2024-03-04 23:56

March 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) further delayed its decision on an application by asset manager BlackRock (BLK.N) , opens new tab for its spot ethereum exchange-traded fund, according to a regulatory filing on Monday. BlackRock in November last year filed its application for its iShares Ethereum Trust, which will be listed on the Nasdaq if approved. Ether is the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. The SEC in January delayed its decision on BlackRock's application after it gave the green light to several bitcoin ETFs. A spot crypto ETF tracks the market price of the underlying digital asset, giving investors exposure to the token without having to buy the currency. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/us-sec-further-delays-decision-blackrocks-spot-ethereum-etf-2024-03-04/

2024-03-04 23:48

SYDNEY, March 5 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Tuesday was forced to fly on a commercial flight to attend an ASEAN summit in Melbourne after a technical snag hit his military aircraft, with local media reporting the delay may impact his meetings. Luxon's flight was scheduled to take off from the capital Wellington on Tuesday morning, but pre-flight checks found a technical fault with the aircraft's nose landing gear system, a spokesperson for the New Zealand Defence Force said in an emailed response. A spokesperson for Luxon's office confirmed the prime minister took a commercial flight to Melbourne. Luxon met the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, after reaching Melbourne though New Zealand media reported the prime minister could miss his meetings with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone. Melbourne is hosting leaders and officials from the Association of Southeast Asian countries (ASEAN). New Zealand is not a member and Luxon is travelling at the invitation of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. New Zealand's defence force uses two Boeing 757-200s received in 2003 to carry the country's leaders. The aircraft have become unreliable in recent years, with maintenance issues stranding its leaders abroad or delaying official trips on several occasions. Former prime minister Jacinda Ardern in 2019 was forced to fly home from Australia on a commercial flight. A military plane carrying her broke down in Washington, D.C. in 2022, while she also had to spend an extra night in New Zealand's research station in Antarctica due to the aircraft's mechanical issues. New Zealand Air Force has been asked to look at back-up options to return the prime minister back home on Wednesday as engineers work to rectify the technical snag, the defence spokesperson said. The second Boeing aircraft is on scheduled maintenance and is therefore unavailable. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-zealand-pm-flies-commercial-asean-summit-after-fault-grounds-aircraft-2024-03-04/

2024-03-04 22:49

NEW YORK, March 4 (Reuters) - Microstrategy (MSTR.O) , opens new tab shares fell in extended trade on Monday, after the company announced a private offering for $600 million in convertible senior notes, with proceeds to be used to buy bitcoin. Shares of the bitcoin development company were down 3.3% at $1,290 after surging 23.59% to $1,334.01 during trading hours, their highest level since March 2000, as the cryptocurrency jumped in price to a high of $67,938 on the session. The move added $4.4 billion in market value, bringing the total to $22.6 billion, per LSEG data. The cryptocurrency is within striking distance of its record high of $68,999.99 hit in November 2021. Shares of Microstrategy have shot up 111% year-to-date. The offering is the latest in a string of convertible bond deals as high U.S. interest rates and rising share prices have provided a tailwind. Last Monday, the company disclosed it had bought about 3,000 bitcoins for roughly $155.4 million in cash, at an average price of $51,813 each, and that as of Feb. 25, it held about 193,000 bitcoins, purchased at an average price of $31,544 each. https://www.reuters.com/technology/microstrategy-shares-fall-after-announcing-convertible-offering-buy-bitcoin-2024-03-04/

