2025-07-15 20:27
NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) - Two people were killed in New Jersey during flash flooding as severe storms lashed the New York City area on Monday night into Tuesday, submerging cars and flooding subway stations. The intense rainfall caused widespread travel disruption across the region's airports, highways and railways. Sign up here. More than 2 inches (5 cm) of rain were recorded in a single hour in Manhattan's Central Park, the second most for a 60-minute period in history, according to Mayor Eric Adams. Videos showed flooding in several subway stations on Monday evening, including a geyser of water spewing into a station on Manhattan's West Side. Officials said the subway system was simply overwhelmed by the amount of rainfall in such a short amount of time. The antiquated sewer system can handle around 1.75 inches (4.44 cm)of rainfall per hour, Rohit Aggarwala, the city's environmental protection commissioner, told reporters on Tuesday, compared with a rate of more than 4 inches an hour at the storm's peak. "I probably don't recall seeing that level of rain before," Adams said. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency and said two people died in Plainfield when their vehicle was swept away by floodwaters. The victims were found in a submerged car, Murphy told reporters. Murphy said that some places got 6 inches (15.25 cm) of rain in less than 2.5 hours and that it appeared some locations experienced flooding for the first time. The governor blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. "That's the new reality," he said. In Westchester County, north of the city, authorities conducted multiple water rescues as cars were submerged and highways shut down due to flooding. In nearby Rockland County, the suburb of Nanuet recorded more than 5 inches (12.7 cm) of rain, according to the National Weather Service. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/severe-storms-new-york-city-area-kill-two-new-jersey-floods-2025-07-15/
2025-07-15 20:15
Bailey stresses IMF's role in tackling global economic imbalances IMF criticized by US for overreach, Bailey supports multilateral solutions Bailey advocates digital payment tech, sceptical of retail central bank digital currency LONDON, July 15 (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said on Tuesday the International Monetary Fund had a key role to play in tackling the buildup of risky imbalances in the world economy, many of them coming from the United States and China. In a speech he was due to give to Britain's finance elite, Bailey acknowledged the concerns of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration about the danger of IMF overreach. Sign up here. But the BoE boss said attempts to fix the problems in the world economy - chief among them the big U.S. trade and current account deficits alongside China's big surpluses and its weak domestic demand - had to be resolved at the multilateral level. "If it is only done at the national level, we will get less good policymaking," he was due to tell the annual Mansion House dinner. Bailey has previously stressed the importance of the IMF and other multilateral bodies at a time of heightened trade tensions following Trump's imposition of high import tariffs and his threats to go further. The IMF recently criticised another part of Trump's economic programme - its plans for massive tax cuts. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has accused the Fund of straying too far from its core economic stability and surveillance missions. Bailey said countries running big deficits were typically the ones that come under the most pressure in financial markets. "We have seen market disturbance this year. We have to be highly alert to financial stability risks – something that I can assure you we are following closely," he said. Bailey also said China should free up its domestic demand as part of a global plan to tackle "excess imbalances before dangerous levels of trade restrictions come into play, and before we face the prospect of difficult adjustment with macroeconomic volatility and financial instability." Bailey said the IMF should consider using its powers to convene talks with member countries - chief among them the U.S. - as well as working with the World Trade Organisation to produce a nuanced assessment of the global trading system. "I think it helps to remember that the key challenge we all face is to increase growth in the world economy: to grow the pie to support living standards for the people we serve, all of the time," Bailey said. "It is as simple as that." He said he would use his new role as head of the Financial Stability Board - grouping global financial regulators - to develop with the IMF resilience tests for the global financial system, including firms such as hedge funds and banks. Bailey also said in his speech that he favoured using digital payment technology for retail payments and bank accounts as a next step for the industry. He said he was unconvinced about the need for a retail central bank digital currency, and that stablecoins were not a substitute for commercial bank money. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/bank-englands-bailey-backs-imf-help-fix-problems-global-economy-2025-07-15/
2025-07-15 20:13
BRASILIA, July 15 (Reuters) - Brazil will work to get the United States to reverse 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods before they are set to take effect on August 1, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters in Brasilia after meeting with business leaders to discuss the tariffs, Alckmin said the government aims to resolve the issue "as quickly as possible." Sign up here. Earlier in the day, following a first round of meetings, he acknowledged that Brazil faced a tight deadline for negotiations and did not rule out the possibility of requesting an extension if necessary. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-looks-solve-us-tariff-issue-before-deadline-2025-07-15/
2025-07-15 20:11
July 15 (Reuters) - Scott Sheffield, the founder and former CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, cannot directly challenge a Biden-era order barring him from ExxonMobil's (XOM.N) , opens new tab board after its acquisition of Pioneer, the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday, while adding it would revisit the order regardless. While the FTC's three Republican commissioners voted unanimously to deny Sheffield's bid on procedural grounds, the agency plans to consider his arguments under a rule that lets the commission reconsider prior decisions. Sign up here. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson criticized the order last year, which barred Sheffield from Exxon's board over concerns he would coordinate with members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Ferguson, who was a commissioner at the time, said the order overreached the FTC's authority. The FTC was then led by Democratic Chair Lina Khan. "I stand by my contention that the original decision represented gross and unjust government overreach," Sheffield said on Tuesday. The FTC has been reviewing the order barring Sheffield from Exxon's board, along with a similar order keeping Hess (HES.N) , opens new tab CEO John Hess off Chevron's (CVX.N) , opens new tab board after it announced plans to acquire his company. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ex-pioneer-ceo-cannot-challenge-order-barring-him-exxon-board-ftc-says-2025-07-15/
