2024-05-24 11:31

GENEVA, May 24 (Reuters) - The World Meteorological Organization on Friday said it expected a highly active hurricane season and stressed that early warnings were needed to save lives. "High ocean heat content and the anticipated development of La Nina event are expected to fuel a very, very, very active hurricane season this year," Clare Nullis, WMO spokesperson, told a briefing in Geneva. "It only takes one landfalling hurricane to set back years and years of socio-economic development." The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) has forecast a range of 17 to 25 named storms. The average is 14. Of those storms, eight to 13 are forecast to become hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season, which lasts from June to November, has recorded above average activity for eight consecutive years, WMO said. "Early warnings have helped save lives," Nullis said. "They've really cut the death toll dramatically, but even so the small island developing states in the Caribbean suffer disproportionately both in terms of economic losses and losses to life." Between 1970 and 2021, tropical cyclones -- which include hurricanes -- were the leading cause of reported human and economic losses worldwide, according to WMO. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/un-weather-agency-anticipates-highly-active-hurricane-season-2024-05-24/

2024-05-24 11:26

May 24 (Reuters) - The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee passed its version of a $1.5 trillion farm spending bill late Thursday night with few Democratic votes, prolonging a standoff between the parties over key nutrition, agriculture, and climate policies. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Congress failed in 2023 to pass a new farm bill, an omnibus legislative package passed every five years. The House bill would have to be reconciled with a Senate bill led by Democrats and without strong bipartisan support, the House version has a slim chance of becoming law. Further delay of a new farm bill could create uncertainty for farmers and people relying on food aid, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warned on a Wednesday press call. Federal hunger aid for the poor like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and farm programs are currently operating under a one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill passed last September. CONTEXT The House bill - which passed out of the committee 33-21 with 4 Democratic votes - expands farm commodity supports, shrinks SNAP funding, and reallocates nearly $20 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act intended for climate-smart farm practices. House Agriculture Committee chair Glenn "GT" Thompson said at the Thursday committee meeting that the bill "bolsters every aspect of American agriculture." Democrats in the House and Senate have said cuts to food aid and reallocating the climate funds are red lines in negotiations. "This bill is misguided, and in some aspects, it is mean-spirited," said the committee's top Democrat, David Scott. Farm commodity groups have expressed support for the House bill, while environmental and hunger groups have opposed it. KEY QUOTE "Despite areas of common ground, it is now clear that key parts of the House bill split the Farm Bill coalition in a way that makes it impossible to achieve the votes to become law," said Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat, in a statement on the bill's passage. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-committee-advances-farm-bill-draft-with-little-support-democrats-2024-05-24/

2024-05-24 11:16

Dow, S&P 500 set for weekly losses Boeing, megacap shares recover after Thursday's dour session Workday falls after cutting revenue forecast Futures up: Dow 0.14%, S&P 0.28%, Nasdaq 0.29% May 24 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday, rebounding after Wall Street closed lower in the previous session on signs of persistent inflation that rekindled monetary policy caution ahead of a long weekend. After riding high on Nvidia's (NVDA.O) New Tab, opens new tab blowout revenue forecast and a 10-for-one stock split in early trade on Thursday, all three main indexes turned lower as economic data pointing to rising price pressures dented bets of interest-rate cuts this year. "Recent comments from Fed officials, stronger-than-expected PMI data resulted in a push-back on expectations for Fed cut trajectory," OCBC strategists said in a note. "These developments reinforced the view that markets remain sensitive to data. The data also served as a reminder that the current high-for-longer rates environment may persist for a longer period." Investor focus now shifts to more economic data including durable goods for April and the University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment, along with remarks from Fed Board Governor Christopher Waller - all scheduled for the day. Traders expect the U.S. central bank to ease its interest rates by 35.6 basis points by year-end. The blue-chip Dow (.DJI) New Tab, opens new tab logged its biggest one-day drop since March 2023 on Thursday while the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) New Tab, opens new tab recorded its worst session in over three weeks. Both the indexes were set for weekly losses after four straight weeks of gains. Nvidia shares gained 1% in premarket trading after jumping over 9% a day earlier, closing above the key $1,000 mark and adding around $218 billion to its market value. Reuters reported the company's most advanced AI chip developed for China had a weak start, with abundant supply forcing it to be priced below Huawei's rival chip. Other megacap stocks including Apple (AAPL.O) New Tab, opens new tab, Alphabet (GOOGL.O) New Tab, opens new tab and Meta Platforms (META.O) New Tab, opens new tab were also up between 0.4% and 0.8%. The U.S. equity market will be closed on Monday on account of Memorial Day. At 7:03 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 53 points, or 0.14%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 14.75 points, or 0.28%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 54.25 points, or 0.29%. Boeing shares (BA.N) New Tab, opens new tab rose 0.7%. The company was the biggest drag on the Dow in the previous session, closing over 7% lower. Meanwhile, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved applications from Nasdaq, CBOE and NYSE to list exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to ether prices, potentially paving the way for products to begin trading later this year. However, ProShares Ether Strategy ETF was down 2.4% after jumping more than 22% so far this week. Workday (WDAY.O) New Tab, opens new tab dropped 12.1% after the human resources software provider cut its annual subscription revenue forecast. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-recover-after-inflation-jitters-dent-wall-street-2024-05-24/

