2024-02-29 02:45

SINGAPORE/LONDON, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Bitcoin was on track for its biggest monthly gain in more than three years on Thursday and within sight of a record high, propelled by cash rushing into exchange-traded funds. The approval and launch of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S. this year has opened the asset class to new investors and reignited the excitement that evaporated when prices collapsed in the "crypto winter" of 2022. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation was last up 3.4% at $62,205, having changed hands at $63,933 overnight, the highest since late 2021. Bitcoin's monthly gain is more than 47%, its largest since December 2020, and its rally has pulled ether along in its wake. The smaller cryptocurrency topped $3,500 for the first time since April 2022 on Wednesday and was last up 4.3% at $3,466, taking its February increase to 52%. The momentum in bitcoin suggested "a test and likely break" of $69,000, said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at brokerage IG Markets. That would put bitcoin beyond its record high set in the heady days of crypto peaks in November 2021. "If this were any other market, it would likely be in the 'blow-off top - don't go near that bubble' category," said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index. "But bitcoin is back in its parabolic-rally phase, with no immediate signs of a top." The head of Coinbase Global (COIN.O) , opens new tab said the exchange was dealing with a surge in traffic and LSEG data shows around $612 million flowed into the 10 largest spot bitcoin ETFs on Wednesday, the most since Feb 14. BlackRock's iShares bitcoin trust (IBIT.O) , opens new tab was the major beneficiary, with $550 million in flows - the most in a single day to the fund since its inception in January. Traders have also poured into bitcoin ahead of April's halving event, a process that takes place every four years in which the rate at which tokens are released is cut in half, along with the rewards given to miners. Supply of bitcoin is limited to 21 million, of which 19 million have already been mined. In addition, the prospect of the U.S. Federal Reserve delivering a series of interest rate cuts this year has lowered the yields available on bonds and boosted investor appetite for riskier assets, including fast-growing tech stocks. "Rate cuts matter," said Geoff Kendrick, head of crypto research at Standard Chartered, "If you can get higher returns elsewhere, Treasury yields are higher, then you're comparing that against what you can earn from bitcoin". Kendrick said the health of the U.S. economy and the inflows into bitcoin funds have been more important factors. "The ETF inflows have been huge," he added. https://www.reuters.com/technology/soaring-bitcoin-set-sharpest-monthly-jump-since-2020-2024-02-29/

2024-02-29 00:46

Buying party is an entity owned by GEAR and M Resources Deal subject to waiver of pre-emptive rights by BlueScope South32 shares up as much as 5.3% Feb 29 (Reuters) - Australia's South32 Ltd (S32.AX) , opens new tab on Thursday said it had agreed to sell its Illawarra metallurgical coal business to a consortium led by an Indonesian-owned company for $1.65 billion, exiting coal to focus on expanding in copper and zinc. The coal business is being sold to an entity owned by Golden Energy and Resources (GEAR) and M Resources, building on GEAR's metallurgical coal holdings in Australia. The deal comprises an upfront cash payment of $1.05 billion at completion, and a deferred cash consideration of $250 million payable in 2030. Analysts said the incoming cash would ease concerns around South32's balance sheet as it prepares to bring its $2.16 billion Taylor zinc project online in the United States. "From our perspective, the sale price for met coal looks to be fair and this is an ageing asset that requires ongoing reinvestment to support the associated infrastructure," Citi analysts said in a note. Shares of the diversified miner were trading 1.4% higher at 0031 GMT, outperforming the broader market (.AXJO) , opens new tab, after having jumped as much as 5.3% earlier in the session. The Illawarra project generated $1.64 billion underlying revenue in fiscal 2023 for South32, about 18% of its total underlying revenue. South32 CEO Graham Kerr said the deal will streamline the company's portfolio and unlock capital to invest in development projects in copper and zinc. "The transaction will also simplify our business and reduce our capital intensity," Kerr added. The deal is expected to complete in the first half of fiscal 2025, subject to certain conditions including an approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board. It is also subject to a waiver of pre-emptive purchase rights held by BlueScope Steel (BSL.AX) , opens new tab which buys Illawarra coal, under the same commercial terms and conditions. BlueScope, in a separate statement, said it will "consider its position" on the project sale. Singapore-registered GEAR, owned by Indonesia's Widjaja family, would hold 70% of the Illawarra business, while Australia's privately held M Resources would own the rest, post completion of the deal. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/australias-south32-sells-flagship-illawarra-project-165-bln-2024-02-28/

