2024-02-22 23:28

SAO PAULO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Brazil steelmaker CSN said on Thursday it had presented a bid to buy assets from cement maker InterCement. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/brazil-steelmaker-csn-presents-bid-buy-assets-intercement-2024-02-22/

2024-02-22 22:59

MEXICO CITY, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Mexican national oil company Pemex partially resumed paying down what it owes to suppliers at the end of last year, prioritizing large oilfield service companies over upstart private producers, according to company data and four industry sources. The world's most heavily-indebted oil company has not, however, publicly disclosed the balance of its debts to suppliers since last October, when it said it owed some $5.6 billion, not including other related liabilities, including litigation costs and taxes. At the end last year's third quarter, Pemex said it owed suppliers $17.4 billion. The delayed payments to Pemex's key partners are a longstanding problem that could disrupt operations if not resolved. Pemex (PEMX.UL) did not respond to requests for comment. It is, however, expected to provide an update on the delinquent payments when it reports its fourth quarter results next week. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has sought to prop up Pemex, doling out more than $90 billion over the last five years through a mix of tax cuts and capital injections. The payments to providers restarted after some of Pemex's major service contractors last December publicly criticized the state-run company for its failure to pay up, arguing it put them in a critical situation. A letter from private oil companies was sent to Mexico's finance minister outlining similar gripes. While it was not made public, a copy was seen by Reuters. Pemex soon began paying hundreds of millions of dollars in payments to major service providers SLB (SLB.N) , opens new tab, Weatherford (WEATH.UL) and Halliburton (HAL.N) , opens new tab, in what sources described as an effort to privilege its own dependant operations first. SLB and Weatherford said in annual reports that they received significant payments from Pemex; SLB said it was paid $560 million in last year's fourth quarter, while Weatherford got $140 million in the same period and later another $142 million in January. Private oil companies that deliver all their crude and gas production to Pemex, meanwhile, are seeing an average six month delay on payments. "Pemex's strategy of paying the most important service providers avoided... the delay in Pemex's own activities," according to one of the sources, adding that it "discriminates" against the private producers. Private oil companies, allowed to operate fields in Mexico following a 2013 constitutional overhaul, produced 98,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude as of last December, according to oil regulator CNH, compared with Pemex's 1.6 million-bpd output. "There's an unfairness to Pemex's payments," said another source. Halliburton and Weatherford declined comment, while SLB did not immediately respond to comment requests. Baker Hughes (BKR.O) , opens new tab, another major Pemex service provider, said it is "pleased to see (Pemex's) continued efforts to pay their suppliers." In annual reports, Halliburton said Pemex represented approximately 6% of accounts receivable; meanwhile, SLB said Pemex represented 13% of its accounts receivable and Weatherford put the figure at 22%. Last year through September, Pemex reported that it had paid contractors close to $17.6 billion. A Pemex source said the company intends is to "improve" payments over the next quarter, using part of a recent tax cut to partially settle the debts. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/mexicos-pemex-prioritizes-paying-down-overdue-debts-big-service-providers-2024-02-22/

2024-02-22 22:58

SYDNEY, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Fresh evacuation warnings were issued on Friday for dozens of rural Australian towns as around 1,000 firefighters battled a bushfire in Victoria state which has destroyed properties, killed livestock and is threatening to spread through towns. More than 2,000 people on Thursday fled from towns in Victoria's west after emergency evacuation orders were issued to leave while it was still safe and head east to the nearby regional hub of Ballarat, 95 km (59 miles) west of Melbourne. Firefighters, supported by more than 50 aircraft, battled to contain the massive blaze on Friday. Roughly 11,000 hectares (110 square kms) have been burnt, authorities said. "We are sadly hearing reports of property loss that are starting to come through," Victoria state Premier Jacinta Allan said during a press briefing. "Given the active nature of the fire and the difficult terrain in the area, it is going to take some time to assess the full extent of the damage." At least two schools have been closed and students in four have been relocated to other schools, while around 5,000 properties are without power across Victoria. Stronger-than-expected winds are spreading fires faster and closer to towns as emergency crews urged residents to take shelter indoors if unable to leave. A cold front off Australia's south coast moved overnight to the regions in the east battling bushfires, pushing temperatures down but strong winds continued to fan the wildfires. "Unfortunately, those winds did not drop to where we thought they were going to be and that is what led the fire to accelerate where it did," said Jason Heffernan, chief officer of Victoria state fire department. Emergency crews would begin taking stock of damages from Friday though early reports indicate significant losses of sheds and livestock as the fire spreads through several farms, Heffernan said. One home has been confirmed lost. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/fresh-evacuation-orders-australia-bushfire-threatens-rural-towns-2024-02-22/

