2024-10-09 20:41

24% of Florida gasoline stations out of fuel - GasBuddy Hurricane Milton's path over Tampa Bay could cause severe supply disruptions Energy companies have closed fuel supply terminals in Tampa Bay Fuel distributors suspend deliveries from Tampa to Orlando NEW YORK, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Nearly a quarter of Florida's gasoline stations were out of fuel on Wednesday afternoon as residents rushed to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton, which some fear could become one of the most destructive storms ever to hit the state's Gulf Coast. More than a million people in coastal areas were under evacuation orders, clogging highways and causing fuel shortages from Tampa to Orlando in a region still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago. Milton is expected to slam ashore in the Tampa Bay metropolitan area late on Wednesday. About 24% of nearly 8,000 gasoline pumps in Florida were out of fuel as of 12 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, up from over 17% the previous evening, according to market tracker GasBuddy. Outages were most severe in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area with more than half of the regional stations out of gasoline. Other regions in the predicted path of the storm also reported high outages. Over 35% of stations in Fort Myers-Naples area were out of fuel, and about 27% of stations in the Orlando-Daytona Beach area were empty, GasBuddy data showed. U.S. gasoline demand jumped by 1.1 million barrels per day in the week ended Oct. 4, the biggest weekly increase since 2001, according to government data. The data does not breakdown state-level demand, but analysts said stockpiling by retailers in Florida was partly behind the surge. Florida is the third-largest gasoline consumer in the United States. There are no refineries in the state, so it depends on fuel shipments from elsewhere by land or water. RESUPPLY CHALLENGE Milton's severity and predicted path over Tampa Bay, where the bulk of Florida's fuel import and storage terminals are located, make it potentially the most devastating hit to the state's fuel markets since 1992's Hurricane Andrew, OPIS oil analyst Tom Kloza said on Tuesday. More than 43% of Florida's fuel imports move through Port Tampa Bay, according to the port's website. The Port of Tampa Bay was shut for all vessel traffic starting on Tuesday, and a prolonged closure would disrupt fuel supply into western and central Florida, said Ben Ruddell, director of the FEWSION Project, which monitors domestic supply chains. Waterborne vessel movement of energy products within the Gulf of Mexico will likely be delayed by several days, said Jon Davis, chief meteorologist at Everstream Analytics. That means truck delivery will be the only way to replenish fuel storage tanks in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane. Wholesale fuel distributor Mansfield has suspended fuel deliveries in Tampa, Orlando and many other markets in Florida, it told clients on Wednesday. Mansfield has positioned trucks in nearby markets, although winds need to slow down to under 35 miles per hour before they can start making deliveries again. Milton was packing winds of 125 miles an hour as of the National Hurricane Center's latest update. Damage to fuel terminals around the port would also impede resupply efforts. Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI.N) , opens new tab, Chevron Corp (CVX.N) , opens new tab, CITGO Petroleum and Buckeye Partners were among energy companies shutting down Tampa terminals to protect against damages. Kinder Morgan also shut its Central Florida Pipeline system, two small pipelines that haul gasoline, ethanol, diesel and jet fuel from Tampa to Orlando. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/florida-fuel-outages-grow-residents-evacuate-ahead-hurricane-milton-2024-10-09/

2024-10-09 20:11

Oct 9 (Reuters) - A Russian ballistic missile attack on Wednesday on the port infrastructure of Ukraine's southern Odesa region killed six people and injured eight, Odesa Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said. The injured were all Ukrainian nationals, Kiper wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Four were in serious condition. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said a Panamanian-flagged container ship, the Shui Spirit, sustained damage in the attack. "An insidious enemy is trying to disrupt the work of the Ukrainian grain corridor, killing civilians and destroying infrastructure," Kiper wrote in his post. The attack on the port of Chornomorsk was the third in the region in the past four days. Ukrainian officials said a Russian missile hit a Palau-flagged vessel in Odesa port on Monday, killing one Ukrainian national and injuring five foreign nationals. And on Sunday, a Russian missile damaged a civilian Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged vessel loaded with corn in the port of Pivdennyi. Under a deal brokered by Turkey soon after Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, ships carrying cargoes from Ukrainian ports operated without impediment for about a year before Russia pulled out of the agreement. Vessels have since been using an alternative route, hugging Ukraine's southwestern Black Sea coast through Romanian waters and on to Turkey. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-missile-attack-ukraines-odesa-port-region-kills-six-governor-says-2024-10-09/

