2024-03-27 23:41

NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - Automakers face "daunting" government regulations to sell half of new vehicles by 2030 as electric or plug-in hybrids despite a U.S. decision to soften the final rules over its initial, tougher proposal, a top industry official said on Wednesday. Under all compliance scenarios, automakers will need to sell at least 50% plug-in and EVs by 2030 to meet regulatory targets, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Under the initial proposal, they were projected to need to sell 60% EVs by 2030 and 68% by 2032. John Bozzella, who heads the Alliance for Automotive Innovation trade group, said the revised rules represent "very ambitious and daunting targets. There's no sugarcoating that." After heavy lobbying by the automakers that called the EPA's initial April 2023 proposal "neither reasonable nor achievable," the 2027-2032 EPA vehicle emissions rules dramatically soften yearly requirements, dropping its U.S. electric vehicle adoption target from 67% by 2032 to as little as 35%. Bozzella had urged the Biden administration to make changes. "I said, 'You need to slow the pace of the rules.' And they did," Bozzella said. "Why? Because they saw what was happening in the market: a choppy EV retail environment" along with inadequate public charging stations and not yet mature EV supply chains. The EPA rule cuts vehicle emissions by 49% by 2032 compared with 56% under the initial proposal. Pablo Di Si, head of Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) , opens new tab North American business, called the 2032 requirements "extremely tough." He said the automaker will not change "one product launch" as a result of the softer rules, which will "not change the end game for the U.S. and for VW," and will continue with EV rollout plans. Hyundai (005380.KS) , opens new tab Global Chief Operating Officer Jose Munoz said on Wednesday that the EPA revised standards are "a little bit less demanding but is still challenging." The company is spending $12.6 billion to ramp up EV and battery production. Toyota Motor (7203.T) , opens new tab called the initial EPA proposal "extreme and outside historical norms." Jack Hollis, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, said the company does not plan to change its product portfolio depending on who wins the White House in November. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, strongly supports electric and hybrid vehicles as part of an effort to fight climate change. His main opponent, Republican former President Donald Trump, has criticized Biden's backing of EVs, saying they will destroy the U.S. auto industry and destroy jobs. "It just changes literally the regulations and the timelines to get to where we're going to end up going anyway," Hollis said at an auto show forum. 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/automakers-face-daunting-task-meet-2032-ev-rules-industry-says-2024-03-27/

2024-03-27 23:39

Merck up after U.S. FDA approves therapy for rare lung condition Trump's media firm extends gains after stellar debut GameStop faces 'unsustainable' sales decline, shares slide NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were higher on Wednesday, with the Dow leading gains and the S&P 500 setting a closing record, paced drugmaker Merck, while investors looked towards the next piece of inflation data and Federal Reserve commentary for signals on the rate path. Merck & Co (MRK.N) , opens new tab advanced 4.96% as the best performer on the Dow after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its therapy for adults suffering from a rare lung condition. The blue-chip Dow now sits less than 1% away from breaking the 40,000 level for the first time. Gains on the tech-heavy Nasdaq were held in check, however, by 2.5% decline in AI giant Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab, which lost ground for a second straight session. Shares were still up more than 80% on the year, however. Recent data that showed hotter than expected inflation in the form of consumer prices (CPI) and producer prices (PPI) failed to markedly disrupt market expectations for a rate cut of at least 25 basis points (bps) from the Federal Reserve in June. The Fed kept its projections for three rate cuts this year intact at its policy meeting last week, which central bank officials have largely stood by this week in comments. The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE), the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, is due on Good Friday, when the U.S. stock market will be closed. "The Fed can and should take its time, largely because the economy is affording them that flexibility with the strength that we're seeing, and that premature rate cuts only probably set us up for a more adverse outcome," said Craig Fehr, head of investment strategy at Edward Jones in St. Louis. "The real challenge for Fed officials has been massaging and guiding market expectations when they swing too far in one direction or another." Later in the day, Fed Board Governor Christopher Waller is expected to speak at the Economic Club of New York later in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 477.75 points, or 1.22% , to 39,760.08, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 44.91 points, or 0.86%, to 5,248.49 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 83.82 points, or 0.51%, to 16,399.52. The gains marked the biggest daily percentage advance for the Dow since Dec. 13. All three major U.S. stock indexes were poised for quarterly gains, with the S&P on track for its biggest first quarter percentage gain since 2019. Traders see a 70.4% chance the Fed will begin its easing cycle in June, according to the CME FedWatch Tool , opens new tab. Each of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with rate sensitive utilities (.SPLRCU) , opens new tab and real estate (.SPLRCR) , opens new tab were the best performers, climbing 2.75% and 2.42%, respectively, getting a lift as bond yields eased. Among individual stocks, Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT.O) , opens new tab jumped 14.19% a day after its stellar Nasdaq debut. On the down side, GameStop (GME.N) , opens new tab, plunged 15.03% after the videogame retailer reported lower fourth-quarter revenue and said it had cut an unspecified number of jobs to reduce costs. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 4.5-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.68-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 62 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq recorded 184 new highs and 79 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.65 billion shares, compared with the 12.2 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. Activity is expected to lighten ahead of the Friday holiday. 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-recover-focus-shifts-fed-officials-comments-2024-03-27/

