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Trump withdraws the US from key global climate assessment sources say
Two sources with knowledge of the situation said that the Trump administration had halted participation by U.S. researchers in U.N. climate assessments. This is part of a broader withdrawal of the Trump administration from climate change mitigation and multilateral cooperation. The order to stop work affects employees of the U.S. Global Change Research Program and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are involved with a working group of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. One of the sources said that the U.S. won't be attending a major IPCC meeting next week in Hangzhou, China to plan the 7th global climate assessment. The White House refused to comment, and the State Department didn't respond to a comment request. The IPCC has the power to bring governments, businesses and international institutions together with a common set of conclusions. Delta Merner of Union of Concerned Scientists said that the U.S.'s complete removal from this process was concerning. The absence of American scientists in the IPCC will be felt. While American scientists are in attendance, they will continue to work on the climate research that is used by the IPCC. Hangzhou's meeting, which will take place from 24 to 28 February, is expected make some key decisions that could influence the outcome of the next assessment of climate change. This includes the role of technology for carbon capture and removal. China's Foreign Ministry said that it did not know about the withdrawal of U.S. participants. The U.S. and Malaysia are co-chairs of a group that focuses on ways to reduce greenhouse gases or climate mitigation. Congress has not yet appropriated the $1.5 million pledged by the U.S. to support IPCC. Climate scientists are not surprised by the U.S. withdrawal from the IPCC, especially after President Donald Trump announced his intention to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement, take back U.S. climate finance globally, and end international climate partnerships. Kathryn Bowen is a professor of Melbourne University, and the lead author for IPCC's 6th assessment report. She noted that the federal funding has been cut for climate science around the world. Bowen stated that "unfortunately, there has been a gradual reduction in funding support for IPCC authors over the past few years." Bowen said that high-income countries were seen as a source of funding by colleagues in the Global South. (Reporting and editing by Lincoln Feast; Additional reporting by David Stanway, with additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici.
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Alliant Energy exceeds profit expectations for the fourth quarter on higher electricity prices
Alliant Energy, a utility company, beat its fourth-quarter profit expectations on Thursday thanks to higher electricity rates. Rate case proceedings are used by utilities to increase their rates. They base their appeals on the investments they have made or the expenses they have incurred in providing services. The quarterly adjusted profit of its Interstate Power and Light Company division almost tripled from a previous year to $101 millions after receiving an order from Iowa Utilities Commission authorizing annual rate increases. Alliant provides natural gas and electricity to approximately 1 million customers in Iowa and Wisconsin. The utility firm reported that it had signed multiple power supply agreements with data centers located in Iowa and Wisconsin last year. As artificial intelligence tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT become more popular, the demand for high-performance, energy-efficient data centers that can process large amounts of data to handle huge volumes of data is increasing. According to LSEG, the company reported a profit adjusted of 70 cents for the quarter that ended on December 31. This was compared with an average analyst estimate of 68-cents per share. Reporting by Tanay in Bengaluru, and editing by Alan Barona
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BMW executive: No special deal needed to avoid US tariffs
BMW's chief purchasing officer stated that the company does not feel the need to negotiate an exclusive deal with the United States in order to avoid import duties. He cited the large presence of the automaker in the country, as well as its good relationship with U.S. officials. BMW's South Carolina plant is the largest in terms of output worldwide and exports to many markets, including China, Germany and Britain. The company can restructure production to make more products for the local market, if U.S. president Donald Trump follows through with his threats to impose 25% tariffs on imported vehicles. Joachim Post, the head of the automaker's Landshut component factory, told journalists that the United States was the largest exporter of cars. The event, which showcased the new technology for the 'Neue Klassen' EV Series, took place on Monday. Post responded: "I do not see a scenario where we would need to have our own deal." Trump's tariffs could hurt BMW competitors Audi and Porsche. Both Volkswagen brands, Audi and Porsche do not produce in the U.S. VW CEO Oliver Blume said to German broadcaster ZDF this week that the company was in contact with Trump's officials, reminding them of the billions it had invested in the nation. Blume said to ZDF that companies who invest there should reap some benefits. 'TECHNOLOGICAL OPENNESS' Mercedes-Benz announced on Thursday that it would be launching more combustion engine cars than battery-electric vehicles in the next three year to boost demand. BMW Post stated that the company's "technological-openness" approach, which involves setting up production lines that can switch between producing combustion engines, plug-in-hybrids, and purely electrical cars, is paying off. BMW's executive said that the U.S. is still divided on drive system preferences. Mercedes-Benz, the VW brand and other carmakers in Europe are cutting costs in their own markets. They are also shifting production from the north of Europe to Eastern Europe, which has lower costs. BMW chose to produce key components for its upcoming "Neue Klasse" EVs in two factories in Germany and Austria. Both plants are set up in a way that makes the extra costs outweigh the increased efficiency, Post reported. BMW is producing the "Energy Master" in Landshut, southern Germany. This control unit will be used to update its battery technology remotely. The plant in Steyr, Austria will manufacture the electric motor for the Neue Klasse. Series production at both sites is expected to begin in the summer of 2025. Reporting by Victoria Waldersee. (Editing by Jane Merriman.
