2024-05-30 20:56

Rosneft's Q1 shareholders' net income at 399 bln rbls Rosneft managed to divert oil sales away from Europe to Aisa Rosneft's CEO Sechin criticises c.bank for high interest rates MOSCOW, May 30 (Reuters) - Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft (ROSN.MM) New Tab, opens new tab said on Thursday its first-quarter net income attributable to shareholders more than doubled to 399 billion roubles ($4.41 billion) from the previous three months as revenue and core profit increased. It also said its core profit (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) increased in January-March by 42.4% from the last quarter 2023 to 857 billion roubles. Rosneft's robust net income was in a stark contrast to a 2023 loss of almost $7 billion by its local rival, natural gas behemoth Gazprom (GAZP.MM) New Tab, opens new tab, its first annual loss since 1999. Rosneft, which accounts for around 40% of Russian oil production, managed to divert oil sales away from Europe to India and China following a myriad of Western sanctions slapped on Russian companies and individuals after the conflict in Ukraine erupted in February 2022. The company said its oil refining volumes declined to 19.9 million tonnes in the first quarter, without providing any comparable figures. It said a decline was due to "force-majeure" at oil refineries related to maintenance work. Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on Russian oil refineries since the start of the year. Moscow calls the attacks an act of terrorism. HIGH INTEREST RATES Igor Sechin, Rosneft's Chief Executive Officer and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, once again criticized Russian central bank for high interest rates. "High interest rates and limited liquidity available on the country's financial market put pressure on the financial performance, which forces the company to switch to loans in alternative currencies," he said in a statement. In April Russia's central bank kept its key interest rate at 16% for the third meeting running amid persistently high inflation, which exceeds the bank's target levels. The bank will hold a rate-setting meeting on June 7. Sechin also said that the debt servicing costs are rising and reached their highest levels this century in the first quarter. He hasn't provided any figures. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/rosneft-says-q1-net-income-more-than-doubled-44-bln-q4-2024-05-30/

2024-05-30 20:20

NEW YORK, May 30 (Reuters) - Foreigners pulled money out of their emerging market portfolios in April on concerns of a tighter monetary policy path in the U.S., with outflows from stocks in India and Indonesia leading the way, data from a banking trade group showed. The Institute of International Finance data showed net non-resident portfolio flows for April came in at -$0.7 billion, the first monthly outflow since October. The figure compares with net inflows of $30.2 billion in March and a $16.3 billion inflow in April 2023, the IIF data show. Flows out of ex-China stock portfolios were the main culprit for the overall negative flow, with $3.8 billion leaving the regional asset class. Ex-China debt posted a $2.7 billion inflow. Chinese stocks saw a $0.6 billion outflow while China debt posted April inflows of $0.9 billion, a seventh consecutive positive month. "EM ex-China equity has seen outflows, mainly attributed to the more hawkish stand by the (U.S. Federal Reserve) and the prospects of looser monetary stance disappearing," said via email IIF economist Jonathan Fortun. "China equities have followed a same path and April saw small outflows in this category too. Having said that, we see China’s stocks gaining momentum, especially if stimulus policies meet market expectations." After having priced-in a rate cut from the Fed in the first half of the year for months, a 25 basis-point reduction in the benchmark rate is only priced in for September, data from the CME FedWatch tool show. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/foreigners-pull-money-out-em-portfolios-after-five-months-inflows-2024-05-30/