2025-07-15 20:02
Trump and organizers announce some $90 bln in energy and data center investments in Pennsylvania The event comes as White House prepares executive orders to boost AI and data centers Big Tech is scrambling to access a strained national power grid to power the energy-guzzling data centers PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania, July 15 (Reuters) - President Donald Trumpjoined executives from some of the largest U.S. tech and energy companies for a summit in Pittsburgh on Tuesday as the administration prepares more measures to power the U.S. expansion of artificial intelligence. Top economic rivals, the U.S. and China, are locked in a technological arms race over who can dominate AI as the technology takes on increasing importance everywhere from corporate boardrooms to the battlefield. Sign up here. The Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University brought tech executives and officials from top energy and tech firms, including Meta (META.O) , opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab, Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab, to discuss how to position the U.S. as a leader in AI. Trump and the summit's host, U.S. Senator Dave McCormick, a Republican ally from Pennsylvania, highlighted some $90 billion in artificial intelligence and energy investments in the state. "This is a really triumphant day for the people of the Commonwealth and for the United States of America, we're doing things that nobody ever thought possible," Trump told the attendees. Big Tech is scrambling to secure enough electricity to power the energy-guzzling data centers needed for its rapid expansion of artificial intelligence. Companies began announcing their plans early on Tuesday, with Google inking a $3 billion electricity deal and CoreWeave (CRWV.O) , opens new tab touting a $6 billion AI data center. Google said it secured as much as 3 gigawatts of U.S. hydropower in a deal between the tech firm and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.TO) , opens new tab that includes initial 20-year power purchase agreements for electricity generated from two facilities in Pennsylvania. Asset management firm Blackstone's (BX.N) , opens new tab President Jon Gray also said they will announce on Tuesday a $25 billion investment in data centers and energy infrastructure in Pennsylvania. The CEOs that attended included Khaldoon Al-Mubarak of Abu Dhabi investment company Mubadala, Rene Haas of Arm (O9Ty.F) , opens new tab, Larry Fink of BlackRock (BLK.N) , opens new tab, Darren Woods of Exxon Mobil, Brendan Bechtel of Bechtel and Dario Amodei of Anthropic. The White House is considering executive actions in the coming weeks to make it easier for power-generating projects to connect to the grid and also provide federal land on which to build the data centers needed to expand AI technology, Reuters previously reported. The administration is also weighing streamlining permitting for data centers by creating a nationwide Clean Water Act permit, rather than requiring companies to seek permits on a state-by-state basis. Trump ordered his administration in January to produce an AI Action Plan that would make "America the world capital in artificial intelligence" and reduce regulatory barriers to its rapid expansion. That report, which includes input from the National Security Council, is due by July 23. Trump is set to mark that deadline with a major speech as part of an event titled “Winning the AI Race,” organized by White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks and his co-hosts on the All-In podcast, a White House official told Reuters. U.S. power demand is hitting record highs this year after nearly two decades of stagnation as AI and cloud computing data centers balloon in numbers and size across the country. The demand is also leading to unprecedented deals between the power industry and technology companies, including the attempted restart of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania between Constellation Energy (CEG.O) , opens new tab and Microsoft. The surge has led to concerns about power shortages that threaten to raise electricity bills and increase the risk of blackouts, while slowing Big Tech in its global race against countries like China to dominate AI. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/trump-joins-tech-energy-executives-amid-ai-push-2025-07-15/
2025-07-15 19:52
July 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Defense plans to continue investing in critical minerals projects to ensure a diverse American supply of the building blocks for weapons and many electronics, a defense official told Reuters on Tuesday. The Pentagon signed a multibillion-dollar deal last week to become the largest shareholder in rare earths producer MP Materials (MP.N) , opens new tab and also agreed to several financial backstop measures for the company. Sign up here. The move - which the defense official said reflected a desire to "share the risk" inherent in minerals projects - sparked questions across the mining sector about whether other companies could see similar investments from the U.S. military. The Pentagon has invested almost $540 million into critical minerals projects and "will continue such efforts in accordance with congressional appropriations and statutory authorities," the official said. "Rebuilding the critical minerals and rare earth magnet sectors of the U.S. industrial base won't happen overnight, but (the Pentagon) is taking immediate action to streamline processes and identify opportunities to strengthen critical minerals production," the official added. The U.S. government and military recognize that the country no longer can produce or process many critical minerals, but plans to "take the necessary time and precautions to produce critical minerals and associated products in a safe and responsible fashion," the official said, adding that approach was unlike China's. Chinese mining standards are considered to be lower than those in the United States. The MP deal structure reflects a "unique approach" by the U.S. government to "account for the difficulties in establishing and sustaining production of critical rare earth magnets in a market environment in which China controls much of the supply chain," the official said. The Pentagon investment in MP was undertaken via a Cold War-era law known as the Defense Production Act, as well as its Office of Strategic Capital, the official said. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/pentagon-keep-working-with-us-rare-earths-projects-us-defense-official-says-2025-07-15/
