2024-01-16 12:45

DUBAI, Jan 16 (Reuters) - British maritime security firm Ambrey said in an advisory note on Tuesday that a Malta-flagged Greek-owned bulk carrier was reportedly targeted and impacted with a missile while transiting northbound in the Red Sea 76 nautical miles northwest of Yemen's port city of Saleef. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) also said it received a report of an incident 100 nautical miles northwest of Saleef. The Iran-aligned Houthi group has threatened to expand its targets in the Red Sea to protest against Israel's bombardment of Gaza to include U.S. ships in response to American and British strikes on its sites in Yemen. The bulker was observed to change course to port. Attacks by the Houthis on ships in area since November have impacted companies and alarmed major powers, in an escalation of Israel's more than three-month war with Hamas militants in Gaza. The group says it is acting in solidarity with Palestinians. As well as disrupting supply chains, there are fears that the attacks could make it more difficult for policymakers to keep global inflation in check. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/ambrey-says-malta-flagged-bulker-impacted-by-missile-northwest-yemens-saleef-2024-01-16/

2024-01-16 12:23

Jan 16 (Reuters) - Boeing shares fell 2.5% before the bell on Tuesday and were set to extend last week's losses as the U.S. grounding of some 737 MAX 9 jets entered its 11th day, while the company's promise of further quality checks raised the specter of added costs. The planemaker (BA.N) has been engulfed in a crisis since an Alaska Airlines (ALK.N) MAX 9 jet made an emergency landing following a cabin panel blowout earlier this month, following which the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily grounded 171 aircraft for safety checks. Shares of beleaguered supplier Spirit AeroSystems (SPR.N), which made the fuselage for the affected jet, were also down 5.1% on Tuesday following last week's 14.1% loss. U.S. markets were closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday. The FAA said on Friday it will audit the MAX 9 production line and suppliers, and consider having an independent entity take over from Boeing certain aspects of certifying the safety of new aircraft that the regulator previously assigned to the planemaker. "With FAA taking a closer look into Boeing's production, we think the risk of production/delivery impact increases significantly," Wells Fargo analyst Matthew Akers said, as he cut his rating on the planemaker's shares to "equal weight" from "overweight". "Given Boeing's recent track record, and greater incentive for FAA to find problems, we think the odds of a clean audit are low." Before Akers' downgrade, 25 analysts had a "buy" or higher rating, while six had a "hold" rating, according to LSEG data. No analysts have recommended investors to sell Boeing shares. Under intensifying pressure from airlines and the FAA following a series of MAX-related quality issues, Boeing said on Monday it will add further quality inspections for its best-selling jet series and deploy a team to Spirit AeroSystems to check the supplier's work on the door plug involved in the accident. "All of this is likely to lead to higher costs over time. And while it's not clear how much at this point, it doesn't seem unreasonable to think that an extra 1,000 inspectors might add $250 million in annual costs," Citi analyst Jason Gursky said. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/boeing-shares-fall-max-9-grounding-continues-2024-01-16/

2024-01-16 12:21

LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - More than 300 companies and financial institutions plan to report on the impacts they have on the natural world as part of efforts to stem the global collapse of biodiversity, delegates at Davos heard on Tuesday. The disclosures, created by the G20-backed Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, will see the groups share much more information around the risks and opportunities posed by their interaction with the natural world. By doing so, boards will hopefully make decisions that have a more positive impact on nature - helping meet a global agreement by countries at the COP15 talks on biodiversity in 2022 - and be rewarded by investors and capital markets. "This is a milestone moment for Nature finance and for corporate reporting," said David Craig, Co-Chair of the TNFD and former founder and CEO of Refinitiv, in a statement. "This is a clear signal that investors, lenders, insurers and companies are recognising that their business models and portfolios are highly dependent on both nature and climate and need to be treated as both strategic risks and investment opportunities." After beginning a two-year work programme in 2021, the TNFD's 14 recommended disclosures were published in September 2023 after more than 250 institutions piloted them during the development process. Framed around four pillars - Governance, Strategy, Risk and Impact Measurement, and Metrics and Targets - the disclosures will force companies to describe how they assess and manage related issues and how they plan to improve their performance. Among the companies and financial organisations to commit to disclose, beginning in either 2023, 2024 or 2025, were Norges Bank Investment Management, the largest owner of listed companies globally. "We are committed to leveraging this tool to deepen our understanding of our portfolio's nature-related impacts and dependencies, further reinforcing our responsible investment efforts in this important area," said Carine Smith Ihenacho, NBIM's Chief Governance and Compliance Officer. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/more-than-300-companies-start-reporting-impact-nature-2024-01-16/

