2025-08-13 23:03
Company to hold analyst conference at 5 p.m. Management expected to be asked about port sale updates Group raised in July prospect of major Chinese investor joining the bid H1 underlying profit forecast to rise 6%, UBS says HONG KONG, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Investors will look for comments from CK Hutchison (0001.HK) , opens new tab on the status of its ports business sale to a consortium led by U.S. investment firm BlackRock (BLK.N) , opens new tab when the Hong Kong conglomerate reports its interim results on Thursday. The ports-to-telecoms group will present its results at 5 p.m. (0900 GMT), offering analysts the first opportunity to quiz the management about the plan to sell the ports business since it was announced in March. Sign up here. Departing from its usual practice, CK Hutchison did not brief analysts or media about its 2024 earnings, released after it made public its plan to sell the business, which includes two ports along the strategic Panama Canal. Since the plan to sell 43 ports in 23 countries to a group led by BlackRock (BLK.N) , opens new tab and Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte's family-run shipping firm MSC was announced, CK Hutchison has faced a firestorm of criticism from China. In the latest announcement on July 28, the conglomerate said it was in talks with the consortium pursuing its $22.8 billion ports business to add a Chinese "major strategic investor" to the bid, after their exclusive talks ended. It said changes would be necessary to secure regulatory approval in relevant jurisdictions and that it would allow as much time as needed to achieve that. Sources have told Reuters the investor was COSCO (1199.HK) , opens new tab - one of the world's dominant, vertically integrated marine transportation firms. They said COSCO was seeking a bigger stake while the other parties in the consortium were keen to keep it a minority. While any stake by COSCO is not yet clear, an inclusion of a Chinese investor would alleviate China's national security concerns and have its blessing, the sources and other experts have said. U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier called for the removal of Chinese ownership in the Panama Canal, which now accounts for more than 40% of U.S. container traffic valued at $270 billion annually. Ahead of the results, UBS forecast a 6% rise in underlying profit for the first six months, as ports and retail business growth and a weakening dollar offset the negative impact of oil prices. However, one-off losses, including from the completion of the 3UK merger, could weigh on the conglomerate's net profit. Morgan Stanley rated CK Hutchison "overweight" last month, citing potential strategic transactions, attractive valuation, and strong balance sheet. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/ck-hutchison-ports-deal-focus-hong-kong-conglomerate-reports-results-2025-08-13/
2025-08-13 22:48
First results after the company listed shares on NYSE Beef division in US still struggling China, EU have not resumed poultry imports from Brazil after bird flu SAO PAULO, Aug 13 (Reuters) - JBS (Z98.F) , opens new tab, the world's largest meat company, on Wednesday posted record quarterly net revenues of nearly $21 billion even as it navigates a challenging U.S. cattle cycle and deals with global geopolitical tensions, according to an earnings release. The company, which reported results for the first time after listing shares on the New York Stock Exchange in June, recorded net profit of $528.1 million in the second quarter, representing a 60.6% annual rise. Sign up here. The results were mainly driven by the good performance of subsidiary Pilgrims Pride (PPC.O) , opens new tab, which posted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $817.7 million. JBS also highlighted the resilience of its Seara processed food business amid an outbreak of bird flu in Brazil. CEO Gilberto Tomazoni cited weakness of JBS's U.S. beef business, which represents around a third of the company's net sales and posted $233 million negative EBITDA in the last quarter. But while that unit struggled, the company's Brazilian and Australian beef operations stayed healthy. "We live a challenging moment, but given the context, we are pleased with what we are delivering in terms of margins," Tomazoni said in an interview, referring to JBS's overall margin of 8.4% for the quarter. A 50% U.S. tariff on Brazilian products, including beef, is also weighing on Brazilian meatpackers in general. Tomazoni said JBS accounts for around 15% share of Brazilian beef exports to the U.S., where it also operates many factories. Brazil exported 180,000 tons of fresh beef to the U.S. in the first half. Because of the tariff, Tomazoni said certain JBS factories in Brazil briefly stopped production. They later resumed to redirect some geef products to other markets. "The most important thing is that our platform was built taking into account these things happen," he said referring to obstacles like trade and sanitary barriers. Brazil's bird flu outbreak partially interrupted exports from companies in Brazil, the world's largest chicken exporter. China and the European Union have not yet resumed importing poultry from Brazil, which the CEO regrets because the outbreak has been controlled. "The expectation is that this will be resolved... I hope in the coming weeks." https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/jbs-turns-q2-profit-despite-challenging-operating-environment-2025-08-13/
2025-08-13 22:47
SANTIAGO, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Chilean miner Codelco's smelter at its El Teniente mine is set to restart on Thursday, the firm said, after being paused for nearly two weeks due to a deadly collapse at the site. The collapse at El Teniente in late July, which killed six workers, is still being investigated. Sign up here. The shutdown led to a loss of 20,000 to 30,000 metric tons of copper, worth about $300 million, Chairman Maximo Pacheco said on Wednesday. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chilean-miner-codelcos-el-teniente-smelter-restart-after-collapse-2025-08-13/
2025-08-13 22:37
