2024-11-04 12:20

KYIV, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Ukraine would not be opposed if Qatar or any other country were to negotiate an agreement on energy security via separate talks with Ukraine and Russia, a top Ukrainian presidential official said in a televised interview released on Monday. But Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, said there was no such agreement in place. "We held thematic conferences - the first on energy security, co-organised by Qatar," Yermak said. "After that, we said that if Qatar or another country is ready to implement these agreements (reached at the conference) through deals with Ukraine separately and with Russia separately, please do so." Yermak did not specify which agreements might be in question, but said no agreement had been reached yet and that Kyiv was not negotiating directly with Moscow, which began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Ukrainian presidential office said in late August that about 40 countries had taken part in an online conference organised by Qatar and that the main topic was improving the security of the Ukrainian energy system against Russian strikes. The online conference took place on Aug. 22, soon after Ukrainian forces entered Russia's Kursk region in early August. Since March, Russia has carried out about 10 big missile attacks on the Ukrainian energy system, causing Ukraine to lose almost half of its generating capacity. "Protecting energy infrastructure facilities, their rapid restoration and development is the only way to prevent the deepening of the crisis," Yermak said in August. The Financial Times reported in October that Ukraine and Russia were in the early stages of negotiations about potentially halting airstrikes on each other's energy facilities. The talks, the sources told the FT, had been derailed by Kyiv's forces launching an incursion into Russia's Kursk region that borders Ukraine. The Kremlin and a Ukrainian energy source dismissed that report. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ukraine-not-opposed-qatar-negotiating-energy-security-kyiv-says-2024-11-04/

2024-11-04 12:14

MADRID, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Spain's airport operator Aena (AENA.MC) , opens new tab said on Monday 50 flights due to take off from Barcelona's El Prat airport were cancelled or severely delayed after a rainstorm hit the area. The airport operator diverted 17 flights that were due to land at El Prat on Monday morning to alternative airports, Aena said on its X account. A rain and hail storm hit the Barcelona area in eastern Spain on Monday, less than a week after the country's worst flash floods killed at least 217 people in the Valencia region, 300 kilometres (186 miles) to the south. The rain stopped late on Monday morning and the airport was operating again, a spokesperson told Reuters. Catalonia's urban train services were also cancelled, Transport Minister Oscar Puente said in a post on his X account. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spains-airport-operator-aena-cancels-or-delays-50-flights-barcelona-2024-11-04/

2024-11-04 12:08

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Europe needs to spend 39 billion euros ($42.46 billion) a year to reach its net zero targets in the transport sector by 2050, campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E) said on Monday, issuing five key recommendations for the European Union. The EU is seeking a more coordinated industrial policy involving massive investment, including in green technologies, following a report by former European Central Bank chief and Italian prime minister Mario Draghi in September. "An EU-level investment strategy must be urgently deployed to decisively support transport decarbonisation and enhance the sector's competitive sustainability," T&E said in the report. The required investments are only slightly higher than the bloc's annual 34 billion euros in fossil-fuel transport subsidies, it said, recommending phasing out such subsidies in favour of green transport. The report comes amid weakening demand for electric cars and calls from some politicians and auto executives - including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and BMW (BMWG.DE) , opens new tab CEO Oliver Zipse - for the EU to cancel a 2035 ban on fossil-fuel cars. Brussels-based T&E also called for a greener EU budget with streamlined access to EU funds, the institution of a 1-trillion-euro Social and Climate Investment Plan to 2034, a stronger role for the European Investment Bank in transforming the mobility system, and increased involvement of private finance. T&E said total investments, including spending from private investors, should be 310 billion euros a year by 2030 to achieve its five recommendations and decarbonise the critical transport sectors of aviation, shipping, passenger cars, buses and trucks. Total spending should rise to a yearly 507 billion euros by 2040, for a total of 7.6 trillion euros, as the shift gathers pace, it added. "The earlier investments will take place, the cheaper the transition bill will be", T&E said. ($1 = 0.9184 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/eu-must-spend-39-billion-euros-year-net-zero-transport-targets-campaign-group-2024-11-04/

