2024-06-04 22:18

WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday rejected suggestions by Republican senators that the Treasury is deliberately increasing issuance of short-term Treasury bills at higher interest rates to try to stimulate the economy ahead of the November presidential election. Yellen told a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing that Treasury's mix of debt issuance, despite a higher share of short-term bills since the COVID-19 pandemic, is in line with historical norms and with the advice of market participants in the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee. "First of all, let me say that we never time the market. A tenet of Treasury debt management is that issuance should be regular and predictable, and that's appropriate over time," Yellen said. Republican Senator John Kennedy and Bill Hagerty criticized Yellen for issuing debt at higher interest rates amid an inverted yield curve. Currently the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note is 4.33%, compared to 5.4% on the three-month Treasury bill . Kennedy accused Yellen of deliberately boosting short-term debt to spur growth during an election year, suggesting this was putting downward pressure on long-term rates. "You're paying 5 percent to borrow money, when you could pay 4 percent to borrow money," Kennedy said. "You're working at cross purposes with (Federal Reserve Chair) Jay Powell. And the reason you're doing this is to try to give the economy a sugar high five months before the election," he said. Yellen replied: "There's nothing about issuing short term debt that creates a sugar high for the economy." She told the senator that market participants anticipate that short term rates will fall to substantially under 4.5%, so locking in debt for 10 years at current rates would likely result in higher long-term borrowing costs than the current path. "We have a policy that we want to hold the issuance of short term bills in line with the recommendations of the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee," Yellen said, referring to the group of primary dealers that advises Treasury on debt issuance plans. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/yellen-says-bill-issuance-not-aimed-sugar-high-2024-06-04/

2024-06-04 22:06

AMSTERDAM/NEW YORK, June 4 (Reuters) - The president of U.S. crypto firm Ripple is "optimistic" that a lobbying push by the crypto industry will yield results in this year's U.S. elections, after her company helped the industry lead a record fundraising haul to back political candidates who are crypto-friendly. San Francisco-based Ripple is the second-largest donor to Fairshake, a so-called super PAC, which has raised $92.9 million in a bid to influence the congressional elections in November in favor of the crypto industry, according to OpenSecrets, a research group that tracks influence in politics. Super PACs backed by the cryptocurrency sector have raised more than $102 million so far this cycle, the third-most of all super PACs engaged in the 2024 election, according to data from Public Citizen. Independent political action committees known as super PACs may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations and individuals, then spend unlimited sums to overtly advocate for or against political candidates. Speaking at the Money20/20 fintech conference in Amsterdam on Tuesday, Ripple President Monica Long told Reuters that the PAC is bipartisan and has a single focus: supporting candidates who back the regulations desired by the crypto industry. "I think as an industry, especially for us companies based in the U.S., we’re frustrated with how far the U.S. is lagging on setting rules," she said. "This whole dynamic of setting rules through enforcement ... is really unproductive and not getting us anywhere." Asked if she was optimistic that the U.S. crypto industry's voice will be heard, Long said, "I’m optimistic, yes. I’m hopeful.” The crypto industry is increasingly trying to influence U.S. lawmakers as it faces heightened scrutiny from regulators and politicians, especially since bankruptcies at major crypto firms in 2022 spooked investors, exposed fraud and misconduct and left millions of crypto investors out of pocket. Several leading crypto firms have been sued by the U.S. securities regulator for alleged securities law violations, including Ripple. A federal judge in July ruled that Ripple's sale of its token, XRP, to sophisticated buyers amounted to unlawful sales of unregistered securities, but also ruled that XRP sold on public exchanges did not meet the legal definition of a security. The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking fines and penalties totaling $2 billion in its case against the firm, Ripple has said. Crypto groups are pushing for lawmakers to pass a bill that would curtail the SEC's oversight of the industry. A report from Public Citizen said that roughly half of the crypto industry's political war chest comes from direct corporate expenditures, primarily from crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN.O) New Tab, opens new tab and Ripple, with the remainder contributed by venture capitalists. The industry's own data, however, suggests lobbyists could face difficulties in winning support. A survey by U.S. crypto company Digital Currency Group published in May found that just 14% of voters in U.S. states whose results could swing either Democratic or Republican own cryptocurrency and 69% of them feel negative toward crypto, compared with 31% who feel positive. "While most voters are dissatisfied with the current financial system, only a minority think crypto is the future of transacting, or a new way to prosperity," the report said. U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, last week vetoed what he described as a Republican-led resolution that would "inappropriately constrain the SEC's ability to set forth appropriate guardrails and address future issues" relating to crypto assets. SEC Chair Gary Gensler has previously called the crypto industry a "Wild West," riddled with fraud and investor risk. Ripple's Long said the SEC appeared to have been on a "war path" with the crypto industry in recent years, and that everyone was hoping for a "change in tone." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/crypto-industrys-lobbying-drive-will-pay-off-us-elections-ripple-president-says-2024-06-04/

