2025-08-07 22:49
Aug 7 (Reuters) - U.S. utility Alliant Energy (LNT.O) , opens new tab reported a rise in second quarter profit on Thursday, lifted by strong electricity demand amid warmer weather. Hotter temperatures between April and June drove up use of cooling appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators, boosting power demand for utilities like Alliant. Sign up here. The Madison, Wisconsin-based company said heating degree days — a measure of energy needs for space heating — increased across its service areas in Iowa and Wisconsin. Revenue from its electric utility business rose to $851 million in the second quarter, up from $789 million a year earlier. Revenue from the gas segment climbed 10%. Alliant supplies electricity to about 1 million customers and natural gas to 427,000 customers in the two states. Lower operating expenses also helped the company, with costs falling more than 3% to $738 million. The company said its net income attributable to shareholders rose to $174 million, or 68 cents per share, in the quarter ended June 30, from $87 million or 34 cents per share a year earlier. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/alliant-energy-second-quarter-profit-surges-summer-heat-drives-power-use-2025-08-07/
2025-08-07 22:28
Aug 7 (Reuters) - Russian gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM) , opens new tab on Thursday denounced a move by Moldova's gas authority to withdraw the licence from its local subsidiary for distributing gas, saying the move damaged its affiliate and jeopardised Moldova's energy security. Moldova's gas regulator, the National Agency for Energy Regulation, this week said the licence to distribute gas had been withdrawn from Moldovagaz, 50% of whose shares belong to Gazprom, and turned over to the state-run Energocom company. Sign up here. Distribution of gas to 800,000 consumers, it said, would be taken over by Energocom from September 1. The dispute centres on what Gazprom describes as Moldova's failure to pay at least $709 million in arrears for gas supplies, mainly from state-run industries. Moldova, citing audits, says it owes no such debts, which were the focal point of a halt of gas supplies in January. The cutoff, which coincided with an end to gas transit through Ukraine, halted gas supplies for weeks to homes and industry in Transdniestria, a pro-Russian separatist region on Moldova's border with Ukraine. Gazprom, in its latest statement, said Moldova had failed to resolve the debt issue, adding the gas concern had issued proposals to find a solution to the arrears. "The Moldovan government has introduced a series of measures leading to, in the final analysis, the forced reorganisation of Moldovagaz ... a sharp rise in gas prices and, as a consequence, a decline in the country's energy security," Gazprom said. Gazprom said it would continue "to defend its lawful rights and interests with all available means." Moldova has long been in dispute with Gazprom over prices and what the Russian gas giant describes as arrears. It has actively sought to reduce reliance on Russian supplies and clinched agreements to purchase gas from suppliers in Europe. It said its decision was taken as Gazprom was demanding payment of arrears it did not recognise and was failing to implement changes demanded by the European Union on separating responsibility for transporting and supplying gas. Moldova's pro-European government is seeking EU membership by 2030. Moldovagaz Chairman Vadim Ceban said this week the issues were "political" in nature and therefore out of the company's control. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russias-gazprom-denounces-moldova-move-alter-gas-supply-system-2025-08-07/
2025-08-07 22:23
Miran has argued for stronger presidential control over Fed Board Trump has pressured Fed to cut rates Economic data may be shifting Fed policymakers towards rate cuts WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he will nominate Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to serve out the final few months of a newly vacant seat at the Federal Reserve while the White House seeks a permanent addition to the central bank's governing board and continues its search for a new Fed chair. Miran, who has called for a complete overhaul of the Fed's governance, will take over from Fed Governor Adriana Kugler following her surprise resignation last week, as she returns to her tenured professorship at Georgetown University. Sign up here. The term expires January 31, 2026 and is subject to approval by the Senate. Trump said the White House continues to search for someone to serve in the 14-year Fed Board seat that opens February 1. Trump is also weighing options for a successor to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends May 15, 2026. Trump has unsuccessfully pressured Fed policymakers -- who include Powell, his six fellow Board members and the 12 Fed bank presidents - to lower interest rates. Appointing Miran to the central bank, even in a placeholder role, gives the president a potentially more direct route to pursue his desire for easier monetary policy and sway over the world's most influential central bank. "Near term, an interim Fed governor Miran gives Trump the best of both worlds: immediate policy influence without surrendering Fed Chair optionality and leverage," LHMeyer analyst Derek Tang wrote. "Disruption from within is a bonus." Miran, in a paper he co-authored last year for the Manhattan Institute, laid out a case for increasing presidential control of the Fed Board, including by shortening their terms. He also wants to end the "revolving door" between the executive branch and the Fed, and nationalize the Fed's 12 