2024-07-23 11:13

LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - Sunday, July 21 was the hottest day ever recorded globally, according to preliminary data from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service. The global average surface air temperature on Sunday reached 17.09 degrees Celsius (62.76 degrees Fahrenheit) — slightly higher than the previous record set last July of 17.08 C (62.74 F). Heatwaves have scorched large swathes of the United States, Europe and Russia over the past week. Copernicus confirmed to Reuters that the record daily temperature average set last year appeared to have been broken on Sunday, in their records which extend back to 1940. Last year saw four days in a row break the record, from July 3 through July 6, as climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, drove extreme heat across the Northern Hemisphere. Every month since June 2023 - 13 months in a row - has now ranked as the planet's hottest since records began, compared with the corresponding month in previous years, Copernicus said. Some scientists have suggested 2024 could outrank 2023 as the hottest year since records began, as climate change and the El Nino natural weather phenomenon — which ended in April — have pushed temperatures ever higher this year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/world-registers-hottest-day-ever-recorded-july-21-monitor-says-2024-07-23/

2024-07-23 10:56

LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - Analysts have increased their price forecasts for European Union carbon permits for 2024 to 2026, but said there was a downside risk from possible increases to supply if the European Commission needed to raise cash through permit sales. EU Allowances (EUAs) are forecast on average at 67.25 euros a metric ton this year and 76.75 euros in 2025, a Reuters survey of nine analysts showed, up 5.1% and 3.7% respectively from forecasts made in April. The average price forecast for 2026 was 93.46 euros a ton, up 1.1 % from the April forecast of 100.13 euros a ton. Analysts sharply reduced their forecasts in April after data showed a surge in renewable power use had led to a record fall in emissions covered by Europe's carbon market last year. The EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS) forces manufacturers, power companies and airlines to pay for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit by surrendering carbon allowances as part of Europe's efforts to meet its climate targets. To help wean the bloc off Russian fuels following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and to reach its climate goals, the European Commission launched its REPowerEU plan , opens new tab that includes raising 20 billion euros through the auction of EUAs over the next few years. The timing and size of these sales will have a significant impact on prices, the analysts said. “With an average 2024 price of 63 euros/ton, far below the 75 euros/ton initially budgeted by the European Commission, there is revenue gap that will have to be filled by additional auction volumes,” Haege Fjellheim, head of carbon analysis at Veyt said. The benchmark EU carbon contract trades around 65 euros a ton and has only reached 75 euros or more on a handful of days this year, meaning more permits could be sold to reach the monetary target if prices do not rise. Fjellheim said she did not think additional volumes would be added to auctions this year but that uncertainty hangs over the market. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/analysts-forecast-eu-carbon-price-rise-say-supply-could-swell-2024-07-23/

2024-07-23 10:30

ADDIS ABABA, July 23 (Reuters) - The death toll from two landslides in southern Ethiopia has jumped to 229 and could rise further as the search for survivors and casualties continued into a second day, a government official said on Tuesday. Following heavy rain a landslide buried people in Gofa zone in Southern Ethiopia regional state on Sunday night, then a second one engulfed others who had gathered to help on Monday morning. "I don't know when it will stop. We are still recovering bodies," Markos Melese, head of the National Disaster Response agency in Gofa Zone, told Reuters by phone. "We are still digging." On Monday an official said at least 50 people had died and children and police officers were among the dead. Footage shared by the local administration showed people digging up bodies with shovels and bare hands. "The death toll surged after the people who came to rescue also got trapped," said Gofa district administrator Misikir Mitiku. "It is a very sad incident." Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he was deeply saddened by the terrible loss of life, and that federal officials had been deployed to reduce the impact of the disaster. "We stand in strong solidarity with the people and Government of Ethiopia as rescue efforts continue to find the missing and assist the displaced," African Union chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat wrote on the social media platform X. The head of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is Ethiopian, said he was thinking of all the families affected and that a WHO team had been sent to support immediate health needs. "As the region continues to face the harsh impacts of climate change, we urge everyone to stay vigilant and follow safety protocols to protect lives and prevent further tragedies," said Workneh Gebeyehu, executive secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a regional bloc. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/death-toll-ethiopian-landslides-rises-157-official-says-2024-07-23/

2024-07-23 10:29

MUMBAI, July 23 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee slipped to record lows on Tuesday as the government raising tax rates for capital gains from equity investments and on equity derivative trades hurt market sentiment. The rupee ended slightly lower against the U.S. dollar at 83.6875, its weakest ever closing, after having slipped to a record low of 83.7150 earlier in the session. Likely intervention from the Reserve Bank of India helped cap the currency's decline. The central bank likely sold dollars near 83.70-83.72 levels via state-run banks, traders said. India's benchmark equity indexes, the BSE Sensex (.BSESN) , opens new tab and Nifty 50 (.NSEI) , opens new tab, ended slightly lower after dropping more than 1% earlier in the day. While the rupee saw a "knee-jerk" reaction to the drop in equity markets, the RBI is unlikely to allow a sharp rise in volatility, a trader at a foreign bank said. The rupee is expected to see gradual deprecation and trade in a 83.57-83.77 band over the rest of the week, Dilip Parmar, a foreign exchange research analyst at HDFC Securities said. India's budget for fiscal year 2024-25 struck a balance between higher spending on jobs and rural development while lowering the fiscal deficit target. The government lowered its fiscal deficit target to 4.9% of gross domestic product, below the 5.1% aim in February's interim budget. It also reduced its gross market borrowing marginally to 14.01 trillion rupees. Most Asian currencies nudged higher on Tuesday and the dollar index was up slightly at 104.3. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rupee-settles-record-closing-low-equity-tax-hikes-hurt-sentiment-2024-07-23/