2024-06-04 21:51

June 4 (Reuters) - (Please note language in paragraph 6 that readers may find offensive) A report on Monday that online broker E*Trade may consider banning Keith Gill, the meme-stock influencer who ignited frenzied trading in shares of GameStop (GME.N) New Tab, opens new tab in 2021, has triggered a backlash on social media sites. The Wall Street Journal on Monday reported that E*Trade is considering banning Gill, who resumed posting online after a three-year hiatus in recent weeks. E*Trade-parent Morgan Stanley (MS.N) New Tab, opens new tab, declined to comment on the report and the messages on social media calling for a boycott of the brokerage platform. Brokerages have invited the ire of retail customers in the past, most notably in 2021 when Robinhood came under fire after it restricted purchases of certain heavily traded stocks, including GameStop, because of volatility. "@etrade singled out their own customer @TheRoaringKitty taking marching orders from some smoke-filled back room somewhere and tried to say "nope, you don't get to be rich, you don't get to join the elites," X user @welp007 posted on Monday evening. Many of those commenting on the latest twist in the Roaring Kitty/Gamestop saga referred to their perception that the Roaring Kitty episode serves as an example of the way in which big Wall Street players, from hedge funds to trading firms, take advantage of small retail investors. Several posters on both X, where Gill uses the moniker RoaringKitty, and on Reddit, where he posts under the username DeepFuckingValue, posted screenshots of their requests to close their E*Trade accounts. Reuters was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the screenshots and the posters did not respond to requests for comment. "If they're gonna ban the kitty, all of retail should leave their platform," proclaimed Reddit user FalseDifficulty2340. Posters also suggested the firm's rivals likely would welcome Gill as a client if E*Trade removed Gill from its platform. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/etrade-possibly-ousting-gamestop-bull-roaring-kitty-spurs-online-backlash-2024-06-04/

2024-06-04 21:45

CHICAGO, June 4 (Reuters) - Camille Batiste, Archer-Daniels-Midland's (ADM.N) New Tab, opens new tab senior vice president of global supply chain and procurement and a member of its executive council, is leaving the company next month, according to an internal email seen by Reuters on Tuesday and later confirmed by ADM. The email did not give a reason for Batiste's departure after seven years with the global agribusiness. An ADM spokesperson said Batiste "informed us of her decision to leave ADM to pursue her next career opportunity." The departure comes after ADM was forced to correct six years of financial statements due to improperly recorded transactions between business segments and as the company contends with government investigations into its accounting practices. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/adm-says-its-head-global-supply-leaving-company-2024-06-04/

