2024-12-23 23:55

Opposition claims election was rigged, sparking massive protests Western observers say election was not free and fair Unrest affects foreign companies and Mozambique's growth outlook MAPUTO, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Mozambique's top court on Monday confirmed the victory of ruling party Frelimo in the October election, which has sparked massive protests by opposition groups who say the vote was rigged. The Constitutional Council has the final say over the electoral process and its ruling is likely to spark further protests in Mozambique, a Southern African country of close to 35 million people that Frelimo has governed since 1975. Western observers said the election was not free and fair, and the post-election period has seen the biggest protests against Frelimo in Mozambique's history. The U.S. State Department said it was concerned by the announcement from the Constitutional Council on Monday while also urging "serious electoral and institutional reforms." The State Department statement cited assessments of observers, including those from the U.S., saying there were irregularities in the tabulation process and a lack of transparency in the election period. At least 130 people have been killed in clashes with police, according to the civil society monitoring group Plataforma Decide. Outside the conference centre in the capital Maputo, where a senior Constitutional Council judge announced that Frelimo's Daniel Chapo was president-elect and the party had retained its majority in parliament, the streets were deserted amid a heavy police presence. But footage on local broadcaster TV Sucesso Moz showed protesters had taken to the streets in the northern city of Nacala-Porto within an hour of the announcement and in other areas of the capital. In its final tally, the Constitutional Council said Chapo had secured about 65% of the vote, lower than the figure of more than 70% given by the electoral commission in late October. It also gave Frelimo fewer seats in the parliament than the commission did, without explaining why it had made those changes. Frelimo has consistently been accused by opponents and election observers of rigging votes since it first allowed elections in 1994, although it has repeatedly denied those accusations. The electoral commission has not commented on allegations of fraud in this election. Chapo told a Frelimo gathering that as president he would work to improve the lives of Mozambicans. A representative of opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who the Constitutional Council said came second in the presidential election with about 24% of the vote, rejected the results announced on Monday. "We never thought that the electoral truth would be trampled. The will of the people was obliterated," Judite Simao said. The post-election unrest has already affected the operations of foreign companies including the Australian mining firm South32 (S32.AX) , opens new tab and led to the temporary closure of the main border crossing with neighbouring South Africa. A senior International Monetary Fund official told Reuters Mozambique's 2024 economic growth would likely be below a previous 4.3% forecast because of the unrest and the impact of this month's Cyclone Chido. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/mozambique-top-court-confirms-ruling-party-victory-disputed-election-2024-12-23/

2024-12-23 23:52

Big tech names push Wall Street higher Dow, Nasdaq posts third straight positive sessions Qualcomm up after win against Arm in chips trial Lilly gains after weight-loss drug approved for sleep apnea Indexes up: Dow 0.16%, S&P 500 0.73%, Nasdaq 0.98% Dec 23 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes all ended higher on Monday, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite making it three straight wins, aided by gains by many of the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks on a holiday-thinned trading day. With megacap stocks having outsized influence on markets, their performance during a week in which many investors take time off will be even more pronounced. Volumes on U.S. exchanges were 12.76 billion shares, down from the 14.89 billion shares average from the previous 20 trading days. Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab, Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab and Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab all closed between 2.3% and 3.7% higher, with Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab, Amazon.com (AMZN.O) , opens new tab, and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab also in positive territory. The gains helped propel the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab to their third straight increases, and a second advance in three sessions for the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab. The S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 43.22 points, or 0.73%, to 5,974.07 points, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab rose 192.29 points, or 0.98%, to 19,764.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab climbed 66.69 points, or 0.16%, to 42,906.95. After a solid run since the November presidential election, Wall Street's rally hit a bump this month, especially after the U.S. Federal Reserve forecast just two 25-basis-point rate reductions for 2025 - down from its September view of four cuts - and raised its annual inflation outlook. This included a selloff last Wednesday triggered by the U.S. Federal Reserve signaling a slower rate-cut pace. Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management, noted that while some course correction has occurred in recent days, as interest-rate expectations have been modified by investors, many of the same trends remain in place, including tech and tech-enabled stocks finding favor. "We're really seeing a microcosm today of what we've seen all year long, and the trends are back in place despite what we've seen in the last couple of weeks where things bounced around a little bit," Zaccarelli said. As well as major benchmark gains, eight of the 11 S&P sectors finished higher on Monday, led by communication services (.SPLRCL) , opens new tab, which climbed 1.4%. Markets are also entering a historically strong period for U.S. stocks. Since 1969, the last five trading days of the year, combined with the first two of the following year, have yielded an average S&P 500 gain of 1.3% - a period known as the "Santa Claus Rally", according to the Stock Trader's Almanac. Northlight's Zaccarelli said he believed conditions were right for such a rally, as this year's gains would likely mean investors would hold on to positions as opposed to selling and booking losses which they can use for tax purposes. Qualcomm's (QCOM.O) , opens new tab shares rose 3.5% after a jury found its central processors are properly licensed under an agreement with UK-based Arm Holdings . Shares of Arm, which has vowed to seek a fresh trial, fell 4%. Walmart (WMT.N) , opens new tab dropped 2% after the U.S. consumer finance watchdog accused the retail giant and workforce payments company Branch Messenger of forcing more than a million delivery drivers into using accounts that cost them more than $10 million in junk fees. Eli Lilly (LLY.N) , opens new tab gained 3.7% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drugmaker's weight-loss treatment, Zepbound, for obstructive sleep apnea. Shares of sleep apnea device makers ResMed (RMD.N) , opens new tab and Inspire Medical (INSP.N) , opens new tab fell 2.6% and 0.1% respectively. Nordstrom's (JWN.N) , opens new tab shares declined 1.5% after the department store chain's founding family and Mexican retailer El Puerto de Liverpool (LIVEPOLC1.MX) , opens new tab agreed to take the company private. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/wall-st-futures-kick-off-week-higher-after-government-shutdown-averted-2024-12-23/

