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Vistra beats fourth-quarter core profit estimates on AI-driven power demand
Vistra Corp, a power producer, beat Wall Street's expectations on Thursday for its fourth-quarter core profit?adjusted? as an?AI driven surge in electricity consumption from data centers?fueled earnings. The U.S. is expected to?increase its power consumption?increase?increasingly this year and next year, due to the rapid expansion in data centers for artificial-intelligence services and cryptocurrency and the switch from gas and oil heating and transportation. The big?tech companies are also looking for long-term contracts with electricity suppliers to power AI-driven services and data centres. Meta Platforms has signed a 20-year contract to purchase power from Vistra's three nuclear plants located in the heartland of the U.S. Vistra also announced in January a $4.7 Billion agreement to acquire Cogentrix Energy, and its 10 natural-gas-fired plants, from Quantum Capital Group, to increase capacity to meet growing energy needs. In November, the power producer forecast a 2026 core adjusted profit that was higher than its 2025 outlook. This showed?confidence' in its expanding power generation portfolio as well as strong demand in all U.S. market segments. As it expands its gas-fired energy and clean energy capacities, the company anticipates a core profit of between $6.8 and $7.6 Billion in 2026, up from a range of $5.7 to $5.9 Billion for 2025. Vistra's?profit for the fourth quarter of $233 millions was down from $490 million one year earlier. According to LSEG data, Irving, Texas, based company reported an adjusted core profit for the 'three months ended December '31 of $1.74 billion, which was above analysts’ average estimate of $1.6?billion. The company's shares rose by 1.8% during premarket trading. (Reporting and editing by Diti Pjara in Bengaluru, Katha Kalia is based in Bengaluru)
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Russell: China is shifting its crude oil purchases in response to the price rally.
China's role in setting the?floor and the?ceiling for crude oil prices is one of the less?discussed dynamics of the global market. When prices are low, the world's biggest crude importer will buy excess oil and build up its inventory. Analysts and journalists covering the crude oil market are not aware of the changes in imports because they occur with a delay of several months. There are early signs, however, that China will shift its imports in favor of crudes with more competitive prices, and also reduce imports starting April. The reason for this is that crude oil prices are rising sharply, amid tensions between Iran and the United States. There's also concern about retaliation by Iran against oil tankers and installations in the Persian Gulf region if a U.S. strike occurs. Brent crude futures reached their highest level in almost seven months on the 23rd of February, reaching $72.50 per barrel. They have risen 23% from the low point of $58.72 set on December 16th. Brent's rise has led to crudes from West African producers Nigeria and Angola being priced more expensive relative to Brent. This has in turn led to producers offering larger discounts to clear their cargoes. Traders report that some West African grades have been sold at up to $5 per barrel discount over the Dated?Benchmark Brent, up from $3 earlier this month. China is often viewed as the buyer of last recourse for West African crudes. The high discounts offered show that there is a limited appetite for additional cargoes. The cost of landing West African crude oil in China is also increasing due to higher freight rates, particularly since Middle East producers are lowering their prices. Saudi Arabia, world's biggest oil exporter has cut its official selling prices (OSPs) for its main Arab Light grades for Asian refiners by a further month for cargoes loaded in March. According to data, the March OSP for Arab Light Crude was equal to the Oman/Dubai Average, down from $0.30 per barrel in February. This is the lowest premium since December 2020. China has responded to the Saudi oil crisis by purchasing more crude and other grades of similar grade from Gulf producers. AFRICA DIP The data from commodity analysts,?Kpler, also shows that China is reducing its cargoes coming from Africa. Arrivals in February and march were below the levels of the fourth quarter last year. According to Kpler, China's imports of oil from Africa will be 1.04 million barrels a day in March, and 978,000 in February. This is down?from 1.2 million barrels a day in the fourth quarter 2025. Due to similar API gravity and sulphur content, there is a high degree of fungibility among grades like Angola Cabinda and Nigeria Bonny Light. A grade similar to Urals is Russia. China is buying cargoes with heavy discounts, after India, the other major Russian buyer agreed to buy less sanctioned crude as part of an agreement reached with the United States. China's imports from Europe of Russian crude, where Urals -loads - are located, is expected to reach 824,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February. This represents an increase from 741,000 barrels per day in January, and 444,000 in December. China appears to be buying Russian crude at a discount and reducing its consumption of Brent, which is more expensive. It may also be reducing the volume of imports due to the recent price rise, as it did in the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran in June, last year, which was supported by the United States. You like this column? Check out Open Interest, your new essential source of global financial commentary. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis on everything from soybeans to swap rates. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X. These are the views of the columnist, an author for.
