2025-01-02 19:33

Kwon was extradited from Montenegro to face US charges Prosecutors said Kwon misled investors about TerraUSD Several crypto moguls charged after 2022 market slump NEW YORK, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Do Kwon, the South Korean cryptocurrency entrepreneur behind two digital currencies that lost an estimated $40 billion in 2022, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to U.S. criminal fraud charges after being extradited from Montenegro this week. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan on Thursday unsealed a nine-count indictment charging Kwon, who co-founded Singapore-based Terraform Labs and developed the TerraUSD and Luna currencies, with securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering conspiracy. Kwon, 33, wore an olive green long-sleeved shirt and black sweatpants as his lawyer Andrew Chesley entered the plea at a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Lehrburger in Manhattan federal court. The judge ordered Kwon detained after Chesley said he would not seek bail at this time. Kwon took a copy of the 79-page indictment with him as U.S. marshals led him out of the courtroom. He is expected back in court on Jan. 8. Kwon had agreed last June to pay an $80 million civil fine and be banned from crypto transactions as part of a $4.55 billion settlement that he and Terraform reached with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In Thursday's indictment, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office alleged Kwon misled investors in 2021 about TerraUSD, a so-called stablecoin designed to maintain a value of $1. Kwon allegedly told investors a computer algorithm known as "Terra Protocol" had restored the coin's value when it slipped below its peg in May 2021, when in fact he arranged for a high-frequency trading firm to secretly buy millions of dollars of the token to artificially prop up its price. Prosecutors said that false claim and others drove retail and institutional investors to buy Terraform products and boost the value of Luna, a more traditional token developed by Kwon that fluctuated in value but was closely linked to TerraUSD, to $50 billion by the spring of 2022. "Much of this growth followed Kwon's brazen deceptions about Terraform and its technology," the indictment said. When TerraUSD's value began sliding again in May 2022, the trading firm warned that propping it up "wasn't so simple this time," according to the indictment. TerraUSD and Luna crashed that month, dragging down the value of other cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, and caused wider havoc in the crypto market. Prosecutors did not identify the trading firm. SEC lawyers said in their civil case that Jump Trading had propped up TerraUSD in May 2021. Jump did not immediately respond to requests for comment. MONTENEGRO DETENTION In a trial on the SEC claims, a federal jury in Manhattan found Kwon and Terraform liable last April for defrauding cryptocurrency investors. Terraform's lawyer had said in closing arguments that the company and Kwon had been truthful about their products and how they worked, even when they failed. Kwon did not attend that trial because he had been detained in Montenegro since March 2023 on forgery charges. He was handed over to U.S. law enforcement officers on Tuesday at an airport in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. Terraform declared bankruptcy last January. Kwon is one of several cryptocurrency moguls to face federal charges after a slump in digital token prices in 2022 prompted the collapse of a number of companies. Sam Bankman-Fried, who founded the exchange FTX, is appealing his conviction and 25-year sentence last March for stealing $8 billion from customers. Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, pleaded guilty last month to two counts of fraud. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/legal/former-crypto-executive-do-kwon-due-us-court-criminal-fraud-charges-2025-01-02/

