2024-08-07 21:30

ATHENS/CAIRO, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement said on Wednesday that it had targeted the Contship Ono in the Red Sea and two U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Aden, while Contships Management said the vessel had not been hit and its crew were safe. Earlier, the group's military spokesperson Yahya Saree said that the Houthi air force also had targeted U.S. destroyer Cole with a number of drones and the U.S. destroyer Laboon with a number of ballistic missiles. Saree said the Liberia-flagged, container ship Contship Ono was targeted with ballistic missiles and drones. "The vessel and its crew are safe and there has been no incident affecting its operations," the Athens-based Contships Management said in a statement to Reuters. A U.S. official also said that there was no data or information to corroborate the Houthis' claim that the two warships had been attacked. The Iran-aligned Houthi militants have launched repeated drone and missile strikes on ships in the crucial shipping channels of the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab strait and the Gulf of Aden since November to show their support for the Palestinians in the Gaza war. This has forced shippers to re-route cargo to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa and has stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread and destabilise the Middle East. The frequency of the attacks, however, appeared to have decreased after Israel hit military targets near Yemen's Hodeidah port on July 20, killing six people and wounding more than 80, a day after a drone launched by the Iranian-backed group hit the Israeli economic hub Tel Aviv. On Aug.4, the Yemeni group claimed the first attack on shipping lanes in two weeks since the Israeli attack by targeting the Liberia-flagged container vessel MV Groton in the Gulf of Aden. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/yemens-houthis-target-contship-ono-ship-two-us-destroyers-2024-08-07/

2024-08-07 21:25

Aug 7 (Reuters) - U.S. oil and gas firm Marathon Oil (MRO.N) , opens new tab missed Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Wednesday, hurt by a fall in natural gas prices. U.S. gas prices dropped as mild weather pressured demand and on a rise in stored volumes due to inadequate pipeline capacity. Marathon Oil said its average realized price for natural gas in the U.S. declined 24.9% to $1.42 per thousand cubic feet (mcf). A fall in natural gas prices also led to an earnings miss at rival Coterra Energy (CTRA.N) , opens new tab last week. Shares of Marathon Oil, which had agreed to sell itself to ConocoPhillips (COP.N) , opens new tab for $22.5 billion in May, fell 1.7% after the bell. The company said its total quarterly production declined to 393,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), compared with 399,000 boepd produced a year earlier, due to a fall in natural gas and liquids output. "Total company oil and oil-equivalent production are expected to peak during the third quarter, with oil production rising to approximately 200,000 net bpd, before moderating into the fourth quarter," the company said. Marathon Oil posted adjusted earnings of 63 cents per share for the three months ended June 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of 69 cents per share, according to LSEG data. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/marathon-oil-misses-profit-estimates-weak-natural-gas-prices-2024-08-07/

2024-08-07 21:00

SYDNEY, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Water temperatures in and around Australia's Great Barrier Reef have risen to their warmest in 400 years over the past decade, placing the world's largest reef under threat, according to research published on Thursday. The reef, the world's largest living ecosystem, stretches for some 1,500 miles (2,400 km) off the coast of the northern state of Queensland. A group of scientists at universities across Australia drilled cores into the coral and, much like counting the rings on a tree, analysed the samples to measure summer ocean temperatures going back to 1618. Combined with ship and satellite data going back around a hundred years, the results show ocean temperatures that were stable for hundreds of years begin to rise from 1900 onwards as a result of human influence, the research concluded. From 1960 to 2024, the study's authors observed an average annual warming for January to March of 0.12°C (0.22°F) per decade. Since 2016, the reef has experienced five summers of mass coral bleaching, when large sections of the reef turn white due to heat stress, putting them at greater risk of death. These summers were during five of the six warmest years in the last four centuries, the study showed. "The world is losing one of its icons," said Benjamin Henley, an academic at the University of Melbourne and one of the study's co-authors. "I find that to be an absolute tragedy. It's hard to understand how that can happen on our watch in our lifetime. So it's very, very sad." The last temperature data point, from January to March of this year, was the highest on record and "head and shoulders" above any other year, Henley said. Coral reefs protect shorelines from erosion, are home to thousands of species of fish, and are an important source of tourism revenue in many countries. At least 54 countries and regions have experienced mass bleaching of their reefs since February 2023 as climate change warms the ocean's surface waters, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has said. The Great Barrier Reef is not currently on UNESCO's list of world heritage sites that are in danger, though the UN recommends , opens new tab it should be added. Australia has lobbied for years to keep the reef - which contributes A$6.4 billion ($4.2 billion) to the economy annually - off the endangered list, as it could damage tourism. ($1 = 1.5265 Australian dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/hottest-oceans-400-years-endanger-great-barrier-reef-scientists-say-2024-08-07/

