2023-11-23 21:30

TSX ends up 2.7 points at 20,116.66 Industrials add 0.5% Empire Company shares fall 3.5% Flash estimate shows decline in wholesale trade Nov 23 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index ended higher on Thursday as industrial and energy shares climbed, but a pullback in the consumer staples sector limited gains. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) ended up 2.7 points at 20,116.66, marking its second straight day of modest gains. Trading activity was lighter than usual with U.S. markets closed for the Thanksgiving Day holiday. Industrials added 0.5%, while the energy sector was up 0.3%, even as the price of oil fell nearly 1% to $76.35 a barrel. "There's speculation that certain OPEC+ members, specifically smaller producers from Africa, are struggling to agree supply cuts," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation. The consumer staples sector gave back some of the previous day's advance, falling nearly 1%. Empire Company (EMPa.TO) shares were down 3.5% after National Bank of Canada downgraded its rating on the food retail and distribution firm's stock. The materials sector (.GSPTTMT), which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, also ended lower, down 0.3%. Canadian wholesale trade most likely fell 1.1% in October from September, a preliminary estimate showed, adding to recent evidence of a slowdown in the economy. https://www.reuters.com/markets/tsx-rises-back-higher-consumer-discretionary-stocks-2023-11-23/

2023-11-23 20:07

SAO PAULO, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Brazil plans to propose a "huge" fund to pay for the conservation of tropical forests at the United Nations COP28 climate change summit that begins later this month in Dubai, the country's top climate negotiator said on Thursday. That potential financing mechanism, not previously reported, would be the latest in a proliferation of multilateral environmental funds. Countries agreed in the past year to establish a giant fund dedicated to biodiversity and another to pay for the destruction caused by climate change. The funds funnel money from rich countries to poor developing nations that struggle to otherwise pay for their environmental efforts. Brazil is the world's largest rainforest nation and contains some 60% of the Amazon jungle. It is seen as vital to curbing climate change and protecting unique plant and animal species. Brazil presented the idea of a tropical forest conservation fund on Thursday at a meeting with ministers from seven other Amazon rainforest countries, according to Brazil's top climate diplomat Andre Correa do Lago. "It's a conceptual proposal with a view to create a fund to help conserve tropical forests around the world...in 80 countries," Correa do Lago said. He said that the proposal is not finalized and Brazil is seeking support and suggestions from the other rainforest nations. Asked if the fund would rival $100 billion in annual funding previously promised by rich nations in climate financing, Correa do Lago declined to give the proposed size of the fund but said it would be "huge." The fund would not value forest conservation in terms of carbon, like many existing schemes, since protecting forests would primarily prevent further greenhouse gas emissions rather than absorbing additional carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere, Correa do Lago said. He said the value would likely instead be linked to the area of forest measured in hectares, or units of 0.01 square kilometers (0.0039 square mile). The international proposal to conserve forests will be partnered with a domestic program to reforest destroyed areas. Brazil also will launch plans at COP28 for an "Arc of Restoration" to counter the so-called arc of deforestation that is advancing ever deeper into the Amazon. National development bank BNDES will run the project, he said. BRAZIL IS BACK Shortly after winning election, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at last year's U.N. climate summit COP27, announced "Brazil is back" as an international environmental leader. This year, he will present how Brazil is advancing on all environmental fronts, Correa do Lago said, including reducing Amazon deforestation in the 12 months through July to the lowest level since 2018. The eight Amazon countries are also discussing a proposal on whether to issue a joint commitment to end deforestation by 2030, a target already endorsed by Brazil and some others. Correa do Lago said that the proposal was advancing but declined to say if the deal could be announced at COP28. He said Lula will push hard for the world to redouble efforts to limit climate change to a 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) temperature rise, despite many analysts saying this target may be out of reach. Global temperatures have already risen about 1.2 degrees Celsius on average. Correa do Lago declined to say whether Brazil would support a COP28 decision to "phase out" fossil fuels entirely. At past COP summits, China and India have blocked that language with the nearly 200 countries in attendance instead only calling for a "phase down" of fossil fuels. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/land-use-biodiversity/brazil-propose-mega-fund-conserve-forests-cop28-climate-summit-2023-11-23/

