2024-10-31 23:39

2023 had been milder at same stage of the season French poultry lobby describes EU trend as "worrying" Hungary recorded by far the largest number of outbreaks PARIS, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Bird flu has been spreading faster in the European Union this season than a milder 2023, raising concerns of a repeat of previous crises that led to the deaths of tens of millions of poultry and renewing fears that it could expand to humans. Highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has killed hundreds of millions birds around the globe in recent years. However, it has not been detected in humans or in cattle in the EU, unlike the U.S. where the virus has spread to nearly 400 dairy herds in 14 states this year, and has been detected in 36 people since April. Four of them had been working at a commercial egg farm infected by the virus. Its spread to humans and other mammal species, including U.S. dairy cattle and swine, is raising concerns that the virus could mutate into one easily transmissible between humans and spark a pandemic. Between the start of the migratory season on Aug. 1 and the end of last week, EU countries had reported a total of 62 outbreaks of bird flu on poultry farms, mostly in the east of the bloc, World Organisation for Animal Health data showed. That compares to seven bird flu outbreaks reported on EU farms by the same stage in 2023, but was still well below the 112 outbreaks reported by late October 2022. "The situation at EU level is surely more worrying than it was at the same stage last year," said Yann Nedelec, director of French interprofessional poultry group Anvol. Bird flu is a seasonal disease among poultry, spread mostly through faeces of infected wild birds and transport of infected material. It typically appears in the autumn with migratory birds and decreases in the spring. Like last season, Hungary recorded by far the largest number of outbreaks since the start of the season on Aug. 1, with the number rising fast in the past weeks, the data showed. In Poland, the EU's largest poultry producer, the virus led to the culling of 1.8 million birds, of which nearly 1.4 million were on just one farm in the town of Sroda Wielkopolska. France, which had suffered the most severe losses in 2022/23 but had been mostly spared last season, reinforced biosecurity measures around poultry farms in mid-October, citing a rise in the number of bird flu cases in several neighbouring countries. "Still, we hope that the vaccination that we have put in place in France will spare us from any crisis this year," Nedelec said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/bird-flu-spreading-fast-among-eu-poultry-2024-10-31/

2024-10-31 23:14

CHICAGO, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Bird flu has infected three more people from Washington state after they were exposed to poultry that tested positive for the virus, according to health authorities in Washington and in Oregon, where the human cases were identified. A total of 39 people have tested positive in the U.S. this year, including nine from Washington, as the virus has infected poultry flocks and spread to more than 400 dairy herds, federal data show. All of the cases were farm workers who had known contact with infected animals, except for one person in Missouri. The people from Washington cleaned facilities at an infected chicken farm after birds were culled to contain the virus, the Washington State Department of Health said in an email on Thursday. Officials tested workers who had symptoms, including red eyes and respiratory issues, and those with potential exposure to the birds, the department said. People with symptoms were told to isolate and given antiviral treatment, it added. Oregon identified the three new cases after the people traveled to the state from Washington while infected, the Oregon Health Authority said in a Thursday statement. They have since returned to Washington, where public health staff are monitoring them, according to the statement. There have been no infections among people living in Oregon and is no evidence of human-to-human transmission, the Oregon Health Authority said. It said the risk for infection to the general public remains low. Since 2022, the virus has wiped out more than 100 million poultry birds in the nation's worst-ever bird flu outbreak. H5N1 bird flu was confirmed in a pig on a backyard farm in Oregon, the first detection of the virus in swine in the country, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/oregon-identifies-3-human-cases-bird-flu-people-washington-state-2024-10-31/

