DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Comedian Gallagher, famous for smashing watermelons, dies at 76
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Mirna Alsharif | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

PASADENA, CA - MAY 23: Comedian Gallagher performs during his appearance at The Ice House Comedy Club on May 23, 2014 in Pasadena, California. American comedian Leo Anthony Gallagher Jr. has died at the age of 76, according to his family. Gallagher passed away from organ failure while in hospice care in his Palm Springs, California home, his son-in-law told NBC News. He had been unwell and suffered multiple heart attacks prior to his death. In his career spanning decades, Gallagher had 14 Showtime specials and around 3,500 live comedy shows.

PARIS, Oct 27 (Reuters) - EDF (EDF.PA) is expecting a hit of around 32 billion euros ($32.18 billion) to its full-year core earnings from lower nuclear production, a bigger loss than previously estimated and its sixth profit warning this year. The group, which is in the process of being fully nationalised, confirmed nuclear output would come in at the lower end of a previously announced 280-300 terawatt-hours range - a 30-year low. In September, EDF had forecast a hit to its earnings of 29 billion euros due to lower production. The combination of lower output and capped electricity prices means EDF is set to end the year with a big loss. The company's core earnings or EBITDA in 2021 came in at 18 billion euros.

☆ TotalEnergies clocks $9.9 bln profit in Q3, books new Russian impairment
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TotalEnergies' third quarter adjusted net income stood at $9.86 billion. That compared to $4.77 billion for the same period in 2021, and $9.8 billion in the second quarter of this year. Unlike London-based rivals BP and Shell, TotalEnergies has held on to several investments in Russia, including minority stakes in Russia's Novatek, Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2. TotalEnergies, which has faced strike action by some refinery workers in France, also announced on Thursday a one-off salary bonus to staff to reflect its bumper profits. Reporting by Benjamin Mallet and Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LNG prices have soared this year as Moscow progressively cut piped natural gas supplies to Europe, which heavily depended on Russian imports. Western sanctions on Russia, which is among the world's leading oil and gas producers, in response to its invasion of Ukraine in February, helped to drive European gas prices to an all-time high in August. The world's biggest LNG trader Shell missed some of the benefit of the price rise after a fall in production following strikes at Australia's Prelude site. Gearing at Shell, which is on track for a record year of profits, increased slightly to 20.3%. Spain's Repsol (REP.MC) on Thursday reported a doubling of its profit to 1.48 billion euros ($1.49 billion).

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEven before leaks were found, supplies via Nord Stream 1 had been halted as a result of a dispute over Western sanctions on Russia, while the newly-built Nord Stream 2 pipeline had not started commercial deliveries. An E.ON spokesperson said Nord Stream 1's operating company was responsible for operational issues, including insurance. "Nord Stream AG remains in close contact with relevant authorities about the recent incident. U.S. President Joe Biden has said damage to Nord Stream was a deliberate act of sabotage. If there was any Russian involvement it could also mean the Nord Stream 1 damage being designated as an act of war, something that is typically excluded by insurance policies.

☆ Greek monastery manuscripts tell new story of Ottoman rule
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

MOUNT ATHOS, Greece — A church bell sounds, the staccato thudding of mallet on plank summons monks to afternoon prayers, deep voices are raised in communal chant. And high in the great tower of Pantokrator Monastery, a metal library door swings open. The libraries of the self-governed community, established more than 1,000 years ago on northern Greece’s Athos peninsula, are a repository of rare, centuries-old works in several languages including Greek, Russian and Romanian. Byzantine scholar Jannis Niehoff-Panagiotidis says it’s impossible to understand Mount Athos’ economy and society under Ottoman rule without consulting these documents, which regulated the monks’ dealings with secular authorities. “Ottoman was the official language of state,” he told The Associated Press from the library of the Pantokrator Monastery, one of 20 on the heavily wooded peninsula.

FRANKFURT/LONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley's infrastructure investment arm is weighing a sale of a 40% stake in German wind and solar power project developer PNE AG (PNEGn.DE) after being approached by potential suitors, three people familiar with the matter said. PNE confirmed on Thursday that Morgan Stanley and Photon Management intend to enter into open-ended preliminary talks with potential interested parties regarding Photon's stake in PNE. Photon, which is controlled by Morgan Stanley, is PNE's largest shareholder. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP) acquired the PNE stake following a failed takeover attempt in 2020. Buying the whole stake would trigger a mandatory takeover bid for all of PNE under German stock market rules.

Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP) acquired the PNE stake following a failed takeover attempt in 2020. PNE, which has a project pipeline of more than 9 gigawatt and a generation portfolio worth 261 megawatt, has a current market capitalisation of 1.4 billion euros ($1.38 billion), valuing Morgan Stanley's stake at 560 million euros. Buying the whole stake would trigger a mandatory takeover bid for all of PNE under German stock market rules. A potential sale of MSIP's participation would result in chunky profits given the investment bank bought in at 4.00 euros per share and saw PNE's value grow to 18.50 euros. News about the potential stake comes in the wake of major renewables deal in recent weeks, including RWE's RWEG.DE $6.8 billion purchase of Con Edison's ED.N cleantech unit and BP's BP.L $4.1 billion takeover of U.S. biogas producer Archaea LFG.N.

