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(Reuters) -California’s grid operator projected record-breaking power demand on Tuesday and issued an emergency call for consumers and businesses to conserve energy for the seventh consecutive day to avoid blackouts amid soaring temperatures.

The California Independent System Operator (ISO) urged residents to conserve power in the late afternoon and early evening as the sun sets and the state’s vast supply of solar-generated electricity recedes.

Late in the afternoon, the grid operator raised its emergency alert level to tap into programs that offer financial incentives to reduce energy use and seek more electricity from the market. It said it would likely raise the alert level again, a step closer to implementing rotating outages.

California’s week-long run of record-breaking temperatures is projected to continue this week with highs reaching into the 110s Fahrenheit (mid 40s Celsius) in interior parts of the state, according to the National Weather Service.

In Sacramento, the state’s capital, the temperature reached 115 Fahrenheit (46.1 Celsius) on Tuesday afternoon, its highest ever.

“I know this has been a very long heat wave and we’re not asking you to do even more,” Elliot Mainzer, CEO of the ISO, said in a video recording posted on Twitter. “But please stick with us and don’t use any more power than is absolutely necessary.”

The ISO forecast demand would peak at 51,698 megawatts (MW) on Tuesday, topping the current record of 50,270 MW in 2006, before sliding to 49,868 MW on Wednesday.

Late on Tuesday afternoon, solar power was supplying about a fifth of the state’s power demand.

If demand for power exhausts the grid’s electric reserves, the ISO said it would instruct utilities to start imposing rotating outages. It would be the first time the state has taken such a measure since a brutal heat wave in August 2020 forced power cuts over two days to around 800,000 homes and businesses.

U.S. power prices in California and other western states for Tuesday soared to their highest since that 2020 heat wave.

Power prices at the Palo Verde hub in Arizona and SP-15 in Southern California rose to $850 and $505 per megawatt hour, respectively. That was their highest since hitting record highs of $1,311 in Palo Verde and $698 in SP-15 in August 2020 when the ISO last imposed rotating outages.

(Reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York and Nichola Groom in Los Angeles; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Apple Inc said on Tuesday it will appeal a Brazilian order banning it from selling iPhones without a battery charger, pushing back on claims that the company provides an incomplete product to consumers.

The Justice Ministry fined Apple 12.275 million reais ($2.38 million) and ordered the company to cancel sales of the iPhone 12 and newer models, in addition to suspending the sale of any iPhone model that does not come with a charger.

In the order, published on Tuesday in the country’s official gazette, the ministry argued that the iPhone was lacking a essential component in a “deliberate discriminatory practice against consumers.”

The authorities rejected Apple’s argument that the practice had the purpose of reducing carbon emissions, saying there is no evidence that selling the smartphone without a charger offers environmental protections.

Apple said it would continue to work with Brazilian consumer protection agency Senacon in order to “resolve their concerns,” while saying it would appeal the decision.

“We have already won several court rulings in Brazil on this matter and we are confident that our customers are aware of the various options for charging and connecting their devices,” Apple said.

The order comes a day before Apple is expected to announce its new iPhone model.

($1 = 5.1548 reais)

(Reporting by Peter Frontini; Editing by Steven Grattan, Louise Heavens)

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Hedge funds got back in to stocks in the technology, media and telecom (TMT) sector in August, in the most active buying since February 2021, according to a Goldman Sachs prime services report.

Long buys in the so-called TMT sector outpaced short sales at a 6.5 to 1 ratio, the bank said in the note, underscoring that portfolio managers were more optimistic about the sector’s valuations.

The move came before a selloff in September on worries about monetary policy tightening. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is down roughly 1.7% so far this month.

Besides tech stocks, hedge funds were net bought in August in consumer discretionary, healthcare, real estate and financials, while they went bearish on industrials, energy and materials.

Despite recent additions to their portfolios, equity long-short hedge funds remained in a de-risking mode, Goldman Sachs said. Funds’ net leverage – long positions minus short positions – went down 0.5 percentage point in August to 47.5%, in the ninth percentile in the last 12 months. That means it has been lower only 9% of the time over the last year.

