2024-04-25 11:33

April 25 (Reuters) - General Electric's energy spin-off company, GE Vernova (GEV.N) New Tab, opens new tab, reported wider-than-expected first-quarter loss on Thursday, as weakness in its wind segment offset demand for natural-gas related equipment and services. GE Vernova, which became an independent company this month following a three-way split of General Electric, provides services and equipment to the energy sector, operating through three main businesses - power, wind, and electrification. The company's wind segment saw a 40% decline in orders on lower demand for onshore equipment as North American customers continue with the permitting processes for projects, the company said. It had recently announced its decision to pivot away from the 18-MW turbine model, which led to New York State stalling three major offshore wind-energy projects. In contrast, the power segment saw higher orders for gas turbines and more demand for gas power services due to outages, leading to a 6% jump in sales. With approximately 54,000 wind turbines and 7,000 gas turbines, GE Vernova's technology base helps generate approximately 30% of the world's electricity. The company maintained it was an "encouraging start to the year", and that it expects "cash generation to improve meaningfully every quarter this year". The company said it saw solid results with significant margin expansion across all its business segments. Total revenue was $7.3 billion in the quarter. GE Vernova reiterated its full-year revenue forecast of $34 billion to $35 billion. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ge-vernova-reports-wider-than-expected-q1-loss-first-post-spinoff-results-2024-04-25/

2024-04-25 11:25

NEW DELHI, April 25 (Reuters) - Russia's state-owned reinsurer has given financial backing to three Russian insurance firms, allowing them to get Indian approval to provide marine insurance cover to tankers, two sources said, as Moscow seeks to facilitate trade with India amid Western sanctions. A raft of sanctions by the U.S. and allies against Moscow over its Ukraine invasion, along with tighter scrutiny of Russian oil trade, has almost cut Russia off from the global network of service providers such as insurers and brokers. Russian companies Sogaz Insurance, Alfastrakhovanie, and VSK Insurance, have joined Ingosstrakh as insurers approved by India for providing marine insurance cover, an order posted on Indian shipping regulator's website showed. India has approved the three new insurers after Russian National Reinsurance Company (RNRC) provided a financial guarantee, the two sources with direct knowledge of matter said. This is the first time RNRC's role in providing financial backing to the three Russian insurers to get accredited in India has been reported. "With the backing of the Russian National Reinsurance Company, a wholly-owned entity of the Russian Government, these insurers boast robust financial support and stability," one of the sources said. Insurance is essential for maritime transport, particularly oil cargoes that require the highest safety standards due to the risk of spills. Sogaz Insurance, Alfastrakhovanie and VSK Insurance representatives and an RNRC representative did not immediately respond to requests for comment. RNRC, controlled by the Russian central bank, was sanctioned by the UK and European Union in 2023. India's Directorate General of Shipping did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comments. "Ingosstrakh is not expanding its maritime insurance activities to India. Our relationship with India in the marine insurance industry has spanned over 57 years, dating back to 1967 when we opened our office in Mumbai," an Ingosstrakh spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The three Russian insurers, which specialise in protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance coverage, are not part of the Europe-based International Group, which is made up of twelve so-called P&I clubs. The IG says it provides marine liability cover for approximately 90% of the world's ocean-going shipping tonnage. "A due procedure has been followed (by the Indian shipping regulator) for including these new entities in the list of non-IG companies that can provide insurance," one of the two sources said. MAJOR SUPPLIER The Group of Seven (G7), the European Union and Australia have imposed a $60 per barrel price cap for Russian oil if Western services such as shipping and insurance are used. The aim is to squeeze Russia's oil revenues while keeping the supply to the market stable. Russia has emerged as a major oil supplier to India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, as its oil is sold at a discount after Western nations halted purchases from Moscow. The Indian government has said that the country abides by United Nations sanctions and does not follow those imposed by any other country. A source from one of India's refiners said banks are very strict in clearing payments for Russian oil to ensure that Russian crude is priced below the $60 per barrel cap. The price cap mechanism bans Western companies from providing maritime services, including financing, insurance, and shipping for oil sold above the cap. "Why would Russia like to forgo its revenue from insurance premiums and give it to the western insurers. It is not a small amount," this source said. "Even if Russia is legally allowed to use Western services they don't want to use them," he said. "This also means they have to share details of their dealing with the (Western) service providers." Indian refiners buy Russian oil on delivered basis mostly from traders to avoid any liability arising due to sanctions before discharge of oil cargoes. The accreditation of the three Russian entities is valid until Feb. 20 next year, but authorisation for Russia's Ingosstrakh has been extended by five years to Feb. 20, 2029, an order posted on the website of India's Directorate General of Shipping website showed. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/russia-reinsurer-backs-firms-get-india-marine-insurance-permit-2024-04-25/

