Latest News
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Cold storage REIT Lineage trims personnel, WSJ reports
Cold storage property investment trust Family tree Inc is cutting staff after a blockbuster initial stock offering in the U.S. in 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, pointing out a company declaration. The Novi, Michigan-based company did not disclose the number of tasks or types of roles impacted by the layoffs, according to the report. Lineage did not right away respond to a Reuters request for remark. Lineage, backed by personal equity firm Bay Grove Capital, debuted last July at $82 per share, above the offer cost of $78. each, offering the company an appraisal of $19.2 billion. It had raised $4.45 billion in its U.S. initial public. offering, making it the greatest stock market launching internationally in. 2024. The company deals with food and drink companies such as. Kraft Heinz, Darden Restaurants and Walmart. for the storage, managing and motion of frozen and. disposable food all over the world.
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US airline industry lobbying group chief retiring at end of year
The longtime head of the trade group Airline companies for America who assisted U.S. airline companies win $ 54 billion in federal COVID relief funds will retire at the end of the year. Nick Calio, a former assistant to President George W. Bush, has headed the prominent airline company lobbying group considering that 2011 that includes American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, FedEx and Southwest Airlines . He has actually likewise promoted more funding for air traffic controllers and coped the Biden administration over regulative efforts. Congress approved $54 billion in 3 rounds covering much of U.S. airline company payroll expenses for 18 months during the pandemic. Calio also safeguarded airlines' actions to survive as passenger traffic dropped. In 2015, Calio urged the Biden administration to take swift action to attend to a long-standing air traffic controller lack and obsolete centers and technology. Business as usual isn't sufficing, Calio stated in a speech in Washington in 2015. It is an immediate problem. It's easy to overlook perhaps on a day-to-day basis, however we need to come up with a strategy to address it. President Joe Biden and Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg have actually consistently sparred with airline companies, while Airlines for America and some providers last year encouraged a U.S. appeals court to obstruct USDOT's brand-new guideline on in advance disclosure of airline company fees pending a full evaluation. The Federal Air travel Administration is still about 3,000 controllers behind staffing targets and has about 10,600 licensed controllers. In June, the FAA once again extended cuts to minimum flight requirements at overloaded New york city City-area airports through October 2025, pointing out a shortage of air traffic controllers. Airlines have effectively combated against many propositions in Congress over the last few years, including one to need sensible. baggage charges, a mandate for airline-caused delay settlement or. another that might seriously damage the lucrative airline credit. card service.
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UN Shipping chief: Unregulated tanker fleet poses greater risks
The head of United Nations' shipping agency, said Tuesday, that the safety risks posed to seafarers and the environment by unregulated oil tanks are increasing. The shadow fleet is a term used to describe hundreds of ships that are being used to transport oil by Russia, in violation with international sanctions imposed against it due to the Ukraine War, and by oil exporters like Iran and Venezuela, who have been hit by U.S. sanction. Since the United States announced its new sanctions package, Jan. 10, at least 65 oil tanks have anchored in multiple locations this week, including near the coasts China and Russia. Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization(IMO), said at a press conference that the risk of environmental impact and safety of seafarers is increasing as the shadow fleet increases. We can see this in the different incidents and accidents that have occurred. Dominguez said that he could not comment on the sanctions but his main concern was about old tankers which "put people onboard and the environment at risk". "The more ships look to... avoid the IMO requirements, we will experience situations like those we experienced in the last half of 2024." In recent months, there have been several incidents of collisions with shadow fleet vessels and their breakdown. Dominguez stated that an IMO meeting will be held in March to follow up on a 2023 resolution aimed at enhancing the scrutiny of ship-to -ship oil transfer in open waters - a risk often associated with shadow fleet tanks which conduct such transfers without regard for safety. He also said that he met with smaller countries which provide flags for shadow fleet tanks. To ensure that commercial ships comply with international safety and environmental standards, they must be registered or flagged with a specific country. Sources in the shipping industry say that many smaller flag registries do not enforce compliance regulations and sanctions. Dominguez stated that "substandard shipping... has been on the agenda of IMO for many, many years." (Reporting and Editing by Ros Russel)
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Colonial shuts pipeline due to prospective fuel leakage
Colonial Pipeline, the biggest improved products pipeline operator in the United States, said on Tuesday it was responding to a report of a potential fuel release in Paulding County, Georgia which one of its mainlines was briefly shut down. Teams were on the scene coordinating reaction efforts, the business stated. The pipeline that was shut was Line 1, which transfers about 1.5 million barrels of fuel a day and runs from Houston to Greensboro, North Carolina. It is one of Colonial's 2 mainlines that connects Gulf Coast refineries with markets throughout the southern and eastern United States through more than 5,500 miles (8,850 km) of its pipeline system. Colonial Pipeline did not offer information on the estimated period of the blackouts. The U.S. Department of Transport Pipeline and Hazardous Products Security Administration (PHMSA) did not instantly react to a request for remark. Paulding County Constable's Office stated there was no notice to 911 relating to a gas leak.
