2024-06-10 20:50
MEXICO CITY, June 10 (Reuters) - Mexican banks face risks from exposure to sovereign debt and debt from state entities, but have "sufficient ratings headroom" and can expect solid financial performance this year, Fitch Ratings said on Monday. The banking sector has ample capitalization according to the ratings agency's stress test scenarios, Fitch added. State firms like energy companies Pemex and the Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) "continue to represent downside risks for Mexican banks reflecting increased volatility that could reduce net income," Fitch said. While government-linked loans now represent a smaller share of bank loans than in previous years, Fitch said "lending to states and municipalities in particular will remain a relevant business for banks that can finance this highly specialized sector." Fitch has previously warned that the government of President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, set to take office in October, will face risks to its credit rating from a possible growing debt load and larger fiscal deficits. Sheinbaum won a landslide election victory on June 2. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/mexican-banks-exposed-public-sector-debt-have-room-maneuver-fitch-says-2024-06-10/
2024-06-10 20:50
TANGIER, June 10 (Reuters) - Morocco's Tanger Med port expects to top its nominal processing capacity of nine million containers this year, the port's deputy managing director told Reuters, adding security problems in the Red Sea had had little impact on traffic growth. Last year, the port maintained its position as the largest in the Mediterranean, handling 8.61 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 13.4% on 2022. In the first quarter this year, tonnage rose 14.9% to 33.3 million metric ton, while revenue increased 18.3% to 1 billion dirhams ($100 mln), official figures showed. "We also grew by a certain percentage in terms of containers," Rachid Houari told Reuters, saying that the exact figure was for year's end. "Now each terminal is doing a little bit more in traffic than the theoretical capacity, that is why I think we will do a little bit better than nine million containers," he said, in an office overlooking an export terminal full of Morocco-made cars. "We want our port to function to its maximum best productivity," he said, noting terminal TC1 run by APM TT which processed 2.5 million TEUs last year, compared with its nominal capacity of 1.5 million TEUs. The port's growth drivers are its location at the entry of the busy Mediterranean, its connection with 180 ports, and its partnerships with big shipowners and terminal operators such as Maersk, Hapag Loyd and CMA CGM, Houari said. The port has often been mentioned as benefiting from the re-routing of container ships around Africa to avoid attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi militants in the Red Sea. Containers crossing the Red Sea represented only 25% of the port's traffic, with many vessels still crossing the Suez Canal despite disruptions, Houari said, noting the bulk of the port's traffic is with Africa, Europe and the Americas. The port is backed by industrial zones that are home to 1,200 companies that employ 110,000 people, generating exports worth $15 billion last year, or 20% of overall Moroccan exports. It plans to expand its industrial zones from 2,500 hectares to 5,000 hectares to attract more investors in high added-value industries, Houari said. (This story has been corrected to fix the currency to Moroccan dirhams in paragraph 3) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/moroccos-tanger-med-port-expects-exceed-nominal-container-capacity-2024-06-10/
2024-06-10 20:38
TSX up 0.3% Energy index among top gainers Bitfarms to adopt 'poison pill' amid Riot takeover attempt June 10 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Monday boosted by a jump in oil prices as investors readied for crucial U.S. inflation data and the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting due later this week. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) New Tab, opens new tab was up 62.76 points, or 0.3% , at 22,069.76. Oil prices climbed about 3% to a one-week high buoyed by hopes of rising fuel demand this summer. The high oil prices boosted Toronto's energy index (.SPTTEN) New Tab, opens new tab up 1.4%. "Over the last several weeks we have seen a sizable pullback in oil prices... the theory is that pullback was likely overdone, and now we're seeing oil prices go back to about the average price that has been trading over the past 12 months," Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones. Investors drew a cautious stance ahead of Wednesday's U.S. consumer prices data and the Fed's monetary policy meeting, which could drive market action and determine the country's timing and scope of monetary policy easing this year. "It is going to be a very big week on the macro front in the U.S., which no doubt will impact the Canadian markets. There's no expectation for the rate cut by the Fed, but the focus is going to be on the updated summary to economic projections," Kourkafas said. While the Bank of Canada (BoC) has already initiated monetary policy easing with a 25 basis points cut last week, investors are betting on a near 51% probability that the Fed will start rate cuts in September. 0#FEDWATCH Meanwhile, Canada's manufacturing sales data and wholesale trade numbers for the month of April are scheduled for release on Friday. The materials sector (.GSPTTMT) New Tab, opens new tab, which includes metals miners and fertilizer companies, followed with a 1.3% climb, supported by higher prices of most metals, including gold and copper. In corporate news, Bitcoin miner Bitfarms (BITF.TO) New Tab, opens new tab dropped 3.6% after it approved the adoption of a "poison pill" to fend off a potential hostile takeover attempt by rival Riot Platforms (RIOT.O) New Tab, opens new tab. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/tsx-futures-dip-investors-focus-us-data-fed-policy-meet-2024-06-10/
2024-06-10 20:21
