2024-07-27 20:49

July 27 (Reuters) - The price of bitcoin eased on Saturday as U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told an audience of cryptocurrency enthusiasts that bitcoin was going to the moon and he wanted the U.S. to lead the way. Trump was speaking at a Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, part of a broader Republican effort to court crypto holders ahead of the Nov. 5 election. Bitcoin was last quoted down 0.96% at $66,814. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/bitcoin-price-dips-trump-addresses-crypto-audience-2024-07-27/

2024-07-27 19:02

BELEM, Brazil, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Saturday that the global transition to a low-carbon economy requires $3 trillion in new capital each year through 2050, far above current annual financing, but that filling the gap is the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century. Yellen said in Belem, Brazil's Amazon gateway city, that reaching net-zero emissions goals remained a top priority for the Biden-Harris administration and this would require leadership far beyond U.S. borders. "Neglecting to address climate change and the loss of nature and biodiversity is not just bad environmental policy. It is bad economic policy," Yellen said in a speech after attending a G20 finance leaders meeting on Thursday and Friday in Rio de Janeiro. Wealthy economies provided and mobilized a record $116 billion for climate finance for developing countries in 2022, 40% of which came from multilateral development banks (MDBs). Yellen said the banks, including the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) were setting new targets. The financing need is "the single-greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century" and can be leveraged to support sustainable and more inclusive growth, including for investment-starved countries, she said. While in Belem, Yellen met with finance ministers from Amazon basin countries and IDB President Ilan Goldfajn. She reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the bank's Amazonia Forever platform, which provides a holistic approach to sustainable development in the region through financing, project preparation and collaboration. "We are hopeful that this program will incentivize greater private-sector investment in the region that supports nature," she added. Yellen called on MDBs nearly two years ago to expand their missions and lending capacity to include fighting climate change. She said this was "now in their DNA," but massive private investment was needed, and the Treasury, Brazil's finance ministry and other stakeholders were working to boost engagement with the private sector. She said the banks should also catalyze new business models to mobilize investments that support nature and biodiversity while strengthening economies and advancing climate transitions. Earlier on Saturday, Yellen launched a new initiative with Amazon basin countries Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname to combat nature crimes, such as illegal logging and harvesting of wildlife and minerals, that are threatening biodiversity and the Amazon ecosystem. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/yellen-says-3-trillion-needed-annually-climate-financing-far-more-than-current-2024-07-27/

2024-07-27 17:33

SANTIAGO, July 27 (Reuters) - Chinese lithium miner Tianqi has appealed a ruling by Chilean financial regulator CMF that shareholder approval is not needed to proceed with a major tie-up set to boost state control over the country's lithium sector, it said on Saturday. Tianqi (002466.SZ) , opens new tab has repeatedly called for the planned partnership between state miner Codelco [RIC:RIC:COBRE.UL] and SQM (SQMA.SN) , opens new tab, the world's No. 2 lithium producer, to be put to a shareholders' vote. Tianqi owns about a fifth of SQM. The partnership would grant SQM the ability to extract lithium in the prized Atacama salt flat through 2060, while giving Codelco, the copper miner, a major role in the lithium industry in Chile, the world's second-biggest supplier of the key battery metal after Australia. The Chinese firm said in a statement it had made a formal request to Santiago's Court of Appeals. It asked that the CMF ruling be suspended until a final resolution is reached, an action that could halt the deal from moving forward. SQM and Codelco predicted that final regulatory approvals will come in the first few months of 2025 and plan to begin the partnership the same year. "The CMF ruling we are appealing represents not just one particular case, but implies negative influences for future operations," Tianqi said, adding it would continue to take "all legal measures necessary" to defend its interests. "The events surrounding the Codelco-SQM deal sets a major precedent of great gravity that has throughout the process exposed a lack of the most minimal transparency standards and respect for the rights of minority shareholders," it added. The SQM-Codelco deal was finalized in May and Tianqi had until Saturday to file the appeal. CMF made the ruling in June, saying the decision was not appropriate for a shareholder vote and should instead be resolved by SQM's board of directors. Though companies have scrambled for control over the metal used to build batteries fueling electric vehicles, prices that rose rapidly through 2022 have since slumped over a supply glut and weaker-than-expected demand. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/chinas-tianqi-appeals-chile-ruling-sqm-codelco-lithium-deal-2024-07-27/

