2024-03-15 17:25

EU proposals focus on giving farmers more flexibility EU agriculture ministers to debate measures on March 26 Farmers have protested against costs of regulation WARSAW/BRUSSELS, March 15 (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed on Friday an easing of a series of rules on leaving land fallow or rotating crops, offering concessions to farmers who have protested with tractor blockades across Europe over the past few months. The European Union executive said it was sending its proposals to the 27 EU member governments and the European Parliament to reflect on how to improve the position of farmers in the food supply chain. It said the list of possible actions would be discussed by national agriculture ministers, who are next due to convene in Brussels on March 26. EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski had been due to present the reforms on a visit to his native Poland earlier on Friday, but said this was delayed due to a dispute over the timing of some changes. Polish farmers have been among those that have staged weeks of protest across the EU to press a series of demands, including removing restrictions placed on them by the EU's Green Deal plan to tackle climate change, as they say they cannot afford them. Poland's farmers have a particular grievance because of increased competition from neighbouring non-EU Ukraine's farmers, who they accuse of flooding EU markets with cheap imports that leave them unable to compete. Commission proposals concentrate on offering farmers more flexibility in heeding mainly environmental rules, such as to protect peat land, limit water pollution and soil erosion, while continuing to benefit from EU agriculture fund payments. For example, farmers will be able to get more financial support for keeping a share of their land non-productive, such as with hedges or trees, to improve biodiversity. Farmers could carry out crop diversification, rather than crop rotation. Certain crop types could also be exempt from rules on tillage, soil cover or rotation. In addition, exemptions could be granted in cases of adverse weather, while small farms of below 10 hectares (25 acres) would not have to be subject to controls or penalties. Wojciechowski has faced calls to resign from all sides of the political spectrum in Poland, with farmers blaming him for the policies they oppose. The European Commission is especially anxious to quell opposition from farmers ahead of European Parliament elections in June in which the far right, for whom farmers represent a growing constituency, is expected to make gains. It has already set curbs on imports of Ukrainian farm products, allowed some exemptions to land needing to be left fallow, and also scrapped a plan to halve pesticide use. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-plan-ease-farmers-fallow-land-requirement-stalls-detail-2024-03-15/

2024-03-15 17:17

March 15 (Reuters) - Freddie Mac (FMCC.PK) , opens new tab said on Friday it has appointed Michael Hutchins as interim CEO, while the federal government-backed home mortgage company continues to search for a permanent chief. Hutchins will serve in this role until the earlier of the appointment of a permanent CEO or Sept. 30, the company said in a regulatory filing. He was named president of the company in 2020 and is a member of its senior operating committee. He joined Freddie Mac in 2013 and has worked for financial services companies such as UBS (UBSG.S) , opens new tab and Salomon Brothers in his career spanning 30 years. Hutchins will take on the role from Michael DeVito on March 16. DeVito served for nearly three years. The company is looking for a new CEO at a time when it "navigates a challenging market to Make Home Possible for borrowers and renters across the nation", it said. U.S. mortgage rates rose for a fourth straight week, Freddie Mac reported last month, reaching a two-month high, and again becoming a factor eroding buyer traffic as tight inventory and home price gains limited affordability among prospective home buyers. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/freddie-mac-appoints-michael-hutchins-interim-ceo-2024-03-15/

