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Stalled Aramco IPO sets back deal-making at U.S. subsidiary Motiva

FILE PHOTO: An Aramco oil tank is seen at the Production facility at Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oilfield in the Empty Quarter
FILE PHOTO: An Aramco oil tank is seen at the Production facility at Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oilfield in the Empty Quarter, Saudi Arabia May 22, 2018. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah/File Photo

March 26, 2019

By Jessica Resnick-Ault and Erwin Seba

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Saudi Aramco’s delayed initial public offering is sidelining grand North American expansion plans at its U.S. refining subsidiary Motiva Enterprises LLC, people familiar with the matter said, at a time when its rivals grew their market share.

After dissolving a partnership with Royal Dutch Shell PLC two years ago, Motiva set out to rebuild and boost market share in the Americas. It evaluated deals for LyondellBasell Industries NV’s Houston refinery, with the Caribbean government of Curacao, and considered expanding its sole U.S. oil refinery.

But none of those came to pass as the company feared it might pay too much for acquisitions or become too exposed to disruptions by expanding its sole U.S. refinery, the people said. As a result, Motiva has slipped to 11th place from ninth among the top U.S. refiners by capacity since striking out on its own, according to U.S. government data, as other refiners inked deals to take advantage of the shale boom.

(For a graphic, click https://tmsnrt.rs/2HxT1wn)

“They were very handicapped by the fact that the kingdom was contemplating the IPO,” a refining consultant to Motiva said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the talks were private. “What they told us was ‘until this gets done or resolved, we cannot do anything.'”

Saudi Aramco did not want Motiva to enter deals that could hamstring its IPO or raise questions about its strategy, leaving Motiva unable to expand, the people said.

Plans for the Aramco IPO were shelved last year for the foreseeable future, sources told Reuters in 2018. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said in January the kingdom would still go ahead, and list the company by 2021.

A Motiva executive said the company has not given up on increasing its U.S. processing might.

“We don’t comment on anything specifically, but we do want to increase our refining capacity,” said Todd Fredin, the company’s head of supply, trading and logistics.

A spokeswoman for Motiva declined to comment on past or potential acquisitions and expansion plans. Saudi Aramco declined to comment.

Vision 2030, the Saudi Crown Prince’s signature economic program designed to lessen the kingdom’s reliance on oil, also undercuts the need for U.S. expansion, said Andrew Lipow, president of refining consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates.

“They are in the process of trying to look toward 2030, and adding assets outside of Saudi Arabia” is not as critical anymore, he said. “A refinery in the United States doesn’t create jobs in Saudi Arabia.”

Rivals have used acquisitions and expansion to boost their share of the U.S. market. Marathon Petroleum Corp last year acquired the fifth largest U.S. refiner Andeavor for $23 billion.

This year, Exxon Mobil Corp embarked on a multi-billion dollar refinery expansion and Chevron Corp added a second Gulf Coast refinery as the two largest U.S. oil companies take advantage of record production out of Texas shale fields. The United States is now the world’s top oil producer, pumping more than 12 million barrels a day.

(For a graphic, click https://tmsnrt.rs/2VIJTbg)

“Economy of scale is very important for refiners,” said Joseph Israel, chief executive of Houston-based refiner Par Petroleum, whose parent last year acquired a Tacoma, Washington, plant and new refining capacity in Hawaii. “The right kind of growth typically supports efficiency, commercial flexibility, and visibility in the market.”

Motiva emerged from a Texaco-Saudi venture formed in 1988 as a U.S. outlet for Saudi crude. Last year, Saudi exports to the U.S. fell to 949,000 barrels per day (bpd), only the second time that figure has been less than 1 million bpd since that year, according to U.S. Energy Department data, as the United States gets more barrels from Canada than OPEC producers.

Motiva can process up to 603,000 barrels of oil a day at its Port Arthur, Texas refinery, the largest in the United States. The plant, which processes U.S. and other crudes, does not disclose revenue.

