2024-10-07 22:37

Oct 7 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. A short-lived conviction that the Fed would stick to a dovish path evaporated after Friday's bet-busting payrolls number, with Treasury yields on Monday backing up above 4% and traders introducing a small chance that November might not yield a rate cut at all. The Fed rethink cooled Wall Street's jets but prospects for the U.S. economy to skirt a recession would not need to be an impediment to Asia's rally. It will offer mainland Chinese investors a fresh international backdrop when they return on Tuesday from the Golden Week holiday and consider last month's market rescue with rested eyes. Beijing dispensed the most aggressive stimulus measures since the COVID-19 pandemic in a bid to revive the flagging Chinese economy, and traders and investors are now looking for signs to see if the medicine is working. Yields on the 10-year and two-year notes , extended a rise to their highest since late July and mid August, respectively, as fed funds futures realigned to an 85% chance of a quarter point cut in November and a 15% chance that the Fed stands pat at its next meeting. Only a week ago, some were holding out for the Fed to repeat September's 50 bps cut at next month's meeting. The resilient labor market made a case for the Fed to lean hawkish and that sent the S&P 500 down almost one percent. It did not do much for the dollar, which consolidated last week's rally, ending slightly lower against the yen and Swiss franc. Generally, along with those two safe-haven currencies, the dollar retained a bid as acute Middle East tensions threatened to spill into a wider conflict on the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. The dollar fell about half a percent against the yen after rallying above 149 overnight to its highest since Aug. 15. The yen weakness helped Japan's Nikkei (.N225) , opens new tab rally almost 2% on Monday, leading a broader rally across the region. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares (.MIAP00000PUS) , opens new tab climbed almost 1% and its Asia index ex-Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) , opens new tab rose nearly half a percent. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Tuesday: - Australia consumer sentiment (Oct) - Japan Tankan manufacturing and service indexes (Oct) - Taiwan trade balance (Sept) - U.S. 3-year note auction Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-view-asia-2024-10-07/

2024-10-07 21:36

WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday said former President Donald Trump is pushing misinformation out on resources available to survivors of Hurricane Helene, calling it "extraordinarily irresponsible." Harris, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican, are competing to win the White House in the Nov. 5 election. Harris also said that "playing political games" is "utterly irresponsible," when asked about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis not taking her calls ahead of Hurricane Milton. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/harris-calls-trumps-misinformation-hurricane-recovery-resources-irresponsible-2024-10-07/

2024-10-07 21:31

Oct 7 (Reuters) - Election officials in the battleground state of North Carolina approved changes on Monday that aim to make it easier for voters in areas devastated by Hurricane Helene to cast ballots in the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election. The changes approved unanimously by the North Carolina State Board of Elections will give flexibility to local election officials as they try to ensure that residents in the mountainous western part of the state will be able to vote, even as roads and communications networks remain disrupted. The goal is to ensure that voters in all areas of the state will have the same voting options -- either by mail, early in person starting on Oct. 17 or on Election Day, said Karen Brinson Bell, the board's executive director. North Carolina is one of seven states that are expected to determine whether Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris is the next president of the United States. Opinion polls show the two candidates locked in a tight contest. North Carolina's mountainous west was especially hard hit by Hurricane Helene, which killed more than 200 people across six states. Many roads in the region remain impassible and untold numbers of residents are still cut off from the outside world. The changes approved by the five-member election board would allow outreach teams in 13 of the hardest hit counties to visit disaster shelters and other areas to help people complete their ballots. Based on preliminary feedback, about nine or 10 early voting sites have had either significant damage and accessibility issues, or it was unknown whether the site would be available by the time early voting started, said Paul Cox, general counsel for North Carolina's State Board of Elections. The state has dozens of early voting sites in the hardest-hit counties. Some early voting sites are being used for shelters or as warehouses for supplies, said Brinson Bell. She added the state anticipates there will be at least an early voting site open in every county from Oct. 17 through Nov. 2, with potentially additional days or changes in hours. "Early voting may look different than expected in some of the 13 hardest-hit counties, but it will go on," Brinson Bell said. The 13 hardest-hit counties would be able to modify early-voting hours and locations and change staffing plans if needed. The changes also would allow residents to pick up absentee ballots at local election offices and return them at any polling place on Election Day, rather than the limited locations that were previously allowed. "We will continue to make voting accessible to the voters, whether we need four-wheelers, horses or helicopters," said Stacy Eggers IV, a Republican board member from Boone, a western mountain town that was hit by the hurricane. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/north-carolina-changes-election-rules-help-voters-hit-by-hurricane-helene-2024-10-07/

