2024-07-15 20:40
July 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has given preliminary approval to at least three of the eight asset managers hoping to launch exchange-traded funds tied to the spot price of ether to begin trading next Tuesday, three industry sources said. The approval hinges on applicants submitting final offering documents to regulators before the end of this week, the sources said. One said that all eight are expected to launch simultaneously. A spokesperson for the SEC said the agency does not comment on individual filings. Following the launch of nine U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs in January, the ether products would mark another major win for the cryptocurrency industry's campaign to push digital assets into the mainstream. Ether is the world's second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin. BlackRock (BLK.N) New Tab, opens new tab, VanEck and Franklin Templeton (BEN.N) New Tab, opens new tab are among the eight asset managers whose applications are likely to be greenlit by the SEC next Monday afternoon, July 22, with trading in the products expected to begin the next day, according to the industry sources, who spoke on background due to the confidentiality of the discussion with the SEC. In trading late Monday afternoon, ether changed hands at $3,433.07, up 7.1% on the day and giving the cryptocurrency a 14.4% gain for the last week. January's launch of spot ETFs tracking the price of bitcoin was the culmination of a decade-long tussle with the SEC, which had rejected the products due to market manipulation concerns. The agency was forced to approve the ETFs, warning that the products were highly risky, after losing a court challenge brought by digital asset manager Grayscale Investments. The launch was one of the most successful in the ETF market's history, with the nine new products drawing some $6.6 billion in assets in their first three weeks of trading, Morningstar Direct data showed. As of the end of June, the ETFs had attracted a net $33.1 billion in inflows. Martin Leinweber, digital asset product strategist at MarketVector Indexes, said he expects much more modest inflows into the new ether ETFs and more volatility in ether's price due to its smaller market size and trading volumes relative to bitcoin, which reached a new high after the ETFs were approved. The market value of bitcoin is just over $1 trillion compared with ether's $359 billion, according to CoinGecko. "It's important to temper expectations," Leinweber said. While estimates on demand vary widely, Galaxy Research - whose sister company Galaxy Asset Management has an ether ETF with Invesco (IVZ.N) New Tab, opens new tab - has projected that the ether products could attract monthly inflows of $1 billion. Thomas Perfumo, head of strategy at crypto exchange Kraken, said given ether's smaller market size, inflows need not reach the level of bitcoin ETFs to be considered successful. Issuers began filing for the ether ETFs in September. Executives initially had low hopes that the SEC would greenlight the products after discouraging meetings with officials. But the agency surprised the industry in May when it approved rule changes required for exchanges to list the products, the first of two key regulatory hurdles. SEC Chair Gary Gensler last month told Reuters the Grayscale ruling had influenced his thinking on approving the ether products, because the underlying market circumstances were similar. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/spot-ether-etfs-likely-begin-trading-july-23-industry-sources-say-2024-07-15/
2024-07-15 20:26
Trump Media, crypto stocks, prison operators jump Goldman Sachs rises after results Macy's falls after ending discussions with Arkhouse and Brigade Indexes up: Dow 0.53%, S&P 0.28%, Nasdaq 0.40% NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) - Wall Street closed higher on Monday, building on Friday's rally as increasing expectations of a second Donald Trump presidency in the wake of a failed assassination attempt raised hopes of a looser regulatory environment. The growing probability that the U.S. Federal Reserve will begin cutting its key interest rate as soon as September also helped feed risk appetite. While all three major U.S. stock indexes ended well below session highs, the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched an all-time closing high. Economically sensitive small caps (.RUT) New Tab, opens new tab and transportation stocks (.DJT) New Tab, opens new tab handily outperformed the broader market. An assassination attempt in Pennsylvania on Saturday of Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, appeared to improve his chances for election. A Trump presidency would presumably result in a more hawkish trade policy, an extension of tax cuts and deregulation in a host of areas ranging from climate change to cryptocurrencies. Online betting site PredictIt showed bets of an election win at 67 cents for Trump, up from Friday's 60 cents, with a victory for Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden at 26 cents. "The headline event - the attempted assassination of Donald Trump - did not result in a bottom line event," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist of CFRA Research in New York. "There's no change to GDP forecasts, no change to expectations that the Fed will start to cut rates in September, corporate profits are coming in ahead of expectations." "So the momentum in the