2024-10-30 19:56

US farm agency to bulk test raw milk to track bird flu spread Industry and veterinary groups pushed for stronger surveillance Bird flu has infected more than 400 dairy herds, 36 people this year Oct 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture will soon begin testing bulk raw milk across the country for bird flu, a significant expansion of the agency's efforts to stifle the rapid spread of the virus, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Reuters. The move comes after livestock and veterinary groups pushed the USDA to strengthen its current surveillance approach, calling it inadequate to contain the virus, according to state records and industry documents reviewed by Reuters. The agency in early November will begin sampling milk in states where dairy cattle have contracted bird flu, including testing specific farms as needed to track the virus' spread, Vilsack said in an interview. USDA will then begin testing in states that have not identified the virus in dairy cows, he said. The rapid spread of the virus in California, where nearly 200 dairy herds have tested positive since late August, contributed to the USDA's decision that further surveillance efforts are needed, Vilsack said. "These situations evolve over time and as they evolve over time there needs to be a recalibration and adjustment," Vilsack added. The effort adds to an emergency order issued in April that requires testing of cattle moving across state lines, and a USDA program that covers farmers' costs for voluntary testing. Reuters previously reported USDA had softened those rules following pushback from state officials and industry representatives. Bird flu has infected nearly 400 dairy herds in 14 states and at least 36 people, according to data from the USDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Virologists and federal health officials are also concerned the convergence of bird flu and seasonal influenza could enable the bird flu virus to mutate if people become co-infected, making it more easily transmissible among humans. For now, the CDC has said the danger to the general population remains low. The U.S. Animal Health Association, whose members include the largest dairy, egg, and poultry trade groups, and the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, a veterinary group, developed recommendations this autumn for how USDA could improve its approach, according to the documents, which have not previously been reported. The USDA had previously said eliminating bird flu in the nation's dairy cattle was possible using its prior approach. The agency still wants to eradicate the virus, Vilsack said, adding that Colorado's use of bulk milk testing eliminated new dairy cow cases in the state. Dairy farmers in some states have resisted voluntary testing of their animals for fear of economic repercussions. 'INADEQUATE' The U.S. Animal Health Association passed a resolution on Oct. 16 at its annual meeting that emphasized the need for a coordinated state and federal surveillance plan, according to a copy of the document seen by Reuters, which has since been posted on the association web site. "The narrow requirement of pre-movement testing of only lactating dairy cows moving interstate is inadequate," it said. It recommends instead that the agency coordinate livestock sectors and states in a national surveillance and data collection strategy. "We can’t wait for a virus to burn out. That strategy has not worked," said Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, who has been involved in discussions about the new recommendations. The American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) in September also drafted recommendations on how the USDA could better contain the virus, with weekly testing of milk tankers, among other strategies, according to emails and a copy of the draft obtained from the Missouri Department of Agriculture in a public records request. "The disease continues to spread and current voluntary surveillance is inadequate," wrote AABP Executive Director K. Fred Gingrich II to a group listserv on Sept. 28. He noted that just 50 of the nation's 27,000 dairy herds at the time were enrolled in USDA's voluntary herd testing program, and that 17.6 million commercial poultry birds had been killed after flocks tested positive for the bovine variant of bird flu, suggesting that dairy farms are fueling the virus' spread. There are now 64 farms enrolled in the voluntary testing program, according to USDA data. The document was sent on Sept. 30 by Missouri's state veterinarian to other state animal health officials and a USDA official at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which is managing the agency's bird flu response, the emails show. The bovine practitioners group’s recommendations came after it had participated in a September meeting of the American Veterinary Medical Association alongside representatives from the poultry, cattle and swine industries, the emails show. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-begin-bulk-milk-testing-bird-flu-after-push-industry-2024-10-30/

2024-10-30 18:59

Canadian dollar gains 0.1% against the greenback Price of U.S. oil settles 2.1% higher Bond yields trade mixed across a flatter curve Ontario projects narrower C$6.6 billion deficit TORONTO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar strengthened modestly against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday as oil prices rose and the greenback posted broad-based declines, but the loonie remained within reach of an earlier 12-week low. The loonie was trading 0.1% higher at 1.39 to the U.S. dollar, or 71.94 U.S. cents, after touching its weakest intraday level since Aug. 5 at 1.3940. "The U.S. dollar has lost a little bit of edge today," said Amo Sahota, director at Klarity FX in San Francisco. "We may be finding some pressure on the dollar coming from other currencies." The greenback (.DXY) , opens new tab gave back some recent gains against a basket of major currencies including the euro after data showed the euro zone economy growing faster than expected last quarter. The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, rose after data showed U.S. crude and gasoline inventories fell unexpectedly last week. U.S. crude oil futures settled 2.1% higher at $68.61 a barrel. Canada's currency has weakened 3.5% since late September. Still, that has not stopped Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem from projecting further interest rate cuts if the economy evolves as the central bank expects. "He doesn't look like he's too concerned about Canadian dollar weakness in recent weeks," Sahota said. Macklem and Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers are due to appear before the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy at 4:20 p.m. ET (2015 GMT). Canadian government bond yields were mixed across a flatter curve, with the 10-year down roughly half a basis point at 3.240%. Ontario, Canada's most populous province and one of the world's biggest sub-sovereign borrowers, projected a narrower budget deficit of C$6.6 billion for the current fiscal year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/canadian-dollar-turns-higher-after-hitting-earlier-12-week-low-2024-10-30/