regional banks. It is unclear how much time he would have at the Fed to try to deploy such far-reaching reforms, most of which would require Congressional action, or even to vote on interest rates. TOUGH QUESTIONS All Fed nominees require Senate confirmation, a process that includes a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, a vote from that panel advancing the nomination and a series of floor votes before the full Senate, where Democrats have been slowing the pace of approval for Trump appointments. "I look forward to quickly considering his nomination in the Senate Banking Committee and hearing more about his plans to increase transparency and accountability at the Federal Reserve to ensure the agency prioritizes its mandate and avoids politics," Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott said. The panel's top-ranking Democrat Elizabeth Warren said she would have "tough questions for him during his confirmation hearing about whether he'd serve the American people as an independent voice at the Fed or merely serve Donald Trump." The Senate is not due to reconvene until September 2, at which point Congress will also be turning to the pressing challenge of funding the government past the end of the month or triggering a partial federal agency shutdown. There are just four policy-setting meetings, including one on September 16-17, before the end of what would be Miran's term. Fed policymakers kept the policy rate in its current 4.25%-4.50% range at their July meeting, with Powell citing somewhat elevated inflation and the concern that Trump's tariffs could keep it that way as reasons to keep policy restrictive. After a government jobs report released Friday showed far fewer job gains in recent months than earlier estimated, sentiment within the central bank may already be moving toward a rate cut as early as the Fed's next meeting. Several central bankers this month have raised concerns about labor market weakness, and at least a couple have expressed renewed confidence that tariffs may not push up on inflation as much as earlier thought. Those views echo the arguments made by two Fed governors -- both Trump appointees -- who last month dissented on the decision to leave policy on hold. Miran earlier on Thursday praised one of those dissenters, Fed Governor Christopher Waller, for avoiding "tariff derangement syndrome," a phrase meant to denigrate concerns about the economic effects of the Trump administration's sharply higher import levies. Waller is said to be the preferred candidate among Trump's team to succeed Powell as Fed chair. (This story has been refiled to add the dropped word 'who' in paragraph 2) https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-nominates-miran-temporarily-serve-fed-board-2025-08-07/
2025-08-07 21:53
Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will end a $7 billion Biden-era grant program that sought to expand solar energy to low-income communities, Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a post on X on Thursday. "EPA no longer has the authority to administer the program or the appropriated funds to keep this boondoggle alive," Zeldin said in a video post. Sign up here. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump last month eliminated the program's source of funding, Zeldin added. Cancellation of the "Solar for All" program had been widely expected. Since taking office in January, Trump has rolled back federal support for solar and wind energy, calling the renewable resources expensive and unreliable. The grants were awarded in 2024 during the administration of former President Joe Biden to 60 nonprofit groups, tribes and states. At the time, the EPA said the program would serve nearly 1 million households across most U.S. states, lowering electricity costs and reducing emissions. Michelle Moore, CEO of the non-profit Groundswell, said her organization's $156 million grant would help cut electricity costs for more than 17,000 households in eight Southern states by setting up solar projects that serve rural communities. She was hopeful that the program might be saved. "A tweet is not a termination," Moore said in an interview. "Last time I checked affordability, and energy affordability specifically, was a priority for this administration." https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/trump-administration-will-end-7-billion-solar-energy-grant-program-2025-08-07/
2025-08-07 21:53
NEW YORK, Aug 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he will nominate Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to serve as a Federal Reserve governor. Here are some investor comments about his impact on the Fed and markets: Sign up here. ANDREW BRENNER, HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL FIXED INCOME SECURITIES, NATALLIANCE SECURITIES, NEW YORK: "Our view is he is very controversial and will not pass the Senate. He will try to change the Fed. First he has no experience. No street. No business. Always politics." ROBERT TIPP, CHIEF INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, HEAD OF GLOBAL BONDS, PGIM FIXED INCOME, NEW YORK: "So far bashing the Fed this term has been fruitless, or possibly even counter-productive — it certainly appeared to be counterproductive in the December 2018 Trump/Powell episode … Presumably it (Miran's appointment) will have at least a marginal impact — but it will depend on the pliability of the rest of the committee members — which is certainly not a given. Furthermore, as situations evolve, and nominees become acting chairs, there is at least one prominent example of a Fed Chair -- the first appointee following the 1951 Accord, Martin, who worked on the Accord from the