2024-08-07 20:57

Aug 7 (Reuters) - Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N) , opens new tab on Wednesday beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit by 34%, in the first results since it closed the $12 billion acquisition of Permian-based producer CrownRock last week. The Houston-based oil and gas firm benefited from higher oil production in Colorado and a rise in crude prices. Its worldwide realized crude oil prices stood at $79.89 per barrel, up 5% from a year earlier. Shares of the company were 1.1% higher in trading after the bell. Occidental's quarterly production increased to 1.26 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), above analysts' estimate of 1.24 million boepd. Output in the U.S. Permian basin and in the Gulf of Mexico was at the higher end of the company's guidance. The company posted adjusted profit of $1.03 per share for the quarter ended June 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of 77 cents per share, according to LSEG data. Occidental updated its production target this year to about 1.315 million barrels of oil and gas per day, from about 1.250 million boepd, to incorporate CrownRock's assets. Third-quarter production is expected to increase about 140,000 boepd to 1.390 million boepd, it said. The acquisition of CrownRock bolstered Occidental's position in the Permian basin. However, it also raised Occidental's long-term debt to about $28 billion - a significant amount, particularly for a company that has spent years cleaning its balance sheet after its costly acquisition of Anadarko in 2019. Occidental kept unaltered its plans to use cash generated through the acquisition and up to $6 billion in asset sales through 2026 to pay down debt. It estimates $970 million in asset sales this year. Occidental reaffirmed its plan to repay $4.5 billion in near-term debt by August 2025. The pre-tax income of its chemical division fell by 32% from a year ago to $296 million in the second quarter, due to lower prices. Occidental increased its 2024 capital spending guidance by $400 million, bringing it to $6.9 billion. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/occidental-petroleum-posts-higher-second-quarter-profit-2024-08-07/

2024-08-07 20:12

Aug 7 (Reuters) - Robinhood (HOOD.O) , opens new tab beat Wall Street expectations for second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, as interest in meme stocks and cryptocurrencies soared, and said it continued to gain retail trading market share from rivals. The app, typically associated with mom-and-pop investors, saw a surge in trading volumes as meme-stock influencer Keith Gill returned to social media and reignited interest in the highly shorted shares of videogame retailer GameStop (GME.N) , opens new tab. Shares of the company rose 2.6% in extended trading after the brokerage also teased the launch of an upcoming desktop version of its popular mobile trading application. Robinhood's transaction-based revenue surged 69% to $327 million in the quarter. The crypto markets also logged a stellar first half of the year led by gains in bitcoin after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved exchange-traded funds to track spot prices of bitcoin and ether . Despite its recent approvals, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has continued to argue that crypto tokens qualify as securities and come within its regulatory purview, putting it at loggerheads with crypto industry giants who have accused the regulator of overreach. The hot-button issue of crypto regulation has been in focus at the upcoming presidential election and underscores the industry's growing political influence. "In the U.S., there's plenty of work to do and we believe we can be successful regardless of what administration ultimately ends up taking power in November or if it's the same one," CEO Vlad Tenev said on a call with analysts, in response to a question regarding the regulatory landscape. The remarks echo Coinbase (COIN.O) , opens new tab CEO Brian Armstrong's comments last week. Robinhood's chief financial officer, Jason Warnick, shrugged off worries that a potential economic slowdown or recession would weigh on growth. "Regardless of kind of how the market backdrop plays out through the rest of the year, we are pretty optimistic that we are well-positioned to perform well," Warnick said on a call with reporters. After being at the heart of a meme-stock trading frenzy of 2021, Robinhood has struggled with uneven trading activity over the past two years and is seeking to counter the effects by building a suite of products for clients. Robinhood's quarterly net interest revenue, the bulk of which comes from margin investing, jumped 22% to $285 million. It reported record revenue of $682 million in the second quarter ended June 30, beating estimates of $643.34 million, according to LSEG data. Profit of 21 cents per share also topped expectations of 15 cents. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/robinhoods-q2-revenue-surges-robust-stocks-crypto-trading-2024-08-07/

2024-08-07 19:55

SANAA, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The death toll in western Yemen from heavy rains earlier this week has risen to 40, with five others missing, Houthi officials and aid workers said on Wednesday. More than 500 homes had to be evacuated and many roads were blocked by flooding in Hodeidah province, much of which, including the port, is under the Iran-aligned Houthi movement's control. The United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Wednesday that aid partners had begun deliveries "amid the need for urgent support," to thousands of families affected by the rains. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/heavy-rain-yemen-leaves-40-dead-five-missing-2024-08-07/