2024-05-24 11:08

SHANGHAI, May 24 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) New Tab, opens new tab has cut output of its best-selling Model Y electric car by a double-digit percentage number at its Shanghai plant since March, according to industry data and a source. The move is aimed at addressing weakening demand for the U.S. automaker's aged model in China, its second largest market into which a majority of the cars produced at the Shanghai plant are sold and where a brutal price war has erupted among electric vehicle makers amid an economic slowdown. The Shanghai plant, Tesla's biggest manufacturing hub globally, planned to cut Model Y output by at least 20% during the March to June period, said the person, who declined to be named as the matter is private. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) showed the output of Model Y in China stood at 49,498 units in March and 36,610 in April, 17.7% and 33% lower, respectively, compared to a year ago. In total, Tesla produced 287,359 units of Model Y and Model 3 cars in China in the first four months, 5% lower than the same period in 2023, with Model 3 output 10% higher, CAAM data showed. It was not immediately clear if the output cut would be extended to the second half of this year or to Model 3 and if Tesla's plants in the United States and Germany also adopted similar output cuts. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. Tesla has left out its goal New Tab, opens new tab of delivering 20 million vehicles a year by 2030 in its latest impact report published on Thursday, another sign the company was moving away from electric cars as it shifts focus to robotaxis. The company has been accelerating its pivot to bet on a breakthrough in artificial intelligence to bring new revenue growth. Despite the output cuts and recent layoffs at Tesla's China sales and charging service teams, the company still aims to sell 600,000 to 700,000 cars in China in 2024 out of 2 million EVs it aims to sell globally, unchanged from the targets at the beginning of the year, a separate source said. The source did not wish to be identified because of not being authorised to speak to the media. Tesla in April cut Model Y prices in China to their lowest levels since the model was first launched in the country in 2021, while offering a zero-interest financing scheme for Model 3 buyers to boost sales. Tesla's share in China's overall pure electric and plug-in hybrid market has slid to 6.8% in the first four months of this year from 7.8% in all of 2023, when it sold 603,664 cars in the country, according to the China Passenger Car Association. Homegrown BYD led the segment in China with a 34.3% share for the first four months, which was down from 35% for the whole of 2023. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-slashes-model-y-production-shanghai-data-shows-2024-05-24/

