2024-09-21 01:03

TOKYO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Japan's top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura said authorities are "always watching markets" as a renewed build-up of yen carry trades could heighten market volatility, public broadcaster NHK quoted him as saying in an interview that ran on Friday. Mimura said yen carry trades built up in the past are likely to have been mostly unwound, according to NHK. "But if such moves increase again, that could heighten market volatility. We are always watching markets to ensure that does not happen," Mimura was quoted as saying. He said authorities stood ready to act if currency moves become extremely volatile and deviate from fundamentals in a way that cause demerits to companies and households, according to NHK. In July, Mimura took over as vice finance minister for international affairs, a role that oversees Japan's currency policy, succeeding Masato Kanda. Yen carry trades, which involves borrowing yen at a low cost to invest in other currencies and assets offering higher yields, built up on expectations the Bank of Japan will keep interest rates ultra-low, and were partly behind the Japanese currency's slide to near three-decade lows in early July. The vast unwinding of such trades, caused in part by the BOJ's decision on July 31 to raise short-term interest rates, have recently led to a sharp rebound in the yen. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/japan-top-fx-diplomat-says-watching-any-build-up-yen-carry-trades-nhk-reports-2024-09-21/

2024-09-21 00:02

DOADE, Spain, Sept 20 (Reuters) - In Spain's northwestern corner, local winegrowers aided by Moldovan labourers carefully handpick indigo-hued grapes on terraced hills facing vertiginous drops to make ancestral wines - a practice known as "heroic viticulture". Tucked inland from Galicia's fishing coasts, the Ribeira Sacra region - meaning "sacred riverbank" - derives its name from its abundance of mediaeval churches and monasteries in Romanesque style. But it is the terrain's uniqueness, with its steep V-shaped valleys, mineral-rich slate soil and cool climate, that imparts many qualities prized by wine lovers to the aromatic grape varieties grown there, such as Mencia, Godello or Loureira. "It's a totally human viticulture that isn't mechanised and has a lot of identity," Fernando Gonzalez, owner of the Algueira winery in the village of Doade, told Reuters. He added that he preferred the descriptor "dramatic" to "heroic", as "you either hate or love it, you either stay or leave". Founded in 1998, Algueira spans 30 hectares and produces up to 150,000 bottles per year. Come harvest season, temporary grape pickers, many from Eastern Europe, lend manpower to an operation that relies almost entirely on handwork. An exception are rails traversing some of the abrupt slopes, allowing for an easier transportation of boxes filled to the brim with the Bacchic fruits. RECOVERY FROM NEAR-EXTINCTION Around the turn of the 20th century, infestations of the sap-sucking pest Phylloxera virtually wiped out the region's ancestral varieties. The catastrophe led to widespread poverty, population decline and sparked waves of migration. After the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, the Spanish government began granting subsidies to local farmers with old plots that retained pest-free specimens in a bid to recover the heirloom vines. That revitalisation of a little-known region has boosted Ribeira Sacra's international prestige, said British-Spanish wine writer Harold Heckle, despite high costs limiting production, making it "the preserve of the informed wealthy". According to Heckle, for connoisseurs who appreciate not just the beverage's flavours, but also its historical context, the region's wines "reflect things that are of enormous value". "Wine describes human history better than almost any crop man cultivates," he said. "While it tastes fabulous, it's that culture that attracts a hell of a lot of wine lovers". Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/grape-harvesters-defy-vertigo-spains-scarped-ribeira-sacra-wine-region-2024-09-20/

