2024-04-09 05:00

Evacuate immediately - residents told in flood zone Russia and Kazakhstan evacuate thousands Water levels rising in major rivers in Russia and Kazakhstan Kremlin: The worst is still to come for Kurgan and Tyumen ORSK, Russia, April 9 (Reuters) - Russia and Kazakhstan ordered more than 100,000 people to evacuate after swiftly melting snow swelled mighty rivers beyond bursting point in the worst flooding in the area for at least 70 years. The deluge of melt water overwhelmed scores of settlements in the Ural Mountains, Siberia and areas of Kazakhstan close to rivers such as the Ural and Tobol, which local officials said had risen by metres (yards) in a matter of hours to the highest levels ever recorded. Late on Tuesday, levels of the Ural River in Orenburg, a city of around 550,000, reached 9.31 metres (30.5 feet), exceeding the critical level of 9.30 metres, the regional governor said. He urged residents in areas at risk to evacuate. "I am calling for caution and for those in flooded districts to evacuate promptly," Denis Pasler said on Telegram. City residents paddled along roads as though they were rivers. Dams and embankments were being strengthened. Upstream on the Ural, floodwaters burst through an embankment dam in the city of Orsk last Friday. Regional officials said water levels in Orsk had subsided by 21 centimetres (8.27 inches) and now stood at 9.07 meters -- still well over the official danger level of about 7 metres. Russia's Emergencies Ministry said water levels had declined in a number of areas but described the situation as "still difficult". The Ural is Europe's third longest river, which flows through Russia and Kazakhstan into the Caspian. EVACUATION ORDER Sirens in Kurgan, a city on the Tobol river, a tributary of the Irtysh, warned people to evacuate immediately. Regional officials said floodwaters would continue to rise for three days and predicted a "difficult situation" until the end of April. A state of emergency was also declared in Tyumen, a major oil producing region of Western Siberia - the largest hydrocarbon basin in the world. Russian news agencies said Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov had arrived in the city as part of a regional tour assessing flood danger. "The difficult days are still ahead for the Kurgan and Tyumen regions," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "There is a lot of water coming." President Vladimir Putin spoke to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, where over 86,000 people have been evacuated due to flooding. Tokayev said the flooding was probably the worst in 80 years. The most severely hit areas are Atyrau, Aktobe, Akmola, Kostanai, Eastern Kazakhstan, Northern Kazakhstan and Pavlodar regions, most of which border Russia and are crossed by rivers originating in Russia such as the Ural and the Tobol. In Russia, anger boiled over in Orsk when at least 100 Russians begged the Kremlin chief to help and chanted "shame on you" at local officials who they said had done too little. The Kremlin said Putin was getting updated on the situation but had no immediate plans to visit the flood zone as local and emergency officials were doing their best to tackle the deluge. In Kurgan, a region with 800,000 residents, drone footage showed traditional Russian wooden houses and the golden kupolas of Orthodox Churches stranded alongside an expanse of water. Russian officials have said some people ignored calls to evacuate. Kurgan Governor Vadim Shumkov urged residents to take the warnings seriously. "We understand you very well: It is hard to leave your possessions and move somewhere at the call of the local authorities," Shumkov said. "It's better that we laugh at the hydrologists together later and praise God for the miracle of our common salvation. But let's do it alive." In Kurgan, water levels were rising in the Tobol and Russia said 19,000 people were at risk in the region. Rising waters were also forecast in Siberia's Ishim river, also a tributary of the Irtysh, which along with its parent, the Ob, forms the world's seventh longest river system. It was not immediately clear why this year's floods were so severe as the snow melt is an annual event in Russia. Scientists say climate change has made flooding more frequent worldwide. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/thousands-people-risk-floods-hit-russias-south-2024-04-09/

2024-04-09 04:34

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom Westbrook Shiny things are on a tear. Gold, silver, copper, zinc and aluminium prices have begun the quarter with a surge thanks to signs that the bottom has been hit for global manufacturing. Flickers of life in U.S. and Chinese output were followed this week by an unexpected revival in German construction, and investors seem to be daring to dream, too, of a season in the sun for European equities, which lurk near record highs. Since the beginning of March the EuroSTOXX index (.STOXX) , opens new tab has risen 2.3%, Germany's DAX (.GDAXI) , opens new tab is up 3.2%, the FTSE (.FTSE) , opens new tab has climbed 3.4% and Spain's IBEX (.IBEX) , opens new tab is up 8.4%. The Nasdaq (.IXIC) , opens new tab has been flat and the Nikkei (.N225) , opens new tab has lost 1%. Gold made a record high on Monday and bitcoin was lurking near a similar milestone. There are reasons to be doubtful. Tuesday's European bank lending survey may show a less rosy view on the outlook for the continent. There are wars to the east, in Ukraine and the Levant, and receding expectations of interest rate cuts in the U.S. But therein lies the rub, too - nobody at all is talking of or expecting rate hikes, the focus being on the why and when of cuts. Which is where the European Central Bank comes in on Thursday, to give an idea of its reaction function. Last week U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated his dependence on data, but said recent upside surprises wouldn't derail cuts. Markets are expecting ECB President Christine Lagarde to tee up a June cut, but the resilience of the euro lately indicates there may be nerves about a hawkish surprise - such as the one delivered by the Philippine central bank on Monday. The euro has held in a tight range for about a year and is more or less in the middle of that at just above $1.08. German bunds have sold off this week but bond markets still remain positioned for rates to move lower this year. Trade in the Asia session was subdued ahead of Wednesday's U.S. inflation test. Brent crude futures held above $90 a barrel. The yen teetered on the brink of the 152-per-dollar level that has traders leery of intervention. Shares in TSMC (2330.TW) , opens new tab jumped 4% to a record high after the chip giant won a $6.6 billion subsidy for an Arizona production plant. Key developments that could influence markets on Tuesday: ECB bank lending survey Get a look at the day ahead in European and global markets with the Morning Bid Europe newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/global-markets-view-europe-2024-04-09/

