2024-10-10 00:59

Oct 9 (Reuters) - Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key Florida on Wednesday as Category 3 storm, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Milton was located about 115 miles (185 km) southwest of Orlando Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (205 kph), the Miami-based forecaster said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/hurricane-milton-makes-landfall-near-siesta-key-florida-us-nhc-says-2024-10-10/

2024-10-10 00:21

LOS ANGELES, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Top country stars joined the lineup for a star-studded benefit concert, and Taylor Swift donated to hunger relief efforts, as celebrities mobilized on Wednesday to help people affected by recent Hurricane Helene and incoming Hurricane Milton. Pop superstar Swift gave $5 million to the nonprofit group Feeding America to assist in the storms' aftermath, according to a social media post from the group. "Thank you, Taylor, for standing with us in the movement to end hunger and helping communities in need," Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot said in a statement. Much of the southern U.S. experienced the deadly force of Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago. Milton began battering Florida on Wednesday. Both storms are expected to cause billions of dollars in damage. Keith Urban, Luke Combs, Eric Church and other country musicians set a "Concert for Carolina" benefit for Oct. 26 to help one of the regions worst hit by Helene. The event will take place at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Among other efforts, country singer Morgan Wallen helped collect supplies and posed for photos with fans at a food drive in Knoxville, Tennessee on Wednesday. He had earlier donated $500,000 to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief. Country superstar Dolly Parton donated $1 million of her personal funds to a Tennessee nonprofit. Her businesses, including the Dollywood theme park, added another $1 million. "These are my people and this is my home," Parton told a crowd in Newport, Tennessee. "I am with you because I am part of you." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/taylor-swift-keith-urban-other-stars-support-us-hurricane-relief-2024-10-10/

2024-10-10 00:10

Oct 10 (Reuters) - Russia is reducing the share of budget revenue derived from gas and oil production and hopes to bring down its reliance on volatile commodities to about 23% by 2027, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in an interview broadcast late on Wednesday. Siluanov, quoted by Russian news agencies, also told RT Television's Arabic service that new regulations on cryptocurrencies in Russia were not designed to generate income but rather as a mechanism to facilitate foreign trade. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Russia has been attempting to reduce its dependence on its oil and gas reserves, which face volatile markets, as a means to provide budget revenue. Cryptocurrency regulations are seen as a tool to help Russia conduct foreign trade operations and skirt Western sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia has faced delays in international payments with major trading partners such as China, India and the United Arab Emirates after banks in those countries have become more cautious due to pressure from Western regulators. KEY QUOTES "In general, we are trying at this time to minimise the influence of oil prices on the budget. Whereas a few years ago this indicator stood at 35%-40%, in 2025 it will dip to 27% and in 2027 to 23%." "We are moving towards reducing the share of volatile income and reducing Russia's dependence on oil and gas in favour of boosting our domestic economy". "The result of mining is that cryptocurrencies will be a means of payment, including with our foreign trade partners...So it is not so important how much we earn from mining, but rather that legislation permits it to be used in settling accounts mainly not domestically, but abroad for goods and services." CONTEXT Cryptocurrency mining legislation signed by President Vladimir Putin will come into effect under certain conditions from Nov. 1. A special register will be maintained by the finance ministry for companies engaging in cryptocurrency mining. Individuals mining digital currencies will have to provide certain information to Russia's financial monitoring regulator. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-reducing-share-budget-revenue-gas-oil-minister-says-2024-10-10/

2024-10-09 23:52

WASHINGTON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden warned on Wednesday that Hurricane Milton carried incredible destructiveness and urged people to take safe shelter while condemning misinformation about the storm as un-American. “It’s harmful to those that need help,” Biden said of misinformation on the storm and the government's response. Republican former President Donald Trump, who is running against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election, has sought to portray the Biden-Harris administration's response to recent storms as ineffective, including claiming without evidence that aid and Federal Emergency Management Agency funding had been diverted to migrants. “It is dangerous – it is unconscionable, frankly, that anyone who would consider themselves a leader would mislead desperate people to the point that those desperate people would not receive the aid to which they are entitled, and that’s why I call it dangerous,” Harris said in an interview with CNN, according to the network. Asked why Trump was spreading misinformation, Biden said he did not know. "I simply don’t know. You can speculate, but I just find it - I’ve used the phrase more than I’ve ever used it in my career - it’s un-American. It’s un-American. It’s not who the hell we are," he said at the White House. At least three congressional Republicans, including Representative Chuck Edwards, whose North Carolina district was hit hard by flooding caused by Hurricane Helene, condemned conspiracy theories repeated by fellow members of their party about the storms. FEMA has sought to combat misinformation with a page on its website titled "Hurricane Rumor Response." The site dispels rumors, including declaring it false that the agency was blockading people in Florida. "FEMA does not control traffic flow or conduct traffic stops, which are handled by local authorities. This is a harmful rumor that can put lives in danger," it said. Hurricane Milton closed in on Florida's west coast on Wednesday, spawning tornados and lashing the region with rain and wind ahead of its expected landfall. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-warns-threat-hurricane-milton-condemns-misinformation-2024-10-09/

