2024-03-26 12:28
COPENHAGEN, March 26 (Reuters) - The Dali container vessel that collided on Tuesday with a bridge in Baltimore was chartered by shipping company Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) , opens new tab, the Danish group said in a statement. The ship carried Maersk customers' cargo but none of the company's crew or personnel were onboard, it added. "We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected," Maersk said. Maersk's share price fell on the news, trading down 3.2% at 1019 GMT. The Dali was set to depart Baltimore early on Tuesday and arrive at Colombo on April 22, according to a schedule on Maersk's website. The vessel is owned by Singapore's Grace Ocean Pte, according to LSEG data, and managed by Synergy Marine Group. "We are closely following the investigations conducted by authorities and Synergy, and we will do our utmost to keep our customers informed," Maersk said. 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/ship-that-collided-with-baltimore-bridge-was-chartered-by-maersk-2024-03-26/
2024-03-26 12:24
MOSCOW, March 26 (Reuters) - Russia's prosecutor general, in a televised meeting on Tuesday, ordered state prosecutors to fight against rising prices for fuel and consumer goods. "Heads of large trading companies have been warned against unjustified fuel price increases," Igor Krasnov said in a speech. "Within the framework of instructions given earlier, supervisory means should be used to identify and suppress price collusion and other abuses related to the overvaluation of food prices and other socially significant markets." Inflation is running at nearly twice the central bank's 4% target, and pressure on fuel prices has been exacerbated by Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries. Krasnov did not specify why he thought why price rises required the attention of law enforcers. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-prosecutor-general-orders-fight-against-unjustified-price-rises-2024-03-26/
2024-03-26 12:24
LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - The pound strengthened against the dollar on Tuesday and held steady on the euro as markets continued to digest the implications of last week's central bank meetings, including the Bank of England's. The pound was last up 0.17% against the dollar at $1.2658, extending gains from the previous day and moving further off a one-month low of $1.25755 hit on Friday following the BoE meeting the day before. Those gains on Tuesday were largely a result of the weakening dollar. The pound was unchanged versus the euro, with one euro worth 85.75 pence. Euro/sterling has traded in a very narrow range in recent months and one month volatility for the pair is currently around its lowest since 2006. The quiet data calendar is offering traders "the opportunity to take stock of last week's market moves. On the UK side of the equation this meant a modest unwind of BoE easing expectations ... which seemed overly aggressive to us coming into the week", analysts at Monex Europe wrote in a note. Current market pricing shows roughly a 65% chance the British central bank starts cutting rates by its June meeting, with a very small chance of a move at its next meeting in May, a slight decline from the day before. Markets last week had seen August as the most likely date for the first BoE rate cut, but traders adjusted their expectations after the central bank said at its Thursday meeting that inflation is moving in the right direction for interest rate cuts. Markets are now pricing in a broadly similar rate trajectory for the BoE, European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve, seeing each of them beginning monetary easing in June with a 25 basis point rate cut, with two further cuts this year. Should those expectations remain aligned, analysts say moves sterling/dollar, euro/sterling and euro/dollar are all likely to remain fairly muted. Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/sterling-edges-up-dollar-ever-stable-versus-euro-2024-03-26/
2024-03-26 12:03
By Promit Mukherjee and David Ljunggren OTTAWA, March 26 (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada (BoC) on Tuesday said businesses urgently needed to boost investment to increase productivity, saying this would help insulate the economy against the threat of inflation. "I'm saying that it's an emergency - it's time to break the glass," Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers told a business audience in the Atlantic province of Nova Scotia. "Increasing productivity is a way to protect our economy from future bouts of inflation without having to rely so much on the cure of higher interest rates." The Bank of Canada has raised rates to a 22-year high and says it is still too early to discuss when they might start coming down. Rogers did not mention a potential time line for rate cuts. Policymakers and businesses have for years fretted over poor productivity in Canada which Rogers blamed on low