2024-12-31 20:41
Macron says early elections caused political instability France failed to approve 2025 budget, new PM appointed Macron urges EU to be less naive in international trade PARIS, Dec 31 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday he recognised that his decision to call early parliamentary elections in June had created more political instability in the country, in a rare moment of contrition. The speech caps a tumultuous 2024 for Macron, who shocked the nation halfway through the year by calling early elections, a gamble that backfired when voters delivered a hung parliament with a big increase in far-right lawmakers, diluting Macron's power. "Lucidity and humility force (me) to recognise that at this stage, this decision has produced more instability than peace, and I fully own up to that," Macron said in a televised address ahead of New Year's celebrations. "The dissolution caused more divisions in the Assembly than solutions for the French people," he added, in the clearest mea culpa since the elections. Macron had justified his decision to call early elections in the wake of a bad score at European elections by the need to "clarify" the political situation. But he lost his workable majority and took two months to name a minority government, which eventually collapsed in December, the first time that happened in France since 1962. As a result, France failed to approve a budget for 2025 before the end-of-year deadline, and Macron had to name his fourth prime minister this year, centrist veteran Francois Bayrou, in December. CHOICES TO MAKE Macron also opened the door to use referendums this year, without using the word, saying he would ask the French to decide on "decisive" issues, without elaborating which ones. "I want us to act with 2050 in our sights. We will have choices to make, for our economy, our democracy, our security, our children," he said. The French constitution grants powers to the president to initiate referendums. Macron has also used "citizen conventions", gatherings of randomly picked citizens without any binding power, in the past to quell revolts such as the yellow vest rebellion on certain issues. On international issues, in which he retains wide diplomatic and military powers, Macron said the European Union should stop being "naive" when it comes to international trade, as the bloc faces threats of tariffs by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. "We must say no to trade rules enacted by others and that we are the only ones to still comply with, say no to everything that makes us more dependent on others, without tradeoffs and without preparing the future," he said. He also mentioned war in Ukraine and the Middle East, and election manipulation in Georgia, Romania and Moldova, as proof Europe should not take its security for granted. "That's why Europe should stop delegating its security and defence to other powers," he said, urging EU partners, who often rely on the U.S. security umbrella, to do more for their own defence. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/macron-offers-mea-culpa-early-elections-new-year-speech-2024-12-31/
2024-12-31 20:40
58 percent of clients were without power on the island Cause of the grid collapse under investigation In-coming governor plans a task force on the power grid Energy grid criticized for years as unstable SAN JUAN, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Puerto Ricans were without electricity on New Year's Eve after a grid failure left nearly all of the island without power, although energy was slowly being restored. Around 58% of clients were without power at 9 p.m. (0100 GMT) on Tuesday, down from 90% earlier in the day, according to the website of energy distribution company LUMA Energy. Puerto Rico has long dealt with chronic power outages as its infrastructure crumbles. It will likely take 24 to 48 hours to turn the lights back on, LUMA said in a statement. It added later that power had been restored to some critical facilities, including Centro Medico and Municipal Hospital in San Juan. "While the cause of the outage is under investigation, preliminary findings point to a failure in an underground line," LUMA said. Ivan Baez, a spokesperson for power generator Genera, said in a local radio interview that the line believed to have failed was operated by LUMA and brought down plants belonging to Genera, as well as private generators. LUMA did not answer direct questions about responsibility for the power lines. Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi said in a post on social media that LUMA and Genera "need to speed up bringing back online the generator units ... and keep the people informed about the measures they're taking to bring service back to the whole island." 