2024-03-08 21:24

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, March 8 (Reuters) - TC Energy (TRP.TO) , opens new tab temporarily shut down the Keystone oil pipeline on Thursday to investigate a South Dakota landowner's report about a possible leak that proved unfounded, the Canadian company and a U.S. pipeline regulator said on Friday. TC told the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) about the reported leak and conducted aerial observation and water analysis that found no evidence of a spill before restarting the line, PHMSA said. A spokesperson for Calgary, Alberta-based TC Energy said a landowner in South Dakota's Marshall County noted a sheen in water from his well, one mile from the pipeline corridor. "This was not an operational incident. The pipeline was shut down out of an abundance of caution," the TC spokesperson said. The shutdown of the 622,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) pipeline interrupted the flow of Canadian oil from Alberta to Nebraska, where the line splits, with one arm running east to the Midwest and the other running south to the U.S. crude storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma. The outage took down the entire Keystone system for five hours, according to real-time pipeline monitoring by consultancy Wood Mackenzie. Wood Mackenzie said as of Friday morning, Keystone flows had rebounded to their pre-shutdown level of more than 600,000 bpd. The pipeline has been dogged by problems, most recently a major spill in rural Kansas in 2022. TC shares eased slightly in New York. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/tc-energy-briefly-shut-keystone-oil-pipeline-unfounded-leak-concern-us-regulator-2024-03-08/

2024-03-08 21:04

BRASILIA/RIO DE JANEIRO, March 8 (Reuters) - Brazil's government will push state-run oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA) , opens new tab to reinvest cash set aside for dividends, two sources told Reuters, after its board spiked an extra dividend, blindsiding investors and sending shares plunging 10% on Friday. Petrobras CEO Jean Paul Prates on Friday spent over two hours on an earnings call trying to ease concerns that Brazil's leftist government was shifting the company's capital management strategy to prioritize investments over shareholder payouts. At a board meeting on Thursday to discuss fourth-quarter earnings, Prates had presented a management proposal for a payout of 50% of the extraordinary dividend allowed by its bylaws, but government-appointed board members voted it down. The decision to withhold that payment came from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at a meeting with Prates and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira this week, said one of the people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity. In its earnings release, Petrobras said it would only pay a routine dividend of 14.2 billion reais ($2.9 billion) to shareholders, while 43.9 billion more would be set aside in a fund for "capital remuneration." During the Friday call with investors, Chief Financial Officer Sergio Caetano repeatedly tried to calm investors by saying the cash was set aside for investors and not investments, without giving a timeline for any payouts. Decisions on extraordinary dividends will still come at the end of each fiscal year. "Some doubts arose as to whether it could be used for investments. It cannot be used for investments, the purpose of this reserve is for distributing dividends," he said. Brazil's government, the majority shareholder at Petrobras, wants to revise the rules governing that reserve so it can be used for reinvestment, said the two government officials familiar with the matter. That would boost concerns among investors that Lula wants to use Petrobras to bolster Brazil's economy and create more jobs, as his Worker's Party did over a decade ago with a capital spending spree that left the company deeply indebted. Later on Friday, Petrobras issued a statement dismissing a report by local newspaper O Globo that said Prates threatened to step down if the dividends were not paid. The firm said Prates did not offer to step down due to "this or any other matter" and also dismissed O Globo's report that he would have explained himself to minority shareholders. In recent years, Petrobras has become a cash cow for its shareholders, including the Brazilian government, with the prior management paying out far more than Western oil major peers. Under new management picked by Lula, the company had pared back its payouts, but an extraordinary dividend was still widely expected. Goldman Sachs analysts told clients that investors had voiced expectations of a $3 billion to $4 billion extraordinary dividend in addition to the predetermined year-end payout. The lack of an extra dividend triggered a slew of downgrades, including at Bank of America, Bradesco BBI and Santander, as analysts questioned how the firm would spend its growing cash reserves. The decision "heightens the risk perception at Petrobras, particularly on the government influence regarding major capital allocation decisions," analysts at Bank of America wrote in a note to clients while downgrading the stock to neutral. Petrobras reported a 6.3% drop in its fourth-quarter net recurring profit to 41 billion reais, beating expectations of 35.3 billion reais among analysts polled by LSEG. ($1 = 4.9769 reais) https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/petrobras-loses-14-billion-market-cap-after-stiffing-dividend-hopes-2024-03-08/