2025-01-02 19:05

Jan 2 (Reuters) - Slovakia's coalition government will discuss retaliatory measures to take against Ukraine after it halted the flow of Russian gas through its territory to Slovakia, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Thursday. Fico said in a video message posted on Facebook that his Smer party would consider cutting electricity supplies to Ukraine, lowering aid to Ukrainian refugees, and demanding the renewal of gas transits or compensation for losses he said Slovakia had suffered due to the ending of Russian gas flows. Russian gas exports via Soviet-era pipelines running through Ukraine came to a halt on New Year's Day, marking the end of decades of Moscow's dominance over Europe's energy markets, as a transit contract between Russia and Ukraine expired. Slovakia has alternative gas supplies but Fico, who has ended military aid to Ukraine and sought warmer relations with Moscow, says Slovakia will lose its own transit revenues and pay additional transit fees to bring in non-Russian gas. He has also said European gas and power prices would rise as a result of Ukraine's actions. Fico said a Slovak delegation would discuss the situation in Brussels next Tuesday and then his ruling coalition would discuss retaliation for what he called "sabotage" by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. "I declare (my Smer-SSD party) are ready to debate and agree in the coalition on halting supplies of electricity and on significant lowering of support for Ukrainian citizens in Slovakia," Fico said. "The only alternative for a sovereign Slovakia is renewal of transit or demanding compensation mechanisms that will replace the loss in public finances of nearly 500 million euros." Zelenskiy accused Fico last week of opening a "second energy front" against Ukraine on the orders of Russia. Slovakia's gas transit network operator Eustream, majority owned by the state, had revenue of 158 million euros and after-tax profit of 25 million euros in the six months to Jan. 31 last year, the latest period it reported on its website. State-owned Slovak gas importer SPP, which covers around two-thirds of Slovak demand, said on Wednesday it would face around 90 million euros in additional costs, mainly in transit fees, if it were to replace all Russian gas this year. Slovakia, which neighbours Ukraine in the east, exported 2.4 million megawatt hours of electricity in the first 11 months of 2024 to Ukraine, which has suffered shortages due to Russian bombing, according to data from the Slovak grid operator. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/slovakia-will-discuss-retaliation-after-ukraines-gas-transit-sabotage-says-fico-2025-01-02/

2025-01-02 13:21

LONDON, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Sterling dropped to a near-nine month low against the dollar on Thursday, hurt by the U.S. currency's relentless rise on expectations of dollar-supportive policies from incoming President Donald Trump The pound was last down 0.82% on the day at $1.2422, its lowest since April 2024, a decline which accelerated after it broke through resistance around $1.2475. The euro also fell, hitting a more than two-year low, and the Japanese yen, and most other currencies were weaker on the dollar, albeit by less than sterling. Trump's policies are widely expected to not only boost growth but also add to upward price pressure. That will lead to a Fed cautious about cutting rates too much further, in turn underpinning U.S. Treasury yields and boost dollar demand. The larger decline for the pound is a reversal of last year's trend, when it depreciated less against the dollar than any other G10 currency. Sticky inflation and better growth early in the year meant the Bank of England was more cautious about cutting rates than its peers. This may not be the case this year, however. "At the end of last year data from the UK pointed towards a sharper than expected slowdown to the UK economy, which created a bit more pessimism towards the economic outlook, and triggered a bit of a pound sell off, which kind of petered out during the holiday period," said Lee Hardman, senior currency analyst at MUFG. "If we were to see the economy in the UK continue to weaken early this year, and the Bank of England started to make noises about potentially being more active in terms of cutting rates in response to that, that could certainly open the door for a weaker pound," he said. "Though at this point in time, Bank of England hasn't really given any indication that it's willing to move away from its gradual approach to rate cuts." Versus the euro the pound was a touch softer. The euro was up 0.3% at 83.09 pence. Late last year the euro had threatened to weaken to its lowest versus sterling since June 2016, and the aftermath of Britain's vote to leave the European Union, though it has since recovered slightly. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/sterling-falls-nine-month-low-dollar-carries-climbing-2025-01-02/

2025-01-02 12:24

FRANKFURT, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Germany's cartel office is examining power prices volatility late in 2024, it said on Thursday, as it looks to ensure energy firms did not hold back supply to take advantage of weather conditions that had already sent prices to their highest levels in months. Bouts of dark and calm weather in early November and mid-December, known in German as "dunkelflaute", meant wind and solar plants were not producing. By comparison, renewables accounted for 80% of Germany's energy mix on Wednesday. "It is an open probe ... there are no signs of abuses of market power (yet)," a spokesperson said in reply to an enquiry by Reuters. Andreas Mundt, president of the cartel office, told the Rheinische Post newspaper in an interview published on Thursday that prices spikes had been anticipated this winter as fossil fuel curbs put in place under environmental laws come into play in a big way. "We are monitoring the prices determination in the market continuously and closely," Mundt said. He did not say when the investigation began or when it would end. As German boosts its renewables supply, it retains coal and gas plants to ensure the market is not undersupplied. Some market participants had questioned why those plants were not tapped more quickly in November and December. The cartel office has the power to fine suppliers if it deems there is undue exploitation of a dominant market position. Germany's expanded renewables supply also means periods of negative prices where buyers are paid for taking power, for example in sunny and windy periods during holidays when there is little demand. Power grids have to be balanced as storage capacity is not advanced enough yet to store all the power produced in such instances. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/power-price-jumps-late-2024-being-looked-german-cartel-office-says-2025-01-02/

