2025-06-26 20:40

Fermi plans to launch 'Hypergrid' project on July 4 Aims to supply up to 11 GW, starting with 1 GW online late 2026 No completion date set, delays costs, often plague nuclear US nuclear regulator says it is reviewing applications WASHINGTON, June 26 (Reuters) - Fermi America, a Texas company co-founded by former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, aims to build the largest energy and data complex of its kind powered by nuclear, natural gas and solar, it said on Thursday. Fermi plans to partner on the "Hypergrid" project with Texas Tech University and said it will be launched on July 4. Sign up here. Perry, who also served as Texas governor, said that China is building 22 nuclear reactors while the U.S. is building none. "We’re behind - and it's all hands on deck. We need to be doing everything in our power to win this race, because this is the race that really matters." Interest in building new nuclear plants has spiked after President Donald Trump issued executive orders last month that aim to fast track applications for new reactors and overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Nuclear critics and some proponents have criticized the overhaul as potentially detrimental to the industry and putting politics ahead of safety and public health. Trump this month also fired Democratic NRC commissioner Chris Hanson. Fermi said the Amarillo campus has the potential to deliver up to 11 gigawatts (GW) of new nuclear, gas and solar power, about enough for more than 8.2 million homes, with 1 GW expected online by late 2026. It did not say how much the project would cost or how it is being financed. Fermi said the project will be the largest U.S. nuclear power complex, but did not say when it would be completed. U.S. nuclear power has been plagued by delays and cost overruns, with the last reactor coming online last year in Georgia. The last two reactors completed in Vogtle, Georgia, cost a total of more than $30 billion, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration The NRC said it is reviewing applications from Fermi which should be public soon. The Washington Post said the project has applied for four 1-GW nuclear reactors. Fermi did not immediately confirm that. The nearly 5,800-acre (2,347-hectare) campus will also have capacity for large artificial intelligence data centers. The site, near the Department of Energy's Pantex nuclear weapons plant, "underscores Fermi’s strategic position to build clean, safe, new nuclear power for America’s next-generation AI," Fermi said. The site is also situated near some of the largest U.S. gas pipelines and atop a large natural gas field. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/texas-firm-aims-build-worlds-largest-data-energy-complex-with-nuclear-gas-solar-2025-06-26/

2025-06-26 20:18

TSX ends up 0.7% at 26,751.95, Eclipses Tuesday's record high Materials group adds 1.7% as copper prices climb Industrials rise 0.9%, financials add 0.8% June 26 (Reuters) - Canada's commodity-linked main stock index rose on Thursday to a record high as copper prices jumped and investors grew optimistic that the Federal Reserve would resume its easing campaign. The S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended up 185.63 points, or 0.7%, at 26,751.95, eclipsing Tuesday's record closing high. Sign up here. Wall Street also rose as the Israel-Iran cease-fire continued to hold and a raft of economic indicators appeared to support the case for the Fed's lowering borrowing costs this year. "While the overall TSX is performing strongly, we're certainly seeing a divergence between sectors," said Victor Kuntzevitsky, a portfolio manager at Stonehaven, Wellington-Altus Private Counsel. Positive investor sentiment for gold mining shares has contributed significantly to the TSX's gains, he added. The materials sector, which includes metal mining shares, rose 1.7% as the price of gold , a major safe-haven asset, remained elevated and copper climbed more than 3%. A three-year low for the U.S. dollar (.DXY) , opens new tab against a basket of major currencies gave copper a boost. Shares of copper producer Teck Resources Ltd (TECKb.TO) , opens new tab ended 7.9% higher. Industrials added 0.9% and heavily weighted financials were up 0.8%, while technology and consumer staples were the only two major sectors to end lower. "We are shying away from companies that are heavily tied to the Canadian consumer," Kuntzevitsky said. "We still see the Canadian consumer as stretched." Canadian home prices are set to decline 2% this year and stagnate in 2026, a significant downgrade from expectations of modest rises just three months ago, according to a Reuters poll of property experts who showed significant concern over the U.S.-led trade war. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/tsx-futures-edge-up-israel-iran-ceasefire-holds-2025-06-26/

