2024-05-16 00:37

May 15 (Reuters) - Grab Holdings (GRAB.O) New Tab, opens new tab raised its full-year profit forecast on Wednesday after reporting a higher-than-expected quarterly revenue, driven by recent cost-reduction measures and robust demand for its ride-share services. A significant restructuring at Grab, which included reducing 1,000 jobs and slashing some technology costs in 2023, is helping the company push ahead in its goal to deliver positive free cash flow this year. In an interview with Reuters, CFO Peter Oey said a surge in Southeast Asian tourism, along with an increase in corporate events and concerts in the last quarter, bolstered the demand for ride-share services. U.S.-listed shares of Grab gained 2% in extended trading following the results, which came in several hours after the markets closed. The company's revenue rose 24% to $653 million in the first quarter ended March 31, surpassing analysts' estimates of $642.4 million, as per LSEG data. It reported adjusted core profit of $62 million versus a $67 million loss last year. Grab's food delivery business, its largest revenue stream, and the ride-share business grew 19% and 27%, respectively, outperforming Visible Alpha's consensus estimates. The strong showing from Grab, one of Southeast Asia's biggest tech firms, highlights increased discretionary spending by consumers in the region. Grab now projects an adjusted core profit between $250 million and $270 million this year, up from its previous forecast of $180 million to $200 million. It maintained its revenue projection at $2.70 billion-$2.75 billion. The company disclosed a $97 million repurchase of its Class A shares, part of a $500 million buyback plan announced in February. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/grab-raises-full-year-2024-profit-forecast-2024-05-15/

2024-05-16 00:12

SANTIAGO, May 15 (Reuters) - Chile's economic development agency CORFO on Wednesday said it reached an agreement with Albemarle to establish an option for the U.S. company to increase its production quota by 240,000 metric tons of lithium metal equivalent (LME). The increase would raise Albermarle's production quota by close to 50%, from about 460,000 metric tons of LME currently. To access the higher quota, Albemarle would need to prove its ability to use sustainable technology such as direct lithium extraction, consult local indigenous communities, and obtain environmental permits, CORFO said. The agreement is part of a settlement reached in April that calls for Albemarle to pay $15 million to resolve a complaint made by CORFO in 2021 with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), in which it argued the company had underpaid commissions to the state. Albemarle is one of two companies producing lithium in Chile, which is the world's second-largest producer of the white metal used in EV batteries. "This establishes a series of clauses that let us anticipate production with higher sustainability standards in the Salar de Atacama," CORFO Vice President Jose Miguel Benavente said in a statement, referring to the lithium-rich salt flat where Albemarle operates. The pact also outlines new terms for setting a "preferential price" for producers of lithium products in Chile. CORFO said the changes were aimed at helping those companies "come to an agreement with Albemarle in a better way and with greater flexibility for a long-term supply of lithium carbonate." Other terms from a 2016 agreement with Albemarle remain unchanged, CORFO said, including the deal's validity through 2043 and the option to purchase assets in the Salar de Atacama. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/chile-gives-albemarle-option-boost-lithium-quota-by-240000-metric-tons-2024-05-16/

2024-05-15 23:04

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 15 (Reuters) - The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said on Wednesday it will suspend the next two rounds of the Brazilian Championship, due to be played over the next two weekends, as a result of the floods caused by record rainfall in Rio Grande do Sul. The matches of the three teams from Rio Grande do Sul -Gremio, Internacional and Juventude - had already been suspended until May 27, after the rains caused enormous damage in the region, including flooding of stadiums, training centres and airports. The decision to postpone the seventh and eighth rounds was taken after the CBF consulted the 20 clubs of the Brasileirao, 15 of which asked for the championship to be suspended until May 27. On that date, the technical council of the Brazilian top flight will meet to discuss the possibility of suspending the competition permanently. South American football's governing body, CONMEBOL, postponed the Libertadores and Sudamericana matches earlier this month due to the disaster. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/brazilian-fa-suspends-national-championship-matches-due-flooding-2024-05-15/

