2025-12-17 20:02

WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. energy secretary signed an order on Tuesday to keep a unit open at TransAlta (TA.TO) , opens new tab coal power plant in Washington state through much of the winter, in the latest move by the Trump administration to support fossil fuels. The order directs unit 2 of the Centralia Generating Station to remain open. It has been scheduled to shut at the end of 2025, but the order is in effect until March 16, 2026. Sign up here. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Reuters in September that the administration expects that most of the country's coal plants will delay retirement to deliver electricity needed to fuel artificial intelligence. Wright said the U.S. government had been in discussions with utilities nationwide and expects the majority of the several dozen U.S. coal plants nearing retirement to delay closure. Coal releases more of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide when burned than any other fossil fuel. U.S. power generation from coal-burning plants has risen this year on electricity demand from manufacturing and artificial intelligence. Last month the administration of President Donald Trump ordered for a third time the J.H. Campbell coal-fired plant in Michigan to stay open, despite its majority owner saying doing so has already cost tens of millions of dollars. That plant is now set to keep running through mid February. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-orders-unit-transalta-coal-plant-washington-state-stay-open-2025-12-17/

2025-12-17 19:52

NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Over 585,000 homes and businesses were still without power on Wednesday as severe storms battered the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountains, according to data from PowerOutage.us. That was down from around 661,000 customers out earlier in the day as utilities in some states restored service. In total, the storm affected about 795,000 customers. Sign up here. The hardest-hit utilities included Puget Sound Energy in Washington State with around 126,000 of its roughly 1.29 million customers out and Portland General Electric (POR.N) , opens new tab in Oregon with around 80,000 of its roughly 445,700 customers out, according to PowerOutage.us. On its website, Puget Sound Energy said early morning reports from field crews are of a significant amount of damage, including wires down and uprooted trees. "We currently have 18 substations and 31 transmission lines offline," the utility said. "Weather conditions are expected to improve today ... We've brought in additional crews from outside our region and are working around the clock to restore service as quickly and safely as possible," Puget Sound Energy said. Here are the major outages by state: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/storms-knock-out-power-over-580000-homes-businesses-pacific-northwest-2025-12-17/

2025-12-17 19:42

BRUSSELS, Dec 17 (Reuters) - The European Union struck a provisional deal on Wednesday to set tighter controls on imports of farm products resulting from a planned trade agreement with South American bloc Mercosur, potentially meeting some complaints of critics of the deal. The EU and the bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay concluded negotiations last December to create the EU's largest ever trade accord , opens new tab in terms of tariff cuts, some 25 years after negotiations were launched. Sign up here. The deal has proven contentious. Countries led by France and Italy have said they are not ready to back the trade deal and have demanded additional measures to protect their farmers. The European Commission presented the accord , opens new tab for approval in September and sought to soften opposition by adding a mechanism that would allow Mercosur preferential access for some farm products, such as beef, poultry and sugar, to be suspended. It said the trigger for launching an investigation should be if the import volumes rose by more than 10% per year or prices fell by that amount in one or more EU members. However, the European Parliament voted on Tuesday for a lower trigger level of 5%, compared with a three-year average of imports. Negotiations started late on Wednesday on a compromise between representatives from the parliament and counterparts from the Council, the grouping of EU governments. In the end, they decided that 8% should be the trigger, the Danish presidency of the EU said. They also agreed a declaration spelling out EU measures to carry out checks, including in Mercosur countries, to support farmers and to insist that production standards such as on pesticides and animal health will be met. https://www.reuters.com/business/eu-reaches-initial-agreement-tighter-eu-mercosur-safeguards-2025-12-17/

2025-12-17 19:22

LONDON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - U.S. private equity giant Carlyle (CG.O) , opens new tab has hired Goldman Sachs (GS.N) , opens new tab to work on its bid for Lukoil assets, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday, as the race for the sanctioned Russian oil firm's overseas portfolio heats up. At least a dozen potential suitors have expressed interest in buying Lukoil (LKOH.MM) , opens new tab assets, including Carlyle, U.S. oil majors Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab and Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab, Abu Dhabi conglomerate IHC, and Saudi Arabia's Midad Energy, sources have said. Sign up here. Both Carlyle and Goldman Sachs declined to comment. Lukoil is looking to sell its foreign assets after the United States crippled its operations with new sanctions in October aimed at pressuring Russia to end its war in Ukraine. The U.S. Treasury has said any buyer would need its clearance for the purchase and has given Lukoil until January 17 to conclude talks. The assets are valued at about $22 billion, spanning oilfields, refineries and thousands of fuel stations worldwide. Carlyle - one of the world's biggest private equity, alternative asset management and financial services firms - has $474 billion of assets under management, including $20 billion across oil, gas, power, renewables and infrastructure. The U.S. Treasury has already blocked two bidders - Gunvor and U.S. bank Xtellus Partners - from buying Lukoil assets, highlighting the geopolitical hurdles involved in a potential acquisition. https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/carlyle-hires-goldman-sachs-lukoil-asset-bid-2025-12-17/

