2026-01-03 11:25

Jan 3 (Reuters) - Venezuela's state-run oil production and refining were operating normally on Saturday and suffered no damage from a U.S. strike to extract the country's president, two sources with knowledge of the operations of energy company PDVSA said. U.S. forces captured President Nicolas Maduro, U.S. President Donald Trump said, after months of pressuring him over accusations of drug-running and illegitimacy in power. Sign up here. The port of La Guaira near Caracas, one of the country's largest but one not used for oil exports, was reported to have suffered severe damage, one of the sources said. Trump in December announced a blockade of oil tankers entering or leaving the country and the U.S. seized two cargoes of Venezuelan oil. That lowered the OPEC country's exports last month to about half of the 950,000 barrels per day (bpd) it shipped in November, according to monitoring data and internal documents. The U.S. measures prompted many vessel owners to divert away from Venezuelan waters, which has rapidly increased PDVSA's inventories of crude and fuel. PDVSA has been forced to slow down deliveries at ports and store oil on tankers to avoid crude output or refining cut-backs. PDVSA's administrative system also has not fully recovered from a cyberattack in December that forced it to isolate terminals, oilfields and refineries from its central system and to resort to written records to continue operations. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/venezuelas-pdvsa-suffered-no-damage-us-attacks-sources-2026-01-03/

2026-01-03 09:48

FRANKFURT, Jan 3 (Reuters) - A fire on a bridge across the Teltow Canal in south-western Berlin could leave up to 45,000 households without power until January 8, grid company Stromnetz Berlin said on Saturday. Local police said they are investigating the incident, which took place early in the day, as a possible arson attack. Sign up here. The fire near the Lichterfelde heat and power station damaged several high-voltage cables. "We expect a full restart of all customers by Thursday afternoon," the company said in a statement, noting it would require the installation of new cables. It said some 2,200 commercial entities were also affected and mobile phone services and landlines might also be impacted. Firefighters had been alerted at 0545 GMT and put out the fire, according to a police note posted on Twitter. Criminal investigators and emergency services are on the scene, the police said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/possible-arson-berlin-cable-link-cuts-power-50000-households-police-says-2026-01-03/

2026-01-03 07:24

Jan 2 (Reuters) - A large fire broke out in an apartment complex under construction in southeast Denver near the Glendale area on Friday evening, causing significant power outages in the community, according to Glendale's police department. Flames tore through the building's frame as thick smoke rose into the night sky, while fire trucks and flashing lights filled the street, in images posted by Denver's fire department on X. Sign up here. One firefighter was injured and was taken to Denver Health, a local hospital, the fire department said in the post. More than 100 firefighters were at the scene of the fire, Robert Murphy, division chief of operations for Denver Fire told ABC affiliate KMGH TV. "This fire is still not out. Our firefighters are still dumping water on it. It's, you know, deep-seated now within this building so we're trying to reach those deep-seated locations and we're going to be here a while and with us here, they're going to keep Leetsdale (Drive) closed for sure," Murphy said. Authorities have set up a temporary shelter at an event center in nearby Glendale, the police said. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fire-engulfs-denver-apartment-building-under-construction-causing-power-outages-2026-01-03/

2026-01-02 23:51

Indexes: Dow +0.66, S&P 500 0.19%, Nasdaq flat Nvidia, Intel helps market recovery after blip at midday Furniture retailers rise after Trump postpones tariff hike Tesla slips after annual sales drop for second year Industrials, utilities post gains NEW YORK, Jan 2 (Reuters) - The Dow and S&P 500 indexes ended higher on Friday, starting 2026 by snapping a four-day losing streak, helped by gains in chip makers Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab, Intel and Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab In 2025, the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all notched double-digit gains, their third straight year in the green, a run last seen during 2019-2021. Sign up here. Chip stocks provided a boost on Friday, with the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index (.SOX) , opens new tab up 4%. Industrials (.SPLRCI) , opens new tab and utilities (.SPLRCU) , opens new tab also gained. Caterpillar (CAT.N) , opens new tab and Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab rose 4.5% and 4.9%, boosting the Dow. While chip stocks rallied, several market heavyweights such as Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab and Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab fell to keep gains in check on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were also pressured by losses in consumer discretionary stocks including Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab. Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab also slid 2.6% after annual sales fell for a second year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 319.10 points, or 0.66%, to 48,382.39, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 12.97 points, or 0.19%, to 6,858.47 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab lost 6.36 points, or 0.03%, to 23,235.63. Joe Mazzola, head of trading & derivatives strategist at Charles Schwab, told Reuters the market is seeing a "buy the dip, sell the rip," trading mentality - where investors profit from short-term market volatility by timing entry and exit points. "But I do think that investors might be a little bit more conscious about some of the valuations that they're paying for some of the AI plays," he said. "At the same time when they do get the opportunity to buy in (during) a pull back, they just continue to do that. I don't see that stopping anytime so." Smaller stocks, which have struggled in recent days, also rallied and the Russell 2000 rose 1.1% to snap a four-day streak of declines." Recent selling had dashed expectations for a "Santa Claus rally" in which markets tend to get a late boost over the last five trading days of December and the first two of January, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac. The Federal Reserve's monetary policy trajectory will set the tone for global markets in 2026, after recent economic data and expectations of a new dovish Fed chair prompted investors to price in further reductions. "The next Fed Chair is probably going to be much more dovish than Jerome Powell. So I would imagine that we actually see in the second half of this year that interest rates go down substantially," said Dennis Dick, chief market strategist at Stock Trader Network. "And that's going to be good for all stocks, not just tech stocks." A key highlight for January will be next week's labor market data, especially after Powell, at the central bank's December meeting, cautioned against further interest rate cuts until there was more clarity on jobs. Wall Street had made a stellar comeback in 2025 from April's lows when Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs sparked a meltdown in global markets, sent investors away from U.S. stocks and threatened growth by clouding the interest rate outlook. Possible tariff surprises from Trump will be on the radar, especially after the White House said he signed a proclamation to delay increases in tariffs for upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities for another year. Shares of furniture retailers Wayfair (W.N) , opens new tab, Williams-Sonoma (WSM.N) , opens new tab and RH (RH.N) , opens new tab ended 6%, 5% and almost 8% higher, respectively. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.01-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 236 new highs and 95 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 2,978 stocks rose and 1,818 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.64-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 9 new 52-week highs and 9 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 54 new highs and 79 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 15.92 billion shares, compared with the 15.87 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-stock-futures-make-positive-start-2026-risk-appetite-returns-after-recent-2026-01-02/