2024-02-29 00:44

MELBOURNE, Feb 29 (Reuters) - The world's biggest listed miner BHP Group (BHP.AX) , opens new tab said on Thursday it was disbanding some global teams and transferring those roles covering functions including planning, environment and heritage protection to its mining asset-level management. BHP employs more than 80,000 people in staff and contractors around the world and the announcement comes after CEO Mike Henry has flagged the lack of productivity improvement and high costs of its Australian workforce. The changes will take place at BHP's operational assets in Australia and the Americas. BHP did not say how many jobs would be impacted if any, but the Australian Financial Review reported some roles related to a standalone planning and technical division and a unit for health safety and the environment have already been cut. "As part of our continuous improvement in how we approach our work, we have made some changes to better align work activities within assets and support quicker decision making,” a BHP spokesperson told Reuters, after an email outlining the changes was sent internally. The changes mean that responsibility for decisions around health, safety, environment, planning, heritage management, decarbonisation and rehabilitation will come under the heads of each operational asset, according to BHP. In Australia, BHP's assets include Western Australian iron ore, Nickel West, South Australian copper, Queensland metallurgical coal and New South Wales energy coal. In the Americas it includes its Chilean copper mines and Canadian potash. Among other changes, warehousing and logistics roles will also become site specific rather than a global function, while operational decarbonisation will come under a national team supporting each country's assets, the company said. BHP will keep group level teams in health, safety and security, sustainability and social value and its maintenance centre of excellence align standards, consistency, strategy and governance. The restructure comes as BHP decides the fate of its loss-making Nickel West operations after a flood of Indonesian supply hammered prices in the past year. Nickel West employs around 3,000 staff and Henry said a decision was expected in the coming months when the miner announced a half-year underlying profit of $6.6 billion on Feb. 20. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/bhp-restructure-some-global-corporate-roles-it-looks-trim-costs-2024-02-29/

2024-02-29 00:42

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Wall Street's top regulator will vote on March 6 on whether to adopt rules requiring U.S.-listed companies to report climate-related risks, the agency said in a notice on Wednesday, in a potentially major overhaul of U.S. disclosure rules. The Securities and Exchange Commission rules aim to standardize climate-related company disclosures about greenhouse gas emissions, risks and how much money they are spending on the transition to a low-carbon economy. The agency says that such information is important for investors. Currently, US securities regulations do not impose common standards for climate-related disclosures. But the agency says that investors need such information to be consistent and comparable across the many companies increasingly producing climate information on their own terms. First proposed two years ago, the rules are part of Democratic President Joe Biden's agenda to address climate change threats through federal agencies, and would join similar requirements in Europe and California. Top Democratic lawmakers, reform advocates and environmental groups have urged the SEC to adopt "strong" rules requiring detailed disclosures of emissions, risks and capital spending. "The information that it would require about a company's greenhouse gas emissions is critically important to investor decision-making," Washington advocacy group Better Markets recently wrote in a note urging the SEC to adopt the rules. But the pending regulations have been bogged down by pushback from companies and Republican state officials who say they overreach the SEC's remit and will be burdensome for companies. They are expected to bring legal challenges once the rule is finalized. While the SEC has not published a final draft, it has dropped its most ambitious "Scope 3" plank which would have required companies to disclose emissions from their supply chains, Reuters reported on Feb. 23. That change could help the rule withstand court challenges, sources said. The SEC has also softened requirements for disclosures of Scopes 1 and 2 emissions - pollution categories for which companies are directly responsible, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The initial proposal made these disclosures mandatory. But the draft rule now under consideration would compel such disclosures only if companies deem they are material, meaning in some instances they might not be reported at all, the people said. A spokesperson for the SEC said the agency would not comment on possible changes to regulations in development. "Based on the public feedback, the staff and the Commission consider possible adjustments to the proposals and whether it's appropriate to move forward to a final adoption," the spokesperson said. The proposed regulations stand out for their scale and importance. They could prove to be the biggest overhaul of U.S. disclosure requirements in a generation, some securities law experts say. They have attracted more than 16,000 public comments, the most in the SEC's history, SEC Chair Gary Gensler has said. If the rules survive, they could prove to be Gensler's crowning legacy. The SEC's five politically appointed commissioners will vote on whether to adopt the rules. Democratic Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw has defended the rules as originally drafted, according to a different source familiar with her thinking. However, Gensler, also a Democrat, generally only schedules votes he expects to win, suggesting he has Crenshaw's support. Crenshaw's office did not respond to a request for comment. Concerns over whether the rules could withstand a legal challenge were fueled by a 2022 Supreme Court decision curbing the Environmental Protection Agency's power to regulate emissions. Encouraged by a more conservative-leaning judiciary skeptical of regulatory overreach, business groups are also generally growing bolder , opens new tab about litigating agency rules. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/us-sec-vote-long-awaited-climate-disclosure-rule-notice-says-2024-02-28/

