2024-09-06 00:53

Makes landfalls in Hainan, Guangdong; 574,500 evacuated Power outages affected 830,000 Hainan households Schools shut, flights cancelled in southern China Hong Kong stock exchange and businesses closed China sends task forces to guide flood and typhoon prevention HONG KONG/BEIJING, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Asia's strongest storm this year, Super Typhoon Yagi, landed in China's Hainan on Friday, bringing violent gales and heavy rain that triggered widespread power outages, paralysing the tourist island province known as "China's Hawaii". Packing maximum sustained winds of 234 km per hour (145 mph) near its centre, Yagi registers as the world's second-most powerful tropical cyclone in 2024 so far, after the Category 5 Atlantic hurricane Beryl, and the most severe in the Pacific basin this year. After more than doubling in strength since killing 16 people in the northern Philippines earlier this week, Yagi slammed into the city of Wenchang in Hainan on Friday afternoon. A little more than an hour after Yagi's arrival, Hainan saw power outages that affected 830,000 households in the province, the official news agency Xinhua said. The provincial power supply department had put together a 7,000-member emergency team that would embark on repairs as soon as conditions permitted, Xinhua added. By Friday night, power to 260,000 households had been restored. Ahead of Yagi's arrival, the island known for its sandy beaches and glitzy hotels had cancelled flights and ferries, shuttered businesses, and told its population of more than 10 million to refrain from going out. The typhoon had already shut schools, businesses and transport links in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong province as well as airports in Vietnam, which it is predicted to hit, along with Laos, over the weekend. On Friday night, Yagi crossed Qiongzhou Strait north of Hainan and made its second landfall in Guangdong with winds still exceeding 200 kph. In Guangdong, more than 574,500 people had been evacuated from areas at risk by noon, more than two-thirds of them from the city of Zhanjiang. In the financial hub of Hong Kong, the stock exchange was shuttered while schools remained closed. Hong Kong's airport authority said operations had largely returned to normal after 50 flights were cancelled on Thursday, and the city of over 7 million people also lowered its typhoon warning by a notch after midday, as Yagi moved west towards Vietnam. The world's longest sea crossing, the main bridge linking Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai in Guangdong, also reopened on Friday afternoon after being shut since Thursday. However, intense rainbands associated with Yagi will still bring heavy squally showers to the territory. Neighbouring Shenzhen issued the highest alert for rains. RARE LANDFALL Yagi is the most severe storm to land in Hainan since 2014, when Typhoon Rammasun slammed into the island province as a Category Five tropical cyclone. Rammasun killed 88 people in Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan and caused economic losses of more than 44 billion yuan ($6.25 billion). "The typhoon has not been as severe as initially feared and has so far caused minimal damage as the typhoon made landfall in Hainan (and not Guangdong)," said Qizhao, a banana farmer at the village of Gaozhou, who was initially worried Yagi could destroy months of hard work. He said villagers had been reinforcing their trees with poles to protect them from the wind. Still, Qizhao was not letting his guard down until after the typhoon has passed. Formed over the warm seas east of the Philippines and following a similar path to Rammasun, Yagi arrived in China as a Category Four typhoon, ushering in winds strong enough to overturn vehicles, uproot trees and severely damage roads, bridges and buildings. Its landfall in Hainan is rare, as most typhoons landing on the duty-free island are classified as weak. From 1949 to 2023, 106 typhoons landed in Hainan but only nine were classified as super typhoons. No fatalities have been reported so far in Hainan. Typhoons are becoming stronger, fuelled by warmer oceans, amid climate change, scientists say. Last week, Typhoon Shanshan slammed into southwestern Japan, the strongest storm to hit the country in decades. Yagi is named after the Japanese word for goat and the constellation of Capricornus, a mythical creature that is half goat, half fish. ($1 = 7.0902 Chinese yuan renminbi) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/super-typhoon-yagi-slams-southern-china-shutting-schools-cancelling-flights-2024-09-06/