2025-06-26 20:06

Decision follows a string of shortcomings with core figures Resources have been 'spread too thin' Problems with employment data cause worries at BoE LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Britain's statistics office will split its leadership and invest more money as part of a push to fix problems with its economic data that have hampered the Bank of England and exasperated private economists. After a string of shortcomings with core figures from the Office for National Statistics, a review published on Thursday called for the temporary separation of the role of national statistician from that of ONS permanent secretary. Sign up here. The ONS also said it would invest 10 million pounds ($13.7 million) into core economic and population statistics over the next two years as part of plans to "restore quality and confidence" in its data, followed by additional extra funding. "We have sometimes tried to be all things to all people, spreading our resources too thin, limiting our investment in our core statistics," said Grant Fitzner, the agency's acting director general for economic statistics. "The ONS regrets these quality issues and understand the significant challenges they have presented for our users." Problems with the ONS' employment data - stemming from a slump in responses to its surveys - have caused headaches at the BoE, which needs to know how much inflation pressure is lingering in the jobs market as it sets interest rates. Governor Andrew Bailey has described the shortcomings of the data as a "substantial" problem for policymakers. The review, by senior retired civil servant Robert Devereux, said the economic data failures were the "almost inevitable consequence of the choices made (and not made) at the top of ONS, over several years." "Most of the well-publicised problems with core economic statistics are the consequence of ONS's own performance," Devereux added in the report. Concerns emerged in 2023 when the ONS said it had detected problems with the low response rates to its Labour Force Survey (LFS). An improved version of that survey might be released only in 2026 or possibly 2027. Fitzner said the turnaround plan would focus on using the best available source data, including an expansion of the face-to-face surveys that underpin the LFS, and on significant investment to upgrade systems used for processing raw data. Teams would be taken off social and public policy work to focus on the ONS's core economic statistics and a streamlining of management and support roles would help provide the 10 million pounds investment, along with 150 new skilled roles. ($1 = 0.7283 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-split-leadership-statistics-office-address-data-issues-2025-06-26/

2025-06-26 19:31

June 24 (Reuters) - Oilfield services company SLB (SLB.N) , opens new tab expects second-quarter revenue and core profit to be about the same as the previous quarter due to weaker drilling activity in Saudi Arabia and Latin America, CEO Olivier Le Peuch said on Tuesday. The CEO, speaking at the J.P. Morgan Energy, Power & Renewables Conference in New York, said the company's activity in Saudi had declined more than expected, with several rigs demobilized and operations paused at the Jafurah unconventional gas field. Sign up here. Short-cycle work in Latin America was also down, contributing to a less favorable geographic activity mix, impacting margins, the company said. Oil prices fell about 5% to a two-week low on Tuesday on expectations the ceasefire between Israel and Iran will reduce the risk of oil supply disruptions in the Middle East. "Barring any impact to activity in the Persian Gulf from the conflict, we still expect second-quarter revenue to be flattish sequentially," Le Peuch said. SLB's plan to return at least $4 billion to shareholders in 2025 remains unchanged. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/slb-expects-flat-quarterly-revenue-profit-amid-weaker-activity-saudi-arabia-2025-06-24/

2025-06-26 19:24

Inflation projections based on private forecasts before rate hike Policymakers say they would not rule out rate increases Central bank stresses commitment to inflation target BRASILIA, June 26 (Reuters) - Brazil's central bank on Thursday said it was confident in its strategy to hold interest rates steady even as its updated projections showed it would not meet its 3% inflation target through 2027. Speaking at a press conference, Governor Gabriel Galipolo said the bank remains fully committed to the inflation goal. Last week it raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 15%, a near two-decade high, and signaled a "very prolonged pause" at that level. Sign up here. The central bank's quarterly monetary policy report on Thursday projected annual inflation at 3.2% by the end of 2027, above the 3% target, which has a tolerance band of 1.5 percentage points in either direction. For the fourth quarter of 2026, the reference period for current policy decisions, annual inflation was forecast at 3.6%. Asked about inflation projections showing the target would not be reached even in 10 quarters, Galipolo said the central bank's inflation forecast took into account private economists' median estimate of interest rates in the weekly Focus survey. However, he emphasized that this does not necessarily represent the path the bank will follow. "There are several paths to reach the center of the target," he said. "We are absolutely committed to it." Economic policy Director Diogo Guillen stressed the central bank was not extending the timeline for meeting its inflation target. He did not specify what the timeline is. The bank's latest inflation projections were based on Focus survey estimates that assumed interest rates would have remained at 14.25% last week - a more dovish scenario than reality - until January 2026. Economists projected seven rate cuts next year, with the benchmark rate ending 2026 at 12.5%. Galipolo said he could not say how long rates would remain at the current 15% level, adding the central bank would stick to its data-dependent approach, a strategy he said "has paid off." He did not elaborate on how the most recent rate hike could affect the bank's inflation projections. In their policy statement, policymakers emphasized they would not hesitate to resume rate hikes if needed. Galipolo said the monetary authority would assess a broad set of indicators, rather than any single metric, when evaluating potential rate increases. He added that this week's foreign-exchange interventions addressed an issue with foreign-exchange coupons and did not signal any change in the bank's currency policy. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-central-bank-stands-by-inflation-target-despite-forecast-gap-2025-06-26/

