2024-03-31 17:05

TOKYO, April 1 (Reuters) - Nippon Steel (5401.T) , opens new tab intends to pursue its proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel (X.N) , opens new tab and wants its "deep roots" in the United States to be recognised, its new president said - remarks that come after U.S. President Joe Biden expressed opposition to the deal. The Japanese firm has agreed to buy U.S. Steel for roughly $15 billion but the deal faces an uphill battle to approval in a U.S. election year. The White House sees steel as critical to national security and Biden said last month that U.S. Steel should remain domestically owned. His opponent in the November presidential vote, former President Donald Trump, has promised to block the deal if he is re-elected. It's not clear if Biden plans to use any U.S regulatory authorities to scuttle the deal. "What U.S. politicians are concerned about is jobs and whether U.S. Steel can develop as an iconic U.S. company in the U.S.," Tadashi Imai told reporters last week before he took on his new role on Monday. "I am convinced that we're the most useful partner to help U.S. Steel grow in the United States," he added. Imai, 60, became president in a management reshuffle intended to lower the average age of top executives but in a break with tradition, its charismatic former president Eiji Hashimoto has taken on the title of chief executive and will be in charge of shepherding the acquisition. The proposed deal has drawn strong criticism from some lawmakers and the United Steelworkers (USW) labor union which is worried about potential job losses. Japan's largest steelmaker has pledged no job cuts as a result of the deal, to honour all agreements between the union and U.S. Steel as well as to move its own U.S. headquarters to Pittsburgh where U.S. Steel is based. Imai said he was hopeful that Nippon Steel would come to be seen as a firm with deep roots in the U.S., noting that it has had a presence there since the 1980s and has 4,000 employees in the country, some of whom are also members of the USW. "The most important thing and the only thing that we can do is to talk to the USW in good faith," about investment plans and measures to raise the competitiveness of U.S. Steel, he said. Imai said that the acquisition would give U.S. Steel access to Nippon Steel's advanced technologies such as electromagnetic steel sheet, adding that the Japanese firm has some 2,000 steel patents in North America while U.S. steelmakers in general had roughly 200 each. At home, Imai's main focus will be decarbonisation, he said, adding that the company will soon need to make investment decisions on whether to invest in new electric furnaces at two sites - the Kyushu Works Yawata site in southern Japan and Setouchi Works Hirohata site in western Japan. The company must decide on the projects either this financial year or the next one, Imai said. "It will be a huge investment ... but the time for a key decision is approaching on the technical certainty and predictability of the return on investment." Get U.S. personal finance tips and insight straight to your inbox with the Reuters On the Money newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/nippon-steel-emphasises-its-deep-roots-us-it-pursues-us-steel-deal-2024-03-31/

2024-03-31 16:03

CALCUTTA, India, March 31 (Reuters) - Sudden heavy rainfall and stormy winds lashed parts of India's eastern state of West Bengal on Sunday, killing four and injuring several others, as per a local official, prompting evacuation efforts. The storm hit Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal and damaged houses, uprooted trees, disrupted transport and electricity, showed videos by Indian news agency ANI, in which Reuters has a minority stake. Local district head Shama Parveen said the storm killed four while scores of injured were taken to the local district hospital to be treated. State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a post on X that the government will compensate next of kin in cases of death. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/four-killed-sudden-heavy-rain-lashes-east-indian-state-2024-03-31/

2024-03-31 12:59

NEW YORK, March 29 (Reuters) - After a stellar start to the year for stocks, investors are on guard for potential bumps in the second quarter as they gauge whether the Federal Reserve delivers on an expected interest rate cut by June and turn their focus on the health of upcoming earnings. The S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab ended the first quarter with a gain of more than 10%, its largest first quarter advance since the nearly 13.1% jump in the first quarter of 2019. While so-called Magnificent Seven stocks such as chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab and Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab provided the bulk of the gains for the quarter, economically-sensitive sectors such as energy and industrials have rallied over the past six weeks. Whether the rally continues through June will likely depend on the Fed, which has not yet signaled that inflation has come down enough , opens new tab to justify a rate cut. Markets began January with 6 to 7 cuts priced in over the course of 2024, but are now anticipating 3 cuts after signs of resiliency in the US economy increased investor confidence in a so-called soft landing. "The market and the Fed are finally aligned on expectations, but that puts even more pressure on every economic report that comes out because it doesn't take a lot to make everyone run the same way," said Joe Kalish, Chief Global Macro Strategist at Ned Davis Research. "We are expecting more volatility if we don't see more progress on the inflation front." Futures markets are now implying a 61% chance of a 25 basis point cut rate at the Fed's policy meeting that concludes June 12, bringing benchmark rates to a range of 5 to 5.25%, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. Continued growth in the US economy will likely continue the recent broadening of the market rally into cyclical sectors and small-cap stocks as investors search for more attractive valuations, said Jason Alonzo, a portfolio manager on Harbor Capital’s multi-asset strategies team. The Russell 2000 (.RUT) , opens new tab index of small-cap stocks ended the first quarter with a 4.8% gain, while the S&P 500 industrials sector rose nearly 11% over the same time. "Right now the only thing the market cares about is whether the Fed remains in control even if the economy re-accelerates," Alonzo said. "If that idea was upset somewhat and the Fed had to imply that rate hikes were back on the table, that would be a shock to investors and cause a real issue for all assets." Economic readings next week, including ISM manufacturing data, ISM services, and the closely-watched non-farm payrolls report, which economists polled by Reuters expect to show a growth of 198,000 jobs in March. Investors should not be surprised if the market rally starts to slow as the Fed nears a potential rate cut, noted Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. Since 1989, the S&P 500 has gained an average of 15.5% between the last rate hike of a cycle and the first rate cut, but gained an average of just 5.4% in the six months following the first rate cut, he said. Still, strong momentum in the first quarter has historically carried over to the following quarter, said Keith Lerner, Co-Chief Investment Officer at Truist Advisory Services. Of the 11 times that the S&P 500 has posted a total return of 10% or more in the first quarter, the market continued to advance in the second quarter 9 times, with an average gain of 6.2%, he said. "The market deserves the benefit of the doubt and at this point we think bull market rules apply," Lerner said. The biggest risk to a continued rally would be a sign that the Fed is considering keeping rates at current levels through the end of the year, which would lead to "dramatic" repricing of risk assets, he said. The likelihood of a market slowdown will also depend largely on corporate earnings, which came in surprisingly robust and helped push the S&P 500 to a series of record closing highs despite the market repricing interest rate policy, said Emily Roland, Co-Chief Investment Strategist at John Hancock Investment Management. S&P 500 earnings grew at a 10.1% pace in the last quarter of 2023, more than double the 4.7% expected advance, according to LSEG I/B/E/S. High interest rates will likely weigh on consumer and corporate spending, with analysts expecting a 5.1% earnings growth over the first quarter. Companies begin reporting results in earnest the second week of April. "If earnings continue to surprise to the upside, the Fed will have a hard time justifying 3 cuts this year," Roland said. "But if we see a leveling out of inflation this economic re-acceleration could turn into something more sustainable." 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/wall-st-week-ahead-investors-eye-fed-rate-cut-earnings-key-sustaining-market-2024-03-29/