2024-09-06 00:46

NEW YORK, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The dollar rose in volatile trading on Friday after data showed U.S. employment grew less than expected in August, but indicated only a steady slowdown in the labor market, likely supporting gradual interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 142,000 jobs last month after a downwardly revised 89,000 rise in July, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls increasing by 160,000 jobs after a previously reported 114,000 gain in July. The dollar, which initially fell against most major peers after the release of the jobs data, soon recovered ground to trade higher. The U.S. currency, a traditional safe haven, also found support as stocks and other risky assets sold off on Friday. The euro was 0.3% lower against the dollar at $1.108225, jumping as high as $1.1155 right after the release of the payrolls report. The Dollar Index , which measures the U.S. currency's strength against six major peers, was up 0.2% at 101.21. "I think the market's really struggling with this one because it's really in the middle of what could be used as a justification for either a 25 or 50 basis point rate cut," Gennadiy Goldberg, head of U.S. rates strategy at TD Securities, said. Traders now see a 31% chance that the Fed will cut its policy rate, now in the 5.25% to 5.50% range, to a 4.75% to 5% range at its upcoming meeting on Sept 17-18, according to LSEG data. Before the report they had seen about a 43% chance of that outcome, favoring instead a quarter-point reduction. "The U.S. economy looks more likely to gouge the runway in the months ahead, justifying an increasingly aggressive response from officials at the Federal Reserve," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at payments company Corpay in Toronto. "A half-point rate cut at the central bank’s September meeting remains unlikely, but today’s release provided clear evidence of a sharp deterioration in labor market fundamentals, and will bolster bets on at least one jumbo-sized rate cut in the coming months," he said. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar fell 0.7% to 142.42 yen, on pace for a fourth straight session of losses. Safe haven demand and expectations for imminent rate hikes from the Bank of Japan have helped support the Japanese currency in recent sessions. Traders have sold the dollar against other currencies fairly consistently over the last couple of months, as concern has risen that a slowing U.S. economy will require chunky rate cuts. Federal Reserve policymakers on Friday hinted they are ready to kick off a series of interest rate cuts at the U.S. central bank's meeting in two weeks, noting a cooling in the labor market that could accelerate into something more dire in the absence of a policy shift. Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled that the central bank's focus was shifting from fighting inflation to preventing deterioration in the job market when he strongly endorsed an imminent start to the monetary easing cycle at the annual economic conference in Jackson Hole last month. The pound was about 0.4% lower at $1.3131. The Bank of England meets in two weeks to set monetary policy. Right now, the derivatives market shows traders see very little chance of a rate cut this month, but a quarter-point cut is fully priced in for November . In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell about 4% to a fresh 1-month low of $53,600, as investors avoided riskier assets. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/dollar-wallows-one-week-low-payrolls-test-looms-large-2024-09-06/

2024-09-05 22:53

Sept 5 (Reuters) - JPMorgan expects OPEC+ to maintain its current production levels for at least another year, leading to an average price of $75 for Brent crude in 2025, JP Morgan said in a note on Thursday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, together called OPEC+, on Thursday said they agreed to delay a planned oil output increase for October and November and could further pause or reverse the hikes if needed. The move came as Brent oil prices held at a 14-month low below $73 a barrel on worries about demand in the U.S. and China and a likely rise in supplies out of Libya. JPMorgan said the opportunity to phase out production cuts is now closed and sees prices dipping into the low $60s by the end of 2025. "$60 is not a good price for neither producers nor consumers, and OPEC would need to cut 1 million barrels per day (mbd) deeper, were the alliance to adhere to market management," the bank said. The market is now seeking a price point that will deter OPEC+ from introducing unneeded supply due to significantly softer demand anticipated in 2025, JPMorgan said. Reflecting the recent slide in oil prices, the bank lowered its 2024 fourth quarter forecast for oil prices to $80 from $85 a barrel. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/jpmorgan-sees-opec-holding-output-steady-another-year-2024-09-05/

