2024-05-08 14:11

BERLIN, May 8 (Reuters) - German premium carmaker Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) New Tab, opens new tab rejected on Wednesday claims it has been trying to prevent the formation of a union at its Alabama plant, ahead of a critical vote there next week. United Auto Workers, the United States' biggest automotive union, said about 5,000 workers are set to vote next week on whether to unionise at Mercedes' plant in Vance, Alabama, and its nearby battery plant. The group "respects the decision of the employees to establish a trade union organization, and it will monitor the election process and will make sure that every team member has the opportunity to cast a secret vote," Mercedes board member Renata Jungo Bruengger said at the annual shareholders' meeting. The vote in Alabama is scheduled to begin on Monday, with final results due on May 17. If successful, Mercedes would become the second automaker in the U.S. South to see its workers join the UAW's ranks in the last month, following the lead of a Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) New Tab, opens new tab factory in Tennessee. Workers at the VW plant voted in late April to unionize by a margin of 73% in favour of the UAW, a strong showing that came after two previous losses at the same facility. The UAW and labour academics have said that the company is resisting unionisation efforts more heavily than VW did, which could make winning at Mercedes more difficult. Jeremy Kimbrell, a union drive leader at the factory, said Mercedes has been trying to counter unionising by hiring anti-union consultancy RWP. Kimbrell's claims were read out at the Mercedes annual meeting by a representative of Germany's Association of Critical Shareholders (DKA), which represents small investors on environmental, social and governance issues. Mercedes declined to comment on whether it had hired RWP, a consultancy whose CEO on LinkedIn describes the firm as helping companies to remain union-free. RWP's CEO also declined to comment on whether Mercedes was a client. The UAW is hoping to continue its success in the South by riding a surge in public support for unions and capitalizing on the record contracts it secured with Detroit's automakers last fall. In late April, it also finalised an agreement with truck maker Daimler Truck(DTGGe.DE) New Tab, opens new tab, a victory that some industry observers said could help boost support at Mercedes. Daimler Truck's locations are dotted through the South around the Mercedes plant. Additionally, Daimler and Mercedes have shared history: Daimler AG spun off Daimler Truck in early 2022, and then became Mercedes-Benz Group. Mercedes retains a 30% stake in Daimler Truck, according to a company spokesperson. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/mercedes-rejects-claims-it-prevented-unionising-us-plant-2024-05-08/

2024-05-08 12:42

BENGALURU, May 8 (Reuters) - Hero MotoCorp (HROM.NS) New Tab, opens new tab, India's largest motorcycle maker by market share, reported a bigger-than-expected rise in fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday and said it will set up a unit in Brazil to make two-wheelers to bolster international sales. Two-wheeler sales have grown steadily in India over the years, including by 25% in the latest quarter, driven by continued momentum in the 125cc+ motorcycle segment, according to analysts. The segment makes up most of the Splendor motorcycle maker's fleet, and its recent launch of the 'Xtreme 125R' had a strong initial performance, they added. The company's standalone profit rose 18.3% year-on-year to 10.16 billion rupees ($121.7 million) in the quarter ended March 31 against analysts' average estimate of 10.06 billion rupees, per LSEG data. Hero MotoCorp said it is looking to grow international sales in its key export market of Latin America, adding that it plans to set up a unit in Brazil that will be involved in manufacturing and distributing two-wheeler vehicles, parts, and accessories. "As far as Brazil is concerned, we have tested our current product range through consumer clinics there," CEO Niranjan Gupta said in a post-earnings call, adding that the vehicles made there will use a blend of 27% ethanol with gasoline for fuel, called E27. Hero's plans to enter the Brazilian market were first reported in 2014, but the plans were delayed as the country's government mandated the use of a gasoline-ethanol blend for fuel. Hero has six manufacturing plants in India, and one each in Colombia and Bangladesh. Rival Bajaj Auto (BAJA.NS) New Tab, opens new tab, which beat fourth-quarter profit estimates, has also been planning to set up its own manufacturing plant in Brazil, according to media reports from last year. TVS Motor (TVSM.NS) New Tab, opens new tab, which reported alongside Hero MotoCorp on Wednesday, missed estimates. ($1 = 83.5049 Indian rupees) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/indias-hero-motocorp-beats-q4-profit-estimates-2024-05-08/

2024-05-08 12:19

ATHENS, May 8 (Reuters) - The Greek navy on Wednesday extended an advisory effectively banning ship traffic off its coastline in the southeastern Peloponnese that two sources said was aimed at deterring ship-to-ship transfers of Russian oil off Greece. Greece in a rare move over the past weeks has issued two NAVTEX notices for military exercises in the Laconian Gulf area urging merchant and other vessels to avoid the area. One of them was issued on May 1. "It was initially expiring on May 9 but was extended today," said a defence ministry official who declined to be named. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, international sanctions have made trading Russian crude and oil products increasingly difficult, prompting traders to seek loopholes to export them, including offshore ship-to-ship transfers. The wider area of the Laconian Gulf has become a hub for such transfers. Vessels are positioned beyond the limit of six nautical miles from the shore to avoid cargo and vessel checks by Greek authorities. "You cannot perform an inspection on a ship with a foreign flag in international waters. Unless a vessel carries a Greek flag your hands are tied," said a second source with knowledge of the matter. "The NAVTEX advisory is an indirect way to prevent such activities." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/greece-extends-naval-advisory-deter-russian-oil-ship-to-ship-transfers-2024-05-08/

