2024-10-23 00:27

SEOUL, Oct 23 (Reuters) - South Korea has decided to extend subsidy measures for oil products by two more months until the end of December, but with lower rates of tax cuts, the finance ministry said on Wednesday. From November, the rate of tax cuts for gasoline will be adjusted to 15% from 20% and those for diesel and liquefied petroleum gas butane to 23% from 30%, the ministry said. South Korea started to offer oil tax breaks in November 2021 to help people cope with high living costs. They were meant to be temporary but have been extended several times, with modifications. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/south-korea-reduce-tax-breaks-oil-products-november-2024-10-23/

2024-10-23 00:10

Storm Trami forecast to make landfall overnight Marcos orders officials to prepare to help people Storm dumps heavy rain in central towns ahead of landfall MANILA, Oct 23 (Reuters) - At least 14 people were killed in the Philippines as Tropical Storm Trami flooded villages, inundated rivers and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes as it approached the eastern coast. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday ordered responders to prepare for the main storm's landfall over the northeastern province of Isabela during the night or early Thursday morning. "The worst is yet to come, I'm afraid. Let's all prepare," Marcos told a situation briefing. "The volumes of water are unprecedented. We should closely monitor that." State weather forecaster Pag-asa said in its 5 p.m. (0900 GMT) bulletin Trami's centre was last estimated at 175 km (109 miles) off the northeastern town of Echague in Isabela province. It warned of strong winds, heavy rain and storm surges in coastal towns within the typhoon's path. The storm, which was packing winds of 95 kph (59 mph), also shut down government work and schools across the main island of Luzon. Trami dumped heavy rain in the central region of Bicol on Tuesday, forcing thousands of residents to flee their homes as floodwaters reached as high as the roofs of bungalow houses. Rivers overflowed and triggered flash floods, a disaster official said. At least 12 people died in the city of Naga, police chief Erwin Rebellon said by phone, adding that details of the circumstances were still being collated. The regional civil defence office reported two more fatalities in other parts of Bicol. A 22-year-old died in Palanas town in Masbate after being hit by a tree branch and a 71-year-old man was killed in Bagamonoc town in Catanduanes after falling from the roof of his house. Five fishermen were reported missing. More than 47,500 people fled their homes due to the storm, it added. "We got almost two months' worth of rainfall in just 24 hours," Albay provincial disaster chief Cedric Daep said by phone. The national civil defence office said separately on Wednesday morning that five people were injured and seven were reported missing. Marcos ordered government agencies to closely monitor the volume of rainfall in the coming days, preposition government resources and anticipate people's needs. The Philippine central bank on Wednesday suspended currency trading and monetary operations for the day. Stock market trading operated as normal. Agencies involved in disaster response and vital services remained open, the office of the president said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/philippines-shuts-schools-suspends-forex-trading-due-storm-trami-2024-10-23/

2024-10-22 23:31

Oct 23 (Reuters) - Russia's increased attacks on the Black Sea ports in Ukraine are delaying vital aid reaching Palestinians and stopping crucial grain supplies from being delivered to the global south, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said late on Tuesday. "Russia's indiscriminate strikes on ports in the Black Sea underscore that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is willing to gamble on global food security in his attempts to force Ukraine into submission," Starmer said in a statement issued by his press office. The United Nations said on Monday , opens new tab that Russian attacks on Ukrainian Black Sea ports have damaged six civilian vessels as well as grain infrastructure since Sept. 1, calling the ramp-up in strikes "distressing". According to British Defence Intelligence, Starmer said, at least four merchant vessels have been struck by Russian munitions in the Black Sea between Oct. 5-14. "(Putin) is harming millions of vulnerable people across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, to try and gain the upper hand in his barbaric war," Starmer said. The Russian strikes are believed to have delayed a ship from departing Ukraine while carrying vegetable oil destined for the World Food Programme in Palestine, according to Starmer's statement, as well as vessels with grain destined for Egypt and World Food Programme shipments bound for southern Africa. Ukraine is a major global wheat and corn grower and before Russia's invasion in 2022 the country exported about six million tons of grain alone per month via the Black Sea. Despite the ongoing war, grains sales remain a crucial revenue source for the country. After the collapse last year of a U.N.-backed Black Sea grain export initiative that involved Russia and had ensured safe passage of grain ships, Ukraine has managed to create a shipping corridor in the Black Sea. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk-warns-russian-strikes-black-sea-delay-grain-supplies-palestinians-global-2024-10-22/

