2024-02-28 23:23

Japan ready to take appropriate action vs FX volatility - Kanda Japan tells G20 excess FX volatility was undesirable - Kanda Kanda says watching FX moves with sense of urgency SAO PAULO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Japan stands ready to take appropriate action against excessive exchange-rate moves, its top currency diplomat said following yen declines to levels seen by traders as heightening the chance of currency intervention. The warning by Masato Kanda, Japan's vice finance minister for international affairs, likely reflects Tokyo's desire to prevent further falls in the yen that would hurt households and retailers by boosting the cost of importing raw materials. "I won't comment on recent currency moves. But it's desirable for exchange rates to move stably reflecting fundamentals," Kanda told reporters on Wednesday on the sidelines of the G20 finance leaders' meeting in Sao Paulo. "We're watching currency moves with a strong sense of urgency, and ready to respond appropriately if we see excessively volatile moves," he said. The yen is the worst-performing major currency this year as funds and others have traded on the huge U.S.-Japan interest rate and bond yield gap, and bet that it will persist. It has shed 6% of its value against the dollar so far this year, falling below 150.00 per dollar to within sight of its post-1990 lows around 152.00 per dollar. Kanda, who is attending the G20 meeting on behalf of Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, said he called on policymakers to be mindful of the risk that volatility may heighten in financial markets, including for exchange rates. "I told the meeting that excess volatility in the currency market was undesirable, and that it was important to maintain the G20 commitment on exchange rates," he said. The G20 and the smaller G7 group of advanced nations share a common understanding that stable currency moves are desirable, and that countries have authority to take action in the market when exchange-rate moves become too volatile. Japan intervened in the currency market three times in 2022 when the yen plunged to 32-year lows near 152 yen to the dollar, conducting rare dollar-selling, yen-buying intervention. While authorities have not stepped in to the market since then, traders are on alert for any sign of intervention as the yen flirts at the 150-level seen as Tokyo's line-in-the-sand. Japanese authorities have repeatedly said they were paying more attention to the speed of currency moves, rather than levels, in deciding whether and when to intervene. The yen's recent declines have been driven in part by heightening market expectations that the Bank of Japan will keep interest rates ultra-low, even after pulling short-term borrowing costs out of negative territory. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/japans-top-fx-diplomat-ready-respond-vs-excess-currency-volatility-2024-02-28/

2024-02-28 23:17

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Software firm C3.ai (AI.N) , opens new tab on Wednesday posted better-than-expected quarterly results and narrowed its full-year revenue forecast range which was still ahead of Wall Street estimates, sending its shares up more than 14% in extended trading. The company also named Hitesh Lath as its chief financial officer, effective March 1, replacing Juho Parkkinen. Lath has been serving as C3.ai's chief accounting officer. Parkkinen, who has held the role since 2021, will remain at the company as vice president of finance, C3.ai said. The company now sees 2024 revenue between $306 million and $310 million, above analysts' estimates of $306.1 million, as per LSEG data. C3.ai had previously forecast $295 million to $320 million. Businesses have been looking for products that offer generative artificial intelligence capabilities to optimize their operations, sparking demand for companies such as C3.ai. Moreover, after the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT in November 2022, businesses are relying on products infused with AI technology to improve services in a highly competitive IT industry. C3.ai, which is an AI based software maker, is also a popular name among retail traders. For the fourth quarter, it expects revenue between $82 million and $86 million, compared to analysts' estimates of $84.45 million. Total revenue for the third quarter came in at $78.4 million above estimates of $76.14 million. Subscription revenue for the quarter was $70.4 million, above estimates of $66.77 million. On an adjusted basis, the company posted a smaller net loss of 13 cents per share, for the quarter ended Jan. 31, compared to estimates of a loss of 28 cents per share. https://www.reuters.com/technology/c3ai-posts-robust-quarterly-results-narrows-annual-revenue-forecast-2024-02-28/

