2024-10-29 20:37

Oct 29 (Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG.N) , opens new tab on Tuesday missed market expectations for third-quarter same-store sales growth as higher menu prices hurt demand, while steeper costs of ingredients such as avocados and dairy weighed on margins. Shares of the company were down about 4% in extended trading after Chipotle also maintained its growth target for annual comparable restaurant sales in the mid to high single-digit range. Restaurant chains in the United States have struggled with muted demand this year as consumers pare back spending on higher-priced menu items and instead hunt for deals. Still, stable demand for Chipotle's popular offerings of burritos, rice bowls and tacos from loyal customers has helped the company stave off some of the pressure being felt by fast food chains such as McDonald's. The company named insider Scott Boatwright as interim CEO in August after Brian Niccol, credited for driving a revival in sales and profit at the burrito chain, resigned from the top job to take over as CEO of coffee chain Starbucks. Niccol's exit was "not expected," Chipotle executives said on a post-earnings call. "Executives reaffirmed their full-year guidance but there could be some cracks of doubt as the new CEO manages this cycle starting with a mixed result vs expectations," said Brian Mulberry, client portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management. Chipotle's comparable sales rose 6% in the third quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of a 6.3% rise, according to data compiled by LSEG. Higher prices of commodities such as beef, dairy and avocado weighed on restaurant-level margins, which were down about 80 basis points from a year earlier. The company is seeing low single-digit inflation on cost of sales, said CFO Adam Rymer. Chipotle is also investing in in-store efficiency such as the continued roll-out of kitchen automation technology, and harnessing artificial intelligence to help drive growth through its loyalty program to offset input cost pressures. Excluding items, the company's earnings per share of 27 cents beat expectations of 25 cents. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/chipotle-mexican-grill-misses-quarterly-same-store-sales-expectations-2024-10-29/

2024-10-29 20:19

Oct 29 (Reuters) - Expand Energy (EXE.O) , opens new tab posted a surprise profit for the third quarter on Tuesday but forecast 2025 production to remain flat amid subdued natural gas prices. U.S. natural gas prices have remained under pressure from elevated storage levels and lukewarm demand, which offset gains from production shut-ins by various producers. The company, earlier known as Chesapeake Energy before its $7.4 billion acquisition of Southwestern Energy, also approved a fresh share buyback program worth $1 billion. The top U.S. natural gas producer also raised annual cost-savings estimates from the merger by 25% to $500 million. Its shares rose 2.4% at $87.75 after the bell. Expand Energy, which has now dethroned EQT (EQT.N) , opens new tab to become the biggest U.S. natural gas producer, forecast 2025 production to remain flat and average at about 7 billion cubic feet equivalent per day. The company also expects to use between 10 and 12 rigs and spend about $2.7 billion next year. The Oklahoma City-based company added that it is currently running 12 rigs but would drop two in the first quarter of 2025 under current market conditions. Truist Securities analysts said the 2025 activity plans mirror the "legacy Chesapeake's commitment to suppressing volumes until fundamentals warrant a change, not only improving the supply demand situation for itself but for the entire gassy E&P group." Third-quarter production for standalone Chesapeake declined by 21.6% to 2.65 bcf/d, compared to last year. Its average sales price of gas also fell compared to the year-ago quarter. However, it rose 10.6% compared to the second quarter, tracking a slight uptick in benchmark prices as Hurricane Helene forced producers to shut production. Expand Energy reported adjusted net income of 16 cents per share for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with the average analyst estimate of a loss of 6 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/expand-energy-posts-surprise-third-quarter-profit-2024-10-29/