2024-10-31 22:39

Iran prepares possible strike on Israel from Iraq, Axios reports Exxon reports record global production US job growth almost stalled in October Investors focus US election NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up on Friday on reports Iran was preparing a retaliatory strike on Israel from Iraq in coming days, but record U.S. output weighed on prices. Brent futures were up 29 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $73.10 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 23 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $69.49. At their session highs, both benchmarks were up over $2 a barrel. Brent posted a weekly decline of about 4% with WTI down about 3%. On Thursday, U.S. news website Axios reported that Israeli intelligence suggests that Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraq within days, citing two unidentified Israeli sources. "Any additional responses from Iran might remain restrained, similar to Israel's limited strike last weekend, hence primarily intended as a demonstration of strength rather than an invitation to open warfare," said SEB Research analyst Ole Hvalbye. Iran and Israel have engaged in a series of tit-for-tat strikes within the broader Middle East warfare set off by fighting in Gaza. Previous Iranian air attacks on Israel on Oct. 1 and in April were mostly repelled, with only minor damage. Iran is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and produced about 4 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil in 2023, U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed. Iran was on track to export around 1.5 million bpd in 2024, up from an estimated 1.4 million bpd in 2023, according to analysts and U.S. government reports. Iran backs several groups that are currently fighting Israel, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen. A U.S. official asked Lebanon to declare a unilateral ceasefire with Israel to revive stalled talks to end Israeli-Hezbollah hostilities, a senior Lebanese political source and a senior diplomat said - a claim denied by both sides. Oil prices were also supported by expectations OPEC+ could delay December's planned increase to oil production by a month or more on concern over soft oil demand and rising supply. A decision could be made as early as next week. OPEC+ includes OPEC and its allies like Russia and Kazakhstan. As OPEC+ holds back on production, U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil(XOM.N) , opens new tab said its global output hit an all-time high, while Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab said its U.S. production hit a record high. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said this week that drillers pulled a record 13.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil out of the ground. EIA also said this week that output in August hit a record 13.4 million bpd, and has said that annual output was on track to hit a record 13.2 million bpd in 2024 and 13.5 million bpd in 2025. U.S. JOB GROWTH STALLS U.S. job growth almost stalled in October as labor strikes in the aerospace industry depressed manufacturing employment while hurricanes impacted the response rate for the payrolls survey, making it hard to get a clear picture of the labor market ahead of next week's presidential election. Polls show the U.S. presidential race is a toss-up between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris or Republican former President Donald Trump as the country's next president. Economists said they expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by 25 basis points next Thursday. After hiking rates aggressively in 2022 and 2023 to tame a surge in inflation, the Fed started to lower rates in September. Lower rates decrease borrowing costs, which can boost economic growth and demand for oil. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/oil-extends-gains-reports-iran-preparing-strike-israel-2024-10-31/

2024-10-31 21:58

WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - The founder of cryptocurrency market maker Gotbit was indicted for his alleged role in a wide-ranging conspiracy to manipulate cryptocurrency markets on behalf of client cryptocurrency companies, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. Aleksei Andriunin, 26, was charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud in a superseding indictment, the Justice Department said in a statement. The U.S. Justice Department says that between 2018 and 2024, when Andriunin was the firm's CEO, Gotbit provided market manipulation services to create artificial trading volume for multiple cryptocurrency companies, including companies located in the United States. The superseding indictment also charged Gotbit and two of its directors, Fedor Kedrov and Qawi Jalili, who were previously charged in an indictment unsealed on Oct. 9. Gotbit, Andriunin, Kedrov and Jalili could not immediately be contacted. If convicted of wire fraud, Andriunin faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. If convicted of conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, the Justice Department said. Federal prosecutors said on Oct. 9 they had charged crypto firms Gotbit, ZM Quant, CLS Global and the leaders and employees of those and other companies in a takedown that led to four arrests, agreements by five people to plead guilty and the seizure of over $25 million worth of cryptocurrency. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-indicts-founder-crypto-firm-gotbit-alleged-market-manipulation-2024-10-31/