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Brokers and documents say that Expand Energy is exploring the sale of the entire iconic Oklahoma campus.
Expand Energy, formerly known under the name Chesapeake and the largest U.S. Natural Gas producer, wants to sell most of the campus in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This is according to the document that was reviewed by the brokers who were involved with the sale. The sale of real estate is another step towards the diminution of the iconic Chesapeake, which was once synonymous with U.S. Shale Revolution. The company has hired Colliers International Group's Commercial Oklahoma Division and Cushman & Wakefield’s Commercial Oklahoma division as real estate brokers to market the over 100 acres (40.5 hectares), of campus located in the northern suburbs Oklahoma City. Travis Mason, Director at Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Oklahoma, stated that Expand intends to keep its 253,000 square-foot (23.505 sq-meter) headquarters, also known as Building 15. The company will also retain four garden-style structures, a parking lot, and two acres of property. Mason said that the sale considerations for the remainder of the real estate are in an early stage. This includes a 56.250-square-foot-data center with 2.9 megawatts critical power generation capacity. Walker Ryan, principal at Colliers, says that real estate developers are likely to be interested in the sale, but other companies seeking to purchase individual buildings may also be involved. Mason and Ryan declined to provide an appraisal for the real property and said that it would depend whether the properties were sold in one transaction or separately. Expand has not responded to comments immediately. In a $7 billion merger last year, the company changed its name to Southwestern Energy, a rival, and will be bankrupt in 2020. It became the biggest U.S. producer of natural gas after its merger, but it has seen its workforce drop dramatically in recent years due to a number of layoffs. Aubrey McClendon, the late founder of Chesapeake, meticulously planned the campus as the company grew from 10 employees in 1989 when he founded it to more than 12,000 employees in 2012. McClendon who died in an auto accident in 2016 spared no expense in building the campus. It includes a 67,000 square-foot fitness centre with a swimming pool of Olympic size, four restaurants, and a daycare facility measuring 62,000 square-feet. The Oklahoman reported that at its peak in the early 2000s, more than 8,000 Chesapeake workers worked on the campus. The newspaper reported that as of last year this number had dropped to 560. According to the company's annual reports, Chesapeake will have about 1,000 employees at the end of 2023. Shariq Khan, New York, and Liz Hampton & Marguerita Choy edited the article.
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Consolidated Edison exceeds profit expectations for the fourth quarter on higher electricity prices
Consolidated Edison, a utility company, beat Wall Street expectations for the fourth quarter profit on Thursday due to higher electricity rates. Rate case proceedings are used by utilities to increase their rates. They base their appeals on the investments they have made or expenses they have incurred when delivering their services. The New York company's revenue for its electricity segment increased 7.6% to $2.72 billion compared to a year ago. Consolidated Edison is divided into three segments: Consolidated Edison Company of New York (CENY), Orange & Rockland Utilities, and Con Edison Transmission. New York provides gas and electricity service to approximately 1.1 million city residents. The company expects to achieve a profit adjusted for 2025 between $5.50-$5.70 per share. This is below the Wall Street estimate of $5.63. Consolidated Edison anticipates capital expenditures of $5.12 billion by 2025, and $8.07 in 2026. According to data compiled and analyzed by LSEG, the company reported a profit adjusted of 98 cents for the quarter ending December 31. This compares with an average analyst estimate of 95 cents. Reporting by Tanay in Bengaluru, and editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi
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MP Materials' fourth quarter loss exceeds Wall Street expectations
MP Materials, a rare earths producer, said that its fourth-quarter losses widened in part due to higher production costs associated with the refining the minerals. However the results surpassed Wall Street's predictions. In after-hours trading, shares of the Las Vegas based company increased 1% to $23,40. MP reported a loss of $22.3m, or 14c per share for the quarter ended December 31, compared with a loss of $16.3m, or 9c per share in the previous quarter. Without one-time items such as depreciation or costs related to environmental obligations, MP lost a loss of 12 cents per share. According to IBES from LSEG, analysts had expected a loss per share of 13 cents. MP sells rare earth concentrates from its California mine to refiners throughout China and other countries. It refines rare Earths in California. During the third quarter, the company produced 11,478 tons of this concentrate. This is 24% more than in the previous period. MP's California refinery produced 413 tons of neodymium, praseodymium, and other rare earths (NdPr), the two most sought-after rare earths, during the third quarter. This is nearly triple what was produced in the same period last year. The prices of NdPr and rare earth concentrates fell in the third quarter. MP expects to start manufacturing permanent magnets in its Texas facility before the end of 2025.
