2025-10-28 12:23

Demand outlook for data centre equipment below expectations Energy storage unit hit by US tariffs and regulation Wartsila maintains marine outlook despite IMO setback HELSINKI, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Wartsila (WRT1V.HE) , opens new tab still believes the decarbonisation of marine traffic will continue despite a delay to establishing a global carbon price for shipping, its CEO said on Tuesday, as it reported third-quarter order intake below market expectations. The Finnish engineering group, one of the world's biggest ship engine makers, has invested in emissions reduction technologies for ships and power plants. It expects higher demand for those under the International Maritime Organisation's climate plan. Sign up here. However, a decision on a global price on shipping emissions was delayed by a year earlier this month under U.S. pressure. ENERGY STORAGE 'HEAVILY IMPACTED' BY US TARIFFS, REGULATIONS Though quarterly order intake fell 0.7% year-on-year to 1.79 billion euros ($2.09 billion), Hakan Agnevall told Reuters Wartsila had not seen any negative impact on orders as a result of the IMO delay. "The decarbonisation journey continues," he said. "We continue to sell, because [ship] owners want to kind of hedge their bets. They want the fuel flexibility, and they certainly want the fuel efficiency." Instead, Agnevall said, among other factors, orders had been dented by Wartsila's energy storage business being "heavily impacted" by U.S. import duties and Foreign Entity of Concern , opens new tab regulation. The energy storage unit accounted for 12% of the company's sales last year. But Agnevall said it received no new orders in the third quarter after FEOC regulation included in U.S. President Donald Trump's so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act", banned the import of Chinese-made battery cells to the United States in July. To mitigate the impact, Wartsila is now looking at sourcing battery cells from the U.S. or other Asian countries, he said. Company shares fell 2% in afternoon trading, as investors had expected higher growth and a better outlook, especially for energy equipment orders. "This may be disappointing for investors who were expecting Wartsila to upgrade the demand outlook on potential upside from data centre orders," JPM analysts wrote in a note, referring to Wartsila leaving its energy demand outlook unchanged. Despite the IMO setback, Wartsila also left its marine outlook unchanged, expecting higher demand. "There will be a journey to a more fragmented regulatory landscape, because countries and regions will have their own frameworks," Agnevall said. ($1 = 0.8575 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/finlands-wartsila-books-fewer-orders-than-expected-tariffs-hit-energy-storage-2025-10-28/

2025-10-28 12:23

Oct 28 (Reuters) - United Parcel Service (UPS.N) , opens new tab posted better-than-expected results on Tuesday, in an early positive sign of the company's overhaul following several difficult quarters of weak volumes. Shares of the company rose 12.1% in premarket trading, with rival FedEx (FDX.N) , opens new tab also gaining 3.2%. UPS shares are down about 28% since the start of the year. Sign up here. The profit beat and the forecast signal progress in UPS' efforts to rebuild margins and stabilize volumes after a bruising year marked by tariff-related volume slump, the end of "de minimis" exemptions and rising costs. The company projected revenue to be about $24 billion for the fourth quarter. Analysts on average were expecting quarterly revenue of $23.8 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. The return of fourth-quarter guidance, and one that tops Wall Street expectations, could prompt investors who had bet against the stock to buy back shares, said Evercore ISI analyst Jonathan Chappell, adding that expectations were "very low" going into the results. The world's biggest parcel delivery firm is now leaning on rate hikes, cost cuts and a sharper focus on high-margin shipments to steady its business ahead of the crucial holiday season. The company has accelerated efforts to reduce the number of packages it delivers for its top customer, Amazon.com (AMZN.O) , opens new tab, to boost its profit margins. The small package delivery business that UPS dominates is also under pressure from frozen corporate decision-making and subdued consumer sentiment as they adapt to the economic fallout from President Donald Trump's changing trade policies. The peak holiday shipping and return season, when UPS daily average volumes can double, spans from November to the end of January. LEASH ON COSTS UPS has been shuttering hundreds of facilities, slashing thousands of jobs , opens new tab and offering buyouts to its union drivers as part of its largest-ever overhaul aimed at reducing $3.5 billion in costs in 2025. Like UPS, FedEx has been cutting costs to protect its margins, a move that helped it deliver quarterly results above Wall Street expectations in September, despite the removal of "de minimis" exemptions for China and Hong Kong, which reduced revenue by about $150 million. UPS reported an adjusted profit of $1.74 per share for the three months ended September 30, beating analysts' average expectations of $1.30. The Atlanta-based company reported consolidated revenue of $21.41 billion, above expectations of $20.83 billion. It reported an adjusted consolidated operating margin of 10%, up from 8.8% in the second quarter. That margin was 6.4%, down from 7% in the second quarter, in the domestic segment, its largest. The company expects adjusted operating margin for the fourth quarter to be between 11% and 11.5%. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/ups-posts-fall-quarterly-profit-2025-10-28/

