2025-01-17 21:26

CHICAGO, Jan 17 (Reuters) - U.S. poultry producers should ramp up testing and monitoring of turkeys for bird flu before they are slaughtered to ensure the virus stays out of the food supply, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday. The agency is advising enhanced safety measures in Minnesota and South Dakota, where turkey flocks with more than 500 birds should be isolated, monitored and tested for bird flu within 72 hours before going to slaughter, USDA said. Other states may be included later, the agency added. "The new policy is encouraged, and has support from states and industry, but not required," USDA spokesperson Lyndsay Cole said in an email. The changes come after a pet food company, Northwest Naturals, last month recalled cat food made with turkey because it tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu. The Oregon Department of Agriculture said a cat contracted the disease and died after eating Northwest Naturals' Feline Turkey Recipe raw and frozen pet food contaminated with the virus. Nearly 70 people in the U.S., most of them farmworkers, have contracted bird flu since April, as the virus has circulated among poultry flocks and dairy herds. Three people have tested positive without a clear source of exposure to the virus, according to the CDC. There is no confirmation that any people became infected by eating food that contained the virus. Increased testing and surveillance of turkey flocks aim to remove a potential avenue for spreading the disease and to bolster confidence among consumers and trading partners, the agency said. Minnesota, the nation's biggest turkey producer, and South Dakota have suffered bird flu outbreaks in flocks. "These states were selected because of genetic linkages to the virus from infected cats and because of the high percentage of cases in turkeys in those states," USDA said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-turkey-producers-should-ramp-up-bird-flu-testing-usda-says-2025-01-17/

2025-01-17 21:00

Barclays lifts PTs on Nvidia, Broadcom Qorvo surges on Starboard stake Intel climbs on takeover speculation Indexes up: Dow 0.78%, S&P 1%, Nasdaq 1.51% NEW YORK, Jan 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rallied on Friday to close out a strong week on optimism over the health of the economy and path of interest rates as investors braced for a slew of policy changes under the incoming Trump administration. The S&P 500 and Dow Industrials registered their biggest weekly percentage gains since early November and the Nasdaq recorded its best since early December. Data this week allayed fears that inflation would resurge while expectations have grown that the Federal Reserve will bump up the timing and magnitude of rate cuts this year. The Commerce Department reported on Friday that U.S. single-family homebuilding rose to a 10-month high although demand will likely be curbed by rising mortgage rates and an oversupply of new properties. A separate report revealed a surge in manufacturing output last month. President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated on Monday, when U.S. markets are closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. Uncertainty over the potential for some of Trump's policies such as tariffs to rekindle rising inflation pressures and slow the path of Fed rate cuts has weighed on equities in recent weeks. But a solid start to the corporate earnings season with results from many big banks has also helped buoy stocks this week, with the S&P 500 bank index (.SPXBK) , opens new tab up 7.41% on the week. "Stronger growth, feeding into better corporate earnings, you're kind of getting off to a start to the year here that there's plenty of questions both in terms of fiscal and monetary policy and what the Trump agenda will look like, or what shape it will take," said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors in Southfield, Michigan. "Despite all those questions, we're starting the year on a reasonably better footing than we've been on perhaps in the last few years." The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 334.70 points, or 0.78%, to 43,487.83, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 59.32 points, or 1.00%, to 5,996.66 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 291.91 points, or 1.51%, to 19,630.20. For the week, the Dow rose 3.69%, the S&P gained 2.92% and the Nasdaq climbed 2.43%. The benchmark U.S. 10-year note yield edged up 1.3 basis points to 4.619%, but has eased off a 14-month high of 4.809% hit earlier this week. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said inflation remains a problem as recent data has pointed to a resilient economy. However, Fed Governor Christopher Waller indicated on Thursday the central bank could cut rates sooner and faster than expected as inflation is likely to continue to ease. The Fed is widely expected to keep rates steady at its policy meeting later this month, with the markets pricing in a greater than 50% chance for a cut of at least 25 basis points until June, LSEG data showed. Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, led by a 1.7% rise in consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) , opens new tab stocks, while healthcare (.SPXHC) , opens new tab and real estate (.SPLRCR) , opens new tab declined. Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab gained 3.1% and Broadcom (AVGO.O) , opens new tab advanced 3.5% after Barclays raised its price targets on the stocks, helping to boost the PHLX semiconductor index (.SOX) , opens new tab by 2.84%. In addition, Intel (INTC.O) , opens new tab surged 9.25% on speculation of a takeover and Qorvo (QRVO.O) , opens new tab shot up 14.43% after activist investor Starboard Value disclosed a 7.7% stake in the chipmaker. Shares of social media firms such as Meta (META.O) , opens new tab had a muted reaction after the Supreme Court ruled against TikTok's challenge to a law that would force its app's sale or ban in the United States. Meta shares edged up 0.24% while Snap (SNAP.N) , opens new tab dipped 3.21%. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by 2.16-to-1 on the NYSE and by 1.73-to-1 on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 66 new highs and 73 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 14.57 billion shares, compared with the 15.65 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-edge-higher-with-all-eyes-trump-inauguration-2025-01-17/