2024-04-25 11:20

KYIV, April 25 (Reuters) - Ukraine's central bank lowered its main interest rate to 13.5% from 14.5% on Thursday to support the wartime economy, but said it had cut its 2024 GDP forecast to 3% from 3.6% due to Russian air strikes on the energy system. The central bank said it saw room to further ease its main interest rate after long-delayed U.S. aid was finally approved this week with inflation in Ukraine lower than initially forecast so far this year. "The economic recovery will continue, but (it) will be restrained – primarily, due to significant damage to energy infrastructure," it said in a statement. Russia has heavily bombed the Ukrainian energy sector in recent weeks, targeting power stations and substations and forcing authorities to introduce rolling blackouts in several regions. "The course of the full-scale war continues to be the key risk to inflation dynamics and economic development," the central bank said. It said that real GDP growth in the first quarter had been weaker than expected, mainly due to limited budget spending amid uncertainty over foreign financial aid. It provided no figures. Over the course of 26 months of full-scale war with Russia, Ukraine has managed to maintain economic and financial stability with the help of billions of dollars in financial aid from its Western partners. The central bank said Ukraine could expect about $38 billion in Western financial aid this year. Thursday's monetary policy meeting was the second in a row to cut the main interest rate. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ukraines-cbank-lowers-key-rate-135-second-consecutive-cut-2024-04-25/

2024-04-25 11:20

April 25 (Reuters) - Newmont Corp (NEM.N) New Tab, opens new tab beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Thursday, as the world's largest gold miner benefited from strong production. On an adjusted basis, the company posted a net income of 55 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31, compared with the average analyst estimate of 36 cents per share, according to LSEG data. The Denver, Colorado-based Newmont's quarterly attributable gold production rose to 1.7 million ounces from 1.27 million ounces a year earlier, boosted through sites acquired following its acquisition of Australia's Newcrest A$26.2 billion ($17.09 billion) in November. Newmont also saw higher average gold price at $2,090 per ounce in the January-March quarter from $1,906 a year earlier, as prices of the precious metal have increased by about 8.2%. All-in-sustaining cost for gold, an industry metric that reflects total expenses associated with production, rose to $1,439 per ounce of gold from $1,376 a year earlier. ($1 = 1.5328 Australian dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/newmont-beats-quarterly-profit-estimates-2024-04-25/