market remains based on investor optimism," Stovall added. Sentiment was also buoyed by optimism that the U.S. Federal Reserve will enter its expected interest rate cutting phase as early as September, with as many as three total cuts by the end of the year. "A September (rate) cut has been all but cemented," said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird in Louisville, Kentucky. "We're sitting almost exactly where we were seven months ago, which is the promise of Fed rate cuts without a recession. It’s still very much predicated to the Fed coming to the party." Speaking before the Economic Club of Washington, Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated on Monday his belief that the U.S. economy can avoid recession, and recent data readings show progress in bringing inflation down to the central bank's 2% goal. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) New Tab, opens new tab rose 210.82 points, or 0.53%, to 40,211.72, the S&P 500 (.SPX) New Tab, opens new tab gained 15.87 points, or 0.28%, to 5,631.22 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) New Tab, opens new tab added 74.12 points, or 0.40%, to 18,472.57. Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, energy shares (.SPNY) New Tab, opens new tab enjoyed the biggest percentage gain, while utilities (.SPLRCU) New Tab, opens new tab were laggards. Goldman Sachs' (GS.N) New Tab, opens new tab second-quarter profit more than doubled, beating analyst estimates on solid debt underwriting and fixed-income trading. The broker's shares advanced 2.6%. Shares of Macy's Inc (M.N) New Tab, opens new tab dropped 11.7% after the department store scrapped buyout talks with Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital. The prospect of a second Trump presidency sent shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT.O) New Tab, opens new tab soaring 31.4%. Crypto stocks also fared well, with Coinbase Global (COIN.O) New Tab, opens new tab, Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA.O) New Tab, opens new tab and Riot Platforms (RIOT.O) New Tab, opens new tab up between 11.4% and 18.3%. Other stocks that are expected to benefit from Trump's possible second term climbed, with gunmaker Smith & Wesson (SWBI.O) New Tab, opens new tab and prison operator GEO Group (GEO.N) New Tab, opens new tab gaining 11.4% and 9.3%, respectively. On the downside, solar energy firms slid as the prospect of Trump's election dimmed expectations for renewable energy U.S. subsidies. Shares of Sunrun (RUN.O) New Tab, opens new tab and SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG.O) New Tab, opens new tab tumbled 9.0% and 15.4%, respectively. U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies also declined on fears of tightened trade restrictions under another Trump administration. IShares China Largecap ETF fell 2.2%. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.35-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.50-to-1 ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 65 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 203 new highs and 33 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 11.07 billion shares, compared with the 11.59 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-rise-higher-odds-trump-victory-after-shooting-2024-07-15/
2024-07-15 20:17
TORONTO, July 15 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto (RIO.L) New Tab, opens new tab on Monday said it has initiated a "coordinated shutdown" at the Iron Ore Company of Canada in Newfoundland and Labrador in response to an evacuation order issued by the local government over wildfires. The iron ore mine is jointly owned by Rio Tinto, Mitsubishi Corp. (8058.T) New Tab, opens new tab and Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Income Corporation. Earlier in the day Champion Iron Ore Limited (CIA.AX) New Tab, opens new tab also said that it was temporarily shutting down operations at its Bloom Lake mine. "There have been no injuries or damage to company infrastructure to date. We will initiate a restart of operations as soon as government authorities indicate that it is safe to do so," Rio Tinto said in a statement. On Saturday an aggressive forest fire in Newfoundland and Labrador forced the local government to order the evacuation of residents in Labrador City. The local government on Monday announced a one-time financial assistance payment of C$1000 ($731.42) to households that were ordered to evacuate from their residence due to wildfires. ($1 = 1.3672 Canadian dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/rio-tinto-shuts-iron-ore-mine-eastern-canada-amid-wildfires-2024-07-15/
2024-07-15 18:45