2024-03-27 23:23

NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - Recent disappointing inflation data affirms the case for the U.S. Federal Reserve to hold off on cutting its short-term interest rate target, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Wednesday, but he did not rule out trimming rates later in the year. "There is no rush to cut the policy rate" right now, Waller said in a speech at an Economic Club of New York gathering. Recent data "tells me that it is prudent to hold this rate at its current restrictive stance perhaps for longer than previously thought to help keep inflation on a sustainable trajectory toward 2%." Rate cuts are not off the table, however, Waller said, noting that further progress expected on lowering inflation "will make it appropriate" for the Fed "to begin reducing the target range for the federal funds rate this year." It could take a few months of easing inflation data to gain that confidence, but until then, a strong economy gives the Fed space to take stock of how the economy is performing, Waller said. Pushing back the start of rate cuts will likely affect how much easing happens this year, he said. "It is appropriate to reduce the overall number of rate cuts or push them further into the future in response to the recent data." Waller's comments were his first since last week's Fed policy meeting where officials, as expected, maintained the overnight policy rate at 5.25% to 5.5%. Policy makers also affirmed forecasts from year-end 2023 for three rate cuts this year, based on the expectation that inflation will fall back toward 2% as the year moves forward. However, unexpectedly strong inflation this year has called into question whether the Fed can deliver on its forecast. Fed officials are waiting to see if recent data reflects a temporary setback in the effort to reduce price pressures, and if so, this could mean dialing back rate cut expectations for the year. At the press conference following last week's policy meeting, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said current policy risks are "two sided." "We're in a situation where if we ease too much or too soon, we could see inflation come back, and if we ease too late, we could do unnecessary harm to employment and people's working lives," he said. "We want to be careful" and the strength of the economy gives the Fed space to watch the data before deciding what to do with interest rate policy, he added. At the end of February, Waller signaled he was among the officials with some skepticism about any near-term rate cuts, given that the economy is showing strong growth amid a very strong labor market. In comments after his formal remarks on Wednesday, Waller said there is an extremely high bar to the central bank raising rates. “Something would really have to dramatically change on the inflation front to think about" pushing rates higher, he said. Instead, he said, the question before the Fed is when to ease rates and "it’s just a question of when you start." 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/feds-waller-still-sees-no-rush-cut-rates-amid-sticky-inflation-data-2024-03-27/

2024-03-27 23:21

HOUSTON/WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Wednesday awarded contracts to buy 2.8 million barrels of oil for the government's emergency reserve for more than $81 a barrel, $2 above the target purchase price. The Department of Energy (DOE) said , opens new tab it will spent $225.6 million to buy oil to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) from Atlantic Trading & Marketing, Macquarie Commodities, and Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals. The oil is set to be delivered in September. The price is about $81.32 a barrel, based on the DOE announcement. The energy department has previously said , opens new tab it aims to purchase at a price of $79 per barrel or below, less than the average of about $95 it received for 2022 emergency SPR sales. A spokesperson for Department of Energy said the average purchase price for Wednesday's and earlier purchases together remained below $79. DOE has already purchased 26.28 million barrels of oil for the SPR for an average price of $76.47, as well as accelerated nearly 4 million barrels of exchange returns. 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-buy-oil-spr-oil-above-79-target-price-latest-round-2024-03-27/

2024-03-27 23:14

March 27 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday during his visit to Brazil that a potential trade agreement between the European Union and the South American Mercosur bloc as it stands is a "very bad deal" and more climate commitments are needed. "As it is negotiated today, it is a very bad deal, for you and for us," Macron told businessmen in Sao Paulo while on a three-day trip to Latin America's largest economy, amid troubled talks over a free trade deal between the two economic blocs. "There is nothing that takes into consideration the subject of biodiversity and climate; nothing," Macron said. "Let's forge a new deal in light of our goals and reality, a trade deal that is responsible on development, climate and biodiversity." While Brazil has said it is ready to sign a deal, France has repeatedly expressed reservations and said its farmers have objected to the prospect that could allow in agricultural imports, notably beef, that do not meet strict EU standards. "We still have time," said Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad at the same event. "It's true we lost an opportunity at the end of last year, but we should not give up on this deal." Haddad added that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had invested a lot of time in the deal and would keep investing in a closer relationship with the European market. Earlier this month, European officials said "decisive progress" was possible by July. Macron also called for much more direct investment from Brazilian firms into France and said the two countries could cooperate on investing in third markets, notably in Africa. Lula has visited several African nations since he returned to power last year and said he wants to resume the "good and fruitful" relations his country used to have with the continent when he was first elected as president in the 2000s. His government has also looked to reverse policies under the prior government of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro that sought to undo climate protections. At upcoming G20 and COP summits in Brazil, Macron said he planned to push for more international standards to financially incentivize banks, firms and investors to decarbonize industrial processes and better preserve the environment. "We need to go much faster, much stronger, much farther," he said. Macron added he had spoken with Lula earlier on Wednesday about closer cooperation across their defense industries, saying he wanted to "go beyond" producing helicopters and submarines and saw "immense bilateral potential" in this sector. France is the world's No. 2 arms exporter, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, with its sales surging over recent years notably to buyers in India, Qatar and Egypt. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/frances-macron-says-proposed-eu-mercosur-agreement-is-very-bad-deal-2024-03-27/

2024-03-27 22:00

March 27 (Reuters) - The remains of two people have been recovered from the Patapsco River near where a Baltimore bridge collapsed, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. Get weekly news and analysis on the U.S. elections and how it matters to the world with the newsletter On the Campaign Trail. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/remains-two-people-recovered-following-baltimore-bridge-collapse-washington-post-2024-03-27/