2024-10-22 23:02

Verizon down after missing Q3 revenue estimates GE Aerospace drops as supply constraints drag on revenue General Motors up after Q3 results beat estimates Indexes: Nasdaq up 0.18%, Dow and S&P flat Oct 22 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended little changed on Tuesday, but the Nasdaq eked out a modest gain while investors kept an eye on Treasuries yields and awaited more earnings to assess the health of American companies. "The last couple of days, the market has been trying to digest the move in treasuries as you've had a pretty big backup in yields," Jack Janasiewicz, portfolio manager at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions. In a choppy session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 6.71 points, or 0.02%, to 42,924.89, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab lost 2.78 points, or 0.05%, to 5,851.20 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 33.12 points, or 0.18%, to 18,573.13. Almost half of the S&P sectors were in the positive territory, with the consumer staple (.SPLRCS) , opens new tab leading the pack up 0.92%. The benchmark 10-year note yields earlier reached 4.222%, the highest since July 26, as investors reassessed expectations for the Federal Reserve's policy trajectory. Yields dialed back a bit during the trading session. "The big story overall is the rates back up and the concerns that the Federal Reserve made a policy error by moving too aggressively in September. That's feeding through to a rate sell off on a global basis," said Michael Green, portfolio manager at Simplify Asset Management. On the corporate front, GE Aerospace (GE.N) , opens new tab slumped 9% despite raising its profit forecast for 2024, as persistent supply constraints impacted its revenue. It pulled the broader Industrials index (.SPLRCI) , opens new tab lower 1.19%. Overall the broader technology sector (.SPLRCT) , opens new tab was up 0.15%. Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab rose 2.08%. "During the earnings season, you often get this kind of choppiness, but there's also increased uncertainty relative to the interest rate direction," said Chuck Carlson, CEO at Horizon Investment Services. The next few weeks are likely to be volatile for equity markets, as investors scrutinize company earnings, fresh economic data and results of the U.S. election, followed by a central bank meeting. Traders are pricing in a 89.6% chance of a 25-basis-point interest-rate cut in November, according to CME's FedWatch. Among other earnings, Verizon (VZ.N) , opens new tab fell 5.03% as the telecom giant missed estimates for third-quarter revenue. 3M (MMM.N) , opens new tab slipped 2.31%, reversing its premarket gains, despite raising the low end of its full-year adjusted profit forecast. Meanwhile, General Motors (GM.N) , opens new tab leapt 9.81% after the legacy carmaker's third-quarter results beat Wall Street estimates, while Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) , opens new tab dipped 6.12% after results. Rate-sensitive homebuilding stocks slipped, with the PHLX Housing index (.HGX) , opens new tab dropping 3.05%, dragged down by a 7.24% fall in shares of PulteGroup (PHM.N) , opens new tab despite the company beating profit and revenue estimates. "The earnings themselves have been pretty good, it's just the companies highly sensitive to interest rates are probably going to find a bit of headwind right now as investors sort out the whole interest rate story," Carlson said. Baker Hughes (BKR.O) , opens new tab and Texas Instruments (TXN.O) , opens new tab are scheduled to report earnings after the bell. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.37-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 186 new highs and 58 new lows on the NYSE. The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 72 new highs and 61 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 11.45 billion shares, compared with the 11.28 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-under-pressure-earnings-loom-yields-rise-2024-10-22/