Long-short hedge funds ended August roughly flat, down 0.1%. In the year, they have fallen 14.52%.

(Reporting by Carolina Mandl in New York, Additional reporting by Lawrence Delevingne in Boston; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — One of the strictest internet privacy laws in the United States has withstood a legal challenge, as a group of telecommunication providers has dropped its bid to overturn the Maine standard.

Maine created one of the toughest rules in the nation for internet service providers in 2020 when it began enforcing an “opt-in” web privacy standard. The law stops the service providers from using, disclosing, selling or providing access to customers’ personal information without permission.

Industry associations swiftly sued with a claim that the new law violated their First Amendment rights. A federal judge rejected that challenge, but legal wrangling continued.

The groups, which include the country’s biggest telecommunications providers, filed to dismiss the lawsuit on Sept. 2, said Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey. Frey said the state’s privacy law held up despite the efforts of an “army of industry lawyers organized against us,” and now other states can follow Maine’s lead.

“Maine’s Legislature wisely sought to protect Maine residents by restricting the disclosure and use of their most private and personal information,” Frey said.

The Maine Legislature passed the bill, proposed by former Democratic state Sen. Shenna Bellows, who is now Maine’s secretary of state, in 2019. Internet service providers then sued in February 2020, and attorneys for Maine have been in court defending the law since. The proposal stemmed from a Maine effort to bring back rules implemented during President Barack Obama’s tenure that were repealed by Congress during President Donald Trump’s term.

Industry plaintiffs agreed to reimburse Maine for more than $55,000 in costs incurred defending the law, Frey said.

Supporters of Maine’s law include the ACLU of Maine, which filed court papers in the case in favor of keeping the law on the books. The ACLU said in court papers that the law was “narrowly drawn to directly advance Maine’s substantial interests in protecting consumers’ privacy, freedom of expression, and security.”

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has also defended the law as “common sense.”

Maine is also the home of another privacy law that regulates the use of facial recognition technology. That law, which came on the books last year, has also been cited as the strictest of its kind in the U.S.

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By Victoria Waldersee

BERLIN (Reuters) -Porsche will only backtrack on its stock market debut in the event of severe geopolitical problems that would make the importance of a listing fade in comparison, the sports car brand’s chief financial officer said on Tuesday.

“You never know what will happen regarding geopolitical issues, but if a potential IPO would be stopped now, we are talking about severe problems,” Lutz Meschke said on a media call.

“By then, a potential IPO would not be a real issue,” he added.

Volkswagen triggered a listing of sports car brand Porsche AG late on Monday after months of deliberation, but cautioned the move was still subject to market developments.

Investors questioned the timing of the decision in the run-up to Monday’s meeting, pointing to the tumbling stocks of European firms – including of other luxury carmakers – amid record inflation and the instability of war.

Still, analysts on Tuesday said the listing could bump up Volkswagen’s stock by showcasing the valuation of just one of its 14 brands, while giving Porsche SE, Volkswagen’s top shareholder, the tighter grip over the carmaker it has sought for years.

“I’m sure there’s a lot of people who want to invest in a pure electric car company that’s not a start-up, or has a nosebleed valuation like Tesla… people will want to buy this,” Chi Chan, portfolio manager of European equities at Federated Hermes said of Porsche AG stock, declining to comment on whether his firm would buy in.

“We have no doubt the planned IPO will generate value for Volkswagen, but the greatest benefit will accrue to Porsche SE,” analysts at Mirabaud wrote, predicting Porsche SE will eventually take back full control of the Porsche brand.

Investors estimate a valuation for Porsche AG anywhere between 60 billion and 85 billion euros ($60 billion to $85 billion).

Porsche SE, which controls 31.4% of Volkswagen and has 53.3% of voting rights, will take 25% plus one share of ordinary Porsche AG shares at a 7.5% premium.

That means it would need significant financing to fund its portion of the sports car brand’s shares at a higher valuation, Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska said in a research note.

In a media call on Tuesday, Porsche and now also Volkswagen Chief Executive Oliver Blume said the listing could help revive capital markets hit by slowing global growth.