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Iraq, UK agree on trade bundle worth approximately $15 billion, defence deal
Iraq and Britain have actually concurred on a trade package worth up to 12.3 billion pounds ($ 14.98. billion) and a bilateral defence deal, the Iraqi and British. prime ministers stated in a joint statement on Tuesday. The offer, imagining more than 10 times the overall of. bilateral sell 2024, was revealed after a meeting in between. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and British. equivalent Keir Starmer at the latter's Downing Street workplaces. It includes a 1.2-billion-pound job in which. British-made power transmission systems will be utilized for a grid. interconnection task between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, too. as a 500-million-pound plan to update the Al-Qayyarah air base. in northern Iraq. A water facilities project by a UK-led consortium. that will assist provide tidy water in dry southern and western. Iraq is likewise part of the offer, the statement said. The project. would be worth approximately 5.3 billion pounds in UK exports. Sudani and Starmer also signed a defence offer that. establishes the basis for a new period in security cooperation. Sudani said earlier that the UK-Iraqi security deal would develop bilateral. military ties after in 2015's statement that the U.S.-led. coalition established to combat Islamic State would end its work in. Iraq in 2026. The Iraqi premier started a main visit to the United. Kingdom on Monday in the middle of historical geopolitical shifts in the. Middle East. Iraq is attempting to avoid becoming a conflict zone as soon as. once again amid a period of regional turmoil that has actually seen Iran's. allies Hamas degraded in Gaza and Hezbollah damaged in Lebanon. throughout wars with Israel, and Bashar al-Assad fell in Syria.
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Jordan purchases estimated 60,000 T wheat in tender, traders say
Jordan's state grains purchaser acquired about 60,000 metric lots of difficult milling wheat to be sourced from optional origins in a worldwide tender on Tuesday, traders stated. It was thought to have been purchased from trading house CHS at an estimated $267.60 a heap cost and freight (c&& f) for delivery in the 2nd half of March, they said. Reports show assessments from traders and further price quotes of prices and volumes are possible later. Traders reported these estimated deals from some other trading houses participating in Tuesday's tender, all per heap c&& f: Cargill $275.50, Viterra $286, Al Dahra $276, Aston $280,. Buildcom $273.27, Olam $275.50, Ameropa $269.94 and Cereal Crops. $ 300. Traders stated they received indications that Jordan will. concern a brand-new tender in the coming days to purchase 120,000 lots of. wheat. Offers are expected to be submitted on Jan. 21, with. shipment in the full month of April and complete month of May. A different tender from Jordan seeking 120,000 tons of animal. feed barley closes on Wednesday.
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Private equity financier Adebayo Ogunlesi joins OpenAI's board
ChatGPT maker OpenAI said on Tuesday private equity veteran Adebayo Ogunlesi, who is presently the CEO of Worldwide Infrastructure Partners (GIP), has joined its board. Ogunlesi, 71, will be encouraging OpenAI on securing access to the infrastructure needed for advancing its synthetic intelligence advancement, OpenAI said in a statement. Established in 2006, GIP is a PE company focusing on infrastructure that handles more than $100 billion in possessions and has a portfolio including Britain's Gatwick airport, the Port of Melbourne and significant overseas wind projects. BlackRock acquired GIP last year for $12.5 billion. AI facilities has actually been front-and-center in the AI race, as technology companies' capability to advance their AI is directly based on their ability to shore up massive calculate infrastructure, through specialized information centers that connect thousands of chips together in clusters. In 2025 alone, huge tech firms consisting of Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta and Apple are projected to spend over $200. billion on capex-- practically double of what they paid out in. 2021, the year before OpenAI's generative AI chatbot ChatGPT. debuted. In recent months, OpenAI has been pushing the U.S. federal government to embrace helpful policy that will allow the. U.S. to remain ahead of China in the race for the nascent. technology. There's an estimated $175 billion being in global funds. awaiting investment in AI jobs, and if the U.S. does not. draw in those funds, they will flow to China-backed. jobs-- enhancing the Chinese Communist Celebration's international. impact, the company composed on Monday in a set of policy. proposals.