2025-01-17 20:59

Loan increased due to inflation and bigger lithium deposit Rhyolite Ridge to produce 22,000 metric tons of lithium annually Biden administration confident US lithium needs can be met by by 2030s Shares of ioneer gain more than 15% Jan 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy has finalized a $996 million loan for ioneer's (INR.AX) , opens new tab Rhyolite Ridge lithium project, according to documents reviewed by Reuters, an increase of $296 million from a preliminary funding offer and a move aimed at boosting President Joe Biden's green energy legacy. Shares of ioneer jumped 15% to $4.96 during Friday afternoon trading in New York. Scant U.S. production of lithium, an ultralight metal used to make batteries for electric vehicles and many consumer electronics, has left the country reliant on supplies from market leader China, an imbalance Biden has tried to offset during his four years in office. The loan, details of which have not been reported, is nearly 50% larger than a conditional funding commitment made two years ago and cannot be reversed by incoming President Donald Trump. Funds will be used to build a lithium processing facility in rural Nevada that will supply Ford (F.N) , opens new tab and other EV manufacturers by 2028. The increased funding was due to post-pandemic inflation and new geological studies showing the Rhyolite Ridge deposit, located roughly 225 miles (362 km) north of Las Vegas, contains more lithium than estimated two years ago, a senior Energy Department official told Reuters. "That gave everyone more comfort that this was a far better resource than originally imagined," said the official. The Energy Department also doubled the loan's repayment timeline to 20 years. In 2020, Australia-based ioneer estimated the mine's cost at roughly $785 million. Company officials have acknowledged that figure is now much higher but they declined to provide an updated estimate. James Calaway, ioneer's chairman, called the loan closing an important milestone for increasing U.S. lithium output. Calaway said the company would now work to close a $490 million equity investment that South Africa-based Sibanye Stillwater (SSWJ.J) , opens new tab agreed to in 2021. A Sibanye spokesperson said the company was in final due diligence related to ioneer's project. The government loan for ioneer comes less than three days before Biden leaves office, one of the last actions taken by Biden-appointed Energy Department staff who return government-issued laptops and cell phones on Friday. Last August, Reuters reported that U.S. mining projects were rushing to close government loans out of concern that Trump could block funding if reelected. LOAN DETAILS The Rhyolite Ridge project aims to produce 22,000 metric tons of lithium annually, enough to produce 370,000 EVs, as well as boron, a chemical used to make soaps. That would give the project two sources of revenue, a key appeal to Energy Department loan officials. The U.S. produces less than 5,000 metric tons of lithium annually. The ioneer loan had been in review since 2021 and approval required the project to receive its federal permit, which Biden granted last October. Still, more paperwork and negotiation was needed before the loan could close. The company will be able to access the funds in tranches once it raises additional equity, per Energy Department guidelines. Calaway said ioneer is talking with other potential financiers. Construction is slated to begin this year. The loan includes $968 million of principal and $28 million of capitalized interest. Biden officials in the past month have also finalized a $2.26 billion loan for Lithium Americas (LAC.TO) , opens new tab and announced a $1.36 billion conditional funding commitment for a direct lithium extraction project in California. The Biden administration is "fully confident" the three projects should be able to meet U.S. lithium needs by the early 2030s, said the Energy Department official. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/biden-boosts-loan-ioneers-nevada-lithium-mine-nearly-1-billion-2025-01-17/