2024-05-15 22:58

LIMA, May 15 (Reuters) - Peru's President Dina Boluarte will travel to China in June to meet with her counterpart Xi Jinping, her agriculture minister announced on Wednesday, adding that beef exports to the Asian giant are among the topics likely to be on the bilateral agenda. Agriculture Minister Angel Manero spoke to reporters at the national palace following a cabinet meeting, noting that the agenda for June's presidential summit is expected to cover 29 issues including the potential beef trade. Manero estimated that beef shipments to China could provide a $3 billion to $4 billion boost to Peru's economy. The upcoming Boluarte-Xi meeting will take place a few months ahead of the Lima-hosted Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade forum set for November, in which Xi is also expected to attend along with as many as 20 other world leaders. The Chinese leader's attendance at the APEC summit in Peru is expected to coincide with the inauguration of the Chancay megaport, which is being constructed on the South American country's Pacific coast by Hong Kong-based Cosco Shipping Ports and seen as a boosting future trade with Asia. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/perus-president-visit-china-june-possible-beef-exports-agenda-minister-says-2024-05-15/

2024-05-15 22:51

HOUSTON, May 15 (Reuters) - U.S regulators asked LNG exporter Venture Global LNG to update its emissions analysis for its proposed Calcasieu Pass 2 LNG export project in Louisiana, according to a letter sent on Wednesday. Venture Global is seeking permission from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to double the capacity of its Calcasieu Pass liquefaction plant with a second phase that would produce 20 million tons of LNG per year. The Arlington, Virginia-based company has given other regulators different emissions information on its CP1 project, FERC said, asking for updated emissions data following a complaint from environmental groups. Last month, the Sierra Club told FERC that Venture Global LNG applied to Louisiana's Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) for a modification of its emissions permit to reflect higher levels of atmospheric discharge. The expected increased emissions stemmed from proposed operational changes to that facility’s five combined-cycle combustion turbines, FERC said in its letter. In response, Venture Global said that at the time it applied to FERC for approval to construct the CP2 plant, its application with the LDEQ was pending, and it has not received a greenlight. Venture Global said the application reflected proposed operational changes involving increased hours of operation of the duct burners, but said emissions cumulatively would remain within air quality standards. The LDEQ application for increased emissions was for CP1 and not for CP2, Venture Global added. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/us-regulators-seek-emission-data-updates-venture-global-lng-plant-2024-05-15/

2024-05-15 22:49

May 15 (Reuters) - (This May 15 story has been corrected to fix the company's name to Millennium Mgt, not Millenium Global, in the headline) A handful of hedge funds, including Millennium Management LLC, and other asset managers are among the institutions that acquired stakes in the recently launched U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to the price of bitcoin in the first quarter, according to recent regulatory filings. New York-based Millenium revealed it had $2 billion invested in several of the new ETFs as of March 31. That included positions in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT.O) New Tab, opens new tab, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust , and funds launched by issuers such as Bitwise Investments and ARK Investment Management. Other purchasers included Boston-based hedge fund manager Bracebridge Capital, which owned $262 million of shares in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB.Z) New Tab, opens new tab as of the end of the first quarter and $81 million in the BlackRock product. Bracebridge, which did not return calls seeking comment, has among its clients a group of institutional investors such as the endowments of Yale University and Princeton University. A filing from the state of Wisconsin's investment board, which manages $156 billion in assets for the Wisconsin Retirement System, disclosed purchases of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust worth more than $99 million as of the end of March. It also disclosed holding of more than $63 million in shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust . The State of Wisconsin Investment Board declined to comment. Other hedge funds with positions in the bitcoin ETFs included some that had already invested in bitcoin before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission finally approved the spot bitcoin ETFs in January. New York-based Hunting Hill Global Capital said it owned $29.1 million in the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF (FBTC.Z) New Tab, opens new tab and $21.3 million in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. Adam Guren, founder and CEO of Hunting Hill, said the firm had been investing in Grayscale's bitcoin trust for a year or more as bitcoin's price and the value of its stake increased ahead of the ETF approval. Investors have poured some $29 billion into the bitcoin ETFs since January, Morningstar Direct data showed. The filings appear to confirm that while a handful of hedge funds have taken large positions, retail investors - including investment advisors - remain the largest category of purchasers by number. Hightower Advisors, one of the largest advisory firms in the country, disclosed holdings of about $68 million in the bitcoin ETFs, but declined to comment on portfolio decisions. The quarterly disclosures, known as 13-F filings, are made to the Securities and Exchange Commission around 45 days after the end of each quarter and may not reflect current positions. Matt Hougan, chief investment officer of Bitwise, noted in a memo to clients posted on the social media platform X that he expected that by the time all the filings are processed, they will show that as many as 700 institutions own $5 billion or more in the new ETFs. Until these filings appeared, it has been difficult to determine which investors have been behind the buying in the products, which has greatly exceeded even the most bullish estimates and helped drive the price of bitcoin itself to new highs this year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/bitcoin-etfs-drew-bets-millenium-global-wisconsin-retirement-system-q1-2024-05-15/