2024-01-16 12:14

LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) is set to conclude nearly a century of operations in Nigerian onshore oil and gas after agreeing to sell its subsidiary there to a consortium of five mostly local companies for up to $2.4 billion. The British energy giant pioneered Nigeria's oil and gas business beginning in the 1930s. It has struggled for years with hundreds of onshore oil spills as a result of theft, sabotage and operational issues that led to costly repairs and high-profile lawsuits. Since 2021, Shell has sought to sell its Nigerian oil and gas business, but will remain active in Nigeria's more lucrative and less problematic offshore sector. Shell's exit is part of a broader retreat by western energy companies from Nigeria as they focus on newer, more profitable operations. Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), Italy's Eni and Norway's Equinor (EQNR.OL) have struck deals to sell assets in the country in recent years. The British major will sell The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) for a consideration of $1.3 billion, it said in a statement, while the buyers will make an additional payment of up to $1.1 billion relating to prior receivables at completion. "This agreement marks an important milestone for Shell in Nigeria, aligning with our previously announced intent to exit onshore oil production in the Niger Delta, simplifying our portfolio and focusing future disciplined investment in Nigeria on our Deepwater and Integrated Gas positions," Shell head of upstream Zoë Yujnovich said. The buyer, the Renaissance consortium comprises ND Western, Aradel Energy, First E&P, Waltersmith, all local oil exploration and production companies, and Petrolin, a Swiss-based trading and investment company. The sale, which Renaissance confirmed, requires the approval of the Nigerian government. SPILLS AND LAWSUITS Renaissance will take over the responsibility for dealing with spills, theft and sabotage, said Shell, which has faced in recent years multiple lawsuits for compensation over damage caused as a result of spills in the Niger delta. Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of Nigerian advocacy group Health of Mother Earth Foundation said: "Shell must own up to its responsibility." "This means full payment for the remediation and restoration of the polluted areas as well as reparations to the host communities. They cannot walk away from the virtually irreparable harm they have caused," Bassey said in a statement. Shell's SPDC Limited operates and has a 30% stake in the SPDC joint venture that holds 18 onshore and shallow water mining leases. Shell's resources in SPDC reached around 458 million barrels of oil equivalent by the end of 2022. Other partners in the joint venture are the state's Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which holds 55%, TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), with 10% and Italy's Eni (ENI.MI) with 5%. Apart from its operations and stakes in several fields deep offshore, Shell still has a liquefied natural gas plant and other assets in Nigeria. SPDC, which remains the operator, was formed in 1979, incorporating assets of the older Shell-BP consortium, with its current partners entering at later stages. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/shell-agrees-sell-its-nigeria-onshore-oil-gas-business-2024-01-16/

2024-01-16 12:12

Jan 16 (Reuters) - Canadian miner Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO), said on Tuesday its gold and copper production rose sequentially for the fourth quarter. The company's total preliminary output was 1.05 million ounces of gold and 113 million pounds of copper in the three months ended Dec. 31, up from 1.04 million ounces of gold and 112 million pounds of copper in the previous quarter. Barrick said it expects all-in sustaining costs (AISC) per ounce of gold, an industry metric that reflects total expenses, to rise about 8% to 10% from the previous quarter. Copper's AISC is, however, expected to be 2% to 4% lower, largely on the back of lower capitalized waste stripping at Barrick's Lumwana mine in Zambia. Barrick is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter results on Feb. 14, 2024. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/barrick-golds-fourth-quarter-copper-gold-output-rise-sequentially-2024-01-16/

2024-01-16 12:06

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 16 (Reuters) - DP World CFO Yuvraj Narayan said on Tuesday he expected that disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea as a result of Houthi attacks on vessels would hit European consumers hardest. "The cost of goods into Europe from Asia will be significantly higher," Narayan told Reuters at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. "European consumers will feel the pain ... It will hit developed economies more than it will hit developing economies," the Dubai based logistics company's finance chief added. Narayan said there was a need to shorten global supply chains to reflect de-globalisation, adding that flows from east "will become less relevant", while north to south will grow. https://www.reuters.com/business/dp-world-expects-cost-goods-asia-be-higher-europe-2024-01-16/