2024-03-15 17:00

Import prices increase 0.3% in February Manufacturing production rebounds 0.8% Consumer sentiment, inflation expectations stable in March WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - Production at U.S. factories increased more than expected in February amid a rise in temperatures, but data for the prior month was revised sharply down as manufacturing remains hamstrung by high interest rates. Manufacturing, which accounts for 10.3% of the economy, has been squeezed by 525 basis points worth of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve since March 2022. The U.S. central bank is expected to leave rates unchanged at the end of a two-day policy meeting next Wednesday. Financial markets anticipate rate cuts will start in June. "The manufacturing sector continues to face headwinds from higher borrowing costs and tighter credit conditions," said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. "However, lower interest rates as the Fed starts cutting the target range this year, as well as an onshoring of supply networks may provide support to factory activity in 2024." Manufacturing output rebounded 0.8% last month after a downwardly revised 1.1% drop in the prior month, the Fed said. Factory output was previously reported to have dropped 0.5% in January, weighed down by frigid temperatures. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast factory output would rise 0.3%. Production at factories fell 0.7% on a year-on-year basis in February. Despite the overall weakness, there remain pockets of manufacturing strength. Motor vehicle and parts output accelerated 1.8% last month, the U.S. central bank's report showed. That followed a 3.8% weather-induced decline in January. Durable goods manufacturing production increased 1.0%. Machinery output rose 1.7%. There were also big increases in the production of wood products as well as miscellaneous goods. Output of computer and electronic products rose as did that of electrical equipment, appliances and components. This bodes well for business investment. Production of nondurable goods rose 0.7%, lifted by the chemicals, printing and support, and paper output categories. Mild temperatures also boosted mining output, which rebounded 2.2% after plunging 2.9% in January. But oil and gas well drilling fell for the fourth straight month. It was down 10.1% on a year-on-year basis. Utilities production fell 7.5% as demand for heating ebbed. That followed a 7.4% surge in January. Overall industrial production gained 0.1% in February after falling 0.5% in January. Industrial production fell 0.2% on a year-on-year basis in February. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector, a measure of how fully firms are using their resources, was unchanged at 78.3%. It is 1.3 percentage points below its 1972-2023 average. The operating rate for the manufacturing sector rose six-tenths of a percentage point to 77.0%. It is 1.2 percentage points below its long-run average. Stocks on Wall Street were trading lower. The dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury yields were mixed. IMPORT PRICES RISE News on the inflation front was mixed. Import prices rose moderately in February after surging in January, but the overall disinflationary trend is slowing. Declining goods prices accounted for much of the cooling in inflation last year. Import prices were up 0.3% last month after a 0.8% jump in January, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The increase in import prices, which exclude tariffs, was in line with economists' expectations. In the 12 months through February, import prices dropped 0.8% after declining 1.3% in January. Though annual import prices decreased for the 13th straight month, the pace has slowed since prices slumped 2.4% in December. Government data this week showed both consumer and producer prices increased strongly for a second consecutive month in February. "While import prices continue to exert modest disinflationary pressure on U.S. consumer inflation, that pressure is waning," said Conrad DeQuadros, senior economic advisor at Brean Capital in New York. Imported fuel prices shot up 1.8% in February after rebounding 1.2% in the prior month. The cost of imported food increased 1.1% after advancing 1.7% in January. Excluding fuels and food, import prices gained 0.1%. These so-called core import prices increased 0.7% in January. They fell 0.7% on a year-on-year basis in February. The import price data did not change economists' expectations that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, excluding food and energy, increased 0.3% in February after a gain of 0.4% in January. The core PCE price index is one of the inflation measures tracked by the Fed for its 2% target. Core inflation is forecast to rise 2.8% in February, which would match January's gain. Consumers expected inflation to remain steady at higher levels over the next 12 months and beyond, a report from the University of Michigan showed. The University of Michigan survey's reading of one-year inflation expectations was unchanged at 3.0% in March. Its five-year inflation outlook held steady at 2.9% for a fourth straight month. Consumer sentiment was also stable this month. "Consumers may instead be taking their cue from recent political developments, with the low approval ratings of both candidates suggesting little enthusiasm about the rematch between President Joe Biden and Republican nominee Donald Trump later this year," said Stephen Brown, deputy chief North America economist at Capital Economics. 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-import-prices-rise-moderately-february-2024-03-15/

2024-03-15 16:37

March 15 (Reuters) - Fitch Ratings on Friday cut its rating outlook on Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab to "stable" from "positive," as it believes the U.S. planemaker may take roughly 12 months longer in achieving its goals such as 2025 free cash flow. Fitch also forecast 420-450 737 MAX deliveries in 2024, down about 100 units from its prior forecast. Make sense of the latest ESG trends affecting companies and governments with the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/fitch-cuts-boeings-rating-outlook-stable-sees-lower-max-deliveries-2024-03-15/