2024-10-30 18:08

Oct 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. will effectively address its debt crisis by allowing inflation to rise slightly even though it may negatively impact savers and lower- to middle-income households, SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci said on Wednesday, taking a contrarian view to one of the most polarizing economic debates ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. election. Concerns of a technical default and the threat of a recurrent debt-ceiling standoff were worsened after the U.S. government reported that its budget deficit for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 rose 8% to $1.833 trillion from the fiscal 2023 figure, the third-largest federal deficit in U.S. history. "There's a lot of people who think that the U.S. is about to enter into this tremendous debt crisis. And I believe that we're going to solve ... that and we're going to stop that from happening," Scaramucci told the Reuters Global Markets Forum , opens new tab. Scaramucci's remarks deviate from several market participants who have increasingly expressed worries of U.S. debt sustainability amid threats of another sovereign rating downgrade. The debate also gained momentum after market forces estimated that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's economic plans would add twice as much debt as those of his election opponent, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. "I like the Harris plan better. My Wall Street contemporaries don't," said Scaramucci, a U.S. financier who briefly served in the Trump administration. "They've put trades in the marketplace with the high expectation that Donald Trump is going to win the election." A possible second Trump administration has also fuelled bets of a resurgence in the prices of cryptocurrencies, with bitcoin inching closer to a record after the former president vowed to make the U.S. "the crypto capital of the planet." As we near mid-2026, bitcoin will reach $170,000, Scaramucci said. "I believe it's coming, and again, I'm talking about a threefold rise in 18 to 24 months. I don't think that's impossible for this asset, given the fixed limited supply, and what I think is very high demand," he added. Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, last traded at $71,865. It has risen 69% so far this year. (Join GMF, a chat room hosted on LSEG Messenger, for live interviews: https://lseg.group/3TN7SHH , opens new tab) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/skybridges-scaramucci-says-us-will-solve-debt-crisis-bitcoin-triple-by-2026-2024-10-30/