2024-03-08 20:48

Two leaders discuss Ukraine war, grain deal, defence ties Erdogan offers to host Ukraine-Russia peace talks No Russia at first peace summit in Switzerland, Zelenskiy says Turkey has sought to maintain good ties with Ukraine and Russia ISTANBUL, March 8 (Reuters) - Turkey is ready to host a summit between Ukraine and Russia to end the war, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Istanbul. In a meeting lasting about an hour, Erdogan and Zelenskiy discussed developments in the Ukraine-Russia war, shipping security in the Black Sea including the defunct grain deal, and defence industry cooperation, according to the two sides. NATO member Turkey supports Ukraine's territorial integrity, but also maintains cordial relations with Russia, and regularly speaks with both sides in the conflict, notably as a sponsor of the Black Sea deal that lifted a de facto Russian blockade of Ukrainian grain exports. "We discussed developments about the war in detail today, I stated our observations with all my sincerity," Erdogan said at a press conference alongside Zelenskiy, whose trip comes before an expected visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin following elections in Russia on March 15-17. "We are giving our utmost contribution for the war to end on the basis of negotiations. We are ready to host a peace summit that Russia will attend too," he said, adding he had reiterated Ankara's support for Ukraine's sovereignty. Turkey had hosted peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in 2022, but has since complained that no diplomatic step has been taken to advance these discussions. It has repeatedly offered to host further talks, saying a summit of leaders was needed. Zelenskiy said Russia would not be invited to the first peace summit due to be held in Switzerland in the coming months, but that a Russian representative could be invited to the next meeting after a roadmap for peace had been agreed upon with Ukrainian allies. "We do not see any representatives of Russia at this summit. We don't see how you can invite people who block, destroy, and kill everything. We want to get a result - a just peace," he said. Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said after meeting Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that it was time for Ukraine and Russia to start ceasefire talks, but added that this must not mean the recognition of Russia's occupation. DEFENCE INDUSTRY COOPERATION Turkey has provided Ukraine with armed drones and also inked an agreement for their joint production at a factory near Kyiv, but progress has been hindered by the war. It has provided Kyiv with other forms of military support, but opposes the Western sanctions on Russia. After arriving on Friday, Zelenskiy visited a shipyard near Istanbul to inspect construction work on two corvettes for the Ukrainian navy. He later said he had discussed the joint production of some arms and ammunition with Erdogan. "Today, we have reached agreements on joint defence projects both at the government level and between companies," he said on the social media platform X after meeting Erdogan. "I met with the Turkish defence industry representatives. We are prepared to move quickly to put everything we discussed into action," he added, without elaborating. Talks also touched on the Black Sea grain deal, which was brokered by Turkey and United Nations and allowed Ukraine to safely export grain from its ports. Ankara has pushed to revive it, but Russia, which said its requests for better terms for its own food and fuel exports were ignored, has said it is not interested. As part of its balancing act, Turkey maintains its defence industry ties with Ukraine while deepening energy cooperation with Russia. It also inked an accord to take part in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. Reuters exclusively reported last month that a U.S. threat to hit financial firms doing business with Russia with sanctions had chilled Turkish-Russian trade, disrupting or slowing some payments for both imported oil and Turkish exports. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkey-stress-ukraine-support-during-zelenskiy-visit-turkish-source-says-2024-03-08/