administration's side – (who) proceeded in his long tenure to anger more than one president with his tight money policies ... Again, while Trump is likely to choose someone more aligned with his thinking than Powell, the impact may not prove as material as some may fear." RYAN SWEET, CHIEF US ECONOMIST, OXFORD ECONOMICS, PHILADELPHIA: "I don't think it means too much in the context of altering the course of monetary policy. I think the biggest question mark is whether or not he gets confirmed in time to vote at the September meeting. If he does, then that increases the odds that we get three dissents if the Fed opts to not cut in September. I do think the odds of a September cut are rising, not because of this nomination, but just because of the recent data on the labor market." TOM DI GALOMA, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF RATES AND TRADING, MISCHLER FINANCIAL, PARK CITY, UTAH: "Stephen Miran will be good for the Fed because he will probably be inclined to lower rates. And I think he worked in the first Trump administration. So he has been in two Trump administrations. I think it's going to be a long-term deal for Miran and he will be Fed governor for a while. I don't think this is something that they want to do temporarily." JOHN VELIS, AMERICAS MACRO STRATEGIST, BNY, NEW YORK: "A bit of surprise to nominate Miran – he wasn't mentioned as a likely candidate by markets, although he is likely to be a reliable dove, given his current political position (as Chair of CEA) and his public comments to date. "This is a recess appointment, so it does not need Senate confirmation. As far as I understand about recess appointments, they remain valid until the next session of the Senate is complete. "This still doesn't remove the current chatter about Christopher Waller being named Fed Chair to replace Powell." JAY HATFIELD, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, INFRASTRUCTURE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, NEW YORK: "Miran is somewhat unconventional for this job because he was head of the Council of Economic Advisors and has made some controversial or hard to justify comments about forcing people to buy Treasuries, which doesn't make any sense. But I don't think this is going to be relevant to serving on the Fed board." "It's an insider, someone who's willing to take one for the team because it's not that great of a position to be the...governor for a short period of time. It's a fairly practical decision because you can't recruit someone from the private sector for such a short period." The main focus is on the Fed chair appointment, but he believes Miran will put more pressure on Powell to lower rates. MARC CHANDLER, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, BANNOCKBURN GLOBAL FOREX, NEW YORK: "I don't think it really matters much because people like me have more or less decided that the Federal Reserve is most likely going to cut rates in September and probably at least one more cut before the end of the year." "At the end of the day does it really influence our outlook for the Federal Reserve? I'd say probably not." "Is he qualified? I'd say, yes... he is an economic advisor to the President. He obviously understands the markets. Broadly speaking, we should welcome the view that the Federal Reserve is not going to be picked from a very small inner circle of people." (This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of 'Brenner' in the first comment) https://www.reuters.com/business/investors-react-news-miran-picked-by-trump-be-fed-governor-2025-08-07/
2025-08-07 21:51
WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Thursday said it issued a fifth installment of a loan guarantee for Holtec International's Michigan nuclear plant, which the company hopes will be the first U.S. reactor to restart after shuttering. The Department of Energy said it has now disbursed more than $83 million of the up to $1.52 billion loan guarantee for the 800-megawatt Palisades reactor. Sign up here. The conditional loan guarantee was initiated by former President Joe Biden's Loan Programs Office to support nuclear energy, which generates virtually emissions-free power, to help satisfy rising electricity demand from data centers and artificial intelligence. Since then Constellation Energy (CEG.O) , opens new tab said it would reopen the former Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, widely known as the site of a partial meltdown in 1979 that chilled the nuclear industry. Constellation said in June that the plant could restart in 2027, about a year ahead of schedule. Power company Entergy (ETR.N) , opens new tab closed Palisades in 2022, after it operated for more than 50 years. It shut two weeks ahead of schedule over a glitch with a control rod, despite a $6 billion federal program to save reactors suffering from rising costs. U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders in May to fast-track new nuclear power licenses, and overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which issues them. The NRC last month approved Holtec's request to load fuel into the reactor. But the NRC said then there are still several licensing actions under its review and requirements that need to be met before Palisades can restart under the original operating license, which expires in 2031. Holtec is repairing steam generators at Palisades as the standard procedure for maintaining the units was not followed when the plant went into shutdown. Holtec reiterated on Thursday it wants to restart the plant in the fourth quarter of 2025. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-loan-disbursements-recommission-michigan-nuclear-plant-top-83-million-2025-08-07/