2024-02-22 22:52

Feb 22 (Reuters) - The husband of a former BP (BP.L) , opens new tab manager pleaded guilty on Thursday in Texas to insider trading after overhearing his wife, who later began divorce proceedings, talk about the oil company's planned purchase of truck stop operator TravelCenters of America. Tyler Loudon, 42, pleaded guilty to securities fraud in Houston federal court and agreed to forfeit $1.76 million of illegal proceeds, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani in Houston. Loudon, of Houston, faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine at his scheduled May 17 sentencing before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake. He also agreed to settle a related U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil case, including by paying a civil fine. A lawyer for Loudon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. BP did not immediately respond to separate requests. Authorities said Loudon bought 46,450 TravelCenters shares without his wife's knowledge over a 1-1/2 month period, after overhearing several work conversations about the planned $1.3 billion TravelCenters takeover while she was working remotely. TravelCenters' share price rose 71% after the takeover was announced on Feb. 16, 2023, and Loudon quickly sold his shares, authorities said. According to the SEC, Loudon stunned his wife by admitting he bought the shares to make enough money so she could work shorter hours. The SEC said BP later put Loudon's wife on administrative leave and then fired her despite finding no proof she knowingly leaked the takeover or knew about her husband's trading. She moved out of the house she shared with Loudon and began divorce proceedings last June, the SEC added. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-sec-charges-bp-managers-husband-with-insider-trading-over-travelcenters-deal-2024-02-22/

2024-02-22 22:29

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Ameren Corp (AEE.N) , opens new tab posted a fall in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, as the utility firm was hit by lower demand for electricity and natural gas. The St. Louis, Missouri-based company forecast 2024 earnings between $4.52 and $4.72 per share, the mid-point of which is above analysts' estimates of $4.57 per share, according to LSEG. Demand for electricity and natural gas usually shoots up in the winter months, but milder-than-expected temperatures during the reporting period weighed on the utility. Electric revenues fell 16% to $1.34 billion during the reported quarter, while natural gas revenues fell about 37% to $275 million. Higher interest charges also dented Ameren's profits as they rose to $153 million in the fourth-quarter, from $130 million, a year earlier. The U.S. utility serves 2.4 million electric customers and about 900,000 natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area through its Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois rate-regulated utility subsidiaries. Ameren's net income dropped to $158 million, or 60 cents per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, from $163 million, or 63 cents per share, a year earlier. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/utility-ameren-corp-posts-fall-fourth-quarter-profit-2024-02-22/

2024-02-22 22:09

Feb 22 (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on Thursday said that with inflation easing and the labor market normalizing, the risks to the economy have become "two-sided," but it's not yet time to reduce interest rates. "I would like to have greater confidence that inflation is converging to 2% before beginning to cut the policy rate," she said in remarks prepared for delivery to Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs. While it is "reasonable" to expect inflation to get to the Fed's 2% goal over time, the path toward that goal has been and could still be "bumpy and uneven," she said, citing recent stronger-than-expected readings on consumer price inflation. At the same time, she said, the risks to the economy are no longer weighted toward excessive inflation alone. Supply chains have recovered, and so has labor supply; consumer spending has been strong, but with wage growth slowing, there are "reasons to expect some moderation going forward," she said. There are also a raft of uncertainties ahead, including the potential for conflict in the Red Sea to impede supply more than it has so far, as well as longer-term issues including climate change, productivity growth and deglobalization. As for monetary policy, she said, "I am now weighing the possibility of easing policy too soon and letting inflation stay persistently high versus easing policy too late and causing unnecessary harm to the economy." Once data delivers greater confidence that disinflation is sustainable, she said, "at some point" the Fed will be able to cut rates. "We should continue to move carefully as we receive more data, maintaining the degree of policy restriction needed to sustainably restore price stability while keeping the economy on a good path," she said. The U.S. central bank has held its policy rate steady in the 5.25%-5.5% range since last July, and minutes of its policysetting meeting last month show most central bankers were worried about moving too quickly to ease policy. Traders are betting the Fed will not start cutting interest rates until its June 11-12 meeting. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/feds-cook-need-more-confidence-inflation-before-cutting-rates-2024-02-22/