2024-06-04 20:46

LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) - Oil giant Aramco (2222.SE) New Tab, opens new tab is in talks with U.S. firms Tellurian (TELL.A) New Tab, opens new tab and NextDecade (NEXT.O) New Tab, opens new tab on two separate liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects as the Saudi firm seeks to boost its gas trading and production, three sources close to the talks told Reuters. U.S. gas production has boomed over the past decade with oil majors and Aramco's rivals such as Qatar Energy competing to build several projects to export gas to Europe and Asia. The state energy firm is in talks with Tellurian (TELL.A) New Tab, opens new tab to buy a stake in its 27.6 million metric ton per annum (mtpa) Driftwood LNG plant near Lake Charles, Louisiana. Aramco officials visited the site three times this year - including together with executives from Australia's Woodside on one of those occasions, said the sources who declined to be identified as talks are not public. Aramco is also in talks with U.S. LNG firm NextDecade (NEXT.O) New Tab, opens new tab for a long-term gas purchase agreement from a proposed fifth processing unit at its $18 billion Rio Grande facility. Aramco declined to comment. Tellurian said it does not comment on market speculation. Woodside said it continuously assesses organic and inorganic growth opportunities but declined further comment. NextDecade did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Aramco is seeking to strengthen its position in the LNG market, which is set to grow globally by 50% by 2030, especially in the United States, where LNG capacity is set to almost double over the next four years. Tellurian has spent years and hundreds of millions of dollars trying to finance and build the Driftwood plant. Last fall, Tellurian warned investors that within a year the company might not be able to cover operating and debt costs due to continued losses and dwindling cash reserves. An Aramco investment could provide the turnaround that Driftwood LNG needs, said Kaushal Ramesh, Rystad Energy's vice president for LNG research. Driftwood is not affected by President Biden's pause on LNG export projects as it already has a Department of Energy permit to export the proposed plant's super-chilled gas to countries that do not have free-trade agreements with the U.S. In February, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave Tellurian a three-year permit extension to complete construction of Driftwood. Aramco is one of the world's largest oil producers and the top exporter, pumping nearly 10% of the world's crude supply. However, its presence in the LNG market is dwarfed by neighbouring Qatar. UAE's ADNOC (ADNOC.UL) also has a bigger presence. Aramco made its first LNG investment abroad when it bought a stake in U.S.-based MidOcean Energy for $500 million last year. In March, Reuters reported that Aramco was in talks to invest in Sempra Infrastructure's Port Arthur project in Texas. It is also competing with Shell (SHEL.L) New Tab, opens new tab to buy the assets of Temasek-owned LNG trading firm Pavilion Energy. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/saudi-aramco-lng-talks-with-us-tellurian-nextdecade-sources-say-2024-06-04/

2024-06-04 20:43

NEW YORK, June 4 (Reuters) - FTX on Tuesday asked a U.S. judge to stop outside litigation against company insiders and venture capital firms accused of playing a role in the bankrupt crypto exchange's collapse, saying the lawsuits undermine FTX's own effort to repay customers. The lawsuits, including class action complaints filed by FTX customers, could eat into an estimated $16 billion recovery that the company intends to pay customers in its bankruptcy, FTX said in court documents filed Tuesday in federal court in Miami. The class action litigation recently resumed after being placed on pause during the criminal trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. He was sentenced in March to 25 years in prison for stealing from FTX customers and using their funds to prop up his own risky investments. Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuits are seeking to take control of assets seized by federal prosecutors, litigate claims already being pursued by FTX, and charge 33% in attorneys' fees on recoveries that the class action lawyers had no role in obtaining, according to FTX. FTX said that the class action lawyers were trying to pocket up to $400 million in legal fees "despite having to date provided next to no monetary benefit" for FTX customers and other victims. Adam Moskowitz, a lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, said he looked forward to U.S. Judge K. Michael Moore's review of all of his clients' settlements and pending claims, including a fraud lawsuit filed against Sullivan & Cromwell, the law firm managing FTX's bankruptcy. "Our goal is to provide relief for all FTX victims and we appreciate all parties that are helping our efforts," Moskowitz said. FTX, which filed for bankruptcy in November 2022, recently announced that it will repay customers more than 100% of what they are owed – with the major caveat that it would evalute customer claims based on much-lower cryptocurrency prices from November 2022, when it filed for bankruptcy. FTX has gathered as much as $16 billion to repay customers by selling assets and filing lawsuits to claw back money paid by FTX before it collapsed. FTX in Tuesday's court filing said that settlements in the class action threatened to wipe out the company's legal claims against insiders that have pleaded guilty or been convicted of crimes, including Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh, and interfere with its efforts to claw back funds from investment firms. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/legal/ftx-seeks-stop-outside-litigation-against-insiders-vc-firms-2024-06-04/