2024-11-13 23:48

HONG KONG, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Schools and many businesses shut in Hong Kong on Thursday morning after authorities issued the third highest typhoon warning overnight as tropical storm Toraji skirted about 150 km (93 miles) south of the financial hub. Toraji is expected to weaken and move away from Hong Kong with winds moderating gradually during the day, the city's observatory said. The strong wind alert will be lowered to signal 3 from 8 by 10:20 a.m. (0220 GMT), the observatory said, which will allow many businesses to reopen for the rest of the day. Roads were quiet and damage appeared minimal in the city's centre. The city's stock market remained open for trading on Thursday morning for the first time during a typhoon, while the city's Airport Authority said operations and flights were running normally. Typically during a typhoon 8 signal, transport is greatly reduced and people are advised to stay inside. Toraji, which means beautiful flower that blooms unnoticed, usually in the deep mountains of Korea, is one of four storms that have emerged at the same time in the western North Pacific and South China Sea this month. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/tropical-storm-toraji-shuts-schools-some-businesses-hong-kong-2024-11-13/

2024-11-13 23:26

BOGOTA, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Colombia's majority state-owned oil producer Ecopetrol (ECO.CN) , opens new tab on Wednesday reported a 28% drop in third-quarter net profit to 3.65 trillion pesos ($826.95 million) from the same period last year, chiefly citing a fall in the value of the Colombian peso. Total sales meanwhile slipped 1.5% to 34.61 trillion pesos in the July through September period, even as output rose slightly, Ecopetrol said in a statement. In the first nine months of 2024, Ecopetrol's net profit fell 26% versus the year-earlier period to 11.04 trillion pesos. "If our accounting were not in pesos but in dollars, we would be reporting a net profit today not of 11 trillion but of practically 16 trillion pesos," Ecopetrol chief executive Ricardo Roa said during a press conference, referring to the nine-month figure. "If you take away or normalize the impact of the exchange rate, that affects these results by 67%," he said. Along with the impact of the stronger dollar on the Colombian peso, Ecopetrol said the results were also affected by weaker oil prices and inflation. The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) - a key metric for analysts - fell 13% in the third quarter versus the year earlier period to 14 trillion pesos, Ecopetrol said. EBITDA in the nine months ended Sept. 30 declined 13% to 42.3 trillion pesos, the company said. Ecopetrol's total production in the third quarter rose by 1.8% year-on-year to 754,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), pushed higher by the company's operations in the Permian basin in the United States. The company plans to invest between 23 trillion and 27 trillion pesos in 2024. ($1 = 4,413.79 Colombian pesos) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/colombias-ecopetrol-posts-third-quarter-profit-down-28-2024-11-13/

2024-11-13 23:24

EIA expects US refining margins to be unchanged next year Margins have declined sharply since 2022 due to slowing demand, higher supplies NEW YORK, Nov 13 (Reuters) - U.S. refiner margins for gasoline and diesel will be relatively unchanged next year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, signaling relief for fuel producers who saw profits slump sharply since 2022 on slowing demand growth. Refiners around the world reaped record profits in 2021 and 2022 from the post-pandemic surge in travel demand and recovering economic activity. However, margins then dropped sharply as mammoth new plants opened up around the world and demand growth slowed, partly due to efforts to transition away from fossil fuels. The planned closures of two U.S. refineries next year - LyondellBasell Industries' (LYB.N) , opens new tab 263,776 barrel-per-day Houston refinery and Phillips 66's (PSX.N) , opens new tab 139,000-bpd Los Angeles refinery - will help stop the slump in margins for plants that remain, the EIA said in its November Short-Term Energy Outlook. The closures will reduce U.S. refining capacity to 17.94 million barrels per day by the end of next year, the lowest since June 2022, according to EIA data. Capacity had grown over the past two years. Higher demand for gasoline and diesel in the United States will also help refiner margins improve next year, the agency said. The 3-2-1 crack spread, an industry metric used to assess refiners' margins on both gasoline and diesel put together, slumped to around $17 per barrel as of Wednesday, down from $60 per barrel in June 2022 - the highest in LSEG records going back to 2002 . The EIA on Wednesday lifted its forecast for this year's U.S. gasoline consumption to 8.94 million bpd, same as last year, compared to its earlier view that demand will fall this year to 8.91 million bpd. The agency also raised this year's demand forecasts for distillate fuel oil, which includes diesel and heating oil, and for jet fuel. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-refiner-margins-stabilize-next-year-plant-closures-cut-supply-eia-says-2024-11-13/