2024-10-29 19:39

Oct 29 (Reuters) - Canada's main oil-producing province Alberta has filed a federal court challenge to Ottawa's carbon tax exemption for home heating oil, arguing it is unconstitutional and unlawful, the Alberta government said on Tuesday. WHY IT MATTERS The court challenge from Alberta's conservative government, which frequently clashes with the federal Liberals on climate and energy issues, is the latest attack on the consumer carbon tax ahead of a federal election due to take place within the next year. Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party is polling far ahead of Trudeau's Liberals, has vowed to "axe the tax" if elected. CONTEXT Canada's consumer carbon tax, intended to help cut climate-warming emissions, has become increasingly unpopular among voters and politicians, who claim it adds to high living costs despite the revenue-neutral policy returning money to most Canadians in the form of rebates. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government announced a three-year carbon tax exemption for home heating oil last year, measures he said were intended to relieve affordability concerns. The move drew widespread criticism from a number of provincial premiers, who said it unfairly benefited voters in Atlantic Canada where home heating oil is more widely used, and climate advocates who argued it undermined the policy. KEY QUOTES "Alberta strongly opposes the federal carbon tax exemption on heating oil, as the federal government is no longer creating minimum national standards that apply evenly across the country, and is instead creating a regime that favors one region and fuel type over others," the provincial government said in a statement. BY THE NUMBERS Canada's carbon tax is currently C$80 a tonne, and will increase by C$15 every year until it reaches C$170 a tonne in 2030. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/carbon/alberta-files-federal-court-challenge-canada-carbon-tax-exemption-2024-10-29/

2024-10-29 19:21

CHAM, Switzerland, Oct 29 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank could further cut interest rates to maintain price stability, Chairman Martin Schlegel said on Tuesday. "In the coming quarters, further interest rate reductions could be needed to maintain price stability in the mid-term," Schlegel told an event organised by Raiffeisen Bank in Cham, Switzerland. The comments could be seen as the latest hint that the SNB will reduce rates at its next meeting in December. The SNB has been at the forefront of interest rate cuts this year, lowering borrowing costs three times in 2024 to 1%. Markets currently have a 72% probability for a 25 basis point cut, and a 28% probability for a 50 basis point cut in December. The cuts have been made possible by a downturn in Swiss inflation, which in September eased to 0.8%, its lowest level in more than three years. The reading was well within the 0-2% range which the SNB targets under its goal for price stability. Schlegel emphasized the importance of the price stability goal, saying it was a precondition for prosperity and growth. "The good news is that our inflation forecasts show inflation in the area of price stability in the long term," Schlegel said, pointing to SNB forecasts for average inflation rates of 1.2% in 2024, 0.6% in 2025 and 0.7% in 2026. Schlegel and SNB Vice Chairman Antoine Martin have both hinted in recent weeks that the SNB could consider negative interest rates to make the safe haven Swiss franc, whose strength has hurt exporters, less attractive to investors. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/snb-chairman-says-further-interest-rate-cuts-could-be-necessary-2024-10-29/

