2024-06-19 21:56

QUITO, June 19 (Reuters) - Power was nearly fully restored in Ecuador on Wednesday afternoon, after a nationwide electricity outage struck residential users, hospitals as well as the capital's subway system, a failure officials blamed on faulty transmission lines. Public Works Minister Roberto Luque said in a post on X that 95% of service had been restored by late Wednesday afternoon. The outage left the nation of some 18 million in the dark, as the minister also singled out insufficient maintenance as a contributing factor. "What happened today is just more proof of the energy crisis we're dealing with," he said, ticking off recent problems caused by insufficient power generation that has led to unscheduled service cuts. Luque, who also serves as acting energy minister, stressed that Wednesday's outage was due to a lack of investment in transmission that could have been avoided. Luque had earlier in the day pinned the blame on a transmission line failure that caused "a cascade disconnection." In April, Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa declared an energy emergency and announced planned electricity cuts. Wednesday's outage caused dangerous driving conditions for scores of motorists, as traffic lights ceased working. Operations of Quito's subway were also interrupted for several hours. While the South American country has struggled with a drought affecting hydro-electricity power generation, heavy rains over the weekend forced authorities to take three hydroelectric plants offline. The weekend rains provoked a landslide that killed at least 17 people and left dozens injured. The disaster also prompted Ecuador's private OCP oil pipeline to suspend operations and declare force majeure. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/nationwide-power-outage-leaves-ecuador-dark-2024-06-19/

2024-06-19 21:46

June 19 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. No Wall Street, no problem. Investors in Asia go into Thursday in a bullish mood with Asian stocks at two-year highs, boosted by strength in tech and calm across global markets that is keeping a lid on volatility and loosening financial conditions. U.S. markets were closed on Wednesday but investors weren't fazed by any potential liquidity concerns - the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index leaped more than 1% to its highest since April 2022, and the MSCI World index hit a record high. Highlights from Thursday's Asia and Pacific calendar are interest rate decisions from China New Tab, opens new tab and Indonesia, and first quarter GDP figures from New Zealand. The People's Bank of China is likely to keep benchmark lending rates unchanged, after holding its medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans steady earlier this week. Markets mostly use MLF rates as a guide to lending benchmarks. Economic activity and indicators remain sluggish New Tab, opens new tab though, and pressure to ease in the coming months is mounting. Bank Indonesia is also expected to keep its key interest rate on hold, at 6.25%, according to a Reuters poll of economists who pushed out their first rate cut call to early next year from late this year. That change in outlook was partly driven by the rupiah's slide to four-year lows against the U.S. dollar, which led the central bank to unexpectedly raise rates in April. Inflation has been within the bank's 1.5%-3.5% target range for almost a year, but the U.S. Federal Reserve's 'higher for longer' policy stance and dollar's persistent strength have tempered rate cut hopes. It's not inconceivable that New Zealand slipped into a technical recession in Q1, albeit an extremely mild one. The consensus forecast in a Reuters poll is for quarter-on-quarter GDP growth of 0.1%, following a contraction of 0.1% in the October-December period. Back on the market front, if Wednesday's break higher in Asian stocks is to be a springboard, China may have to get out of its funk - while the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index has risen 12% from its mid-April low, China's blue chip CSI 300 index has flat-lined. Asian tech shares are, unsurprisingly, on an Nvidia-inspired roll. Hong Kong's Hang Seng tech index jumped 3.7% on Wednesday, one of its best days this year. If U.S. financial conditions are a key driver for markets more broadly, investors in Asia should be bullish - they are now the loosest since March, according to Goldman Sachs, and the loosest in two and a half years, according to the Chicago Fed. In currencies, the yen remains anchored near lows that prompted Tokyo to intervene recently, but traders appear relaxed - one-month dollar/yen implied volatility fell for a sixth day on Wednesday to its lowest since April 8. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Thursday: - China interest rate decision - Indonesia interest rate decision - New Zealand GDP (Q1) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-pix-2024-06-19/

2024-06-19 21:36

June 19 (Reuters) - Canada will ban open-net salmon farms off the coast of British Columbia by the middle of 2029 in order to help protect dwindling wild Pacific salmon populations, the federal government said on Wednesday. Salmon are a culturally and ecologically significant species on Canada's west coast, but more than half of the 9,000 distinct populations in British Columbia are in a state of decline, according to the Pacific Salmon Foundation. The province has dozens of open-net salmon farms, which campaigners say can spread lice and disease to wild fish. In 2019 Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to phase out open-net farms by 2025. In a statement released on Wednesday, Fisheries and Oceans Minister Diane Lebouthillier said existing salmon aquaculture licenses will be renewed for five years to ensure a successful transition, but with stricter conditions around managing sea lice on farmed fish, reporting requirements for the industry, and monitoring of marine mammal interactions. "It's great to see the federal government commit to concrete deadlines, even though they do not meet the government's original commitment to transition from open-net pens by 2025 or the urgency of the moment given the dire state of many wild salmon runs," said Kilian Stehfest, marine conservation specialist for the David Suzuki Foundation. Salmon farming supports 7,000 jobs in coastal communities and contributes about C$1.5 billion ($1.09 billion) annually to the provincial economy, according to the BC Salmon Farmers Association. A number of First Nations and coastal communities rely on open-net salmon farms for their livelihood and the government intends to release a draft salmon aquaculture transition plan by the end of July. From July 1 this year only closed-containment systems on land or in the sea will be considered for new salmon aquaculture licenses. Lebouthillier said the government recognized closed-containment systems would be a more expensive investment and planned to issue nine-year licenses to successful applicants to ensure greater certainty. While some Indigenous communities in British Columbia have been calling for an end to open-net salmon farms, others criticized Ottawa for lack of adequate consultation and the speed of the phase-out. "Five years to transition to land-based or closed-containment in my territory is the same as shutting our operations down," said Hereditary Chief Hasheukumiss of the Ahousaht First Nation on the west coast of Vancouver Island at a press conference. The British Columbia government urged Ottawa to support local communities through the transition period by funding new economic opportunities and creating good jobs. "We recognize the importance of meaningful and thoughtful engagement with First Nations partners and communities as we move forward, in order to ensure that economic impacts are mitigated," federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in a statement. ($1 = 1.3707 Canadian dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-ban-open-net-salmon-farms-british-columbia-waters-by-2029-2024-06-19/