2025-06-26 19:23

Market expects more rate cuts than projected by Fed Investors speculate Fed policy may turn more dovish when Powell is replaced They warn against overestimating next Fed chief's ability to deliver rate cuts NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters) - The gulf between where the Federal Reserve projects interest rates will be by the end of 2026 and the more aggressive cutting financial markets expect by then is partly due to the expectation that U.S. central bank chief Jerome Powell will be replaced by somebody more dovish next year, investors said. They, however, cautioned against assuming that a change of guard at the Fed would necessarily deliver as much policy easing as markets and U.S. President Donald Trump expect. Sign up here. In new economic projections released last week, Fed policymakers penciled in three quarter-percentage-point cuts by December 2026. That's two cuts short of the roughly 125 basis points of easing that fed funds futures suggest. The fed funds rate is what banks charge each other for overnight lending, and serves as the Fed's main policy lever. It has stood in the 4.25%-4.50% range since the last easing in December. Two of the projected quarter-percentage-point cuts were for 2025, with one more next year. While the difference stems from several factors, including expectations for how Trump's tariffs will affect the economy and inflation, hopes for a more accommodative Fed chief are part of the mix, investors said. "Powell's term is up in May, and he could be replaced by someone super friendly to the administration," Jack Ablin, chief investment officer of Cresset Capital in Chicago. "I think this is probably a bigger factor than a lot of investors believe," Ablin said. Trump has not decided on a replacement for Powell and a decision isn't imminent, a person familiar with the White House's deliberations said on Thursday. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee told CNBC any move to name a "shadow" chair would be ineffective. On Monday, traders in futures tracking the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), another key overnight rate, pushed the implied yield of futures contracts maturing in December 2026 65 basis points (bps) below those expiring in December 2025 , the most negative that spread has ever been. This development shows that a deeper economic slowdown than expected is also being priced in. Powell told Congress this week that higher tariffs could boost inflation this summer, and that the U.S. central bank isn't rushing to cut rates. Trump, who has repeatedly called for rate cuts, said on Tuesday that U.S. rates should be lowered by at least two to three percentage points. On Wednesday, he called Powell "terrible" in his latest attack on the central bank chief and said he has three or four people in mind as contenders for the top Fed job. "The administration is now laying the groundwork – including with the 'One, Big, Beautiful Bill' – to turbocharge economic, job, and investment growth, and it's high time for monetary policy to complement this agenda and support America's economic resurgence," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said. Trump has toyed with the idea of selecting and announcing Powell's replacement by September or October, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Such a move would mean Powell would have a "shadow" for possibly the last six meetings of his tenure. A battered dollar took another beating on Thursday as investors fretted over fresh signs of an erosion in U.S. central bank independence. Still, such a move would back the market's more dovish view on future rate cuts. "It's a reasonable thesis that Trump will put up a person that will be more amenable to lower rates," said Mark Malek, chief investment officer of Siebert Financial. FED INDEPENDENCE According to online prediction market Polymarket, the top candidates to replace Powell are Fed Governor Christopher Waller, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Judy Shelton, a former Trump pick for the Fed's Board of Governors whose nomination was withdrawn during the Biden administration. Another prediction site, Kalshi, lists Waller as having the best chance to be nominated, closely followed by Warsh. Waller recently said he felt the inflation risk from tariffs was small and that the Fed should cut rates as soon as its next meeting in July. Meanwhile, Warsh suggested last month a possible pathway to lower policy rates and criticized the Fed's conduct of monetary policy. Still, investors warned that the head of the Fed is only one of 12 voting members at the central bank's monetary policy meetings. Part of the role is to build consensus with a large group of policymakers, making excessive reliance on that person's ability to deliver lower rates risky. "Obviously the chair has a very big influence on what the committee does, but the chair is not the committee," Siebert Financial's Malek said. "The chair will always try to seek a consensus," he said. Nor is it a given that the next Fed chief would risk the central bank's independence. "The most important part about the Fed is its neutrality," said Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets. "For the next Fed chair to get appointed, yes, you want to appease the president to get that nomination. But you still have to get everyone in that room to be behind a common narrative," Woods said. A rate-cutting trajectory not backed by data would hurt the next Fed chief's image, analysts said. "Whoever is appointed may have a cloud cast over his or her term that President Trump is pulling the strings," said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. "I'm not too worried that we're going back to a period where the chair is in the pocket of the president, like under (President Richard) Nixon." https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/market-bets-more-dovish-fed-trump-eyes-powells-replacement-2025-06-26/