2024-07-27 16:01

Men's street skateboarding competition postponed Tennis delayed on outside courts at Roland Garros Forecast for drier weather Sunday, hot next week PARIS, July 27 (Reuters) - Pouring rain in Paris on Saturday forced the men's Olympics street skateboarding competition to be postponed and tennis matches were also delayed, while athletes had mixed feelings about how to cope with the unexpectedly wet weather. On Friday, a dazzling but soaked opening ceremony for the Summer Games saw thousands of athletes parade on a flotilla of barges on the Seine, at the heart of the French capital, waving to the crowd despite the downpour. Chinese badminton player He Bingjiao laughed when she was asked if she thought the opening ceremony had been beautiful, saying she did not make it because of the weather. "Unfortunately I couldn't attend because of the rain. I had to rest," she said. "It's not normal to have had a ceremony like this on the boats. I was watching it on my phone." The rain continued on Saturday, forcing some events to be rescheduled and umbrellas were more in evidence than sunglasses at the beach volleyball at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. "The risk factor becomes too high when skateboarding in the rain," a spokesperson for World Skate said after Saturday's competition was rescheduled to Monday because La Concorde, the outdoor venue where it was supposed to take place, was drenched. "The water creates a lack of traction that is extremely dangerous, especially in consideration of the cement and metal obstacles they're skating," the spokesperson said. The opening day of the tennis event was also disrupted, with thousands of spectators without tickets for the two main show courts left frustrated after negotiating lengthy queues to get in. Play began on time under the Court Philippe Chatrier roof and across the complex on Court Suzanne Lenglen. But play on the uncovered courts was delayed. However, Paris 2024 organisers said they were confident the triathlon events would take place as scheduled on Tuesday even though the rain might lead to Sunday's training session being cancelled due to concerns over the water quality in the Seine. And outside the Arena Champ-de-Mars, where the judo dojo is located, hundreds of fans braved the weather to queue to get in ahead of busy evening that could see France win its first medals, including a possible gold for Luka Mkheidze in the under 60 kg category. HOT WEATHER DUE Some athletes themselves were not that bothered. "I'm from Oslo, so this is a perfect Norwegian summer," Inger Seim Kavlie, Norway women's double sculls rower, told Reuters with a grin as the rained poured down in the mixed zone, close to the finish line. "I think we'd like some sun for our families who are here to watch, that would be nice. I think they're happy either way, but I'm sure it's not what they imagined." Meteo France, France's official weather forecaster, predicts that the weather will dry up on Sunday, before getting very hot next week, with a peak of 36 degrees Celsius (96 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday. The Olympics' organisers said they had to execute a complex logistical operation to keep the athletes as dry as possible in Friday evening's four-hour opening ceremony. Athletes tend to hesitate to take part in a Games' opening ceremony, fearing it could disrupt their preparation. The weather made things even more difficult but organising chief Tony Estanguet said the athletes were taken to an area to dry out after the boat parade. They were also given an area to rest during the ceremony. "They were satisfied with the logistics in place," Estanguet told a news conference. Estanguet said the weather did not make it easy for athletes to join in, "so thank you to them for doing their part". While some spectators left the opening ceremony to escape the rain, many said they nevertheless loved the show. "It was magnificent," said 50-year old Parisian Cathy Manzano. "The rain didn't stop us from seeing the best opening of the Olympic Games in Paris." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sports/olympics/pouring-rain-disrupts-games-after-drenched-opening-ceremony-2024-07-27/

2024-07-27 13:45

PARIS, July 27 (Reuters) - Paris 2024 organisers are confident the triathlon events will take place as scheduled on Tuesday even though recent rainfall might lead to Sunday's swimming training session being cancelled due to concerns over the water quality in the Seine. "The rain that has fallen on Paris over the last 24 hours is likely to impact the quality of the water in the Seine over the next 24 to 36 hours," organisers said in a statement to Reuters. "Depending on current water quality levels and the conditions expected over the next 24 hours, it is possible that the familiarisation (athlete training) scheduled for Sunday 28 July at 8 a.m. may be cancelled." A decision on whether the training will be held will be made at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT) on Sunday, with Paris authorities expected to provide new figures on water quality. "We are nonetheless confident in our ability to organise the events as planned from 30 July. Given the weather forecast for the next 48 hours, we expect the water quality to return to below limits within the next 24 to 36 hours," the statement said. "As observed in July, with summer conditions (more sunshine, higher temperatures, prolonged absence of rain) water quality is improving significantly." On Friday, data showed that the Seine was suitable for swimming six days out of seven between July 17-23. Data published by city and regional authorities showed the concentrations of enterococci and E.coli bacteria were above legal thresholds on July 21 at the Pont Alexandre III bridge, where athletes will take to the water. The French capital has been working on cleaning up the Seine so people can swim in it again, as was the case during the 1900 Paris Olympics. A sewer problem last summer, however, led to the cancellation of a pre-Olympics swimming event. The triathlon and marathon swimming legs of the Olympics, which run from July 26 to Aug. 11, are scheduled to be held in the Seine. Decisions on whether to run Olympic events will be taken the night before, and early that same morning, with a technical committee including athletes, international federations, regional authorities and the meteorological office, Meteo France, making the call. If the river is not deemed to be suitable, organisers have contingency plans. The marathon swimming will take place at Vaires-sur-Marne, where the rowing and canoeing events are held, and the triathlon will be turned into a duathlon. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sports/olympics/organisers-confident-triathlon-go-ahead-despite-possible-rain-impact-seine-2024-07-27/

2024-07-27 10:41

LONDON/BRUSSELS, July 26 (Reuters) - Nigeria's major Dangote oil refinery is reselling cargoes of U.S. and Nigerian crude, four trade sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Three of the sources said the reoffer was linked to technical problems at the refinery. A Dangote executive, asked about the offers and talk in the market that the refinery is having operational issues affecting the crude distillation unit, said the CDU is in operation. A spokesman for the refinery denied that Dangote was offering to sell Nigerian crude. The refinery started production in January and will be the largest in Africa and Europe when it reaches full capacity. It could upend what has been a highly lucrative Europe-to-Africa fuel trade and transform Nigeria into an exporter of fuels. Cargoes of Nigerian Escravos and Forcados crude were among the grades being offered, as well as U.S. WTI Midland crude, the sources said. The plant has been importing several crude cargoes a month, traders have said. Such resales by refineries are quite rare but not unknown, traders said. Crude prices added to an earlier decline after the news on Friday. Brent crude fell as much as 2.5% towards $80 a barrel, and had recovered to above $81 by 1700 GMT. The 650,000 barrel-per-day refinery was built at a cost of $20 billion by Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote. Dangote aims to reverse Nigeria's reliance on imports for fuel which have continued even though the country is Africa's biggest oil producer. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/nigerias-dangote-refinery-is-reselling-crude-sources-say-2024-07-26/