2024-03-04 22:28

March 4 (Reuters) - New York Community Bancorp (NYCB.N) , opens new tab shares extended their slide days after the lender replaced its CEO and flagged "material weaknesses" in internal controls related to a loan review. The shares tumbled over 23% to close at their lowest since 1996. They had dropped as much as 26% on Friday despite the bank saying that potential issues related to its financial reporting would not impact its 2023 results. "Unfortunately, these additional news items place further scrutiny on the company at a time when it needs to restore confidence," analysts at Morningstar DBRS said in a note. NYCB has been under pressure since it posted a surprise fourth-quarter loss on Jan. 31 due to higher provisions tied to its exposure to the beleaguered commercial real estate (CRE) sector, and cut its dividend. Last week, it revised its quarterly loss to $2.7 billion, citing a $2.4 billion goodwill impairment tied to transactions from 2007 and before, and the bank named financial services veteran George Buchanan as its chief risk officer. "The return to the news cycle will once again test customer loyalty and deposit stickiness given this new round of stock price pressure following the fallout from a disappointing 4Q23," the ratings agency said. The lender is also subject to stricter capital and liquidity norms as its balance sheet now exceeds the $100 billion regulatory threshold due to the acquisition of Flagstar and purchase of some assets of failed Signature Bank. Shares in the bank have slumped over 73% so far this year as worries related to its CRE exposure spilled over globally. The KBW Regional Banking Index (.KRX) , opens new tab - a key gauge of investor sentiment towards the sector - was down nearly 12% in the same period. Short-sellers targeting a key regional U.S. bank exchange-traded fund have made $977 million on paper so far this year, while NYCB's plunge has fetched them $145 million, data from analytics firm Ortex showed. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/nycb-shares-eye-rebound-after-sell-off-material-weakness-disclosure-2024-03-04/

2024-03-04 22:00

BRUSSELS, March 4 (Reuters) - The European Union should support struggling European manufacturers of solar panels, but cannot close its borders to imports of such products, EU energy policy chief Kadri Simson said on Monday. Factory closures among Europe's few solar panel makers have prompted the industry to seek emergency support from Brussels - potentially including trade restrictions on cheap Chinese imports that European companies have struggled to compete with. However, Simson ruled out cutting off imports, which she said could compromise the EU's ability to install enough solar energy capacity to meet climate targets. Most solar panels and parts deployed in Europe are imported from China. "There are different proposals how we can support our industry, but clearly we cannot close our borders because we need solar panels," Simson told reporters on her arrival to a meeting of EU countries' energy ministers. "We have to support our industry, but we need all the products to meet our very ambitious targets," she added. EU countries' energy ministers will discuss proposals to address the sector's challenges on Monday. The suggestions, which Simson and EU industry commissioner Thierry Breton detailed in a letter to the ministers ahead of the meeting, include using more national state aid to support solar manufacturers, and organising solar auctions and support schemes that support solar panels with high environmental and labour standards - criteria that could give EU manufacturers an edge. Companies installing solar capacity could also commit to including EU-made products in their portfolios, said the letter, seen by Reuters. It suggested ministers jointly agree to take up some of the proposals at one of their upcoming EU meetings. EU countries installed record levels of solar capacity last year, 40% more than in 2022. Most of those panels and parts came from China – in some cases, 95%, International Energy Agency data show. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-cannot-close-borders-solar-imports-energy-chief-says-2024-03-04/

2024-03-04 21:49

TSX ends down 0.1% at 21,531.07 Energy falls 1.2%; oil settles 1.5% lower Materials sector rallies 2.1% Gold climbs to 3-month high March 4 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged lower on Monday, weighed by declines for energy shares, as investors turned cautious ahead of U.S. and Canadian jobs data as well as a Bank of Canada interest rate decision this week. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended down 21.28 points, or 0.1%, at 21,531.07, after posting on Friday its highest closing level since April 2022. The Canadian central bank is widely expected to leave its benchmark rate on hold at a 22-year high of 5% on Wednesday. Investors may look to the rate decision "for hints on when or if interest rate cuts may be coming," Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management, said in a note. U.S. and Canadian jobs data, due on Friday, could also move the market this week, Cieszynski said. The energy sector fell 1.2% as oil settled 1.5% lower at $78.74 a barrel, giving back some recent gains. The consumer staples sector was also a drag, falling 1.3%, but the materials sector, which includes which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, was up 2.1%. Helping the materials sector, the price of gold climbed to a three-month high, driven by increased bets for a June interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. https://www.reuters.com/markets/tsx-eyes-downbeat-start-ahead-data-packed-week-boc-decision-2024-03-04/