2024-09-20 22:27

Sept 20 (Reuters) - A second Missouri healthcare worker who had contact with a hospitalized patient infected with bird flu developed mild respiratory symptoms but was not tested for the virus, U.S. officials said on Friday. The number of people who were in contact with the hospitalized bird flu patient in Missouri and developed symptoms is now up to three, officials said. All three have recovered. The other two symptomatic cases included a healthcare worker who tested negative for influenza and a household contact of the patient who developed symptoms at the same time as the hospitalized patient, but was never tested. Unlike prior U.S. bird flu cases this year, the Missouri patient had no known contact with infected animals, raising concerns the virus currently circulating in dairy cattle may have mutated in a way that makes it spread more easily in people. CDC officials said in a Sept. 12 briefing the agency has been unable to determine if the Missouri case was related to the virus infecting U.S. dairy cattle. Missouri is leading the state's bird flu investigation with remote assistance from the CDC. The state's health officials said in an email last week Missouri is considering taking blood samples to look for antibodies that would indicate prior exposure to bird flu. The CDC said serologic testing will be offered to the second healthcare worker. Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said the results of the blood tests will be critical. "We'll need the serology results to assess whether this is evidence of H5 transmission," she said, adding that COVID-19 activity was also high in August and the symptoms were easy to confuse. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert with the University of Minnesota, also said it could be "any number of respirartory illnesses". The confirmed Missouri case occurred in a patient who was admitted to the hospital with underlying health conditions and was tested for influenza as a part of their workup. It was unclear whether the patient's underlying conditions caused the symptoms or the flu. The Missouri case was the 14th person in the United States to be diagnosed with bird flu this year. The other 13 cases were among farm workers and linked to bird flu outbreaks on poultry or dairy farms. Bird flu has infected more than 200 dairy herds in 14 states since March, according to US Department of Agriculture data. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/missouri-health-worker-who-had-contact-with-bird-flu-patient-develops-symptoms-2024-09-20/

2024-09-20 21:19

USW doesn't push oil workers to support Harris at convention Union bosses and rank-and-file workers focus on contracts, legislative proposals Past conferences featured members wearing pro-Trump MAGA caps PITTSBURGH, Sept 20 (Reuters) - At a meeting of United Steelworkers union officials this week, presidential politics was off the agenda, a departure from past election-year gatherings and a sign of the division between USW members and union bosses over the candidates. The leadership of the USW - a union of 1.2 million U.S. and Canadian workers from the steel, paper and energy industries as well as government workers - in July endorsed Democratic party candidate Kamala Harris, handing her an early victory just a day after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race against Republican Donald Trump. But USW officials failed to mention Harris by name or ask the 300 local officials at a national oil bargaining conference to recommend members to campaign or vote for her. Still, attendees did see presentations about legislative proposals the union is pursuing in Congress and with the Biden administration. The omission underscores the tensions within union ranks ahead of the Nov. 5 election, a race that polls show is essentially tied - leaving the outcome dependent on how union workers and others in battleground states vote. Union workers have traditionally formed a core part of the Democratic base but the dynamic has shifted in recent election cycles with Trump peeling away support from working-class, white voters. Most oil workers come from states like Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and California that are not expected to be decisive in determining the outcome of the election. Other major unions like the United Auto Workers have also backed the Harris campaign. But the powerful Teamsters union on Wednesday dealt a blow to her campaign by choosing not to endorse either presidential candidate. The 1.3-million-member transportation workers union last failed to endorse a Democrat, President Bill Clinton, in 1996. The Teamsters released two surveys of rank-and-file membership that showed they prefer Trump over Harris. Trump used the Teamsters survey results to proclaim he had won the Teamsters' rank-and-file endorsement. Still, Teamsters regional councils that represent hundreds of thousands of members and retirees in Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and western Pennsylvania endorsed Harris. The Harris campaign declined to comment. Her campaign has previously said that Harris will fight for union workers and if elected, would work with Congress to pass legislation making it easier to organize and "end union busting once and for all." The oil-bargaining conference, just six weeks before the election, was also unlike prior conferences that featured dozens of members wearing pro-Trump MAGA red baseball caps. Attendees in Pittsburgh have been largely silent about the presidential election, only discussing it when asked by Reuters reporters. “I’d say 80% to 90% of USW oil workers will vote for Trump,” said a Texas union leader who asked not to be identified by name to maintain relationships within the union. However, he said “out of the entire USW, the majority will vote for Harris.” BEING LEFT BEHIND The decision to avoid discussing the election, according to a regional official, was designed to prevent a public split between the USW's national and local officials in its oil bargaining group. USW President David McCall said in an interview with Reuters that he wanted to keep the oil bargaining group members laser-focused on 2026 labor contract topics, and did not raise the election or seek a separate vote on the candidates. "I wanted to concentrate on the oil industry itself, just generally about the community and solidarity, that's the role I'm playing," McCall said. The national leadership's July endorsement of Harris reflected her campaign's responses to union questionnaires sent to both presidential candidates. “[The Harris-Walz campaign] has given us the knowledge that they're in line with our priorities as a union and we just don't have any other information to compare if we don't get a response from the other,” said Mike Smith, chairperson of the USW's National Oil Bargaining Program. Interviews with oil local officials at the conference anecdotally revealed a strong preference for former President Trump, with many saying the Democrats' priorities did not align with theirs. "They believe the Democratic Party has left them behind, from the promotion of electric vehicles, which limits oil demand, to the adoption of a new stricter fuel standard that increases the cost of fuel," said one union member from Texas, who asked not to be identified by name. A Louisiana union member attending the conference said he is voting for Trump because he is the candidate for the Republican party, which he said would protect his economic interests. "It's not pro-Trump," said the man, who asked not be identified. "It's in my best interest. I want to keep my money." A third official said the absence of overt political caps or campaign buttons was intentional. “Many people here are voting for Trump, but they just don’t want to talk about it,” the union member told Reuters. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/united-steelworkers-conference-members-leaders-play-down-election-divide-2024-09-20/