2024-10-31 21:48

Nov 1 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Market sentiment in Asia will be fragile at best on Friday as high and rising bond yields sink their teeth into risky assets, and worries about escalating AI costs appear to slam the brakes on the megacap, Big Tech rally. There probably won't be any positive spillover from Wall Street after the S&P and Nasdaq on Thursday posted their steepest one-day losses in two months. However, shares in Amazon and Intel rose sharply in after-hours trading following their earnings reports on Thursday, but Apple shares dipped. Traders will likely play it safe ahead of U.S. employment data on Friday and ahead of the weekend. There's a sprinkling of potentially market-moving events in Asia on Friday, namely purchasing managers index reports from several countries including China, Indonesian inflation, and Japanese earnings from Mitsui, Nomura, Mitsubishi and others. Perhaps more importantly though, the so-called 'bond vigilantes' are flexing their muscles again, pushing up yields across the developed world - with the possible exception of Canada - in an attempt to enforce some degree of discipline on what they consider fiscally lax governments. A bearish narrative coalescing around three main facets - fiscal slippage, huge debt supply coming down the pike, and sticky inflation resulting from higher spending - is dominating bond market sentiment right now. Yields are on the rise, with UK gilts feeling the heat most in the last 24 hours following Chancellor Rachel Reeves' debut budget on Wednesday. And on Thursday, the Bank of Japan kept rates on hold but left the door open to a near-term hike. For markets in Asia, U.S. bonds are what matter most. And only days away from the U.S. presidential election the signs are flashing amber, if not red - implied volatility and the 'term premium' are the highest in a year, and the 10-year yield has risen more after the first cut in this Fed easing cycle than any since 1989. If that wasn't bad enough for Asian markets, the dollar just clocked its biggest monthly rise in two and a half years. Most Asian stock markets lost ground in October and the MSCI Asia/Pacific ex-Japan index fell 4.5%. Chinese stocks lost more than 3% in October, perhaps unsurprising given the previous month's 21% rise, while the weak yen has helped Japan's Nikkei 225 index post a monthly gain of around 3%. Given the nervous global backdrop, however, it would not be a surprise to see Japanese stocks retreat on Friday, regardless of the exchange rate. Asia's main data point on Friday is China's 'unofficial' manufacturing PMI. This follows the Bureau of Statistics PMI reports on Thursday that showed manufacturing activity crept back into expansion territory in October for the first time since April. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Friday: - Reaction to Apple, Amazon results - China PMI (October) - Indonesia inflation (October) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-pix-graphic-2024-10-31/

2024-10-31 21:29

Lawsuit claims mine threatens rare wildflower and environment Interior Department and ioneer defend mine approval Mine to supply Ford and other EV makers, backed by $700 million loan Oct 31 (Reuters) - Environmental and Indigenous groups on Thursday filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Interior Department's approval of ioneer's (INR.AX) , opens new tab Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada, the first domestic source of the battery metal to be permitted by Democratic President Joe Biden's administration. In a lawsuit , opens new tab filed in federal court in Las Vegas, groups including the Center for Biological Diversity argued the project posed an existential risk to the rare wildflower Tiehm’s buckwheat and could drive it to extinction. They said the mine would also adversely impact groundwater, springs, wetlands, air quality, cultural resources and wildlife habitats, and would transform a remote part of rural Nevada into an industrial complex. The groups said the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved the mine without ensuring that it would not jeopardize the wildflower or unduly impact the environment in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act, and the Endangered Species Act. The Interior Department declined to comment. Australia-based ioneer said it does not expect the lawsuit to "meaningfully affect our proposed development timeline" and that it believes the project can be developed sustainably. "We are confident that the BLM will prevail against this lawsuit," said Chad Yeftich, ioneer's vice president of corporate development and external affairs. "We intend to intervene and vigorously defend the BLM's decision, which was based on its careful and thorough permitting process." The critical minerals miner received approval for the mine last week following a more-than six-year review process during which regulators, ioneer and conservationists tussled over the fate of Tiehm’s buckwheat. The permit cleared the way for development of a mine that will become a key supplier to Ford Motor (F.N) , opens new tab and other electric-vehicle manufacturers. It was issued amid a flurry of recent moves by Biden administration officials to support critical minerals production and offset China's market dominance. The permit also unlocked a $700 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as a $490 million equity investment from Sibanye Stillwater (SSWJ.J) , opens new tab to fund the project. The Interior Department said when it approved the mine that it had taken numerous steps to protect the ecosystem near the mine site, roughly 225 miles (362 km) north of Las Vegas. The project contains enough lithium to power roughly 370,000 EVs each year. Construction is slated to begin next year, with production commencing by 2028. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/legal/environmentalists-sue-over-us-approval-ioneers-nevada-lithium-mine-2024-10-31/