2024-03-08 19:54

ABUJA, March 8 (Reuters) - Foreign exchange inflows to Nigeria rose to $2.3 billion in February, the central bank said on Friday, fuelled by renewed interest from foreign investors and a rise in overseas remittances. Africa's largest economy has been experiencing crippling dollar shortages that have pushed its naira currency to record lows in recent weeks and forced the central bank to devalue the naira twice in less than a year. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) spokesperson Hakama Sidi Ali said foreign investors bought at least $1 billion of Nigerian assets last month, bringing total receipts of portfolio inflows to $2.3 billion. That compares with $3.9 billion for the whole of 2023. CBN data also showed overseas remittances more than quadrupled to $1.3 billion in February, compared with $300 million a month earlier, Sidi Ali said in a statement. "All the different measures we have taken to boost reserves and create more liquidity in the markets have started to pay off," CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso said in the statement. The CBN's series of measures to boost forex liquidity include limiting how much banks can hold in foreign currency, capping their net open positions at 20% of shareholders' funds, and outlawing street-trading of foreign currency. Higher forex inflows have continued in March, Sidi Ali said, driven by increased investor interest in short-term sovereign debt after the CBN hiked its key interest rate by 4 percentage points to 22.75%, the highest in around 17 years to tame soaring inflation. At the CBN's Open Market Operation auction on March 6 when it sold securities worth 1.053 trillion naira, bids from foreign investors accounted for 79% of the total, or $530 million, Sidi Ali said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/nigeria-sees-surge-forex-inflow-overseas-remittances-rise-2024-03-08/

2024-03-08 19:27

WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's proposed tax credits for certain home buyers and sellers could help boost the nation's housing supply and make homes more affordable, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday, a day after the president unveiled the proposal in his annual State of the Union speech. Yellen said in an interview on MSNBC that Biden's top economic priority was helping Americans deal with higher prices and major living expenses, including the high cost of housing. The White House said the proposed credit would provide middle-class first-time homebuyers with an annual tax credit of $5,000 a year for two years -- the equivalent of cutting interest rates by more than 1.5 percentage points on the median-priced home. To encourage more homeowners to sell their "starter homes" to these buyers, Biden is proposing a one-year, $10,000 tax credit, which would apply to homes below their area's median home price. Many of these buyers are locked into low mortgage rates, and the credit is aimed at offsetting higher mortgage costs for a "trade-up" or downsized home. According to a White House fact sheet , opens new tab, the credits will aid some 3.5 million first-time homebuyers and 3 million sellers. Based on credit rates, that would cost some $65 billion over two years. Asked on MSNBC whether the credits could overheat the economy, Yellen said Biden wanted to make sure that middle-class families could afford to buy homes. "He's also proposing steps to expand the supply of housing," Yellen said. "And I believe they would be very helpful: investing in refurbishment of properties, expanding the low-income housing tax credit that will be helpful to Americans deal(ing) with the shortage of affordable housing." But these credits would need approval by Congress, which is struggling to approve this year's government funding amid Republican demands for spending cuts. Passage in an election year is extremely unlikely, but a major revamp of the tax code is expected in 2025, when the Republican-passed individual tax cuts expire. Biden's inclusion of the housing tax credit proposals in his address, along with a pledge to use other tools to encourage the development or renovation of over 2 million homes to close a housing supply gap, underscores the importance of housing affordability on the minds of voters. "The lack of affordable housing supply is hurting the middle class and depriving first-generation and first-time homebuyers of the financial security that homeownership and the American Dream provide," National Association of Realtors President Kevin Sears said in a statement. He added that the group was "grateful" that Biden was willing to explore new tax measures to help deal with a shortfall of 5.5 million affordable housing units in the U.S. In his fiscal 2025 budget on Monday, Biden will also call for an expansion of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit and a $20 billion competitive grant fund to support development of affordable multifamily rental units, the White House said. Moody's economist Nick Luettke said in a research note that tax incentives to encourage more renters to jump into home ownership would free up apartment units, easing price pressure on that market. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-treasurys-yellen-tells-msnbc-housing-tax-credit-could-help-supply-2024-03-08/

2024-03-08 19:21

DUBAI, March 8 (Reuters) - A vessel travelling 50 nautical miles southeast of Yemen's city of Aden reported on Friday two explosions in the sea ahead of it, but the ship was not struck or damaged and the crew is safe, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi group has launched drone and missile attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden since November. They say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians over the war in Gaza. Citing the vessel master, UKMTO said the ship targeted in the attack was proceeding to its next port of call. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/new-incident-reported-sea-off-yemen-2024-03-08/