2024-09-05 22:12

VENICE, Sept 5 (Reuters) - A powerful thunderstorm battered the Venice Film Festival on Thursday, forcing actors and filmmakers to flee the red carpet as lashing rain drenched the Lido. The blast of bad weather ended days of relentless heat in Venice, which has bathed the world's oldest film festival in blazing sunshine. The rain disrupted the arrivals for the premiere of the documentary "Russians at War" and then sent the staff and crew of the Georgian film "April" running for cover, leaving the Lido's famous red carpet covered in puddles. Staff holding umbrellas aloft ushered attendees into the main cinema complex, while the festival's artistic director, Alberto Barbera, smiled apologetically and brushed the rain off the clothes of his soaking guests. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/rainstorm-sends-stars-fleeing-venice-red-carpet-2024-09-05/

2024-09-05 21:51

Sept 6 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Investors in Asia close out a choppy week hoping for calm on Friday but wary that U.S. growth fears are bubbling just under the surface and that the U.S. economic and policy landscape next week could be extremely challenging again. U.S. employment data on Friday, after Asia's close, will set the tone for world markets up until the Fed announces its interest rate decision and revised economic projections on Sept. 18. Investors are on edge. The MSCI World index and S&P 500 are on course for their biggest weekly losses since April, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan and Nikkei 225 are on course for their steepest losses in six weeks, and Shanghai stocks on Thursday plumbed a fresh seven-month low. Japan's Nikkei is down 5% this week, and could fall further if the yen continues to appreciate. The dollar dipped below 143.00 yen on Thursday for the first time since Aug. 5 and momentum appears to be to the downside. With a stronger currency in their pocket, Japanese investors are hoovering up assets overseas , opens new tab. Figures on Thursday showed that they were net buyers of foreign bonds for a fifth week, and net buyers of foreign stocks for a third week. The Fed's policy decision later this month could be the catalyst for dollar/yen to test 140.00. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly told Reuters on Wednesday that interest rates need to come down, although she didn't say how quickly. Japanese rates, meanwhile, should continue to rise but at a pace that ensures volatile markets do not harm businesses, Bank of Japan board member Hajime Takata said on Thursday. On the face of it, Fed rate cuts and more BOJ tightening is a recipe for further yen strength. But a lot is already priced into the U.S. curve - over 100 basis points of easing this year and some 225 bps by the end of next year. Japanese household spending data for July will be released on Friday, following figures on Thursday that showed real wages rose in July for a second month. Until June, inflation-adjusted wages had fallen every month for more than two years. Strong wage and spending growth will keep the BOJ more inclined to raise rates again, in turn fueling further yen upside. Many other Asian currencies have been on an impressive upswing in recent weeks too, clawing back most of their losses for the year or even moving into positive territory year-to-date. The Asian calendar is light on Friday, with South Korean current account figures for August among the few highlights. Seven countries, including Japan, will release their latest FX reserves holdings, which at the last count totaled around $3 trillion. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to Asian markets on Friday: - South Korea current account (August) - Japan household spending (July) - Japan FX reserves (August) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-pix-2024-09-05/

2024-09-05 21:37

NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Marathon Petroleum (MPC.N) , opens new tab has been unwilling to negotiate with union members at its Detroit refinery since more than 200 workers went on strike, Teamsters said on Thursday, adding that the industrial action could be extended to the largest U.S. independent refiner's other plants. Around 200 workers at Marathon's Detroit refinery walked off the job on Wednesday after months of pay- and safety-related negotiations and mediation with Marathon did not yield results. "We want to go back to the table but they are refusing to bargain," said Steve Hicks, president of Teamsters Local 283. Union members are fighting for higher pay, said Hicks. The wage increases Marathon offered to union members, around 3% each year, is not enough to keep up with inflation, Hicks said. Members also want union security, he said. Michigan's repeal of its right-to-work law, which had prohibited workers paying union dues as a condition of employment in a unionized workplace, took effect in February. Teamsters could extend the strike to other Marathon plants if negotiations continue to stagnate. "It's a big possibility," Hicks said. The 140,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Detroit refinery is one of Marathon's 13 refineries with approximately 2.9 million bpd of crude oil refining capacity. Teamsters also represent workers at Marathon's 102,000-bpd Saint Paul refinery. Marathon did not respond to requests for comment. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/teamsters-could-extend-strike-other-marathon-refineries-detroit-negotiations-2024-09-05/