2024-05-23 06:12

PARIS, May 23 - Sluggish project approvals and the fact that wind power is sold to the government, rather than directly to customers, make France less attractive than some other countries for renewable investments, according to the director of TotalEnergies France. Isabelle Patrier was speaking ahead of TotalEnergies' inauguration on Friday of a 63-megawatt wind farm in northeast France. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT France hopes to have 45 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind in operation by 2050 to achieve carbon neutrality. So far two offshore wind farms totalling 0.97 GW are fully operational, with bidding lasting 2.5 to 3 years on average. KEY QUOTES "There are countries in which you go much faster in renewable electricity production than you do in France, whether it's offshore wind, onshore wind or solar," Patrier said. "France's 2019-2023 energy planning law called for 3.7 gigawatts of wind tenders. That wasn't achieved. So there's a challenge regarding deployment speed — and for us, our objectives have to be achieved," she added. "In Germany, in offshore wind, you can recoup the electrons you generate and sell them directly to your clients in contracts to help them decarbonise, you're not selling them to the German state ... That's the key aspect in wind in places we are present like Scotland, Britain, offshore New York in the U.S. where we've won large contracts, and in Asia." "France remains France for TotalEnergies, in the sense where it's a key country for us ... but we will invest in offshore wind in places where ... we have the power to produce electricity rapidly to supply our customers." CONTEXT TotalEnergies is France's third-largest green electricity provider, with 2 GW of installed renewable capacity there out of 23 GW globally. The company aims to triple its renewable electricity production to exceed 100 terawatt-hours globally by 2030. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/france-less-attractive-renewable-investment-than-other-countries-totalenergies-2024-05-23/

2024-05-23 06:01

PERTH, May 23 (Reuters) - Australian diversified miner South32 (S32.AX) New Tab, opens new tab is open to buying Anglo American's (AAL.L) New Tab, opens new tab's share of two manganese operations the companies jointly own, should they come for sale at the right price, CEO Graham Kerr said on Thursday. Anglo is the subject of a takeover offer by the world's biggest listed miner BHP Group (BHP.AX) New Tab, opens new tab, which had previously owned those assets but spun them out with its 2015 demerger of South32. Asked in an interview if South32 would be interested in Anglo's share of its manganese business, Kerr told Reuters: "At the right price, absolutely. We know them better than anyone else." He declined to elaborate on what that price might be. South32 is the world's largest producer of the steel hardening additive which it mines at its GEMCO operations in Australia's Northern Territory and in South Africa's Kalahari Basin. Kerr, who had just returned from a trip to the United States, where South32 is developing its Taylor zinc-lead-silver project, has around $5 billion to spend as it seeks to bulk up its portfolio with two more assets. "In a perfect world, we would like to have another operation in copper and zinc, and another shovel ready project," he told Reuters in an interview, adding the miner was open to increasing its exposure in Southern Africa. Investors are coming around to the fact that miners need to buy over build to grow and the bump in base metals prices over the past few months is helping to reframe their view, said Kerr. Miners must become more aggressive to secure new projects or risk missing out, given the growing appetite for energy transition metals including copper, investors and mining CEOs said on Wednesday. "When you see the short term bump in prices, it allows them investors) to envision a long term bump," he said. South32 has been one of the most active miners in buying and selling assets, nearly doubling its exposure to base metals over bulks from less than half of its portfolio, over the past nine years. It in February agreed to sell its Illawarra metallurgical coal business to a consortium led by an Indonesian-owned company for $1.65 billion, exiting coal to focus on expanding in copper and zinc. That is on track to finalise in the first half of next financial year, Kerr said, as its exit from fossil fuels has sparked interest from new shareholders. "We certainly have seen more interest from European funds and even Australian super funds," Kerr added. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/south32-ceo-kerr-says-open-buying-joint-anglo-american-manganese-assets-2024-05-23/

2024-05-23 05:32

MEXICO CITY, May 22 (Reuters) - Mexico, reeling from a heat wave that has already broken records, caused power outages and killed people and animals, could see "unprecedented" temperatures over the next two weeks, the country's largest university warned on Wednesday. The extreme heat, fueled partly by the most recent El Nino weather phenomenon, will arrive with 70% of Mexico in drought and a third in severe drought, according to data from the national water commission. "In the next 10 to 15 days, the country will experience the highest temperatures ever recorded," researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) said in a statement. Temperatures in the capital could reach a record 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in the next two weeks, said Jorge Zavala, director of UNAM's Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate Change. Most of the metropolitan area's 21 million residents - accustomed to more temperate weather - lack air conditioning. Earlier this month, the capital was one of at least ten cities in Mexico that registered their hottest day on record. Mexican health ministry data shows at least 26 people have died from heat-related causes between the start of the hot season on March 17 and May 11. The heat has also taken a toll on some threatened species, including howler monkeys, which have been dying from suspected dehydration in southern Mexico. In the city of Leon in the central state of Guanajuato on Tuesday, a caretaker provided water for geese and ducks after a nearby dam reservoir dried up. "We have to help them a little because they suffer," said Carlos Cuevas, the caretaker. Under a tent near the parched reservoir, Alfonso Cortes, a local Catholic archbishop, led a mass for rain as parishioners fanned themselves in the heat. "We are going to pray that the Lord will send our state and all human beings the gift of water," Cortes said. "Everything revolves around our life and water." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/reeling-one-heat-wave-mexico-awaits-highest-temperatures-ever-recorded-2024-05-23/