2024-05-30 20:01

May 30 (Reuters) - The H5N1 bird flu virus has spread to dairy cows in the United States, raising concerns about its spread to humans. Since 2022, bird flu in the US has infected over 90 million chickens, more than 9,000 wild birds, 67 dairy herds, one person who was exposed to poultry and three people who were in close contact with an infected cattle. The following is a timeline of the current outbreak in the country: May 30 A third U.S. dairy worker tested positive for bird flu in 2024 after exposure to infected cows, and was the first to suffer respiratory problems. The infection was the second human case in the state of Michigan. May 22 Another human case of bird flu is confirmed in the U.S. with the infection of a dairy worker in Michigan. It is the second case in humans this year after the virus was detected in cattle. April 26 Colorado became the ninth U.S. state to report an infected dairy herd. April 25 Colombia restricted the import of beef and beef products coming from U.S. states due to bird flu in dairy cows. April 24 The U.S. government said it will require dairy cattle moving between states to be tested for bird flu. April 23 The U.S. Food and Drug administration said it had found bird flu virus particles in some samples of pasteurized milk, but said the commercial milk supply remains safe due to pasteurization. April 11 South Dakota became the eighth U.S. state to find avian influenza in a dairy herd, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported infections in North Carolina, Texas, Kansas, Ohio, Michigan, Idaho and New Mexico. April 4 Bird flu dairy cow outbreak widened to a dairy herd in Ohio. April 2 Mexico's agriculture ministry said it was taking preventative measures to increase surveillance and reinforce inspections of U.S. livestock imports after bird flu was found in dairy cattle there. April 1 The second known human case of bird flu in the United States is reported in a person from Texas who had contact with dairy cows presumed to be infected with the virus. The virus was detected in dairy cattle in New Mexico, Michigan and Idaho, along with Texas and Kansas. March 25 The USDA said samples of milk collected from sick cattle in Kansas and Texas tested positive for avian flu, but the nation's milk supply was safe. Dec. 12, 2023 Egg producer Cal-Maine Foods (CALM.O) New Tab, opens new tab said it had temporarily ceased production at a facility in Kansas after some of the flock tested positive for avian flu. Nov. 3, 2023 Arkansas, a major U.S. chicken producer, reported its first outbreak of lethal avian flu in a commercial poultry flock in a year. Oct. 6, 2023 The United States detected its first case of avian flu on a commercial poultry farm since April, in a flock of 47,300 turkeys in Jerauld County, South Dakota. April 14, 2023 The U.S. government said it was testing four potential bird flu vaccines for poultry, after more than 58 million chickens, turkeys and other birds had died in the nation's worst outbreak ever. March 20, 2023 Some of the world's leading makers of flu vaccines say they could make hundreds of millions of bird flu shots for humans within months if a new strain of avian influenza ever jumps across the species divide. Oct. 7, 2022 Avian flu infected a commercial flock of breeding chickens in Arkansas, widening an outbreak of the disease in the southern region. Nationwide, more than 47 million birds have been killed by avian flu or culled to control its spread this year in the nation's worst outbreak since a record 50 million birds were wiped out in 2015. April 29, 2022 The first known human case of H5N1 bird flu in the United States appeared in a person in Colorado, who was involved in culling birds at a commercial poultry facility. March 7, 2022 More than 22 million commercially raised U.S. chickens and turkeys have been killed since February 2022 due to outbreaks of a highly lethal type of bird flu. March 4, 2022 A bird flu outbreak is reported in a commercial flock of chickens being raised for meat in Stoddard County, Missouri, taking the spread of the virus to 10 commercial chicken and turkey farms in four states. Feb. 9 , 2022 The USDA reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian flu in an Indiana turkey flock, the nation's first case in a commercial poultry operation since 2020. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-bird-flu-outbreak-spreads-chickens-cattle-raises-concerns-over-human-2024-05-01/

2024-05-30 20:00

May 30 (Reuters) - Canada has agreed to assess whether naphthenic acids found in northern Alberta's oil sands tailings ponds should be classed as toxic under federal law, a move that could pave the way for stricter regulations, environmental group Ecojustice said on Thursday. Tailings - a mix of water, clay, sand and trace metals - are a byproduct of extracting bitumen from mined oil sands and are stored in huge engineered ponds, some of which have been accumulating water since the 1960s. The ponds have come under increased scrutiny since last year, when it emerged wastewater had been leaking for months from a tailings pond at Imperial Oil's (IMO.TO) New Tab, opens new tab Kearl mine. Ecojustice wrote to Canada's Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault in March formally requesting that the government study the risk that naphthenic acids from oil sands tailings pose to human health and the environment. "Both the request and the information being collected and generated by the Government and others provide scientific evidence on the potential toxicity of OSPW NAs (oil sands process-affected water naphthenic acids) that warrants further investigation," Guilbeault responded in a letter dated May 28 that was shared by Ecojustice. Imperial and Canada's two other oil sands mining companies, Suncor Energy (SU.TO) New Tab, opens new tab and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (CNQ.TO) New Tab, opens new tab, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The chemical compound will be added to a plan prioritizing which substances should be assessed under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, Guilbeault added. That plan will be finalised by June 2025. The request was submitted by Ecojustice on behalf of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, which lies downstream of the oil sands, and environmental groups. The nearby Mikisew Cree First Nation also submitted a similar request, Ecojustice said. Naphthenic acids from tailings ponds have been found in surface water and groundwater in the region, said Ecojustice lawyer Bronwyn Roe. "The harms that these chemicals cause to people and the environment need to be better understood, and NAs need to be regulated to prevent harmful exposure," Roe said in a news release. Scientific studies have shown that naphthenic acids from oil sands tailings are toxic but the Canadian government has never formally classed them as such, said Alienor Rougeot, climate and energy program manager at Environmental Defence. "If they are found to be toxic that would unlock a lot of regulatory tools," Rougeot added. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/canada-assess-toxicity-compound-found-oil-sands-tailings-2024-05-30/

