2024-10-03 22:29

WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. nuclear power regulator has not acted on recommendations to address radiological security risks to the economy and society including those from "dirty bombs", the U.S. Congress's watchdog agency said on Thursday. The Government Accountability Office said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has not implemented 11 of the 18 recommendations it has made to address gaps in how the agency regulates fissile nuclear materials. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The GAO said that the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security agree the social and economic consequences of a radiological disaster like a dirty bomb could be devastating. A dirty bomb is a crude atomic weapon that militants could devise in the unlikely, but possible, event they gain access to small amounts of fissile materials in the nuclear supply chain. Such a weapon could cause upwards of $30 billion in damages, it said. The NRC sets regulations based strictly on the radioactive materials' immediate health effects and does not consider the likely social and economic consequences of a dirty bomb, it said. KEY QUOTE "NRC has no plans to implement the recommendations to remediate these gaps, even though we demonstrated gaps in its regulations that bad actors can exploit. For example, in 2021-2022 we created fake businesses to fraudulently obtain radioactive materials," the GAO said. THE RESPONSE The NRC "continues to consider prompt fatalities and deterministic health effects from radiation as the primary consequences of concern for assessing the risk of a so-called 'dirty bomb,'" a spokesperson said. "The current regulatory requirements provide for the safe and secure use of radioactive materials regardless of their category," the spokesperson added. WHAT'S NEXT The GAO said it recommended congressional action to close the gaps. But with the U.S. Congress being narrowly divided and having a crowded legislative calendar, it is uncertain when, or if, it would take up the issue. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-nuclear-power-regulator-urged-address-dirty-bomb-risks-society-economy-2024-10-03/