2024-10-09 20:10

BRASILIA, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Indigenous organizations in the Brazilian state of Para said they were not consulted by the government before it signed a deal with multinational companies to sell carbon offset credits to support conservation of the Amazon rainforest in the state. Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) , opens new tab and other firms agreed last month to buy carbon credits valued at $180 million through the LEAF Coalition conservation initiative, which it helped set up in 2021 with a group of companies and governments, including the United States and United Kingdom. At the time, Para Governor Helder Barbalho said the deal had the participation of Indigenous peoples and traditional communities. But on Tuesday, 38 Indigenous and community organizations from Para signed a public letter denouncing his failure to consult them. "It is unacceptable for the government of Pará to take decisions without consulting traditional communities, who are the greatest protectors of the forests while also being the most impacted by the lack of effective climate adaptation policies," they said in the letter. "Forest peoples must be heard and consulted. Our territories are not for sale," they said. Alessandra Korap Munduruku, a tribal leader who was the letter's principal author, said the role of U.S.-based companies like Amazon and Walmart (WMT.N) , opens new tab in the carbon credit purchase was worrying, as well as that of asset manager BlackRock, which she said had a destructive footprint in her region. "Our priority is the eviction of invaders on our reservation lands that are threatened by miners and a grain railway," she told Reuters by telephone. "Our leaders were never consulted on the carbon credits. We are being sold like goods." The governor's office did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Korap Munduruku is an Indigenous teacher turned community leader who won the prestigious Goldman environmental prize in 2023 for her efforts to convince mining companies leave Munduruku lands. The agreement is LEAF's first deal in the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest, which is vital to curbing climate change because of the enormous amount of greenhouse gas its trees absorb. The deal foresees the purchase of up to 12 million tons of carbon credits generated by reducing deforestation in Para between 2023 and 2026. It was announced on Sept. 24 during New York Climate Week. Each of the credits represents a reduction of 1 metric ton of carbon emissions and they are jurisdictional, so Pará gets paid for reducing deforestation across the state, including on public lands like reservations. Governor Barbalho said the state would only collect the portion of the sales' proceeds needed to continue its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, while the rest would go to Indigenous peoples and traditional communities as well as family farms. Para will host the UN COP30 climate summit next year, in a move that is the centerpiece of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's bid to restore Brazil's environmental credentials after years of soaring deforestation. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/indigenous-groups-brazil-we-were-not-consulted-carbon-credits-2024-10-09/