2023-11-23 18:14

QUITO, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Business heir and former legislator Daniel Noboa was sworn in as Ecuador's new president on Thursday, pledging to reduce violence and create jobs via urgent legislative reforms. Noboa, 35, won an October run-off in the South American country, which is facing deep economic challenges that have pushed thousands to migrate and spiking violence that reached an unprecedented crescendo with the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. "To fight violence we must fight unemployment. The country needs jobs and to create them I will send urgent reforms to the assembly, which should be treated with responsibility and by putting the country first," Noboa said during his maiden speech in front of National Assembly lawmakers in Quito. Noboa will serve as president for just 17 months, finishing predecessor Guillermo Lasso's term after Lasso brought forward elections to avoid likely impeachment. It will be hard for Noboa to effectively tackle Ecuador's significant challenges during his truncated term, analysts have said, though he can run for re-election in 2025. "We cannot keep repeating the same policies of the past expecting to have a different result," Noboa said. "I invite everyone to work together against the common enemies of violence and misery" he added. "The job is hard and difficult and the days are few." Noboa is expected to declare a state of emergency, which will allow him to propose laws to the assembly with 30-day approval timelines. States of emergency were frequently used by Lasso to try and tackle violence, to little effect. Besides job creation reform, which could include provisions to incentivize hiring, especially of young people, and lower value added tax on construction materials, a second reform focused on the electricity sector is also expected. Ecuador is conducting planned power cuts because the El Nino weather phenomena has caused drought, sapping hydro-electric plants of water and forcing the country to import energy. DEBT AND SECURITY Though most of Noboa's cabinet was sworn in later on Thursday, the young president did not appoint a minister of economy and finance, leaving the position vacant. Noboa initially said he would appoint Sariha Moya to the post but later put her in charge of Ecuador's planning secretariat. Noboa has already toured the U.S. and Europe to sound out investors and lenders, but has warned he will balance meeting foreign debt obligations - totaling some $47.4 billion - with the needs of Ecuadoreans. He has also promised a new intelligence unit, to supply tactical weapons to security forces and to house the most dangerous criminals on prison boats. Violent deaths in Ecuador could exceed 7,000 this year, a homicide rate of 35 per 100,000 people, according to a recent report from the Ecuadorean Organized Crime Observatory. Last week, Noboa agreed to a legislative coalition with the conservative Social Christian Party and Citizens' Revolution, the party of leftist ex-President Rafael Correa, which is likely to help push his reforms through. Ecuador expects economic growth of 1.5% this year and 0.8% in 2024. Informal work accounts for more than 50% of the economy, according to official data. Noboa is the son of Alvaro Noboa, a powerful banana baron billionaire who repeatedly failed to win Ecuador's presidency. The younger Noboa is the father of two small children, a daughter from his first marriage and a son with his current wife. First lady Lavinia Valbonesi, 25, a social media influencer and nutritionist, is currently pregnant with a second son. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/ecuador-swear-millennial-businessman-noboa-president-2023-11-23/

2023-11-23 17:58

LA PAZ, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Bolivians are battling wildfire blazes that have torn through 3 million hectares (11,583 square miles) of land this year, with firefighters and police using hoses, sprinklers and at times bottles of water to try to hold back flames. The wildfires, which come as its neighbor Brazil battles with scorching temperatures and its own fires, have led to canceled flights and shut schools due to smoked-filled air and devastated ecosystems. Over a dozen people have died. "Everything was burnt: crops, vegetation, cuttings, coffee plantations, citric plantations, banana plantations. In other words, it devastated everything," said Guillermo Medina from Tumpasa in northern Bolivia, which was hit by the fires. "It didn't leave anything. Now we have nothing left. We have been demanding food for days because we have children, and we live off agriculture." The leftist government of President Luis Arce has called for international aid, with firefighters coming down from Venezuela to help as well as others from France, Chile and Brazil. In San Buenaventura, north of La Paz, police wore rubber boots and improvised ponchos, and without hoses, they used water bottles and some sprinklers to fight the wildfires. Experts said the 2023 fires were the worst in recent years following behind widespread blazes in 2019. Bolivia, which has seen a spike in deforestation in recent years, has large wetland areas and a big chunk of South America's Amazon rainforest. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/bolivians-use-hoses-water-bottles-battle-wildfire-blazes-2023-11-23/

2023-11-23 17:42

MEXICO CITY, Nov 23 (Reuters) - America Movil (AMXB.MX), the Mexican telecommunications company controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim, on Thursday denied a report it is in talks with Argentine President-elect Javier Milei's team to buy Argentina's state telecoms company Arsat. "It's all false," Arturo Elias, Slim's spokesman and son-in-law, told Reuters when asked about the media report. Citing sources close to the matter, website La Politica Online said plans to sell Arsat are very advanced, and reported that a member of Milei's transition team on Tuesday held talks with executives from America Movil's Argentine unit, Claro. La Politica Online said the value of Arsat was discussed during the talks with a figure of around $930 million mentioned. It did not state who had come up with the price tag. A spokesperson for Milei's transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The incoming Argentine president has vowed to revive the country's battered economy and look at privatizing state-owned assets, though it is unclear how easy that will be. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/mexicos-america-movil-denies-report-its-eyeing-argentine-telecoms-firm-arsat-2023-11-23/

2023-11-23 17:37

LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Lloyd's of London said it has launched a consultation amongst member firms on how to insure the low-carbon transition over the next three years across underwriting, investments, exposure management and capital and reserving. The insurance market said that on underwriting, it expects managing agents to provide sustainability strategies that are "fit for purpose" and will assess them across areas including governance, transition planning and emissions measurement. Starting next year, it would look to begin deepening the quality of data collected around flood risk and climate-related liability risk, it said in a "roadmap" released on Thursday. Lloyd's said it would carry out a market survey in 2024 to see to what extent managing agents were embedding climate change considerations into their reserving and capital models; and provide more guidance on responsible investment policies. "Our aim is to give our market participants greater confidence in setting, embedding, and operationalising their own individual climate strategies, through the transition and beyond," said Lloyd's CEO, John Neal. The consultation will be open until the end of January 2024. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/lloyds-london-consults-members-net-zero-approach-2023-11-23/