2024-10-03 22:21

Retailers like Levi and Costco plan to shift routes, use air freight to avoid delays Newell Brands offers to boost production to mitigate supply chain disruptions Toy companies rely more on West Coast ports Consumers engage in panic buying, fearing shortages and price hikes Oct 3 (Reuters) - Major U.S. retailers from Levi Strauss (LEVI.N) , opens new tab to Costco (COST.O) , opens new tab are preparing alternative shipping plans to ensure goods arrive in time for the peak holiday season as an East Coast and Gulf Coast ports strike drags on. Long lines of container ships queued up outside major U.S. ports on Thursday as the biggest dockworker strike in nearly half a century entered its third day, preventing unloading and threatening shortages of everything from bananas to auto parts. Retailers account for about half of all container shipping volume, with Walmart (WMT.N) , opens new tab, IKEA, and Home Depot (HD.N) , opens new tab among those that heavily rely on the East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, according to eMarketer analyst Sky Canaves. According to bill of lading data from Import Yeti, a data firm, some of the importers relying on affected ports range from IKEA to Walmart and Goodyear Tire & Rubber (GT.O) , opens new tab. Jeans maker Levi, which gets most of its products into the United States through the East Coast from Asia, said it had made alternate plans, such as shifting routes to the U.S. West Coast, prioritizing certain ports and using air freight. As of November 2023, Levi had 1,172 company-operated stores in 37 countries, with 412 stores in the Americas. Levi is not alone in this strategy. Costco had contingency plans in place including pre-shipping some products to get in holiday goods early and preparing to use different ports, it said last week. Newell Brands (NWL.O) , opens new tab, which makes cleaning equipment like Rubbermaid mops, garbage cans and buckets, contacted retailers like Walmart and Lowe's (LOW.N) , opens new tab this week offering to step up production if necessary, said CEO Chris Peterson in an interview on Wednesday. Atlanta-based Newell manufactures most Rubbermaid products domestically, while competitors may get held up at ports, Peterson said. He said the retailers "will let us know if they need us to surge in and help." The manufacturer in the short-term could boost production of some goods by 50%, Peterson said. "We have safety stock built up," he said. In the medium and longer term, the company could increase capacity by about 20%, he added. SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES Coffee is among the goods arriving to the United States through the East Coast ports, with shipments already disrupted and prices rising. Folgers coffee maker J.M. Smucker (SJM.N) , opens new tab said it had strategies in place to address potential supply chain challenges such as confirming the amount of inventory it already has available to ship to retailers, adjusting production plans to maximize manufacturing finished goods and evaluating re-routing shipments to the West Coast. "If the strike lingers, it will be difficult for retailers to form a plan B without fear of being stuck with excess inventory once the strike ends," said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors. "Depending on how long the strike lasts, many retailers and auto lots may reduce holiday sales events because they won't have enough goods available," he added. Toy makers Mattel (MAT.O) , opens new tab and Hasbro (HAS.O) , opens new tab have limited exposure as they get most of their supplies from China via the West Coast ports, especially Los Angeles, said Linda Bolton Weiser of D.A. Davidson. Walmart (WMT.N) , opens new tab, the world's largest retailer by sales, has said it was prepared for unforeseen disruptions in its supply chain and has maintained additional sources of supply to ensure it has key products available. Fearing shortages, some consumers have been buying extra paper products such as toilet paper, paper towels, pasta and frozen dinners, according to some local retailers. Most paper products are manufactured domestically, however. Upmarket grocery chain Gristedes witnessed some panic buying of toilet paper and water bottles at some of its Manhattan stores since the strike began. CEO John Catsimatidis said it was now ensuring that these products are well stocked. "We're already noticing that water sales doubled yesterday, pasta sales doubled, frozen steaks doubled, frozen dinners doubled," Stew Leonard Jr., the chief executive of New York grocery chain Stew Leonard's, said on Thursday. "Sales of toilet paper tripled." Nakia, an associate at Target (TGT.N) , opens new tab in Manhattan who declined to give her last name, said that she has noticed shoppers picking up extra paper towels, tissues and canned food. The store shelves were fully stocked. When consumers expect prices to rise or goods to become scarce they can behave in ways - like panic buying - that causes prices to rise. "What I am more worried about is how it impacts inflation expectations," said Yelena Shulyatyeva, a senior economist with BNP Paribas in New York. "It is very fresh in the memory – the supply chain disruptions (during the COVID pandemic) and how consumers look at it and how companies try to incorporate it." Conagra Brands (CAG.N) , opens new tab CEO Sean Connolly said he expects the company to be able to manage through any disruptions without any significant impact as it had worked with suppliers in advance. "A modest strike would not result in significant increases in cost or in-transit times, as we've been pulling forward volumes throughout the summer and we've received our holiday inventory," a Tapestry spokesperson told Reuters. Home Depot said it was closely assessing the situation, similar to Nike (NKE.N) , opens new tab, which also said the strikes were a possible risk. Birkenstock (BIRK.N) , opens new tab declined to comment while Best Buy (BBY.N) , opens new tab, Target and the dollar chains did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "It doesn't look like things are promising at the East Coast (ports)... We are planning for the worst," Gristedes' Catsimatidis said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/us-retailers-look-back-up-shipping-plans-prep-holidays-strike-continues-2024-10-03/

2024-10-03 22:08

CHICAGO, Oct 3 (Reuters) - California, the biggest U.S. milk-producing state, on Thursday confirmed two human cases of bird flu in people who had contact with dairy cattle infected by the virus. The cases bring total U.S. bird flu infections among people in contact with dairy cows and poultry to 15 this year. Another person in Missouri who had no immediate known contact with animals has also tested positive. The virus' jump to cattle in 14 states and infections of farm workers have concerned scientists and federal officials about the risks to humans from further spread. There is no known link or contact between the two human cases in California, suggesting only animal-to-human spread of the virus in the state, the California Department of Public Health said in a statement. One infected person, identified as a dairy worker, only suffered conjunctivitis, or pink eye, the department said. The person is being treated with antiviral medication and staying home, it added. The person works at a Central Valley dairy facility suffering an outbreak of bird flu in cattle, according to the statement. The second person also was described as a Central Valley individual and experienced mild symptoms, including conjunctivitis, the department said. It said neither person reported respiratory symptoms nor was hospitalized. Cows at dairy farms in California began testing positive for bird flu in late August. Pasteurized milk and dairy products continue to be safe to consume, the department said. "The risk to the general public remains low, although people who interact with infected animals are at higher risk of getting bird flu," the department said. Missouri last month confirmed bird flu in a person with underlying medical conditions who had no immediate known animal exposure. Six healthcare workers who cared for the Missouri patient developed respiratory symptoms, but the virus was not confirmed in any of them. Scientists are watching closely for signs that the virus has begun to spread more easily in people. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it would begin testing raw cow's milk intended for pasteurization at dairy plants to better understand the prevalence of the bird flu virus in milk. Participation in the study, set to begin Oct. 28, is voluntary and pasteurized dairy products remain safe to consume, the agency said. Prior FDA testing of retail dairy samples came back negative, and more such testing is underway. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/california-reports-bird-flu-two-people-contact-with-infected-cows-2024-10-03/