“There is a lot of capital in the market,” Blume said. “We think the Porsche IPO could be an icebreaker.

Volkswagen and Porsche executives declined to comment on what valuation they expect, stating only they believed Porsche would be attractive to investors even in such turbulent times.

“If a company is able to succeed under these difficult market conditions, it is Porsche,” Meschke said.

Porsche is a money-maker for the Volkswagen Group, with operating profits up 22% in the first half of the year compared to an 8% fall at the mass market Volkswagen brand.

Asked how conflicts of interest for Blume – who will remain chief of both companies even after a listing – would be handled, the CEO said Porsche AG’s executive board would have the authority to make decisions “100% on its own”.

($1 = 1.0045 euros)

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Sinead Cruise; additional reporting by Danilo Masoni in Milan; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Mark Potter and Jonathan Oatis)

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By Andrea Shalal

KYIV/NEW YORK (Reuters) -Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy remotely rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday as his nation appealed for billions of dollars in private investment to rebuild factories and industries destroyed by Russia.

Zelenskiy’s government launched a platform of over 500 projects worth $400 billion for foreign companies and private investors to help rebuild Ukraine’s economy, even as the war with Russia drags on.

Zelenskiy appeared on a video screen behind the platform overlooking the NYSE floor where the opening bell is traditionally rung. Traders applauded and whooped while a banner read: “We are free. We are strong. We are open for business.”

Fresh from a roundtable with top executives from JP Morgan, Pfizer Inc, and other U.S. companies, Zelenskiy said in English that Ukraine was already rebuilding its economy, more than six months since the Russian invasion began.

“Ukraine is the story of a future victory and a chance for you to invest now in projects worth hundreds of billions of dollars to share the victory with us,” he said.

Ukraine is also appealing for some $5 billion in international aid each month to keep its economy running, in addition to military aid from NATO alliance members.

The United States and allies in Europe and Asia have already sent billions in humanitarian aid, weapons and other security spending, and officials are watching closely for any signs domestic political support could be flagging.

Just over half of Americans said the United States should support Ukraine until Russia withdraws, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.

‘INVEST NOW’

“Advantage Ukraine,” the investment push, focuses on 10 key sectors, including the military-industrial complex, energy, pharmaceuticals, metallurgy, woodworking, and logistics.

“It is necessary to invest in Ukraine now, and not wait for the end of the war,” Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in a statement.

Advertising group WPP is leading the marketing campaign for the initiative.

Svyrydenko told Reuters last month that Ukraine’s economy should stabilise over the coming year and expand by as much as 15.5% in 2023, after a likely contraction of 30-35% this year.

On Tuesday, she said Ukraine was keen to bring back foreign direct investment, which she said had reached $6.7 billion before the war. “The Russian invasion adjusted our short-term plans, but did not force us to abandon our strategic goals,” she said.

Concerns about corruption had tempered foreign investor interest in Ukraine before the invasion.

The economy ministry is also providing grants to existing businesses, and has relocated 700 businesses from the frontlines of the conflict.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, additional reporting by Conor Humphries in Dublin, writing by Karin StroheckerEditing by Heather Timmons, Andrew Cawthorne and Rosalba O’Brien)

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(Reuters) – A former FedEx Corp delivery contractor on Tuesday called for a no-confidence vote by contractors against FedEx Ground Chief Executive John Smith, escalating a conflict with the parcel delivery firm.

The vote is scheduled to start on Tuesday and will end on Friday, Spencer Patton, president of the Trade Association for Logistics Professionals (TALP), said in a statement. Patton had launched the group last month to advocate for contractors.

Last month, Patton ratcheted up pressure on FedEx to boost compensation for contractors after the company’s actions made it even harder for them to wring out profit in a downshifting, inflationary economy.

FedEx, in response, filed a suit against the contractor and severed ties with him. In its lawsuit, the company alleged that Patton is disparaging its Ground business through a series of false and misleading statements about its commercial activities.

