2024-06-18 21:57

HOUSTON, June 18 (Reuters) - Venezuela-linked creditor G&A Strategic Investments has filed a lawsuit in Texas state court seeking to recoup $1.5 billion from promissory notes defaulted by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, according to a court document seen on Tuesday. The lawsuit was filed in Harris County District Court against PDV Holding, one of the companies between Caracas-headquartered PDVSA (PDVSA.UL) and its U.S. refining unit, Citgo Petroleum (PDVSAC.UL). Shares in PDV Holding are being auctioned by a federal court in Delaware to pay up to $21.3 billion in claims from past expropriations and defaults in Venezuela. This new lawsuit could complicate an auction that is expected to announce final results next month after seven years of litigation. Attorneys for G&A did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The promissory notes ended up in G&A's hands after being sold in 2018 by U.S. oil service firm Schlumberger, the original receiver of the notes from PDVSA. The Venezuelan oil firm ceased all principal and interest payments for the notes in 2019, according to the filing. G&A previously had sought to have its claims accepted by the Delaware court, and in December it also brought a claim against PDVSA in the U.S. district court for the Southern District of New York, seeking to enforce the notes' payment agreement. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ga-strategic-investments-files-lawsuit-texas-against-citgo-petroleum-parent-2024-06-18/

2024-06-18 21:54

June 19 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Investors are no doubt relieved that disinflationary pressures seem to be spreading across many parts of the world, but there were a few warnings on Tuesday against complacency that they might keep in mind going into Wednesday. Australia's central bank struck a hawkish tone in its policy statement, some U.S. Federal Reserve officials expressed similar wariness over inflation, and global oil prices extended their recent climb to the highest in seven weeks. That wasn't enough to kill the general bullishness pervading world markets - Asian stocks posted solid gains, Nvidia became the world's most valuable publicly-traded company and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit new highs - but it's a reminder that markets are not a one-way bet. Momentum cooled also in part to disappointing U.S. retail sales figures that suggest growth in the world's largest economy is slowing - the dollar and Wall Street barely budged, and Treasury yields fell. Asian markets might struggle for direction on Wednesday. Trade figures from Japan and Indonesia, current account data from New Zealand, and Japan's tankan business surveys are highlights on the regional economic calendar. The New Zealand dollar could take its cue from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's chief economist Paul Conway, who will deliver a speech on inflation. Swaps markets are pricing in 35 basis points of easing from the RBNZ this year and a further 90 bps to 100 bps next year. That's significantly more than the Reserve Bank of Australia, which is only seen cutting rates 50 bps by the end of next year. The Aussie dollar was one of the best-performing G10 currencies on Tuesday after the RBA left its cash rate on hold at 4.35%, as expected, but emphasized the need to be vigilant on inflation. Japan's yen finds back in and around the 'intervention zone' of 158.00 per dollar to 160.00 per dollar, where Tokyo intervened on two occasions recently to prevent it from weakening any further. The Bank of Japan will be more wary than most about the inflationary effects of the weak exchange rate and oil, which is up more than 10% in the last two weeks. Japanese lender Norinchukin Bank, meanwhile, will sell more than $63 billion of its holdings of U.S. and European government bonds during the year ending March 2025, Nikkei reported. Norinchukin will do this as part of the bank's efforts to "drastically change its portfolio management," Nikkei quoted the bank's CEO as saying. It will be interesting to see what effect, if any, this has on the bonds being sold and the yen. Japan is the biggest overseas holder of U.S. Treasuries and the largest creditor nation in the world - repatriating a small part of these holdings could move world markets. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Wednesday: - Japan trade (May) - Japan tankan surveys (June) - RBNZ's Conway speaks Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-pix-2024-06-18/