2024-10-03 21:50

Oct 4 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. What comes down must go up. And so it is with oil, whose rise on escalating fears over a deepening conflict in the Middle East is casting an increasingly dark shadow over world markets as the week draws to a close. Brent crude leaped more than 5% on Thursday for its biggest rise in a year, bringing the week-to-date gains to more than 8%. If oil holds steady on Friday, it will clock its biggest weekly rise since January last year. It's true that oil's rebound is coming from a low base and prices are back to where they were only a month ago, but world stocks and investors' risk appetite are beginning to feel the heat. The oil price is still around 10% lower than it was a year ago and has been negative on a year-on-year basis since July, a dynamic that has highlighted the mounting disinflationary pressures around the world. But it was down nearly 30% year-on-year only a few weeks ago. If geopolitical tensions persist and oil continues to rise, investors may need to rethink their inflation outlooks. U.S. Treasury yields are rising and the yield curve is steepening, led by the long end, which suggests longer-term inflation worries may be creeping into investors' minds. For Asia, the tailwinds from China's stimulus bonanza last week appear to be fading in the face of growing headwinds from oil and risk aversion. Another notable consequence of escalating geopolitical tensions is the burst of safe-haven demand for the U.S. dollar. The dollar index on Thursday hit a six-week high, and is on track for its biggest weekly rise since April. Put the two together - higher Treasury yields and a stronger dollar - and it's not a particularly attractive backdrop for Asian markets. Especially on a Friday, a day after the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index hit its highest level since January 2022. The Asian economic calendar on Friday is fairly light, with consumer inflation from the Philippines, retail sales data from Singapore, services purchasing managers index and manufacturing PMI reports from India and Hong Kong, respectively, as the main releases. Global events are likely to set the market tone on Friday. Investors in Asia may also be of a mind to play it safe ahead of the U.S. non-farm payrolls report for September out of Washington on Friday morning. This and the October data will go a long way to determining the size of the expected interest rate cut in early November. Rates futures market pricing is currently evenly split over a 25 or 50 basis point cut. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to Asian markets on Friday: - Philippines inflation (September) - India services PMI (September) - Singapore retail sales (August) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-pix-2024-10-03/

2024-10-03 21:44

Oct 3 (Reuters) - A slump in oil prices probably reduced Exxon Mobil's (XOM.N) , opens new tab third-quarter upstream earnings by $600 million to $1 billion, the oil major signaled in a regulatory filing published on Thursday. Oil prices fell by 17% in the third quarter, the largest quarterly decline in a year, on worries about the global oil demand outlook. Brent futures settled at $71.77 a barrel on the last trading day of the quarter. The company, in its earnings snapshot, indicated weaker refining margins during the quarter would also hurt profits by up to $1 billion. Global fuel markets have been hit by softer consumer and industrial demand, especially in China where economic growth is slowing and electric vehicle use is on the rise. Shares of Exxon closed at $122.58 each on Thursday. They were up just a 1 cent in after hours trading. Exxon posted $7.07 billion in upstream earnings for the second quarter and a net profit of $9.1 billion in the year-ago third quarter, or $2.25 per share. Analysts expect the industry giant to post an adjusted profit of $1.97 per share in the third quarter, according to estimates compiled by LSEG. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exxon-mobil-signals-fall-third-quarter-oil-gas-earnings-2024-10-03/