2024-09-20 20:51

Sept 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved on Friday the first guidelines for trading voluntary carbon credit derivative contracts in the country, a move expected to help bolster the nascent market. Carbon credit derivative contracts are financial instruments that derive their value from carbon credits, which represent the right to emit one metric ton of carbon dioxide or an equivalent amount of greenhouse gases. The contracts allow traders and market participants to hedge against or speculate on the future price of carbon credits, similar to how traditional derivative contracts function in commodities or financial markets. Regulators have pushed for heightened scrutiny of voluntary carbon markets, which have developed outside government oversight, due to concerns over quality and double counting. The U.S. derivatives watchdog has outlined guidance for derivatives exchanges to crack down on price manipulation. "The CFTC's unique mission focused on risk mitigation and price discovery puts us on the front lines of the now global nexus between financial markets and decarbonization efforts," said CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam. Regulators in the Americas and Europe have increasingly been worried about greenwashing. Earlier this year, the CFTC said it was investigating greenwashing - when companies exaggerate their environmental credentials - as part of its crackdown on fraud and misconduct in the voluntary carbon markets. In May, the U.S. government unveiled rules to govern the use of voluntary carbon credits, seeking to boost confidence in a nascent market after some high-profile offset projects failed to deliver the promised emissions reductions. "The CFTC’s guidance will promote the integrity of carbon credits and enable greater liquidity and price transparency," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement, noting the move was part of a broader effort by the administration to tackle climate change and accelerate a clean energy transition. Many companies "offset" their own greenhouse gas emissions by buying voluntary carbon credits, which represent the avoidance or removal of emissions via projects largely located in developing countries. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/us-cftc-issues-first-guidelines-carbon-credit-markets-2024-09-20/

2024-09-20 20:44

Financial firm acquired LNG project owner in June Commonwealth LNG to seek financial go-ahead in late 2025 HOUSTON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Energy investment firm Kimmeridge Energy Management plans to reduce its stake in a Louisiana liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project to 51% down from 100% after it reaches a final investment decision (FID) next year, Managing Partner Ben Dell told Reuters. In June, Kimmeridge acquired for an undisclosed amount Commonwealth LNG, which is developing a 9.5 million metric tons per annum (MTPA) LNG plant in Cameron, Louisiana. The project has applied for but not received a needed export license from the Department of Energy. "Our expectation is under financing we will drop down to around 51%" stake in Commonwealth LNG, Dell said late Thursday on the sidelines of the Gastech energy conference in Houston. Dell said the plan is to increase the equity in the project by bringing in infrastructure investors who by putting in their equity will have the effect of diluting Kimmeridge's overall shareholding. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration pause on LNG export-permit reviews could be over early next year, he said, projecting a FID on the project could follow in the fourth quarter of 2025. "My personal view is the inside date we can FID is late May, the outside date is October depending on what the DOE does and what they require," Dell told Reuters. Kimmeridge plans to invest $1 billion of its own money into financing the project and has most of the debt and equity partners ready to go once the project gets permitted, Dell said. Commonwealth LNG aims to market eight of the plant's 9.5 MTPA production capacity and retain the remainder for its owners to trade, he said. Some of the cash to pay for the plant investment will come from Kimmeridge's natural gas production business that Dell said is generating $400 million to $500 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). "I would like to see us involved in more than one LNG facility and we will evaluate the shipping, regas and further downstream to see if we want to participate in that," Dell said. (This story has been refiled to remove the extraneous word 'type' in paragraph 4) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/kimmeridge-reduce-stake-commonwealth-lng-after-financial-go-ahead-says-ceo-2024-09-20/