2025-01-22 21:47
Jan 23 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Whatever doubts investors may have surrounding the longer-term economic damage of U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed tariff agenda, they are giving his deregulation, tech-friendly and AI-supportive policies a huge thumbs up. Stocks are flying. With strong earnings from streaming giant Netflix providing an extra tailwind, Wall Street's sizzling performance on Wednesday should fuel a strong rise in risk appetite across Asia on Thursday. It's unlikely that a moderate rise in bond yields and the dollar will get in the way of that. The S&P 500 leaped to a fresh peak of 6,100 points on Wednesday and lifted the Nasdaq above the 20,000-point barrier to within a whisker of December's record high of 20,204 points. The tech and artificial intelligence fervor is intensifying again after Trump announced a private sector investment of up to $500 billion to fund infrastructure for AI. Trump said that ChatGPT's creator OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle are planning a joint venture called Stargate, which will build data centers and create more than 100,000 jobs in the United States. Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller told CNBC this week that optimism surrounding the U.S. market and business outlook is reaching "giddy" levels in boardrooms. Judging by Wall Street's boom, that giddiness is being mirrored across trading floors. Another reflection of investors' bullishness and hunger for income is the record demand seen at French, Spanish and UK debt sales over the last 24 hours. Remarkably, bids for the roughly $37 billion worth of debt on offer totaled around $400 billion. A large part of that is seasonal, as fixed income investors deploy their allocations for the year in January. But still. These are the global forces on Thursday likely to drive Asian markets, where investors also have the first estimate of fourth-quarter and full-year South Korean GDP data, Japanese trade figures, the latest inflation reading from Singapore and industrial production numbers from Taiwan. Thursday is also the last full trading day before the Bank of Japan's policy decision. Financial markets are increasingly confident that the BOJ will raise its short-term policy rate on Friday by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.5%, a level last seen during the Global Financial Crisis. Given its history, the BOJ could well couch any tightening of policy in cautious terms, making it clear that policy 'normalization' will be carried out carefully and gradually. If the Fed delivered a 'hawkish cut' last month, the BOJ may be poised to deliver a 'dovish hike' on Friday. Dollar/Yen is trading towards the lower end of the 155.00-159.00 range it has been in for the past month, the two-year Japanese Government Bond yield is buoyant, and the Nikkei 225 index is hovering just below the 40,000-point mark. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Thursday: - South Korea GDP (Q4) - Japan trade (December) - World Economic Forum in Davos Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-2025-01-22/
2025-01-22 21:47
WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. has extended the comment period on a federal study of the economic and environmental impacts of the booming liquefied natural gas (LNG) export business after advisers had urged President Donald Trumpto take a patient approach to prevent approvals from getting overturned in court. The U.S. Department of Energy said late on Tuesday that it is extending the comment period from Feb. 18 to March 20 in order to get "appropriate stakeholder input." Trump has promised swift action on reversing former President Joe Biden's pause on the LNG export approvals to big markets in Asia and Europe. On his first day in office, Trump lifted the freeze by ordering the DOE to resume considering the applications. Actually approving exports, however, will take time. Trump's advisers had urged him to take a patient approach to restarting approvals for LNG exports, fearing rapid approvals would only get overturned in court, Reuters reported on Jan. 7. The advisers had recommended an extension in the comment period to allow time for pro-LNG interests to challenge the study and help thwart any potential lawsuits when they approve the pending export permits. While the U.S. became the world's largest LNG exporter in 2023, Biden's moratorium delayed projects including Venture Global's CP2 project, the Commonwealth LNG plant, and Energy Transfer's (ET.N) , opens new tab Lake Charles complex, all in Louisiana. Biden had ordered the pause about a year ago in order to conduct the study, which his administration said showed that government should be cautious about the climate impacts of unfettered LNG exports. The DOE also said it directed the office of fossil energy carbon management to resume consideration of pending LNG export applications. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-extends-comment-deadline-biden-era-lng-study-protect-approvals-2025-01-22/
2025-01-22 21:39
Jan 22 (Reuters) - U.S. pipeline operator Kinder Morgan (KMI.N) , opens new tab said on Wednesday it remains bullish on growth in demand for natural gas driven by AI and data centers, even as it narrowly missed Wall Street's expectations for quarterly profit. The pipeline operator also said it is proceeding with the Trident Intrastate pipeline project, a 216-mile pipeline build that will provide about 1.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of capacity from Katy, Texas, to the liquefied natural gas and industrial corridor near Port Arthur. Shares of the company were up 1.5% after the bell. The project, announced just days after the U.S. President Donald Trump ended the moratorium on new LNG export permits, is expected to be in service in the first quarter of 2027. "Between LNG exports to Mexico, power and industrial growth, our internal number for growth in the overall natural gas business is roughly 28 bcfd between now and 2030," CEO Kim Dang said on a conference call with analysts. Edward Jones analyst Nick Hummel noted that Kinder Morgan has a very big pipeline footprint, which enables it to capitalize on the growing demand for natural gas. The company also expects to participate in growth opportunities stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump's recently announced private sector investment of up to $500 billion to fund infrastructure for AI, it said on the call. "There's a lot of folks that are going to be chasing (that) opportunity," an executive added. However, its fourth-quarter revenue fell to $3.99 billion, compared to $4.04 billion last year as it struggled with lower crude and condensate volumes transported through its pipelines, which were down about 5%. Kinder Morgan's adjusted profit came in at 32 cents per share for the three months ended Dec. 31, just below analysts' estimates of 33 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/pipeline-operator-kinder-morgan-misses-estimates-fourth-quarter-profit-2025-01-22/