Last April, during a reception for the Crown Prince, the company said it was considering expanding the Texas refinery by up to 900,000 bpd capacity, which would have made it the largest plant in the world, surpassing a Reliance Industries plant in India.

The project was abandoned two months later to avoid concentrating at one U.S. Gulf Coast site, Motiva said. It has pledged to explore adding between 1 million and 1.5 million bpd capacity, but has not said when or where that would happen.

In February, Motiva ended talks with Curacao over a request to operate its 335,000 barrel-per-day Isla refinery and storage terminal. Those discussions ended after the Isla refinery’s supervisory board in January disclosed a corruption probe into selection process for a new operator.

“They didn’t want to be dragged into a corruption scandal – it was fraught,” said another refining consultant familiar with the Curacao talks.

Before its split from Shell in 2017, Motiva weighed buying LyondellBasell’s 264,000 bpd Houston refinery to replace plants it was turning over to Shell. Motiva pulled out of the sale process fearing it could be seen as overpaying for the plant after outbidding other refiners, said a person familiar with the talks. The plant was taken off the market after no bid reached Lyondell’s desired minimum price, the person said.

The company has shifted at Saudi Aramco’s direction toward petrochemicals. The U.S. operation recently gained its parent’s approval to build a $5 billion steam cracker to produce ethylene, a plastics building block, that would start operations by late 2022, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.

Recently, it requested proposals from investment banks to evaluate its options should CITGO Petroleum Corp, the U.S. arm of Venezuela’s state oil company, go on the market, according to two people familiar with the matter.

“Motiva has been allowed its freedom and is heading in all directions at once,” said the person familiar with Motiva’s Curacao talks, speaking on condition of anonymity. “There’s initiative fatigue.”

(Reporting by Jessica Resnick-Ault and Erwin Seba, additional reporting by Stephanie Kelly and David J. French; editing by Gary McWilliams and Edward Tobin)

Source: OANN

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China, Japan tout ‘recovered’ ties amid global uncertainty

Japan's foreign minister says China and Japan have the opportunity to "take charge of the economic field" during a time of worldwide uncertainty.

Taro Kono met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Sunday to discuss youth exchanges and economic relations between the two countries.

Kono said China-Japan ties "completely recovered" in 2018 following turbulence in previous years due to an unresolved dispute over islands in the East China Sea.

Trade and investment have since rebounded, and companies from the two countries are considering joint projects in third countries such as Thailand.

Wang said China and Japan are "two major neighbors and major economies" that should contribute to peaceful and stable development amid a "complicated and profoundly changing" global economic situation.

Source: Fox News World

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Officer accused of making hit list pleads not guilty

A Coast Guard officer accused of stockpiling guns and compiling a hit list of prominent Democrats and network TV journalists has pleaded not guilty to drug and firearms charges.

A lawyer for 49-year-old Christopher Paul Hasson entered the plea on his behalf Monday at an arraignment on charges of illegal possession of firearm silencers, possession of firearms by a drug addict and unlawful user, and possession of a controlled substance. Defense attorney Liz Oyer didn't ask for bond.

Federal prosecutors say Hasson is a self-described white nationalist and "domestic terrorist" who "intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country."

Hasson has been detained since his Feb. 15 arrest. Prosecutors say investigators found 15 firearms and over 1,000 rounds of ammunition at Hasson's Silver Spring apartment.

Source: Fox News National

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Patriots owner Kraft: ‘I am truly sorry’

NBA: All Star Game
Feb 17, 2019; Charlotte, NC, USA; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft during the 2019 NBA All-Star Game at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

March 23, 2019

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft issued a statement Saturday that expressed his remorse following charges of solicitation of prostitution.

The statement represented the first comments made by Kraft since he was charged last month for allegedly receiving sex acts at a day spa in Jupiter, Fla. He has pleaded not guilty, and on Friday, his attorney said they intended to vehemently fight the charges as well as the release of two tapes that purportedly show Kraft receiving services at the spa.

