2024-05-07 23:52

May 7 (Reuters) - Crypto exchange FTX will have between $14.5 billion to $16.3 billion to pay its creditors and customers, according to an amended reorganization plan filed by the company on Tuesday in a U.S. bankruptcy court. FTX said it has anticipated the figure based on monetizing assets, most of which were investments owned by Alameda Research, a crypto-focused hedge fund controlled Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX Ventures businesses, and litigation claims. The amount for distribution includes assets under the control of the chapter 11 debtors, as well as those controlled by liquidators of FTX Bahamas Digital Markets, Bahamas Securities Commission, liquidators of FTX's Australia unit, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and several private parties, the statement added. The company said the amended plan focuses on a series of settlements reached consensually with the key stakeholders including cases that are still subject to court approval. The plan put forward by FTX creates a "convenience class" for creditors with claims of $50,000 or lower, under which it anticipates that majority of the creditors will receive about 118% of the amount of their claims within 2 months if approved by the court. "We are pleased to be in a position to propose a chapter 11 plan that contemplates the return of 100% of bankruptcy claim amounts plus interest for non-governmental creditors," CEO John Ray said. In February, the distressed crypto currency trading platform had $6.4 billion in cash. Earlier this year, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a judge for stealing $8 billion from customers. FTX, once among the world's top crypto exchanges, shook the sector in November 2022 by filing for bankruptcy, leaving an estimated 9 million customers and investors facing billions of dollars in losses. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/ftx-files-amended-reorganization-plan-expects-between-145-bln-163-bln-2024-05-07/

2024-05-07 23:43

May 7 (Reuters) - Canada's second-largest oil producer Suncor Energy (SU.TO) New Tab, opens new tab beat first-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday, boosted by strong demand for refined products and record oil sands production. The Calgary-based company said total upstream production was 835,300 barrels per day (bpd), a record for the first quarter and up 12.6% from a year earlier, while oil sands output hit an all-time high of 785,000 bpd. The production records suggest Suncor is making progress in improving safety and performance in its oil sands business after a string of fatalities and operational setbacks hurt the company's share price and unnerved investors in recent years. Suncor appointed former Exxon Mobil executive Rich Kruger as CEO last year, after previous CEO Mark Little resigned in 2022. "Our strong 2024 first quarter performance continued to build on the momentum established in the second half of 2023," Kruger said in a statement. The company said it achieved its highest-ever first-quarter refining throughput at 455,300 bpd, up 23.8% from a year ago. Refinery utilization was at 98% in same period, compared with 79% from a year earlier. Global demand for refined products remained high in the quarter as outages at Russian refineries following Ukrainian attacks and heavy refinery turnarounds tightened fuel supplies. Suncor reported adjusted operating earnings of C$1.41 per share for the quarter ended March 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of C$1.29, according to LSEG data. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/suncor-energy-beats-first-quarter-profit-estimates-refined-products-demand-2024-05-07/

2024-05-07 23:13

LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - Growth in solar and wind power pushed renewable generation to a record 30% of global electricity production in 2023, putting a global target to triple renewable capacity by 2030 within sight, a report by think tank Ember said. Cutting fossil fuel use and emissions in the power sector is seen as vital to meeting global climate targets. More than 100 countries at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai last year agreed to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030. Ember’s Global Electricity Review showed renewable sources provided 30.3% of global electricity last year, up from 29.4% in 2022 as growth in projects, particularly solar, increased capacity. “The rise in solar capacity that happened during 2023 really unlocks the possibility that we are able to reach that level of renewables by 2030, and the tripling of capacity that was promised at COP28,” Dave Jones, Ember’s director of global insights said in an interview. More than half of the global additions in solar and wind capacity came in China last year, the report said, with total global solar generation up 23.2% and wind power up 9.8%. Industry experts have said issues around grid connections and permits for new projects need to be solved for the target to be met. The report predicted continued renewable growth would see fossil fuel power production fall by 2% in 2024 and push overall fossil fuel power production to less than 60% of global electricity production for the first time since at least 2000, when Ember’s data begins. “A permanent decline in fossil fuel use in the power sector at a global level is now inevitable, leading to falling sector emissions,” the report said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/renewables-provided-record-30-global-electricity-2023-ember-says-2024-05-07/

