2025-12-08 21:23

Dec 8 (Reuters) - Pipeline operator Kinder Morgan (KMI.N) , opens new tab said on Monday it expects growth in 2026 profit compared with the 2025 forecast on the back of strong natural gas demand. Shares of the company were up 1% at $27.57 in after-market trading. Sign up here. A rise in LNG exports and a surge in power consumption from data centers dedicated to artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency have raised demand for natural gas. Kinder Morgan has long-term contracts to move 8 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of natural gas to LNG facilities and expects to move 12 bcfd by 2028. The Houston, Texas-based company forecast an adjusted profit of $1.37 per share for 2026, which is about 8% higher than its forecast for 2025. Analysts expect the company to post a profit of $1.38 per share in 2026, according to data compiled by LSEG. Kinder Morgan, one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America, operates about 79,000 miles of pipelines. "We are projecting an annualized dividend of $1.19 for 2026, marking the ninth consecutive year of dividend increases," said CEO Kim Dang. The company also said it plans to invest about $3.4 billion in discretionary capital expenditures, including expansion projects and contributions to joint ventures, compared to a forecast of $2.3 billion for 2025. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/kinder-morgan-expects-higher-2026-profit-strong-natural-gas-demand-2025-12-08/

2025-12-08 20:53

Dec 8 (Reuters) - Britain posted a new wind generation record, producing enough power for more than 23 million homes, the National Energy System Operator said on Monday. NESO highlighted that wind generated 23,825 megawatts of electricity at 1730 GMT on December 5, beating the previous high of 22,711 MW set on November 11. At the time, wind supplied 47.4% of Britain's electricity demand. Sign up here. Britain now hosts five of the world's largest offshore wind farms, and in July set a solar generation record of 14 GW, accounting for nearly 40% of power generation at the time, NESO added. NESO said the country's 47 operational offshore wind farms provide nearly 17% of national electricity output. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/britain-records-new-wind-power-generation-record-neso-says-2025-12-08/

2025-12-08 20:50

MILAN, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank urged Rome on Monday to reconsider a proposed amendment that would say the Bank of Italy's gold reserves belong to the Italian people, warning the move could jeopardise the central bank's independence. In a document published on its website, the ECB reiterated its objections to the idea. Italy has reworded the amendment twice and the latest draft clarifies that the measure does not override European Union rules protecting central bank independence. Sign up here. Italy's gold reserves - the world's third-largest - are recorded on the central bank's balance sheet, and the law says the Bank of Italy manages them in line with EU rules, which forbid using the gold to fund government spending. Lawmakers from Italy's ruling party have proposed an amendment to the 2026 budget law. Initially it said the central bank's gold belonged to the state, but they have revised that to say it belongs to the Italian people. The ECB last week urged Italy to drop the revised provision. The ECB said Italy's Treasury on Thursday asked it to assess the latest version of the proposal. The document left unclear "what the concrete purpose of the revised draft provision is," it said in an opinion dated Monday. "The revised draft provision is not accompanied by an explanatory note or memorandum explaining its rationale," the ECB said. The ECB said that Italian authorities should consult the Bank of Italy to preserve its independence if they "consider it necessary to clarify the legal ownership of the gold reserves." "The Italian authorities are invited to reconsider the revised draft provision," the ECB said. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/ecb-criticises-italys-revised-proposal-gold-reserves-worries-about-central-bank-2025-12-08/

2025-12-08 20:44

WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that neither Netflix nor Paramount Skydance are great friends of his after both companies bid for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) , opens new tab. "I know the companies very well. I know what they're doing, but I have to see, I have to see what percentage of market they have... none of them are particularly great friends of mine," Trump said at a White House roundtable. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trump-says-netflix-paramount-are-not-his-friends-warner-bros-fight-heats-up-2025-12-08/