2024-06-19 20:44

HOUSTON, June 19 (Reuters) - Owners of a $10-billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project that has stalled with the bankruptcy of its main contractor are asking a court to immediately oust Zachry Industrial from the project, a court filing showed. Zachry (ZHII.UL), which held the lion's share of the contract to build Golden Pass LNG, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month after suffering enormous cost overruns, and said it was pursuing a "structured exit." Golden Pass LNG, a joint venture between QatarEnergy and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) New Tab, opens new tab, asked a U.S. bankruptcy court late on Tuesday to sever Zachry's $5.8-billion contract within five days, or allow it to take possession and control of the facility, which is about 75% complete. "Zachry has stopped performing its obligations under the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract, fired thousands of workers, stopped paying its subcontractors and abandoned the Golden Pass project that it committed to building at a lump-sum fixed price," the filing said. Zachry, based in San Antonio, Texas, said it expects "to receive fair and appropriate compensation" for its role in the construction joint venture. "We realize it is unlikely we will come to an agreement on an amended EPC contract and we consider a structured exit to be the most likely outcome by the time Zachry is exiting bankruptcy," a spokesperson for the contractor said in a statement. Zachry previously said the project cost had ballooned by $2.4 billion from pandemic-related challenges, change orders and billing schedules and it had been unable to resolve the difference with the owners. "Golden Pass and its shareholders have left a trail of others harmed in their wake, including thousands of employees who lost their jobs and local vendors and suppliers not paid for their work. As we seek to resolve this matter through the legal process, our work is continuing, fully funded and fully staffed, across our other projects nationwide,” Zachry's statement said. Golden Pass LNG told the court it needs to immediately take over the contract and resume construction "to prevent further long-term deterioration" of the partially built project. "The scale and complexity of the LNG facility components left partially completed and exposed to the elements can't be understated," Golden Pass said. The project, which was expected to start processing natural gas this year, has not updated its completion schedule. "Time is of the essence here: with every passing day, the damage being caused by Zachry - to itself and everyone else - only proliferates and becomes more difficult to remedy," Golden Pass LNG said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/qatarenergy-exxon-seek-remove-contractor-texas-gas-project-2024-06-19/

2024-06-19 20:12

MEXICO CITY, June 19 (Reuters) - The outer edges of Tropical Storm Alberto began to unleash heavy rains over parts of northeastern Mexico near the U.S. border late on Wednesday as the large tropical system closed in on the Gulf coast, killing at least three people. According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC), the storm was located about 135 miles (217 km) east of the Mexican port of Tampico, packing maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph), as military and emergency services personnel braced for its full impact. Alberto is the first named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, though its sustained wind speeds remain below hurricane strength. The deaths of at least three people, all minors, have been attributed to Alberto, Nuevo Leon state Governor Samuel Garcia told local media. He did not give any details. One of the victims has been identified as a 15-year-old boy who was swept away by the current of a river and drowned outside the city of Monterrey, Mexico's third biggest, in Nuevo Leon state, according to a report from the city's emergency services. The NHC noted some "slight strengthening" is possible over Wednesday night. The center of Alberto is expected to make landfall along the coast of Mexico's Tamaulipas state, just south of the U.S. state of Texas, early Thursday morning. While it will likely weaken quickly, it is also seen bringing torrential rainfall, coastal flooding and strong winds. The NHC warned of considerable flash flooding in the storm's path, including in urban areas, along with swollen rivers and potential mudslides. Mexico's national water commission Conagua also issued a warning for overflowing rivers, landslides and flooding. Governor Garcia encouraged his state's residents to avoid leaving their homes amid heavy rainfall and said preparations were in place to quickly address possible impacts to local power supplies, water and sewage systems. Along the U.S. Gulf coast, including parts of Texas and Louisiana, videos posted on social media showed some flooding in coastal towns and waves smashing into sea walls. The NHC also cited the possibility of further coastal flooding along with the formation of tornadoes in Texas linked to Alberto. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/tropical-storm-alberto-forms-over-gulf-mexico-bringing-floods-2024-06-19/

2024-06-19 19:57

June 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has closed its investigation into the blockchain protocol Ethereum 2.0, cryptocurrency firm Consensys said in a post on social media platform X late on Tuesday. The firm filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against the U.S. SEC in April over regulation of the Ethereum blockchain. Consensys founder Joseph Lubin said on Wednesday that the SEC's decision to close the inquiry marked "a significant victory" for Ethereum. "While we welcome this development, it's not enough. We must remain vigilant and continue advocating for clear and fair regulations that enable innovation to flourish," Lubin, who also co-founded the cryptocurrency ether, said in a post on X. Consensys said it will continue its lawsuit in pursuit of a court ruling that the SEC does not have legal authority to regulate the user-controlled software interfaces built on Ethereum or the Ethereum blockchain. An SEC spokesperson said the commission does not comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation. The SEC last month approved applications from Nasdaq, CBOE and NYSE to list spot ether ETFs. It was a surprise win for the cryptocurrency industry which had expected the SEC to reject the filings. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/legal/crypto-firm-consensys-says-us-regulator-has-closed-inquiry-into-ethereum-20-2024-06-19/