2024-05-07 23:08

LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - Britain is investing almost 200 million pounds ($251.14 million) to build Europe’s first facility to produce high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU), a fuel it says will be needed to power the next generation of nuclear energy projects, the government said on Wednesday. As part of efforts to meet climate targets and boost energy security, Britain is seeking to increase its nuclear power capacity by 2050 to 24 gigawatts, equivalent to about a quarter of projected electricity demand, from about 14% today. It hopes to build new advanced reactors which could need the HALEU fuel. “As we see more advanced modular reactors coming onstream, HALEU will be the fuel that will be required so having more of that technology in the UK will mean we are able to supply them from a domestic source,” Andrew Bowie, Britain's minister for nuclear and renewables said in an interview. Britain is awarding uranium enrichment firm Urenco 196 million pounds to build the facility in Cheshire, Northwest England, which will support around 400 jobs. It will be ready to produce the fuel by 2031 to be used domestically or exported, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said. “There are obviously opportunities to export this fuel to our allies who themselves want to wean themselves away from an over reliance on Russia for their nuclear fuel,” Bowie said. Many firms globally developing advanced nuclear reactors are relying on HALEU to fuel them but the main company currently selling commercial shipments of the fuel is TENEX, part of Russia's state-owned energy company Rosatom. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the west has been seeking to reduce its energy imports from Russia. U.S. firm Centrus Energy (LEU.A) New Tab, opens new tab has also begun producing small amounts of the fuel and expects to scale up production while France's Orano is considering building a facility in the U.S. HALEU is enriched to levels of up to 20%, rather than around 5% for the uranium that powers most existing nuclear plants. Britain also on Wednesday announced a competition for up to 600 million pounds in contracts to build the world’s first commercially viable fusion power station prototype which it hopes to have connected to the power grid by 2040. Scientists, governments and companies globally, including in the U.S. and Japan, have been trying for years to harness fusion, the nuclear reaction that powers the sun, to produce emission-free electricity that does not create large amounts of long-lasting radioactive waste. ($1 = 0.7964 pounds) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britain-build-europes-first-next-generation-nuclear-fuel-facility-2024-05-07/

2024-05-07 22:18

May 7 (Reuters) - Chilean retailer Falabella (FALABELLA.SN) New Tab, opens new tab on Tuesday posted a net profit for the first quarter, reversing a year-ago loss, boosted by operations in Peru. The store operator and financial services provider's net profit reached 58.50 billion pesos ($59.55 million) for the January-to-March period. The result was driven by an operating profit from the retailer's Peru unit, while its units in Chile, Colombia and Brazil trimmed year-ago losses. Revenues, meanwhile, were up 4% to 2.86 trillion pesos, largely explained by the foreign-exchange effect of the weaker Chilean peso against stronger local currencies. Falabella saw increased visits to shopping centers and reduced its inventories by 11% in the quarter, CEO Alejandro Gonzalez said in a statement. Its loan portfolio gained 1% year-over-year, though delinquent payments also rose slightly to 4.4%. Core earnings, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), more than doubled to 296.95 billion pesos. Falabella operates supermarkets, department and home improvement stores, as well as delivery and financial services across Latin America, including in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and its home market of Chile. Earlier this year, Falabella said it planned to invest $508 million in 2024, with more than half the sum destined for store openings and remodeling, while other expenditures would be focused on e-commerce, digital banking and logistics. At the time, the company said the spending plan would mark a drop of about a quarter compared to last year's investments and was aimed boosting profitability. It also launched a plan last year to sell off non-core assets, mainly real estate. Falabella has been working to bring down its leverage, defined as net financial debt over EBITDA, after losing an investment-grade rating late last year. In the first quarter, the retailer's leverage stood at 5.7x, from 7.3x a year ago. ($1 = 982.38 Chilean pesos at end-March) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/retailer-falabella-posts-first-quarter-profit-peru-business-2024-05-07/

2024-05-07 22:15

May 7 (Reuters) - Fast-food chain Panera Bread is phasing out "Charged Sips", its line of caffeinated drinks, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday. The beverage line has been the subject of multiple lawsuits over the past few months by people who have said the drinks caused health problems, according to various media reports. Last year, a 21-year-old Ivy League student with a heart condition died after drinking Panera Bread's Charged Lemonade, NBC News reported New Tab, opens new tab in October, citing a lawsuit. The company's "Charged Sips" which includes three different flavored drinks, come in a 64 fluid ounce container that contains 1615 milligrams (mg) to 2155 mg of caffeine, according to the company's website. The company also said it plans to introduce new drinks with low-sugar and low-caffeine options. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/panera-bread-phase-out-charged-sips-caffeinated-drinks-2024-05-07/