2025-12-08 20:02

'Sentimental Value' and 'Sinners' also claim film nominations DiCaprio, Clooney among acting nominees Globes winners to be announced in January LOS ANGELES, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Dark comedy "One Battle After Another" racked up a leading nine Golden Globe nominations on Monday, positioning the Leonardo DiCaprio thriller as an early favorite on Hollywood's road to the Academy Awards. The movie directed by Paul Thomas Anderson stars DiCaprio as a washed-up revolutionary who springs into action when his daughter's life is in danger. The Warner Bros (WBD.O) , opens new tab film will compete in the best movie musical or comedy category against "Marty Supreme" and "Bugonia," among others. Sign up here. Norwegian family drama "Sentimental Value" claimed eight nominations, just ahead of supernatural horror film "Sinners" with seven. Both were nominated for the movie drama prize alongside Guillermo del Toro's take on "Frankenstein" and "Hamnet," a story about the family of William Shakespeare. "'Frankenstein' is a film I have been wanting to make for as long as I can remember, and to have it embraced in this way means so much to me," del Toro said in a statement. Acting nominees included DiCaprio and "One Battle" co-stars Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti and Teyana Taylor, who said the nominations left her "speechless and teary-eyed." George Clooney and Adam Sandler received nods for "Jay Kelly," as did Dwayne Johnson for "The Smashing Machine" and Jessie Buckley for "Hamnet." Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo earned nominations for their roles in "Wicked: For Good," though the second part of Universal Pictures' "The Wizard of Oz" prequel failed to make it into the musical or comedy field. The Globes are among first Hollywood accolades to be handed out before the film industry's top honors, the Oscars, in March. The Globes telecast is scheduled for Jan. 11. INTERNATIONAL FILMS RECOGNIZED Voters for the Globes are entertainment journalists from around the world. Their choices this year reflected their affection for films made outside of Hollywood, said Debra Birnbaum, editor of awards website Gold Derby. Beyond "Sentimental Value," they nominated revenge thriller "It Was Just an Accident" from Iranian director Jafar Panahi and Brazilian drama "The Secret Agent." "The biggest surprise over everything is the big showing for all the international films," Birnbaum said. "I think those are the films we're going to be watching, not just at the Golden Globes, but throughout all the film (awards) season." In a new podcast category, Globes voters nominated "Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard," "Call Her Daddy," "Good Hang with Amy Poehler," "The Mel Robbins Podcast," "Smartless" and National Public Radio's "Up First." HBO's vacation mystery "The White Lotus" led TV categories with six nominations, ahead of Netflix (NFLX.O) , opens new tab limited series "Adolescence" about a 13-year-old accused of murder. Netflix, the streaming pioneer attempting to remake Hollywood by purchasing TV, film and streaming assets including HBO from Warner Bros Discovery, outpaced all networks with 22 nominations in television categories. Paramount Skydance (PSKY.O) , opens new tab made a hostile bid for Warner Bros Discovery on Monday. Independent distributor Neon, the studio behind "Sentimental Value," "It Was Just an Accident" and "The Secret Agent," landed the most film nominations with 21. Globe winners are chosen by more than 300 entertainment journalists, compared with roughly 9,000 voters who select the Oscars. The Globes voting body was expanded in recent years and organizers instituted reforms after criticisms for ethical lapses and a lack of diversity. Comedian Nikki Glaser will return to host the Globes ceremony for a second time. The show will be broadcast live on CBS and streamed on Paramount+. https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/one-battle-after-another-leads-golden-globe-nominations-with-nine-nods-2025-12-08/

2025-12-08 20:02

WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that farming equipment has gotten too expensive and his administration would help tractor companies by removing some environmental rules that affect them. "We're going to also give the tractor companies, John Deere and all of the companies that make the equipment, we're going to take off a lot of the environmental restrictions that they have on machinery. It's ridiculous," Trump said at a White House roundtable where he announced aid to farmers hit by his tariff policies. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-will-help-tractor-companies-by-removing-environmental-restrictions-2025-12-08/