2025-12-17 18:06

Waller sees room for rate cuts amid job market weakness Fed's recent rate cut aimed to balance job risks, high inflation Waller emphasizes labor market focus over inflation concerns NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Wednesday the U.S. central bank still has room to cut interest rates amid rising job market weakness. "I still think we're probably, you know, maybe we're 50 to 100 basis points off of neutral," which means the Fed still has room to cut interest rates if it needs to, Waller said at the Yale School of Management CEO Summit in New York. Sign up here. Given the outlook, "there's no rush to get down" on interest rates, Waller said, and "we just can steadily kind of bring the policy rate down towards neutral." The job market is not showing dramatic declines, but it is continuing to "soften," Waller said, so when it comes to further interest rate cuts, "we can go at a moderate pace, I don't think we have to do anything dramatic." Waller's comments at the event were his first public remarks since the Fed last week cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to the 3.50%-3.75% range, as it sought to balance rising risks to the job market against an environment where inflation is still well above its 2% target. There's an active debate among market participants and central bankers as to whether the Fed should cut interest rates again at its late January policy meeting. Waller, although he said the likely path for monetary policy remains toward lower rates, did not say anything about the timing of another rate cut. Waller's view that monetary policy is still exerting restraint on the economy stands in contrast to the view of Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The Fed leader said after the meeting that rate cuts done since September put monetary policy "within a range of plausible estimates of neutral," in comments that declined to tip his hand about the prospect of another rate cut. The Fed's decision was fractured, with two policymakers arguing that the Fed should hold borrowing costs steady, while one wanted a bigger cut than most officials favored. EARLY DOVE Waller, who voted with his colleagues in favor of a rate cut, has been one of the Fed's most steadfast advocates for easier monetary policy, arguing that the Trump administration's tariffs would not drive persistent inflation pressures at a time when job market risks have been rising. Waller, who is on the short list of possible successors to Fed Chair Jerome Powell next year, said new data bolsters his view that supporting the labor market should be the focus of U.S. monetary policy. "We're close to zero job growth" and "that's not a healthy labor market," he said. Waller said the Fed's string of rate cuts in the final four months of 2025 have helped offset some of the risks to hiring, and the prospect of a stronger economy next year on fiscal policy changes and less uncertainty should also help hiring. "The critical thing for me is the employment leg of our dual mandate, and inflation will come back down," he said. In his remarks, Waller also said that the Fed's decision at the FOMC meeting to start buying a large amount of Treasury bills to manage market liquidity needs is not a form of stimulus. The Fed said it will buy the short-dated Treasuries in aggressive amounts for a few months ahead of April's tax date, after which it will likely reduce the pace. "This is just a temporary adjustment to get reserves up to protect against taxes. It's not QE," Waller said, in reference to stimulative bond buying referred to as quantitative easing. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/feds-waller-says-monetary-policy-still-restrictive-territory-fed-has-room-cut-2025-12-17/

2025-12-17 17:50

WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Ray Dalio will help fund the Trump administration's investment accounts for certain children in Connecticut Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday as another firm vowed to match employee contributions. Dalio's commitment is part of an effort to secure additional outside donors in every U.S. state. Twenty other U.S. states are considering adding state funds to the federally-seeded accounts, Bessent said at an event on the program for children born between 2025 and 2028. Sign up here. The initiative was created this year under President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act and has sparked a scramble by financial firms looking to participate. The U.S. Treasury will deposit $1,000 into investment accounts for all children born between 2025 and 2028. Separately, investment firm BlackRock (BLK.N) , opens new tab on Wednesday became the latest company to say they would match the U.S. government's $1,000 contribution for its employees. Charter Communications (CHTR.O) , opens new tab, BNY (BK.N) , opens new tab, Block (XYZ.N) , opens new tab, Uber (UBER.N) , opens new tab, Visa (V.N) , opens new tab and Mastercard (MA.N) , opens new tab are also supporting the accounts, according to the administration. Entrepreneur Michael Dell and his wife, Susan, have also said they would donate another $250 in the accounts of 25 million American children in a $6.25 billion philanthropic pledge backing the initiative. Dalio, in a post on X, said he would donate about $75 million to match the Dells' $250 contribution for about 300,000 children in Connecticut, adding: "We are hopeful other philanthropists and leaders will join this effort by contributing to similar initiatives in their home states." The Invest America accounts are expected to open on July 4, 2026, but details about how they will work are still unknown. It's also unclear how they could help boost savings for lower-income Americans. The funds—required to be invested in an index fund that mirrors the performance of the broader stock market—become available at the age of 18 for education, job training, a first home or starting a business. Internal Revenue Service Chief Executive Officer Frank Bisignano said more details about the accounts are expected soon. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/investor-ray-dalio-help-fund-trump-accounts-some-children-2025-12-17/