2024-04-25 11:15

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan Megacap Meta (META.O) New Tab, opens new tab revived Big Tech jitters on Wall St overnight as its pumped-up stock balked at an ostensibly decent earnings update late Wednesday - but the mining sector was abuzz about BHP's (BHP.AX) New Tab, opens new tab possible $39 billion mega bid for Anglo American (AAL.L) New Tab, opens new tab. In a reverse of the positive way markets treated Tesla's beaten-down shares (TSLA.O) New Tab, opens new tab after a revenue miss the prior day, Meta's headline beat triggered an out-of-hours 13% plunge in its shares as investors appeared to focus on the scale of its outsize spending on artificial intelligence projects. The respective market reactions may have much to do with investor positioning in advance - with Tesla down more than 40% for the year before it reported and Meta up more than 40%. Either way, the Meta retreat has dragged Wall St stock futures , back down about 0.5-1.0% ahead of Thursday's bell and ups the ante as the 'Magnificent 7' reports keep rolling in. Microsoft and Alphabet are under the microscope later in the heaviest day of the earnings season so far. With almost a third of the S&P500 reported already, nearly 80% have beaten estimates and reported earnings growth has picked up close to 7% - back to where consensus forecasts for the first quarter were at the start of the year. And blended first-quarter earnings estimates, which combine what's come in with forecasts for those yet to report, have also climbed back above 3% after a swoon earlier in the month. Wary of the slightly jaundiced view of tech stocks this month and mounting currency volatility in Asia, Japan's Nikkei (.N225) New Tab, opens new tab, South Korea's Kospi (.KS11) New Tab, opens new tab and Taiwan's benchmark (.TWII) New Tab, opens new tab all lost 1-2% overnight. Tech shivered in Europe on Thursday too, with STMicro (STMPA.PA) New Tab, opens new tab dropping 3% after the chipmaker cut full-year sales guidance. European banks also topped the diary there but their stocks largely batted away a series of beats. The big corporate news was in mining and BHP's $39 billion bid for London-listed Anglo American - a deal that would create the world's biggest copper miner and which sent Anglo's shares surging 13% on Thursday. Copper prices have risen more than 10% this year. With buoyant world growth and a likely geopolitical scramble to secure scarce resources spurring commodity markets of late, deal activity in the sector appears to have gone up a gear and Britain's cheaply-valued, resource heavy FTSE 100 stock index (.FTSE) New Tab, opens new tab outperformed again to hit another record high. Sterling was also higher . So much for the micro - the macro view of the first three months also hoves into view later on Thursday with the first official cut of Q1 U.S. gross domestic product and related inflation measures. Consensus forecasts are for growth to have slowed to 2.4% from 3.4% in the final quarter of last year - with core PCE inflation estimates jumping to 3.4% from 2.0%. However, the Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDPNow model has growth running as high as 2.7% and Friday's March reading of the Fed's favoured PCE inflation gauge will likely dominate for anxious rates markets. In a heavy week for U.S. Treasury debt sales, two-year yields continued to hover just under 5%. The dollar (.DXY) New Tab, opens new tab slipped back against the euro and sterling, but it continues to zoom ever higher against the Japanese yen to another 34-year high of 155.68 as the Bank of Japan starts its latest two-day meeting. With no sign yet of any intervention to arrest the yen slide, the indication from Japan's government is that may not be considered until the dollar threatens 160 yen. Key diary items that may provide direction to U.S. markets later on Thursday: * US Q1 gross domestic product, weekly jobless claims, March trade balance and wholesale/retail inventories, Kansas City Fed's April business survey * US corporate earnings: Microsoft, Alphabet, Intel, Eastman Chemical, Honeywell, Dow, Caterpillar, Union Pacific, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Altria, Northrop Grumman, Capital One, Nasdaq, S&P Global, VeriSign, American Airlines, Mohawk, Southwest Airlines, PG&E, Keurig Dr Pepper, Weyerhauser, International Paper, Wills Towers Watson, AO Smith, Western Digital, L3Harris, Principal Financial, Cincinnati Financial, Hartford Financial, Newmont, Dover, WW Grainger, Textron, Valero Energy, CMS Energy, Xcel Energy, First Energy, Allegion, Royal Caribbean etc * Bank of Japan begins two-day policy meeting. European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel speaks * US Treasury sells $44 billion of 7-year notes (This story has been refiled to remove an extraneous letter in paragraph 1) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/global-markets-view-usa-2024-04-25/

2024-04-25 10:53

MADRID, April 25 (Reuters) - Repsol Chief Executive Josu Jon Imaz said on Thursday that the company is working to close the first agreement with a renewable partner in the U.S. as part of its asset rotation strategy. "We are working on closing our first renewable asset rotation in this country," he said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/repsol-working-closing-first-renewable-asset-rotation-us-ceo-2024-04-25/