2024-11-04 11:52

TSX ends up 0.9 points at 24,256.06 BCE tumbles 9.7% after acquisition deal Energy rises 1.3%; oil settles 2.85% higher Real estate adds 0.9% Nov 4 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index was barely changed on Monday as gains for energy offset a sharp drop in BCE's shares, with investors reluctant to make big bets ahead of the U.S. presidential election and a Federal Reserve interest rate decision. The S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended up 0.9 points at 24,256.06, holding on to the modest gain it made on Friday. On Thursday it posted its lowest close in more than three weeks. "There isn't much appetite for risk ahead of an extremely pivotal week," said Elvis Picardo, portfolio manager at Luft Financial, iA Private Wealth. U.S. presidential election candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris scrambled for an edge in the last full day of a race that polls show as extremely close. Investors expect the U.S. central bank to lower its benchmark rate by 25 basis points on Thursday. Shares of BCE Inc (BCE.TO) , opens new tab tumbled 9.7% after the communications company agreed to buy internet services provider Ziply Fiber for $3.60 billion in cash. "The news of the acquisition wasn't well received," Picardo said. "They've pressed the pause button on dividend growth until their debt levels normalize." Energy rose 1.3% as the price of oil settled 2.85% higher at $71.47 a barrel after OPEC+ delayed a planned output increase. The Canadian government released long-awaited draft regulations that would cap emissions of greenhouse gases from the oil and gas sector at 35% below 2019 levels by 2030, drawing condemnation from the industry that said it will force a cut in production. Real estate also notched gains, rising 0.9%, as bond yields fell. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/tsx-futures-rise-oil-supports-us-election-spotlight-2024-11-04/

