2024-02-28 21:48

Feb 29 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Thursday's Asia-Pacific economic calendar is one of the busiest of the year so far, with a raft of top-tier indicators from across the region certain to get local markets moving before U.S. inflation figures are out later in the day. The global mood is more cautious, certainly relative to the recent Nvidia-fueled excitement - the MSCI Global and Asia ex-Japan indexes on Wednesday posted their steepest declines in two weeks, and the three major U.S. indexes also closed in the red as investors braced for U.S. inflation data on Thursday. Retail sales data from Japan and Australia, and fourth-quarter GDP figures from India are the highlights that will give investors in Asia a steer on how the monetary policy path for these three key economies is shaping up. Consumer price data from Japan and Australia this week gave investors plenty food for thought - Japanese inflation in January failed to moderate as much as expected, and Australian inflation failed to accelerate, as per the consensus forecast. Will retail sales surprise as much as inflation did? Consumer spending in both countries is expected to accelerate in January from the month before, Reuters polls show. The Bank of Japan is preparing to exit years of ultra-loose policy and implement positive interest rates for the first time since 2016, while the Reserve Bank of Australia is preparing to cut rates. The Australian dollar was one of the biggest losers among major currencies and RBA rate cut expectations were trimmed after that inflation surprise. Traders now see 40 basis points of easing this year, with the first cut not coming until September. India's economic growth, meanwhile, is expected to have moderated to 6.6% year-on-year in the October to December quarter as robust government spending slowed and growth in the agriculture sector remained muted. The range of forecasts in a Reuters poll of 63 economists was from 5.6% to 7.4%. If recent history is any indication, any surprises are likely to be on the upside - official GDP growth releases for the preceding three quarters broadly surpassed economists' predictions. After a lull of a few weeks, Chinese markets are once again being led by news headlines on the country's troubled property sector. Developer Country Garden said on Wednesday a liquidation petition has been filed against it for non-payment of a $205 million loan, clouding its debt revamp prospects and undermining Beijing's effort to restore confidence in the property sector. Hong Kong announced major measures on Wednesday to bolster its flagging real estate market by scrapping all tightening measures for residential properties, and canceling all additional stamp duties on transactions imposed in the past decade. Chinese stocks have enjoyed a decent revival in recent weeks, but that may be fading. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Thursday: - Japan retail sales (January) - Australia retail sales (January) - India GDP (Q4) https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-pix-2024-02-28/

2024-02-28 21:37

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Cloud storage service Egnyte has hired underwriters for an initial public offering (IPO) in New York that could value it at more than $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Egnyte has tapped JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) , opens new tab to lead its preparations for a stock market flotation that could come as early as this year, the sources said, cautioning the plans could change subject to market conditions. UBS Group (UBSG.S) , opens new tab is also one of the appointed underwriters, one of the sources added. The sources requested anonymity because the matter is confidential. Egnyte, JPMorgan and UBS declined to comment. Egnyte, which competes with cloud computing firms such as Box (BOX.N) , opens new tab and Dropbox (DBX.O) , opens new tab, provides storage, governance, and security tools to companies in industries including life sciences, financial services, retail, and publishing. Demand for cloud computing services is on the rise due to the rapid growth of generative artificial intelligence, which spurs demand for data storage. Technology researcher Gartner expects , opens new tab worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services to grow 20.4% to $678.8 billion in 2024. Founded in 2007, Egnyte raised $75 million in a funding round led by Goldman Sachs' (GS.N) , opens new tab growth equity arm in 2018 that valued the startup at $460 million. Since then, the company has grown steadily and is now profitable, the sources said. Egnyte counts Kleiner Perkins and GV, which is backed by Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab, among its other investors. https://www.reuters.com/technology/cloud-storage-service-egnyte-hires-banks-ipo-sources-say-2024-02-28/