2024-11-13 23:20

Nov 13 (Reuters) - New York Governor Kathy Hochul will announce on Thursday that the state plans to revive a congestion charge for driving in parts of Manhattan that she indefinitely put on hold in June, a source told Reuters. New York City's congestion pricing program, the first of its kind in the U.S., was initially to have charged a toll of $15 during daytime hours for passenger vehicles driving in Manhattan south of 60th Street starting June 30. Hochul plans to announce a revised program that is expected to have a base charge of $9 for passenger cars, the source said. The plan was reported earlier by media outlet Gothamist. London implemented a similar charge in 2003. The revised plan will need the fast-track approval of the U.S. Transportation Department and the new toll is expected to be implemented before President Joe Biden leaves office on Jan. 20. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is expected to vote next week to approve the charge, the source added. A Transportation Department spokesperson declined to comment. Hochul had cited high inflation and a desire to not deter commuters or tourists because of the additional charge for her decision to halt implementation. A spokesperson for Hochul said the governor on Thursday "will announce the path forward to fund mass transit, unclog our streets and improve public health by reducing air pollution." A group of five New York House Republicans led by Representative Mike Lawler urged incoming President Donald Trump in a letter to kill the charge , opens new tab, asking him to end "this absurd congestion pricing cash grab once and for all." A Trump spokesperson did not immediately comment. In the aftermath of the delay, the MTA in June said it was putting $16.5 billion in capital projects on hold. MTA has said congestion pricing would cut traffic by 17%, improve air quality and increase mass transit use by 1% to 2%, generate up to $1.5 billion annually and support $15 billion in debt financing for mass transit improvement. In 2019, state lawmakers approved the plan to help fund improvements in mass transit using tolls to manage traffic in New York City, the most congested of any U.S. city. Congestion pricing had been projected to start in 2021 but the federal government under Trump took no action. It was approved under Biden in 2023. New York says more than 900,000 vehicles enter the Manhattan Central Business District daily, which reduces travel speeds to around 7 miles per hour on average. Riders Alliance Executive Director Betsy Plum said "congestion pricing cannot happen soon enough. Once the first tolls are collected, we will finally breathe easier." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/new-york-governor-relaunch-manhattan-congestion-charge-plan-source-says-2024-11-13/

2024-11-13 23:16

Nov 13 (Reuters) - Archer-Daniels-Midland Co's (ADM.N) , opens new tab chief compliance officer, Ben Bard, is leaving the company early next year for personal reasons, the company said on Wednesday. The news comes one day after the global grain trader, which has been embroiled in controversy over its accounting practices, sought an extension from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to file its third quarter financial report because it could not meet the deadline. Accounting irregularities have sparked several government investigations and led to the departure of CFO Vikram Luthar in September. The accounting problems also forced the company to correct six years of financial data earlier this year after an internal probe found sales between its nutrition business and other core units were not recorded properly. On Wednesday, company spokesperson Jackie Anderson told Reuters that Bard was leaving the company for personal reasons and "to make any other assumption is factually inaccurate. ... His leadership will be greatly missed." ADM has tried to assuage investor concerns by testing new internal controls and naming 3M's Monish Patolawala as its new chief financial officer. Earlier this month, ADM's board of directors elected AT&T Inc's general counsel, David R. McAtee II, to its board. Bard has over 25 years of legal, compliance and risk management experience, according to ADM's website. Prior to joining ADM in 2014, he worked at Coca-Cola Co. as senior anti-corruption and trade sanctions compliance counsel among other roles. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/adms-top-compliance-officer-depart-2024-11-13/

2024-11-13 23:08

SAO PAULO, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Brazilian state-run lender Banco do Brasil (BBAS3.SA) , opens new tab posted on Wednesday an 8.3% increase in its third-quarter adjusted net profit from a year earlier, while it also said it now expects higher loan-loss provisions for this year. Banco do Brasil posted an adjusted net profit for the quarter ended in September of 9.5 billion reais ($1.6 billion), while analysts polled by LSEG had expected a 9.4 billion reais profit. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Banco do Brasil is one of Latin America's largest lenders by total assets. BY THE NUMBERS The lender's return on equity, a gauge of profitability, stood at 21.1%, down from 21.3% a year earlier and 21.6% in the second quarter. Banco do Brasil's total loan book rose 13% year-on-year to 1.2 trillion reais, while its delinquency ratio for loan payments overdue by more than 90 days was at 3.3%, up from 3% in the second quarter and 2.8% a year earlier. The firm also said it now expects to put aside more funds to cover unpaid loans, raising its full-year provision forecast to between 34 billion reais and 37 billion reais, up from its previous projection of 31 billion reais to 34 billion reais. Provisions jumped 34% in the third quarter. The bank did trim its estimated administrative spending for the year, now seeing it between 5% to 7% higher than last year, down from the previously projected 6% to 10% growth. ($1 = 5.8061 reais) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/lender-banco-do-brasil-posts-8-profit-increase-higher-loan-loss-outlook-2024-11-13/