2024-08-16 20:19

BERMUDA, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Hurricane Ernesto bore down on Bermuda on Friday as a Category 2 storm, threatening the British island territory with strong winds, a dangerous storm surge and potentially deadly flooding. Ernesto, centered about 95 miles (150 km) south-southwest of the archipelago at 8 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time (0000 GMT on Saturday), was producing sustained winds of up to 100 mph (155 kph) and had the potential to drop up to 9 inches (230 mm) of rain, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The center of Ernesto is expected to pass near or over Bermuda on Saturday morning, making conditions ripe for storm surges and flash flooding by the afternoon. "Folks, be under no illusion. This storm is the real deal," said Michael Weeks, Bermuda's national security minister, at a press conference on Friday. He warned Bermudians to brace for 36 hours of hurricane- and tropical storm-force winds starting Friday afternoon. The winds had knocked out power for 5,400 of Bermuda's 36,000 customers, the power utility BELCO said. The company added it had called its repair crews back from the field because it was too dangerous to work. Warren Darrell, 52, of Smith's Parish, said he had stocked up on groceries for his family, battened down the hatches and removed furniture from the lawn in preparation for Ernesto's arrival "I'm ready to play games with my daughters and wait," he said. "I'm a bit worried, a little bit worried, but I think we'll overcome. I think we'll be fine." Winds, torrential rains and rip currents began picking up just before noon at John Smith's Bay on Bermuda's Main Island. The government planned to close a causeway bridge linking it to St. George's Island on Friday night. A number of tourists and locals were seen roaming around the south shore, while a person was windsurfing as waves grew in size before 2 p.m. Bermuda, a collection of 181 small islands clustered more than 600 miles (965 km) off the Carolina coast, can expect hurricane conditions to persist until Sunday, National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said in an online briefing. Fewer than a dozen hurricanes have made direct landfall on Bermuda, according to records dating to the 1850s. PUERTO RICO POWER OUTAGES Earlier this week, Ernesto grazed Puerto Rico as a tropical storm, bringing heavy rainfall to the U.S. Caribbean territory and cutting power to about half of its 1.5 million customers. About 250,000 homes and businesses remained without power as of Friday morning, according to LUMA Energy, the island's main electricity distributor. Puerto Rico's power grid is notoriously fragile. The island has experienced prolonged power outages in recent years when weather systems much more powerful than Ernesto rolled through. Ernesto is the fifth named Atlantic storm of what is expected to be an intense hurricane season. Slow-moving Debby hit Florida's Gulf Coast as a Category 1 hurricane just last week before soaking some parts of the Carolinas with up to 2 feet of rain. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/hurricane-ernesto-nears-bermuda-flooding-likely-2024-08-16/

2024-08-16 20:00

Aug 16 (Reuters) - Speculators raised their net short bets on five-year Treasuries to the largest on record in the latest week, while bearish bets on 10-year Treasury futures were the largest since January, according to data by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday. Net short bets on five-year note futures grew to 1,695,072 contracts in the week ending Aug. 13, up from 1,688,076 the previous week. Short bets on 10-year note futures rose to 860,243 contracts from 776,208, the data showed. Bearish positions on interest rate sensitive two-year Treasury futures, meanwhile, fell to 1,104,606 contracts, from 1,105,211 the prior week. Treasury yields have rebounded from more than one-year lows reached last week, when concerns mounted that the U.S. economy is rapidly weakening and due to a stock market rout caused in part by the unwind of popular dollar/yen carry trades. Better economic data this week and hotter-than-expected shelter inflation in July has also reduced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 50 basis points at its September meeting, with a 25 basis point cut now seen as more likely. Other data showed that net short bets on U.S. bonds fell to 26,330 contracts from 57,855 and U.S. Long T-bonds short bets fell to 349,133 contracts from 376,662. Below is a table of the speculative positions in Treasury futures on the Chicago Board of Trade in the latest week: U.S. 2-year T-notes (Contracts of $200,000) U.S. 5-year T-notes (Contracts of $100,000) U.S. 10-year T-notes (Contracts of $100,000) U.S. T-bonds (Contracts of $100,000) U.S. Long T-bonds (Contracts of $100,000) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/short-bets-five-year-treasury-futures-largest-record-cftc-data-2024-08-16/

