2024-09-26 00:29

Sept 25 (Reuters) - Nuclear startup Oklo (OKLO.N) , opens new tab said on Wednesday that it has finalized an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy for carrying out site investigations related to the company's proposed small nuclear reactor in Idaho. The company, backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is aiming to develop its first small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) by 2027. The deal marks a key step towards construction and would help Oklo focus on geotechnical assessments, environmental surveys, and infrastructure planning, the company said. After decades of stagnation, nuclear energy has garnered renewed interest in recent times as a clean source of power amid a worldwide push towards net-zero carbon emissions. U.S. utilities are striking up deals with tech heavyweights like Microsoft and Amazon to supply electricity from nuclear plants for power-hungry data centers. Oklo, which went public in May through a merger with Altman's blank-check firm, still needs a permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the proposed plant. The regulator had denied Oklo's application for a combined construction and operation license in 2022. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/sam-altman-backed-oklo-finalizes-site-inspection-deal-with-doe-idaho-nuclear-2024-09-25/

2024-09-25 23:54

Sept 26 (Reuters) - New Zealand on Thursday reached a trade deal with the United Arab Emirates, which it said would unlock economic opportunities for exporters and boost supply chains with one of its most important trading partners in the Middle East. The trade deal will remove duties on 98.5% of New Zealand's exports with that proportion expected to rise to 99% within three years, Trade Minister Todd McClay said in a statement. "This will create new opportunities for New Zealand businesses in the dynamic UAE market, contributing to our ambitious target of doubling exports by value in 10 years," McClay said. Two-way trade between the countries was valued at NZ$1.3 billion ($813.5 million) in the year to June 2024. The agreement was concluded in over four months following the beginning of talks in May, making this New Zealand's fastest-ever trade agreement negotiation, McClay said. Australia and the UAE concluded a similar trade deal earlier this month. ($1 = 1.5980 New Zealand dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/new-zealand-united-arab-emirates-reach-trade-pact-2024-09-25/

2024-09-25 23:44

LIMA, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Poderosa (PODERC1.LM) , opens new tab, one of Peru's largest gold miners, said on Wednesday that it had faced a fresh attack by "criminals" linked to illegal mining on one of its facilities in the Andean nation, which left a security agent dead. Another person was injured by inhaling toxic fumes in the attack in the Amazonian province of Pataz, Poderosa said in a statement in which it also offered condolences to the family of the security agent, an employee of security firm Huayna SAC. Armed criminals attacked a facility with explosives, an incident that began before 5 p.m. on Tuesday and went on well past midnight. This year, the company has said that a power outage and attacks on electricity towers were caused by illegal miners, and in December a raid left nine dead and 15 more injured in a Poderosa mine. In the last two years, at least 30 people have been killed nationwide in armed attacks on gold mines. "Despite the significant police presence in Pataz, these attacks against our operations have not ceased," Poderosa said. "This spiral of violence is a response to the exponential growth of illegal mining in collusion with organized crime, an alliance that operates with absolute impunity." It urged Congress not to extend the mandate of a formalization program for small-scale miners known as REINFO that is set to expire at the end of the year, accusing it of enabling illegal mining. The miner also called on the state to strengthen its efforts against illegal mining and boost control of processing plants receiving the products of illegal mines. Peru is a major global producer of copper and gold. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/peru-gold-miner-poderosa-says-fresh-criminal-attack-leaves-one-dead-2024-09-25/

2024-09-25 23:08

Sept 26 (Reuters) - Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will invest 500 million pounds ($669.6 million) to support parallel production of electric vehicles at its Halewood facility as part of its electrification strategy, the British luxury carmaker said on Thursday. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT This investment coincides with increasing pressure on carmakers to accelerate electrification, particularly in China, where competition in the EV market is intensifying. CONTEXT The group plans to invest 18 billion pound in EVs by 2028 and has promised to deliver a new electric Jaguar in 2025. The investment also aligns with JLR's "Reimagine" strategy, which aims to electrify all its brands by 2030 and achieve carbon net zero across its supply chain, products and operations by 2039. KEY QUOTES "Halewood will be our first all-electric production facility, and it is a testament to the brilliant efforts by our teams and suppliers who have worked together to equip the plant with the technology needed to deliver our world class luxury electric vehicles", Barbara Bergmeier, executive director, industrial operations at JLR said. WHAT'S NEXT The carmaker said it has invested £250 million to transform its Merseyside site for producing medium-sized electric luxury SUVs. The plant features new EV build lines, 750 autonomous robots, and cloud-based plant management systems. ($1 = 0.7468 pounds) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/jlr-pump-500-mln-pounds-upgrade-ev-factory-2024-09-25/