2024-06-18 21:50

RIYADH/MINA, June 18 (Reuters) - Hundreds of visitors have died during the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca amid scorching heat, according to press reports and foreign ministries. At least 550 people have died on haj, diplomats told French outlet Agence France Presse (AFP) on Tuesday. Three hundred and twenty-three of the dead were Egyptians, most of whom perished due to heat-related illness, AFP reported, citing two Arab diplomats. Reuters was not able to immediately verify those numbers. Stampedes, tent fires and other accidents have caused hundreds of deaths during haj to Saudi Arabia in the past 30 years. The pilgrimage began on Friday. Saudi state TV said temperatures rose on Monday as high as 51.8 degrees Celsius (125.2 Fahrenheit) in the shade at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. A 2024 study by the Journal of Travel and Medicine found that rising global temperatures may outpace strategies to deal with the heat. A 2019 study by Geophysical Research Letters said that as temperatures rise in arid Saudi Arabia due to climate change, pilgrims performing haj will face "extreme danger". Thirty-five Tunisian citizens have died during the haj, Tunisian news agency Tunis Afrique Presse said on Tuesday. Many of those deaths were due to extreme heat, family members said on social media, as other families continued to search for missing relatives in Saudi hospitals. The Jordanian foreign ministry said it had issued 41 burial permits for Jordanian pilgrims on Tuesday. Earlier, the ministry said at least six Jordanian citizens died of heat stroke during the haj. Eleven Iranians have died and 24 were hospitalized during the pilgrimage, Iranian state news outlet IRINN said on Tuesday without giving the causes of death. Three Senegalese citizens also died during haj, Agence de Presse Sénégalaise, said on Monday. One hundred and forty-four Indonesian citizens died during the pilgrimage, Indonesian health ministry data showed on Tuesday. The data did not specify if any of the deaths were due to heat stroke. PHYSICAL EXERTION The haj is an annual pilgrimage that millions of Muslims make to Mecca to perform religious rites as taught by the Prophet Mohammad to his followers 14 centuries ago. A Saudi health official, speaking to Reuters on Monday, before many of the reports of deaths were issued, said that authorities had not noticed any unusual fatalities among Muslim pilgrims amid the extremely high temperatures. The ministry had so far treated more than 2,700 pilgrims who suffered from heat-related illness, he added. "Haj is a difficult task, so you have to exert efforts and perform the rituals even in the conditions of heat and crowding," an Egyptian pilgrim told Reuters on Sunday. Pilgrims used umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun, as Saudi authorities warned pilgrims to stay hydrated and avoid being outdoors during the hottest hours between 11 a.m. (0800 GMT) and 3 p.m. Haj, one of the largest mass gatherings in the world, is a once-in-a-lifetime duty for able-bodied Muslims who can afford it. It will end on Wednesday. More than 1.8 million pilgrims were expected to take part this year, according to the Saudi General Authority for Statistics. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/soaring-temperatures-scorch-pilgrims-haj-saudi-arabia-2024-06-18/

2024-06-18 20:44

June 18 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge rejected Meta Platforms' (META.O) New Tab, opens new tab bid to dismiss a lawsuit by billionaire Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest over scam Facebook advertisements that show him promoting fake cryptocurrency and other fraudulent investments. In a decision on Monday, U.S. District Judge Casey Pitts in San Jose, California said Australia's second-richest person can try to prove that Meta's negligence in allowing the ads breached its duty to operate in a commercially reasonable manner. Forrest can also try to prove that his name and likeness was misappropriated by Meta, and not just by fraudsters behind the bogus ads. "Dr. Forrest claims that Meta profited more from ads that included his likeness than it would have if the ads had not," Pitts wrote. "This is enough to adequately plead that the alleged misappropriation was to Meta's advantage." Lawyers for Meta declined to comment on Tuesday. The Palo Alto, California-based company had argued that Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act immunized it from liability as a publisher of third-party content. But the judge said Forrest's claims "present a factual dispute regarding whether Meta's ad systems were neutral tools that anyone could use (or misuse) or whether the tools themselves contributed to the content of the ads." Forrest said more than 1,000 of the ads appeared on Facebook in Australia between April and November 2023, leading to millions of dollars in losses for victims. The 62-year-old is executive chairman of iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group (FMG.AX) New Tab, opens new tab, and with his family is worth US$16.5 billion (AUD$24.8 billion), according to Forbes magazine. In a statement, Forrest said Pitts' decision was the first where a social media company was unable to invoke Section 230 immunity in a U.S. civil case over its advertising business. "This is a crucial strategic victory in the battle to hold Facebook accountable," he said. Forrest is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. In April, Australian prosecutors declined to pursue criminal charges that he brought against Meta in that country over scam cryptocurrency ads. Forrest had sued under Australian laws that let individuals criminally prosecute foreign companies upon receiving prosecutors' consent. The case is Forrest v Facebook Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 22-03699. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/meta-must-face-australian-billionaire-forrests-us-lawsuit-over-scam-facebook-2024-06-18/