2024-12-23 22:42

WELLINGTON, Dec 24 (Reuters) - New Zealand officials said on Tuesday that testing showed they had contained the strain of highly pathogenic H7N6 avian flu that infected a farm this month. Mary van Andel, chief veterinary officer at the Ministry of Primary Industries, said in a statement the government had tested farms connected with the first property with the virus and is confident it had been contained to that farm. "We are on track to stamp out this disease,” said van Andel. The positive test for the virus in December on a chicken farm in Otago, in the South Island was New Zealand's first. The strain is different from the H5N1 strain, which has spread globally and raised fears of human transmission. Van Andel said the farm that reported the virus remains under a strict biosecurity lockdown while it undergoes cleaning and decontamination. New Zealand suspended all poultry exports following the virus's discovery. Van Andel said the government was in close contact with trade partners and an agreement has been reached with Australia to continue exporting some poultry products. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/new-zealand-confident-h7-bird-flu-confined-one-farm-2024-12-23/

2024-12-23 21:57

Dec 23 (Reuters) - Arcadium Lithium (ALTM.N) , opens new tab said on Monday its shareholders have voted in favor of a $6.7 billion sale to Australian mining giant Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) , opens new tab. Shares of Arcadium Lithium rose about 7% in extended trading after the company said that about 98% of its shareholders had voted in favor of the sale. The deal, expected to close in mid-2025, will catapult Rio Tinto to the world's third-largest lithium miner position, just behind Albemarle (ALB.N) , opens new tab and SQM (SQMA.SN) , opens new tab. Arcadium is facing legal hurdles, as some shareholders have filed lawsuits against it alleging misrepresentation, concealment and negligence regarding the takeover deal, the company revealed in a regulatory filing earlier this month. Earlier this year, Rio Tinto said it would pay $5.85 per share in cash for Arcadium, nearly a 90% premium to the stock's closing price on Oct. 4, the day Reuters exclusively reported a potential deal. The Australian miner will gain access to Arcadium's lithium mines, processing facilities and deposits in Argentina, Australia, Canada and the United States as well as customers including Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab, BMW (BMWG.DE) , opens new tab and General Motors (GM.N) , opens new tab. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/arcadium-lithium-shareholders-approve-67-bln-rio-tinto-deal-2024-12-23/