2024-02-28 22:51

Feb 28 (Reuters) - German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp (TKAG.DE) , opens new tab on Wednesday said a media report about potential job and capacity cuts at its struggling steel division published earlier in the day was speculation. Newspaper Handelsblatt earlier reported that a restructuring programme of the steel division, dubbed "Stream", may cost at least 5,000 jobs and reduce the business's production capacity to 8 million to 9 million tonnes per year, down from 11.5 million currently. The report, which cited people familiar with the matter, said that Thyssenkrupp CEO Miguel Lopez had even proposed to the steel division's management a reduction to 6.5 million tonnes of capacity. "We are astonished by the speculation expressed in Handelsblatt," Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe said in a statement, citing comments by its chairman earlier this week that the unit was working on restructuring proposals to be discussed with the relevant committees in mid-April. "A 'Stream' project is just as non-existent as the group's planning target of 6.5 million tonnes." Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe said any speculation at this point was "highly dubious" and stoked fears among its workforce. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/thyssenkrupp-may-cut-5000-jobs-under-steel-unit-revamp-handelsblatt-2024-02-28/

2024-02-28 22:45

CHICAGO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - A third of the United States faced the threat of severe weather on Wednesday as strong winds, snow and tornadoes threatened the Southeast, Ohio Valley and East Coast, while a fierce winter storm bore down on the Northwest. A day after many Americans basked in a spell of summertime warmth in what is normally the coldest time of year, some 127 million people living in the eastern half of the nation were under wind advisories as colder weather returned. Gusts could reach 45 miles (72 km) per hour, the National Weather Service said. In the Pacific Northwest, a massive winter storm threatens to bring coastal rains, heavy snow in inland regions and powerful winds heading into Friday and Saturday. White-out conditions in some locations will make travel difficult, if not impossible, the NWS said. "There is a high chance of substantial, long-lasting disruptions to daily life in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada Mountains," the NWS said in its forecast, referring to the range straddling eastern California, where upward of 10 feet of snow and 100 mph winds were in the forecast. Meanwhile, tornadoes tore through several populated areas in Illinois, Ohio and Michigan, the NWS said. Columbus, Ohio, and its surrounding area was hit by tornadoes on Wednesday. A small county airport, homes and businesses were destroyed. No deaths or injuries had been reported by the afternoon. The NWS said another tornado touched down on Wednesday some 200 miles north in Grand Blanc, Michigan, tearing a wide path of destruction through the town of 8,000 people. In Illinois, at least five tornadoes touched down Tuesday night. Wednesday's national forecast was a dramatic shift from the unseasonably warm temperatures many Americans in the central U.S. experienced on Monday and Tuesday. Several spots in Texas registered record-breaking temperatures ranging as high as 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 degrees C) over the two days. Strong winds and relative low humidity in Texas were helping stoke four wildfires burning in the state's panhandle, where several small towns were evacuated. Just hours after Chicago and other Midwestern cities also enjoyed record-breaking temperatures in the 70s-80s F (21.1-26.6 degrees C) range, the mercury plummeted into the 20-30F range with gusty winds for the Wednesday morning commute. "It's the craziest weather I've ever seen and I lived here my whole life," said Kris Jares, 44, a manager at Buttermilk Geneva, a diner in Geneva, Illinois, some 40 miles west of Chicago. Forecasters said it was difficult to link the remarkable weather patterns to human-induced climate change, but such extremes are becoming more frequent because of global warming. Scientists say the seasonal El Nino weather pattern causing the waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean to warm is also contributing to the unusual weather across the nation. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/americans-brace-more-extreme-weather-winters-bite-returns-2024-02-28/