2026-01-02 20:23

Jan 2 (Reuters) - Norwegian energy group Equinor (EQNR.OL) , opens new tab said on Friday it had filed a civil suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging a U.S. Department of the Interior order to suspend its Empire Wind project. "As part of that case, Empire plans to seek a preliminary injunction and allow construction to continue while the litigation proceeds," Equinor added. Sign up here. Last week, the Trump administration suspended leases for five large offshore wind projects that are under construction off the U.S. East Coast over what it called national security concerns, sending shares of offshore wind companies plunging. The suspension was the latest blow for offshore wind developers that have faced repeated disruptions to their multi-billion-dollar projects under U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said he finds wind turbines ugly, costly and inefficient. Denmark's Orsted (ORSTED.CO) , opens new tab said on Friday it was challenging the U.S. government's suspension of the lease for its Revolution Wind joint venture and would seek a court injunction against the decision to halt its $5 billion offshore wind project. Equinor said filing for a preliminary injunction is necessary to keep the project on track during this critical execution phase and avoid further commercial and financing impacts if the order remains in effect. Equinor said Empire Wind is being developed under contract with New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The project is more than 60% complete and represents a major investment in U.S. energy infrastructure, jobs and supply chains, the company said. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/equinor-challenges-us-order-suspend-empire-wind-project-2026-01-02/

2026-01-02 18:41

Quake of 6.5 magnitude strikes off southwestern coast Reports of one death in Guerrero state and one death in Mexico City Damage reported on roads, public buildings, hospitals Airport operations not affected, aviation agency says MEXICO CITY, Jan 2 (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake shook southern Mexico on Friday morning, damaging roads and hospitals and briefly interrupting President Claudia Sheinbaum's first press conference of the new year. A woman, aged 50, died in the southwestern state of Guerrero when her home collapsed due to the tremors, the state's governor, Evelyn Salgado, said. Local media also reported that a 67-year-old man died in Mexico City while going down the stairs as he tried to evacuate his apartment building. Sign up here. As the earthquake struck the capital, 180 miles away from the epicenter, the city's iconic Angel of Independence monument - a golden angel atop a 45-meter-high column in a roundabout on one of the capital's busiest avenues - swayed from side to side. The seismic alarm just before 8 a.m. local time sent crowds evacuating into the streets, many wearing towels or pajamas and cradling anxious pets. The 6.5-magnitude quake struck near the Pacific Coast in Guerrero at a depth of 35 km (22 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. As of midday, Mexico's seismological service registered 420 aftershocks, the strongest of which was a magnitude 4.7. Authorities reported landslides over highways, gas leaks, and damage to homes, public buildings and hospitals around Guerrero state. The southwestern state is home to Acapulco and other beach resort areas, which are a major draw for holiday tourists. Acapulco, the state's largest city, is still recovering from a Category 5 hurricane that devastated the area in 2023. The earthquake also provided drama to Sheinbaum's daily press conference. Sheinbaum was speaking at the National Palace in Mexico City when earthquake alarms sounded. She noted the ground was shaking beneath her before calmly evacuating alongside journalists. She resumed the press conference shortly afterward. In Mexico City, videos shared online showed cracks inside homes, tall buildings shaking against each other and a traffic light smashing into the road beneath it. Authorities did not immediately report any major damage. Mexico's aviation authority said the international airports of Mexico City and Acapulco had sustained some minor damage, but said it had not affected operations. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/earthquake-magnitude-63-strikes-mexico-gfz-says-2026-01-02/