2025-01-17 20:50

Swearing-in will take place on Monday inside the U.S. Capitol Indoor ceremony limits crowd size compared to outdoor event Trump also moves presidential parade to indoor venue WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration will take place inside the U.S. Capitol on Monday rather than outdoors because of severe cold, the first time in 40 years that U.S. presidential inaugural ceremonies will be moved indoors. "There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way," Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Friday. "Therefore, I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda," Trump added. The last time an inauguration was moved indoors because of the bitter cold was in 1985 for former Republican President Ronald Reagan's second swearing-in when the afternoon wind chill fell into the range of minus 10 to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 to minus 29 degrees Celsius). The forecast for Washington on Monday is for a temperature at the time of Trump's swearing-in around 19 F (minus 7 C) but it is expected to feel even colder with wind chill. Trump said supporters can view the ceremony on screens inside the Capital One Arena, a professional basketball and hockey venue in downtown Washington that holds 20,000 people. He said his presidential parade, which was set to involve marching bands and other groups proceeding down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, will be switched to Capital One Arena. It was not immediately clear how a parade would be organized inside the sports venue. Trump said he would join the crowd at the arena after being sworn in. NO CROWD-SIZE COMPARISONS THIS TIME The switch means there will be no comparisons of Trump's crowd size to previous inauguration ceremonies. After his first swearing-in, in 2017, the Republican Trump was infuriated by media reports suggesting the crowd on the National Mall was far smaller than the one that saw former Democratic President Barack Obama first take the oath of office in 2009. The change in plans will greatly reduce the number of people able to watch the ceremony in person. Many of the more than 220,000 ticketed guests who had been due to watch from the U.S. Capitol grounds will be unable to view the swearing-in inside the building. In addition, 250,000 unticketed members of the public were predicted to stand on the National Mall for the outdoor ceremony, according to a permit issued to Trump's inaugural committee by the National Park Service. Just a fraction of that number will fit into the Capital One Arena. School secretary Tammy Matte, her pastor husband Paul and their high school son Michael had tickets provided by their local congressman but canceled the trip from Laurel, Mississippi after learning they would not see Trump in person. Matte, 58, said they were no longer prepared to do the nearly 1,000-mile car ride to Washington. "We don't feel it's worth it not to see the ceremony in person," Matte said. The National Park Service, which oversees the National Mall, did not immediately say whether crowds will still be allowed on the Mall to watch the indoor ceremony on giant video screens already in place. Trump is due to hold a rally with supporters inside the Capital One Arena on Sunday, the eve of his inauguration. Alexi Worley, a spokesperson for the law enforcement agencies tasked with inauguration security, said the U.S. Secret Service was working closely with Trump's inauguration committee and the congressional committee in charge of the swearing-in ceremony "to adapt our security plans as needed due to the expected inclement weather." WINTER CHILL AN INAUGURAL TRADITION Frigid weather has featured at many a past inauguration. Temperatures for Obama's first inauguration in 2009 were also cold, rising to around 29 F (minus 1.5 degrees C). William Henry Harrison, the ninth U.S. president, delivered the longest inaugural address on March 4, 1841, in wet and cold conditions without a hat or overcoat. That event and speech were thought to have contributed to his later succumbing to pneumonia. He died one month after taking office, making his presidency the shortest in American history. During the second swearing-in ceremony for President Ulysses S. Grant on March 4, 1873, several cadets and midshipmen standing outside without overcoats collapsed and gusting winds made Grant's address inaudible to even those close to him on the platform, according to a history published by the National Weather Service. The morning low temperature of 4 F (-15 C) on that day remains Washington's coldest March day on record. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-inauguration-be-moved-indoors-due-cold-temperatures-cnn-reports-2025-01-17/