2024-10-09 19:56

NEW YORK, Oct 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury 10-year term premium, a measure of the compensation investors demand to hold long-term government debt securities, moved back into positive territory this week as U.S. economic resilience defied expectations of aggressive interest rate cuts and election uncertainty weighed on long-term bonds. Term premiums have largely been suppressed for about a decade amid low interest rates that followed the 2007-2009 global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, but they have crept back up over the past couple of years amid long-term fiscal concerns and expectations inflation will remain sticky. On Monday the 10-year term premium, as measured by a gauge of the Federal Reserve bank of New York, turned positive for the first time since July 25, New York Fed data showed on Wednesday. It stood at 0.034% on Monday from minus 0.047% on Friday. The move comes after a spike in Treasury yields following strong U.S. jobs data last week, which prompted investors to pare back bets on the magnitude of future interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Benchmark 10-year yields, which hit an over one-year low in September on expectations of easing monetary policy, have since surged to over 4% and on Wednesday stood at their highest since late July. Matthew Miskin, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management, said rising term premiums could also indicate markets are betting on higher government deficits under a Donald Trump presidency, should he win the Nov. 5 presidential election against Vice President Kamala Harris. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll this week showed Harris led Trump by a marginal three percentage points - 46% to 43% - a narrower lead than indicated in a Sept 20-23 Reuters/Ipsos poll. "What we're seeing is that as odds rise for former President Trump, the longer end of the (Treasury yield) curve also rises," said Miskin. "It very well could be that the Treasury market is sniffing out greater deficit spending, which would then create greater supply and has higher yields for long-dated maturities." U.S. bond giant PIMCO said earlier this year it expected term premiums to shoot up again amid sticky inflation and rising fiscal deficits. The bond asset manager said in a report on Wednesday widening U.S. deficits and inflationary trade policies after the Nov. 5 election could weigh on long-term Treasuries, despite the near-term prospect of lower rates. Expectations for inflation over the next decade, measured by the difference between 10-year nominal Treasury yields and yields on 10-year inflation-protected Treasuries , hit 2.284% this week, the highest since July 22. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/us-bond-term-premium-turns-positive-again-amid-election-uncertainty-2024-10-09/

2024-10-09 19:56

WASHINGTON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - As U.S. officials struggle to push back against misinformation about natural disasters hitting the country, at least three congressional Republicans condemned conspiracy theories repeated by fellow members of their party. Representative Chuck Edwards, who represents a North Carolina district hit hard by flooding caused by Hurricane Helene in late September, called out the "outrageous rumors" spread by "untrustworthy sources trying to spark chaos." The flooding decimated much of North Carolina's inland west, an unexpected outcome in a state which is used to dealing with hurricanes along its Atlantic coast. Florida is now bracing for a direct hit from the powerful Hurricane Milton, headed for its western coast. One of the sources of misinformation is fellow Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has used both her official congressional social media account and her personal account to spread such misinformation. "Ask your government if the weather is manipulated or controlled. Did you ever give permission to them to do it? Are you paying for it? Of course you are," Greene wrote in one such post on her official account on Monday. Edwards directly called out this falsehood in his statement, without naming Greene. "Nobody can control the weather," he said. "Please make sure you are fact checking what you read online with a reputable source." Greene's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representative Carlos Gimenez, a Florida Republican representing the very southern tip of the state, also condemned the conspiracy theories. "News flash," he said in a Wednesday post on social media, responding directly to Greene's post. "Humans cannot create or control hurricanes. Anyone who thinks they can, needs to have their head examined." U.S. Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican representing North Carolina, also said the "distraction" needs to stop. "Many of these observations are not even from people on the ground," he told CNN on Sunday. In a briefing on Wednesday, Democratic President Joe Biden slammed Republican former President Donald Trump for leading an "onslaught of lies," and called Greene's comments "bizarre" and "ridiculous." "It's got to stop," Biden said. "In moments like this, there are no red or blue states." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-republican-condemns-hurricane-disinformation-spread-by-his-own-party-2024-10-09/

