2024-12-13 15:24

Dec 13 (Reuters) - Tobacco giant Philip Morris International's (PM.N) , opens new tab subsidiary Swedish Match North America(SMNA) will pay $1.2 million to settle an investigation into violations of Washington D.C.'s flavored tobacco ban. The District of Columbia attorney general's office said it had found evidence that SMNA facilitated online sales of "tens of thousands" of flavored Zyn nicotine pouches to D.C. consumers between October 1, 2022, when the ban was enacted , opens new tab, and June 30, 2024. PMI, which acquired a 90% stake in Swedish Match for $16 billion in November 2022, must now monitor its distributor's compliance with D.C.'s ban quarterly and stop sales of flavored Zyn pouches through Zyn.com and related e-commerce platforms, the AG's office said on Friday. Nicotine pouches became the second most common used tobacco product in the U.S., with 890,000 students reporting having used the products in 2024, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The tobacco giant had suspended sales on Zyn.com after it had been issued a subpoena by the D.C. attorney general earlier this year. Swedish Match would continue to focus on its brick-and-mortar stores, PMI said in an emailed statement. Sales of Zyn, which PMI says does not contain tobacco, have surged, growing 41.1% in PMI's most recent quarterly results. The company, which has been looking to move beyond traditional cigarettes, has also expanded production to counter Zyn supply shortages in the U.S. amid a budding black market for nicotine pouches. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/legal/philip-morris-pay-12-mln-settle-probe-into-flavored-tobacco-ban-violation-2024-12-13/

2024-12-13 15:11

Dec 13 (Reuters) - U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile (TMUS.O) , opens new tab said on Friday it would buy back as much as $14 billion worth of shares by 2025 end as part of its previously stated plan to return up to $50 billion over the next three years to shareholders. Telecom companies such as Verizon (VZ.N) , opens new tab, AT&T (T.N) , opens new tab and T-Mobile are among the top dividend payers in the U.S. Earlier this month, AT&T said it plans to return more than $40 billion to shareholders over the next three years through dividends and share repurchases. T-Mobile's latest shareholder return program is in addition to the $19 billion announced in September 2023, running through Dec. 31 this year. The company on Friday also reiterated that it would allocate about $80 billion in investments and capital returns through 2027. T-Mobile, one of the top three wireless carriers in the U.S., has attracted subscribers in a saturated telecom market through its high-speed 5G plans that offer streaming perks. The company expects adjusted free cash flow, a metric that helps determine dividend payouts, to be between $18 billion and $19 billion in 2027. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/t-mobile-announces-14-bln-buyback-2024-12-13/

2024-12-13 12:55

ROME, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Rome's Jewish community expressed dismay on Friday after two unions called a nationwide strike to protest against Italy's "support for the genocidal Israeli government" amongst other complaints. Friday's strike by the USB and Cobas unions has primarily hit public transport and is due to last 24 hours. "Ours is a strike against the war economy and thus also against our government's support for the Israeli state," a spokesperson for the USB union told Reuters. Along with a demand for higher wages and a shorter working week, a lengthy strike manifesto published online singled out Israel in the unions' opposition to Italy's "growing involvement in war theatres". Victor Fadlun, president of the Jewish Community of Rome, accused the unions of stirring anti-Semitism. "Dismay and bewilderment. There are no other words to describe what we feel," Fadlun said in a statement. "We are faced with the emergence of hatred towards Israel that disregards any reasonable context, and that can have no other explanation than the urgency of expressing, even if it is misplaced, an anti-Semitism that has been simmering all along," he added. Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 44,800 people since it began 14 months ago, according to Palestinian health authorities. The war began after Hamas gunmen stormed into southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages back to Hamas-run Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Italy has remained firm in saying Israel had a right to defend itself, but has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and has urged Israel to limit civilian casualties. Friday's strike had a limited impact on transport, with some, but not all metro lines shut in Rome and Milan, while bus and tram services were operating in most cities albeit with delays. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/romes-jews-express-anger-union-strike-over-israeli-genocide-2024-12-13/