2024-04-09 00:24

WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) - (This April 8 story has been corrected to change the title of Mitch McConnell to Senate Republican leader instead of House speaker in paragraph 12) The U.S. Treasury Department fears terrorist groups will increase their use of virtual currencies and other digital assets unless Congress approves new regulatory tools, Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Monday. In testimony prepared for a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Tuesday, Adeyemo warned groups like al Qaeda, Hamas and even state actors like Russia and North Korea were finding new ways to hide their identities and move resources using virtual currency. Adeyemo said Treasury had shown some success in rooting out illicit finance in the digital ecosystem, but said the United States needed to expand enforcement to prevent such activities by "malign actors." "While we continue to assess that terrorists prefer to use traditional financial products and services, we fear that without congressional action to provide us with the necessary tools, the use of virtual assets by these actors will only grow," Adeyemo said in the prepared remarks. He said while Treasury was using its authority to cut off these groups from the traditional financing, their use of virtual assets was expanding. North Korea, he said, had been able to acquire, launder and store illicit revenue through complex cyber heists, relying on anonymity-enhancing technologies like mixers to hide the sources of funds. Treasury had also seen Russia increasingly use alternative payment mechanisms such as the stable coin tether to circumvent sanctions and finance its war against Ukraine, he said. Adeyemo urged Congress to pass legislation aimed at strengthening its tools to go after such actors, including secondary sanctions targeted at foreign digital asset providers that facilitate illicit finance. Such tools would help Treasury evolve its targeting capabilities to go after foreign cryptocurrency exchanges and some money services that do not use correspondent accounts. He also called for moves to close gaps in existing authorities by expanding them to explicitly cover entities such as virtual asset wallet providers and cryptocurrency exchanges that sprang up after current laws were enacted. Congress should also address jurisdictional risks from offshore cryptocurrency platforms to ensure Treasury can reach overseas when digital asset entities harm U.S. national security, he said. Coinbase Global and cryptocurrency operator Circle Internet Financial urged Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell to enact regulations for stablecoins and digital asset market structure, to ensure foreign and domestic companies combat illicit finance. "The lack of U.S. regulation undermines compliant U.S. companies," both firms said in a previously unreported letter sent on Monday, warning of regulatory arbitrage risks given the unclear U.S. framework. They said Schumer and McConnell should pass legislation currently before Congress and extend existing anti-money laundering and sanctions regulations to cover foreign stablecoin issuers referencing the U.S. dollar. Adeyemo said Treasury had sent the committee recommended reforms in November that overlapped with the committee's legislation, and said the department was eager to keep working with lawmakers on the issue. 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/us/us-treasurys-adeyemo-warns-malign-actors-are-using-virtual-assets-2024-04-09/