2025-12-08 20:16

MARRAKECH, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Morocco will open a new deepwater Mediterranean port next year and another on the Atlantic in 2028, Equipment and Water minister Nizar Baraka said, as the North African country aims to replicate the success of Africa's largest port, Tanger Med. Nador West Med, under construction on the Mediterranean, is scheduled to be operational in the second half of 2026, Baraka told Reuters in an interview. Sign up here. It will offer 800 hectares for industrial activity, with plans to expand to 5000 hectares, surpassing Tanger Med's industrial zones, he said. The port will also host Morocco's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal - a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) - linked by a pipeline to industrial hubs in the northwest, as Morocco pushes investments in natural gas and renewable energy to reduce dependence on coal. Further south on the Atlantic coast, Morocco is building a $1 billion port in Dakhla, in the disputed Western Sahara region. The facility will be surrounded by 1,600 hectares for industrial activities and 5,200 hectares for farmland irrigated by desalinated water, Baraka said. "The port will be ready in 2028 and will be Morocco's deepest at 23 meters," Baraka said. Such depth would support heavy industries focused on processing raw materials from Sahel countries, he said. Officials have marketed Dakhla as a gateway for landlocked Sahel nations to global trade. Both Nador and Dakhla ports will include quays dedicated to exporting green hydrogen once production begins, Baraka said. Nador and Dakhla would be Morocco's third and fourth deepwater ports after Tanger Med and Jorf Lasfar, an energy, bulk cargo and phosphates exports port on the Atlantic. By 2024, industrial zones near Tanger Med hosted 1,400 firms employing 130,000 people across sectors including automotive, aeronautics, textiles, agri-food and renewable energy, official figures show. Morocco is also considering building a port in Tan-Tan on the Atlantic in partnership with green hydrogen investors, Baraka said. "We are conducting studies to decide the appropriate size of the port," Baraka said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/morocco-open-two-deepwater-ports-2026-2028-minister-says-2025-12-08/

2025-12-08 20:12

Tsunami warnings issued, later downgraded to advisories No irregularities at nuclear plants, but power outages reported Yen weakens against major currencies after quake news TOKYO, Dec 8 (Reuters) - A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake shook northeastern Japan late on Monday, prompting orders for about 90,000 residents to evacuate and tsunami warnings that hours later were downgraded to advisories. The Japan Meteorological Agency initially said a tsunami as high as 3 metres (10 feet) could hit Japan's northeastern coast after the earthquake struck off the coast at 11:15 p.m. (1415 GMT). Sign up here. Tsunami warnings were issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, and tsunamis from 20 to 70 cm (7 to 27 inches) high were observed at several ports, JMA said. In the early hours of Tuesday the JMA downgraded the warnings to advisories, meaning it now sees lower estimated wave heights and less risk of inundation. The epicentre of the quake was 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of Aomori prefecture, at a depth of 54 km, the agency added. On Japan's 1-7 scale of seismic intensity, the tremor registered as an "upper 6" in Hachinohe city, Aomori prefecture -- a quake strong enough to make it impossible to keep standing or move without crawling. In such tremors, most heavy furniture can collapse and wall tiles and windowpanes are damaged in many buildings. As of 1700 GMT, there was little information of major damage or casualties from public broadcaster NHK. It cited a hotel employee in Hachinohe as saying a number of people were injured and taken to hospital, but that all were conscious. "As of now, I am hearing that there have been seven injuries reported," Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters early on Tuesday morning. East Japan Railway (9020.T) , opens new tab suspended some services in the area, which was also hit by the massive 9.0-magnitude quake in March 2011. "There is a possibility that further powerful and stronger earthquakes could occur over the next several days," a JMA official said at a briefing. Following the tremor, the JMA issued an advisory for a wide region from the northernmost island of Hokkaido down to Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, calling on residents to be on alert for the possibility of a powerful earthquake hitting again within a week. No irregularities were reported at nuclear power plants in the region run by Tohoku Electric Power (9506.T) , opens new tab and Hokkaido Electric Power (9509.T) , opens new tab, the utilities said. Tohoku Electric initially said thousands of households had lost power but later lowered that number to the hundreds. YEN WEAKENS BRIEFLY The yen weakened against major currencies after news of the tremor, before regaining some ground. The dollar touched a session high and was trading at around 155.81 yen around 1533 GMT, while the euro also hit a session high. Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, with a tremor occurring at least every five minutes. Located in the "Ring of Fire" of volcanoes and oceanic trenches partly encircling the Pacific Basin, Japan accounts for about 20% of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater. The northeastern region suffered one of the country's deadliest earthquakes on March 11, 2011, when a 9.0-magnitude tremor struck under the ocean off the coast of the northern city of Sendai. It was the most powerful ever recorded in Japan and set off a series of massive tsunami that devastated a wide swathe of the Pacific coastline and killed nearly 20,000 people. The 2011 tsunami also damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, leading to a series of explosions and meltdowns in the world's worst nuclear disaster for 25 years. Drawing on lessons from that disaster, when a magnitude 7-level earthquake had struck two days beforehand, the government now issues a one-week "megaquake" advisory whenever a significant earthquake occurs in the region. In a similar vein, a megaquake advisory was issued in August last year for the Nankai Trough area in central-southern Japan. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/japan-warns-3-metre-high-tsunami-after-magnitude-72-earthquake-2025-12-08/