2024-05-30 18:30

Canadian dollar gains 0.3% against the greenback Touches an earlier six-day low at 1.3734 Payroll employment rises 51,400 in March Canadian bond yields fall across the curve TORONTO, May 30 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar rebounded from a near one-week low against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as an indication of cooler U.S. inflation left the door open to Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year. The loonie was trading 0.3% higher at 1.3675 to the U.S. dollar, or 73.13 U.S. cents, after earlier touching its weakest level since Friday at 1.3734. "The Canadian dollar has essentially reversed its risk-off losses from Wednesday today," said Simon Harvey, Head of FX analysis for Monex Europe and Monex Canada. Domestic employment data helped the currency but the biggest driver was U.S. data that eased concern over persistent inflation, Harvey said. Canadian payroll employment rose by 51,400 in March following an increase of 14,600 in February, Statistics Canada said. The U.S. economy grew more slowly in the first quarter than previously estimated after downward revisions to consumer spending and a key measure of inflation ticked down, keeping the Fed on track to possibly begin cutting interest rates at least once before the end of the year. Investors were awaiting Canadian gross domestic product data on Friday, expected to show the economy expanding at an annualized rate of 2.2% in the first quarter. Still, that would be slower than the Bank of Canada's most recent forecast of 2.8%. The BoC said on Thursday it will bring payment service providers under more supervision and launch a real-time payments system over the next two to three years in efforts to modernize the country's financial architecture. The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, fell 1.8% to $77.77 a barrel ahead of an OPEC+ meeting this weekend. Canadian bond yields fell across the curve, tracking moves in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year was down 6.3 basis points at 3.697%, after earlier touching a four-week high at 3.783%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/c-rebounds-6-day-low-us-inflation-worries-ease-2024-05-30/

2024-05-30 16:41

May 30 (Reuters) - Singapore-based Terraform Labs and its founder Do Kwon have reached a tentative settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission which sued them for allegedly misleading cryptocurrency investors before the 2022 collapse of the stablecoin TerraUSD. The deal but not its terms was disclosed on a court website on Thursday. A jury found Kwon and Terraform Labs liable on civil fraud charges at trial in April. The SEC had accused the company and Kwon of misleading investors in 2021 about the stability of TerraUSD, a stablecoin designed to maintain a value of $1. The regulator also accused them of falsely claiming Terraform's blockchain was used in a popular Korean mobile payment app. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan asked the SEC and the defendants to file papers supporting the settlement by June 12. An SEC spokesperson and attorneys for the defendants declined to comment. The collapse of TerraUSD and Luna, a more traditional token that fluctuated in value but was closely linked to TerraUSD, roiled cryptocurrency markets in May 2022. The SEC has estimated that investors in the two cryptocurrencies lost more than $40 billion combined when the TerraUSD peg to the dollar could not be maintained. The regulator had asked Rakoff in court filings to make Kwon and Terraform Labs relinquish $5.3 billion in what it called ill-gotten gains from sales of the stablecoin. The SEC also sought a $420 million fine on the company and a $100 million fine for Kwon, and for both to be banned from dealing in "crypto asset securities." The cryptocurrency entrepreneur and his company had argued that the maximum fines allowed were $3.5 million on Terraform Labs and less than $1 million for Kwon. Kwon faces related criminal charges in the U.S. and his native South Korea. He has denied wrongdoing. Since his arrest in March 2023, he has been awaiting extradition from Montenegro, where authorities have gone back and forth on where he should be sent. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/legal/terraform-labs-do-kwon-agree-settle-sec-fraud-case-2024-05-30/