2024-04-08 23:10

Tesla gains after Musk says will unveil Robotaxi in August Crypto stocks rise, tracking higher bitcoin prices Indexes: Dow off 0.03%, S&P down 0.04%, Nasdaq up 0.03% NEW YORK, April 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were essentially unchanged at the close of a choppy session on Monday, with a solar eclipse offering distraction ahead of crucial inflation data and the kick-off of first-quarter earnings season. The S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab and the Dow (.DJI) , opens new tab posted minimal losses while the Nasdaq (.IXIC) , opens new tab ended nominally higher. All three were held in check by the highest benchmark U.S. Treasury yields since November in the wake of Friday's blowout employment report. That report heightened chances that the Federal Reserve could delay implementing its first interest rate cut at its monthly Federal Open Market Committee meetings longer than previously expected. "Wall Street is adjusting expectations to reflect the fact that the Fed could be slower to lower interest rates and that now the greatest likelihood is for a rate cut to occur at the July FOMC meeting, rather than June," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist of CFRA Research in New York. On Wednesday, the Labor Department's March Consumer Price Index (CPI) report is expected to show a slight cooldown in monthly price growth and a nominal decrease in the annual core number, which excludes volatile food and energy items. "It's probably a better day to watch the eclipse than it is to trade stocks," said Jay Hatfield, CEO and portfolio manager at InfraCap in New York. "I don't think anybody wants to really reposition one way or the other ahead of CPI." Year-on-year headline CPI is expected to gain some heat, rising to 3.4% from 3.2% in February, underscoring inflation's meandering journey back to the Fed's 2% annual target. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said on Monday the central bank must take into consideration how long it can maintain its restrictive policy without damaging the economy. "When I heard (Goolsbee) was speaking at one, I was relieved because I know he's a dove," Hatfield added. "So, there was no need to worry about the market melting down while everyone is looking at the sun." The first-quarter reporting season officially kicks off on Friday with numbers from major U.S. banks JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) , opens new tab, Citigroup Inc (C.N) , opens new tab and Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) , opens new tab. As of Friday, analysts expect aggregated S&P 500 earnings growth of 5.0% year-on-year, down from the 7.2% annual estimate at the beginning of the quarter, according to LSEG. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 11.24 points, or 0.03%, to 38,892.80. The S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab lost 1.95 points, or 0.04%, at 5,202.39 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab added 5.44 points, or 0.03%, at 16,253.96. Of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, six closed lower, with energy shares (.SPNY) , opens new tab suffering the largest percentage loss. Real estate (.SPLRCR) , opens new tab notched the biggest advance. Tesla(TSLA.O) , opens new tab provided a boost, rising 4.9% after CEO Elon Musk said the company would unveil its self-driving Robotaxi on Aug. 8. Cryptocurrency-related stocks also outperformed, tracking rising bitcoin prices . Exchange operator Coinbase Global (COIN.O) , opens new tab, and software firm MicroStrategy (MSTR.O) , opens new tab rose 6.7% and 5.1%, respectively. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.57-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.30-to-1 ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 22 new 52-week highs and two new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 79 new highs and 84 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 9.50 billion shares, compared with the 11.53 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. 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/us/futures-muted-bond-yields-rise-2024-04-08/

2024-04-08 21:58

April 8 (Reuters) - Fuel-cell manufacturer Bloom Energy (BE.N) , opens new tab will receive up to $75 million in federal tax credits for its manufacturing plant in Fremont, California, the clean-energy company said on Monday as it looks to expand capacity. The funding is part of the $4 billion tax credits recently unveiled by the Biden Administration to speed up domestic clean energy manufacturing and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at industrial facilities. "These funds will enable us to invest in the operational efficiency of our Fremont facility and accelerate the expansion of our stack capacity," said CEO KR Sridhar. Bloom's Fremont plant, which opened in 2022, can produce more than 1 gigawatt annual output, equivalent to the capacity of adding a nuclear power plant every year, according to the company. Bloom Energy's shares fell in February after it forecast 2024 revenue below analysts' estimates and announced the departure of its Chief Financial Officer Greg Cameron. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/bloom-energy-receive-75-million-tax-credits-fremont-manufacturing-plant-2024-04-08/

2024-04-08 21:49

April 9 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Consumer confidence surveys from Japan and Australia and Taiwan's latest inflation print top the Asia-Pacific calendar on Tuesday, with risk appetite more broadly managing to hold up in the face of U.S. Treasury yields breaking out to new 2024 highs. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield on Monday rose to 4.464%, the highest since November, yet Wall Street avoided losses and the three major indices ended the day flat. Benchmark Asian, emerging market and world equity indices all made modest gains on Monday too despite the rise in global yields. The 10-year U.S. yield is up 11 bps since Friday's U.S. jobs report, yet equity markets have held the line. It is yet further evidence that investors may be getting used to higher yields and the ever-decreasing amount of rate cuts the Fed is seen delivering this year. A June rate cut is now only a 50-50 probability, and barely 60 bps of easing is expected this year, futures markets show. Figures on Tuesday are expected to show that annual inflation in Taiwan cooled last month to 2.51% from 3.08% in February. This would mark a notable cooling, but inflation would still be comfortably above the central bank's 2% target. The rise in February of almost 1.3 percentage points was the biggest in three years. Taiwan's central bank followed that with a surprise interest rate rise last month. Shares in Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC, meanwhile, could get a boost on Tuesday after the U.S. Commerce Department said it would award the firm's U.S. unit a $6.6 billion subsidy for advanced semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona, and up to $5 billion in low-cost government loans. The same goes for shares in Samsung. The Biden administration plans to award $6-7 billion to the South Korean tech giant as it seeks to ramp up chipmaking in the U.S., two people familiar with the matter said. Chinese stocks, meanwhile, have bucked the wider trend. They started the week with a third consecutive daily decline, with the troubled property sector once again front and center of investors' concerns. Developer Shimao Group said on Monday that China Construction Bank (Asia) had filed a liquidation petition against it in Hong Kong over unpaid debts, a rare case of a state-owned bank taking such legal action. The petition centers on Shimao's failure to repay loans of just over $200 million, and contrasts with legal processes against rival firms China Evergrande Group and Country Garden for defaulting on their debts that were launched by overseas-based creditors. China's currency remains under scrutiny too. The onshore yuan is around its weakest level in five months and close to the upper limit of the central bank's daily trading band, while the offshore yuan is still trading above the band's 'ceiling'. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Tuesday: - Taiwan inflation (March) - Japan consumer confidence (March) - Australia consumer confidence (April) Get a look at the day ahead in Asian and global markets with the Morning Bid Asia newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-pix-2024-04-08/