2023-11-15 22:10

WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday it has warned two trade associations and 12 dieticians and online influencers about social media posts promoting the artificial sweetener aspartame or sugary products without disclosing that they had been paid. Online influencers are required to disclose on their posts when they are paid to promote products. In letters to the American Beverage Association and Canadian Sugar Institute, the FTC said it was concerned influencers the groups had hired to post on Instagram and TikTok did not properly identify their posts as advertising. "It’s irresponsible for any trade group to hire influencers to tout its members' products and fail to ensure that the influencers come clean about that relationship," Samuel Levine, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. A spokesperson for American Beverage said the group had taken "proactive, prudent and meticulous steps" to be transparent about its partnership with experts. "We will continue our ongoing commitment to disclose the relationship between dietitians and American Beverage and we appreciate the FTC’s guidance on how to best ensure transparency," the spokesman said in a statement. The Canadian Sugar Institute had no immediate comment. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-warns-trade-groups-influencers-social-media-posts-promoting-aspartame-sugar-2023-11-15/

2023-11-15 21:55

Nov 16 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist. A bout of consolidation across Asian markets on Thursday is likely after the previous day's stellar gains, as investors adjust to what appears to be a decisive moment in the global interest rate and inflation cycle. There is a growing consensus forming that major central banks' interest rate-raising cycle is over, a conviction strengthened by a series of inflation reports and other indicators from major economies. Figures on Wednesday showed that U.S. producer prices fell at their fastest pace since April 2020, and UK consumer inflation undershot all forecasts. Oil prices fell again on Wednesday, and are now down more than 10% year-on-year. Investors are increasingly pricing in more rate cuts next year, bond yields and the dollar are coming under downward pressure, and stocks and risk assets are buoyant. All in, financial conditions in most countries are loosening. Some of that reversed on Wednesday - Treasury yields and the dollar rebounded a bit from the previous day's slump - which may keep a lid on Asian markets on Thursday, even though Wall Street held onto its gains and closed higher. Investors could be forgiven for taking a breather on Thursday after such as huge rally on Wednesday that saw the MSCI Asia ex-Japan, MSCI Emerging Market index and Japan's Nikkei 225 all post their biggest gains in a year, of 2.5% or more. But they also have other major economic and corporate news to digest, which will inject an extra dose of caution into the trading session. The economic calendar sees the release of Japanese trade data, machinery orders and the closely-watched 'tertiary activity index', as well as Australian unemployment and Chinese house prices. Japan's GDP figures on Wednesday were much weaker than expected, leading economists at Barclays and elsewhere to cut their 2023 and 2024 growth forecasts. But financial conditions in Japan are the loosest since 1990, according to Goldman Sachs, which is partly why the Bank of Japan has stepped up its hawkish rhetoric and may end its negative interest rate policy early next year. Laying that ground at a time when the economy is shrinking, however, is not ideal. China's house price data will be closely watched for signs that the property sector is beginning to stabilize. There are signs of stabilization elsewhere in Chinese markets - the yuan is its strongest in three months against the dollar, and foreigners are increasing their holdings of China's onshore yuan bonds. On the policy front, the Philippine central bank is expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged at 6.50% on Thursday, although there's an outside chance it might hike to 6.75%. On the corporate front, China's Alibaba and Lenovo release their latest earnings reports. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Thursday: - Japan trade (October) - China house prices (October) - Philippines interest rate decision https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphics-pix-2023-11-15/

2023-11-15 21:16

NEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters) - JPMorgan (JPM.N) is including low-carbon power in how it calculates the eventual environmental impact of its energy funding, as regulators and shareholders worldwide push lenders to measure how businesses contribute to climate change. "We have an important role to play: providing our clients with the advice and capital they need to advance their decarbonization strategies," CEO Jamie Dimon said in a report published on Wednesday. Companies and banks use different ways to calculate their greenhouse gas emissions and those of their suppliers and customers, and set reduction targets. JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, uses a benchmark established by the International Energy Agency. JPMorgan's new approach to emissions from the use of its clients' energy products, known as Scope 3, combines money for lower-carbon projects with financing to fossil fuels to arrive at what it calls an energy mix. A spokesperson said the formula would be used to measure combined progress in reducing financing to oil and gas, increasing financing to low carbon power generation, and reducing one measure of emissions from end-users of oil and gas products. Including low-carbon financing could mean this indicator falls without any change to oil and gas financing. This captures a broad shift from oil and natural gas to low carbon fuels and electricity generation, JPMorgan said in the report. Using this framework, it aims to reduce Scope 3 emissions the companies in its portfolio produce from each megajoule of energy they deliver by 36% from 2019 levels by 2030. The bank said it was now basing its targets on IEA projections for a way to achieve "net zero" greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, instead of 2070. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/jpmorgan-adds-low-carbon-power-calculating-climate-impact-2023-11-15/

