Company news in brief
Little to no ethanol will qualify for US aviation fuel creditLittle to no ethanol will qualify for U.S. sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) subsidies under a new pilot program by President Joe Biden's administration, which toughened climate requirements at the last minute, according to a Reuters review of government data and people familiar with the matter.
The issue could hurt the biofuel industry, which sees SAF as ethanol’s best chance at growth since electric cars have cut into its market as a gasoline additive. It could also hinder Biden's goal of producing 30 billion gallons of SAF by 2030. He once promised 95% of SAF - a biofuel that can be made from oils, waste, or grains - would come from farmers.
Details about how little ethanol will qualify for the subsidies under the pilot program, and how the requirements were raised at the final hour, have not previously been reported.
At issue is a $1.25/gallon production tax credit embedded in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act reserved for SAF that demonstrates a 50% reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to regular jet fuel.
Under the pilot program finalized on April 30, ethanol producers seeking to claim that credit must verify their corn comes from farms using three climate-friendly farming practices in tandem: not tilling the soil, planting cover crops, and using higher efficiency fertilizers.
The pilot program covers ethanol produced in 2023 and 2024, and will be replaced by a new program in 2025 that biofuel groups hope will be less restrictive.
"I see this (pilot) as a marker, a signal and think it was a good first step," said Patrick Gruber, CEO of biofuel producer Gevo.
-REUTERS-
Stocks regain some ground, bonds steady after rate angst sell-off
European stocks edged higher on Thursday as bonds regained some ground after a sell-off the day before on bets that global interest rates would stay high due to sticky inflation.
The dollar softened as U.S. Treasury yields slipped back, while metals and energy prices came under pressure.
The latest slowdown in the global risk rally has come on the back of data pointing to lingering inflationary pressures across major economies and a flood of bond sales lifting yields.
"There are two forces colliding here," said Ben Laidler, global markets strategist at eToro.
"It's being driven by the very heavy government bond issuance and markets that are still afraid of interest rates staying higher for longer and sticky inflation."
But for now, bond markets have steadied, which has supported equity markets in Europe.
Wall Street futures were soft, with S&P and Nasdaq eminis both shedding around 0.3%.
Germany's 10-year bund yield , which earlier touched a six-month high at 2.687%, was little changed at 2.685%. Bond yields move inversely to prices.
Data on Wednesday showed German inflation rose slightly more than forecast to 2.8% in May, ahead of the closely watched wider euro zone bloc's reading on Friday.
A higher-than-forecast inflation reading on Friday is unlikely to derail the European Central Bank from lowering borrowing costs next week but could have implications for future policy moves.