“In deference to the judicial process, I have remained silent these past several weeks,” Kraft’s statement read. “To correct some of the misinformation surrounding this matter, my attorney made his first public comments on Friday night. I would like to use this opportunity to say something that I have wanted to say for four weeks.

“I am truly sorry. I know I have hurt and disappointed my family, my close friends, my co-workers, our fans and many others who rightfully hold me to a higher standard.

“Throughout my life, I have always tried to do the right thing. The last thing I would ever want to do is disrespect another human being. I have extraordinary respect for women; my morals and my soul were shaped by the most wonderful woman, the love of my life, who I was blessed to have as my partner for 50 years.”

Kraft’s wife, Myra, died of ovarian cancer in 2011 at age 68, shortly after their 48th anniversary.

Kraft and 24 other men were charged as part of a law-enforcement operation to stop human trafficking in South Florida.

William Burck, who represents Kraft, issued a statement to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Friday evening that read:

“There was no human trafficking and law enforcement knows it,” Burck told Schefter, who posted the quote on his Twitter account. “The video and the traffic stop were illegal and law enforcement just doesn’t want to admit it.

“The state attorney needs to step up and do the right thing and investigate how the evidence in this case was obtained.”

Kraft and the other men accused in the case were offered the opportunity to have their charges dropped if they performed 100 hours of community service, took a class on the dangers of prostitution, were tested for sexually transmitted diseases and paid a fine.

Sources close to Kraft earlier this week said he wouldn’t accept that deal, according to multiple reports.

The statement from Kraft, a 77-year-old billionaire businessman who also owns the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer, continued:

“As I move forward, I hope to continue to use the platform with which I have been blessed to help others and to try to make a difference. I expect to be judged not by my words, but by my actions. And through those actions, I hope to regain your confidence and respect.”

Kraft is expected to be in Florida next Friday for his next court hearing.

–Field Level Media

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Arizona hiker describes being hip-deep in quicksand in Utah park

An Arizona man who was hiking with his girlfriend at Zion National Park in Utah is telling the tale of being stuck hip-deep in quicksand for 11 hours during a winter storm over the weekend.

“It was one of those scariest moments of my life,” Ryan Osmun told Shepard Smith on “Shepard Smith Reporting.”

HIKER WHO GOT STUCK IN QUICKSAND FOR 10 HOURS SAYS HE THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO LOSE HIS LEG

He said he was able to stand on his left leg, but the quicksand was up to his hip and right leg.

“I stopped sinking at my hip,” he said.

He struggled to stay awake during his ordeal.

Osmun said he was hiking with his girlfriend, Jessika McNeill, on Saturday when she got stuck in mud and fell into the creek. He helped her up, only to realize he was himself sinking into the sand.

“My leg just went right into the ground, and it sucked me in,” McNeill told Smith.

Osmun's girlfriend tried to free his leg, to no avail. “I was trying to dig him out with my hands, and it was freezing,” she told Smith.

ARIZONA MAN RESCUED AFTER GETTING STUCK IN QUICKSAND FOR HOURS

McNeill left to go get help. One major complication: They were five hours into the hike, with no real trail or cellphone reception.

Osmun recalled collapsing into the water eight hours after his girlfriend left to look for help. He later awoke to a flash of light and thought he was dreaming, when rescuers found him.

Winter storms continued to delay rescue efforts into Sunday afternoon.

“Only after a small break in the weather occurred in the afternoon, the (Utah Department of Public Safety) helicopter was able safely extricated the patient with a hoist rescue operation,” officials said in a news release.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Osmun was reunited with his girlfriend at the hospital, where he was treated for exposure, hypothermia and extremity injuries.