Patton, who was one the largest delivery contractors for FedEx, said contractors will be asked to anonymously answer a couple of questions and the data will be reviewed by an independent global advisory firm.

“Under Smith’s leadership, small business owners operating FedEx Ground’s network have been increasingly burdened by extreme inflation costs and forced contract changes,” Patton said.

More than one-third of the small business contractor network has already, or will soon need to, walk away from their FedEx Ground contract as high costs squeeze profit margins, TALP said, without providing details.

FedEx did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

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By Alex Lawler, Ahmad Ghaddar and Maha El Dahan

LONDON (Reuters) -OPEC and its allies led by Russia on Monday agreed a small oil production cut to bolster prices that have slid on fears of an economic slowdown.

The oil producers will reduce output by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd), amounting to only 0.1% of global demand, for October and also agreed they could meet any time to adjust production before the next scheduled meeting on Oct. 5.

The decision essentially maintains the status quo as OPEC has been observing wild fluctuations in oil prices, being pulled by multiple factors in both directions.

“OPEC+ is wary of protracted price volatility generated by weak macro sentiment, thin liquidity and renewed China lockdowns, as well as uncertainty over a potential U.S.–Iran deal and efforts to create a Russian oil price cap,” said Matthew Holland at Energy Aspects.

Top OPEC producer Saudi Arabia last month flagged the possibility of output cuts to address what it sees as exaggerated oil price declines.

Benchmark Brent crude oil has dropped to about $95 a barrel from $120 in June on fears of an economic slowdown and recession in the West.

It was also dragged down by a potential supply boost from Iranian crude returning to the market if Tehran is able to revive its 2015 nuclear deal with global powers.

Iran is expected to add 1 million bpd to supply, or 1% of global demand, if sanctions are eased, though the prospects for a nuclear deal looked less clear on Friday.

Signals from the physical market, however, suggest that supply remains tight and many OPEC states are producing below targets while fresh Western sanctions are threatening Russian exports.

Russia has said it will stop supplying oil to countries that support the idea of capping the price of Russian energy supplies over its military conflict in Ukraine.

Russia’s gas deliveries in Europe, meanwhile, have been cut further, which is likely to spark more price spikes.

“An output cut won’t make them any friends at a time when the world is facing a cost-of-living crisis,” said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.

(Additional reporting by Rowena Edwards and Olesya AstakhovaWriting by Dmitry ZhdannikovEditing by David Goodman)

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LONDON (Reuters) – Aston Martin is raising 575.8 million pounds ($660 million) in a rights issue as major investors including Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund keep faith with the struggling luxury British carmaker.

The 109 year-old company said on Monday it would issue four new shares at 103 pence apiece for every existing share. At 0750 GMT, the stock was down 10% at 432.9 pence.

The rights issue is part of a previously announced equity raising of 653.8 million pounds, which makes Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) one of the company’s largest shareholders.

Aston Martin said the rights issue was fully committed and underwritten, with support from PIF, as well as chairman Lawrence Stroll’s Yew Tree and Mercedes Benz.

The fundraising will allow the company to lower its debt and invest in new models, it has said.

The Formula One racing team owner has been burning through cash and has been hit by supply chain snags. It posted a tripling of pretax half-year losses in July.

The company rejected a 1.3 billion pound investment proposal that would have handed control of the business to Italian investor Investindustrial and Chinese carmaker Geely that month.

“Aston Martin’s fundamentals remain shaky with or without the capital raise,” said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at interactive investor, pointing to the first-half problems.

She said a recent slump in the pound could encourage interest from a foreign buyer.

($1 = 0.8728 pounds)

(Reporting by Iain Withers; Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter)

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By Vera Eckert and Kate Abnett

FRANKFURT/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union is preparing emergency plans to cap gas prices or separate power prices from the soaring cost of gas – as well as longer-term reforms aimed at ensuring electricity prices reflect cheaper renewable energy.

Energy ministers from EU countries will meet on Sept. 9 to discuss how to ease the burden of soaring energy prices on businesses and households as a matter or urgency.

European power costs have surged in the last year, driven by record gas prices as Russia curbed supply to Europe.