NEW YORK/HOUSTON, July 15 (Reuters) - Freeport LNG plans to restart one of three liquefied natural gas trains this week at its Texas facility after the company repairs some damage from Hurricane Beryl, it said on Monday. The plant, in Freeport, Texas, south of Houston, halted operations on July 7 before Beryl hit the coast, causing widespread power outages and wind damage. The LNG exporter plans to restart the remaining two trains shortly after the first resumes operation, but production will be reduced while it continues repairs. The second-largest U.S. LNG exporter said in a statement that output would "steadily ramp up to full rates as these repairs are completed." Each of Freeport's three liquefaction trains can turn about 0.7 bcfd of gas into LNG. One billion cubic feet is enough gas to supply about 5 million U.S. homes for a day. Freeport is one of the most-watched U.S. LNG export plants because it has a history of hitting global gas prices when it shuts due to the decreased demand. Since Freeport shut, U.S. gas futures have declined by about 2% to a two-month low of $2.26 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). The amount of natural gas flowing to Freeport was on track to reach about 0.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) on Monday, up from near zero July 7-14, according to LSEG data. Energy traders, however, noted that Freeport was also on track to pull in similar amounts of gas late last week but ended up actually accepted almost no gas. In the week before Freeport shut, the 2.1-bcfd plant was pulling in an average 1.7 bcfd of gas, according to LSEG data. The Brazos Pilots Association, which services ships in the port, said the Freeport LNG terminal was still closed and there were draft restrictions in place. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/freeport-lng-texas-restart-one-train-this-week-after-hurricane-beryl-2024-07-15/
2024-07-15 17:46
July 15 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) New Tab, opens new tab CEO Elon Musk on Monday signaled the automaker would take more time to unveil its robotaxi so it can incorporate an important design change to the front of the vehicle and "show off" some other things. Musk did not disclose when the automaker would hold an event to launch its robotaxi. Bloomberg News reported last week that the event, originally set to be held on Aug. 8, had been delayed to October. "Requested what I think is an important design change to the front, and extra time allows us to show off a few other things," Musk said on his X social media platform in a reply New Tab, opens new tab to a user post discussing the event. A person familiar with the matter said on Friday the robotaxi event has been delayed, without elaborating further. With the road to developing robotaxis and autonomous driving systems facing several engineering and regulatory hurdles, Wall Street analysts and Tesla investors have noted that a delay in the robotaxi launch would not be a surprise. Musk had announced the August unveiling day after Reuters reported on April 5 that Tesla had canceled its long-promised inexpensive car and would continue developing self-driving robotaxis on the same small-vehicle platform. The billionaire CEO has given minimal details about the robotaxi so far. He has only said that some vehicles would be owned and operated by Tesla, while others would be owned by individuals but rented out on Tesla's network. Shares of Tesla jumped on Monday after Musk publicly endorsed Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential race, fanning hopes that a potential Trump administration could make it easier for Tesla to secure regulatory approvals for robotaxis and autonomous driving systems. Musk had said in 2022 Tesla expects to mass-produce a robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedal by 2024, after missing his targets for self-driving vehicles multiple times. The Tesla stock was last up 5% in afternoon trading. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/musk-says-he-requested-extra-time-design-change-robotaxi-2024-07-15/
2024-07-15 17:46
July 15 (Reuters) - Oklahoma has become the 13th U.S. state to detect bird flu in dairy cows, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed on Monday, though the state said the infection happened months ago. The confirmation shows the outbreak was more widespread than U.S. authorities knew after the virus was first found in dairy cattle in late March. Bird flu has since been detected in more than 150 dairy herds nationwide. The cases are part of a far-reaching outbreak of H5N1 bird flu that has been spreading globally in wild birds, infecting poultry and various species of mammals. Four dairy workers have tested positive this year. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the risk to the general public remains low. An Oklahoma dairy collected the positive sample in April when it suspected its herd may have been infected, said Lee Benson, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Foresty. The dairy recently sent stored samples to USDA for testing after the farm learned it could receive financial assistance for lost milk production from bird flu, Benson said. USDA has launched a program to compensate farmers with sick cows for 90% of lost milk production per cow as the agency seeks to encourage farmers to test herds and report infections. USDA, on its website, reported two positive herds in Oklahoma. Benson said the confirmed positive sample is from one Oklahoma dairy that has two separate barns. Oklahoma's agriculture department thinks USDA received the dairy's samples in the first week of July, Benson said. The herd has fully recovered, and Oklahoma has not received reports of other possible infections, the state said. Oklahoma has made protective gear available to dairy farmers and asked dairies to increase safety and security measures, state veterinarian Rod Hall said. There is no mandatory testing of cows in Oklahoma, according to the state agriculture department. Colorado reported four confirmed bird flu infections in poultry workers and is checking on the status of a fifth suspected case, health authorities said on Sunday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bird-flu-virus-detected-oklahoma-dairy-herd-2024-07-15/