Fox News’ Katherine Lam contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News National

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Mexican labor bill nabs key Congress vote, spurred by Pelosi warning

FILE PHOTO: Workers of assembly factories cross a street as they rush toward their shift at an industrial park in Reynosa
FILE PHOTO: Workers of assembly factories cross a street as they rush toward their shift at an industrial park in Reynosa, Mexico January 10, 2019. Picture taken January 10, 2019. REUTERS/Tomas Bravo/File Photo

April 11, 2019

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The labor commission in Mexico’s lower house has approved a workers’ rights bill that U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi considers key to winning over Democrats wary of a revamped trade pact to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Pelosi last week called on Mexico to see through the legislation, saying U.S. lawmakers could not even take up the issue unless Mexico put new laws in place to protect workers.

Democratic lawmakers in Washington say the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) must ensure workers in Mexico have the right to organize, a step that would require new Mexican labor laws. They believe a major weakness of NAFTA was that it allowed Mexican wages to stagnate.

The workers’ rights bill was approved by the labor commission in Mexico’s lower house of Congress with 19 votes on Wednesday. One legislator voted against it while another abstained. It was scheduled for a vote in the full house Thursday and could land in the Senate as soon as next week.

After Pelosi’s comments, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he does want to give the United States any motive to reopen negotiations of the pact, which wound up last year.

“It is in our benefit to have this treaty, and for there to be no excuse for opening up negotiations again,” he said in a regular news briefing Thursday.

(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon and Miguel Angel Gutierrez; Editing by Tom Brown)

Source: OANN

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Japan bank executive says mergers won’t fix woes brought by BOJ policy

FILE PHOTO: A security guard walks past in front of the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
FILE PHOTO: A security guard walks past in front of the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo, Japan January 23, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato

March 19, 2019

By Leika Kihara

FUKUOKA, Japan (Reuters) – Japan’s ultra-loose monetary policy is making it tough for commercial banks to earn profits out of lending, a problem that cannot be fixed through bank mergers, the influential chairman of a major regional bank in southern Japan said.

Isao Kubota, chairman of Nishi-Nippon City Bank and once a finance ministry colleague of Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, praised the BOJ chief’s massive stimulus program for correcting a damaging yen spike and revitalizing the economy.

But Kubota said the length of the stimulus program is causing some problems, including hurting financial institutions’ profits for years due to low interest rates.

Extraordinary monetary steps, such as Kuroda’s massive asset-buying program and negative interest rates, could be useful and effective as “short-term, emergency” measures, Kubota told Reuters on Monday.

“But the longer the policy continues, the worse the side effects become,” he said. “We are in the sixth year of this policy and, I think intuitively, the accumulation of the side-effects might be enormous.”

Many Japanese regional banks are grappling with diminishing returns from traditional lending as years of ultra-low rates hurt their bottom line and a dwindling population triggers an exodus of companies to bigger cities.

While Japan’s banking lobbies have complained about the pain from the BOJ’s policies, financial regulators have urged regional banks to cut costs and find new ways to make money.

Some BOJ officials have said mergers could be among options for regional banks to beat a deteriorating business environment.

BIGGER PROBLEMS

But Kubota argued that simply prodding regional banks to merge won’t solve a bigger problem created by the BOJ’s yield curve control (YCC) policy, which caps long-term rates at zero.

“Regardless of whether (the BOJ) intends to do so or not, they are squeezing the profits of commercial banks,” Kubota said of YCC’s impact on bank profits.

“The other side of the coin is that, this kind of phenomenon is never resolved through, for example, mergers of banks. By nature, because of this policy, banks as a whole are made unprofitable.”

Under YCC, the BOJ now pledges to guide short-term rates at minus 0.1 percent and the 10-year bond yield around zero percent. The policy has made it tough for banks to profit from traditional business of borrowing short-term funds and lending them at higher yields.

“We want an early stoppage to this kind of policy. That we can say. But we can’t say what the authorities should do,” Kubota said, when asked whether commercial banks would be better off if the BOJ abandoned negative rates. “They have powers, authorities. They also have responsibilities for the outcome of their policy.”

