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Trump kills the US penny, but few mourn it
Nour Ismail is a cashier in Manhattan at All-Star Deli & Grocery. She says that the few pennies tossed to the tip jar at the end of each day are more of a nuisance than a reward for excellent service. The 24-year-old added that pennies as a tip are almost worthless. He said the offer shows the kindness of customers and they can sometimes add up. He said, "pennies aren't important," with a shrug. Donald Trump shared this view when he said, on Sunday, that he directed the U.S. Treasury to stop producing pennies. The U.S. Treasury oversees the U.S. Mint. The announcement made by Trump on his Truth Social platform has sparked a debate that's been going on for decades about the value and cost of the one-cent copper coin. Some people want to get rid of pennies, claiming that they are a waste. They point out countries like Canada who have done so successfully. The Mint's Annual Report states that a penny cost 3,69 cents last year, an increase of about 20% compared to 2023, due to materials costs, such as zinc. Larry Jackson, 65 years old, is a lifelong numismatist, meaning someone who studies coinage. He owns Larry Jackson Rare Coins, located in Atlanta. Jackson supports Trump's proposal. They don't use them. They don't even use them. Jackson said that they socked them away in drawers, cans, and jars. They then tried to bring them here in sacks. We don't want any of them. Even a 30-pound bag will not fetch $50. Jackson stated that there are some collectors who hoard coins minted before 1982 for their copper content. He said that the scheme would only be successful if melting them down became legal. It is not clear whether Trump has the authority to stop production of the penny despite his directive. According to the website of the Mint, the Mint receives its authority from Congress. The Treasury Department and the U.S. Mint did not return phone calls for comment. What's the worst thing that can happen to consumers? The penny coin is a very important part of American society, according to those who support it. They can be used to pay for small items in grocery and convenience stores or thrown into a charity jar as loose change. Mark Weller of Americans for Common Cents (a lobby group supported by companies involved in coin manufacturing) said: "The main issue is that this is bad for the consumers and economy." Weller stated that polling has shown Americans dislike rounding. Grocers and corner shops, who are facing razor-thin profit margins, will likely round up the price if this coin is discontinued. Weller said that, in addition to fueling the inflation, ceasing to use the penny "would disproportionately harm lower-income groups and people who are underbanked or unbanked, and are relying upon a cash economy." Cash is the cheapest option for consumers. A Wake Forest University study from 2007 of a convenience store chain in multiple states showed that removing the penny wouldn't create a rounded tax and wouldn't contribute to higher prices. Robert Whaples said that the loss of the penny is a wash to the consumer. It's just as much rounding down as it is up. Sean Snaith is an economist at the University of Central Florida and the director of the Institute of Economic Competitiveness. He agrees with the idea that the penny has become a historical relic. Snaith stated that penny candy and even gum balls for a penny are no longer available. He said: "I believe that at one point in history, canceling the penny would have made a bigger impact. But now people don't carry them around in their pockets." "They are largely not in circulation." Snaith stated that the nickel is a loss leader even more so, as it costs over 13 cents but only has a value of five cents. He said, "We are losing money on the nickel. People should be concerned about this." Canada announced its intention to eliminate the penny in 2012. The coin retained only one twentieth of its original value and removing it from circulation would result in an annual saving of C$11,000,000. Prices were rounded to the nearest five cents for all cash transactions. Payments made by credit cards, debit cards and checks that are not cash were also rounded to the nearest five cents. Richie Figueroa of Staten Island is 55 years old and agrees that pennies are a nuisance. He would like to see them eliminated. Figueroa: "I don't wait to get change for pennies a lot of the time when I go shopping." What purpose do they serve?