2024-12-23 21:44

Zelenskiy says Slovak PM declined compensation for gas transit losses Fico's stance on Russian gas is 'big security issue', he says Comments follow Fico's visit to Moscow to meet Putin Russian gas transit deal via Ukraine expires on Jan. 1 Dec 23 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday blasted Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico over his reluctance to end his country's dependency on Russian gas, calling it a "big security issue" for Europe and saying Fico declined compensation. Zelenskiy made the comments after Fico met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Sunday. Fico had accused Zelenskiy of opposing any gas transit through Ukraine to Slovakia, which is dependent on gas supplies piped in via its neighbour. Ukraine has repeatedly said it will not extend an existing transit deal for gas flows from Russia to Europe, which expires on Jan. 1. Payments for the gas have helped Russia to wage its almost three-year war in Ukraine, Kyiv says. The Ukrainian leader said Fico had been offered possible compensation for Slovakia for losses resulting from the expiry, as well as transit alternatives for non-Russian gas. "Fico did not want compensation for the Slovaks," Zelenskiy said in his evening address. Slovakia, which has a long-term contract with Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) , opens new tab, has said buying in gas from elsewhere would cost it 220 million euros ($229 million) more in transit expenses. Zelenskiy gave no further details on the compensation offer but earlier on Monday said that Fico was interested only in Russian gas and that $500 million per year was at stake. Fico said last week that Zelenskiy had offered 500 million euros, which he said had been tied to NATO membership and was from Russian assets that the Slovak leader said Ukraine did not possess. "President (Zelenskiy) came back to the subject of gas and asked me if I would then vote for NATO membership if he gave me 500 million euros of Russian assets, and of course, I said 'never'," said Fico, who has opposed Ukraine's bid for a place in the transatlantic security alliance. SECURITY ISSUE Slovakia has said a loss of gas supply from Russia would not hit its consumption and that it has diversified supply contracts. But it has sought to preserve the Ukraine route to keep its gas transit costs from rising and maintain its transit capacities. Zelenskiy said Fico's key goal was "to deal with Russia," as it was beneficial for him. "This is indeed a big security issue - both for Slovakia and the entire Europe. Why is this leader so dependent on Moscow?" he said. He said Slovakia was receiving discounts from Moscow and accused it for paying for them via "murky schemes", but gave no details or evidence. "This should be a matter of concern for Slovakia's law enforcement and special services," he added. The Slovak government office did not respond to a request for comment. Fico said on Sunday that Putin had confirmed Russia's willingness to continue to supply gas to Slovakia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he could not give more details. ($1 = 0.9610 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/zelenskiy-calls-slovaks-fico-dependence-russia-big-security-issue-europe-2024-12-23/

2024-12-23 21:15

SANTIAGO, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Chile's environmental regulator has filed four charges against the major Los Bronces copper mine, controlled by Anglo American (AAL.L) , opens new tab, for noncompliance with environmental permits, the agency said on Monday. The charges could carry a fine of nearly 17 billion pesos ($17.17 million), according to the Superintendency of the Environment, or SMA. Los Bronces is one of Chile's biggest copper mines with output of 255,000 metric tons last year, as well as a key project for Anglo American, which has been a takeover target of larger rival BHP (BHP.AX) , opens new tab. Anglo American said in a statement that it was analyzing the accusations to determine its next steps. One of the charges was deemed "very serious," the highest of three offense levels, for noncompliance dating back to a 2014 sanction. At the time, the SMA found that Anglo American Sur, the local unit that operates Los Bronces, failed to resolve acid drainage at the Esteriles Donoso tailings deposit, designed to hold mine waste. "The company has not implemented a definitive solution ... it constitutes a repetition of acts previously sanctioned," the SMA said. The tailings deposit is not currently in use, Anglo American said, stating that in October it submitted a request for an environmental permit to fix the issue. The regulator also filed two charges in the mid-level "serious" category. One was against Anglo American for not designing a mitigation system for acid waters collected downstream of the Esteriles deposit, and another for not taking measures to control seepage in Las Tortolas tailings dam. The miner said it is "working to optimize the hydraulic barrier approved by the regulator to improve seepage control." The SMA also found that Anglo American had not reported to the agency complete data related to water and tailings, a violation it categorized as "minor." The miner has 15 days to present a mitigation program, and 22 days to contest the charges. The SMA earlier this month also filed three charges against Anglo American for violations at its El Soldado copper mine in the Valparaiso region. ($1 = 989.9000 Chilean pesos) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/chile-files-four-environmental-charges-against-anglo-american-mine-2024-12-23/