2025-01-17 20:41

MONTEVIDEO/SANTIAGO, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Bolivia and Chile are in talks to restart gas exports to Argentina amid a surge in demand spurred by a summer heat wave, underscoring the challenge for the government in Buenos Aires as it looks to become energy self-sufficient. "We are in a negotiation with Argentina to create a spot contract," the chief of Bolivia's state-run energy firm YPFB, Armin Dorgathen Tapia, told Reuters on Friday by phone. The talks are previously unreported. Chilean authorities on Friday also said in a statement to Reuters that they expect to reach a new agreement with Argentina to supply the country's remote north. Up to 2.5 million cubic meters of natural gas could be shipped per day through September, the energy ministry said. Natural gas exports from Bolivia to Argentina ended in September after almost two decades, as Argentina ramped up domestic production from its huge Vaca Muerta shale formation and started shifting towards becoming a net energy exporter. Bolivia's gas production has also been dwindling over the last decade with few new discoveries. Since last year, Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) no longer has an active supply contract with Argentina. But extreme heat that struck Buenos Aires and the surrounding regions this week has led to an uptick in energy demand, as Argentines crank up air conditioners and fans, putting pressure on domestic supplies. Argentina's state energy firm Enarsa confirmed to Reuters on Friday that it was "open to alternatives" should the country need to import gas to meet demand. Argentina is not currently importing gas from its neighbors, the firm said. Bolivia has the capacity to send gas to Argentina as part of a potential new short-term spot contract lasting between six and 12 months, the YPFB president said. Bolivia's gas supplies are already committed to neighboring Brazil as part of a recent deal through to 2027 but some clients "don't demand as much, so we can be flexible," he said. YPFB added that Bolivia could even generate electricity of its own to sell back to Argentina. "There are solutions," Tapia added. YPFB cautioned, however, that an outstanding debt due to the firm from Argentina complicated future transactions. Argentina was due to make a payment on Jan. 10 totaling $10.6 million for supplies received, according to YPFB, but had not done so. "Obviously it is difficult for us to have the confidence to be able to send gas to Argentina, knowing that they may not pay," Tapia said. A spokesperson for Argentina's Enarsa said there was no debt outstanding with YPFB, but rather a discrepancy over the amount of gas Bolivia provided during the contract period. Talks to resolve that are due to continue next week, the person added. Argentina's energy ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The country, South America's No. 2 economy, has been rapidly ramping up gas output and is making multi-billion dollar investments in pipelines and longer-term plans for liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals to allow gas shipments overseas. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/bolivia-talks-with-argentina-restart-gas-supply-amid-demand-spike-executive-says-2025-01-17/