'MORE THAN A DECADE IN THE MAKING' Ramon Luis Nieves, 49, an attorney in San Juan and a former senator on the island, said that New Year's Eve is typically a time for family reunions, popping champagne bottles and watching fireworks. The power outage could mute celebrations this year, he said. "My wife and I need to figure it out," he said. "We can't visit my wife's family in the dark." He added that he's not surprised by the outage, especially after Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm that hit the island hard in 2017. Nieves has long been a critic of operators of the power grid. "This disaster has been more than a decade in the making," he said. "The (power) generators are old, long past their life expectancy and the operators have failed to properly invest for years." Such sentiment is common on the Caribbean island, a U.S. territory whose residents are U.S. citizens but do not have voting representation in Congress and cannot vote in presidential elections. Protesters have called for the island's government to cancel its contract with LUMA. In response to a 2022 protest, LUMA said it had "inherited an electrical system that suffered years, in fact decades, of abandonment." Steven Pacheco, a 55-year-old former lineman on the territory, was visiting for the holidays from St. Petersburg, Florida. He said it's frustrating for everyone to be "constantly on edge, anticipating that these emergencies could happen again." Jenniffer González, who takes office as governor of Puerto Rico on Thursday, said on social media that she is forming an energy task force to address the frequent blackouts. "We cannot continue with an energy system that fails our people so often," she wrote. "Events like this morning's blackout and the uncertainty of a prompt restoration of power to the island continue to affect our economy and quality of life." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/puerto-ricos-power-grid-collapses-leaving-island-dark-2024-12-31/
2024-12-31 20:26
Dec 31 (Reuters) - Japan's Nippon Steel (5401.T) , opens new tab has proposed giving the U.S. government veto power over any potential cuts to U.S. Steel's (X.N) , opens new tab production capacity, as part of its efforts to secure President Joe Biden's approval for acquiring the American steelmaker, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Last week, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) referred the decision to approve or block the deal to Biden. Biden, who will leave office on Jan. 20, must decide on the deal by Jan. 7. If he takes no action, it would result in the merger's automatic approval. "We received the CFIUS evaluation and the President will review it," a White House spokesperson said on Tuesday. The Washington Post reported earlier that in its proposal, Nippon Steel pledged a 10-year commitment not to cut production capacity at U.S. Steel's domestic mills, unless approved by a Treasury-led review panel. U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/nippon-steel-offers-us-government-veto-power-bid-us-steel-approval-wapo-reports-2024-12-31/
2024-12-31 20:02
ZURICH, Dec 31 (Reuters) - A proposal to oblige the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to hold bitcoin was set in motion in an initiative published by the Swiss federal chancellery on Tuesday. The initiative proposes changing the law to make the Swiss central back hold part of its reserves in gold and bitcoin. Put forward by a group of 10 people including a number of Swiss cryptocurrency advocates, the initiative has 18 months to collect the 100,000 signatures necessary for it to be put to a public referendum. The SNB has expressed skepticism about bitcoin previously. The central bank's chairman said last month he was wary about cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether. Switzerland holds regular referendums on legislative initiatives to change federal law. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/swiss-central-bank-faces-call-hold-bitcoin-reserves-2024-12-31/
2024-12-31 18:58
US oil output hit record high 13.46 mln bpd in Oct - EIA Despite record, growth in US oil output moderating, analysts say US oil demand at highest in Oct since Aug 2019 - EIA Top agencies likely to revise 2024 demand estimates higher - UBS NEW YORK, Dec 31 (Reuters) - U.S. oil production rose 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) month-over-month to a record 13.46 million bpd in October as demand surged to the highest levels since the pandemic, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Tuesday. U.S. oil output has grown rapidly this year as drilling operations became more efficient in the country, even as concerns of oversupply have weighed heavily on prices for the commodity amid weaker-than-expected demand growth, especially in China, the top oil importing nation. Year-over-year, U.S. oil production rose 2.3% in October, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures prices averaged 16% lower during the month, according to Reuters calculations. WTI and global benchmark Brent crude are on track for their second consecutive annual