2024-03-22 10:31

EU aim to curb Russian income and prevent market distortion EU says Russian farm exports low now, but could rise EU leaders debate response to months of farmer protests BRUSSELS, March 22 (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed on Friday imposing tariffs on imports of grain from Russia and Belarus in an attempt to prevent Moscow and its ally from distorting EU markets and placate farmers who have protested for months over cheap imports. The Commission said the tariffs were also designed to limit Russia's ability to fund its war in Ukraine and to curb its sales of grain stolen from Ukraine. The EU has expressly avoided imposing sanctions of Russian agricultural produce so as not to disturb global supplies. The Commission said that, with tariffs, transit of grain through the bloc to other countries would still be allowed as would financing, insurance, storage and transport of such shipments. Traders said earlier this week that Russian and Belarusian shipments to the bloc are low, certainly relative to those from Ukraine, and that the imposition of tariffs was largely symbolic. Russia exported 4.2 million metric tons of cereals, oilseeds and derived products to the EU in 2023, worth 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion). A Commission official said this represented about 1% of the EU market. However, the Commission said there was a risk imports could increase, given Russian overall wheat exports had risen to 50 million tons from the usual 35 million tons. The tariffs will be 95 euros ($102.76) per ton for cereals and 50% for oilseeds. They can be applied after approval from EU governments, which are likely to give assent within a few weeks. The proposal came as European Union leaders debated the EU response to farmer complaints over environmental rules and the suspension of tariffs on agricultural imports from Ukraine since Russia's invasion in 2022. The latter has caused ructions in the bloc. Both France and Poland have criticised a provisional deal reached on Wednesday to extend tariff-free access for a further year with new curbs on some food products. There is broader agreement on keeping out measures targeting Russia and Belarus. On Wednesday, agriculture ministers of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland wrote to the Commission urging it to act. ($1 = 0.9248 euros) 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/eu-proposes-hitting-russia-belarus-grain-imports-with-tariffs-2024-03-22/

2024-03-22 10:13

March 22 (Reuters) - Ukraine's energy grid is receiving urgent assistance from Poland, Romania and Slovakia after a wave of Russian air strikes that damaged energy facilities and left more than 1 million people without power, national grid operator Ukrenergo said. Polish transmission grid operator PSE is helping its Ukrainian counterpart by supplying 300 megawatts (MW) of power between 0600GMT and 1100GMT, PSE said on Friday. "Later, the flow will depend on the needs of their system and our ability to help," Maciej Wapinski, a PSE spokesman, said. The European Union and Ukraine linked , opens new tab their electricity grids in March 2022 soon after Russia's invasion began, enabling Ukraine to receive emergency power from Europe if military attacks caused outages. 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/ukraine-energy-grid-getting-help-abroad-after-russian-strikes-operator-says-2024-03-22/

2024-03-22 10:05

March 22 (Reuters) - Reddit (RDDT.N) , opens new tab will need to spend heavily on content moderation as it may face greater scrutiny as a public company, analysts said, threatening its longstanding policy of relying on an army of volunteers to maintain order on its platform. The newly listed company warned in its initial public offering (IPO) paperwork that its unique approach to content moderation can sometimes subject it to disruptions like in 2023, when several moderators protested against its decision to charge third-party app developers for access to its data. Depending on volunteers is not sustainable, given the regulatory scrutiny that the company will now face, said Julian Klymochko, CEO of alternative investment solutions firm Accelerate Financial Technologies. "It's like relying on unpaid labor when the company has nearly a billion dollars in revenue," he added. Reddit reported revenue of $804 million in 2023, according to an earlier filing. Reddit will need to make substantial investments in trust and safety, which could lead to a "dramatic" rise in expenses, Klymochko said. A spokesperson for Reddit said that alongside moderators, it also had robust internal safety teams, which used a combination of artificial intelligence, machine learning and human review to enforce its content policy , opens new tab. The policy allows a ban on users and communities for harassment, inciting violence and hateful content. The company also invests in safety tools for moderators to help automate their tasks, the spokesperson added. Stamping out offensive content is crucial for social media platforms, which can see an exodus of advertisers keen on preventing ads from appearing next to unsuitable material. Many advertisers have been wary of Elon Musk's X after it loosened moderation policies. Josh White, former economist at the Securities and Exchange Commission and assistant professor of finance at Vanderbilt University, also said that banking on free volunteers is Reddit's biggest risk. The company would need to ramp up spending on anti-misinformation efforts especially as the U.S. prepares for the presidential election later this year, White said. "We believe our approach is the most sustainable and scalable moderation model that exists online today. We are continually investing in and iterating on new tools and policies to improve our internal capabilities," the Reddit spokesperson said. STELLAR DEBUT Reddit shares notched a 48% gain in their debut on the New York Stock Exchange, getting a warm reception from investors despite the company not having turned an annual profit since its launch in 2005. They were down nearly 5.4% on Friday. Trading in the stock will be closely watched over the next few weeks for more clues about investor interest in new share issues following a prolonged freeze in the market, analysts have said. "Reddit's successful IPO represents a return to pre-pandemic days when investors were happy to lap up shares in loss-making companies if they offered a compelling narrative," said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell. Popular investor Cathie Wood's ARK Invest also bought nearly 10,000 shares of the company on Thursday, an email from the asset manager showed. The Technology Roundup newsletter brings the latest news and trends straight to your inbox. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/reddit-dips-day-after-strong-nyse-debut-2024-03-22/