2024-11-04 11:45

Retailers use weather data for advertising, inventory and pricing decisions Climate consultants leverage cloud computing to process vast amounts of data Demand for climate analytics rises amid increased weather volatility Nov 4 (Reuters) - Big-name retailers such as Walmart (WMT.N) , opens new tab are increasingly using analytics to blunt the impact of one of the most unpredictable performance variables of shopping: weather. Weather data, once used strictly for inventory planning, is now helping retailers localize advertising and decide when to discount seasonal items such as sweaters. Walmart, whose inventory planning with artificial-intelligence software incorporates weather analysis, reduced sunscreen prices a couple weeks earlier than usual this year in parts of the U.S. Weather data forecasting a wetter-than-usual autumn in some U.S. regions was a factor in its decision, whereas several years ago, it likely would not have been, said Kirby Doyle, a skin-care category replenishment adviser to the world's biggest retailer. "In the beginning, (weather data) was just a forecast model for high-level planning," said Doyle, who works for Beiersdorf (BEIG.DE) , opens new tab, which makes personal-care products. "Now we’re infusing it into pre-season planning and throughout the season to diagnose the impact of weather, and for things like scheduling promotions.” Walmart declined to comment. A niche group of weather consultants — from Germany's Meteonomiqs to U.S. firms Planalytics and Weather Trends International — is using breakthroughs such as cloud computing to process once-unimaginable amounts of data. Demand for such data is growing amid heightened weather volatility due to climate change. The National Retail Federation, which is chaired by a Walmart executive, issued a report with Planalytics in July, recommending retailers pay more attention to weather analysis. New weather-data tools, centered on pricing, may soon be hitting the market. Planalytics and BearingPoint, a management consultancy, are partnering to build software retailers can integrate into their analytical models for setting prices. “Weather is something you can’t control,” BearingPoint managing consultant Ryan Orabone said at an industry workshop last month to unveil the new initiative. “But you can control the analytics. And pricing, you absolutely control.” It is natural for a warm October, like this year's in the U.S., to cause retailers to sweat ahead of the holidays. "It needs to get cold for our business to really perform well in Q4,” Tractor Supply (TSCO.O) , opens new tab CEO Hal Lawton said last month on a quarterly call. The company, which uses weather analytics, sells cold-weather products like heating pellets and outerwear. Weather analytics can help companies like Tractor Supply decide whether to discount winter items, said Planalytics CEO Fred Fox, whose clients include Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS.N) , opens new tab and Ross Stores (ROST.O) , opens new tab. If November temperatures in the U.S. drop below 2023 levels - which forecasts suggest is likely - a discount now could mean a missed opportunity later, Fox said. As intuitive as that may seem to a retailer, they do not always get it right. In August, Lowe's (LOW.N) , opens new tab Chief Financial Officer Brandon Sink cited cold, wet weather in May as the reason for weaker sales in the prior quarter. But that description is inaccurate, said Bill Kirk, founder of Weather Trends, whose clients include Target (TGT.N) , opens new tab, Gap (GAP.N) , opens new tab, and Tractor Supply. May was indeed wet, Kirk's data shows, but not cold. It was the hottest May in six years for the U.S., he said, and third-hottest in four decades. "Welcome to the world of retail excuses not based on facts," he said. Lowe's did not respond to a request for comment. RISING TEMPS, RISING DEMAND About every three weeks in the U.S., a natural disaster causes $1 billion or more in damages, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, up from once every three months in the 1980s. Planalytics, which uses computer models to help retailers understand how weather affects sales, is on pace to provide clients with twice as many models in 2024 as it did last year, said Evan Gold, the company’s executive vice president of partnerships. Since 2019, that figure has shot up ninefold. Retailers typically see weather's impact in foot traffic and sales, said Stefan Bornemann, head of Meteonomiqs, whose clients include retailers using the e-commerce platform Shopify (SHOP.TO) , opens new tab. "The impact could get bigger, given more severe weather patterns,” he said. Kirk has analyzed how sales for a given product rise or fall with each degree of temperature change. Sales of horse blankets rise 7% per degree colder and Starbucks (SBUX.O) , opens new tab coffee sales climb 2%, he said. Starbucks did not reply to a request for comment. Some clients use Kirk's data for so-called dynamic pricing, the practice of adjusting prices to demand. If a sales season looks particularly weak, clients may implement small markdowns early, rather than be forced to impose larger ones later to clear excess inventory, Kirk said. The days of retailers using weather as an excuse for a poor earnings season should be over, he added. “Wall Street hates that excuse,” Kirk said. “What you’re saying to your investors is, ’We can’t control our business.’” Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/changing-climate-retailers-turning-weather-strategies-2024-11-04/

2024-11-04 11:36

DUBAI, Nov 4 (Reuters) - India's oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri called on Monday for discussions between oil producers and consumers to stabilise prices. Oil prices rose more than 2% following a decision by OPEC+ to delay by a month plans to increase output. India, the world's third largest oil consumer, relies on overseas purchases for more than 80% of its oil needs. "I'm hoping as a professional that all the players in this game will see a reason that... both producers and consumers can sit down together, have a discussion on what is a realistic price because it is not as if some production is taken off," Puri told Reuters. He reiterated that there was no shortage of oil as new producers were coming into the market while some countries were expanding their output. "So I think we need to have stability and predictability," Puri said on the sidelines of the annual energy industry event ADIPEC in Abu Dhabi. Of the OPEC+ decision, he said: "It's your asset - you decide not to utilize the asset, you can keep it there, there will come a time after a few years there is no need for the asset, there is no use for it". In contrast, there were some producers who wanted to maximise output to quickly monetize their assets, he added. He said technological changes such as green hydrogen and the transition to cleaner energy will change the global oil demand landscape in five years. Nevertheless, he expects India to source more oil supplies from the Gulf region as the global economic geography evolves. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-buyers-producers-dialogue-needed-market-stability-says-india-min-2024-11-04/