2025-12-08 19:26

NextEra and Google to develop and power new data center campuses in the U.S NextEra partners with ExxonMobil for natural-gas power with carbon capture Meta and NextEra sign 2.5 gigawatts in power contracts Dec 8 (Reuters) - U.S. utility company NextEra Energy (NEE.N) , opens new tab has expanded its partnership with Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab Google Cloud to build new energy supplies for the company's operations across the U.S., the groups said on Monday. NextEra and Google currently have 3.5 gigawatts of electricity generation - enough to power about 2.5 million homes - in operation or contracted. Sign up here. As part of the new deal, the companies will develop multiple new large-scale data center campuses in the U.S. that will be built with new power plants. They did not specify how much extra capacity would be added, or financial details of the agreement. NextEra shares were down 1% by 1722 GMT, having risen in premarket trading. The agreement comes as U.S. electricity demand reaches record highs from the proliferation of data centers needed to train and roll out artificial intelligence. Without enough supplies readily available on the existing grid, giant technology companies are contracting to build new electricity sources to power their AI data center expansion. "We are positioning our company around bring-your-own-generation, and we are uniquely positioned to win this," NextEra CEO John Ketchum said at an investor conference. NextEra and Google Cloud also plan to launch an AI-powered product by mid-2026 that will help manage work in the field, predicting energy equipment problems and other functions aimed at increasing the reliability of the grid, the companies said. NextEra said it expects to add 15 gigawatts, or possibly much more, of new power generation for data centers by 2035. Also to serve that demand, NextEra will partner with ExxonMobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab to develop natural-gas-fired power plants for data centers that use carbon capture technologies. Plans with Exxon include an initial 1.2-gigawatt gas plant, which would be jointly marketed to data centers, that would be located near the oil major's carbon dioxide-carrying pipeline in the Southeast U.S., NextEra said. RENEWED INTEREST IN NUCLEAR POWER In October, NextEra announced that it would restart its shut Duane Arnold nuclear power plant in Iowa to power Google data centers under a 25-year power purchase contract. The technology industry's quest for massive amounts of electricity for AI processing has renewed interest in nuclear power supply, which includes restarting fully shut reactors, expanding the capacity of operating plants, and contracting for electricity from future small modular reactors. That electricity demand has also propelled the development of natural-gas-fired power, which is quicker to build than nuclear, but produces global warming emissions. NextEra said it expects to announce new natural-gas-fired power deals for data centers in 12–24 months. NextEra said it had also signed 11 power purchase agreements and two energy storage agreements with Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab , totaling over 2.5 GW of energy contracts. The projects are scheduled to come online between 2026 and 2028. The utility has also reached an agreement with WPPI Energy to continue supplying 168 megawatts of the output from the Point Beach Nuclear Plant in Two Rivers into the 2050s. NextEra forecast higher adjusted profit in 2026 as well as the current year as it continues to benefit from the power demand surge. The company now expects adjusted earnings for 2025 of between $3.62 and $3.70 per share, compared with its prior view of between $3.45 and $3.70 per share. For 2026, it expects adjusted profit between $3.92 and $4.02 per share, compared with its prior view of between $3.63 and $4.00 per share. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/nextera-energy-google-cloud-expand-deal-add-us-capacity-2025-12-08/