2024-08-16 19:08

Aug 16 (Reuters) - Central bank chiefs congregate in Jackson Hole for their annual retreat, U.S. Democrats choose their presidential candidate and energy markets ricochet due to a confluence of Middle East and Russia-Ukraine tensions, while global PMIs are due. Here's your guide to the week ahead in financial markets from Ira Iosebashvili and Lewis Krauskopf in New York, Naomi Rovnick and Nina Chestney in London, and Kevin Buckland in Tokyo. 1/ JACKSON HOLE Central bankers from around the globe gather in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, , opens new tab from Thursday for the Fed's annual conference to chart the way forward for monetary policy. In focus this year are labour markets - a shift away from last year's inflation theme. U.S. Fed chief Jerome Powell gets a chance to fine-tune his message before September's monetary policy meeting. Most market participants believe the Fed will begin cutting rates next month, after months of keeping them elevated to tamp down inflation. How big the world's foremost central bank will go, and how deeply it will eventually cut, remain open questions: a spate of recent alarming economic data - including unemployment numbers , opens new tab - pushed investors to ramp up bets on a 50 basis point cut in September. 2/ MIXED PICTURE The outlook for global growth is another piece of the puzzle. Markets are febrile and struggling to assess the economic outlook as business activity softens but inflation stays above central banks' target levels. Purchasing managers' indexes deliver a real-time snapshot of economic activity and - with most of them out on Thursday - will provide the next set of clues. July's PMIs suggested an economic slowdown combined with persistent inflation, showing why central banks are in a bind. U.S. manufacturing activity weakened and German numbers were surprisingly dour, indicating Europe's economic powerhouse is contracting. But manufacturers' input prices in advanced economies hit an 18-month high. Inflation will dictate the pace and depth of future rate cuts. A repeat of July's dour PMI trends might mean monetary easing happens more slowly than markets would like. 3/ IRATE OVER RATES The Bank of Japan's sudden pivot from uber-dove to ultra-hawk has put it in the firing line for lawmakers, after peppering its surprise rate hike at the end of July with hints of more to come. One unexpected result was the steepest rout for Japanese stocks since 1987's infamous Black Monday, amid a destabilizing spike in the yen against the dollar. Politicians set to grill BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda and his peers on Aug. 23 will do well to remember some of their most senior figures were leaning on the central bank to help reverse the yen's exceptional weakness in the run-up to the move. Recent macroeconomic indicators at least have been on the BOJ's side, showing a stronger-than-expected rebound in growth amid a recovery for consumption. A potentially bigger test comes the day of the special parliamentary session, with the release of the latest consumer price figures. 4/ DEMOCRATS ON DISPLAY The U.S. presidential race heats up again with the Democrats aiming to generate fresh momentum for the candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris at the party's convention in Chicago. Since her late entry into the race after President Joe Biden stepped aside, Harris has galvanized Democrats and erased the lead of Republican candidate Donald Trump in some opinion polls, edging ahead of Trump in some betting markets ahead of the Nov. 5 vote. The four-day convention kicks off on Monday with a series of high-profile Democrats expected to give speeches geared toward rallying support for Harris. The race is tight and investors are hoping to learn more about her policy positions. Harris has been at pains to emphasize she would never interfere in Fed independence - a view that contrasts sharply with that of the Republican nominee and former president, who said presidents should have a say on Fed decisions. 5/ TENSIONS A confluence of risk factors has pushed and pulled global energy markets in recent days, and there is little sense that will abate. Concern that conflict is spreading in the Middle East and threatening supply from the region has lifted international crude prices above $80 a barrel. At the same time, worries about the strength of demand, particularly in China, are somewhat limiting oil’s gains. European wholesale gas prices meanwhile have been volatile, with the spectre of Russian gas supply disruption on a transit route via Ukraine amplifying Middle East concerns. Markets are concerned that heavy fighting near the Russian town of Sudzha, where Russian gas flows into Ukraine, could result in a sudden stop to transit flows via the war-torn nation before a five-year deal with Russia's Gazprom expires. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/take-five/global-markets-themes-graphic-2024-08-16/