2024-05-23 05:27

Sunak ends uncertainty with July 4 poll date Market focus likely to remain on inflation, rates Sunak, Starmer to avoid upsetting recent market calm LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) - A surprise British general election in July has removed a layer of uncertainty for UK markets, leaving investors to focus on the outlook for interest rates and the economy as the dominant forces driving the pound, stocks and bonds. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election for July 4 on Wednesday, after data showed British inflation dropped to 2.3% in April, hoping to turn around the Conservatives' dismal polling numbers with a message that the economy has turned a corner. Most investors are working on the assumption that Keir Starmer will become the next premier, with his opposition Labour party consistently around 20% ahead in the polls. A shared aim of Sunak and Starmer will be to avoid upsetting a tentative calm in markets with any major fiscal announcements, analysts say. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss in 2022 sent UK government bonds and the pound crashing with plans for huge tax cuts that would have caused the budget deficit to soar. UK markets have had a volatile three years, thanks to high inflation and Truss's brief premiership, but have recently found a footing with the FTSE 100 (.FTSE) New Tab, opens new tab stock index at record highs, sterling rising and big investors buying government debt. Sunak's announcement on Wednesday pushed the pound slightly higher and stock futures a touch lower. "This (election) is something that the market has been anticipating for a while," said Emmanouil Karimalis, rates strategist at lender UBS. "The fact that this has been brought forward may be good for the market, considering there was some speculation about more fiscal stimulus before a likely autumn election." Karimalis said investors will pay particular attention to Labour's plans but will continue to be influenced by the domestic and global economy. "Bottom line, I do not foresee the general election campaign and vote impacting the gilt market in the coming weeks materially," he said. Ben Laidler, global markets strategist at trading platform eToro, said he sees similarities to former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair's landslide victory in 1997. "Basically markets just rallied straight through that (election). There wasn't a lot of policy change on the table and there wasn't a lot of election uncertainty," he said. British stocks have hit record highs in recent weeks, along with their U.S. and European peers, boosted by hopes that interest rates are coming down, as well as a belief that UK companies are undervalued. "Their (Labour's) hands are tied a little bit by the lack of financial flexibility they're going to have if they win," Laidler said. "But the policy agenda is pro-renewables and pro-infrastructure...That could ultimately boost small-cap stocks." Sterling has risen around 2% so far this month thanks in part to surprisingly strong British growth data, a welcome sign for Sunak. Yet it has also been driven by inflation remaining hotter at home and in the U.S. and markets pushing back their bets on Bank of England (BoE) rate cuts. DEBT PILE GROWING The outlook for bond markets is of particular importance to the next prime minister as the government continues to borrow heavily in international markets and faces large interest costs after debt surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. British debt has been hit hard over the last two years by a jump in interest rates and the Truss mini budget. An ICE BofA index of gilts (.MERG0L0) New Tab, opens new tab has dropped around 30% since 2022, compared to declines of less than 20% for euro zone government debt (.MEREG00) New Tab, opens new tab and U.S. Treasuries (.MERG0Q0) New Tab, opens new tab. Britain is set to raise around 265 billion pounds ($337.66 billion) in the 2024/25 financial year, although there are few signs investors are balking at the second-biggest year of supply on record. Ed Hutchings, head of rates at Aviva Investors, said the firm's preference is to hold gilts ahead of U.S. and European debt, although it is a relatively cautious wager. "The underlying growth rate in the UK has been that much weaker than the U.S.," Hutchings said. He added that "fiscal expansion is probably more off the cards in the UK versus the U.S." Investors including Pimco, Amundi and Neuberger Berman have all recently said they like the outlook for gilts, with their focus on inflation and the BoE. "The disinflation trend which started in 2023 remains intact," said Jon Jonsson, a senior portfolio manager at asset manager Neuberger Berman. "The timing is uncertain, but the path is less important than the endpoint and the BoE should deliver over 200 basis points of easing over the next two years." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-election-date-lifts-fog-over-promising-market-recovery-2024-05-23/