European governments have accused Moscow of using energy as blackmail, in retaliation for western support for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion. Russian gas giant Gazprom has blamed the cuts on Western sanctions and technical issues.

Changing the 27-country EU’s energy systems may be complex and lengthy, as the cross-border trading of energy commodities among the bloc’s members has taken two decades to emerge and solidify. But policymakers are racing to find a short-term solution.

Here’s why Europe is considering energy market reforms, and what they could entail.

WHY IS ELECTRICITY PRICE LINKED TO GAS?

In the EU energy system, the wholesale electricity price is set by the last power plant needed to meet overall demand.

Wind farms, nuclear, coal and gas plants and all other generators bid into the power market, with the cheapest sources coming in first, followed by pricier sources like gas. Gas plants often set the price in this system.

The idea is that because all generators sell their power at the same price, the cheaper renewables generators end up with a bigger profit margin – a stimulus that incentivises more investment in the renewable generation Europe needs to reach climate change goals.

But countries like Spain have said the system is unfair, as it results in cheap renewable energy being sold to consumers for the same price as costlier fossil fuel-based power.

Gas prices have soared as Russia has cut the volumes it sends to Europe, and amid intense global competition for non-Russian gas. The effect has been to drive up the price of producing power from gas in Europe, resulting in higher overall power prices.

Germany’s benchmark power contract for 2023 surged to a record high of 1,050 euros a megawatt hour (MWh) in late August, 14 times the level a year ago, although prices have since partially retreated.

Other factors boosting power prices include problems with French nuclear plants https://www.reuters.com/world/france-braces-uncertain-winter-nuclear-power-shortage-looms-2022-08-30/ and severe drought in Europe that hampered hydropower output and affected coal deliveries.

HOW COULD THE EU CHANGE ENERGY PRICES?

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has said that the EU needed to decouple the price of gas and power, without giving further details.

A draft Commission note, seen by Reuters last week, said the Commission’s upcoming proposals should include a price cap for certain power generators that do not run on gas.

The jump in power prices has yielded bumper revenues for non-gas generators with cheaper running costs, like wind farms and nuclear plants, and the EU said countries should use the price cap to skim off those revenues and spend the cash on curbing consumers’ bills.

The Czech Republic https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/high-energy-prices-should-be-tackled-european-level-czech-leader-says-2022-08-29/, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, has also put forward options for energy ministers to consider when they meet on Friday.

They include a price cap on imported gas from certain countries, a price cap on gas used to produce electricity, or temporarily removing gas power plants from the current EU system of setting electricity prices.

The idea of capping gas or power prices has long had support from Spain, Belgium and others, and initially reluctant countries like Austria and Germany. France is among the states in favour of action to separate gas and electricity prices.

One option, proposed by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, would be for EU countries to agree a cap on the price of gas imported from Russia. Critics say that would risk Russia completely cutting off Europe’s gas supply in retaliation.

Another option could be for governments to cap the gas price, and pay gas companies the difference between the capped price and the higher market price.

Countries including Germany and the Netherlands previously opposed that since it would effectively subsidise fossil fuel generation with public funds that they said would be better spent on the shift to cheaper clean energy.

The Czech suggestions also include temporarily limiting power trading on European exchanges to intraday and day-to-day transactions.

Other options could include restricting financial speculators’ participation in gas markets, or setting up a parallel market for gas-fuelled power, separate to the existing electricity market.

WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES?

High gas prices provide a financial incentive for industries and households to reduce their gas consumption – a behavioural change governments are trying to encourage to ensure there is enough fuel to get through winter.

Capping the gas price would limit that incentive, and critics say it could even encourage more gas use when governments need to be rolling out policies to reduce consumption.

Some analysts have suggested targeted financial support for low-income households and businesses hit hardest by the soaring prices would be a better option than a hasty market overhaul.

Other questions remain about how governments could cap the cost of gas-fuelled power in a way that did not encourage gas plant owners to produce less power when countries urgently need it.

(Reporting by Vera Eckert and Kate Abnett, editing by Barbara Lewis and Bernadette Baum)

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