2024-08-16 18:35

Canadian dollar gains 0.3% against the greenback For the week, the loonie advances 0.3% Factory sales fall 2.1% in June Bond yields edge lower across the curve TORONTO, Aug 16 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Friday as equity markets held on to recent gains and ahead of domestic inflation data in the coming week that could guide expectations for Bank of Canada interest rate cuts. The loonie was trading 0.3% higher at 1.3692 per U.S. dollar, or 73.04 U.S. cents. For the week, the currency was also up 0.3%, adding to the previous week's gains. "A decent finish to the week for the Canadian dollar," said Erik Bregar, director, FX & precious metals risk management at Silver Gold Bull. "I think the ability for equities to shrug off this morning's mildly hawkish-looking Michigan sentiment and inflation expectation readings has helped." The University of Michigan's preliminary reading on the overall index of consumer sentiment rose in August, while inflation expectations remained unchanged over the next year and beyond. Wall Street's main indexes were on course for their best weekly performance this year as better-than-expected data calmed nerves over a recession. "Zooming out, the prospects for CAD continue to look good following last week's bullish weekly reversal pattern on the charts," Bregar said. The currency has rebounded after tumbling on Aug. 5 to its weakest level in nearly two years at 1.3946 when financial market volatility globally soared. Domestic data was mixed. Factory sales fell 2.1% month-over-month in June, while housing starts jumped 16% in July. The Canadian consumer price index report for July, due on Tuesday, is expected to show inflation slowing to 2.4% from 2.7% in June. The BoC has said it is likely to continue to lower interest rates if inflation cools in line with forecasts. Canadian bond yields edged lower across the curve, with the 10-year down half a basis point at 3.074%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/c-notches-2nd-straight-weekly-gain-equities-advance-2024-08-16/

2024-08-16 18:26

HOUSTON, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Autry Stephens, the billionaire founder and chairman of Endeavor Energy Resources, has died aged 86, the company disclosed on Friday, after a prolonged battle with cancer. Stephens died early on Friday morning, a source familiar with the matter said. Known for a relentless work ethic and frugal nature, he had continued to work while under medical care and relied on friends to fly him in a private jet to cancer treatments in Houston. His work ethic was shaped by tough years in the 1980s and 1990s when he struggled to get Endeavor off the ground, sources said. The wildcatter launched Endeavor in 1979 and grew it into one of the largest closely held U.S. oil and gas firms by buying tough-to-drill wells that oil majors snubbed. Stephens in February agreed to sell his Midland, Texas-based company for $26 billion to local rival Diamondback Energy (FANG.O) , opens new tab. He had rebuffed many offers for the business over the years. The deal is expected to close later this year. Stephens' daughter, Lyndal Greth, becomes chairman of Endeavor's board of managers, the company said on Friday. Greth was previously vice chairman. Born in 1938, Stephens grew up on a farm in DeLeon, Texas, where his family grew peanuts and fruits. He studied engineering and went to work for Humble Oil & Refining, a predecessor to Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab, according to a profile on the University of Texas' engineering school website. Stephens drilled his first well in 1979 in Midland county, Texas. He would pick up leaseholds for acreage that oil majors found too expensive to drill and would lower production costs by handling most of the operations. He created and used his own fracking, construction and trucking companies. Stephens was well known in Midland, Texas, the heart of the U.S. shale business, and for bringing his dog to his office regularly. He named one of his companies Big Dog Drilling. "He was stubborn and persistent. And in the right place at the right time," said Javaid Anwar, a Texas businessman who first met Stephens 1976 while working at a bank in Midland. The two became friends in the years that followed through numerous fishing trips and business deals. "He was a fish hog," joked Anwar, recounting how Stephens used to take up his coveted turns to reel in catch on their fishing trips. Anwar helped fly Stephens to Houston on his private jet for cancer treatments over the past year, which gave the two the opportunity to look back at old memories from their time in the oil business. "He was one of the pioneers of horizontal drilling that helped the Permian come to produce nearly 6.5 million barrels of oil per day, roughly half of the U.S. total," Anwar said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/texas-oil-billionaire-wildcatter-autry-stephens-dies-86-2024-08-16/

2024-08-16 18:21

Aug 16 (Reuters) - U.S.-based Norfolk Southern (NSC.N) , opens new tab said on Friday it is closing all intermodal facility ingates to Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) , opens new tab with immediate effect following an embargo imposed by the Canadian railroad on all of its intermodal shipments. Both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP.TO) , opens new tab have issued embargoes on certain shipments in advance to a potential strike from the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Union that could begin as early as Aug. 22. Union Pacific (UNP.N) , opens new tab also said it was adhering to the embargoes placed by the two Canadian railroads, while actively monitoring the labor negotiations. The union has targeted both the Canadian rails, demanding better wages and benefits, including provisions for fatigue management and better crew scheduling. The union and the railroads are back at the bargaining table on Friday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/norfolk-southern-closes-all-intermodal-facility-ingates-canadian-national-2024-08-16/