2024-10-29 19:19

Europe's deadliest floods since 2021, could be Spain's worst Death toll could still rise with more searches on Thursday Roads closed, rail services halted Storm also batters other regions Farms battered in Valencia, a key orange producer LA ALCUDIA, Spain, Oct 30 (Reuters) - At least 95 people have been killed in possibly the deadliest flooding to hit Spain in its modern history after torrential rain battered the eastern region of Valencia, sweeping away bridges and buildings, local authorities said on Wednesday. Meteorologists said a year's worth of rain had fallen in eight hours in parts of Valencia on Tuesday, causing pile-ups on highways and submerging farmland in a region that produces two-thirds of the citrus fruit grown in Spain, a leading global exporter. Residents in the worst-hit places described seeing people clambering onto the roofs of their cars as a churning tide of brown water gushed through the streets, uprooting trees and dragging away chunks of masonry from buildings. "It's a river that came through," said Denis Hlavaty, who waited for rescue on a ledge in the petrol station where he works in the regional capital. "The doors were torn away and I spent the night there, surrounded by water that was 2 metres (6.5-feet) deep." Defence Minister Margarita Robles told Cadena Ser radio station that a military unit specialised in rescue operations would on Thursday start combing through the mud and debris with sniffer dogs in the worst-hit areas. Asked if the number of victims was likely to increase, she said: "Unfortunately we are not optimistic". The teams have brought with them 50 mobile morgues. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez promised to rebuild infrastructure that has been destroyed and said in a televised address: "For those who at this moment are still looking for their loved ones, the whole of Spain weeps with you." Footage shot by emergency services from a helicopter showed bridges that had collapsed and cars and trucks piled on top of each other on highways between flooded fields outside the city of Valencia. Trains to the cities of Madrid and Barcelona were cancelled due to the flooding, and schools and other essential services were suspended in the worst-hit areas, officials said. Power company i-DE, owned by Europe's biggest utility, Iberdrola, said about 150,000 clients in Valencia had no electricity. Emergency services in the region urged citizens to avoid all road travel and to follow further official advice. Some parts of Valencia area such as the towns of Turis, Chiva or Bunol recorded more than 400 mm (15-3/4 inches) of rainfall, leading the state weather agency AEMET to declare a red alert on Tuesday. It was lowered to amber on Wednesday as the rain eased. There was also flooding in other parts of the country, including the southern region of Andalusia, and forecasters warned of more bad weather ahead as the storm moved in a northeasterly direction. "(The floodwaters) took away lots of dogs, lots of horses, they took away everything," said Antonio Carmona, a construction worker and resident of Alora in Andalusia. DEADLIEST SPANISH FLOODS The death toll, which includes three people in other regions, appeared to be the worst in Europe from flooding since 2021 when at least 185 people died in Germany. It is possibly Spain's worst in its modern history as the number of victims surpassed 87 people killed in a 1996 flood near the town of Biescas in the Pyrenees mountains. In 1957, dozens of people died in floods in the city of Valencia which led to the construction of a new course of the Turia river to prevent floods in the city centre. Andalusia's regional leader, Juanma Moreno, said a 71-year-old British man had died in hospital of heart failure after being rescued from his flooded home in Malaga while suffering from hypothermia. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X that Europe was ready to help. "What we're seeing in Spain is devastating," she said on X. ASAJA, one of Spain's largest farmer groups, said on Tuesday it expected significant damage to crops. Spain is the world's largest exporter of fresh and dried oranges, according to trade data provider the Observatory of Economic Complexity, and Valencia accounts for about 60% of the country's citrus production, according to Valencian Institute of Agriculture Investigations. Scientists say extreme weather events are becoming more frequent due to climate change. Meteorologists think the warming of the Mediterranean, which increases water evaporation, plays a key role in making torrential rains more severe. "Events of this type, which used to occur many decades apart, are now becoming more frequent and their destructive capacity is greater," said Ernesto Rodriguez Camino, senior state meteorologist and a member of the Spanish Meteorological Association. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/heavy-rains-cause-flash-floods-spains-south-east-2024-10-29/

2024-10-29 19:18

Canadian dollar weakens 0.2% against the greenback Touches its weakest since Aug. 5 at 1.3929 Price of U.S. oil settles 0.25% lower 10-year yield touches a three-month high TORONTO, Oct 29 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened to a 12-week low against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday as oil prices fell and investors weighed rising domestic political uncertainty. The loonie was trading 0.2% lower at 1.3915 per U.S. dollar, or 71.86 U.S. cents, after touching its weakest intraday level since Aug. 5 at 1.3929. Since late September, the currency has weakened 3.6%. "Markets dislike uncertainty, and right now, the political landscape is quite unpredictable," said Tony Valente, senior FX dealer at AscendantFX. "I'm not referring to next week's U.S. election, but rather the instability surrounding the Trudeau government ... This uncertainty seems to be weighing on the domestic currency." The leader of Canadian opposition party Bloc Quebecois said he was working to topple Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberal government but to do so he needs the help of other legislators who have shown little enthusiasm for the idea. The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, added to the previous day's sharp decline on a report that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a meeting for a diplomatic solution to the war in Lebanon. U.S. crude oil futures settled 0.25% lower at $67.21 a barrel. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem and Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers were due to appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance at 15:30 ET (1930 GMT). Last Wednesday, the central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large half a percentage point to support the economy. Canadian government bond yields were little changed across the curve. The 10-year was trading at 3.270% after earlier touching its highest level since July 26 at 3.320%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/canadian-dollar-hits-12-week-low-amid-trudeau-government-uncertainty-2024-10-29/