2025-01-17 20:32

Investors brace for volatility following Trump inauguration S&P, Dow show biggest weekly gains since election week Dollar regains ground on the day but down for the week NEW YORK LONDON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - MSCI's global equities index rose on Friday while U.S. Treasury yields turned higher with the dollar as upbeat economic data and earnings appeared to help investors shrug off any jitters ahead of the U.S. presidential inauguration. The U.S. dollar strengthened against major peers after four days of declines, while benchmark U.S. Treasury yields - after a three-session drop - hit a two-week low before reversing course. Federal Reserve data on Friday showed U.S. manufacturing output increased 0.6% last month after an upwardly revised 0.4% rebound in November, likely as production picked up after a factory worker strike ended. Elsewhere, data showed U.S. single-family homebuilding increasing to a 10-month high in December, indicating that construction activity regained some momentum at the end of the year, though rising mortgage rates and a glut of new homes on the market could constrain recovery. All three of Wall Street's major indexes were up for the day while the S&P 500 and the Dow registered their biggest weekly gains since the week of the U.S. presidential election. The Nasdaq scored its biggest weekly advance since early December. "There's an expectation that the economy is not as weak and inflation is not as big a problem as investors may have thought," said Phil Orlando, chief equity strategist at Federated Hermes, pointing to the production and housing data as well as inflation data released earlier this week. "Given the over-sold nature of the market, we've enjoyed a nice bounce here," he said. On Wednesday, softer than forecast core inflation data had pushed down the U.S. 10-year yield and supported stocks. Adding more encouragement to stocks this week were comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller on Thursday signaling that three or four rate cuts are still possible in 2025 if data is weaker. But Orlando was cautious about how well Friday's levels would hold after Monday's handover of the White House from Democratic President Joe Biden to Republican President-elect Donald Trump. "You're going to be swapping very different fiscal policy approaches. I'm wondering if the market doesn't get spooked yet again, once Trump comes into office," said Orlando. "We don't know what his talk is going to look like on Monday. We don't know what sort of day-one executive orders he's going to put through." Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise, said that along with economic data, strong bank earnings reports and outlooks had improved investor confidence since Monday. But like Orlando, he was worried about post-inauguration volatility: "I wouldn't put a ton of faith in this holding until tariffs and immigration policy are clearer," said Saglimbene. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab ended up 334.70 points, or 0.78%, at 43,487.83 while the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab added 59.32 points, or 1%, to 5,996.66 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab finished up 291.91 points, or 1.51%, at 19,630.20. For the week, the Dow rose 3.69% while the S&P 500 added 2.91% and the Nasdaq climbed 2.45%. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab rose 6.60 points, or 0.78%, to 855.23. Before its official close, the index was showing a weekly gain of about 2.5%, which would be its biggest since November's election week. Earlier, Europe's STOXX 600 (.STOXX) , opens new tab index closed up 0.69% on the day for a 1.7% weekly gain, which was its strongest since the week starting Dec. 2. In U.S. Treasuries, yields drifted higher in a choppy session, after the upbeat housing and industrial production data supported expectations that the Fed would slow the pace of rate cuts. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 1.5 basis points to 4.621%, from 4.606% late on Thursday while the 30-year bond yield rose to 4.8535% from 4.845%. The two-year note yield, which typically moves in step with Fed interest-rate expectations, rose 4.5 basis points to 4.283%, from 4.238% late on Thursday. In currencies, the dollar index rose on the day but showed a weekly decline after a six-week winning streak, as investors awaited the inauguration, with hopes for more clarity on policy. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.37% to 109.37. The euro was down 0.25% at $1.0272 while against the Japanese yen , the dollar strengthened 0.69% to 156.19. But for the week, the yen was up as policymakers' comments spurred bets for a quarter-point Bank of Japan rate hike next week. Sources told Reuters the BOJ was likely to keep a hawkish policy pledge and raise rates next week. Sterling weakened 0.6% to $1.2166 after weaker than forecast British retail sales in December. In commodities, oil prices closed lower on Friday but strengthened for a fourth-consecutive week, as the latest U.S. sanctions on Russian energy added to worries about oil supply disruptions. U.S. crude settled down 1% for the day at $77.88 a barrel. Brent settled at $80.79 per barrel, off 0.62%. Gold stocks in COMEX-approved (CME.O) , opens new tab warehouses have jumped by one-third in the past six weeks as market players sought deliveries to hedge against the possibility of import tariffs from the incoming U.S. president. Gold prices fell on Friday but were on track for a weekly gain as uncertainties about Trump policies and bets on further interest rate cuts had lifted it above the key $2,700 level. Spot gold fell 0.43% to $2,702.06 an ounce. U.S. gold futures rose 0.19% to $2,751.60 an ounce. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-wrapup-1-2025-01-17/