2023-11-15 20:57

MOSCOW, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Russia's state nuclear power corporation has reported that turbine blades broke at a plant where the company has installed two reactors of a type it is also building in Turkey and plans to construct in Hungary. Rosenergoatom, which runs Russia's nuclear power stations, said it was not clear what caused the blades to break, forcing the shutdown of a unit at the Leningrad nuclear power plant west of St Petersburg on Sunday. "The main thing now is to understand the reason for the destruction of the blades. This is a new phenomenon," said Alexander Shutikov, head of Rosenergoatom. He said repairs should be completed by Dec. 22. The unit where the problem occurred was built in 2018 with a next-generation VVER 1200, a pressurised water reactor. Units of this type are being built by Russia at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey and are planned for the Paks-2 plant in Hungary. Russia has already supplied them to Belarus. Shutikov said the blades that failed were part of a 1,200-megawatt high-speed steam turbine. The turbines are produced by businessman Alexei Mordashov's Power Machines сompany, which did not respond to a request for comment. Rosatom, the parent of Rosenergoatom, said similar turbine models are in operation at another unit of the Leningrad plant and in the southern Voronezh region. The company said it always investigates and corrects any malfunction. "Since turbines are not part of the 'nuclear island' of the plant, their malfunctioning has no impact on nuclear safety, as all reactor equipment is functioning as intended," it said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/broken-turbine-blades-cause-shutdown-russian-nuclear-plant-2023-11-15/

2023-11-15 20:43

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 15 (Reuters) - China is objecting to a U.S. proposal for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation members to incorporate sustainability and inclusivity into their trade and investment policies, a source briefed on the negotiations said on Wednesday. Talks on the issue were continuing at the APEC summit in San Francisco to try to find language that the group's 21 member states could agree on, the source said. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai told a trade-focused plenary meeting she hoped the proposal, dubbed by the Biden administration as the "San Francisco Principles for Integrating Inclusivity and Sustainability into Trade and Investment Policy" could be still be finalized. Tai said the U.S.-led effort was "supported by all economies but one and, as such, it is unclear if APEC will fulfill that mandate. Nonetheless, I remain optimistic that economies will finalize the San Francisco Principles soon." Few details of the U.S. proposal were available, but the Biden administration is promoting the idea that APEC economies increase opportunities for more people, particularly disadvantaged populations, and to incorporate clean energy and carbon emissions reductions goals into their development, growth and trade policies. Tai is separately seeking to negotiate a green steel arrangement with the European Union that aims to disadvantage Chinese steelmakers on the basis of their higher carbon emissions. News of China's objections at the APEC summit come as U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met south of San Francisco for high-stakes talks that may ease friction between the superpowers over military conflicts, drug trafficking and artificial intelligence. https://www.reuters.com/world/china-objects-us-proposal-apec-trade-investment-policies-source-2023-11-15/

2023-11-15 20:34

HOUSTON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA is offering to sell up to 1 million barrels of Corocoro crude through an intermediary, sources said on Wednesday, which could become the first sale of that grade in two years. Since Washington temporarily eased oil sanctions on the country last month, PDVSA has been allocating spot cargoes of crude and fuel oil through little known firms that contract with trading companies, which ultimately deliver to refiners. PDVSA and Italy's Eni (ENI.MI), one of its joint venture partners, have been producing and storing about 2,000 barrels per day of Corocoro medium crude at a floating storage and offloading (FSO) facility. The last export of Corocoro was in 2021, also from storage and to an Asian buyer, according to shipping and PDVSA data. Before U.S. oil sanctions were first imposed on Venezuela in 2019, the United States was the primary market for the crude. PDVSA and Eni did not immediately reply to requests for comment. This year, PDVSA and Eni have expanded trade as part of a U.S-authorized oil swap deal to pay off outstanding debt. They separately have engaged in talks to revive output at the shallow water offshore project where the Corocoro crude is produced, Golfo de Paria Oeste. A final agreement has not been signed. Getting access to crude stored at the FSO is expected to bring some operational challenges due to its dilapidated condition and the possibility of some of the oil being off specification, especially due to water content. The crude on offer would be discharged to barges and then transferred to a receiving vessel, the sources said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/venezuelas-pdvsa-offers-corocoro-crude-cargo-through-intermediary-sources-2023-11-15/