2024-09-25 22:25

KB Home falls after Q3 profit misses estimates Apple edges down as data shows China sales drop in Aug Ford, GM slide on Morgan Stanley downgrade Indexes: Dow down 0.70%, S&P 500 down 0.19%, Nasdaq up 0.04% Sept 25 (Reuters) - The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed lower on Wednesday, pulling back from recent record highs driven by China's sweeping stimulus package, as investors awaited economic indicators and signals on upcoming interest rate cuts. The three main indexes were positioned for monthly gains after the Federal Reserve's rate cut on Sept. 18 bolstered hopes for a soft landing. However, a weak consumer sentiment report on Tuesday raised concerns about the health of the labor market. "What happened in commodities and basic materials, etc., was quite a reaction to ... 'hey, what if China can get growing again?' And that kind of feeds into other areas, (and) it helps other economies," said Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt in Atlanta. The long-term Treasury bond yield , rose on concerns that looser financial conditions could reignite inflation. Odds of a 50 basis point cut by the U.S. central bank at its November meeting have risen to 57.4%, from a coin toss earlier in the week, the CME Group's FedWatch Tool showed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 293.47 points, or 0.70%, to 41,914.75. The S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab lost 10.67 points, or 0.19%, at 5,722.26 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 7.68 points, or 0.04%, at 18,082.21. The blue-chip Dow slipped after hitting record highs, pressured by a decline in Amgen (AMGN.O) , opens new tab, which reported mixed data on two drugs, sparking concerns over heightened competition. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq have risen about 20% so far this year, driven by expectations of rate cuts and optimism about artificial intelligence. However, the S&P 500 is trading at valuations significantly above long-term averages. "Valuations are fairly high right now, sentiment is fairly high," Martin said, noting that caution is creeping in. "It's hard to find bargains out there, because everything that has gotten hit, a lot of it has come back, and the market has broadened out." Nine out of the 11 S&P 500 sectors fell, led by energy stocks (.SPNY) , opens new tab which fell 1.9%. Tech stocks (.SPLRCT) , opens new tab bucked the trend with a 0.5% rise, supported by Nvidia's (NVDA.O) , opens new tab 2.14% gain. Sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell in August, but declining mortgage rates and house prices could stimulate demand in the months ahead. The focus, however, will be on weekly jobless claims and the August U.S. personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index, both set to be released later in the week. Remarks from Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, expected after markets close, will also be closely examined. But attention will center on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the New York Treasury Market Conference on Thursday. Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab shares slipped 0.52% as sales of foreign-branded smartphones, including iPhones, in China fell in August on an annual basis, data from a government-affiliated research firm showed. Citigroup (C.N) , opens new tab, Bank of America (BAC.N) , opens new tab and JPMorgan & Chase (JPM.N) , opens new tab weighed on the broader bank index (.SPXBK) , opens new tab, which dropped 0.93%. KB Home (KBH.N) , opens new tab slipped 5.35% after posting a downbeat third-quarter profit. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE.N) , opens new tab topped the S&P 500 with a 5.14% gain after Barclays' rating upgrade. Shares of Ford (F.N) , opens new tab and General Motors (GM.N) , opens new tab fell over 4% after Morgan Stanley lowered its recommendations on the automakers. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.4-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 387 new highs and 56 new lows on the NYSE. The S&P 500 posted 36 new 52-week highs and two new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 70 new highs and 110 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.42 billion shares, compared with the 11.69 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-slip-investors-await-economic-data-fed-rate-clues-2024-09-25/

2024-09-25 22:04

FRANKFURT, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Rapidly growing solar and wind power across Germany and the European Union must be matched by more battery storage to capture weather-induced generation peaks and avoid more fossil fuel burning, energy think tank Ember said on Thursday. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The roll-out of carbon-free electricity plants has gathered pace, underscored by the drying up of westbound Russian energy exports since war began in Ukraine. More renewables bring temporary spurts of unwanted, or sudden lack of, supply, which cannot be fully matched with demand in the absence of enough transport grid and storage capacity. Zero and negative prices have consequently become more common in intraday wholesale trading hours, with spreads caused by fluctuating feed-in of green power. The lack of synchronisation means that taxpayers not only pay for green power production subsidies. They also cough up for curtailments and emergency procurement, which gets increasingly hard to defend. CONTEXT Policymakers hope that batteries, which can earn revenue from price arbitrage, will offer enough economic reward to attract sufficient investment. They have not drawn up goals for battery capacity. Grid firms' strategy plans assume large-scale expansion. There are signs from investors that the business case is being recognised. BY THE NUMBERS Germany could have avoided up to 2.5 million euros ($2.78 million) in natural gas imports in June alone if it had had 2 gigawatts (GW) more additional battery storage, said Ember. The Berlin government strongly supports green power. To ensure stable grids, it has legislated for new hydrogen-ready, gas-to-power plant permits and is discussing an accompanying capacity market to guarantee incomes. Germany commands 1.8 GW of grid batteries and is looking to add 3.7 GW up to 2027. KEY QUOTE Beatrice Petrovich, senior analyst: "More battery storage can help Germany take advantage of abundant home-grown solar to replace expensive fossil fuels. "We haven't seen the same ambitious strategies from the EU that are in place for renewables ... for battery storage and other clean flexibility solutions." ($1 = 0.8985 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/germany-eu-must-match-green-power-roll-out-with-more-batteries-says-ember-2024-09-25/