2024-05-08 12:18

JOHANNESBURG/LUSAKA, May 8 (Reuters) - Zambia's kwacha currency hit a record low against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, touching 27.30 to the dollar amid hard currency shortages and a punishing drought that has led to power cuts in the southern African copper producer. The kwacha has lost almost 5% of its value against the greenback this year and 17% in the last six months, according to LSEG data. Its previous low was 27.23 on February 6. The U.S. dollar index , which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, has strengthened 4% to 105.58 this year. But the MSCI International Emerging Market Currency Index (.MIEM00000CUS) New Tab, opens new tab has weakened just 1%, showing the kwacha underperforming larger developing country currencies. One of the largest copper producers on the African continent, Zambia defaulted in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its debt restructuring efforts have been beset by delays, although they took a step forward in March when the government and a group of bondholders reached a deal-in-principle. "There is too much demand for dollars, mainly to meet imports of petroleum products and we have very scanty supply. It appears we are heading towards 30 per dollar," a trader at commercial bank in Zambia said. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team is currently visiting Zambia, discussing a third payout from a $1.3 billion rescue loan programme approved in 2022. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/zambias-kwacha-hits-record-low-against-us-dollar-2024-05-08/

2024-05-08 12:11

World just had hottest April on record Exceptional run of global heat continues Last 11 months all broke temperature records BRUSSELS, May 8 (Reuters) - The world just experienced its hottest April on record, extending an 11-month streak in which every month set a temperature record, the European Union's climate change monitoring service said on Wednesday. Each month since June 2023 has ranked as the planet's hottest on record, compared with the corresponding month in previous years, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin. Including April, the world's average temperature was the highest on record for a 12-month period - 1.61 degrees Celsius above the average in the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period. Some of the extremes - including months of record breaking sea surface temperatures - have led scientists to investigate whether human activity has now triggered a tipping point in the climate system. "I think many scientists have asked the question whether there could be a shift in the climate system," said Julien Nicolas, C3S Senior Climate Scientist. Greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels are the main cause of climate change. In recent months, the natural El Nino phenomenon, which warms the surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, has also raised temperatures. Scientists have already confirmed that climate change caused some specific weather extremes in April, including a heatwave New Tab, opens new tab in the Sahel linked to potentially thousands of deaths. Hayley Fowler, a climate scientist at Newcastle University, said the data showed the world is perilously close to breaching the 2015 Paris Agreement's goal to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius. "At what point do we declare we've lost the battle to keep temperatures below 1.5? My personal opinion is we've already lost that battle, and we really need to think very seriously about keeping below 2C and reducing our emissions as fast as we can," she said. Countries agreed the 1.5C goal at a U.N. climate summit in 2015. It is the level scientists say would avoid the most disastrous consequences of warming, like fatal heat, flooding and the irreversible loss of ecosystems. Technically, the 1.5C target has not yet been missed, as it refers to an average global temperature over decades. But some scientists have said the goal can no longer realistically be met, and have urged governments to cut CO2 emissions faster to limit overshoot of the target. C3S' dataset goes back to 1940, which the scientists cross-checked with other data to confirm that last month was the hottest April since the pre-industrial period. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/worlds-record-breaking-temperature-streak-extends-through-april-2024-05-08/

2024-05-08 12:01

SINGAPORE, May 8 (Reuters) - Vietnam has started the commissioning phase of its second liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and is on track to start commercial operations in September, the Singapore partner in the operating company said in a statement on Wednesday. The Cai Mep LNG terminal is located in Vietnam's southern Ba Ria Vung Tau province with capacity to import 3 million metric tons of LNG a year. It is operated by Cai Mep LNG, a joint venture entity between Singapore-based Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific LNG (AG&P LNG) and Vietnamese petroleum trader Hai Linh Company. Cai Mep LNG will issue and award a tender in June seeking a commissioning cargo for the terminal, AG&P LNG said in the statement. AG&P LNG acquired a 49% stake in the terminal in March. The terminal is connected to the Phu My industrial zone and will supply gas to the Hiep Phuoc power plant, which Hai Linh is constructing, AG&P LNG said. The plant is expected to start producing power from September to October 2025. Vietnam's first LNG terminal, with a capacity to import one million tons a year of liquefied gas, is also located in Ba Ria Vung Tau province. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/vietnams-second-lng-terminal-starts-commissioning-phase-operator-says-2024-05-08/