2024-04-16 21:16

HOUSTON, April 16 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal court on Tuesday set June 11 as the deadline to accept binding offers for shares in a parent of oil refiner Citgo Petroleum, a process organized to pay creditors for past expropriations and debt defaults in Venezuela. A hearing to choose the highest bidder could be held as soon as July 15, according to an auction schedule released by U.S. District Court in Delaware. The sale could lead to new ownership for the Venezuela-owned company. The court last year launched an auction of shares in Citgo parent PDV Holding to satisfy $21.3 billion in claims. Citgo is Venezuela's foreign crown jewel with three U.S. refineries, pipelines, oil storage terminals and a retail distribution network that spans nearly half of the United States. The seventh largest U.S. refiner by volume this month set up a data room for potential bidders to review operational and financial information. Get a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets with the Morning Bid U.S. newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/us-court-sets-june-bidding-deadline-auction-shares-citgo-parent-2024-04-16/

2024-04-16 21:04

NEW YORK, April 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. will create a new trade task force aimed at reducing carbon emissions from global commerce and manufacturing, White House senior adviser John Podesta said at a conference on Tuesday. The new task force will focus on addressing carbon leakage, carbon dumping, and emissions associated with upstream manufacturing and production, he said, speaking at an event at Columbia University in New York City. The task force development comes as the U.S. is aiming to expand its deployment of clean energy technology and manufacturing domestically amid growing competition from China. "Global trading rules incentivize carbon leakage - when manufacturing-related emissions from a country with stronger climate policies shift to a country with weaker policies," said Podesta, the incoming U.S. climate change diplomat. He pointed to China, where over half of the world's aluminum is made. The manufacturing process for an average ton of aluminum there produces 60% more emissions than it does in the U.S., he said. The task force will also ensure carbon emissions data is available for implementing U.S. climate and trade policies, including taking steps to promote common measurement and high standards on life cycle emissions, he said, emphasizing the group will deepen its dialogue with the United Kingdom, Australia, the European Union and other partners and allies from around the world. "We will work closely with trade partners to develop standardized and authoritative ways of measuring embodied emissions so that each country can harness comparative advantages in clean manufacturing," he said, referencing the emissions generated from the production to the delivery of a good. Podesta will replace John Kerry as the U.S.' top climate envoy. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/us-creates-climate-trade-task-force-address-commerce-manufacturing-emissions-2024-04-16/

2024-04-16 21:04

GENEVA, April 16 (Reuters) - The United Nations on Tuesday received financial pledges for about two-thirds of the $1 billion it was seeking to raise to boost humanitarian aid to Ethiopia, which has been hit by conflict, drought and floods. A U.N.-hosted pledging event, organised along with the governments of Ethiopia and the United Kingdom and held at the United Nations in Geneva, is designed to increase life-saving assistance to 15.5 million people and food aid to 10.4 million. "The emergency has been building up through cycles of droughts and floods, and conflict," the U.N. humanitarian office (OCHA) said. "El Nino (weather pattern) has exacerbated a drought in the northern highlands and millions of people are coping with less water, drier pastures and smaller harvests." The United States is providing nearly $154 million in humanitarian assistance in Ethiopia to address "urgent needs resulting from conflict, insecurity, and climate shocks," the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday. OCHA said that conflict and climate shocks had caused more than 21 million people in Ethiopia to require humanitarian aid this year, and that 10.8 million people were projected to be critically food insecure during the lean season between July and September. OCHA said that 21 countries had made pledges amounting to $628.9 million. The biggest donor was the United States with $253,000 followed by the United Kingdom with 100 million pounds($124.58 million) and the European Union with $46.6 million. Andrew Mitchell, Britain's deputy foreign secretary and minister for development and Africa, said earlier he hoped the pledge would encourage other countries, including in the Gulf region, to take part. However, none were on the donor list. A two-year war that erupted in November 2020 between the federal government and forces led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front, which dominates the northern region, has killed tens of thousands of people, created famine-like conditions for hundreds of thousands, and displaced millions. ($1 = 0.8027 pound) The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/un-seeks-raise-1-billion-boost-aid-ethiopia-2024-04-16/