2025-12-08 14:35

BENGALURU, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank will keep its policy rate unchanged at zero for a second consecutive meeting on Thursday and through 2026 as inflation hovers near the bottom of its target range, according to most economists in a Reuters poll who said the risk of negative rates was low. Despite inflation slowing to zero, the low end of the central bank's 0-2% target, all but two of 40 economists polled by Reuters in the December 3-8 period expect the SNB to leave its key interest rate on hold on December 11. Two economists predicted a cut to -0.25%. Sign up here. The strong consensus partly results from Chairman Martin Schlegel's repeated assertion that the bar to cut rates below zero was high due to "undesirable side effects" and that the SNB would intervene in the foreign exchange market if necessary to ensure price stability. The SNB last held rates below zero for a seven-year period up until mid-2022 in an attempt to mute deflationary pressure also made worse by a typically strong currency often sought by investors and traders during periods of market turmoil. LOW RISK OF NEGATIVE POLICY RATE A strong majority of economists polled, 21 of 25, who gave forecasts through the end of 2026 said the policy rate would stay on hold. Only five predicted a quarter-percentage-point reduction sometime next year, compared to seven in the survey in September. The risk of the SNB adopting a negative policy rate was low, according to 14 of 17 economists, or more than 80%, who answered a separate question. That was a complete reversal from a poll taken in June when most said the risk was high. Only three economists in the latest poll said the risk of a negative policy rate was high. "I'd still say inflation is going to pick up over the course of 2026 but stay within the SNB's target range. From that perspective, there is no need to further cut rates," said Florian Germanier, an economist at UBS, who added that there was a risk of monthly inflation briefly turning negative. "The most likely trigger for ongoing deflationary pressure would be via the FX channel," Germanier added. "If you were to see phases of strong safe-haven flows, in these situations it's quite possible the Swiss franc temporarily appreciates against the euro. This move could be somewhat concerning for the SNB, and we wouldn't rule out the SNB to act, but prefer FX interventions." The central bank stepped up its currency interventions in April to counter a safe-haven franc rally driven after the U.S. imposed sweeping tariffs on its trading partners, including Switzerland, which was hit with a 39% tariff, one of the most punitive rates imposed by Washington. The currency has largely stabilised since then, rising 0.4% in November, allowing the central bank to ramp up its reserves to the highest level since February. A separate Reuters FX survey taken earlier this month predicted the franc would rise 0.8% against the euro to 0.945 in a year. "We never expected negative rates ... but why consensus and markets are now expecting no more rate cuts has a lot to do also with the SNB's communication. They said they will tolerate some negative inflation readings in the short term as long as the medium-term inflation outlook is still solid," said Sophie Altermatt, an economist at Julius Baer. Inflation was expected to average 0.2% this year and 0.4% the next, according to the poll. The Swiss economy is forecast to expand 1.2% in both years, up from 0.8% in 2024. The growth outlook was unchanged from September's survey despite the recent U.S. move to lower its tariffs on Swiss imports to 15%. The central bank has said this move is not a "game changer" as only 4% of exports were affected by higher tariffs. "We have growth holding up overall, and it's particularly driven by domestic consumption, so this part of the economy is doing fine," Altermatt said. (Other stories from the Reuters global economic poll) https://www.reuters.com/business/snb-hold-policy-rate-zero-through-2026-negative-rates-unlikely-say-economists-2025-12-08/

2025-12-08 13:00

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 8 (Reuters) - South Africa is working on ways to support its ferrochrome industry, state power utility Eskom said on Monday, as it announced an agreement with Samancor Chrome and the Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture. Eskom said in a statement that the memorandum of understanding with the two companies followed constructive engagements on Friday with the country's minister of electricity and energy and trade unions. Sign up here. Samancor Chrome and the joint venture between Glencore (GLEN.L) , opens new tab and Merafe Resources (MRFJ.J) , opens new tab have said they are considering job cuts because of pressures including the cost of electricity. Energy regulator Nersa is currently reviewing an interim power tariff adjustment for the two firms, and the government is working on a longer-term mechanism to support competitive pricing for the ferrochrome sector, Eskom said. South Africa holds approximately 80% of the world's known chrome ore reserves, according to Glencore, positioning the country as a key player in global ferrochrome production. Once an interim tariff for Samancor Chrome and the Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture is approved the companies have committed to suspend layoff processes and bring back about 40% of their furnace capacity while a long-term solution is being developed, Eskom added. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/south-africa-is-working-ways-help-ferrochrome-firms-eskom-says-2025-12-08/

2025-12-08 12:55

Dec 8 (Reuters) - Antero Resources (AR.N) , opens new tab said on Monday it would buy privately held HG Energy in a deal valued at $2.8 billion, as the U.S. natural gas producer looks to expand its footprint. The acquisition aims to add reserves at a time when U.S. natural gas futures have jumped to almost three-year highs, supported by winter heating demand, heavy LNG exports and accelerating consumption from AI-driven data centres and other power-hungry industries. Sign up here. U.S. natural gas futures were over $5 per million British thermal units last week, their highest in nearly three years. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/antero-acquire-privately-held-hg-energy-28-billion-deal-2025-12-08/