2024-10-09 23:19

Google-parent Alphabet down on potential DOJ action Boeing falls after talks with union halted Fed minutes show most officials supported big Sept rate cut Indexes: Dow up 1.03%, S&P 500 up 0.71%, Nasdaq up 0.60% Oct 9 (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks advanced on Wednesday with the S&P 500 and the Dow scoring record closing highs after the release of Federal Reserve meeting minutes and ahead of September inflation data and the earnings season. Shares in market heavyweight Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab pared losses to finish down 1.5% after the U.S. Department of Justice said it may ask a judge to force Google to divest parts of its business. These include its Chrome web browser and its Android operating system, to curtail its search monopoly. The Fed's September meeting minutes showed a "substantial majority" of officials supported an outsized half-point rate cut. However, there was broader agreement that the move would not commit the Fed to any particular pace of cuts in the future. Traders were last pricing in a roughly 79% chance of a 25-basis-point reduction in borrowing costs and a 21% probability the Fed keeps rates on hold, according to CME's FedWatch. "The minutes confirmed what we'd thought all along and relieved investors. There was a debate about the 50 basis point cut, meaning that it wasn't a sweeping consensus that we needed to do a drastic 50 basis point cut," said Lindsey Bell, chief strategist at 248 Ventures in Charlotte, North Carolina. The market is awaiting the Consumer Price Index inflation report due on Thursday morning and the third-quarter corporate earnings season, which kicks off in earnest with some of the biggest U.S. banks reporting on Friday. "The minutes were also further confirmation that the Fed believes they've won the fight on inflation. So tomorrow's CPI number shouldn't be too much of a surprise," said Bell. Trading has been choppy this week, with investors adjusting rate-cut expectations after a surprisingly strong September jobs report suggested a U.S. economy that is in better shape than investors had feared. "There's an air of optimism in the market since the Friday jobs report. Investors remain optimistic on the soft- to no-landing scenario," she said, referring to the possibility that the economy might even avoid a mild recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 431.63 points, or 1.03%, to 42,512.00. The S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 40.91 points, or 0.71%, at 5,792.04 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab climbed 108.70 points, or 0.60%, to 18,291.62. The S&P registered a closing record high for the first time in October but for the 44th time in 2024. The last time the Dow scored a closing record was on Oct. 4. Of the S&P 500's 11 industry sectors 9 rose while rate-sensitive utilities (.SPLRCU) , opens new tab fell 0.9% and the communications services index (.SPLRCL) , opens new tab, which includes Alphabet, lost 0.6%. "News about antitrust initiatives create worries about what that means for the technology sector broadly and specifically the most dominant players," said Daniel Morris, chief market strategist for asset management at BNP Paribas. Investors were also monitoring any potential damage from Category 5 Hurricane Milton. The expanding hurricane was closing in on Florida's west coast, spawning tornados and lashing the region with rain and wind hours ahead of its expected landfall near Tampa Bay Wednesday night where it could deliver a life-threatening surge of seawater to communities already battered by Hurricane Helene. Among prominent stocks, Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab shares ended down 3.4% after talks between the aerospace company and its key manufacturing union broke down. Among gainers, shares of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH.N) , opens new tab outperformed with a 10.9% advance after Citi upgraded its rating to "buy." Its peer Carnival (CCL.N) , opens new tab rose 7% while Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL.N) , opens new tab added 5.2%. Shares of Arcadium Lithium (ALTM.N) , opens new tab soared 30.9% after Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) , opens new tab said it would acquire the miner for $6.7 billion. U.S.-listed shares of China's Alibaba Group dropped 1.6% and PDD Holdings (PDD.O) , opens new tab fell 2.3% as investors questioned whether China would announce new stimulus measures. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.31-to-1 ratio on the NYSE where there were 339 new highs and 49 new lows. On the Nasdaq, 2,164 stocks rose and 2,113 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.02-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 52 new 52-week highs and two new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 88 new highs and 133 new lows. On U.S. exchanges 11.09 billion shares changed hands compared with the 12.04 billion moving average for the last 20 sessions. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-slip-markets-await-fed-minutes-alphabet-drops-2024-10-09/

2024-10-09 23:11

LONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Britain will offer developers of renewable energy storage projects, such as pumped hydro, a guaranteed minimum income to spur investment in technologies that help the country meet its climate targets. Britain is aiming to decarbonise its power sector by 2030. Meeting this target will require a large increase in renewable energy, such as wind and solar, as well as projects that store energy when there is insufficient wind or sun. “With these projects storing the surplus clean, homegrown energy produced from renewable sources, we can boost our energy security by relying less on fossil fuels," Energy Minister, Michael Shanks said in a statement. Under the scheme, developers of long duration energy storage projects can apply for "cap and floor" contracts that provide a guaranteed minimum income in return for a limit on revenues. A similar scheme is already used to help pay for interconnector power links with other countries. Pumped hydro plants work by pumping water to a higher reservoir before releasing it to enable water to flow downhill through turbines to produce electricity when it is needed. Developers of the technology say it can help to even out the renewable electricity on the power grid by pumping water uphill when demand is low so it can be released when demand is high. Other long duration energy storage technologies include liquid air energy storage, compressed air energy storage and flow batteries. Britain’s energy regulator Ofgem will design the scheme with the first round to be open for applicants next year, the government said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/britain-sets-out-funding-model-renewable-energy-storage-projects-2024-10-09/