Despite the mounting challenges to achieving 2 percent inflation, Kuroda won’t abandon his target, said Kubota, who thinks he sees the governor’s way of thinking “very well” as former colleagues.

Both studied under prominent economists at Oxford University as graduate students dispatched from Japan’s Ministry of Finance.

“He’s confident and he’s a good politician,” Kubota said of the BOJ governor. “Even if he thinks something is dubious, he would never say so, so long as there is a need for the policy.”

(Additional reporting by Takahiko Wada; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO - Otto Frederick Warmbier is taken to North Korea's top court in Pyongyang North Korea
FILE PHOTO – Otto Frederick Warmbier (C), a University of Virginia student who was detained in North Korea since early January, is taken to North Korea’s top court in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released by Kyodo March 16, 2016. Mandatory credit REUTERS/Kyodo/File Photo

April 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said the United States did not pay any money to North Korea as it sought the release of comatose American student Otto Warmbier.

The Washington Post reported on Thursday that Trump had approved payment of a $2 million bill from North Korea to cover its care of the college student, who died shortly after he was returned to the United States after 17 months in a North Korean prison.

(Reporting by Makini Brice and Susan Heavey)

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Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London
Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London, Britain, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Gerhard Mey

April 26, 2019

By Hanna Rantala

LONDON (Reuters) – Irish rockers The Cranberries are saying goodbye with their final album released on Friday, a poignant tribute to lead singer Dolores O’Riordan who died last year.

“In the End” is the eighth studio album from the band that rose to fame in the early 1990s with hits likes “Zombie” and “Linger”, and includes the final recordings by O’Riordan, who drowned in a London hotel bath in January 2018 due to alcohol intoxication.

Work on the album began during a 2017 tour and by that winter, O’Riordan and guitarist Neil Hogan had penned and demoed 11 tracks.

With O’Riordan’s vocals recorded, Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler completed the album in tribute to her.

“When we realized how strong the songs were, that was the deciding factor really… There was no point… trying to ruin the legacy of the band,” Noel Hogan said in an interview.

“It was obvious that Dolores wanted this album done because when you hear the album, you hear the songs and how strong they are, and she was very, very excited to get in and record this.”

The Cranberries formed in Limerick in 1989 with another singer. O’Riordan replaced him a year later and the group went on to become Ireland’s best-selling rock band after U2, selling more than 40 million records.

O’Riordan, known for her strong distinctive voice singing about relationships or political violence, was 46 when she died.

“She was actually in quite a good place mentally. She was feeling quite content and strong and looking forward to a new phase of her life,” Lawler said.

“A lot of the lyrics in this album are about things ending… people might read into it differently but it was a phase of her personal life that she was talking about.”

The group previously announced their intention to split after the release of “In The End”.

“We are absolutely gutted we can’t play (the songs) live because that’s something that’s been a massive part of this band from day one,” Noel Hogan said.

“A few people have said to us about maybe even doing a one off where you have different vocalists… as kind of guests of ours. A year ago that’s definitely something we weren’t going to entertain but I don’t know, I think it’s something we need to go away and take time off for the summer and have a think about.”

Critics have generally given positive reviews of the album; NME described it as “(seeing) the band’s career go full-circle” while the Irish Times called it “an unexpected late career high and a remarkable swan song for O’Riordan”.

Their early songs still play on the radio. This week, “Dreams” was performed at the funeral of journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead in Londonderry last week as she watched Irish nationalist youths attack police following a raid.

“We wrote them as kids, as a hobby and 30 years later they are on radio and on TV, like all the time… That’s far more than any of us ever thought we would have,” Noel Hogan said.

“That would make Dolores really happy because she was very precious about those songs. Her babies, she called them and to have that hopefully long after we’re gone… that’s all any band can wish for.”

