2024-10-15 22:49
Harris pledges to decriminalize marijuana if elected Harris questioned on past prosecution record by Charlamagne tha God Harris to appear next on Fox News, maybe Joe Rogan DETROIT, Oct 15 (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris defended her record as a prosecutor, pledged to decriminalize marijuana and push for police reform as she aimed to shore up support among Black men in an interview with radio host Charlamagne tha God on Tuesday. Charlamagne, a Black comedian and author who hosts radio program "The Breakfast Club," is known for his blunt interviews of celebrities. Although he is a Harris supporter, he has been critical of her and President Joe Biden in the past and called Democrats "cowards" for ineffectively prosecuting a case against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. In one of his first questions he asked Harris to address a rumor that she disproportionately locked up Black men over her more than a dozen years as San Francisco's district attorney. "It's just simply not true," Harris said, adding she was described as "one of the most progressive prosecutors" on marijuana cases. She said as president she would work to decriminalize marijuana because she knew how the laws have hurt certain populations, especially Black men. Some polls show that fewer Black men support Harris than they did Biden in the 2020 election. Her campaign and allies including Barack Obama are working to win them back in Michigan and other battleground states that will be decided by a thin margin. Harris said one of the biggest challenges she faces is misinformation from the Trump team aimed at Black voters. "They are trying to scare people away because they know they otherwise have nothing to run on," she said. Asked about how she would curb police brutality and murders of Black men, Harris said she would work to pass the George Floyd Policing Act, which stalled in Congress in 2021. Charlamagne countered that Harris probably could not get the votes, a reference to the sharply divided U.S. Congress, and asked why she should push on that. "I don't subscribe to that approach," Harris said, adding that it took a lot of work to pass voting rights and other acts through Congress and that she would help elect legislators who would support it. She declined to answer directly whether she thought Attorney General Merrick Garland should have put Trump in prison for his role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. "I think that the court should handle that," she said. "I'm going to handle November." Audience callers said they feared that the U.S. election might not be free and fair or that Trump would try to spark another Jan. 6-style event. Harris avoided calling those fears unfounded, and instead accused Trump of failing to stand up for the Constitution. "This man is weak and he is unfit," she said. She also listed her economic proposals aimed at Black men, and other policies aimed at small-business owners and lowering drug prices. FOX, ROGAN NEXT? On Wednesday, Harris will be interviewed on Fox News, the conservative-leaning network that paid a $787 million settlement in 2023 to a voting machine company that sued it over false claims by some Fox hosts of vote-rigging in the 2020 presidential election. She is also weighing joining the podcaster Joe Rogan, whose show reaches millions of men across the political spectrum, and who has joked that a "puppet master" was behind Harris' strong debate performance against Trump. The effort reflects increasing anxiety within Democratic circles about Harris' waning momentum in the handful of decisive election states and fears that her under-performance with men, and Black men in particular, could doom her bid for the White House. Over a quarter of young Black men say they would support Trump in the election race, according to a September poll by the NAACP, the nation's largest civil rights organization. Biden received about 80% of the Black male vote in 2020. Harris' lead over Trump has narrowed in recent days, several polls show. Her lead held steady at 3 points in the latest national Reuters/Ipsos poll and other battleground state polls show the two in a dead heat. Harris has been on a media blitz, speaking with friendly hosts from comedy shows, talk shows and podcasts. During her fifth trip to the Detroit area since launching her campaign in July, Harris also promoted a set of recently unveiled policy proposals aimed at Black men, including forgivable small business loans and access to a new legal recreational marijuana industry. If elected, Harris would be the first woman and first person of Asian descent to hold the office, as well as the second Black president. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/harris-sits-with-charlamagne-fox-maybe-rogan-polls-tighten-2024-10-15/
2024-10-15 22:11
WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department said on Tuesday it closed an $861 million loan guarantee to finance the construction of two solar photovoltaic farms and two battery storage systems in Puerto Rico. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The power grid of Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, has been battered by hurricanes in recent years, and people in remote mountain towns were left without power for nearly a year after Hurricane Maria in 2017. Between 3,000 and 4,600 people died after Maria knocked out power, studies say. The borrower is Clean Flexible Energy LLC, an indirect subsidiary of AES (AES.N) , opens new tab and TotalEnergies Holdings USA (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab. The financing was closed by the Energy Department's Loan Programs Office. KEY QUOTE "President (Joe) Biden and Vice President (Kamala) Harris understand that access to reliable energy is a matter of life or death - especially in the face of climate change-fueled natural disasters that are increasing in intensity and frequency," said U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. BY THE NUMBERS Annually, the solar installations of the project known as Marahu will produce enough electricity to power about 43,000 homes, and enhance Puerto Rico’s grid reliability and energy security, the department said. Marahu comprises 200 megawatts of solar power and up to 285 MW of standalone battery energy storage, it said. The facilities will be located in the municipalities of Guayama and Salinas. Marahu supports the administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which established the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments, including LPO financing, flow to disadvantaged communities, which includes most of Puerto Rico's 3.2 million U.S. citizens. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-closes-861-million-loan-guarantee-solar-energy-storage-puerto-rico-2024-10-15/
2024-10-15 22:03
SYDNEY, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Australia's central bank is not concerned that inflation expectations could become de-anchored in the near-term, a top official said on Wednesday, although policymakers remained alert to such a risk. In a speech in Sydney, Reserve Bank of Australia Assistant Governor Sarah Hunter said inflation expectations have not become de-anchored, with new research showing that households appear to have looked through the recent spike in inflation more than the central bank might have expected. The relationship between current wage expectations and inflation expectations is relatively weak, the RBA also noted. "So we’re not currently concerned that expectations could become de-anchored in the near term," said Hunter at an Citi investment conference. "But we do think it's important that we track how they’re evolving and that we understand how expectations are formed, so we can monitor whether there are any signs of this risk materialising in the future." The RBA has kept rates steady since November, judging that the cash rate of 4.35% - up from a record-low 0.1% during the pandemic - is restrictive enough to bring inflation to its target band of 2%-3% while preserving employment gains. However, underlying inflation has remained sticky at 3.9%, one reason that policymakers do not expect inflation to slow to the midpoint of the target band in 2026. Swaps imply just a 40% probability that the RBA can cut in December. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/australias-central-bank-not-concerned-inflation-expectations-getting-de-anchored-2024-10-15/
2024-10-15 21:51
Rio Tinto's Q3 iron ore shipments of 84.5 Mt Q3 miner copper production falls marginally Co sees first lithium output from Rincon by end of 2024 Shares of Rio fall 2.1% Oct 16 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) , opens new tab, (RIO.L) , opens new tab eked out higher iron ore shipments in the third quarter, largely in line with expectations, and said it remained on track for first production from its Simandou high-grade iron ore project in Guinea next year. The Simfer mine in the project will ramp up over 30 months to an annualised capacity of 60 million tonnes (Mt) per year following the first output, the world's largest iron ore producer said on Wednesday. Rio is also on track for first lithium production from its Rincon project in Argentina by the end of this year. The global miner recently agreed to buy Arcadium Lithium (ALTM.N) , opens new tab for $6.7 billion in a deal that will make it the world's third largest miner of the battery metal. Shares of Rio fell as much as 2.1% to A$119.510 as of 2359 GMT before paring some losses — in line with broader mining index (.AXMM) , opens new tab, which was down 0.8%. The company shipped 84.5 Mt of the steel-making commodity from its Pilbara operations in the three months ended Sept. 30, helped by operational improvements. That was largely in line with a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 84.74 Mt and higher than 83.9 Mt a year earlier. Rio said that the unit cash costs for Pilbara iron ore for the year would be at the upper half of its forecast of $21.75 to $23.50 per tonne, reflecting higher inflation expectations. Analysts at Citi said the production report was "disappointing," stating a higher outlook for Pilbara costs, ongoing issues at its Kennecott operations and impacts on IOC production from forest fires, among others. Rio said iron ore production from its Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) operations fell 11% following site-wide shutdown due to forest fires in mid-July. The company cut its IOC iron ore pellets and concentrate production forecast to 9.1 to 9.6 Mt for 2024 following the shutdowns. Mined copper production was marginally lower as higher output from Escondida and Oyu Tolgoi were offset by a 44% drop in production from Kennecott due to operational snags. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/rio-tintos-third-quarter-iron-ore-shipments-rise-1-2024-10-15/
2024-10-15 21:51