2024-12-13 11:37

TSX ends down 0.5% at 25,274.30 Posts its lowest closing level since Nov. 20 Materials group loses 1.7% as metal prices fall Enghouse Systems falls 12.9% after revenue miss Dec 13 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell to a three-week low on Friday as a drop in metal prices weighed on the materials sector, with the market giving back some of the robust gains accumulated since the U.S. presidential election. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended down 136.41 points, or 0.5%, at 25,274.30, its lowest closing level since Nov. 20. For the week, the TSX was down 1.6%, after posting five straight weekly gains. It notched a record high earlier this month and has gained 4.6% since the beginning of November. "We have been running a very strong month following the U.S. presidential election and this mean reversion that we're seeing in broad indices is not out of the ordinary," said Sid Mokhtari, chief market technician for CIBC Capital Markets. "For Canada, I would say we probably are going to stay range bound for a little longer until we go into the inauguration in the U.S. and we see what kind of tariff threats we may get from the U.S. side." The inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. president is set to take place on Jan. 20. Trump has vowed to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders. Canada will respond robustly if the United States imposes unjustified tariffs on Canadian exports, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said. The materials group, which includes fertilizer companies and metal mining shares, fell 1.7%, extending its losses from the previous day, as gold and copper prices declined. Energy fell 0.5% and industrials were down 0.7%. Shares of Enghouse Systems Ltd (ENGH.TO) , opens new tab tumbled 12.9% after the software solutions firm missed fourth-quarter revenue estimates. Nine of 10 major sectors posted declines. The exception was technology which was aided by a 9.1% gain for electronics firm Celestica Inc (CLS.TO) , opens new tab. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/tsx-futures-rise-oil-prices-advance-2024-12-13/

2024-12-13 11:36

Dec 13 (Reuters) - Industry lobby VCI said on Friday it expects German chemicals industry orders and sales to stagnate in 2025 as high producer prices and low order backlogs weigh on revenues. The association, which represents around 1,900 companies, said revenues in the chemical-pharmaceutical industry decreased by 2% to 221 billion euros ($231 billion) in 2024, as prices decreased and sales in Germany were down by 4%. The industry suffered from high production costs and weak demand throughout 2023. Some companies flagged tentative signs of recovery in early 2024, but that optimism has since faded as high costs and labour shortages continue to weigh. "It's a gloomy assessment. The only silver lining is that the rapid downturn of the last two years has not continued," said VCI President Markus Steilemann, who also serves as chief executive for Covestro (1COVG.DE) , opens new tab. VCI said orders were scarce in 2024, leading to production facilities not operating at full capacity. "As a result, some facilities have been permanently closed in recent months. Further shutdowns are likely to follow," it added. In a conference call, VCI president Steilemann said he expected the number of jobs in the sector in Germany to fall in 2025, without giving further details. Earlier on Friday, German chemicals maker Evonik (EVKn.DE) , opens new tab said it might cut its workforce by more than a fifth. Germany is lagging behind other countries due to high production costs and increasing bureaucracy, VCI said, adding that the current economic situation was prompting members to reduce their budgets in Germany and increase investments abroad. ($1 = 0.9553 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/germanys-vci-expects-chemicals-industry-stagnate-2025-2024-12-13/

2024-12-13 11:16

Lower profit follows period of exceptional earnings Awaits outcome of corruption trial in Switzerland New CEO takes over in January LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Global commodity trading house Trafigura saw a sharp drop in its earnings for 2024 and has revised down its equity and profits for previous years after it discovered a billion-dollar oil fraud in Mongolia, the company said on Friday. Earnings dropped by 60% on the year in 2024 to $2.8 billion, the lowest since 2020. Trafigura's financial year ends on Sept. 30. The lower result marks the end of a period of exceptional earnings. During the last four years, commodity traders cashed in on unprecedented market volatility generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Europe's energy crisis and Russia's fullscale invasion of Ukraine. As its earnings fall, the Geneva-based firm faces possible fines as a result of a corruption trial in Switzerland, as well as equity buybacks from departing senior managers, and an imminent CEO changeover. The company paid $2 billion in dividends in 2024 compared to nearly $6 billion in 2023. The Geneva-based firm said it recorded a $358 million impairment for its Mongolian business in 2024 "with the balance recorded as prior period adjustments". Trafigura attributed the majority of the total to debts owed by its counterparty in the country, Lex Oil, but its own internal investigation is ongoing to try to locate around $500 million. The Mongolia fraud is the second such loss in two years after the firm wrote off $600 million in connection with a nickel deal it said was fraudulent. Trafigura's zinc and lead producer Nyrstar also led to a significant impairment of nearly $300 million in 2024. The $1.1 billion loss in Mongolia was accrued over five years. Trafigura revised its 2022 and 2023 earnings and group equity to reflect the Mongolia loss. 2022 was revised to $6.8 billion compared with $7 billion and 2023 was revised down to $7.3 billion from $7.4 billion, the results showed. Group equity fell slightly to $16.3 billion after 2023 was revised down to $15.8 billion from $16.5 billion. EBITDA fell 36% to $8.1 billion. Trafigura's traded oil and fuel volumes were up at 6.8 million barrels per day (bpd), compared with 6.3 million bpd in 2023. Trafigura has not set aside any provision to cover possible penalties linked to an ongoing corruption trial in Switzerland, where prosecutors are seeking a total of $156 million from the trading house over its Angolan activities. Trafigura's 2024 financial year will be the last with CEO Jeremy Weir at the helm. He steps down in January to be replaced by gas, power and renewables boss Richard Holtum. Weir, who was CEO for over 10 years, will become chairman of the board. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/trafigura-net-profit-equity-drops-after-mongolia-fraud-2024-12-13/