2025-01-22 21:32
QUITO, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Ecuador expects foreign oil companies to invest around $42 billion in the sector over the next five years, acting Energy Minister Ines Manzano said on Wednesday, as part of President Daniel Noboa's plan to boost production. The country's oil production has gradually fallen in recent years burdened by the lack of investment, a natural decline of its oilfields and operational issues. Over the next several years, crude output should come up from the 475,272 barrels per day (bpd) logged in 2024 by state-owned Petroecuador and private companies, hitting a peak in 2026 at more than 600,000 bpd, a government presentation showed. However, by 2028 that will fall to around 395,644 bpd, according to the presentation. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ecuador-eyes-42-bln-oil-sector-investments-through-2029-2025-01-22/
2025-01-22 21:07
Jan 22 (Reuters) - The White House said President Donald Trump’s order this week pausing the disbursement of funds appropriated under his predecessor’s signature climate and infrastructure laws mainly applies to programs that discourage fossil fuel development or boost electric vehicles. As part of a flurry of executive orders hours after taking office on Monday, Trump ordered government agencies to pause funds , opens new tab flowing from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The White House Office of Management and Budget clarified in a memo , opens new tab, dated on Tuesday, that Trump’s order only applies to funds that contravene a list of stated policy aims, which include encouraging more energy production on federal lands and eliminating support for EVs. Funds going to other programs, such as bridges, transit and highways, will not be affected. It is unclear whether the order puts much funding at risk. Biden's administration had said prior to Trump’s inauguration that the vast majority of grants for clean energy programs appropriated under the IRA, for example, had already been obligated and were protected, with just $11 billion outstanding. The bulk of the IRA’s support for clean energy and EVs, meanwhile, derives from tax credits that can only be revoked with an act of Congress. Robert Moczulewski, a director at tax advisory Baker Tilly, said Trump’s order could face legal hurdles if it delays any significant funding. "Pausing funding already appropriated by Congress may prompt legal challenges, though the administration can impose interim review processes," he said. The order requires U.S. agencies to consult OMB before disbursing the money. The impact on lithium mining projects, which support EV battery production, is unclear. The Biden administration had finalized loans for several U.S. critical minerals projects in its final months, including a $2.26-billion debt package for Lithium Americas (LAC.TO) , opens new tab and nearly $1 billion for ioneer (INR.AX) , opens new tab. Those loans are final and cannot be altered, according to two industry sources and an administration source familiar with the loan terms. Bernard Rowe, CEO of Australia-based ioneer, said he does not believe Trump's move will affect his company's loan, adding that the executive order directs the Energy Department to ensure critical minerals projects "receive consideration for federal support, contingent on the availability of appropriated funds." Representatives for Vancouver-based Lithium Americas were not immediately available to comment. Loans for other U.S. critical minerals projects that were not finalized before Biden left office could be vulnerable. That list includes 24 projects seeking a total of $45 billion , opens new tab, according to Energy Department data. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/white-house-says-order-pausing-ira-disbursements-only-applies-some-programs-2025-01-22/
2025-01-22 20:59
SAO PAULO, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Brazilian beef companies do not expect to be hurt by potential new tariffs from President Donald Trump's administration because of low inventories of cattle in the U.S. and a sizable tariff that already exists on these exports. Roberto Perosa, head of the Brazilian beef exporters association ABIEC, said in an interview on Wednesday that Brazilian beef exports outside a 65,000-ton annual quota already are slapped with a 26.4% tariff when entering the U.S. His remarks suggest Brazil, the world's largest beef exporter, will remain a key U.S. supplier despite any protectionist rhetoric from the Trump administration. Brazilian companies exported $1.3 billion worth of beef products to the U.S. last year. "I think the U.S. is in a difficult moment relative to its livestock cycle, and (will remain so) at least for the next two years," said Perosa, who leads the powerful beef lobby that represents firms like JBS (JBSS3.SA) , opens new tab and Marfrig (MRFG3.SA) , opens new tab, both of which have U.S. operations. Brazil exported some 230,000 tons of fresh and processed beef to the U.S. last year, up almost 66% from 2023, with most of it paying the hefty tariff, Perosa said, citing trade data. Scarcity of cattle in the U.S., where inventories have hit the lowest level in seven decades, means U.S. buyers will need to secure a reliable partner for large beef volumes. "That partner is Brazil," Perosa said. Brazil has tried to negotiate an increase of the tariff-free quota to 150,000 tons with the U.S., but the state of the talks is unclear following Trump's return to the White House earlier this week, Perosa said. The U.S. is Brazil's second-largest export destination for beef after China, and is also the South American country's second-largest trade partner overall. Brazil pays a 12% tariff to export beef to China, which took in $5.4 billion worth of the South American country's beef last year, Perosa said, citing trade data. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/brazils-beef-companies-breathing-easy-over-prospect-new-trump-tariffs-2025-01-22/