2024-02-29 00:05

LONDON, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Britain's Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV), a company aiming to make flying on a giant helium-filled aircraft a reality before the end of the decade, said on Thursday it had started the process for gaining safety approval from the UK regulator. HAV said it had applied for Type Certification, which signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, and a process with the Civil Aviation Authority for its Airlander 10 was underway, as it seeks to commercialise a new type of flying. The Airlander 10 emits up to 90% less carbon than conventional flying although it is much slower, with journeys expected to take just under double the time. But its sustainable credentials mean HAV has already secured interest from airline customers like Spain's Air Nostrum, and HAV believes its Airlander could be in service by 2028. "Applying for Type Certification is a key milestone in our journey," said HAV Chief Executive Tom Grundy. In 2016 Airlander, nicknamed the "flying bum" after its double-hulled shape, crash landed during trials, and a year later it was pictured ripped and deflated after it came loose from moorings. But HAV said it has improved its technology since then. Using aerodynamics, buoyancy and vectored thrust from four combustion engines, the Airlander flies at about the same altitude as a helicopter when it is pumped full of helium, a key difference from the hydrogen-filled airships made infamous by the Hindenburg disaster of 1937. Airlander's hardened fabric shell is almost as long as a football pitch and the height of six double decker buses, and it carries a cabin below which can fit 100 seats. HAV said it will agree a plan with the CAA to set out the basis for certification which will include analysis, simulation, laboratory, ground and flight tests. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-helium-filled-aircraft-company-kicks-off-safety-approval-process-2024-02-29/

2024-02-28 23:34

U.S. Q4 economic growth revised slightly lower Applied Materials slips following SEC subpoena UnitedHealth drops after report of antitrust probe Indexes down: Dow 0.06%, S&P 500 0.17%, Nasdaq 0.55% NEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed slightly lower on Wednesday, a day ahead of a key inflation reading that could heavily influence expectations for the timing of an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, is expected to show prices ticked 0.3% higher on a monthly basis in January. Stocks have struggled to retain upward momentum in recent days leading up to the data after a lengthy rally peaked last week on enthusiasm around the potential for artificial intelligence (AI), fueled by Nvidia's (NVDA.O) , opens new tab quarterly earnings. Evidence of stubborn inflation in recent data on consumer and producer prices, a resilient U.S. economy, and commentary from some Fed officials have caused the market to dial back expectations , opens new tab for the Fed's first rate cut to June from March. "Now that those earnings catalysts are behind us in the rearview mirror there could be some softness as now the market has to get its arms around the inflation trajectory and the Federal Reserve's reaction, whether it's with rhetoric or a higher-for-longer policy," said Keith Buchanan, senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT Investments in Atlanta. "Any embers or symptoms of resurgence in pockets, or in aggregate, of inflation will definitely be taken pretty harshly by the markets." The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 23.39 points, or 0.06% , to 38,949.02, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab lost 8.42 points, or 0.17%, to 5,069.76 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab lost 87.56 points, or 0.55%, to 15,947.74. Data on Wednesday confirmed the U.S. economy grew at a solid clip in the fourth quarter on strong consumer spending but it appears to have lost some speed early in 2024. Along with the PCE data, reports for weekly initial jobless claims and manufacturing activity are due this week and will also help gauge the economy's strength and path of interest rates. Boston Fed Bank President Susan Collins said on Wednesday the Fed should be "taking time" to assess data before making any policy change in order to be sure to deliver on both of the central bank's mandates of maximum employment and price stability. In addition, New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said that even as there is still some distance to cover in achieving the Fed's 2% inflation target, the door is opening to rate cuts this year depending on how the data come in. UnitedHealth (UNH.N) , opens new tab fell 2.95% as the biggest drag on the Dow and one of the largest on the S&P 500 after a report on Tuesday said the U.S. Department of Justice had launched an antitrust investigation into the healthcare conglomerate. Semiconductor equipment supplier Applied Materials (AMAT.O) , opens new tab lost 2.62% on news that it received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in February. Beyond Meat (BYND.O) , opens new tab shot 30.72% higher as the plant-based meat maker placed its bets on price hikes and steep cost cuts to turn around its battered margins, triggering a squeeze on its highly shorted shares. Major cryptocurrency firms Coinbase Global (COIN.O) , opens new tab advanced 0.7% and peer Marathon Digital (MARA.O) , opens new tab closed 2.38% higher but both ended well off their earlier highs as bitcoin surged to nearly $64,000 before paring gains. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.21-to-1 ratio on the NYSE while on the Nasdaq, declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.72-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 67 new 52-week highs and one new low. The Nasdaq recorded 173 new highs and 95 new lows. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-edge-lower-us-inflation-data-looms-2024-02-28/