2023-11-10 01:00

Nov 9 (Reuters) - Climate activists on Thursday took over a stage inside the secured headquarters of the International Monetary Fund where Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Israeli central bank Governor Amir Yaron were speaking at a research conference. "End fossil finance," the protesters shouted as Powell was ushered off the stage by security. The disruption of the event lasted roughly two minutes before security moved the protesters out. Yaron remained seated throughout the disruption. Powell later retook the stage and resumed his speech. It was the second time in weeks that an event attended by the Fed chief was disrupted by climate activists. A group took over the stage at an event featuring Powell in New York on Oct. 24. Powell's prepared remarks were published on time at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT). The IMF said in a statement that "security officers escorted the protesters out of the building and the event resumed shortly afterward." A spokesperson for the Fed did not have a comment. The event was open to the public, with registration and photo identification required. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fed-chair-powell-speech-delayed-by-climate-protestors-2023-11-09/

2023-11-10 00:45

SYDNEY, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Australia's central bank on Friday warned there were risks of further upside surprises to inflation following its latest hike in interest rates, while also raising forecasts for economic growth and employment. In its quarterly Statement on Monetary Policy, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said its Board discussed holding rates steady at its November policy meeting this week, but judged a hike was needed to ensure a slowdown in inflation. "The Board's priority is to return inflation to target," the RBA said. Earlier this week, it ended a four-month pause by raising its cash rate a quarter point to a 12-year high of 4.35%. That brought the total increase this cycle to 425 basis points. "Whether further tightening of monetary policy is required to ensure that inflation to target in a reasonable timeframe will depend on the data and the evolving assessment of risks," the RBA added. Consumer price inflation (CPI) slowed to 5.4% in the third quarter, from a peak of 7.8% last year, but was still higher than expected and well above the RBA's target of 2-3%. Stubborn inflation in the service sector led the RBA to revise up its forecasts for both CPI and core inflation. The key trimmed mean measure of inflation is seen at 3.25% by the end of next year and just below 3.0% by late 2025, both around a quarter point higher than its previous forecast. "There is potential for further upside surprises to inflation," the RBA cautioned, pointing to domestic cost pressures and external factors such as global warming. Such surprises would risk de-anchoring inflation expectations and require even higher interest rates, the RBA said. The central bank also noted the domestic economy had proved more resilient than expected, in part due to very rapid migration and strong government spending on infrastructure. The economy was now expected to expand at an annual 1.5% pace this quarter, up from 1.0% previously. Growth for end 2024 was lifted by a quarter point to 2.0%, while the forecast for late 2025 stayed at 2.25%. That in turn meant unemployment was now seen peaking at 4.25% in 2024, rather than the 4.5% previously predicted. The current jobless rate of 3.6% is near its lowest since the 1950s. Still the RBA did note that past rate rises coupled with high inflation had eroded real incomes and that many households were facing a "painful squeeze" on their budgets. Analysts estimate the latest rate rise will add A$100 a month in payments on a typical A$600,000 loan, bringing the total increase since May 2022 to $17,000 a year. Keywords: AUSTRALIA ECONOMY/RBA https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/australia-central-bank-sees-risk-upside-surprises-inflation-policy-outlook-2023-11-10/

2023-11-09 23:57

LIMA, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Peru's central bank again lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 7.00% on Thursday, as the monetary authority in the Andean nation continues to ease borrowing costs in an effort to help claw its way out of a recession. The bank's third consecutive cut comes as the rate of rising consumer prices has been coming down. But the latest decision to cut rates does not necessarily imply a cycle of successive rate reductions, the monetary authority said in a statement. It added that future adjustments to the key lending rate "will be conditioned on new information on inflation and its determinants." In October, annual inflation in Peru's mining-dependent economy decelerated to 4.34% to reach its lowest level in over two years, according to official data. But the world's No. 2 copper producer had already slid in to a technical recession earlier this year due to the adverse impacts of the weather phenomenon known as El Nino, lower private investment and lingering effects from earlier social conflicts. The statement noted that inflation's downward trend is expected to continue, with the average rate of consumer prices expected to reach the central bank's target of 2%, plus or minus 1 percentage point, early next year. The downward trend is driven by a moderation of prices internationally, according to the statement. Earlier on Thursday, Peru's government announced a package of measures aimed at boosting investments in the country's critical mining sector. Economy Minister Alex Contreras, who has said he expects a fourth-quarter recovery, said the measures should lead to a surge in funding for public and private projects of up to $8 billion in 2024, from $2.3 billion this year. https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/peru-cuts-interest-rate-again-prices-ease-recession-lingers-2023-11-09/