2024-04-16 20:56

April 16 (Reuters) - U.S. trucking firm JB Hunt Transport Services (JBHT.O) New Tab, opens new tab missed Wall Street estimates for first-quarter results on Tuesday, hurt by a decline in revenue in its biggest segment and pricing pressures at its brokerage business. Shares of the company were down more than 5% in extended trading. JB Hunt's biggest segment, intermodal, which involves shipping goods via two or more modes of transportation, saw a 9% decline in revenue in the quarter ended March 31, while the segment's volume was flat versus the same period in 2023. Freight companies in the United States have been seeing weaker transport volumes as sticky inflation keeps the consumer spending low on new goods. "Overall demand for our domestic intermodal service offering in the quarter was weaker than expected, partially attributable to competition from over-the-road truck options in the eastern network," the company said. JB Hunt's integrated capacity solutions (ICS) unit, which provides freight brokerage services, posted an operating loss of $17.5 million in the first quarter, compared with a loss of $5.4 million a year earlier, owing to lower contractual and transactional rates and changes in customer freight mix. Excessive capacity in the market forces spot rates to inch downwards, hurting profit for businesses such as ICS, which connects shippers to truckers. The Arkansas-based company's net earnings fell 35% to $1.22 per share in the quarter. Analysts on average estimated earnings per share of $1.52 per share, according to LSEG data. Its total operating revenue fell 9% to $2.94 billion, also missing analysts' estimate of $3.12 billion. Stay up to date with the latest news, trends and innovations that are driving the global automotive industry with the Reuters Auto File newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/jb-hunt-misses-quarterly-estimates-weaker-than-expected-demand-biggest-segment-2024-04-16/

2024-04-16 20:29

AMSTERDAM, April 16 (Reuters) - The Dutch Senate on Tuesday approved a law to permanently close the Groningen gas field, following the government's promise that production will never be resumed to limit seismic risks in the region. Normal gas production at Groningen in the north of the Netherlands ended last October after years of output cuts to limit seismic activity linked to decades of extraction, that has damaged thousands of buildings. The gas field, once one of Europe's main suppliers, was available for limited production during a cold snap in recent months, but the government has proposed a law that would close the field entirely by Oct. 1. The law will leave huge reserves in the ground and has been criticized by some politicians and gas industry advocates, who argue doing so could jeopardize the country's security of supply. The Senate responded earlier this month by unexpectedly postponing the final vote on the law, as several factions said they needed more guarantees on supply. That move angered the government, as Mining Minister Hans Vijlbrief - who had been a strong advocate for the shutdown - said he would resign if it would lead to a long delay and ongoing seismic uncertainty for people living in the region. Without the law, gas production could resume. The field is operated by gas company NAM, a joint venture of Shell (SHEL.L) New Tab, opens new tab and ExxonMobil (XOM.N) New Tab, opens new tab, who have asked an arbitration court to decide whether the Dutch state should compensate them for the ending of gas production at Groningen. Gas profits have delivered an estimated 363 billion euros ($385 billion) to the Dutch treasury since production started in the 1960s, while Shell and Exxon's profit from Groningen was around 66 billion euros during that period. ($1 = 0.9419 euros) The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/dutch-senate-approves-law-permanently-close-groningen-gas-field-2024-04-16/

2024-04-16 20:07

CAIRO, April 16 (Reuters) - Flydubai said on Tuesday it temporally suspended all of its flights departing from Dubai until Wednesday morning due to bad weather, the UAE state news agency WAM reported. "All flydubai flights scheduled for departure from Dubai this evening (16 April) have been canceled effective immediately until 10:00 (Dubai local time) on 17 April. During this period, passengers who do not have Dubai as their final destination will not be accepted for travel," a flyDubai spokesperson was quoted as saying. Dubai International Airport (DXB) had been temporarily diverting arriving flights on Tuesday evening until weather conditions improve, while keeping the departures operational. The website for Dubai airport, one of the world's busiest, shows dozens of flights on April 16 delayed or canceled, with affected destinations including India, Pakistan, Saudi and the United Kingdom. Adverse weather hit other locations in the Gulf Peninsula, including Oman, where at least 18 people have been killed due to heavy rains in recent days, its state news agency said. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/flydubai-suspends-all-flights-departing-dubai-due-bad-weather-2024-04-16/