2024-10-30 17:56

Labour's new budget brings mild relief to markets UK gilts yields up modestly, sterling, stocks rise Repeat of 2022 mini-budget fallout avoided - investors LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - UK markets were spared painful blows from the new Labour government's first budget on Wednesday, which announced 40 billion pounds of tax hikes to plug shortfalls but soothed jitters about public spending blowouts and debt market disorder. As finance minister Rachel Reeves balanced big debt and investment increases with pledges for tough control of day-to-day spending, investors' fears of a potential repeat of then-prime minister Liz Truss' chaotic September 2022 mini-Budget eased. Government borrowing costs measured by 10-year gilt yields touched their highest since May at around 4.38% , but the move was modest in comparison to the surge two years ago. Sterling rose , meanwhile, and the domestically-focused FTSE mid-250 index (.FTMC) , opens new tab briefly jumped more than 1.5%. "Investors feared a new Liz Truss moment, but in the end the announcements do not suggest an uncontrolled surge in debt," Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management portfolio manager Nabil Milali said. PRE-BUDGET NERVES Investors pre-budget nerves had risen after data showed British public borrowing had reached nearly 100% of GDP and Reeves accused the former Conservative government, which Labour replaced in July's landslide election win, of creating a 22 billion pound fiscal "black hole". In a sign of the unease, shares in UK retailers and pub operators had slumped for days and gilt yields had risen. But after Reeves on Wednesday outlined about 100 billion pounds of capital spending over the next five years and directed tax grabs towards businesses instead of workers, the FTSE 250 index (.FTMC) , opens new tab ended Wednesday higher while UK retail and banking stocks bounced. "If this had been a more fiscally conservative budget you'd have expected gilts to rally further and equities to sell-off," Artemis fixed income manager Liam O'Donnell said. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said Britain would borrow an average of 85 billion pounds a year over the next four years, up from 59 billion pounds under pre-election plans. But whether the benefits from extra public investment would offset the costs was a "gamble", the economic research firm added. Reeves confirmed that state indebtedness would now be measured against a broader definition of the public sector balance sheet, known as public sector net financial liabilities, which includes extra assets that can be offset against additional borrowing, to boost investment. Borrowing plans released alongside the budget raised debt issuance this year to 296.9 billion pounds ($385.61 billion) from previous estimates of 277.7 billion pounds. That was largely in line with Reuters' poll of primary dealers published this week, but gilt yields reversed their earlier fall and briefly shot up, with some investors citing the increase in longer-dated bond sales. In addition to changing its debt definition, which markets had expected, the government said its rule on getting debt falling would eventually apply in the third year of its budget forecast. This contrasts to the previous government's rule, which was a rolling target for the fifth year, meaning plans to have debt falling were repeatedly pushed back. "Reeves has done a reasonable job of buying credibility with the gilt market," said Marlborough fixed income manager James Athey, who added he was positive on British government debt and bond markets would appreciate the revenue boost from tax hikes. Tom Williams, head of solutions trading and structuring at Schroders, said he saw sufficient demand from pension schemes, banks and wealth managers for buying this year's debt sales "in an orderly way". FTSE BOOST Analysts also noted that the budget was unlikely to change the outlook for the Bank of England, which is expected to cut rates when it meets next week. Still, markets reduced odds for a November cut slightly and now see less than a 50% chance of a December cut. Jason Da Silva, global investment strategy director at Arbuthnot Latham, said weak British consumer sentiment may also improve alongside Labour's pledges to raise health and capital spending. "That should be good for UK-focused stocks, given they are already cheap," he said. With British equities long depressed by public finance worries and political instability, the broad FTSE All-share index (.FTAS) , opens new tab is trading at an almost 40% valuation discount to global peers (.MIWO00000PUS) , opens new tab. "I have been overweight UK domestic stocks and smaller companies over the last year seeing them as beneficiaries of what was a healthy UK economic recovery," said Hugh Sergeant, head of value and recovery at investment firm River Global. "These have been weak recently, due to nervousness in the lead-up to the budget. They have rallied today and I would expect them to continue to be strong." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-labour-budget-spares-markets-another-liz-truss-moment-2024-10-30/

2024-10-30 17:12

TORONTO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - The Canadian province of Ontario on Wednesday projected a narrower budget deficit for the current fiscal year and proposed providing rebates to taxpayers as its economy slowed less than previously anticipated, a fiscal update showed. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, said it expected a budget deficit of C$6.6 billion ($4.74 billion) for the 2024-25 fiscal year, compared to the C$9.8 billion deficit forecast in March's budget. A C$1.5 billion deficit is projected in 2025-26 before a return to surplus in 2026-27. The fiscal year ends on March 31. The province, one of the world's biggest sub-sovereign borrowers, raised its revenue forecast by C$6.9 billion to C$212.6 billion as it projected the economy would expand 0.9% in 2024. That compares to a 0.3% pace seen in the budget but slowing from 1.4% in 2023. It sees growth picking up to 1.7% in calendar year 2025. "Our government's responsible approach has resulted in an improved fiscal position since the 2024 budget, allowing us to keep taxes low, invest in infrastructure like roads, highways, hospitals and schools, and provide immediate relief to Ontario families as part of our plan to keep costs down," Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said in a statement. The province said it would provide a C$200 taxpayer rebate early next year for all eligible adult tax filers, plus an additional C$200 for eligible children, estimated to cost C$3 billion, to offset the burden for families of high interest rates. Other measures include extending temporary gas tax and fuel tax rate cuts, keeping the rates at nine cents per liter until June 30, 2025. The Bank of Canada has cut its benchmark rate by one and a quarter percentage points since June to 3.75%, after previously raising borrowing costs to the highest level in more than two decades to tame inflation. The province plans investments to build and expand critical infrastructure over the next 10 years totaling C$191.3 billion, including C$26.3 billion in 2024-25. The net debt-to-GDP ratio was projected to rise to 37.8% in the current fiscal year from 37.3% in 2023-24, a 12-year low, but lower than the 39.2% level previously forecast. It was then expected to edge up to 37.9% in 2025-26. ($1 = 1.3921 Canadian dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadas-ontario-province-cuts-deficit-forecast-proposes-tax-rebates-2024-10-30/

2024-10-30 15:06

MEXICO CITY, Oct 30 (Reuters) - In a preview of her plan to strengthen Mexico's heavily-indebted national oil company Pemex, President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that she wants to lower the state-owned producer's cost structure. Sheinbaum, who took office earlier this month, said she will formally present her Pemex plan next week. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/mexican-president-seeks-lower-costs-state-oil-company-pemex-2024-10-30/