2024-03-15 16:05

Formal group could engage with Ukraine's govt on debt plans Ukraine forced into debt freeze after Russia's 2022 invasion Kyiv struggling to shore up its finances amid continued war LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - Ukraine's overseas bondholders are in talks to form a creditor committee ahead of debt rework talks with the country, according to four people with direct knowledge of the discussions. Time is of the essence for Ukraine to secure a restructuring before a two-year payment freeze agreed by holders of its $20 billion of outstanding international bonds ends in August. A formal group could kick off talks ahead of the International Monetary Fund's spring meetings, two sources said, which are scheduled to start on April 17 in Washington. Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 has shattered Ukraine's economy and finances, forcing it into a debt freeze to avoid a sovereign default. This would be the first effort to formalize debt talks between private bondholders and the country. A formal group would be able to engage with the government to hold detailed discussions and exchange concrete proposal, involving privileged information. The current push to get creditors together is coming from a number of sides, according to the sources. Ukraine's debt management office has reached out to some investors in an effort to get them organised as a creditor group, the sources said. Weil, the law firm that advised creditors on the nation's 2015 restructuring and on the payment pause, has also reached out to some of the country's largest creditors to prepare for debt talks, according to four sources, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. The creditor committee is expected to include eight to 12 large asset managers, one of the sources said. Weil did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Ukraine's DMO said authorities had never stopped exchanging opinions with the market on debt strategy and sustainability. "We keep collecting the feedback from investors on the approaches towards the commercial debt treatment in line with the intention we publicly announced a year ago," the spokesperson said. RUSSIA'S FROZEN ASSETS The war-torn economy has been sounding out major investors since late 2023 over plans to restructure the country's international debt and the possibility of raising fresh financing, as previously reported by Reuters. But so far discussions have only been held informally. What a restructuring could look like is unclear as it involves an economy engulfed in a war whose outlook, fiscal position and ability to pay back its debt remain highly uncertain. Some bondholders are hoping to emerge from a debt rework with new bonds that would deliver interest payments from the start, according to two of the sources. However, paying foreign bondholders might be unpalatable for Kyiv which is struggling to shore up its finances to keep the country afloat. In addition to issuing bonds as part of the rework, Ukraine could raise fresh financing by selling collateralized and guaranteed bonds. These could see Ukraine's international partners - either multilateral lenders or individual countries - provide collateral for the new bonds, akin to the so-called Brady bonds issued by Latin American countries in the late 1980s that were backed by U.S. Treasuries. The debt talks will unfold as Western officials are weighing confiscating some of the $300 billion-$350 billion worth of frozen Russian assets to help support Ukraine, but how it will be done remains highly complex given it would set a contested precedent. The reserves locked in the European Union - essentially bonds and other types of securities in which the Russian central bank had invested - are held in a Brussels-based depository called Euroclear. S&P Global Ratings said last week it expected the country to complete a debt restructuring with private creditors by the middle of this year, as it cut the country's rating deeper into junk territory. 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/ukraine-bondholders-poised-form-creditor-group-20-bln-debt-talks-sources-say-2024-03-15/

2024-03-15 14:31

March 15 (Reuters) - U.S. equity funds drew inflows for a third consecutive week in the seven days to March 13, with investors optimistic about a rally on Wall Street and clinging to hopes of rate cuts this year, even as inflation proves stubborn. According to data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), investors purchased $4.93 billion of U.S. equity funds, the largest net weekly purchase since Feb 14. Investor confidence has been bolstered by Wall Street's record-breaking rally this year and recent remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggesting the central bank is close to being assured that inflation has eased enough to start reducing interest rates. The S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab touched a record high of 5189.26 last week and has gained about 8% so far this year. Investors purchased U.S. large-, small- and multi-cap funds worth a net $2.88 billion, $1.8 billion and $771 million, respectively. However, mid-cap funds saw $584 million of net selling. Tech and financials attracted the biggest inflows at a net$554 million and $389 million, respectively. Consumer discretionary witnessed a net $889 million exit. Inflows to U.S. bond funds slowed sharply to a net $3.81 billion from $10.54 billion in the prior week. Demand for U.S. general domestic taxable fixed income cooled to a net $1.76 billion from $4.65 billion, and for short/intermediate investment-grade funds to $1.64 billion from $4.21 billion. Money market funds attracted a net $24.07 billion in a third week of inflows. 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-equity-funds-attract-inflows-third-week-row-2024-03-15/