Indexes up: Dow 1.04%, S&P 500 0.32%, Nasdaq 0.14% Traders fully price in 25 bps Fed rate cut in September Fed cut seen near certain after inflation data, Bessent comments CoreWeave falls after larger-than-expected Q2 net loss NEW YORK, Aug 13 (Reuters) - The benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes hit new closing highs for the second straight day on Wednesday on hopes that the Federal Reserve was getting close to a monetary easing cycle. But the market reflected weakness in some technology stocks after the previous day's strong gains. Sign up here. Signs that U.S. tariffs on imports have not fully filtered into headline consumer prices came as a relief for investors this week as they seek insight on the impact of trade uncertainty on the economy. Some large technology stocks including Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab, Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab and Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab - among the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks - closed lower as investors searched for new growth drivers. "Valuations are elevated. I do think, though, at the end of the day, the key will be the delivery of earnings, and that's what we're seeing," said Katherine Bordlemay, co-head of client portfolio management, fundamental equities at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. She said the dispersion of stock-level returns in the U.S. is at one of the higher levels of the last 30 years. Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab rose 1.6% after Bloomberg News reported the company is plotting expansion into AI-powered robots, home security and smart displays. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 463.66 points, or 1.04%, to 44,922.27, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 20.82 points, or 0.32%, to 6,466.58 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 31.24 points, or 0.14%, to 21,713.14. The Russell 2000 index (.RUT) , opens new tab, which tracks rate-sensitive small-cap companies, rose almost 2% to hit a six-month high. Traders are now fully pricing in a 25 basis-point interest rate cut, according to the CME's FedWatch Tool. The central bank last lowered borrowing costs in December. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday he thought an aggressive half-point cut was possible, given recent weak employment numbers. Investors were also taking notice of other sectors following the recent tech-led rally in U.S. stocks that has pushed valuations of the S&P 500 above long-term averages. Healthcare stocks (.SPXHC) , opens new tab, which have been beaten down for much of the year, rose 1.6% to rank among the leading sectors in the 11 S&P 500 sectors. Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said on Wednesday the U.S. central bank is grappling with understanding whether tariffs will push up inflation just temporarily or more persistently, which would inform its decision on when to cut interest rates. CoreWeave (CRWV.O) , opens new tab, which is backed by Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab, fell almost 21% after the AI data center operator reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly net loss. Paramount Skydance (PSKY.O) , opens new tab jumped 36.7% as the company won exclusive broadcasting rights to the Ultimate Fighting Championship for seven years. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 4.05-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 630 new highs and 56 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.53-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 40 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 149 new highs and 69 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively light, with 16.9 billion shares traded, compared with an average of 18.3 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/sp-500-nasdaq-hit-new-closing-highs-rate-cut-hopes-2025-08-13/
2025-08-13 22:32
Raids at farms ensnare migrants who lived in the U.S. for decades One detained migrant said an agent in military garb hit him on the head, threatened him with gun DHS said 185,000 people have been deported from the U.S. this year Aug 12 (Reuters) - Yahir remembers growing up in Mexico without a bed or a stove. He didn’t own a pair of shoes until he was 10, and in the mid-1990s — when he was 13 — he crossed with a group illegally into the U.S. in search of work. He settled in California and worked on farms across the state. He met his wife and had six children, the eldest of whom is now 15. Sign up here. Then, on July 10, Yahir, 43, was apprehended while working at a marijuana farm in southern California, in one of the largest immigration raids since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. “It was like a nightmare, but I was awake,” said Yahir, his skin dotted by sun stains from working in the fields, just hours after being deported to Tijuana. Yahir asked to withhold his last name to protect his family in the U.S.. As Trump ramps up his deportation efforts targeting immigrants in the country illegally, Mexicans - with the largest population of immigrants in the U.S. without status - are living in fear. They are being arrested at restaurants, farms, Home Depot outlets and 7-Eleven convenience stores. A remarkable 42% of Hispanic adults are worried they or someone close to them might be deported, according to a Pew Research Center survey from earlier this year. Last week, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to halt a court order restricting immigration stops on the basis of what language they speak or where they work. Yahir said he knew of other immigrants being deported. “But I never thought it would happen to me,” he said, adding that he didn’t have a criminal record. Reuters couldn’t independently confirm his account. More than 360 alleged immigration offenders were apprehended during the July 10 marijuana farm raids in southern California. One immigrant worker died after he fell 30 feet from a greenhouse roof. The president of the United Farm Workers union criticized the raids, saying they "terrorize American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families." 