2024-10-09 19:43

Milton could cause $60B-$100B in insured losses, analysts estimate Florida's insurance market already strained by high costs and frequent bankruptcies Storms, rising sea levels make Florida especially risky for insurers Oct 9 (Reuters) - Hurricane Milton threatens to swamp Florida's troubled property-insurance market, potentially pushing prices higher and threatening coverage in a storm-prone region that already has the highest insurance costs in the nation. The mammoth storm, which analysts estimate could cause $60 billion to $100 billion in insured losses, is churning toward a state that has been shunned by national insurers, leaving residents to seek coverage in a market where commercial providers regularly fail or refuse to pay claims. "These are additional risks that, based on the fundamental principles of insurance, should not be present," said Martin Weiss, founder of the independent Weiss Ratings analysis firm. "Your insurance company is supposed to be your backup plan." On top of that, Floridians could also face additional charges if the state-run insurer runs out of money to pay claims. U.S. forecasters are describing Milton as a "catastrophic" major hurricane, packing maximum winds of 160 mph (260 kph). It is projected to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area around 2 a.m. EDT (0600 GMT) on Thursday. The low-lying region, home to 3.1 million people, is still cleaning up from Hurricane Helene last month. Forecasts suggest the damage could be on par with 2005's Hurricane Katrina, the costliest natural catastrophe in U.S. history, which caused $100 billion in insured losses when it swamped New Orleans. For the past several years, Florida has been one of the most visible fronts of a nationwide property-insurance crisis that has caused premiums to rise across the U.S. by an average of 31% between 2021 and 2023, according to research by Benjamin Keys of the University of Pennsylvania and Philip Mulder of the University of Wisconsin. Analysts point to surging inflation and a rise in extreme weather events linked to rising global temperatures. Climate change is fueling more powerful and destructive storms. HIGH-RISK STATE Those factors are all at play in Florida, which has led the nation in population growth since 2021 despite a low-lying topography that leaves it vulnerable to rising sea levels and hurricanes. Florida ZIP codes account for 78 of the 80 riskiest areas in the country, according to Weather Source, an environmental risk consultancy. Some insurers pulled out after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, leaving the market to smaller companies that often lack the resources to sustain significant losses. Some 41 Florida insurers have declared bankruptcy or otherwise failed since 2003, while only 37 have failed in the rest of the country over that time period, according to public filings. Those that stay in business can be tight-fisted; Weiss Ratings found that six of the state's largest providers rejected nearly 50% of their claims in 2023, an unusually high figure. The state set up a nonprofit, Citizens Property Insurance Corp, in 2002 to provide coverage for homeowners who cannot find it through the private sector. With 1.2 million policies in force, it is now the largest provider in the state. Unlike private companies, Citizens will not run out of money to cover claims, as it has the power to charge policyholders an extra 15% if it runs out of cash. If that fails to cover the bill, it can add a 10% surcharge to anybody in the state who has taken out any sort of insurance policy at all - from boats to pets to vehicles - whether or not they obtain their coverage through Citizens. Citizens said in July it had $14.4 billion on hand to cover any losses. "We will always be in a position to pay claims," spokesman Michael Peltier said on Tuesday. Collectively, the market has shouldered Florida homeowners with average insurance costs of $4,060 last year, nearly $1,000 higher than any other state, according to Keys' data. Those figures many not include the cost of flood insurance, which is typically purchased separately. Average premiums rose 57% between 2019 and 2023, a steeper rise than anywhere else. SCALING BACK COVERAGE Karyn Roeling, president of Seibert Insurance in Tampa, said those spiraling costs have prompted some of her clients to scale back coverage or opt to go uninsured. While banks require people who have mortgages on their homes to carry insurance, it is not mandatory for those who do not owe money on their property. Roughly one in 13 homeowners in the United States is uninsured, according to the Consumer Federation of America, with Black, Hispanic and Native American households more likely to lack coverage. State officials and industry trade groups say the market has stabilized over the past year, thanks to legal reforms that cut back on what they characterize as frivolous lawsuits and questionable claims. Citizens has been able to reduce its exposure by transferring hundreds of thousands of policies to private providers, according to state data. A damaging hurricane could spook private insurers that have begun to return to the Florida market. "Rates are going to continue to just go up and up, insurers could go bankrupt and Citizens will be on the hook to pick up that much more of the slack," said Sam Boyd, a Sotheby's real estate adviser in Melbourne, Florida. But others note that real-estate prices have continued to rise despite the state's exposure to extreme weather, and they doubt Milton will dull Florida's appeal. "In a couple months, once the weather gets nice, people are going to start coming down, sight unseen," said Bruce Loren, a Palm Beach lawyer who specializes in high-end real estate. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/milton-threatens-upend-shaky-florida-homeowners-insurance-market-2024-10-09/