Oct 16 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Three monetary policy decisions dominate Asian markets on Wednesday, with investor sentiment and risk appetite likely to be kept in check by a selloff on Wall Street and worries over tech and the global economy the day before. The central banks of Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines all set interest rates on Wednesday, while the latest New Zealand inflation, South Korean unemployment and Japanese machinery orders are also on deck. Oil prices are on the slide again, partly reflecting soft demand, particularly from China. Crude futures slumped nearly 5% on Tuesday, pushing U.S. crude below $70 a barrel and bringing the year-on-year decline back to 20%. Tech worries pushed U.S. shares into the red, despite upbeat earnings from financial heavyweights Goldman Sachs, Citi and Bank of America. Nvidia and ASML shares led the global tech slump, and attention later in the week turns to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the contract manufacturer that produces Nvidia's processors. It is expected to report a 40% leap in quarterly profit on Thursday, thanks to soaring demand. On Wednesday, meanwhile, Bank Indonesia is expected to leave interest rates unchanged despite inflation falling to its lowest level since 2021, with the exchange rate at the forefront of policymakers' thinking. Inflation is down to 1.84% and has been within BI's target of 1.5% to 3.5% all year, but the rupiah has fallen more than 3% from a September peak. The Bank of Thailand is also expected to stay on hold and leave its one-day repo rate at 2.50% for the rest of the year. Four out of 28 economists in a Reuters poll predicted a quarter-point cut. The Philippine central bank, on the other hand, is expected to cut its overnight borrowing rate by 25 basis points to 6.00%, and again in December as policymakers strive to support economic growth as inflation remains under control. The central bank kicked off its easing cycle in August, and since then inflation has dropped below the bank's 2%-4% target. Meanwhile, investors continue to digest the details and steer from China at the weekend about its stimulus measures, and the recent slew of data. None of that has been particularly encouraging and Chinese markets are drifting lower, although equities are still up substantially from 'pre-stimulus' levels. Beijing on Tuesday announced that a press conference will be held on Thursday to discuss promoting the "steady and healthy" development of the property sector. If this announcement was aimed at reassuring investors, however, it has fallen flat. Shanghai's blue chip index is down 13% from last Tuesday's peak, but is still up 20% from the day before Beijing first unveiled its measures to support markets, the property sector and growth. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Wednesday: - Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines rate decisions - Bank of Japan's Seiji Adachi speaks - New Zealand inflation (Q3) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-2024-10-15/
2024-10-15 21:49
War damage from Israeli strikes on Gaza amount to some $14-20 billion, Banga says A widening of the war could have major impacts on global economy World Bank provides $300 million to Palestinian Authority; more funds needed WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - World Bank President Ajay Banga on Tuesday warned that a significant widening of the Israel-Gaza war could lead to major impacts on the global economy, calling the steep loss of civilian lives in the region "unconscionable." Speaking in a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker interview, Banga said the war has had a relatively small impact on the global economy thus far, but a significant widening of the conflict would draw in other countries that are larger contributors to global growth, including commodity exporters. "First of all, I think this unbelievable loss of life - women, children, others, civilians, is just unconscionable on all sides," Banga said. "The economic impact of this war, on the other hand, depends a great deal on how much this spreads." "If it spreads regionally, then it becomes a completely different issue because now you start going into places that are far larger contributors to the world economy, both in terms of dollars, but also in terms of minerals and metals and oil and the like," he said. Some Western countries are pushing for a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, as well as in Gaza, though the United States, Israel's strongest ally, has expressed its continued support and is sending it an anti-missile system and troops. Israel launched the offensive against Hamas after the militant group's Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage to Gaza, by Israeli tallies. More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the offensive so far, according to Gaza's health authorities. Israeli strikes have also killed at least 2,350 people over the last year in Lebanon and left nearly 11,000 wounded, according to the Lebanese health ministry, and more than 1.2 million people have been displaced. Banga said war damage from Israeli strikes on Gaza is now probably in the $14-20 billion range, and destruction from Israel's bombing of southern Lebanon will add to that regional total. Banga said the World Bank had provided $300 million, six times what was normally given, to the Palestinian Authority to help it manage the crisis on the ground, but that was small compared to the "large number" it would ultimately need. He said the multilateral development bank had also assembled a group of experts from Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Europe, the U.S. and Egypt to study what short- and longer-term actions it could take if a peace agreement could be reached. "We're going to have to figure out how to have that publicly discussed and debated and then find the resources for it," he said, adding that the effort would require private and public resources. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-war-damage-cost-likely-now-14-bln-20-bln-world-banks-banga-says-2024-10-15/