losses in 2024. Still, the pace of growth of U.S. oil output is moderating, analysts said. Annual oil production growth in the U.S. is tracking around 300,000 to 400,000 bpd in 2024, versus nearly a million bpd in 2023, said Alex Hodes, energy analyst at brokerage StoneX. "There have been a few infrastructure constraints that have kept production somewhat muted but I would expect that we will see a lot of the same in 2025," Hodes said. Strong U.S. oil demand in October was the biggest surprise in the EIA's Petroleum Supply Monthly report, UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said. Total U.S. oil demand rose by about 700,000 bpd from September to 21.01 million bpd in October, the highest since August 2019, EIA data showed. Demand for distillate fuels, which include diesel and heating oil, rose to 4.06 million bpd in October, the highest in a year. "The weak oil demand growth narrative seems not be confirmed by data," Staunovo said. "Likely we will see some 2024 demand growth upward revisions by energy agencies in January." Oil output from top producer Texas rose to a record 5.86 million bpd in October, up about 55,000 bpd from September. U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil output rebounded to 1.76 million bpd in October, up 191,000 bpd month-over-month, after hurricanes forced prolonged closures of production facilities in the region in September. Oil output fell 3.6% to 1.16 million bpd in North Dakota, as wildfires swept the region in October. Natural gas production from U.S. Lower-48 states averaged 115.87 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), up 1.2 bcfd from September, as Texas output rose to a record 36.49 bcfd. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-oil-production-rose-record-high-october-eia-data-shows-2024-12-31/
2024-12-31 18:20
Bitcoin surges over 120% and hits $100,000 milestone in 2024 Sector market value reaches $3.5 trillion Institutional adoption grows Trump's re-election boosts industry confidence Dec 31 (Reuters) - Bitcoin more than doubled in 2024 driven by the U.S. markets regulator's approval for exchange-traded funds tied to its spot price, and optimism over easing regulatory hurdles with Donald Trump set to return to the White House. The world's largest and most well-known cryptocurrency hit $100,000 earlier this month, a milestone that has ignited 'animal spirits' among supporters of the once-nascent asset class. A more than 120% surge in bitcoin this year and a nearly 50% jump in ether , the second-largest cryptocurrency, have propelled the sector's market value to roughly $3.5 trillion, according to CoinGecko data. More gains are in store for 2025, according to analysts. "We remain convinced $100,000 is not the final milestone. We expect Bitcoin to hit a cycle-high of $200,000 in late 2025," analysts at brokerage Bernstein wrote in a client note earlier this month. MicroStrategy (MSTR.O) , opens new tab, a software firm that has become the world's largest corporate holder of bitcoin, has seen its shares surge nearly five-fold in 2024. The stock, which joined the benchmark Nasdaq-100 index recently, is now seen as a proxy for bitcoin, with its movement closely tied to sentiment towards the digital asset. Several smaller companies are following its playbook and allocating portions of their cash to bitcoin. "We expect bitcoin to emerge as the new-age premier 'store of value' asset eventually replacing gold over the next decade and becoming a permanent part of institutional multi-asset allocation and a standard for corporate treasury management," the Bernstein note said. Much of the optimism began in January when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first ETFs to track the spot price of bitcoin, marking a watershed moment for the broader crypto industry. The move gave the sector institutional legitimacy and improved its mainstream appeal as traditional finance heavyweights including BlackRock (BLK.N) , opens new tab and Fidelity launched the products. The victory of Trump, who has promised to make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet," further bolstered the industry's position later this year. Crypto advocates donated millions during the election, hoping to elect candidates that favor the sector. Most crypto stocks have also benefited from the industry-wide rally. The big winners of 2024 are MicroStrategy, crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN.O) , opens new tab and bitcoin miner Hut 8 (HUT.O) , opens new tab On the other hand, several other crypto miners have reeled under shrinking margins due to higher energy and hardware costs, missing the year's rally. Shares of Riot Platforms (RIOT.O) , opens new tab, Marathon Digital (MARA.O) , opens new tab and Bit Digital (BTBT.O) , opens new tab lost between 26% and 32% this year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/bitcoin-more-than-doubles-2024-spot-etf-approval-trump-euphoria-2024-12-31/