2024-03-22 09:05

March 22 (Reuters) - Popular investor Cathie Wood's ARK Invest bought nearly 10,000 shares of Reddit in the social media platform's strong market debut on Thursday, an email from the asset manager showed. A total of 9,982 shares of the loss-making company was added to ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW.P) , opens new tab and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF.P) , opens new tab, according to the email from late on Thursday. That holding was worth $503,492 based on the stock's closing price for the day, according to Reuters' calculations. Wood's flagship fund outperformed all U.S. equity funds in 2020, turning her into a household name among retail investors. 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/cathie-woods-ark-invest-scoops-up-nearly-10000-reddit-shares-debut-2024-03-22/

2024-03-22 07:25

SINGAPORE, March 22 (Reuters) - PetroChina's Jieyang refinery will receive its first direct crude oil cargo from Venezuela this weekend, according to trade sources and shiptracking data on Kpler, after Washington temporarily lifted sanctions on the OPEC producer. The 2 million barrels of Venezuelan Merey crude onboard supertanker Elysia is due to arrive at Jieyang on March 24, Kpler data showed. PetroChina did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters reported in November that state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) and PetroChina were in talks for a crude supply deal during the six-month reprieve. Washington last year relaxed sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry in return for promises to open its presidential election to international observers and allow the opposition to choose its candidate, which has not happened. If the U.S. does not renew next month the license granted in October that lifted sanctions, PDVSA would probably return to using intermediaries to sell its oil to buyers such as China, likely at discounts. Jieyang, a greenfield 400,000-bpd refinery and petrochemical complex in southern China Guangdong province, is the newest among PetroChina's refining facilities. The plant started trial runs in late 2022 and was designed to process heavy oil such as crude from Venezuela. PetroChina dropped PDVSA as the partner for the Jieyang complex in 2019 after the United States imposed sanctions on PDVSA to undermine the rule of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. 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/petrochinas-jieyang-refinery-receive-first-venezuelan-oil-cargo-2024-03-22/

2024-03-22 06:53

Over 150 missiles and drones fired in attack Zelenskiy says Ukraine needs air defences, political will Kyiv says Russia targeted energy facilities Over a million people cut off from power in Ukraine Ukraine's largest dam hit but no danger of breach KYIV, March 22 (Reuters) - Russia pounded Ukrainian power facilities on Friday in an attack described by Kyiv as the largest airstrike on its energy infrastructure in two years of war, and portrayed by Moscow as revenge for Ukrainian attacks during its presidential election. The missile and drone attack hit a vast dam over the Dnipro river, killed at least five people and left more than a million others without power, forcing Kyiv to seek emergency electricity supplies from Poland, Romania and Slovakia, Kyiv officials said. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, said the strikes proved again that Russian attacks on infrastructure could be halted only with more air defence systems and that required political will from Ukraine's allies. "Russian terror is only possible now because we don't have enough modern air defence systems which, to be honest, requires enough political will to provide them," Zelenskiy said. "All our partners know what is needed and who can make truly life-saving decisions." Military aid to Ukraine from Western allies has slowed in recent months, in particular a $60 billion package from Washington, stalled by political disputes in the U.S. Congress. The strikes, which Kyiv said caused blackouts in seven regions, revived memories of the winter of 2022-23 when Moscow regularly bombed Ukraine's power grid. Zelenskiy said repair work had made progress, with the worst outages in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, central Dnipropetrovsk region and Ivano-Frankivsk in the west. The Russian defence ministry said the airstrike was carried out in retaliation for Ukrainian shelling and cross-border raids last week as Russians took part in a stage-managed election that handed President Vladimir Putin a fifth term. Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said: "The goal is not just to damage, but to try again, like last year, to cause a large-scale failure of the country's energy system." Russia denies targeting civilians, although the war that began with its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands of people, uprooted millions and destroyed towns and cities. "STATE OF WAR" Moscow says Ukrainian power facilities are legitimate targets and such attacks are aimed at weakening Kyiv's military. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a Russian publication on Friday that Moscow saw itself as in a "state of war" because of the West's intervention on Kyiv's side. The comment marked a rhetorical break from the "special military operation" language that Moscow has used, an apparent move to prepare Russians for a longer and harder struggle. European Union Council President Charles Michel said Russia's comments about war with Europe showed the importance of the EU's building its own defence industry. Two people were killed in the western Khmelnytskyi region and three in Zaporizhzhia in the southeast, including at least one at the dam, said the local administration and general prosecutor's office. More than 30 people were reported injured. Ukraine's largest dam, the DniproHES in the city of Zaporizhzhia, was hit eight times, an official from the Ukrainian prosecutor's office said. The state hydropower company said there was no risk of a breach. The company's director, Ihor Syrota, said both its power blocks and the dam itself had been damaged. A state ecological inspectorate said that oil had leaked into the Dnipro river which the dam straddles. "The wide impact of today’s attacks on critical civilian infrastructure is deepening the already dire humanitarian situation for millions of people in Ukraine," the UN's humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, said in a statement. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said around 20 substations and electricity stations had been hit in addition to the dam. Russia fired 88 missiles and 63 Shahed drones, of which only 37 and 55, respectively, were shot down, the Ukrainian air force said of the attacks. That represented a worse ratio than usual, possibly reflecting Moscow's widespread use of ballistic missiles that are harder to shoot down and also the proximity of the targeted regions to Russian-controlled areas. Some 1.2 million people in at least four regions were left without power due to the attacks, presidential aide Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-says-russian-strike-hit-ukraines-largest-dam-during-mass-strike-energy-2024-03-22/