'MY LIFE IS NO LONGER HERE' Manuel, 32, another worker at the Camarillo farm, said he hid among marijuana plants in a greenhouse for five hours until agents cut the locks on the door. An agent in military garb then hit him on the head and put a gun to his chest, he said. Manuel declined to share his last name because he hopes to one day return to the U.S. legally. He overstayed his tourist visa in 2023. The Department of Homeland Security said it could not comment on Manuel's allegations without further evidence. After his arrest, Manuel bounced between detention centers and eventually ended up in one in Adelanto, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, where he said he slept on the floor of a freezing cell that reeked of urine. “The torture was more mental but it was horrible,” he said. Democratic lawmakers who visited the nearly 2,000-bed center in June criticized its conditions, saying some detainees were unable to get fresh clothes or towels for more than a week. In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said, "The allegations about the Adelanto detention center are FALSE. All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers." The DHS added 185,000 people have been deported from the U.S. during the second Trump administration. Manuel and Yahir were both deported to Tijuana. Manuel has returned to his hometown in the state of Oaxaca but Yahir remains in Tijuana, unsure of what to do next. He has never been away from his children for so long, he said. “I am from Mexico but my life is no longer here.” https://www.reuters.com/world/us/migrants-apprehended-marijuana-farm-raids-recount-living-nightmare-2025-08-13/
2025-08-13 22:10
Wildfires have destroyed 440,000 ha so far this year, double the average Experts, environmental groups call on authorities to invest more in prevention Several people investigated for arson in Spain PATRAS, Greece,/MADRID, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Wildfires caused by arsonists or thunderstorms and fanned by a heatwave and strong winds wreaked destruction across southern Europe on Wednesday, burning homes and forcing thousands of residents and tourists to flee. Fire has affected nearly 440,000 hectares (1,700 square miles) in the eurozone so far in 2025, double the average for the same period of the year since 2006, according to the EU Science Hub's Joint Research Centre. Sign up here. Flames and dark smoke billowed over a cement factory that was set alight by a wildfire that swept through olive groves and forests and disrupted rail traffic on the outskirts of the Greek city of Patras, west of Athens. "What does it look like? It looks like doomsday. May God help us and help the people here,” said Giorgos Karvanis, a volunteer who had come from Athens to Patras to help. Authorities ordered residents of a town of about 7,700 people near Patras to evacuate on Tuesday and issued new alerts on Wednesday, advising residents of two nearby villages to leave. On the Greek islands of Chios, in the east, and Cephalonia, in the west, both popular with tourists, authorities told people to move to safety as fires spread. In Spain, a volunteer firefighter died from severe burns and several people were hospitalised as state weather agency AEMET warned that almost all of the country was at extreme or very high risk of fire. The 35-year-old man had been attempting to create firebreaks near the town of Nogarejas, in the central Castile and Leon region, when he was trapped in the blaze, regional officials said. He was the sixth person to die this year in wildfires in Spain. Others include two firefighters in Tarragona and Avila, according to emergency services. Working in unprepared landscapes puts firefighters' lives at risk, said Alexander Held, a senior expert in fire management at the European Forest Institute, adding authorities should prepare by creating buffer zones and clearing combustible vegetation. "Take an industrial building and imagine there would be no fire detectors, no sprinkler systems, no fire protection doors and no escape routes – firefighters would just refuse to go in, but in our landscape we expect them to do this," Held said. Investing 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) a year in forest management could save 9.9 million hectares - an area the size of Portugal - and 99 billion euros spent on fighting fires and restoration work afterwards, according to Greenpeace. SUSPECTED ARSON Spanish Environment Minister Sara Aagesen told the SER radio station that many fires across the country were thought to be the work of arsonists due to their "virulence". A male firefighter was arrested on Tuesday for fires started in the Avila area north of Madrid two weeks ago, while police said on Tuesday they were investigating a 63-year-old woman for allegedly starting fires in Galicia's Muxia area in August. Police have also identified a suspect who is believed to have suffered burns to his hands after starting a small fire in a beachfront development in the southern coastal Cadiz area, Europa Press reported. Thunderstorms have caused other fires. On Tuesday, shortly after 5 p.m., Andalusia's fire department was flooded with calls by residents reporting a fire caused by a lightning strike on a chestnut and oak forest in Los Romeros, north of the city of Huelva. The fire prompted the evacuation of around 250 residents but was largely controlled by Wednesday morning. A blaze in Trancoso in Portugal that has been burning since Saturday got worse during the night as a lightning reignited an area that was thought safe, the civil protection service said. In Albania, Defence Minister Pirro Vengu said it was a "critical week", with several major wildfires burning across the country. Some 10,000 firefighters, soldiers and police emergency units struggled with a total of 24 wildfires on Wednesday, the defence ministry said. Flames reached two villages in the centre of the country, forcing villagers to flee, taking their livestock with them. "We are going in the middle of two rivers because the fire has arrived," said Hajri Dragoti, 68, from Narte, who fled with his wife taking a cow, a donkey and a dog. "We can't do anything, it is like gunpowder." Spain was in its 10th day of a heatwave that peaked on Tuesday with temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit), and which AEMET expected to last until Monday, making it one of the longest on record. Pope Leo moved his weekly audience from St. Peter's Square to an indoor venue in the Vatican, "to stay a little bit out of the sun and the extreme heat" as Italy's health ministry issued extreme heat warnings for 16 cities on Wednesday, with temperatures forecast to peak at 39C (102F) in Florence. ($1 = 0.8538 euros) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/wildfires-fanned-by-heatwave-strong-winds-rage-across-europe-2025-08-13/