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Botswana's interest rate is on hold with inflation within target range
Botswana’s central bank left its monetary policy rate?unchanged?on Thursday.?Saying that inflation was projected to remain within its target range, as a depressed diamond market continues to wreak havoc on the economy. The Bank of Botswana kept the rate at 3.5% for the second time in a row. In January, the annual inflation rate was 4.1%. This is near the middle of the 3-6% target range set by the central bank. According to the latest forecasts of the bank, inflation will average 4.5% in 2026 and 4.7% in 2027. Governor Lesego Moseki has, however, warned of inflationary risks, including the proposed increases in electricity tariffs and an outbreak foot-and mouth disease that could increase food inflation. He echoed in a press conference the economic growth projections given in this month's budget, predicting 3.1% growth following two consecutive years of?contraction. The growth in this year is expected to come mainly from non-mining sectors as the country in southern Africa looks to diversify its economy away from diamond exports. The diamond industry accounts for about a third (or a quarter) of the revenue of Botswana and three-quarters of its earnings in foreign currency. (Reporting and writing by Brian Benza, Anathi Madubela, Alexander Winning & David Goodman).
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MORNING BID AMERICAS - Nvidia's damp squib
What's important in the U.S. and international markets today by Mike Dolan Editor-at-Large of?Finance and Markets Nvidia beats the street once again, but this time there was no market fireworks. The AI giant's stock soared 3% in a matter of hours after?surpassing analysts' revenue forecasts for the last quarter and the one to come. But, they've since given most of this back. Questions continue to be raised about the narrowness of customer base and rising competition for the chip giant. Below, I'll go into more detail. Check out my most recent column about the main obstacle to deeper EU-China trading ties. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast. Subscribe to the Morning Bid daily podcast and hear journalists discussing the latest news in finance and markets seven days a weeks. NVIDIA DAMP SQUIB Nvidia's stock is already priced to take advantage of the AI boom, even though the overall AI infrastructure is clearly increasing. This is evident in the booming Asia markets, where major chipmakers and computing hardware sellers are dominant. The South Korean Kospi index rose by nearly 4% Thursday. Seoul's benchmark index is up 50% this year and has doubled within six months. The tech world wasn't all sunshine and roses, though. Salesforce, a software company, fell 4% after its latest results on Wednesday. Workday, a HR software firm, also dropped 8%, to a five-year low. S&P 500 futures held their gains before Thursday's bell. Stocks in Europe were higher during a busy day of earnings. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei index rose slightly as the Bank of Japan was in focus. This week, the focus has been on the nomination by Prime Minister Sanae Tachichi of two dovish candidates to the BoJ Board. Some have compared this to the Federal Reserve Independence concerns in the U.S. On hearing that news, the yen initially fell. Many investors have however downplayed their impact, as the two new nominees are both dovish, and the BoJ's independence from the government was always much more tenuous. As a result, the yen gained a foothold today against?the US dollar. China's currency, the yuan is unstoppable. It has not only risen to its highest levels in nearly three years against the dollar, but also reached its highest level in nine months against the Euro today. Energy?markets have also turned their focus to Geneva where the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks resume on Thursday. The betting markets continue to?see more than a 50 percent chance?of a limited U.S. strike in the next month. Crude oil prices are calm. This is helped by reports that OPEC+ may consider boosting production during its next meeting. Chart of the Day After Nvidia's positive earnings announcement overnight, the latest surge in?South Korean stocks on Thursday was led mainly by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The Korean market boom has been fueled by the governance reforms spearheaded President Lee Jae Myung. On Wednesday, parliament passed a 3rd revision to Commercial Act in order to better protect shareholder?interests. Watch today's events * U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims (8:30?a.m. EST) * U.S. 7-year note auction * U.S.-Iran nuclear talks resume ?in Geneva Want to receive Morning Bid every morning in your email? Subscribe to the newsletter by clicking here. Follow us on LinkedIn, X and ROI. The opinions expressed here are the author's. These opinions do not represent the views of News. News is committed to the Trust Principles and to integrity, independence, freedom from bias, and impartiality.