Amid resistance from France, Spain and Italy had previously broached the idea of building an underwater pipeline between the two countries. Iberdrola, which is building Europe's largest green hydrogen plant in Puertollano in central Spain, declined to comment on the pipeline announcement. Cepsa CEO Maarten Wetselsaar told Reuters the agreement put Spain at the heart of Europe's plan to diversify away from Russian energy. As for natural gas, Spain has six terminals allowing it to bring in liquefied natural gas and convert it into its gaseous form, and three storage facilities, while Portugal has one. The United States and Nigeria are among key suppliers of LNG to Spain, which also receives piped gas from Algeria.

☆ France's grid operator: EDF strikes could have heavy consequences for winter supply
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Electricite de France SA FollowPARIS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - France's national grid operator RTE warned on Tuesday that prolonged strikes delaying the restart of some reactors at nuclear power group EDF could have "heavy consequences" for the country's electricity supplies over the coming winter. RTE cut its forecast range for power availability for this month and the first half of November based on the blockade at some of EDF's reactors so far, compared to a previous report it released in September. RTE is still maintaining its expectation that France's nuclear power production will rise to between 40 and 45 gigawatt (GW) in December and January from 25-30 GW at the end of October. "A prolonged social movement would have heavy consequences for the key part of the winter," it said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Benjamin Mallet, writing by Silvia AloisiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"The Hezbollah leadership scrutinized the understanding line by line before agreeing to it," said one of the sources familiar with the group's thinking. Two Hezbollah lawmakers told Reuters the group was open to the idea of a deal as a pathway to alleviate some of Lebanon’s economic woes. At one point, Hezbollah conveyed its frustration at the slow pace of the talks to Hochstein via Ibrahim, the Western source said. A U.S. official told Reuters Hezbollah had nearly "killed the deal with their provocative rhetoric and actions threatening war". "Once the pipes are in the water, war becomes a long way away," said a source familiar with Hezbollah's thinking.

☆ Germany starts receiving gas directly from France -pipeline operator
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Benjamin Mallet | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Germany on Thursday received the first direct gas deliveries from France through a pipeline link under a deal aimed at helping both countries cope with current energy supply problems, the French grid operator GRTgaz said. The maximum capacity of the new gas link is 100 GWh/d, the operator said in a statement. Under the agreement reached by the euro zone's two largest countries in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Germany also pledged to provide France, which is currently plagued by nuclear reactor outages, additional electricity if needed. GRTgaz head Thierry Trouve told journalists he could not say when the maximum of 100 GWh/d could be reached. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Benjamin Mallet in Paris Writing by Tassilo Hummel Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterWHY ARE REFINERY AND FUEL DEPOT WORKERS STRIKING? Middle distillates such as diesel and gas oil are primarily used in freight transport, manufacturing, farming, mining, and oil and gas extraction. The French refinery outages are tightening European supplies and reverberating through global markets. Meanwhile, northwest European diesel barge profit margins hovered near record highs hit on Monday. read moreUncertainty over how long the French strikes will last has lifted European diesel spreads relative to crude just as Western sanctions against Russia are driving prices still higher.

☆ TotalEnergies to ramp up LNG production, pay special dividend
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Sept 28 (Reuters) - French oil major TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) plans to increase net investments and ramp up production of liquefied natural gas as Europe scrambles to find alternative energy supplies to Russia. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterIt said it would grow sales of LNG by 3% a year through 2027 and increase LNG production by 40% from 2021 to 2030. The group at the weekend announced a big investment in an LNG facility in Qatar as it seeks to diversify away from Russia. The company also said it would maintain its $7 billion share buy-back program for 2022 and pay a special interim dividend of 1 euro per share in December of this year. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Benjamin Mallet, writing by Silvia Aloisi, editing by Richard LoughOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

A debate is raging in European countries over whether oil companies making record profits because of the energy crisis should pay additional taxes to help consumers cope with soaring inflation. Patrick Pouyanne, being grilled by French lawmakers, said TotalEnergies was waiting to see how the EU debate evolved before deciding whether to lower prices further at French petrol stations next year. Environment media outlet Basta reported in July that the group had paid no taxes on profits for its French companies in 2019 and 2020, citing the group's own reports. Pouyanne told the hearing he expected TotalEnergies would pay taxes on profits earned in France this year. He also said it would pay about 8 billion euros in dividends in 2022, in line with last year.

☆ Factbox: Europe's efforts to shield households from soaring energy costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-02 | by ( Susanna Twidale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Without the measure, average home energy bills were tipped to reach over 3,500 pounds a year in October with forecasts of much higher bills to come. CZECH REPUBLICThe Czech government has agreed to cap electricity and gas prices next year to shield households from soaring prices. ITALYItaly approved an aid package worth some 14 billion euros ($14 billion) in September to shield firms and families from surging energy costs. The measures came on top of some 52 billion euros already budgeted since January to soften the energy crisis in Italy. NORWAYNorway has been subsidising household electricity bills since December and now covers 80% of the portion of power bills above a certain rate.

☆ The Ayahuasca Diaries
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-26 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +37 min

But please understand: I didn't drink ayahuasca so I could write an article about it. I wrote an article about it so I could drink ayahuasca. I was desperate to drink ayahuasca — I had been for several months, in fact — and the formality of an assignment would help me out at home. Instead, a friend of a friend linked me up with an ayahuasca sangha, a Buddhist word for a spiritual community. I thought of my old friend, Scott, who, many years before, had declined an opportunity to drink ayahuasca.

Search resuls for: "Mallet"

17 mentions found