2024-05-24 10:19

KYIV, May 24 (Reuters) - Ukraine is negotiating to maximise possible imports of electricity from European Union countries to compensate for the generation capacity destroyed by the Russian attacks, Ukrainian energy minister said on Friday. Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's energy sector have intensified since March, resulting in significant damage and blackouts in many regions. The attacks have caused more than $1 billion of damage to the sector, leading to the loss of 8,000 MWh of generating capacity from the energy system, the government says. Currently, Ukraine can import from the EU states no more than 1,700 Mwh of electricity simultaneously. "We're negotiating. Our task is to maximise this figure," Energy Minister German Galushchenko told parliament. "Technically, we can receive (import) more than 2,000 Mwh, even 2,400 Mwh. I'm sure a decision will be made," he added. Volodymyr Kudrytskiy, the head of Ukraine's national power grid operator Ukrenergo, told Ukraine's Telegraf that 1,700 Mwh is "the ceiling for now". "Everything will depend on how quickly our European colleagues - energy system operators of neighbouring countries - will be able to implement projects to expand the capacity of their grids," Kudrytskiy said. He said that European grid companies need time and money to reinforce some of their substations, install additional transformers or build new transmission lines. "We think 3,500 to 4,000 Mwh of interstate interconnector capacity is something we can have in the horizon of five years," Kudrytskiy noted. IMPORTS Energy minister Galushchenko did not say exactly how much imports are being discussed now, but Maxim Timchenko, the head of Ukraine's largest private energy company, DTEK, said earlier this month that an increase to 2,200 Mwh could significantly improve the situation. DTEK has lost about 90% of its power generation capacity due to Russian missile attacks in recent months. DTEK data showed that Ukraine consumed around 13,000 Mwh before the attacks as of March 17 but after a series of Russian attacks on the energy system, consumption fell to 9,100 Mwh. Due to power shortages, Ukrainian power grid operator Ukrenergo has been forced to introduce regular shutdowns of industrial consumers and households and maintain high import rates. Problems with power generation can have a "potentially negative impact" on industry, especially the largest electricity consumers, the economy ministry said this week. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-is-talks-with-eu-maximise-electricity-imports-minister-says-2024-05-24/

2024-05-24 10:13

May 24 (Reuters) - Exiled Chinese businessman Miles Guo scammed his followers out of more than $1 billion after Chinese authorities seized his property, a federal prosecutor said on Friday as Guo's fraud trial began in New York. Assistant U.S. Attorney Micah Fergenson told jurors that Guo, who was a real estate developer in China and moved to New York, amassed an online following through videos criticizing the Chinese government. After authorities in China and Hong Kong seized his assets in response, Guo started pitching fraudulent investments to his followers, Fergenson said. "Miles Guo ran a simple con on a grand scale. He lived a billionaire's lifestyle using money he stole from people he tricked and cheated," Fergenson said. The Manhattan jury of 12 will weigh allegations that Guo used his prolific online presence and hundreds of thousands of followers to bring in funds he spent on himself and his family. Guo, who is known by several names including Guo Wengui, Miles Kwok and Ho Wan Kwok, has been jailed in Brooklyn since his March 2023 arrest. Guo's attorney Sabrina Shroff said in her opening statement that his businesses were legitimate, and that his aim was to build a movement against the Chinese Communist Party. "It was not a bet, it was not a scheme. It was not a con. It was none of those things," she said. Many of Guo's actions, such as owning multiple phones and bank accounts, were common-sense protections as the Chinese government continued to try to disrupt his work in the U.S., Shroff said. The defense lawyer also urged jurors not to judge Guo for the way he spent the huge fortune he had amassed through real estate. Starting in 2018, prosecutors say Guo touted financial opportunities in Mandarin-language online videos, offering investments in his media company, a purported cryptocurrency venture, and a farm loan program, as well as membership in what was billed as an exclusive club offering concierge services. Prosecutors said Guo stole from the funds to buy a New Jersey mansion, a yacht, several luxury cars and other extravagances, including two $36,000 mattresses. Guo faces 12 counts of fraud, racketeering, conspiracy and money laundering. The trial before U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres could stretch into July. The Beijing critic has been a business associate of former U.S. President Donald Trump's onetime adviser Steve Bannon. It was on Guo's $37 million yacht, the Lady May, where Bannon was arrested in 2020 in a separate fraud case. That case ended when Trump pardoned Bannon in the waning hours of his presidency. Bannon had pleaded not guilty. Guo left China in 2014 during an anti-corruption crackdown under President Xi Jinping. Officials there accused Guo of bribery, money laundering and other crimes, which he has denied. After moving to the United States, Guo bought a home in the luxury Sherry-Netherland building on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, and drew ardent fans through his criticism of China's government, including by accusing leaders of corruption. At Beijing's request, the global police organization Interpol in April 2017 issued a "red notice" for Guo's arrest. Shroff said in court on Friday that the notice was an attempt to silence Guo after he gave an interview with U.S. government-backed Voice of America. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/legal/exiled-chinese-businessmans-1-bln-fraud-trial-begin-us-friday-2024-05-24/