2024-06-18 20:28

MEXICO CITY, June 18 (Reuters) - Ford (F.N) New Tab, opens new tab shipped its first batch of cars on Tuesday from the once-neglected Guaymas port near its plant in the northern Mexican state of Sonora in a project that, if fully launched, could cut the U.S. automaker's logistics costs, according to the state governor, by 30%. The initial shipment of pickups and Broncos, headed for Chile, is part of a broader revamp of the Guaymas port, an infrastructure project headed by Mexico's outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Ford has long been trucking its autos nearly 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) over land from Hermosillo to the port of Lazaro Cardenas, in the state of Michoacan, Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo said in an interview. Durazo described the long haul as a "logistical tragedy" that could easily be fixed by moving shipping to the Guaymas port. Ford executives participated in an event with state government officials on Tuesday. Ricardo Anaya, director of manufacturing at Ford Mexico, said in a statement that "this is the first time we can utilize the port following the investment in (its) modernization and expansion." Durazo said construction was underway on a parking platform at the port to allow the shipments to go out on a larger scale. "This also means that cars could come in, they could enter the Sonoran market and even the American market through the Guaymas port," Durazo said. Work to deepen the port's waters is ongoing to enable Guaymas to receive heavier ships with larger cargo loads, Durazo said. Before Lopez Obrador's term is over in October, "we hope to go one step further and receive or dispatch a container ship to the Asian market," the governor said. Mexican states are looking to benefit from the so-called "nearshoring" trend, as firms opt to move operations typically located in Asia closer to their final destination in North America. The port will also benefit from another Lopez Obrador-led project, Durazo said. Part of the president's so-called "Sonora Plan" has been a 1 gigawatt (GW) solar energy park, which will power the port. The second stage of the energy park, costing some $840 million, should be inaugurated with the president in the coming weeks, according to the governor. The federal government's Sonora Plan also hopes to take advantage of the state's lithium resources, thought to be Mexico's largest. Mexico nationalized its lithium resources in 2022, and officials have said that private firms could exploit the white metal in partnerships alongside state firm LitioMx. However, Mexico needs regulatory clarification on the issue, Durazo said. "The law needs to be complemented with regulations to know more exactly how private companies could participate," he said. Last year, miner Ganfeng Lithium (002460.SZ) New Tab, opens new tab said that its local subsidiaries had their concessions canceled, which forced the firm to postpone its target date to kick off mining of the battery metal. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/ford-tests-shipping-cars-mexicos-guaymas-port-cut-logistics-costs-2024-06-18/

2024-06-18 20:23

TSX ends up 0.1% at 21,611.30 Energy rallies 1.6%; oil settles 1.5% higher Ballard Power up on technology partnership Materials group adds 0.7% June 18 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index ended a three-day losing streak on Tuesday as higher commodity prices boosted resource shares, but the gain was modest with investors weighing U.S. retail sales data that fell short of expectations. The S&P/TSX (.GSPTSE) New Tab, opens new tab ended up 23.42 points, or 0.1%, at 21,611.30, after it posted on Monday its lowest closing level in three months. U.S. retail sales barely rose in May and data for the prior month was revised considerably lower, suggesting that economic activity remained lackluster in the second quarter. Canada sends about 75% of its exports to the United States. The data disappointed, "adding to the evidence of a slowing U.S. economy," Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management, said in a note. The energy sector (.SPTTEN) New Tab, opens new tab rallied 1.6% as the price of oil extended its recent gains, settling 1.5% higher at $81.57 a barrel, on escalating tensions in Europe and the Middle East. Ballard Power Systems jumped 6.8% after the fuel cell manufacturer announced a technology partnership with packaging firm Vertiv (VRT.N) New Tab, opens new tab. The materials group (.GSPTTMT) New Tab, opens new tab, which includes metal miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.7% as gold and copper prices rose. Information technology (.SPTTTK) New Tab, opens new tab was a drag, slipping 1.1%, with Lightspeed Commerce Inc (LSPD.TO) New Tab, opens new tab ending 5.5% lower. Industrials and real estate both lost 0.5%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/tsx-futures-steady-ahead-us-data-fed-comments-2024-06-18/