2024-10-22 23:00

LONDON, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Electric vehicles (EVs) were supposed to supercharge demand for metals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt. Yet prices for all three EV battery inputs have fallen to such bombed-out levels that producers are curtailing output and deferring new projects. This is partly a problem of oversupply. Explosive price rallies in 2021 and 2022 resulted in too much new production capacity being brought online too quickly. But it is also a problem of demand. The transition away from the internal combustion engine has by no means ground to a halt. Global new energy vehicle sales were up by 20% year-on-year in January-August, according to consultancy Rho Motion. Rather, the mix of vehicles being sold and the evolution of battery chemistry have dramatically changed the metals demand dynamic. THE RISE OF THE HYBRIDS Pure battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales have underperformed expectations due to buyers' concerns about limited driving range and charging infrastructure. By contrast, hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars, which have both a battery and internal combustion engine, have soared in popularity. The increase in global sales of BEVs slowed to 10% year-on-year in the first eight months of 2024, while plug-in hybrid (PHEV) sales jumped 46%, according to Rho Motion. This trend has been led by China, the world's largest EV market. The key driver is the emergence of the extended range electric vehicle (EREV), a type of PHEV that uses the gasoline engine solely to charge the battery, giving the vehicle an extended driving range of more than 1,000 kilometres (621 miles). EREVs now account for 31% of all plug-in hybrid sales in China, according to research house Adamas Intelligence, which expects them to enjoy similar success in both Europe and the United States. Major automakers are embracing hybrids in all forms as a relatively low-cost transition technology between gasoline and pure electric vehicles. Hybrids don't need the same battery power as a BEV. Adamas calculates that battery pack capacity in a PHEV is a third of that in a BEV, which means a similar-sized reduction in the amount of lithium, nickel and cobalt used per vehicle. Other metals, however, stand to benefit from the rise of the hybrids. Platinum and palladium, which are used to clean auto exhausts, have been granted an unexpected new lease of life. CHANGING CHEMISTRY While the new energy vehicle mix is changing, so too is battery chemistry. Lithium-iron-phosphate batteries (LFP) have become the rising stars of the battery industry, accounting for around 40% of battery demand in 2023, more than double the share recorded in 2020, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). As with the new extended range hybrids, the LFP revolution is being led by China, where two-thirds of EV sales used this technology in 2023, the IEA estimates , opens new tab. Chinese battery makers have turned what was once regarded as a low-power technology suitable only for short city commutes into a product that can compete with nickel-manganese-cobalt battery chemistries. China's CATL unveiled a new break-through LFP battery at the Beijing auto show in April. The Shenxing Plus boasts a driving range of 1,000 kilometres on a single charge, effectively eliminating range anxiety. The only critical metal input for an LFP battery is lithium. It doesn't require either nickel or cobalt, which makes an LFP battery both cheaper and more environmentally friendly than other chemistries. The market has taken note. Demand forecasts for nickel and cobalt use in batteries have been steadily downgraded over the last year to factor in China's pivot towards LFP technology. GOING GLOBAL European and U.S. automakers have until now stuck with high-nickel chemistries in their EV batteries but that may be starting to change. Both Ford Motor (F.N) , opens new tab and General Motors (GM.N) , opens new tab have shown interest in using CATL's LFP technology Moreover, while China has been the only mass-producer of LFP batteries since the 2010s, the core patents that enabled this dominance expired in 2022. This has sparked interest outside China. For example, the IEA has noted a surge of LFP investment in Morocco, which is home to the world's largest phosphate reserves. Importantly, it also holds free-trade agreements with both the European Union and the United States. A TWISTING ROAD Li Auto's (2015.HK) , opens new tab L6 family sports utility vehicle is an example of how hybrid and LFP technologies have come together to upset preconceived notions about the EV market. Boasting what the company calls , opens new tab "the latest generation of lithium-iron-phosphate battery", the vehicle has a range of 212 kilometres in pure battery mode and a range of 1,390 kilometres in mixed battery-engine mode. The Li6 can accelerate from zero to 100 kilometres an hour in 5.4 seconds, which lays to rest any fear that LFP batteries can't deliver the same performance as nickel-rich batteries. Such products are good news for the broader energy transition, offering consumers a cheap, reliable alternative route to an all-electric future. But they challenge the idea that the global auto market will jump straight from the internal combustion engine to a pure battery vehicle. They also defy expectations that all EV batteries need nickel and cobalt to enhance power and performance. What's more, the battery revolution has only just begun. Battery makers are investing heavily in research and development with the goal of developing ever cheaper, more powerful batteries. Even lithium is at risk of substitution from sodium-ion batteries as CATL and other Chinese companies such as BYD (002594.SZ) , opens new tab expand capacity for the new technology. Sodium-ion batteries could cost up to 20% less than incumbent technologies and can be used for both stationary storage and compact urban EVs, according to the IEA. They use no lithium but, depending on chemistry, need both nickel and manganese, which foreshadows the potential for more metallic twists in the unpredictable electric vehicle revolution. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/electric-vehicles-prove-bumpy-ride-battery-metals-andy-home-2024-10-22/

2024-10-22 21:47

Oct 23 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. If the prospect of a soft landing for the U.S. economy had boosted investor sentiment and global risk appetite recently, it is giving way to a deepening sense of caution as investors grapple with spiking U.S. bond yields and a stronger dollar. It's not that yields and the dollar are rising solely on the back of increased optimism about the U.S. growth outlook. Worries about Washington's huge spending and deficits, and the upcoming U.S. election, are also on the rise. So much so, that the U.S. "term premium" - the extra compensation investors demand for lending to the government over the long term instead of rolling over shorter-term loans - is back. It is the highest in a year. Add to that the ongoing doubt surrounding China's economic outlook and the effectiveness of Beijing's raft of support measures, and Asian investors' glass right now is looking half empty rather than half full. If Wall Street is beginning to feel a little heat from the spike in yields, Asian and emerging markets definitely are. Asian stocks are now down five of the last six sessions. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield broke above 4.20% on Tuesday for the first time in three months, and the dollar index also climbed to highs last seen on Aug. 2. If it's rate and yield differentials fueling the dollar's gains, the path of least resistance is against the ultra-low yielding Japanese yen. The dollar on Tuesday rose above 151.00 yen for the first time in three months, and the yen is back to being the worst-performing main Asian currency this year. The weaker yen isn't offering much support for Japanese equities, though. Foreigners have been buyers in recent weeks but the Nikkei is at a three-week low, suggesting domestic investors are putting their cash overseas. The Asian calendar on Wednesday is light, with only inflation from Singapore and industrial production figures from Taiwan on deck, leaving investors to focus on global market-moving drivers. They include the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, and IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Washington. Investors can expect headlines from several policymakers in Washington to hit the tape on Wednesday, including from European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda and Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Adrian Orr. The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday published its World Economic Outlook, in which it cut its GDP forecasts for China and Japan. The change in Japan's outlook, to 0.3% growth from 0.7%, was the biggest downgrade of all major economies, and second only to Mexico's 0.7 percentage point fall. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Wednesday: - Singapore inflation (September) - Taiwan industrial production - BOJ Governor Ueda speaks in Washington Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-2024-10-22/