2024-05-20 23:26
COMALCALCO, Mexico, May 20 (Reuters) - Threatened howler monkeys have been dropping dead from trees in Mexico's southeastern tropical forests in recent weeks amid a nationwide drought and heat waves that have sent temperatures soaring across much of the country. In the state of Tabasco, where temperatures are forecast this week to surpass 45C (113°F), local media have reported up to 85 deaths, while local authorities have confirmed the trend without providing a death toll. In a statement over the weekend, Tabasco's Civil Protection agency attributed the deaths to dehydration. A source from the agency told Reuters on Monday that monkeys have been confirmed dead in three municipalities of the state. In a forest outside Camalcalco, Tabasco, volunteers collected the corpses of mantled howler monkeys (alouatta palliata) that died from high temperatures, before placing buckets of water and fruit to try to stave off more deaths. The mantled howler monkey is classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. "It is because the heat is so strong. I've been visiting the states for a long time and I have never felt it as much as now," Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who hails from Tabasco, said on Monday when asked about the monkey deaths. "So, yes, we have to care for the animals and yes we are going to do it," he said in his regular news conference. Later on Monday, Mexico's environment ministry said in a statement that it was coordinating efforts to address the monkeys' deaths, which it attributed to several possible reasons, including "heat stroke, dehydration, malnutrition or the spraying of crops with toxic agro-chemicals." Mexico is also home to the Yucatan howler monkey, which because of deforestation is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List. Mexico's health ministry reported a preliminary count of 26 people who have died from heat-related causes between the start of Mexico's heat season on March 17 and May 11. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexicos-howler-monkeys-dropping-dead-heat-toll-mounts-2024-05-20/
2024-05-20 22:44
May 21 (Reuters) - More than 100,000 homes and businesses in Texas were still without power on Tuesday after storms battered the region late last week and over the weekend, according to meteorologists and data from PowerOutage.us. That is down from more than 946,000 customers without service in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi on Friday, and 150,000 customers without power overnight on Tuesday. Storms packing hurricane-force winds pummeled the Houston area on May 16, killing at least four people, blowing windows out of high-rise buildings and leaving some 800,000 customers without power as much of the city was plunged into darkness, Mayor John Whitmire said. Texas energy company CenterPoint Energy (CNP.N) New Tab, opens new tab currently has the most outages with 94,323 customers without power in the Houston area, according to PowerOutage.us. CenterPoint said late on Monday it had restored power to more than 770,000 customers and "remains on target to substantially complete restorations by Wednesday evening." Storms in other states over the past 24 hours have left more than 61,000 customers without power in Iowa and more than 18,000 without power in Minnesota on Tuesday, according to PowerOutage.us. Major outages by state: Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/over-226000-customers-still-without-power-after-storms-texas-2024-05-20/
2024-05-20 22:32
LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is investigating greenwashing as part of its crackdown on fraud and misconduct in the voluntary carbon markets, a commissioner at the U.S. regulator said on Monday. The probe into false claims about the environmental benefits of carbon credits, as well as the green credentials of financial products, comes as CFTC homes in on its first set of federal guidelines for voluntary carbon credits derivatives. Regulators are looking to introduce standards and curb manipulation in a market that has operated without federal oversight. The CFTC is investigating the activities under its Environmental Fraud Task Force New Tab, opens new tab which it introduced in June 2023 to tackle fraud and manipulation in carbon credit markets and other forms of greenwashing, such as misrepresentations about environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) investment strategies. "The idea is to weed out the bad actors that could impact the derivatives market, we would do that with any commodity," said CFTC commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in London. Goldsmith Romero said the watchdog had not yet brought a case but said that several activities were under "active investigation." In June, the CFTC said it was seeking tips from whistleblowers on potential violations of Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) connected to fraud in carbon markets. The Securities and Exchange Commission, often seen as the CFTC's sister agency, has also been cracking down on funds greenwashing. Having closed its public consultation in February, the CFTC aims to have these guidelines finalised by the end of 2024, Goldsmith Romero said. The U.S. watchdog has taken guidance from the Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon's (ICVCM) markets Core Carbon Principles, an industry initiative tasked with raising standards in the voluntary carbon markets. The CFTC has regulatory authority over carbon credit derivatives traded on its exchanges, as well as anti-fraud authority over the underlying credit which gives it an interest in spot voluntary carbon markets. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/carbon/us-regulator-homes-malpractice-voluntary-carbon-markets-2024-05-20/
2024-05-20 22:22