(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; additoinal reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Susan Fenton)

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2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston, Texas, U.S. April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

April 26, 2019

By Joshua Schneyer and M.B. Pell

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Senator Elizabeth Warren will introduce a bill Friday that offers new protections for U.S. military families facing unsafe housing, following a series of Reuters reports revealing squalid conditions in privately managed base homes.

The Reuters reports and later Congressional hearings detailed widespread hazards including lead paint exposure, vermin infestations, collapsing ceilings, mold and maintenance lapses in privatized base housing communities that serve some 700,000 U.S. military family members.

(View Warren’s military housing bill here. https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dy5aht)

(Read Reuters’ Ambushed at Home series on military housing here. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/usa-military)

The Massachusetts Democrat’s bill would mandate both regular and unannounced spot inspections of base homes by certified, independent inspectors, holding landlords accountable for quickly fixing hazards. The military’s privatization program for years allowed real estate firms to operate base housing with scant oversight, Reuters found, leaving some tenants in unsafe homes with little recourse against landlords.

The bill would also require the Department of Defense and its private housing operators to publish reports annually detailing housing conditions, tenant complaints, maintenance response times and the financial incentives companies receive at each base. The provisions aim to enhance transparency of housing deals whose finances and operations the military had allowed to remain largely confidential under a privatization program since the late 1990s.

The measure would also require private landlords to cover moving costs for at-risk families, and healthcare costs for people with medical conditions resulting from unsafe base housing, ensuring they receive continuing coverage even after they leave the homes or the military.

“This bill will eliminate the kind of corner-cutting and neglect the Defense Department should never have let these private housing partners get away with in the first place,” Warren said in a statement Friday.

The proposed legislation comes after February Senate hearings where Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 U.S. presidential election, slammed private real estate firms for endangering service families, and sought answers about why military branches weren’t providing more oversight.

Her legislation would direct the Defense Department to allow local housing code enforcers onto federal bases, following concerns they were sometimes denied access. Warren’s office said a companion bill in the House of Representatives would be introduced by Rep. Deb Haaland, Democrat of New Mexico.

In response to the housing crisis, military branches are developing a tenant bill of rights and hiring hundreds of new housing staff. The branches recently dispatched commanders to survey base housing worldwide for safety hazards, resulting in thousands of work orders and hundreds of tenants being moved. The Defense Department has pledged to renegotiate its 50-year contracts with private real estate firms.

Congress has been quick to take its own measures. Earlier legislation proposed by senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California, along with Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, would compel base commanders to withhold rent payments and incentive fees from the private ventures if they allow home hazards to persist.

(Editing by Ronnie Greene)

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FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London
FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar

(Reuters) – Deloitte quit as Ferrexpo’s auditor on Friday, knocking its shares by more than 20 percent, days after saying it was unable to conclude whether the iron ore miner’s CEO controlled a charity being investigated over its use of company donations.

Blooming Land, which coordinates Ferrexpo’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, came under scrutiny after auditors found holes in the charity’s statements.

Ferrexpo on Tuesday said findings of an ongoing independent investigation launched in February indicated some Blooming Land funds could have been “misappropriated”. It did not provide any details or publish its findings.

Shares in Ferrexpo, the third largest exporter of pellets to the global steel industry, were 23.4 percent lower at 206.1 pence at 1022 GMT following news of Deloitte’s resignation.

“Ferrexpo’s shares are deeply discounted vs peers … following the resignation of Deloitte, we expect downside risks to dominate Ferrexpo’s shares near term.” JP Morgan analyst Dominic O’Kane said in a note on Friday.

Swiss-headquartered Ferrexpo did not provide a reason for the resignation of Deloitte, which declined to comment, while Blooming Land did not respond to a request for comment.

Funding for Blooming Land’s CSR activities is provided by one of Ferrexpo’s units in Ukraine and Khimreaktiv LLC, an entity ultimately controlled by Ferrexpo’s CEO and majority owner Kostyantin Zhevago, Ferrexpo said on Tuesday.