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Modi and Vance talk about 'diversifying India's energy sources
The White House reported that U.S. Vice-President JD Vance spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra modi on Tuesday to discuss how the United States could assist India in diversifying energy sources through investments in U.S. Nuclear Technology. Why it's important The two men met in Paris, France, on Tuesday to attend a summit on artificial intelligence. This was ahead of the Prime Minister's visit to the United States later this week, during which trade, investment and technology are likely topics for discussion. India announced earlier this month that it would amend its nuclear liability laws to encourage foreign and private investment in a highly-protected industry. Analysts claim that Washington has viewed India as a counterweight to China's growing global influence for many years. KEY QUOTE The White House released a statement saying that Modi and Vance had "discussed mutually-interested topics, including how to assist India in diversifying India's energy sources through investments in reliable, clean U.S. Nuclear technology." Modi wrote on X that he and Vance had "a great conversation about various topics." CONTEXT The strict liability under India's Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act of 2010, which was enacted in 2010, has hampered the implementation of a nuclear deal between India and the United States that included participation by U.S. power plants makers like General Electric and Westinghouse. Recent Call and Trump Comments Modi and Donald Trump talked late in January, after the U.S. President took office. The White House stated that during that phone conversation, Trump stressed the importance that India buy more American-made equipment for security and move toward a fair bilateral trading relationship. In Trump's first year, the Republican and Hindu nationalist Modi had a warm relationship. But during his re-election campaign, Trump called India "a very big abuser" of trade. Trump threatened to impose tariffs on the BRICS nations, which includes India, if they refused to agree with his demand that they not create a currency. Officials from the Indian government say that India is looking at tariff reductions in at least 12 sectors in order to boost U.S. imports and support New Delhi's plans for domestic production. Modi could also propose an increase in U.S. imports of energy and defense. Reporting by Kanishka Sing in Washington, Editing by Les Adler and Sandra Maler
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Trump's attempt to stop a judge's order banning funding freezes fails
U.S. president Donald Trump On Tuesday, the president lost the latest round of a legal battle in which he tried to stop federal spending. An appeals court refused to pause an order that required the government to keep delivering funds. The U.S. Department of Justice asked the 1st U.S. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided late Monday night to suspend an order issued by a Rhode Island federal court earlier in the day. In a two-page decision, the 1st Circuit expressed confidence that the lower court will quickly clarify all the concerns raised by the government in its filing. This includes that the order prevents the president from exercising lawful authority. The appeals court stated that the government can file any additional documents supporting its position before the end of Thursday. The court's ruling on Monday marked the first instance since Trump's return to office in January that it had found the administration had violated a court order blocking a part of the Republican President's agenda. The Justice Department stated that U.S. district judge John McConnell improperly tried to take power away from Trump. Trump's authority to direct agencies in a manner consistent with his policies preferences is "well-established." The Justice Department's lawyers wrote: "This situation cannot continue for another day." A stay is warranted pending an appeal. A group of Democratic State Attorneys General argued, however, that if McConnell’s order were paused Trump would "be immediately free to resume his sweeping and illegal policies," harming those who depend on federal funding. Trump, Elon Musk and other members of his administration have all been critical of judges who have blocked important pieces of the President's agenda. In some cases, they have argued that judges do not have the authority to interfere with the president's power. Trump tweeted on Tuesday, "certain activists and highly-political judges want us slow down or stop" the administration's efforts at eliminating federal government waste. Musk, the richest person in the world, posted on Twitter on Tuesday that "democracy is being destroyed in America by judicial coup" after calling for impeachment of the judge in New York, who had barred his Department of Government Efficiency access to Treasury Department systems. These comments have raised concerns over whether the Trump Administration would adhere to court rulings. In a Monday statement, the American Bar Association expressed concern about "widespread affronts against the rule of law" under Trump. McConnell's lawsuit was brought by Democratic Attorneys General from 22 states and District of Columbia. They sued after the White House Office of Management and Budget released a memo that announced a