levels of investment, a lack of competition and the inability of new Canadians to use their skills properly. "What really sticks out is how much we lag on investment in machinery, equipment and, importantly, intellectual property," she said. Inflation could be more of a threat than it has been over the past few decades, as the benefits of globalization decrease and prices come under pressure from demographics, climate change and global trade tensions, she said. "An economy with low productivity can grow only so quickly before inflation sets in," she said. The central bank had thought productivity would improve in the wake of the pandemic but so far this has not happened, she said. At the same time, companies in rival nations are investing more than Canada. This, she said makes it "increasingly urgent that we turn the situation around". The labor productivity of Canadian businesses rose 0.4% in the fourth quarter after falling for six straight quarters. Annual productivity declined 1.8% in 2023, its third consecutive year of decline, according to Statistics Canada data. ((Reuters Ottawa bureau, [email protected] , opens new tab)) Keywords: CANADA CENBANK/ 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/bank-canada-sounds-alarm-low-productivity-cites-inflation-risks-2024-03-26/
2024-03-26 11:56
March 26 (Reuters) - Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge (ENB.TO) , opens new tab said on Tuesday it would form a venture with I Squared Capital and pipeline firms WhiteWater and MPLX (MPLX.N) , opens new tab to connect Permian supplies to the U.S. Gulf Coast to tap into strong LNG demand for exports. Enbridge will have a 19% stake, WhiteWater and I Squared a combined 50.6% stake while MPLX will hold 30.4% in the venture. The deal is expected to close in second quarter. U.S. was the largest exporter of LNG in 2023 with several new export facilities expected to come online by the end of the decade. The JV would include 100% interests in Enbridge's wholly-owned Rio Bravo Pipeline, which connects to NextDecade's (NEXT.O) , opens new tab Rio Grande LNG project in Brownsville, Texas, and the Whistler pipeline, which transports natural gas from the Permian to nearly the starting point of the Rio Bravo pipeline. It will also have a 70% interest in the proposed ADCC pipeline that would connect to Cheniere Energy's (LNG.N) , opens new tab Corpus Christi LNG export facility and a 50% interest in the Waha Gas storage. Enbridge will fund the first $150 million of the post-closing capital to complete the Rio Bravo project. It will also provide $350 million in cash to the venture. The Permian is largest U.S. oil shale patch and Enbridge has disclosed plans to expand its capacity in the basin. 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/enbridge-form-natural-gas-supply-venture-2024-03-26/
2024-03-26 11:50
March 26 (Reuters) - Baltimore's Francis Scott Key bridge collapsed Tuesday morning , opens new tab after a container ship smashed into the structure, plunging cars into the water. It is a major traffic and transportation hub for the United States' East Coast and the entry point to the Port of Baltimore. BRIDGE HISTORY: The four-lane steel bridge opened in 1977 after five years of construction and spans 1.6 miles (2.6 km). It crosses over the Patapsco River, where U.S. national anthem author Francis Scott Key wrote the "Star Spangled Banner" in 1814 after witnessing the British defeat at the Battle of Baltimore and the British bombing of Fort McHenry. It has 185 feet (56 meters) of vertical clearance. Built at an estimated cost of $110 million, it allowed for more traffic lanes and carried lower operating and maintenance costs than a tunnel. TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORT INFO: The bridge carries 11.3 million vehicles a year, the Maryland Transportation Authority says, on the I-695 highway that circles Baltimore, also known as the Baltimore Beltway. OTHER BRIDGES IMPACTED Other structures along the route include a 0.64-mile dual-span drawbridge over Curtis Creek and two 0.74-mile parallel bridge structures that carry traffic over Bear Creek, near Bethlehem Steel's Sparrows Point plant. COMMUTE DISRUPTIONS: Maryland's Transportation Authority called the incident a "major traffic alert" and redirected cars to the I-95 or I-895 highways. Large trucks are prohibited from using the 1-95 tunnel route that goes under the Baltimore harbor. BALTIMORE PORT TRAFFIC: Because of the bridge's collapse, ships are not leaving the Port of Baltimore, shipping and insurance sources say. Over 40 ships remained inside Baltimore port including small cargo ships, tugboats and pleasure craft, data from ship tracking and maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic showed on Tuesday. At least 30 other ships had signaled their destination was Baltimore port, the data showed. 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/what-do-we-know-about-baltimores-francis-scott-key-bridge-2024-03-26/