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Brazil says Meta hate speech policy modifications do not fit with local law
Brazil's federal government stated on Tuesday it is seriously concerned about Meta Platforms' recently revealed modifications to its hate speech policy, adding that it thinks they do not adhere to the nation's. legislation. Facebook owner Meta last week reduced curbs on conversations. around controversial subjects such as immigration and gender. identity, while also ditching its fact-checking program in the. United States. The Brazilian government bought the social media company,. which likewise owns Instagram and Threads, to describe its strategies,. which President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had formerly identified. very serious. Meta in a letter to the South American country reiterated. that changes to the fact-checking program for now would just. use to the U.S., and stated that modifications to its community. standards were limited to the hate speech policy. The relocation, the company included the document shared by. Brazil's federal government, was focused on securing higher liberty of. expression. The workplace of Brazil's lawyer general (AGU) in a separate. declaration stated that some aspects of the Meta document trigger the. federal government severe concern, highlighting the changes to the. hate speech policy, which use to Brazil. AGU and other ministries understand that the present terms. of usage, along with the changes now informed by Meta, do not fit. with Brazil's legislation and are not sufficient to safeguard. basic rights, it added. Brazil will hold a public hearing later today to discuss. the topic with professionals.
Maguire: High fossil fuel consumption highlights US power transformation challenge
The United States continues to rely on fossil fuels for its power generation, despite the rapid expansion of clean energy.
According to Ember, U.S. generators have been prioritizing clean energy sources over fossil fuels for the past decade. Since 2014, they have increased clean electricity production capacity by more than 70%, while reducing fossil-fueled capacity by 5%.
LSEG reports that fossil fuels still dominate the nation's power generation, with just over 58% of the total generated in the first eight month of 2024.
This is down from 60.4% in the same month of 2021. It reflects efforts to increase generation using clean energy, as part net zero emission targets.
In absolute terms, fossil fuels have reached new heights in this year's output, as a result of the steadily increasing total energy demand, which is putting strain on all power systems in the country.
In order to keep up with the rapid growth in demand, which is fueled by data centers and artificial-intelligence applications, power companies have had to increase their production from fossil fuels along with clean energy sources. This was despite long-term pledges to reduce reliance on fossil-fuels.
The fossil fuel generation of power generators will be reduced to a significant extent only when clean generation capacity surpasses fossil generation capacity and is complemented with a much larger battery storage system than the one currently in place.
Staying Power
According to LSEG, the total U.S. electricity generation from fossil fuels in the first eight month of 2024 reached 68.6 megawatt hours (MWh). This was an increase of 2.8% over a year earlier and was the highest level since at least the 2021.
The majority of the energy was generated by natural gas-fired power plants, which produced 49.3 millions MWh. This was a 5% increase from January to August 2023 and the highest total ever.
The coal-fired production was down by 2.3% compared to the previous year at 19,1 million MWh. This is the third consecutive decline in coal consumption during the window from January to August.
The oil-fired output was 179.368 MWh. This is a record low.
The industry's efforts to reduce the use of highly polluting fuels are reflected in the steady reductions in coal- and oil-fired power generation.
Ember data shows that the emissions per unit of electricity produced by gas-fired power plants are among the lowest fossil fuels and 77% less than coal-fired generation.
Around 537,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) were emitted in 2024 for each terawatt-hour (TWh), of electricity generated by gas-fired power plants.
This compares with around 950,000 tonnes of CO2 from coal-fired power plants and 700,000 from oil-fired power plants.
CLEAN LIMITATIONS
The emissions from clean energy per TWh electricity are around 21,500 tonnes CO2, which is 25 times lower than the emissions from gas-fired plants.
This sharply reduced emissions profile is one of the main reasons why U.S. government and power companies support clean energy adoption within U.S. electricity generation.
In the first eight-month period of 2024, nuclear reactors will account for approximately 18.6% of the total U.S. generation.
Other major sources of clean energy include hydro dams (6.4%), wind farms (10.7%) and solar farms (5%)
Clean power sources are limited in their current capacities.
Nuclear power plants are the most reliable source of clean energy available, but they have fallen out-of-favor due to their high costs, long development times, and strict regulations regarding waste management.
Hydro dams are also subject to a long construction phase. They can only be used in certain areas and they face fierce environmental opposition.
Solar and wind farms are cheaper and quicker to build, but they have some drawbacks.
Construction costs for onshore wind farms have increased since 2020, mainly due to inflation in labor and parts. They also need to overcome local objections to get the green light. Offshore projects face similar obstacles, but at a higher cost.
Solar parks can be the fastest and cheapest way to generate power, but they only work during daylight hours. They require backup supplies when solar output drops.
The U.S. utilities responsible for ensuring that power is available at all times, regardless of time, rely on fossil fuels in order to meet most of their demand and fill any gaps during periods of windless or sunless weather.
Many utilities are building battery networks to store excess clean energy for later use. This will help reduce fossil fuel dependence in the future.
According to the energy data platform Cleanview, current battery capacity installed is just around 21,000 Megawatts. This is less than 2% total installed generation capacity.
Batteries can only meet a small fraction of the country's power requirements.
Power firms may be forced to continue using fossil fuels as a major source of electricity until batteries are able to reliably deploy more of their generation capacity.
(source: Reuters)