2024-05-23 05:18

NEW YORK, May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Thursday as enthusiasm over Nvidia's (NVDA.O) New Tab, opens new tab quarterly results faded and robust economic data fueled concerns over tighter-for-longer monetary policy. U.S. Treasury yields turned higher after the data. All three major U.S. stock indexes gathered downward momentum in afternoon trading, ending the session deep in red territory. The blue-chip Dow suffered the worst of it, closing down 1.5%. Technology stocks (.SPLRCT) New Tab, opens new tab were the sole gainers among the S&P 500's 11 major sectors. "The market is at all-time highs, valuations are stretched, and we're coming off the sugar high of (Wednesday) night's Nvidia report," said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird in Louisville, Kentucky. "You've seen it after Fed reports, you've seen it after a handful of really important data releases - and I think it's the same with the NVIDIA earnings - you get this initial kind of pop or sell-off associated with the initial reaction, and then the market digests it, recalibrates to where expectations were," Mayfield added. Technology shares were given a jolt of adrenaline by Nvidia, the megacap chipmaker at the forefront of AI optimism, when the company forecast quarterly revenue above estimates and announced a stock split. On the economic front, jobless claims dropped and S&P Global's Flash PMI survey showed U.S. business activity has expanded faster than economists forecast in May. The data is primarily viewed through the lens of the Fed, the timing of its first interest rate cut, and whether the central bank can rein in inflation without triggering recession. "Flash PMI came in hotter than expected, which put a feather in the cap of hawks," Mayfield added. "So the thinking has shifted away from Nvidia to thinking about rates and 'higher for longer.'" The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) New Tab, opens new tab fell 605.78 points, or 1.53%, to 39,065.26, the S&P 500 (.SPX) New Tab, opens new tab lost 39.17 points, or 0.74%, to 5,267.84 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) New Tab, opens new tab dropped 65.51 points, or 0.39%, to 16,736.03. European shares pared earlier gains to end only nominally higher, as optimism over Nvidia's strong forecast was tempered by lowered rate cut expectations. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) New Tab, opens new tab rose 0.07% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) New Tab, opens new tab shed 0.57%. Emerging market stocks lost 0.43%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) New Tab, opens new tab closed 0.38% lower, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) New Tab, opens new tab rose 1.26%. U.S. Treasury yields turned higher after data suggested U.S. business activity has picked up and the labor market remains tight, supporting the Fed's "higher for longer" interest rate narrative. Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 12/32 in price to yield 4.4787%, from 4.434% late on Wednesday. The 30-year bond last fell 18/32 in price to yield 4.5844%, from 4.55% late on Wednesday. The dollar gained ground against a basket of world currencies following the economic data. The dollar index (.DXY) New Tab, opens new tab rose 0.13%, with the euro down 0.13% to $1.0807. The Japanese yen weakened 0.06% versus the greenback at 156.89 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.269, down 0.20% on the day. Crude oil prices reversed earlier gains to notch their fourth consecutive session as the notion of interest rates staying restrictive for longer than expected raised the possibility of weakening U.S. demand. U.S. crude dipped 0.90% to settle at $76.87 per barrel, while Brent settled at $81.36 per barrel, down 0.66% on the day. Gold prices dropped to a one-week low in the aftermath of the Fed minutes' release. Spot gold dropped 2.0% to $2,331.23 an ounce. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-wrapup-1-2024-05-23/

2024-05-23 05:04

SINGAPORE, May 23 (Reuters) - Global infrastructure investor I Squared Capital is looking to invest $5 billion in the Asia Pacific from 2025 to 2027 as it seeks to tap into fast-growing sectors, including renewable energy, in the region, its senior partner said. I Squared, which manages over $38 billion of assets globally, will deploy the money from its $15 billon global flagship fund and $2 billion growth markets fund raised in 2022, its senior partner Harsh Agrawal told Reuters. The firm's expansion in Asia Pacific underscores growing investor interest in infrastructure assets across the region as it rapidly urbanises, its energy demand grows and its population becomes increasingly affluent and digitised. "As we look at the next three, four years, we see this market as having very good characteristics, high growth, a lot of consumption growth driven by consumers in emerging Asia, expansion of the middle class," Agrawal told Reuters at I Squared's Singapore office. Investments in the region's renewable wind and solar generation assets are expected to double to $1.3 trillion in the 2020s decade compared to the 2010s, according to consultants Wood Mackenzie. Besides renewable energy, I Squared plans to focus on sectors including digital infrastructure, transport and logistics, as well as environmental infrastructure. It will look at deal sizes from $150 million to an average $500 million, he Agrawal. Already one of the most active infrastructure investors in the region, I Squared plans to open a new office in Seoul this year, Agrawal said, adding to its presence in Singapore, New Delhi, Sydney and Taipei. Miami-headquartered I Squared has invested almost $3.5 billion in Asia Pacific since its founding in 2012, Agrawal said. In April, Japanese investors including Osaka Gas (9532.T) New Tab, opens new tab and Sumitomo Corporation partnered with I Squared on a $370 million strategic investment in natural gas infrastructure in India. Last year, it acquired Rentco, a transport equipment leasing company in Australia. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/infrastructure-firm-i-squared-invest-5-bln-asia-over-next-three-years-executive-2024-05-23/