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Engie shares rise on a 'transformative,' $14 billion UK power grid contract
Engie's largest acquisition to date is UK?Power Networks Engie is less exposed to fluctuating natural gas price fluctuations Engie to sell 4 billion Euros in order to finance acquisition By ?America Hernandez PARIS, February 26 - 'Shares of French utility Engie reached a '17-year high on Thursday after the company announced that it will buy UK Power Networks, HK-listed CK Infrastructure Holdings, for 10.5 billion pound ($14.21 billion), which is its largest acquisition so far. Analysts at Jefferies said that the deal would be "transformative", as it would give Engie a piece of the increasing income from Britain's biggest power distributor, which is pushing for greater electrification in order to achieve a net-zero target by 2050. The company follows the Spanish counterpart Iberdrola Purchase The European energy companies are increasingly focusing on 'grid investments, which offer more predictable and regulated revenue streams in the face of volatile energy prices. Engie shares were up nearly 8 percent at 29.7 euros ($32.7) as of 1119 GMT. This is their largest single-day gain since March 2017, and the highest since February 2009. Analysts at Jefferies said that UKPN supplies the south-east, east and London of England, with an asset base expected grow by 5% per year through 2028. The utility stated that the UK will be Engie's 2nd largest market and the acquisition is expected to immediately boost earnings. Catherine MacGregor, CEO of Engie, told analysts that the UKPN's net zero target for 2050 was legally binding. A VALUATION THAT IS REASONABLE Engie's price implies a multiple of 1.5 times UKPN’s regulated asset values, which is in line with similar transactions in the industry, but lower than what was offered. Alpha?Value Analyst Pierre-Alexandre Ramondenc stated that t He was a "reasonable" valuation. MacGregor stated that Engie was looking to dispose of 4 billion euros in assets to fund the acquisition. The company had already disposed of 1.5bn euros worth of non-core assets last year. It is also considering opening some assets up to minority ownership.
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Redeia, the Spanish grid operator, will invest $7.7 Billion through 2029
Spain's 'Redeia', owner of the power grid operator Red Electrica plans to 'invest' 6.5 billion euro ($7.67billion) by 2029. This will be used primarily to upgrade and expand the country's electricity network. Redeia has been blamed by utilities for the blackout that occurred in Portugal and Spain in April last year - Europe's biggest outage in over two decades. Redeia - in which the government holds a 20% stake - has also blamed them. Redeia senior management said that the company adhered to all "procedures" and "rules". The power outage has been the subject of multiple investigations, including by the Spanish government. It concluded that "both Redeia" and the power generators were at fault. Red Electrica is responsible for a transmission network spanning over 46,000 km (28 600 miles) while power companies such as Iberdrola, Endesa, and others control and invest in a less extensive local distribution grid that carries?electricity?to the final consumers. Redeia announced on Thursday that it will invest approximately 6 billion Euros in Spain's grid. This leaves around 500 million euro for investments in other businesses such as its international operations, technology, and fiber-optic businesses. The company said that it did not set aside any provisions for possible claims related to the blackout, as it thought it would be unlikely to have to pay out in the future. However, the investigations are ongoing and this could change. The 'power grid operator' increased its use of stable sources of energy, like gas plants, after the 'outage. Although they are more expensive and not carbon-free, they can help balance the grid better than intermittent renewable energy. According to Redeia, as the share of electricity generated by wind and sun declined from 56.8% to 55.5% in 2024, average prices?of electricity?on the Spanish spot market?rose by around 9%, to 83.45 Euros per megawatt-hour. It said that the net profit for last year rose by 37%, to 505.6 millions euros.