2024-02-28 22:29

NEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - U.S. officials this week indefinitely withdrew a survey aimed at gathering information on the crypto-mining industry's power use, hindering attempts to understand the sector's impact on grids and energy prices at a time of record activity. Riot Platforms (RIOT.O) , opens new tab, among the biggest U.S. bitcoin miners, and industry group Texas Blockchain Council, sued to , opens new tab stop mandatory data requests after a new survey went out this month by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) to assess crypto-mining's electricity use. As a result, U.S. officials canceled the emergency survey and are negotiating an agreement with the bitcoin mining plaintiffs to end the lawsuit, said two sources familiar with the situation. Crypto critics said halting the survey could create new vulnerabilities to the U.S. electrical grid, and one environmental group called industry opposition to the survey "reprehensible." Mining of digital coins hit a peak on Feb. 7 and is expected to consume more than 60 terawatt hours in the U.S. this year, or nearly the annual electricity consumption of Israel, according to Reuters calculations and estimates from firms producing data about Bitcoin and electricity use. Bitcoin mining power demand is projected to grow by more than a third globally through 2024, with the U.S. accounting for the largest share, according to energy analytics firm Enverus. It was unclear if the EIA would still pursue its survey or what sort of timeline such an effort would now entail. The U.S. made up 38% of global bitcoin mining as of January 2022, according to the latest data from Cambridge University. Anecdotally, that share is now likely closer to 50%, estimated Alexander Neumüller, a researcher at Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. Recent approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has boosted prices, which this week soared to $60,000, encouraging more mining activity. Last month the EIA, the Department of Energy's statistical arm, filed an emergency request to begin monitoring crypto-mining's power use, citing concerns its swelling footprint could raise power bills and overburden the vulnerable U.S. electrical network. Booming electricity consumption, and crypto-mining's unusual interplay with power markets, has affected grids in places like Texas and driven up energy costs for some consumers. "It's particularly reprehensible for Texan cryptocurrency miners to obstruct basic efforts to gather essential data energy regulators need to deliver reliable, affordable power,” said Holly Bender of environmental group Sierra Club. Bender pointed to a 2021 winter freeze that knocked out power across large swaths of Texas and killed over 200 people. 'SENSE OF URGENCY' The EIA began its survey of 82 miners the week of Feb. 5, requesting details about operations and energy use. Members of Congress, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, had requested a survey for more than a year. "The department is asking crypto-miners to report basic information about their energy usage — like other industries have done for decades — so the public and lawmakers better understand how crypto-mining's electricity use and carbon emissions affect the power grid and environment," Warren said in an email to Reuters. The memo from EIA Head Joseph DeCarolis requesting approval of the survey from the Office of Management and Budget said, "We feel a sense of urgency to generate credible data that would provide insight into this unfolding issue." The mining industry's lawsuit, filed on Feb. 22, claimed the survey's fast-track approval process was unlawful and its scope, including questions about precise geographic locations of miners and commercial partners, posed threats to their businesses and hard assets if made public. On Friday, the EIA agreed to halt the survey for over a month until March 25 and sequester the data it received so far. Later that day, a U.S. federal judge in Waco, Texas, ordered a temporary restraining order against federal agencies and the survey. This week, the survey was withdrawn, according to sources who asked to remain anonymous because of the ongoing legal dispute. The sides reached an "agreement-in-principle," to be finalized by March 1, court records show. Both sides declined to comment on details of any agreement. https://www.reuters.com/legal/crypto-miner-lawsuit-sets-back-us-effort-track-booming-power-use-2024-02-28/

2024-02-28 21:50

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Electronic Arts (EA.O) , opens new tab will reduce 5% of its workforce as part of a restructuring plan that also includes a reduction in real estate, the company said on Wednesday, as the video game industry struggles to grow amid high interest rates. The company, which makes gaming titles such as "Star Wars Jedi: Survivor", expects to incur about $125 million to $165 million in charges related to the move. Sony (6758.T) , opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab and Tencent-owned Riot Games have also laid off thousands of employees in recent months due to a slow recovery in the gaming market amid high borrowing rates. "While not every team will be impacted, this is the hardest part of these changes, and we have deeply considered every option to try and limit impacts to our teams," CEO Andrew Wilson said in a letter to employees. Out of the charges, about $50 million to $65 million would be related to office space reductions and $40 million to $55 million to severance and other employee-related costs, the company said. The actions associated with the plan is expected to complete substantially by Dec. 31. As of March 31 last year, the company had about 13,400 people, with 65% located internationally, according to a regulatory filing. EA had forecast fourth-quarter bookings below estimates in January. https://www.reuters.com/technology/electronic-arts-lay-off-5-workforce-2024-02-28/