2024-11-22 18:27

Nov 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday confirmed the country's first case of H5N1 bird flu infection in a child, who experienced mild symptoms and is recovering from their illness. California's public health department had reported the case on Tuesday, but said there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus. The child's family members tested negative. The CDC affirmed that currently there was no evidence of person-to-person spread of H5N1 bird flu from this child to others, but said it will continue contact tracing. The agency said the child received flu antivirals and low levels of viral material were found in the initial specimen. A follow-up test of the child several days later was negative for bird flu but was positive for other common respiratory viruses, it added. So far, there has been no person-to-person spread associated with any of the H5N1 bird flu cases reported in the United States, the CDC said. The agency maintained the risk for the general public remains low. Including this child's case, 55 human cases of H5 bird flu have now been reported in the country this year, with 29 in California, according to the CDC. Most U.S. bird flu cases have occurred among farm workers in contact with poultry or cows that were infected with the virus. Because bird flu viruses can mutate and gain the ability to spread easily between people, California public health officials have previously said they are monitoring animal and human infections carefully. The CDC and state departments have urged residents to avoid contact with sick or dead wild birds. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-cdc-confirms-h5n1-bird-flu-child-california-2024-11-22/

2024-11-22 17:33

Nov 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation Department has approved New York's plan to impose a $9 congestion charge for driving in Manhattan starting on Jan. 5, a move aimed at raising billions for mass transit and cutting traffic. The congestion charge, the first of its kind in the United States, was revived last week by Governor Kathy Hochul after she had put it on indefinite hold in June. New York plans to charge a $9 toll during daytime hours for passenger vehicles driving in Manhattan south of 60th Street. It scrapped an earlier plan to charge $15 that would have started on June 30 of this year. The Federal Highway Administration said in a letter made public on Friday that no additional environmental assessment was needed to impose the lower toll and that it was consistent with a review completed in 2023. London implemented a similar fee in 2003, which is now 15 pounds ($19). New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which approved the fee this week, said the toll will result in at least 80,000 fewer vehicles entering the zone daily, "relieving crowding in what is today the most congested district in the United States." New York is racing to implement the charge before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump, who has a Manhattan residence, said last week he strongly disagreed with the decision to implement the fee. Hochul said the toll is crucial to making new investment in subways and buses in New York, and that it will support $15 billion in debt financing for mass transit improvement. Trucks and buses will pay up to $21.60, and there will be 75% discounts for traveling at night. The fee will be charged once a day regardless of how many trips are made for car owners, while taxis will pay 75 cents per trip in the Manhattan zone and Uber (UBER.N) , opens new tab or Lyft (LYFT.O) , opens new tab vehicles reserved by app will pay $1.50 per trip. New York has said that more than 700,000 vehicles enter the Manhattan central business district daily, reducing travel speeds to around 7 mph (11 kph) on average, which is down 23% since 2010. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-approves-new-york-plan-impose-9-manhattan-congestion-fee-starting-jan-5-2024-11-22/

2024-11-22 17:24

Nov 22 (Reuters) - U.S. energy infrastructure providers are on pace to post their best year in many, as investors hedge against volatility in the commodity markets and wager on long-term demand fueled by the rise of power-guzzling technologies such as generative AI. The Alerian Midstream Energy Index (.AMNA) , opens new tab, which tracks major North American pipeline and storage companies, is up about 46% this year after hitting a record high in March. This compares with the nearly 25% gains in the broader S&P 500 index (.SPX) , opens new tab during the same period. Alerian index constituents Kinder Morgan (KMI.N) , opens new tab and Targa Resources (TRGP.N) , opens new tab are set for their best yearly gains, while Williams Co (WMB.N) , opens new tab is on track for its best year in nearly two decades. "We've seen fairly substantial flows from a lot of institutional investors over the past six months," said Kenny Zhu, research analyst at Global X ETFs, a New York-based provider of exchange-traded funds. Energy infrastructure firms' fixed-fee model shields them from the volatility in oil and gas prices, while the sector also benefits from surging U.S. production. Payouts in the form of dividends and buybacks due to stable cash flows are also pulling in small investors, experts said. The explosive growth in artificial intelligence and the related insatiable demand from data centers to run the power-hungry applications have reinforced the segment's appeal. "There's no artificial intelligence without energy infrastructure, because AI needs the power 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at asset management firm Tortoise. Additionally, several liquefied natural gas export projects are expected to come online in the latter half of the decade, further boosting demand for pipelines. However, building new large-scale pipelines is not an easy task in the U.S., as they often run into regulatory hurdles, making existing infrastructure even more valuable. "If you have pipelines in the ground right now, you're in a really good spot because those are going to become more and more valuable as demand continues to grow," said Zack Van Everen, director of research at TPH&Co. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-energy-infra-firms-set-record-gains-ai-power-demand-soars-2024-11-22/

