wrote in the letter. The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Trump has pledged to hand management of his assets to his children. EXECUTIVE ORDER Thursday's executive order also required banking services for crypto companies be protected and banned the development of U.S. central bank digital currencies, which could compete with bitcoin and other established tokens. The working group has until July to deliver a report recommending regulatory changes and evaluating the potential to create a national digital asset stockpile. Analysts say bitcoin's price gains might take a breather for a while until the implications of the policy directives become clearer. "While President Trump’s eagerly anticipated executive order on crypto largely delivered on his campaign promises, the lack of an explicit bitcoin strategic reserve left the crypto market limping into the weekend," said Jehan Chu, founder at Kenetic Capital, a Hong Kong blockchain venture capital firm. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/crypto-markets-lose-steam-after-trumps-first-policy-move-2025-01-24/
2025-01-24 17:02
LONDON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Half of the global investors surveyed by Bank of America's (BAC.N) , opens new tab prime brokerage department plan to allocate more money to hedge funds this year, while 37% wanted no change. The results represented a 2% uptick in those wanting to spend more on hedge funds from the start of 2024, a report by the bank to clients showed on Friday. The survey was sourced from responses from 256 firms that oversaw a combined amount of over $1 trillion invested in hedge funds. Investors who would ditch their hedge fund holdings and take their money back thinned to 7% from 12% in 2023, BofA's 2025 hedge fund outlook report said. Dissatisfied investors thought returns should have been better, said the bank. Of those that were unhappy, 73%, cited underperformance as their reason for wanting to redeem money. Other reasons investors were unhappy included when hedge funds changed their investment strategy and when hedge funds simplified, or consolidated their portfolio, the survey said. Allocators have also been worried that their hedge funds are piling into crowded trade positions where everyone has the same idea, said the report. Crowded positions can grow costly if speculators rush for the exit at the same time. Hedge funds growing too large to nimbly invest without their trades moving the market was also a top concern which had increased from last year, the report said. Roughly the same investors as last year harboured concerns that hedge funds which said they specialised in one kind of investing actually made money by doing something else, or so-called style drift, it said. Talent was named as an ongoing concern, as well. Smaller hedge funds running under $500 million in assets were a fifth less likely to see their investors leave. Family offices, pension plans and endowment and foundations were the most likely to take all of their money off the table, rather than partially, said the report. In 2025, investors are most interested in stock and bond trades and less in trend followers and systematic funds that play on macroeconomic events. These hedge fund clients were more successful in bargaining down on fees compared to this time last year. Around 60% of investors won fee discounts compared to roughly half last year, and there was a slight uptick to 22% from 17% who got more favourable liquidity terms, allowing them to buy and sell out of their hedge fund investments with less of a delay. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/hedge-flow-half-investors-want-spend-more-hedge-funds-says-bofa-survey-2025-01-24/
2025-01-24 13:37
OTTAWA, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Canadian factory sales most likely rose 0.6% in December from November, largely driven by increases in the petroleum and coal product as well as food subsectors, Statistics Canada said in a flash estimate on Friday. The estimate was calculated based on a weighted response rate of 68.9%. The average weighted response rate for the survey over the previous 12 months has been 93.6%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-december-factory-sales-most-likely-up-06-statscan-flash-estimate-2025-01-24/
2025-01-24 13:34
SAO PAULO, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Brazil's annual inflation rate slowed less than expected in early January, official data showed on Friday, cementing the likelihood that the central bank will hike interest rates by 100 basis points at its meeting next week. Consumer prices as measured by the IPCA-15 index were up 4.5% in the year through mid-January, statistics agency IBGE said, slowing from 4.71% in the previous month but above the 4.36% expected by economists polled by Reuters. Brazil's central bank has been facing a challenging scenario marked by robust economic activity, a tight labor market and unanchored inflation expectations despite projections of a more aggressive rate path through this year. Policymakers, vowing to pursue the central bank's 3% inflation target, raised the benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point to 12.25% in December and signaled matching moves for the next two meetings. "January's IPCA-15 data won't prompt the central bank to row back on the guidance provided at its last meeting," Jason Tuvey, deputy chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, said in a note to clients. "Inflation remains firmly above the central bank's target, the economy continues to hold up well and fiscal concerns have by no means gone away," he said. Prices were up 0.11% in the month to mid-January, according to IBGE, a deceleration from the 0.34% rise reported in the previous month but above the 0.03% decrease expected by economists in the Reuters poll. The monthly reading was driven by higher food and transportation prices, the agency said, although lower housing costs helped offset the pressure due to a major drop in electricity prices. Elevated food prices have been a concern for Brazil's government lately, with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva saying that finding ways to lower them should be a top priority. "Inflation has rebounded significantly in recent months, with key leading indicators suggesting a poor near-term outlook," said Andres Abadia, chief Latin America economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. "This implies that the central bank will continue to raise rates aggressively, by 100 bp (basis points), at upcoming meetings." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/more-rate-hikes-likely-coming-brazil-inflation-overshoots-forecasts-2025-01-24/