spending freeze that involved trillions of dollars. OMB later retracted that memo. McConnell, however, had determined that a temporary injunction was still needed because evidence showed that the funding freeze was still in place and OMB's withdrawal of the memo was "in name-only." This is just one of many lawsuits where Democratic-led States, civil rights organizations and progressive advocacy groups have obtained court orders to block for the time being Trump's attempts to reduce the size and spending of the federal government and crackdown on immigration. The Democratic State Attorneys General on Friday urged McConnell, to enforce his funding freezing order. They said that the administration took the position that they could still withhold millions of dollars in funding for infrastructure and the environment under the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act. McConnell, a former president Barack Obama appointee, said his order on federal funding was "clear, unambiguous," and prohibited any categorical freezes or pauses. (Reporting and editing by Rod Nickel, Alexia Garamfalvi, and David Gregorio; Boston)
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Shell case brought before Dutch Supreme Court by climate activists
Friends of the Earth Netherlands, a climate activist group in the Netherlands, is bringing its case against Shell before the Netherlands Supreme Court. It continues to demand a specific target for the reduction of carbon emissions by the company and products. Shell won its appeal in November against a landmark 2021 ruling that required it to increase efforts to reduce greenhouse gases emissions. The court of appeals said Shell had a responsibility to lower emissions in order to protect the public from global warming. However, it said that they could not set a reduction target specific for the company. Friends of the Earth said, however, that it saw "more" than enough options for a particular target. Roger Cox, the lawyer for the group, said that "Judges had already confirmed Shell's responsibility to reduce emissions and make its contribution to the Paris Climate Agreement." There is sufficient legal basis for the decision to be more specific and stronger. Shell was ordered to reduce its carbon emissions, both absolute and those due to its products, by 45% compared to the levels of 2019. The appeals court agreed that Shell's absolute requirement to reduce emissions could have a negative effect on the world, since it could cause customers to switch to coal instead of Shell's gas. Shell CEO Wael Sawan said at the time that Shell believed this decision was the "right one" for the Netherlands, global energy transition and Shell. The Supreme Court does not review the facts or evidence that were presented in lower courts, but it will determine if procedures and motivations of the decision were followed correctly. The court can either confirm or annul the decision, and then reassign the case to another court. The decision is expected to be made in 2026.
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AGL Energy, a power producer, beats profit expectations and narrows its annual forecast
AGL Energy, an Australian power company, reported a first-half profit that was ahead of analysts' estimates. However the company lowered its earnings forecast for the full year citing lower demand from customers in the second half. AGL Energy has lowered its outlook for fiscal 2025 post-tax net profits to A$580 ($364.88 millions) to A$710, down from its previous expectations of A$530 to A$730. This new range has a mid-point that is slightly lower than Visible Alpha's consensus profit estimate of A$657 millions, but substantially lower than fiscal 2024's underlying profit of A$812million. The power producer stated that the narrowing of forecast is due to a strong performance in the first half, and earnings are expected to moderate during the second quarter, due to lower gas and electric demand from customers, as well as continued customer competition. The company also lowered its forecast for annual operating earnings to A$1.94 billion - A$2.14 Billion, missing the consensus estimate of A$2.06 Billion. AGL, which generates nearly 20% of the total electricity in Australia's National Electricity Market NEM, is fighting with lower contract price -- as the normalisation high wholesale electricity prices in the previous financial year affects contract pricing. The company's bottom line was hurt by higher operating costs, due to inflationary pressures. The underlying profit for the first half of the year fell below last year's A$399 millions to A$373 ($234.80) million. It comfortably exceeded the Visible Alpha consensus of A$307,4 million. "As expected, the results were impacted by an increased Consumer margin compression due lower customer prices and increased market competition," stated Chief Executive Officer Damien Nicks. The company's losses were reduced by higher generation volumes and gross margins at its electricity and natural gas trading business and its coal-fired Bayswater Power Station in New South Wales. The Melbourne-headquartered firm, which counts tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes as its top shareholder, declared an interim dividend of 23 Australian cents per share, below the 26 Australian cents declared last year. Reporting by Sameer Mukherjee and Rajasik Mukherjee, both in Bengaluru. Editing by Alan Barona & Shilpa Majumdar.