2024-11-22 16:04

Nov 22 (Reuters) - U.S. consumer sentiment ticked up for a fourth straight month in November, led by a big upswing in sentiment among Republicans following Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election. The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index climbed to 71.8 this month, the highest since April, from 70.5 in October. The result was shy of the median estimate among economists polled by Reuters for a reading of 73.7 and was lower than the preliminary reading of 73.0, a pulse-taking that was completed before the Nov. 5 election. "Overall, the stability of national sentiment this month obscures discordant partisan patterns," Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said in a statement. "In a mirror image of November 2020, the expectations index surged for Republicans and fell for Democrats this month, a reflection of the two groups’ incongruous views of how Trump’s policies will influence the economy." Indeed, overall sentiment among Republicans surged by 15.5 points, the largest increase since Trump won the 2016 election. It plunged 10.1 points among Democrats in the wake of the loss by Vice President Kamala Harris, their party's nominee. It also ticked down among political independents, whom exit poll data from Edison Research showed narrowly favored Harris over Trump. Meanwhile, households continued to see muted inflation pressures in the year ahead but do see greater price-rise risk over Trump's coming four-year term. The survey showed one-year inflation expectations at 2.6%, the lowest since December 2020, but five-year expectations rose to 3.2%, the highest in a year, from 3.0% in October. Many economists see a risk of rekindled inflation arising from Trump's economic agenda of tax cuts, higher tariffs and restricted immigration. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-consumer-sentiment-ticks-up-shows-post-election-partisan-flip-2024-11-22/

2024-11-22 14:48

MUMBAI, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The Indian central bank, in a rare move, instructed some banks to cut their long positions on the dollar-rupee pair on Friday, seeking to reduce speculative bets on the local currency, which is at a record low, four bankers directly familiar with the development told Reuters. The rupee weakened to a record low of 84.5075 per U.S. dollar earlier in the day, pressured by portfolio outflows and a stronger greenback. Foreign investors have sold a net of $3.1 billion in Indian equities so far in November, after selling a record $11.2 billion in October, putting pressure on the rupee. On Thursday, after U.S. prosecutors indicted Adani Group's billionaire founder, Gautam Adani, over alleged bribery and fraud, foreign investors sold $600 million. Provisional data suggests selling continued on Friday, with net sales of $150 million. The group has dismissed the accusations as "baseless". Amid continued foreign outflows and pressure on the rupee, the Reserve Bank of India's financial market regulations department informally communicated to banks to cut long dollar-rupee positions, the bankers said. The RBI did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The move adds to the central bank's arsenal of forex interventions, which include regular dollar sales in the spot and non-deliverable forwards markets. While the RBI has previously stopped banks from adding long positions on the dollar-rupee, it has not asked them to cut positions in recent years. Banks' reducing speculative shorts against the rupee could potentially induce dollar sales in the spot market, supporting the rupee, said the bankers, who declined to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media. In addition to asking banks to reduce speculative bets, the RBI has also asked them to avoid buying spot dollars to execute arbitrage trades. "Banks have been asked to cut their long positions (on USD/INR) and asked to avoid buying spot dollars for arbitrage traders in the futures and NDF (non-deliverable forwards ) market," one of the bankers said. Usually, when the rupee is under pressure, the offshore rates are higher than the onshore rate, which can create arbitrage opportunities. The NDF arbitrage increases demand for dollars onshore while providing more liquidity offshore. The rupee has weakened nearly 0.5% so far in November, hurt by overseas investors pulling out over $4 billion from local equities and debt and as the dollar rallied following Donald Trump's U.S. election victory on Nov. 5. Since then, the dollar index has gained more than 3% to hit 107.2, its highest in over a year, on bets that President-elect Trump's policies could reignite inflation and slow future U.S. rate cuts. Still, the RBI's routine interventions have limited the rupee's slide. In contrast, its Asian peers have declined between 0.9% to 2.2% this month. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/indian-central-bank-asks-some-lenders-cut-speculative-bets-against-rupee-sources-2024-11-22/

2024-11-22 14:42

August 12 (Reuters) - Major brokerages, including Goldman Sachs, J.P.Morgan and Morgan Stanley, have forecast slower global growth for late 2025 due to economic uncertainty fueled by tariffs and geopolitical tensions. The U.S. economy is expected to grow between 1% and 2% this year, according to estimates from leading brokerages, as tariffs push prices higher, while softening labor markets help avoid a potential wage-price spiral. Sign up here. But U.S. equities have risen over 30% since hitting their lows in April following President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs. Citigroup and UBS Global Research became the latest Wall Street brokerages to raise their year-end targets for the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab index, pointing to receding policy risks and resilient corporate earnings. Oppenheimer Asset Management sees the index climbing as high as 7,100, the highest on Wall Street, while Jefferies is the only brokerage to set a target lower than 6,000 at 5,600. Meanwhile, central banks, especially the U.S. Federal Reserve, are on pause, waiting to see how the situation plays out. Following are the forecasts from some top banks on economic growth, and the performance of major asset classes in 2025. U.S. recession forecasts: Forecasts for stocks, currencies and bonds: Real GDP Growth: * UBS Global Research and UBS Global Wealth Management are distinct, independent divisions in UBS Group * Wells Fargo Investment Institute is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/brokerages-expect-global-growth-slow-late-2025-tariffs-geopolitical-tensions-2024-11-20/