2025-01-02 11:53

EVs accounted for 89% of new car sales in 2024 vs 82% in 2023 Strong take-up made possible by mix of incentives and taxes Policy consistent over time No automotive lobby in Norway to oppose extra taxes OSLO, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Nine out of ten new cars sold in Norway last year were powered by battery only, registration data showed on Thursday, placing the country within reach of its target of only adding cars that are electric on the road by 2025. Fully electric vehicles accounted for 88.9% of new cars sold in 2024, up from 82.4% in 2023, data from the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV) showed. Top-selling brands were Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab, followed by Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) , opens new tab and Toyota (7203.T) , opens new tab. Chinese EVs now account for almost 10% of new car sales. "Norway will be the first country in the world to pretty much erase petrol and diesel engine cars from the new car market," said Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian EV association. CARROT AND STICK APPROACH Oil-producing Norway penalises petrol and diesel cars with high taxes, while exempting EVs from import and value-added taxes to make them more attractive, although some levies were reintroduced in 2023. The policy has worked because it has been consistent over time, maintained by governments of various political persuasion, experts said. "Very often we see in other countries that someone puts tax incentives or exemptions and then they pull back again," Bu said. Also helpful is the fact that Norway does not have an automaker lobby. "We are not a car-producing country ... so taxing cars highly in the past was simple," said Ulf Tore Hekneby, head of Norway's biggest car importer, Harald A. Moeller. Having incentives, rather than banning petrol and diesel cars, was crucial too, said Bu. "That would (have) made people angry. People don't like being told what to do," she said. The European Union has decided to ban sales of carbon-dioxide-emitting cars by 2035, but it may allow sales of cars that run on fuels made from captured CO2. Norway's policies mean that fully electric cars last year overtook pure petrol cars on Norwegian roads. They accounted for more than 28% of all cars driven in the Nordic country as of December, according to Public Road Administration data. "That's the big lesson: put together a broad package (of incentives) and make it predictable for (the) long-term," said deputy transport minister Cecilie Knibe Kroglund. IMPACT To be sure, while nearly all new buyers of cars in Norway have gone electric, some hold-outs remain. "The main buyers of ICE (internal combustion engine) cars in Norway are rental companies because many tourists are not familiar with EVs," said Hekneby. Still, the rising share of EVs on Norwegian roads means other sectors have to adapt. At fuel stations, more and more petrol pumps are replaced with fast electric chargers. "Within the next three years we will have at least as many charging stalls as we have pumps for fuel," said Anders Kleve Svela, a senior manager at Circle K, Norway's largest fuel retailer. "In just a couple of years more than 50% of all the cars in Norway will be electric ... We have to ramp up our charging park according to that," he added. For drivers, switching to an EV means it can take a little longer to charge a car in winter due to the cold weather. "Sometimes I miss that I just can pump it full and drive off five minutes later," said Desire Andresen, 28, an in-home caregiver, charging her car at a Circle K station outside Oslo. "But I'm more comfortable with an electric car ... It's better for the environment and the diesel cars produce so much smell." ($1 = 11.0850 Norwegian crowns) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/norway-nearly-all-new-cars-sold-2024-were-fully-electric-2025-01-02/

2025-01-02 11:50

Jan 2 (Reuters) - The International Longshoremen's Association and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) are set to resume contract talks on Jan. 7, Bloomberg news reported on Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter. Talks between the ILA, which represents more than 45,000 dockworkers across the U.S. East and Gulf coast ports, and the employer group are at an impasse over issues related to automation at port terminals. Both parties signed a tentative deal in October, which gave workers a 62% wage hike over six years, to end a three-day strike but left issues related to automation unresolved. Another coast-wide strike at U.S. East and Gulf coast ports looms large if an agreement is not reached before Jan. 15, which will not only halt billions in trade but also raise inflationary pressures and threaten existing supply chains. USMX had earlier said , opens new tab the technology at issue does not harm longshore employment, and added such modernization was necessary to keep U.S. ports competitive. (This story has been refiled to correct the syntax in paragraph 2) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-dockworkers-port-employers-set-restart-talks-jan-7-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-01-02/