2024-02-21 11:46

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Burkina Faso's military junta has suspended the issuance of export permits for artisanal and semi-mechanised gold and other precious commodities with immediate effect, it said. "This suspension follows the need to clean up the sector and reflects the government's desire to better organise the marketing of gold and other precious substances," it said in a statement dated Feb. 20. It did not say how long the suspension would be in place. Mining groups who have material to export are invited to reach out to the National Society for Precious Commodities (SONAP) for compensation, it added. Gold is Burkina Faso's main export, accounting for 37% of total exports in 2020, and mining is a leading source of jobs. But a rampant Islamist insurgency and political instability has hindered exploration and dented gold output in recent years, causing several mines to shut down and others to produce less. Frustration over the growing insecurity also spurred two military coups in 2022. What impact the new export suspension will have was not immediately clear. Artisanal production amounts to almost half of industrially produced gold in West Africa's Sahel region, which includes Burkina Faso, according to a 2019 Crisis Group report. Around 10-30 tonnes of gold is artisanally mined in Burkina Faso with an estimated 1 million people involved in the sector, it said. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/burkina-faso-suspends-export-permits-small-scale-gold-production-2024-02-21/

2024-02-21 11:36

Feb 21 (Reuters) - HF Sinclair (DINO.N) , opens new tab beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by stable refining margins and resilient fuel demand. U.S. refiners' earnings normalized throughout last year, after hitting sky-high levels in 2022, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine disrupted crude supplies. Fuel demand sustained as supplies remained tight on production cuts by OPEC+ countries despite an increase in global refining capacity. Bigger rivals Valero Energy (VLO.N) , opens new tab, Marathon Petroleum (MPC.N) , opens new tab and Phillips 66 (PSX.N) , opens new tab also beat market expectations, aided by stronger-than-expected margins. HF Sinclair's consolidated gross refining margin fell to $13.88 per barrel of throughput in the fourth quarter, from $23.47 a year earlier. The fall in crude prices through 2023 has capped refining margins, which touched record levels in 2022. HF Sinclair's refinery throughput in the fourth quarter fell marginally to 664,390 barrels per day (bpd), while utilization stood at 90.6% compared with 92.7% a year earlier. The Dallas-based company reported loss of 34 cents per share in the October-December quarter, compared with a profit of $2.92 per share a year earlier. It, however, posted an adjusted profit of 87 cents per share for the quarter, compared with analysts' estimates of 72 cents per share, according to LSEG data. Last week, smaller rival PBF Energy (PBF.N) , opens new tab posted a surprise loss in the fourth quarter as its margins plunged. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-refiner-hf-sinclairs-fourth-quarter-profit-beats-estimates-2024-02-21/

2024-02-21 11:31

MADRID, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Convoys of tractors disrupted traffic around the Spanish capital on Wednesday as farmers protesting against what they see as excessive red tape and insufficient state aid converged in downtown Madrid to march towards the Agriculture Ministry. Farmers have been protesting for weeks across European countries, most recently including Poland, Greece and the Czech Republic. They all call for a reduction of bureaucracy linked to the European Union's Common Agriculture Policy and a loosening of the bloc's environmental rules. As they waited for five columns of tractors to reach the gathering point at the central Independence Square, protesters wearing yellow vests waved Spanish flags and rang cow bells there while blaring music from loudspeakers. Traffic around the Puerta de Alcala monument ground to a halt, with several buses unable to continue their routes as protesters crowded the streets. Some farmers complained that police were preventing tractors from entering Madrid. The government said that 500 tractors had been allowed entry - as that was the figure given by organisers when requesting authorisation for the protest - while an additional 150 vehicles were blocked from the city. Two of the five columns had already arrived, the government said, adding that the only incident of note was the blockade of the A42 motorway connecting Toledo to Madrid, which had been broken up by the police. Lucia Risueno, a 52-year-old vineyard farmer from the Castille-La Mancha region, said that authorities had failed to help the sector and called for fairer prices. "I have the same expenses but I'm making half as much, so we can't go on like this," she told Reuters, adding there was no limit to the protests until the government implemented strong measures to aid farmers. Adolfo Albaladejo, 54, said he was fighting to ensure agriculture does not disappear from his country. "The Spanish countryside wants protectionism. We want to protect our products and be competitive," he said. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/protesting-spanish-farmers-drive-hundreds-tractors-madrid-2024-02-21/