Southwest jumps after Elliott reveals nearly $2 bln stake Apple slips Indexes: Dow up 0.2%, S&P 500 up 0.3%, Nasdaq up 0.4% NEW YORK, June 10 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq eked out record closing highs on Monday, although investors were cautious ahead of this week's consumer prices report and a Federal Reserve policy announcement. Providing some support to the Nasdaq and S&P 500, Nvidia (NVDA.O) New Tab, opens new tab shares ended up 0.7%, the session after a 10-for-one stock split. Some investors now believe the chip maker might be included in the blue-chip Dow. The Consumer Price Index report for May is due Wednesday along with the conclusion of the Fed's two-day policy meeting. The central bank, which will release updated economic and policy projections, is expected to hold interest rates steady. Investors will look for clues on when the U.S. central bank may begin to cut interest rates. "This is an important week for the market in terms of comments and messaging from the Federal Reserve," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist, LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina. "In addition to that, you're going see Wednesday morning the CPI report. Anything related to the economy and anything related to inflation is viewed by the market through the lens of the Federal Reserve." The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) New Tab, opens new tab rose 69.05 points, or 0.18%, to 38,868.04, the S&P 500 (.SPX) New Tab, opens new tab gained 13.8 points, or 0.26%, to 5,360.79 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) New Tab, opens new tab added 59.40 points, or 0.35%, to 17,192.53. Traders dialed back expectations for rate cuts in September after Friday's stronger-than-expected jobs data for May, with the odds of a reduction at 50%. "I feel like it's going to be pretty muted as people try to hedge themselves for what they might see on Wednesday," said Alex McGrath, private wealth advisor at NorthEnd Private Wealth. Apple (AAPL.O) New Tab, opens new tab shares dipped 1.9% on the first day of the iPhone maker's annual developer conference. Investors are eager for updates on how it is integrating artificial intelligence into its offerings. Among the day's gainers, Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) New Tab, opens new tab jumped 7% after activist investor Elliott Investment Management disclosed it has built up a $1.9 billion position in the company. Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO.N) New Tab, opens new tab shares climbed 10.9% after oilfield services company Noble (NE.N) New Tab, opens new tab said it would buy the smaller rival in a $1.59 billion deal. Noble shares rose 6.1%. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.06-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.01-to-1 ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 19 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 56 new highs and 177 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.39 billion shares, compared with the 12.80 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. (This story has been corrected to remove reference to Apple developer conference in paragraph 1 and bullet point and to read 'on the first day of the iPhone maker's annual developer conference' instead of ‘ahead of’ in paragraph 10) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-slip-rate-cut-jitters-ahead-inflation-data-fed-meeting-2024-06-10/
2024-06-10 20:12
June 10 (Reuters) - Ukraine's military on Monday claimed responsibility for an attack on a refinery last week in southern Russia and said the damage done cost the Russian oil industry more than half a billion dollars in lost production. A statement issued by the military's General Staff said it was responsible for the June 5 attack on the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in the Rostov-on-Don region. "According to intelligence reports, as a result of the strike, the invaders lost 1.5 million metric tons of oil and petroleum products, which amounts to about $540 million," the statement said. It said attacks on oil refineries "significantly complicate the enemy forces' ability to carry out their missions". Rostov governor Vasily Golubev, quoted by Interfax news agency, said last week that operations at Novoshakhtinsk suffered "significant disruptions" after a fire following a drone attack. Reuters quoted sources as saying that the plant suspended operations after the attack, one of numerous Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries that have disrupted output. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-military-says-it-carried-out-refinery-attack-june-5-2024-06-10/
2024-06-10 19:50
June 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Monday rejected a bid by Uber (UBER.N) New Tab, opens new tab and subsidiary Postmates to revive a challenge to a California law that could force the companies to treat drivers as employees rather than independent contractors who are typically less expensive. An 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a lower court ruling that said Uber failed to show that the 2020 state law known as AB5 unfairly singled out app-based transportation companies while exempting other industries. Uber in a statement on Monday said the ruling would not change the status of its relationships with its drivers, who are considered to be contractors under a 2020 ballot initiative known as Proposition 22. The fate of Prop 22 is being weighed in a separate case at the state's top court, which last month heard arguments from a labor union and four drivers contending the ballot measure was unconstitutional. A representative for the California attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The 9th Circuit in its ruling New Tab, opens new tab said “there are plausible reasons for treating transportation and delivery referral companies differently from other types of referral companies.” The California legislature “perceived transportation and delivery companies as the most significant perpetrators of the problem it sought to address — worker misclassification,” Circuit Judge Jacqueline Nguyen wrote. Employees are entitled to the minimum wage, overtime pay, reimbursements for expenses and other protections that are not extended to independent contractors. Uber, Postmates and similar services typically treat workers as contractors in order to control costs. The clash over the scope of AB5 comes amid a broader national debate over state and federal laws and other regulations that could require more companies to deem their workers as employees. U.S. business groups in March sued the Biden administration in federal court over its effort to make it harder for companies to treat some workers as independent contractors rather than employees. Studies suggest that employees can cost companies up to 30% more than contract workers. The top state court in Massachusetts is weighing whether voters in November should get a chance to consider ballot proposals that would redefine the working relationship between on-demand drivers and their companies in that state. California's AB5 raised the bar for proving that workers are truly independent contractors, requiring a company to show that workers are not under its direct control or engaged in its usual course of business and operate their own independent businesses. Uber and two of its drivers in December 2019 sued over the California law. They called AB5 "an irrational and unconstitutional statute designed to target and stifle workers and companies in the on-demand economy." A federal judge in Los Angeles dismissed the lawsuit at an earlier stage. But a three-judge 9th Circuit panel last year revived the case. The court said then that the "piecemeal fashion" of the exemptions to the law was enough to sustain Uber's lawsuit. The 11-judge circuit court's ruling on Monday wiped out Uber's earlier win. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/legal/uber-loses-challenge-california-gig-work-law-us-appeals-court-2024-06-10/