2024-03-31 12:30

ABIDJAN, March 31 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara will increase the official cocoa farmgate price to 1,500 CFA francs ($2.47) per kg from Tuesday from the current 1,000 CFA, sources at five different export companies said. The sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said they were citing a decision at a government meeting on Saturday. Earlier in the day, Ouattara had validated a proposal for a price of between 1,100 and 1,200 CFA francs per kg before reversing his decision and asking that the price be even higher, the sources said. The government and the cocoa regulator the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) could not be reached for comment on Sunday. Cocoa prices have more than tripled over the last year as disease and adverse weather pushed the global market to a third successive deficit, but the official farmgate price that growers can charge for their beans in Ivory Coast, a top producer, has yet to reflect this. "There were several proposals on the table and as a last resort the president wanted the highest possible price for the producers so he decided 1,500 CFA per kg instead of 1,200 CFA, which had been validated previously," the director of a European export company told Reuters. "Ultimately in the current context, this is the best possible price that the CCC can pay because the sales system in Ivory Coast is such that it is difficult to change prices during the season," the person added. The director of another international export company said: "The president judged the world market situation to be exceptional and wanted an exceptional reaction too." The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ivory-coast-raise-cocoa-farmgate-price-by-50-2024-03-31/

2024-03-31 11:53

DOHA, March 31 (Reuters) - QatarEnergy (QATPE.UL) CEO Saad Al Kaabi announced on Sunday that the company has finalised a number of charter contracts with several Asian ship owners to bolster its shipping fleet by 19 LNG vessels ahead of a massive expansion in LNG output. In a ceremony at its Doha headquarters state-owned QatarEnergy signed contracts to charter six vessels from CMES LNG Carrier Investment, six vessels from Shandong Marine Energy and three vessels from MISC Berhad. Those 15 vessels will be built at South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries, QatarEnergy said in a press release. An additional four vessels will be operated by a joint venture of Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and Hyundai Glovis and are being built by South Korea's Hanwha Ocean shipbuilders. The agreements signed on Sunday bring the total number of ships QatarEnergy has contracted to 104, the company said, 43 of which will be charterd by affiliate QatarEnergy Trading. The 19 new LNG vessels announced on Sunday will each have a capacity of 174,000 cubic meters, QatarEnergy said. QatarEnergy's North Field expansion will boost its position as the world's top LNG exporter. It includes eight LNG trains that will ramp up Qatar's liquefaction capacity from 77 million tons per annum (mtpa) to 142 mtpa by 2030, an 85% increase in production. 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/qatarenergy-charter-19-lng-more-vessels-expanding-fleet-further-2024-03-31/

2024-03-31 11:20

NEW DELHI, March 31 (Reuters) - India's top refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS) , opens new tab entered a pact with Panasonic Energy to form a joint venture to manufacture lithium-ion cells in India, the refiner said in a statement on Sunday, to prepare for rising local demand. The agreement follows an initial understanding between the two companies on lithium-ion cells in January. Lithium-ion batteries, which power electric vehicles (EV) and are used to store energy, are expected to play a major role in India's goal to be a net zero emitter of greenhouse gases by 2070. The country is expected to see sales of more than 10 million EVs a year by 2030, according to an annual Economic Survey. Get U.S. personal finance tips and insight straight to your inbox with the Reuters On the Money newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/indian-oil-panasonic-energy-enter-pact-make-lithium-cells-2024-03-31/