Ferrexpo’s board has found that Zhevago did not have significant influence or control over the charity, but Deloitte said it was unable reach a conclusion on this.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact Zhevago.

In a qualified opinion, a statement addressing an incomplete audit, Deloitte said it had been unable to conclude whether $33.5 million of CSR donations to Blooming Land between 2017 and 2018 was used for “legitimate business payments for charitable purposes”.

Deloitte said on Tuesday that total CSR payments made to Blooming Land by Ferrexpo since 2013 total about $110 million.

Ferrexpo, whose major mines are in Ukraine, has said that the investigation was ongoing and new evidence pointed to potential discrepancies.

Zhevago, 45, who ranked 1,511 on Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires for 2019 with a net worth of $1.4 billion, owns the FC Vorskla soccer club and has been a member of Ukraine’s parliament since 1998.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru and additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kiev; editing by Gopakumar Warrier, Bernard Orr)

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Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba
Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba, Mozambique April 26, 2019 in this still image obtained from social media. SolidarMed via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

April 26, 2019

By Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer

JOHANNESBURG/LUANDA (Reuters) – Cyclone Kenneth killed at least one person and left a trail of destruction in northern Mozambique, destroying houses, ripping up trees and knocking out power, authorities said on Friday.

The cyclone brought storm surges and wind gusts of up to 280 km per hour (174 mph) when it made landfall on Thursday evening, after killing three people in the island nation of Comoros.

It was the most powerful storm on record to hit Mozambique’s northern coast and came just six weeks after Cyclone Idai battered the impoverished nation, causing devastating floods and killing more than 1,000 people across a swathe of southern Africa.

The World Food Programme warned that Kenneth could dump as much as 600 millimeters of rain on the region over the next 10 days – twice that brought by Cyclone Idai.

One woman in the port town of Pemba died after being hit by a falling tree, the Emergency Operations Committee for Cabo Delgado (COE) said in a statement, while another person was injured.

In rural areas outside Pemba, many homes are made of mud. In the main town on the island of Ibo, 90 percent of the houses were destroyed, officials said. Around 15,000 people were out in the open or in “overcrowded” shelters and there was a need for tents, food and water, they said.

There were also reports of a large number of homes and some infrastructure destroyed in Macomia district, a mainland district adjacent to Ibo.

A local group, the Friends of Pemba Association, had earlier reported that they could not reach people in Muidumbe, a district further inland.

Mark Lowcock, United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, warned the storm could require another major humanitarian operation in Mozambique.

“Cyclone Kenneth marks the first time two cyclones have made landfall in Mozambique during the same season, further stressing the government’s limited resources,” he said in a statement.

FLOOD WARNINGS

Shaquila Alberto, owner of the beach-front Messano Flower Lodge in Macomia, said there were many fallen trees there, and in rural areas people’s homes had been damaged. Some areas of nearby Pemba had no power.

“Even my workers, they said the roof and all the things fell down,” she said by phone.

Further south, in Pemba, Elton Ernesto, a receptionist at Raphael’s Hotel, said there were fallen trees but not too much damage. The hotel had power and water, he said, while phones rang in the background. “The rain has stopped,” he added.

However Michael Charles, an official for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said heavy rains over the next few days were likely to bring a “second wave of destruction” in the form of flooding.

“The houses are not all solid, and the topography is very sandy,” Charles said.

In the days after Cyclone Idai, heavy inland rains prompted rivers to burst their banks, submerging entire villages, cutting areas off from aid and ruining crops. There were concerns the same could happen again in northern Mozambique.

Before Kenneth hit, the government and aid workers moved around 30,000 people to safer buildings such as schools, however authorities said that around 680,000 people were in the path of the storm.

(Reporting by Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer; Writing by Emma Rumney; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Alexandra Zavis)

Source: OANN

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