2024-02-28 21:35

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini will return at least $1.1 billion to customers of its defunct lending program and pay a fine of $37 million for unsafe and unsound practices as part of a settlement with the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), the regulator said on Wednesday. Gemini's Earn program, which was offered in partnership with crypto lender Genesis Global Capital, was halted during a crypto market crash in November 2022. That dislocation caused Genesis to file for bankruptcy, and has led to extensive litigation between Genesis, Gemini and Genesis's parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG). WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The agreement means Gemini's Earn customers, who have not been able to access the funds held in those accounts since late 2022, are one step closer to regaining access to their money. NYDFS said on Wednesday that it retains the right to bring further action against Gemini if the company does not fulfill its obligation to return at least $1.1 billion to customers following the resolution of Genesis' bankruptcy. Gemini has pledged to contribute $40 million to the conclusion of Genesis' bankruptcy in order to benefit Earn customers, the regulator said. CONTEXT Gemini is run by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss - also known as the Winklevoss twins, who grabbed national attention for their legal battle against Meta Platforms' CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The company had previously sued DCG over the failure of their joint crypto lending partnership. The two companies partnered in December 2020 to allow Gemini customers the chance to loan their crypto assets to Genesis in exchange for earning interest, ultimately collecting billions of dollars' worth of crypto assets from investors. NYDFS claimed that Gemini failed to monitor and conduct due diligence on Genesis throughout the life of the Earn program and failed to maintain adequate reserves. KEY QUOTE “Gemini failed to conduct due diligence on an unregulated third party, later accused of massive fraud, harming Earn customers who were suddenly unable to access their assets after Genesis Global Capital experienced a financial meltdown,” said NYDFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris in a statement. “Today’s settlement is a win for Earn customers, who have a right to the assets they entrusted to Gemini.” RESPONSE: In a blog post, Gemini said it has "worked tirelessly over the past 15 months to advocate for Earn users and seek the return of their assets." "Gemini thanks the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) for its role in this settlement, which delivers a coin-for-coin recovery for Earn users." https://www.reuters.com/technology/gemini-return-11-bln-customers-pay-fine-settlement-with-new-york-regulator-2024-02-28/

2024-02-28 21:22

Feb 29 (Reuters) - Wall Street's top regulator will vote on March 6 whether to adopt far-reaching changes to the way thousands of U.S.-listed companies tell investors how climate change will affect their bottom line, a landmark rule for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The agency says such information is important for investors deciding whether to put their money into a company. What is the five-member Commission considering? REPORTING EMISSIONS In its draft rule two years ago, the SEC proposed requiring companies to report greenhouse gas emissions in three categories, including Scope 1, which are emissions a company produces through its own operations, and Scope 2, emissions the company is responsible for from utilities use and power generation. More contentiously, the SEC proposed that under some circumstances companies should also include Scope 3 emissions - those generated from a company's supply chain, such as transportation of goods, business travel and by customers' consumption of products and services. Major lobby groups have pushed back hard on Scope 3, arguing it is excessively burdensome and unlikely to produce meaningful data. SEC officials have dropped it from the proposed regulation. It has also softened the Scopes 1 and 2 disclosure requirements, which were initially mandatory. The draft rule now under consideration would compel such disclosures only if companies deem they are material, according to people familiar with the matter. CLIMATE FINANCIAL IMPACTS The original draft would also require companies to disclose in their financial statements when they take a hit of more than 1% from climate "impacts," such as damage from severe weather events or costs from de-carbonizing their operations. This has also drawn intense fire from industry, with companies saying in comments submitted to the SEC that the policy is unworkable as proper accounting methods for such impacts do not yet exist and resulting data would not be meaningful. Progressive and financial reform groups, however, have said such disclosures would be practicable and helpful. DISCLOSING RISK The proposal would also require companies to report a range of other risk-related information, such as how boards of directors manage climate risk, how those risks could affect companies' business, their business models, corporate strategies and business outlooks. If companies have low-carbon transition plans or use scenarios to analyze climate-related risks, they would likewise have to describe these to investors. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/what-is-us-secs-proposed-rule-climate-reporting-2024-02-28/

2024-02-28 21:17

OSLO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - A helicopter carrying six people crash landed in the ocean off the coast of western Norway on Wednesday, and all those on board were later hoisted from the sea, the country's Joint Rescue Coordination Centres said. Haukeland University Hospital, the region's largest, said it had received all six patients from the accident but that their medical condition was unclear at the moment. The helicopter belonged to Bristow Norway (VTOL.N) , opens new tab, the company's country manager, Heidi Wulff Heimark, told daily Stavanger Aftenblad. Energy group Equinor (EQNR.OL) , opens new tab said the helicopter was a search and rescue aircraft normally serving platforms at the company's Oseberg oil and gas field in the North Sea. The helicopter was a Sikorsky S-92 model and was on a search and rescue training mission at the time of the accident, a police spokesperson told reporters, adding it was too early to say what had caused the crash. "We are aware of the incident and stand ready to support the investigative authorities and our customer. Safety is our top priority," said a spokesperson for Sikorsky, a unit of Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) , opens new tab. The area had been experiencing high winds at the time of the accident, a rescue service official told broadcaster TV2. Air traffic data showed several rescue helicopters circling in the air near an island west of Bergen, Norway's second biggest city and a busy hub for the Norwegian offshore oil and gas industry. In 2016, an Airbus (AIR.PA) , opens new tab Super Puma helicopter returning from the North Sea crashed in roughly the same area, killing all 13 people aboard. The accident led to the suspension of the use of that type of helicopter by the Norwegian oil and gas industry. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/helicopter-goes-missing-off-norway-rescue-service-says-2024-02-28/