2024-02-21 11:29

NEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried, the jailed founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, appeared in court on Wednesday for the first time since his November fraud conviction and confirmed he wanted to stick with new lawyers despite a possible conflict of interest. Bankman-Fried, 31, in January hired defense lawyers Marc Mukasey and Torrey Young to represent him through his March 28 sentencing. He could face decades in prison after a Manhattan federal court jury found the former billionaire guilty of stealing billions of dollars from FTX customers. At a brief hearing before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, Bankman-Fried said he was comfortable hiring Mukasey and Young even though they also represent the founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Networks, Alex Mashinsky, who has pleaded not guilty to separate fraud charges. Kaplan asked Bankman-Fried, who wore a tan jail shirt and chains around his ankles, to describe the possible conflict in his own words. "At a high level, they also represent Alex Mashinsky," said a clean-shaven Bankman-Fried, whose curly hair has grown longer since his monthlong trial last year. Bankman-Fried described Celsius as "a firm that the firms I ran had business interactions with." Mukasey, a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan and the son of former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, was once part of former President Donald Trump's personal legal team. He also represented electric- and hydrogen-powered truck maker Nikola's founder Trevor Milton, who was sentenced last year to four years after being convicted of fraud for lying to investors about the company's technology - well below the 11 years prosecutors suggested. Bankman-Fried told Kaplan he had consulted with lawyers Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell, who represented him during his trial, about Mukasey's potential conflict. Bankman-Fried said he also had discussed it with Alexandra Shapiro, another lawyer who will handle his eventual appeal. Mukasey said Cohen and Everdell will soon request Kaplan's permission to withdraw from the case. In a Feb. 6 court filing, prosecutors in Bankman-Fried's case said his Alameda Research hedge fund used stolen FTX customer funds to repay money it borrowed from Celsius. The prosecutors said Bankman-Fried and Mashinsky may have different opinions as to whether Celsius was defrauded and entitled to restitution. Bankman-Fried, held at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since August 2023, said on Wednesday he has been taking anti-depressant medication and Adderall, which is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. During his trial, Bankman-Fried's lawyers said in October he needed a higher Adderall dose than he had been receiving in jail each morning to focus. Mashinsky, 59, waived his right to a lawyer without any potential conflicts at a hearing on Tuesday before U.S. District Judge John Koeltl. Mukasey and Young said at that hearing that they could fairly represent both Bankman-Fried and Mashinsky. Mashinsky is free on bail. His trial on charges of artificially inflating the value of the company's in-house crypto token and earning $42 million from selling his holdings is scheduled for Jan. 28, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/legal/sam-bankman-fried-due-court-hearing-lawyers-possible-conflict-2024-02-21/

2024-02-21 11:28

COLOMBO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's government will propose an 18% cut in electricity prices for households on Thursday, a top official said, aiming to ease high living costs for millions living in the grip of the country's worst financial crisis in decades. The island nation of 22 million people is grappling with a severe shortage of foreign exchange reserves that pushed its economy into freefall in 2022, shrinking it by 7.8% that year. Sri Lanka increased power prices by 75% in September 2022 and by another 66% in February 2023 to fall in line with energy price adjustments required under a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The power tariff rises together with higher taxes and fuel cost hikes pushed inflation to a record high of 70% in September 2022, later declining to 6.5% in January 2024. The tariff reduction to be proposed to the power regulator is possible due to increased rainfall, the appreciation of the rupee and lower interest rates, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera told parliament on Wednesday. "We will reduce tariffs by 18% on households and religious institutions. A reduction of 12% will be given to factories," he said. "We want to pass on as much relief as possible to the people, as soon as possible." In October, the power regulator approved an 18% electricity tariff hike for households as part of efforts to boost the revenues of state-run power monopoly the Ceylon Electricity Board. A decision about the proposed tariff cut announced on Wednesday is expected from the regulator in the next couple of weeks. The four-year Extended Fund Facility with the IMF, finalised in March last year, comes with conditions that include raising taxes, removing subsidies and cutting public sector debt. Sri Lanka's central bank expects inflation to return to the government's 5% target from the last two quarters of the year but warned that it could be affected by higher global and local energy prices. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/sri-lanka-propose-18-power-tariff-cut-regulator-minister-2024-02-21/

2024-02-21 11:27

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Canada has secured the surrender of the last remaining permits for oil and gas development off its Pacific Coast, the federal natural resources minister said on Wednesday, after Chevron Canada (CVX.N) , opens new tab voluntarily relinquished 23 permits this month. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the relinquishment of the permits marked an important milestone in permanently protecting the ecologically rich waters of Canada's west coast. While there has been a federal moratorium on oil and gas exploration off the Pacific coast since 1972, permits issued before that date were still valid. U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab also relinquished a number of permits last year. "With these final permits, Natural Resources Canada has officially secured the surrender of all 227 permits in the Pacific offshore," Wilkinson said in a statement. In a statement posted on its website on Feb. 9, Chevron Canada said it had no plans to pursue development of these offshore permits, which cover an estimated 5,900 square kilometres. Several of the Chevron permits fell within marine protected areas, Wilkinson said. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-secures-surrender-all-offshore-pacific-coast-oil-gas-permits-2024-02-21/