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Russian rouble weakens after government flags budget changes
MOSCOW, February 26. The Russian rouble fell against the U.S. Dollar on Thursday but rebounded against China’s yuan after a swoon the day before when the government announced changes in the current budget because of?falling energy revenues. Finance Minister 'Anton' Siluanov announced on Wednesday that more money would be diverted into the fiscal reserves fund to avoid its depletion. This move implies that the state will reduce the sales of foreign currencies, which has supported the rouble. The?rouble has weakened sharply in the second half on Wednesday. This movement was primarily driven by statements regarding plans to lower cutoff prices in the budget rule. According to budget rule, oil tax collected above a certain price cut-off, currently $59 per barrel is stored in the National Wealth Fund in foreign currency. The money can also be used to cover deficits above the planned levels. Russian oil has been selling below this price for several months due to the sanctions-related discounts of up to $20. This means that the fund is not being replenished. In the over-the counter market, the rouble fell by 0.4% against U.S. dollars despite some support coming from the sales of foreign currencies by exporting companies at the end the month in order to pay their tax. The rouble gained 0.6% against the yuan after a weakened by more than 1% following Siluanov’s statement on Wednesday. Exporters were rushing to purchase yuan to stock up for their tax obligations on Thursday. The?rouble has gained 2.3% since the beginning of the year after a rally of more than 45% in 2023. (Reporting and editing by Gleb Brynski)
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Mexico's Cemex will buy US stucco manufacturer Omega in a US building materials push
Mexico's Cemex announced on Thursday that it would?buy U.S. based stucco producer Omega Products?International, as part of a broader push to?offer additional building materials in its largest market. Cemex said that Omega, a privately-held firm with four locations in western U.S. generates approximately $23 million in core earnings a year, but did not reveal the purchase price. The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter. The CEO of Cemex, Jaime Muguiro, said that the purchase was in line with the company's U.S. Growth Strategy. He added that the acquisition would complement Cemex's existing operations because Omega's plants are located in the same Western states as Cemex, where it already sells aggregates, additives, and cement. Muguiro took over the role of CEO last year and promised to trim the fat off one of the largest cement producers in the world. This included cutting workers and non-core operations, while doubling down on growth in the U.S. Cemex anticipates that Omega's value will be less than seven times core earnings, as defined by EBITDA. If you have an annual EBITDA of only $23 million, then the enterprise value would be less than $161 million. Cemex increased its stake in Couch Aggregates (which produces sand and gravel) to a majority last October. (Reporting and editing by Janane Vekatraman; Kylie Madry)
Denmark will hold parliamentary elections as Frederiksen Bets on Greenland Crisis Boost
Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, announced that a parliamentary vote would be held in Denmark on March 24. She was hoping to capitalize on the?surge of support for her defiant?stance towards U.S. pressure on Greenland. Frederiksen'spent the last few months' rallying European leaders to oppose President Donald Trump’s renewed interest in annexed Greenland. This effort has been credited with boosting her popularity following public dissatisfaction about rising living costs and pressures placed on welfare services.
"This election will be decisive, because in the next four-years we will have to stand up on our own as Danes and Europeans. Frederiksen stated that we need to clarify our relationship with America and that we must re-arm in order to ensure peace on the continent.
"We must stay together in Europe and secure the future for the Danish Commonwealth,"?she said. She was referring to the Danish kingdom, which includes Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands. Frederiksen has been elevated to a higher profile internationally due to the Greenland Crisis. She was praised for her quick response and building of European support for Ukraine.
Election to?TEST THE PM LEADERSHIP IN AMID DOMESTIC DISSATISFACTION
The election will determine whether voters reward her for her leadership in defending Danish sovereignty and her international position or punish her government, which critics claim has not paid attention to domestic problems.
The current Danish government is a cross-partisan coalition consisting of Frederiksen’s Social Democrats, Troels Lund-Poulsen’s centre-right Liberal Party, and the Moderates led by Lars Lokke Rasmussen – the Foreign Minister who has twice been Prime Minister.
According to opinion polls the coalition, which was formed in 2022 to serve as a crisis-resolution government, is likely to lose its majority as parties realign themselves to more traditional left/right lines.
Social Democrats suffer a major defeat at the 2025 municipal election, as they lose the Copenhagen'mayoralty' for the first time in 87 years.
The party's popularity dropped to just 17% when polls were conducted in December, but it has now rebounded to 22 % as Frederiksen received a boost from her handling of the Greenland issue. The party received?28% in the general election of 2022.
The 2023 government decision to abolish the
Great Prayer Day
Public holiday to fund increased defence spending
Unpopular
The public is not in favor of military investments, even though they are widely supported.
Some economists believe that scrapping the holiday is unnecessary given the recent strong economic growth in the country. The Green Left, an ally of the Social Democrats who are currently in opposition has pledged that they will reinstate the holiday, something the Social Democrats still haven't ruled out. Reporting by Stine Jacobsen. Editing by Terje Solsvik.
(source: Reuters)