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Transport, infrastructure drag down mining giant Grupo Mexico's earnings
The mining giant Grupo Mexico announced a decline in its net profits during the fourth quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations. Losses in its infrastructure division as well as a lower profit in its transportation unit were to blame. The quarter's net profit fell by 6.5%, to $686.5 millions. Revenues were up 13% at $3.85 billion. Analysts polled at LSEG predicted a net income of $945 from revenues of $4.04 Billion. Grupo Mexico is controlled by German Larrea and is the largest copper producer in the world. It has mines located in Peru, Spain, the United States and Mexico. Copper production increased by 0.8% and zinc production nearly doubled. Grupo Mexico produced 1.086 million tons of copper in 2018, which is in line with the company's forecast. The miner said that it expects to produce 1.083 million tonnes in 2025. This is slightly less than its previous forecast. Transport saw a 3.5% drop in sales, and a net profit of 0.1% less than the same period last year. Infrastructure, on the other hand, reduced losses. (Reporting and editing by Sarah Morland; Kylie Madry)
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US Gulf refiners paying premium prices for Trinidad's Molo crude
Heritage Petroleum's CEO, who is the state-owned oil company of Trinidad and Tobago, stated on Tuesday that some U.S. Gulf Coast refining companies have paid recent prices above the Brent crude benchmark price for Trinidad and Tobago Molo heavy sour Crude. Some U.S. refineries have been forced to pay higher prices to obtain other grades due to the lower availability of popular Latin American heavy grades, such as regional benchmark Maya, from Mexico, and Merey, from Venezuela. This is in part because of prolonged production cuts by OPEC+. Trinidad and Tobago has been a marginal crude oil supplier to the Gulf Coast but its exports have increased in recent months. According to the Energy Information Administration, the U.S. imports Trinidadian crude at a rate of 44,000 barrels a day last year, compared with 36,000 barrels bpd by 2023. Erik Keskula, Heritage CEO, said on the sidelines Trinidad's Energy Conference that "we sometimes trade at a slight price premium to Brent because the crude mix we have is quite high in demand in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S." Keskula stated that Heritage will continue to market cargoes to various U.S. Gulf Coast Refineries in order to promote competition and firm prices in this region.
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Eversource Energy announces quarterly profit on increased electricity rates
Eversource Energy, a utility company, reported on Tuesday a profit for the fourth quarter. The higher electricity prices were to blame. 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 company posted a profit for the quarter ending December 31 of $72.5m, or 20c per share. This compares to a loss in the previous quarter of $1.29bn, or $3.68/share. The fourth quarter earnings were however impacted by a loss of $298.3 millions on the sale of the water distribution business. Eversource sold its public water division in January for $2.4 billion. The utility company wants to reduce its debt and concentrate on its main businesses, electricity and natural gas. As part of its diversification strategy into the water business, the company purchased Connecticut-based Aquarion Water for $1.7 billion in 2017. Eversource Energy provides electricity and natural gas for about 4,000,000 customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The company's fourth quarter 2023 loss was mainly due to a $1.62bn impairment charge on offshore wind investments. It divested a 50% stake in 3 wind projects in joint venture with Orsted. (Reporting from Tanay Dhumal, Bengaluru. Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi.)
German Embassy asks Italy's Banking Union about M&A Battles
The German embassy in Italy asked the main Italian banking union Fabi on Tuesday to explain the takeover wars that are roiling the sector.
Fabi released a statement saying that during a meeting requested by the embassy in Rome, Fabi's Lando Maria Sileoni, and Benedikt Grdau, the embassy's advisor for financial affairs, discussed ongoing deals, bank regulation, the role of the unions, and political implications.
Fabi stated that Germany closely monitors the rapidly changing Italian finance sector and its impact on cross-border trade.
Current M&A activity Italian banking includes UniCredit and Monte dei Paschi di Siena bidding respectively for Banco BPM and Mediobanca.
Last year, UniCredit announced that it had acquired a large stake in Commerzbank. It then began to press for a merger.
A source at the meeting said that the Italian bank's bid to acquire Commerzbank, was one of the topics discussed. The source did not provide any further details.
UniCredit has to wait for approval from the European Central Bank for the 28% stake that it built up in the German lender - largely using derivatives. (Reporting and editing by Gavin Jones, Andrea Mandala)
(source: Reuters)