2024-10-07 21:26

SAO PAULO/RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras (PETR4.SA) , opens new tab produced a record 436,000 barrels of gasoline per day (bpd) in the third quarter, up 2.8% from the same period a year earlier, according to a securities filing on Monday. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Petrobras is one of the largest companies in Latin America by market value. The data released on Monday on output at its oil refineries gives an advance look at how it performed, ahead of a quarterly operational report and full financial earnings over the next few weeks. BY THE NUMBERS Petrobras said it produced some 6.38 billion liters of gasoline in the quarter, and confirmed to Reuters that was equivalent to 436,000 bpd - the measure the firm normally uses to report this kind of data. Refinery utilization reached 95.2% in the quarter, just under the 96% in the same period of 2023, which was a near-decade high. In September alone, the utilization factor reached 96.8%, its highest monthly figure so far this year, it said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/petrobras-posts-record-gasoline-production-third-quarter-2024-10-07/

2024-10-07 21:08

Storm expected to miss most oil infrastructure Set to make landfall near Tampa Imports and exports could be temporarily halted Biden approves emergency declaration HOUSTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - At least one oil and gas platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was shut on Monday and Florida ports imposed restrictions on vessel navigation as Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified. Most energy infrastructure on the U.S. Gulf Coast, including oil and gas production facilities, liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants and refineries, is expected to be out of the storm path, but the closure of terminals could temporarily disrupt exports and imports. Florida was the sixth largest state exporter of goods last year, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Meteorologists forecast 10 to 15 feet (3.05 to 4.57 meters)of storm surge, 140 miles per hour (mph) wind gusts and say more than 2 feet of rain is possible along the Florida Gulf Coast in the area Milton makes landfall, probably near Tampa. "Milton is a potentially catastrophic Category-5 hurricane," the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Monday. Some weakening is anticipated before Milton reaches the west coast of the Florida Peninsula by Wednesday, but it is forecast to remain "an extremely dangerous hurricane through landfall," the NHC added. President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida. The White House urged those in the path of the storm to make immediate preparations. Electricity provider Duke Energy (DUK.N) , opens new tab said it was mobilizing about 10,000 responders in Florida as it prepared for more than 1 million power outages associated with Milton. U.S. energy producer Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab said on Monday that all staff from its Blind Faith platform in the Gulf were transported and the facility had been shut. Blind Faith, located 160 miles (257.5 km) southeast of New Orleans, is Chevron's deepest water development in the world. It produces oil from four wells and has two flow lines that route crude and gas to a platform moored in 6,500 feet of water. Production from Chevron's other operated Gulf of Mexico assets remained at normal levels, it added. Oil and gas producer Woodside Energy (WDS.AX) , opens new tab said is monitoring weather conditions in the Gulf and plans to deploy a response plan to deal with the storm if required. The ports of Cedar Key and Sand Key in Florida were shut to vessel traffic, while Key West was preparing to close early on Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Navigation restrictions were imposed at almost all remaining ports in Florida, including Miami, Port Everglades, Palm Beach, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Fort Myers, SeaPort Manatee, Panama City, St. Joe, Port Canaveral, Jacksonville and Fernandina. Other ports in Mississippi and Alabama that handle oil and fuel imports and exports, including Pascagoula and Mobile, remained open on Monday, the Coast Guard said. LNG facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast are mostly out of the storm path. However, the United States exports marginal volumes of LNG in ISO containers from the ports of Miami and Fort Lauderdale data from the U.S. Energy Department shows. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ports-restrict-navigation-some-oil-facilities-shut-milton-approaches-florida-2024-10-07/

2024-10-07 21:03

Oct 7 (Reuters) - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Monday denounced Russian missile attacks on two vessels in its southern ports as a "deliberate terrorist tactic". "In just two days, Russian ballistic attacks damaged two civilian cargo vessels in Odesa....," Sybiha wrote on X. "This is a deliberate terrorist tactic. We must join forces of all responsible states and organisations to...ensure freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and global food security." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-foreign-minister-denounces-russian-terrorist-attacks-shipping-2024-10-07/