2024-10-03 21:27

ASHEVILLE, North Carolina, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The river that runs through Asheville, North Carolina, is littered with artwork drifting downstream after deadly floods from Hurricane Helene decimated the mountain city's arts district, a linchpin of tourism in the area that some residents fear will never recover. Some of the 300 artists and designers who work out of 26 buildings along the banks of the French Broad River have spent the past few days shoveling out mud and trying to salvage paintings, pottery and jewelry. Some fear the district may never be the same. Fine arts photographer Karen Maugans, 61, said floodwaters swept her framed photos out of her gallery's windows and sent them downriver along with furnishings. "I'm numb right now," she said. "It's unreal. This doesn't happen here. Every single thing I had was underwater." Her gallery was on the first floor of a two-story building that saw floodwaters as high as the roof, she said. Located along a one-mile (1.6-km) stretch of Asheville, the River Arts District has been the heart of Buncombe County's tourism industry, filled with breweries, shops and cafes and offering workshops for hobbyists and aspiring artists. Tourism made up one-fifth of the county's total gross domestic product in 2023, according to Explore Asheville. The arts district generated $1 billion in sales and supported 8,500 jobs, according to data from Arts AVL, the designated arts agency for Buncombe County. But with many local businesses in ruins – and local and state officials facing months of costly cleanup work to restore ravaged roads, power and water systems – that tourist revenue and the future of the art galleries, breweries and restaurants is under serious threat. "A lot of our businesses were just beginning to recover from closures during COVID," said Katie Cornell, executive director of Arts AVL. "I'm afraid this is going to make COVID look like a cakewalk." Pottery artist Michael Hofmann's studio escaped major damage, but he has doubts about whether the district can ever resemble what it was before the storm. "I was already concerned about the face of the River Arts District because the developers were coming in and buying up the land and putting up these huge apartment complexes," he said in an interview. "The land was more valuable and the rents were going up." Helene came ashore in Florida last week as a major Category 4 hurricane. The storm has killed at least 200 people across six states, according to CNN, making it one of the deadliest U.S. hurricanes since 2000, trailing Maria in 2017 and Katrina in 2005. It pulverized many communities nestled in the forested Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and neighboring Tennessee. Restoring roads and power and water systems will take weeks or months. In Asheville, the storm-swollen river reached 25 feet (7.6 meters), breaking the 23-foot (7-meter) record set in 1895, according to the National Water Prediction Service. Some of the arts district's buildings have been reduced to rubble. Others are off-limits, with city officials warning tenants they may collapse. Many of the artists there work multiple jobs and live hand-to-mouth to make their rent. Broken art frames and wooden pallets still littered the ground on Thursday. An odor of mud and chemicals washed downstream filled the air as a few mud-caked artists loaded a dumpster with broken furniture. The district was once home to stockyards, tanneries, cotton mills, meat processing plants, and shoe and furniture factories. Urban renewal in the 1960s and 1970s displaced many of the Black-owned businesses from the area. Artists began moving into the district in 1985, and it received official designation in 2005. Jeffrey Burroughs, the president of the River Arts District Artists association, called it the "gem of the city." "It's tough going," Burroughs said. "I'd say 80 percent of the arts district is mostly rubble now. Whole studios went down the river. The water filled us up like a bowl." The district is in a floodplain in one of the lowest-lying areas of the city, and some artists fear there will be restrictions on rebuilding or that chain stores will take over buildings. Burroughs, who owns a jewelry gallery in the district, said some tenants in intact buildings were offering to share their gallery space with less fortunate neighbors. The painter Mark Bettis has a gallery that survived the storm, and has been helping his neighbors pick through the debris. "We're worried that some big-box stores could gobble this up, change the flavor of the district," Bettis said. "But we're mountain strong. I'm hoping enough of this will survive, or Asheville is changed forever." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/will-ashevilles-once-booming-riverfront-art-district-ever-recover-helene-2024-10-03/