2023-11-09 23:36

NEW YORK, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Crypto lender Celsius Network received U.S. bankruptcy court approval for a restructuring plan that will return cryptocurrency to customers and create a new company owned by Celsius creditors. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn in Manhattan signed off on the restructuring in an order published on Thursday. The reorganized business will be managed by Fahrenheit LLC, a consortium that includes hedge fund Arrington Capital, and it will focus on mining new bitcoin and earning "staking" fees by validating blockchain transactions. New Jersey-based Celsius filed for Chapter 11 protection in July 2022, one month after freezing customer accounts to prevent withdrawals. Celsius, which was once valued at $3 billion, was one of the largest crypto collapses last year. The crypto lender is working to implement the plan and is expected to emerge from Chapter 11 in early 2024,according to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Michael Arrington, founder of Arrington Capital, on Thursday said Celsius' revival stands apart from other crypto companies that collapsed in 2022 and were unable to reorganize. Crypto lenders BlockFi and Voyager Digital were wiped out in bankruptcy, and cryptocurrency exchange FTX remains stuck in Chapter 11 proceedings. "Today marks the culmination of a journey that has been far too long and far too expensive for Celsius creditors," Arrington said in an email. "We are eager to dig in on our go-forward plan to make things whole for our creditors." Fahrenheit will buy a minority stake in the reorganized Celsius for $50 million and will publicly list the new company's stock on Nasdaq, allowing Celsius customers to sell equity shares that they will receive as part of their bankruptcy recovery, according to court documents. In addition to their stake in the new company, Celsius customers will receive a partial repayment of the cryptocurrency assets they deposited on the platform. Celsius said on Thursday it would return about $2 billion in cryptocurrency to account holders. Celsius had 600,000 customers who held about $4.4 billion in interest-bearing Celsius accounts when it filed for bankruptcy, according to court documents. The restructuring plan includes a settlement that values Celsius's proprietary crypto token, CEL, at 25 cents. A court-appointed examiner reported in January that Celsius inflated the value of its own token to benefit company insiders, using methods that Celsius staff described as "very Ponzi-like." The reorganized company will pursue litigation against Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky, who already faces U.S. criminal charges and a New York civil lawsuit for allegedly misleading customers and artificially inflating the value of CEL. Mashinsky has pleaded not guilty. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/crypto-lender-celsius-network-cleared-exit-bankruptcy-2023-11-09/

2023-11-09 23:33

Nov 9 (Reuters) - Pot producer Canopy Growth (WEED.TO) reported a smaller second-quarter adjusted core loss on Thursday on the back of cost cuts. The company has been grappling with liquidity issues and has taken several steps to turn profitable including job cuts, exits from some international markets, store closures and divestiture of its retail business across Canada. Canopy Growth said it cut another C$54 million in costs during the reported quarter. Its operating expenses were down nearly 80% at C$30.43 million. Canopy said in September it would seek bankruptcy protection for its sports nutrition products segment BioSteel and lay off 181 employees to rein in costs and focus on cannabis. The company's adjusted core loss narrowed to C$11.9 million ($8.62 million) for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of C$56.4 million a year earlier. "We have undertaken significant actions to eliminate near-term obligations in terms of debt," CFO Judy Hong said on a post-earnings call. Canopy Growth's net revenue fell 21% to C$69.6 million in the quarter as the company exited its retail Canadian business. The company said it had received a letter from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission objecting to its de-consolidation of its U.S. holding company from its financial results. The company had created Canopy USA last year to speed up its entry in the United States and buy partners Acreage Holdings (ACRGau.CD), Wana Brands and Jetty Extracts. ($1 = 1.3808 Canadian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/business/pot-producer-canopy-growths-second-quarter-core-loss-narrows-2023-11-09/

2023-11-09 22:22

ASUNCION, Nov 9 (Reuters) - The United States will next month reopen its doors to exports of Paraguayan beef after a quarter of a century, the U.S. embassy in Paraguay said on Thursday, as regulators concluded an extensive review. President Santiago Pena called the move "a historical milestone" on social media platform X, saying the process had involved long audits and a 25 year wait. In a separate statement, the U.S. Embassy in Paraguay said that the new regulations make Paraguay one of 18 countries permitted to export beef products to the United States, and would take effect on Dec. 14. The embassy said Paraguay's successful completion of the review reflected "the high quality of Paraguayan beef and Paraguay's food safety and animal health systems." The move showed the U.S. commitment to "expand mutually beneficial and inclusive economic opportunities for our peoples," it added. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-re-open-market-beef-exports-paraguay-after-25-year-hiatus-2023-11-09/