2025-10-28 12:22

TOKYO, Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said there was a long list of people who could take over the Federal Reserve, slamming current chairman Jerome Powell as the central bank prepared to meet this week. "We have an incompetent head of the Fed... we got a bad Fed guy, but he'll be out of there in a few months, and we'll get somebody new," Trump told business leaders at a dinner in Tokyo during his week-long trip to Asia. Powell's term ends in May. Sign up here. The Republican president added that he had wanted Scott Bessent to take over the U.S. central bank but that his Treasury chief declined: "I'm thinking about him for the Fed... but he won't take the job. He likes being Treasury (secretary), so we're not thinking about him really." On Monday, Bessent told reporters there were five finalists: White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, current Fed Governor Christopher Waller, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and BlackRock executive Rick Rieder. Bessent has said he will present the top candidates to Trump in December. At their meeting this week, Federal Reserve policymakers are widely expected to reduce U.S. short-term borrowing costs for the second time this year in an effort to prevent further slowing in the labor market. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-slams-fed-chair-eyes-replacement-few-months-2025-10-28/

2025-10-28 11:54

Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. pork processor Smithfield Foods (SFD.O) , opens new tab posted a jump in third-quarter revenue and profit on Tuesday, benefiting from resilient demand for higher-priced packaged meats and fresh pork. Smithfield, the biggest pork processor in the U.S., also raised the midpoint of its annual profit forecast range, sending its shares up 6.7% before the bell. Sign up here. Its strong quarterly results reflect a steady market for protein-rich staples such as pork, meat cuts and sausages, as persistent inflation and still-high cost-of-living prompt consumers to prioritize home-cooked meals. "Despite persistent higher raw material costs and cautious consumer spending, our Packaged Meats segment posted the second-best third-quarter profit on record," CEO Shane Smith said. Smithfield has been working to rein in its expenses amid a spike in raw material costs and cautious consumer spending. Meanwhile, higher prices from President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs have further dampened sentiment. The Virginia-based company said in August it had resumed exports to China that had been crippled by import duties. In China, imports of U.S. pork face a 57% tariff, according to industry data. The meatpacker now expects annual adjusted operating profit in the range of $1.23 billion to $1.33 billion, compared with its prior forecast of $1.15 billion to $1.35 billion. It maintained its 2025 sales forecast of a low-to-mid-single-digit percentage rise from a year earlier. Operating profit in its largest packaged meats segment fell 5.7% in the third quarter, while profits in the fresh pork division posted a nearly 64% drop. The company's sales rose 12.4% to $3.75 billion in the quarter ended September 28. It earned quarterly profit of 58 cents per share on an adjusted basis from continuing operations, compared with 53 cents a year earlier. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/smithfield-foods-quarterly-sales-profit-rise-steady-demand-meat-2025-10-28/

2025-10-28 11:51

Half a million people evacuated in Cuba Hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans without power Parts of western Jamaica 'underwater,' minister says Southwest Jamaica was battered by Beryl last year KINGSTON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Hurricane Melissa churned toward Cuba's second-largest city with the force of a powerful Category 4 storm on Tuesday, hours after making landfall in neighboring Jamaica as the strongest-ever cyclone on record to hit that Caribbean island nation. Melissa roared ashore near Jamaica's southwestern town of New Hope, packing sustained winds of up to 185 mph (295 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, well above the minimum 157 mph (252 kph) wind speed of a Category 5 storm, the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale. Sign up here. In southwestern Jamaica, the parish of St. Elizabeth was left "underwater," an official said, with more than 500,000 residents without power. "The reports that we have had so far would include damage to hospitals, significant damage to residential property, housing and commercial property as well, and damage to our road infrastructure," Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness said on CNN after the storm had passed. Holness said the government had not received any confirmed storm-related fatalities, but given the strength of the hurricane and the extent of the damage, "we are expecting that there would be some loss of life." Melissa's winds subsided to 145 mph (233 kph), the NHC said, as the storm drifted past the mountainous island, lashing highland communities vulnerable to landslides and flooding. The hurricane was forecast to curve to the northeast on a trajectory toward Santiago de Cuba, Cuba's second-most populous city. "We should already be feeling its main influence this afternoon and evening," Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a message published in state newspaper Granma, calling on citizens to heed evacuation orders. "There will be a lot of work to do. We know that this cyclone will cause significant damage." Cuban authorities said some 500,000 people were ordered to move to higher ground. In the Bahamas, next in Melissa's path to the northeast, the government ordered evacuations of residents in southern portions of that archipelago. Farther to the east, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic had faced days of torrential downpours leading to at least four deaths, authorities there said. Local media reported at least three deaths in Jamaica during storm preparations, and a disaster coordinator suffered a stroke in the onset of the storm and was rushed to hospital. Late Tuesday, many areas remained cut off. JAMAICA'S 'STORM OF THE CENTURY' No stranger to hurricanes, Jamaica had never before been known to take a direct hit from a Category 4 or 5 storm, and the government called for foreign aid even as it prepared for Melissa's arrival. Meteorologists at AccuWeather said Melissa ranked as the third most intense hurricane observed in the Caribbean after Wilma in 2005 and Gilbert in 1988 - the last major storm to make landfall in Jamaica. "It's a catastrophic situation," the World Meteorological Organization's tropical cyclone specialist Anne-Claire Fontan told a press briefing, warning of storm surges up to 4 meters high. "For Jamaica, it will be the storm of the century for sure." Colin Bogle, an adviser to aid group Mercy Corps in Portmore, near Jamaica's capital of Kingston, said he had heard a loud explosion in the morning before everything went dark. Sheltering with his grandmother, he heard relentless noise and saw trees violently tossed in the wind. "People are scared. Memories of Hurricane Gilbert run deep, and there is frustration that Jamaica continues to face the worst consequences of a climate crisis we did not cause," he said. Scientists warn that storms are intensifying faster with greater frequency as a result of warming ocean waters. Many Caribbean leaders have called on wealthy, heavy-polluting nations to provide reparations in the form of aid or debt relief to tropical island countries. Melissa's size and strength ballooned as it churned over unusually tepid Caribbean waters, but forecasters warned that its slow movement could prove particularly destructive. Food aid will be critical, Bogle said, as well as tools, vehicle parts and seeds for farmers. Like last year's devastating Hurricane Beryl, Melissa crossed over some of Jamaica's most productive agricultural zones. On Monday, Holness said the government had an emergency budget of $33 million and insurance and credit provisions for damage a little greater than Beryl. 'LIKE A ROARING LION' Melissa made landfall in southwestern Jamaica, near the parish border between Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth, one of the areas hardest-hit by Beryl. St. Elizabeth was submerged by flooding, local government minister Desmond McKenzie told a press briefing. Its only public hospital lost power and reported severe damage to one of its buildings. Several families were known to have been stranded in their homes, but rescue teams managed to reach one group that included four babies, McKenzie said. In Portland Cottage, some 150 km (94 miles) away from where Melissa made landfall, Collin Henry McDonald, 64, a retiree, told Reuters as the storm advanced that his community was seeing strong rain and winds, but his concrete roof was holding steady. "It's like a roaring lion. It's mad. Really mad," he said. Around 15,000 Jamaicans were in temporary shelters by late Tuesday, McKenzie said. The government had issued mandatory evacuation orders for 28,000 people, but many were reluctant to leave their homes. The International Federation of the Red Cross said up to 1.5 million people in Jamaica were expected to be directly affected by the storm. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/wmo-says-hurricane-melissa-will-be-jamaicas-worst-storm-this-century-2025-10-28/