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US agency staff are not allowed to talk with Congress, a lawmaker claims
In a letter to agency administrators sent on Thursday, Chellie Pingree, a Representative, said that the Trump administration had instructed staff at the U.S. Farm, Environment and Interior agencies not to speak to members of the U.S. Congress. Pingree (a Democrat) said that the interruption in communication strayed away from longstanding relationships between agency staff and Congressional decision makers. "These employees have always shown professionalism and integrity. Since President (Donald Trump) took office, almost all communication has stopped. Pingree sent letters to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. J. Elizabeth Peace, spokesperson for the Interior Department, said that the agency doesn't comment on communications from Congress. A spokesperson for the EPA said that the agency is reviewing the letter. Requests for comments from the USDA were not immediately responded to. Pingree, the leading Democrat in the House of Representatives appropriations committee that oversees Interior, Environment and other agencies. The letters expressed their "outrage" over the firings thousands of federal employees across three agencies. They requested information on the number and breakdown of terminations by program office, location, and other details by February 27, 2019. The letter said that "the chaotic way in which these mass shootings were carried out will only make the Federal Government more inefficient." Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency fired thousands of federal employees in just a few days. (Reporting and editing by Sandra Maler, Diane Craft and Sandra Maler; Additional reporting and editing by Valerie Volcovici)
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Newmont's profit exceeds expectations for the fourth quarter on higher gold prices and production
Newmont exceeded analysts' estimates for the fourth quarter profit on Thursday as it benefited from an increase in production and a rise in gold prices. The average price of gold rose over the last few quarters, and reached multiple all-time-highs between October and December as the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. Presidential election and Middle East tensions fuelled demand for this safe-haven investment. Newmont's quarterly production of gold increased 9.2% compared to the previous year, reaching 1.90 million ounces. The price also rose 31.9%, at $2,643 an ounce. All-in-sustaining-costs for gold, an industry metric reflecting total expenses, were down 1.5% at $1,463 per ounce, also aiding the company's earnings. Newmont expects to produce about 5.9 millions ounces of gold in the current fiscal year, which is above Wall Street's estimate of 5.87. Newmont, after purchasing Australia's Newcrest for $17.14billion, announced in February 2024 it would divest its non-core assets, and reduce its workforce, to reduce debt. As of December 31, the amount of debt was $5.31billion. The company announced late last year that it would sell the Eleonore Mine in Canada to UK-based Dhilmar Ltd. for $795 millions and its Musselwhite Gold Mine, located in Ontario, to Orla Mining. Discovery Silver, a gold miner, announced last month that it would purchase Newmont's Porcupine Operations stake in Ontario, Canada for $425,000,000. According to LSEG, Newmont's adjusted earnings per share were $1.40 for the quarter ending December 31 compared to analysts' average estimates of $1.08, according LSEG data. Reporting by Tanay dhumal, Bengaluru. Editing by Shilpa Majumdar
White House envoy and national security advisor to Saudi Arabia for Russia discussions
Steve Witkoff, the White House Middle East Envoy, said on Sunday that he and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz would be traveling to Saudi Arabia in the afternoon to discuss how to stop Russia's conflict with Ukraine.
His comments to Fox News was the first official confirmation of the talks.
In an interview with Fox News, Witkoff stated that he would be traveling to the country tonight. "I will be going there with the National Security Advisor, and we will be having meetings under the direction of President, and hopefully, we'll make really good progress."
The talks that will take place in Saudi Arabia are the first in-person high-level discussions between Russians and Americans in many years. They are intended to be a prelude to a meeting of U.S. president Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Donald Trump
The Russian President
Vladimir Putin
Ukrainian leaders, as well as officials from other European countries, have publicly expressed their frustration at the U.S. government's decision to exclude them in some of its negotiations with Russia. Ukrainian officials said that they had not been invited to the meeting in Saudi Arabia, and that any agreements that come out of that dialogue would not bind them.
Witkoff refuted the notion that the Ukrainians were excluded from talks with Russians. In his Fox interview, Witkoff noted that Ukrainian officials had met with high-ranking U.S. government officials at the Munich Security Conference last weekend. However, he did say that they were not welcome in Saudi Arabia.
Witkoff stated, "I do not think that this is about excluding anyone." "In reality, it's all about inclusion."
(source: Reuters)