2024-02-28 21:00

CANADIAN, Texas, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Richard Murray choked back tears on Wednesday as he surveyed the charred remains of his mechanic's workshop and home of 50 years in the small Texas Panhandle town of Canadian. The previous night a sheriff's deputy had pounded on the door and ordered Murray and his wife Gilissa to evacuate as the state's second-largest wildfire on record approached their home. "The house is gone and all the cars are melted," said Murray, 72, shortly after he returned home Wednesday morning. "There's nothing left." The wildfire, raging northeast of Amarillo since Monday, has blackened 850,000 acres (344,000 hectares) of grasslands and timber since Monday and spread eastward across the border of Oklahoma, the Texas A&M Forest Service reported. At least one person, an 83-year-old woman in Hutchinson County, was reported by local media to have died in the blaze, dubbed the Smokehouse Creek fire. Firefighters had managed to carve containment lines around just 3% of the blaze as of Wednesday night, officials said. Several smaller wildfires were burning other parts of the state's northern Panhandle, stoked by fierce winds and hot, dry conditions. The area scorched by the Smokehouse Creek Fire exceeded the land mass of the state of Rhode Island, making it nearly as immense as the largest wildfire on record in Texas, the East Amarillo Complex Fire that burned 907,000 acres in 2006. The Forest Service said an as-yet unknown number of structures were damaged and destroyed. Terrill Bartlett, Canadian's mayor, said the town was "blessed" that there had been no reports of serious injuries or fatalities, but it was devastating for residents who had lost homes. "We're the kind of community that pulls together and supports one another," he said on Wednesday. Murray said he and his wife will stay with friends for now and have already received dozens of calls from people offering help. On Wednesday morning, they were searching for their dogs and two cats. "That's the hardest thing, not knowing what happened to them," he said. The next-largest of the Texas conflagrations was the Windy Deuce Fire, which as of Wednesday night had charred 142,000 acres and was 30% contained. On Tuesday, the Windy Deuce had crept to within a few miles of the U.S. Energy Department's Pantex plant, the nation's primary nuclear weapons assembly facility, located near Amarillo, prompting officials to evacuate non-essential personnel and suspend operations. But the leading edge of that blaze shifted to the north and west, away from Pantex, on Wednesday, allowing routine activities at the plant to resume. "Operations at the Pantex Plant returned to normal Wednesday," the facility said in an online notice. "There is no imminent wildfire threat to the plant at this time." On Tuesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties and directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to activate more than 95 firefighters as well as personnel to close roads, control traffic, offer medical aid, and provide livestock support. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and U.S. Forest Service are helping Texas, and federal authorities are in close touch with officials "on the front lines of these fires," said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at a news briefing on Wednesday. More than 13,000 Texas homes and businesses were without power as of Wednesday morning, with more than 4,000 of those in the Panhandle region alone, according to data from PowerOutage.us. Another resident of Canadian, Julene Castillo, tried to flee on Tuesday evening but was forced back when the smoke became too thick to drive through. "The fire was burning all around us, we couldn't get out," said Castillo, 51, in an interview on Wednesday. "Even with the windows rolled up, your eyes and throat burned." Castillo, who works as a secretary for Canadian Methodist Church, drove to the town's high school where she and about 100 other families "sat and prayed and cried and tried to comfort each other" in the parking lot. A volunteer firefighter said about 50 homes had burned to the ground in Canadian alone, according to Castillo. "We didn't know what else would happen. We could see the fire's glow as the sun went down," Castillo said. Castillo returned home later Tuesday night and discovered her home had survived. She sheltered in place and opened her church on Wednesday for anyone needing a place to stay or pray. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/second-largest-wildfire-texas-history-rages-across-panhandle-2024-02-28/