2025-10-28 11:49

US excludes Rosneft Germany from Russia sanctions Investors assess impact of US sanctions on Russian oil firms Indian refiners halt new Russian oil orders, sources say OPEC+ considering modest output increase in December HOUSTON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped about 2% on Tuesday, marking a third straight day of declines as investors considered the impact of U.S. sanctions against Russia's two biggest oil companies on global supply, along with a potential OPEC+ plan to raise output. Brent crude futures settled down $1.22, or 1.9%, to $64.40 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled down $1.16, or 1.9%, at $60.15. Sign up here. Brent and WTI last week registered their biggest weekly gains since June, reacting to U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to impose Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term, targeting major oil companies Lukoil (LKOH.MM) , opens new tab and Rosneft (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab. The U.S. government has provided written assurances that the German business of Russia's Rosneft would be exempt from the sanctions because the assets are no longer under Russian control, Germany's economy minister said. "Trump giving Germany this waiver gives the impression that there could be more wiggle room on these sanctions, so this is taking away some of the immediate concerns that supplies could dramatically tighten. We definitely saw some risk-off (trading) today," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group. The effect of sanctions on oil-exporting countries will be limited because of surplus capacity, Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, said on Tuesday. Following the U.S. sanctions, Russia's second-largest oil producer, Lukoil, said on Monday it would sell its international assets. This move is the most consequential action so far by a Russian company in the wake of Western sanctions over Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine, which started in February 2022. Moscow-headquartered Lukoil accounts for around 2% of global oil output. INDIAN REFINERS HALT NEW ORDERS Indian refiners have not placed new orders for Russian oil purchases since the sanctions were imposed, as they await clarity from the government and suppliers, sources told Reuters on Tuesday. OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, is leaning toward another modest output boost in December, four sources familiar with the talks told Reuters. Having curbed production for several years to support the oil market, the group started reversing those cuts in April. "This raises the larger question as to how much spare capacity OPEC+ really has left," Flynn said. The CEO of Saudi Arabian state oil company Aramco said on Tuesday crude oil demand was strong even before sanctions were imposed on Rosneft and Lukoil, and that Chinese demand was still healthy. Rising OPEC+ output could help offset any curtailment to Russian barrels following U.S. sanctions, said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. Investors are mulling the prospect of a trade deal between the U.S. and China, the world's two biggest oil consumers, with Trump and President Xi Jinping due to meet on Thursday in South Korea. Beijing hopes Washington can meet it halfway to "prepare for high-level interactions" between the two countries, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a phone call on Monday. U.S. crude, gasoline and distillate stocks fell last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Crude stocks fell by 4.02 million barrels in the week ended October 24, the sources said on condition of anonymity. Gasoline inventories fell by 6.35 million barrels, while distillate inventories fell by 4.36 million barrels from a week earlier, the sources said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-dips-opec-output-plans-offset-us-china-trade-optimism-2025-10-28/