NEW YORK, May 20 (Reuters) - Red Lobster, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Florida on Sunday night, is investigating the role its majority owner Thai Union played in the restaurant chain's "endless shrimp" promotion that caused $11 million in losses, court documents showed. Red Lobster said the debacle was part of a pattern of mismanagement by the global seafood company that owns most of its equity and supplies shrimp to its restaurants. Red Lobster, with about 550 casual dining restaurants in the U.S., had offered a $20 endless shrimp dish as a limited-time promotion. Former CEO Paul Kenny made it a permanent, year-round option in May 2023 despite "significant pushback" from other management team members, the documents said. Some Red Lobster restaurants soon faced major shrimp shortages. Around the same time, it eliminated two breaded shrimp suppliers, leaving Thai Union with an exclusive deal that led to higher costs, current CEO Jonathan Tibus wrote in the filing. "Thai Union exercised an outsized influence on the company's shrimp purchasing," Tibus wrote. "The Debtors are currently investigating the circumstances around these decisions." Thai Union could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday. Red Lobster, with $294 million in debt, plans to close some underperforming restaurants and sell the rest to a group of its lenders including Fortress Investment Group. Red Lobster, based in Orlando, Florida, is one of the world's largest seafood restaurants with 54 outlets outside the United States and about 36,000 employees. It purchases 20% of all North American lobster tails and 16% of all rock lobsters sold worldwide, the documents showed. Red Lobster said its business has suffered from poor management decisions, high inflation, unsustainable rent costs, and increased competition. It posted a $76 million net loss in 2023, and recently closed 93 restaurants to cut costs. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/red-lobster-probes-endless-shrimp-losses-after-bankruptcy-filing-2024-05-20/
2024-05-20 22:18
WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. International Trade Commission said Monday it is investigating a complaint filed by ArcelorMittal that Vietnamese automaker VinFast violated its patents related to high-strength aluminum and aluminum alloy-coated steel in imported vehicles. ArcelorMittal in April filed a complaint with the ITC and also filed suit against VinFast in U.S. District Court in California, accusing the automaker of violating its patents in its VF 8 vehicle. VinFast, which started to deliver its sport utility vehicle (SUV) VF 8 in California in 2023, said in an email it procures "aluminum-coated steel components from a reputable supplier. The supplier has assured us that they have not infringed upon any third-party intellectual property rights." VinFast added the supplier it did not name has committed to indemnifying it for any damages incurred due to allegations of patent infringement. VinFast plans to open its first North American manufacturing plant in North Carolina in 2025, which will produce the VF 8 and VF 9 models. ArcelorMittal first sent VinFast a letter in November 2022 asserting it was violating its patents but said VinFast has not sought a license. The company said it believes the VF 3, VF 6, VF 7, and VF 9 also infringe on its patents. ArcelorMittal purchased a VinFast VF 8 vehicle in May 2023 and then tested it as part of its patent infringement suit. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/us-itc-probes-arcelormittal-complaint-that-vinfast-violated-aluminum-patents-2024-05-20/
2024-05-20 21:48
May 21 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Investors' appetite for stocks and risk assets shows no sign of waning which, in the absence of any major market-moving economic data or events in Asia on Tuesday, should pave the way for further gains across the continent when trading gets underway. Monday's global market moves encapsulated the 'FOMO' that seems to be fueling the ongoing risk rally - volatility, the dollar, bond yields and geopolitical uncertainty all rose to varying degrees, yet equities marched higher regardless. 'Fear of missing out' - which some might say isn't all that far removed 'irrational exuberance' - is a powerful force. But it can also be a red flag, especially when long-time market bears join the frenzy. Morgan Stanley's U.S. equity strategist Mike Wilson has not been the only Wall Street bear over the last couple of years, but he has certainly been one of the most prominent. On Monday, he and his team raised their base-case, 12-month forecast for the S&P 500 to 5400 points. That's only up around 2% from Friday's close, but 20% higher than their previous forecast of 4500. Only time will tell if Wilson's about-turn will be an indication that investors' exuberance has become irrational. Right now, however, at least until chipmaker Nvidia's earnings on Wednesday, market bulls are firmly in control. And Asia is enjoying the ride too. The MSCI Asia ex-Japan equity index on Monday rose to a two-year high with its seventh consecutive rise, its best run since January last year. Another increase on Tuesday will seal its best run since August-September 2021. Japan's Nikkei is back above 39,000 points for the first time in over a month, and the dollar is back above 156.00 yen. The dollar is now within one yen, more or less, of where Japanese authorities are widely thought to have conducted yen-buying intervention on May 1. Intervention seems unlikely right now, but currency traders will not be complacent. The latest Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show that speculators reduced their net short yen positions for a third week, but not by much. The main event on the Asian and Pacific calendar on Tuesday is the release of the minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's May 7 policy meeting. The RBA quashed market talk at the time of a near-term interest rate hike but also didn't hold out much chance of a cut for months to come. The Aussie dollar has regained its poise since then to climb to a four-month high just above $0.67. Australian rates markets are not fully pricing in a 25-basis point rate cut until April next year. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Tuesday: - Reserve Bank of Australia meeting minutes - Australia consumer sentiment (May) - Indonesia's government presents 2025 economic forecasts to parliament Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-pix-2024-05-20/