2024-07-23 10:20

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan Monday's Wall Street bounce saw some relief precede the first two earnings reports from the "Magnificent 7" megacap stocks, while U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris looked set to replace Joe Biden as Democrat candidate for November's White House race. A volatile couple of weeks for politics and stock markets sees attention switch back to quarterly earnings on Tuesday, with Google-parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab and Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab updating after the bell today. Last week's sudden rotation out of Big Tech into small caps raised questions about just how high the earnings bar now is for pricey market behemoths, with stocks such as Netflix stumbling despite beating forecasts and chipmakers sideswiped by geopolitics. A standback look at the earnings season so far offers more solace. Some 81% of those that have reported to date have beaten estimates, with overall annual profit growth for S&P500 firms still tracking a punchy 11% - slightly ahead of pre-season assumptions. Slower annual revenue growth at 4.5% is also slightly ahead. And while this pace is expected to dip in Q3, standing forecasts are for a re-acceleration into 2025. With the S&P500 rebounding more than 1% on Monday in its best day in six weeks, the Information Technology index (.SPLRCT) , opens new tab climbed 2% - topping sectoral gainers and snapping a four-day losing streak. The VIX volatility gauge (.VIX) , opens new tab slipped back from three-month highs. In a twist ahead of today's updates, Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz has ended talks with Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab on a reported $23 billion deal, which would have been the U.S. tech giant's largest-ever acquisition, according to a Wiz memo seen by Reuters. But the election race remains the top talking point. Less than 36 hours after Biden stepped aside and endorsed VP Harris, she appeared to have secured the Democratic nomination on Monday night by winning the pledged support of a majority of the party's delegates who will determine the outcome at next month's convention. While another round of speculation about Harris' pick of running mate now ensues, markets are already tentatively re-calibrating election bets. Although former President Donald Trump is still seen as clear favourite to return to the White House, online betting site PredictIt shows the probability of his win has slipped to 60%. The solidifying of a clear two horse race after weeks of uncertainty about the candidates has seen Harris' ascribed probability jump 17 points from last week to some 44% on Tuesday as her campaign now begins in earnest. The somewhat cagey election positioning to date has run into sand as a result, with many of the so-called Trump trades being pared back slightly. With another heavy week of Treasury debt auctions kicking off with a $69 billion two-year note sale on Tuesday, Treasury yields sensitive to the fiscal implications of the election remained under wraps. The 2-to-30 year yield curve , which had briefly turned positive last week, remains inverted. Bitcoin also slipped back. The dollar (.DXY) , opens new tab was mixed too, falling back against Japan's yen on Tuesday as pressure built on the Bank of Japan to resume monetary tightening there. Senior Japanese ruling party official Toshimitsu Motegi said the BOJ should more clearly indicate its resolve to normalise monetary policy, including through steady interest rate hikes. The BOJ next sets rates on July 31. Increasingly correlated in Asia, yen strength came in tandem with a small bounce in China's yuan too, despite Monday's surprise interest rate cut from the People's Bank of China. Trump's draconian tariff pledges may play a part there too. But Chinese stocks recorded their biggest single-day drop in six months, demonstrating the fragility of investor sentiment despite ongoing stimulus efforts. China's blue-chip CSI300 index (.CSI300) , opens new tab closed down 2.1%, its largest one-day decline since mid-January and ending a seven-session winning run. European stocks were mixed on Tuesday, with the euro retreating after European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos said new data and macroeconomic projections will help the ECB better reassess its monetary policy stance in September - when markets now see its next rate cut. Back on Wall Street, stock futures were off slightly ahead of the big earnings reports and with a thin economic diary. Key developments that should provide more direction to U.S. markets later on Tuesday: * U.S. June existing home sales, Richmond Federal Reserve's July business surveys; Euro zone July consumer confidence * US corporate earnings: Alphabet, Tesla, Comcast, Texas Instruments, Lockheed Martin, UPS, GE, GM, Invesco, Visa, Capital One, Moody's, MSCI, Coca Cola, Kimberly-Clark, Chubb, HCA Healthcare, Freeport McMoRan, AO Smith, Pentair, Philip Morris, Avery Dennison, Danaher, PulteGroup, Quest, Seagate Technology, Sherwin-Williams Enphase Energy, CoStar, Genuine Parts, Packaging Corp of America * G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meet in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the G20 Brazil Summit * European Central Bank Chief Economist Philip Lane speaks * US Treasury sells $69 billion 2-year notes Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/global-markets-view-usa-pix-2024-07-23/

2024-07-23 10:09

BEIJING, July 23 (Reuters) - China's top economic planner said on Tuesday it will support high-quality companies to borrow medium- and long-term foreign debt, to support the development of the real economy, according to an official statement published online. These companies should have a prominent position in an industry, have good credit and play a leading role in promoting the "high-quality" development of the real economy, the statement said. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the state planner, said it would also guide companies to use the foreign debt to facilitate the implementation of major national strategies and build the country's modern industrial system. China on Sunday unveiled a policy document following a key meeting of the Communist Party, known as a plenum. The plenum reasserted China's quest for "new productive forces", a term President Xi Jinping coined last year that envisions scientific research and technological upgrades of the country's sprawling industrial complex. "Provincial level development and reform departments can provide services based on the local situation, actively support and guide high-quality enterprises in the region to stabilise their development expectations, enhance growth confidence and reasonably carry out the medium- and long-term foreign debt financing," the NDRC statement said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/china-encourages-some-firms-tap-foreign-debt-boost-real-economy-2024-07-23/