Aurelia Butler

LA CONCHITA, Calif. (Reuters) -The latest Pacific storm unleashed torrential downpours and damaging winds in California on Tuesday, knocking out power and turning city streets into rivers as mudslides cut off highways and entire communities faced evacuation orders. More than 33 million Californians were threatened by severe weather throughout the day as “heavy to excessive” rainfall was expected across the state, especially in southern California, as winds gusts were clocked at more than 40 miles (64 km) an hour in many places, the National Weather Service (NWS) said. The high winds wreaked havoc on the power grid, knocking out electricity to 180,000 homes and businesses as of midday Tuesday, according to data from Poweroutage.us.”This storm was different from the standpoint that it was here much longer. It was more intense because of the prior storm, the ground was much more saturated, which led to a lot more flooding and a lot more rescues because of the ground saturation,” said Barry Parker, division chief of the Ventura County Fire Department.Experts say the growing frequency and intensity of such storms, interspersed with extreme heat and dry spells, are symptoms of climate change. Though the rain and snow will help replenish reservoirs and aquifers, a mere two weeks of precipitation will not solve two decades of drought. Meanwhile, terrain denuded by past wildfires has created an increased risk of flash floods and mudslides. The torrential rains, along with heavy snow in mountain areas, follow yet another “atmospheric river” of dense moisture funneled into California from the tropical Pacific, powered by sprawling low-pressure systems churning offshore.With the soil already saturated, much of the damage has been concentrated around the city of Santa Barbara, about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Los Angeles, where the steep foothills slope toward the Pacific Ocean. Several remote spots have reported more than a foot (30 cm) of rain including the San Marcos Pass in the Santa Ynez Mountains above Santa Barbara, where more than 17 inches (43 cm) have fallen, according to the NWS.In the Rancho Oso area of the Santa Ynez Mountains, mud and debris across the roadway isolated about 400 people and 70 horses, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department said on Twitter, posting a photo of a vehicle stuck in the mud. Rescue teams were on the way, spokesperson Scott Safechuck said.Near the coast, the California Highway Patrol closed U.S. 101, the main highway connecting northern and southern California, with no estimated time on reopening.”Please stay home and do not drive today if at all possible,” the highway patrol advised on Twitter, posting pictures of mudslides and fallen rock that blocked the highway.Many communities were flooded including Goleta, where a man rode his paddleboard through the streets. On Monday, officials ordered the evacuation of some 25,000 people, including the entire affluent enclave of Montecito near Santa Barbara, due to heightened flood and mudslide risks. The 4,000 people of Planada, a community in Central California, started their Tuesday morning with an order to evacuate their homes by the county sheriff’s office. The Montecito evacuation zone was among 17 California regions where authorities worry the ongoing torrential downpours could unleash lethal cascades of mud, boulders and other debris in the hillsides.Further south in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Chatsworth, two vehicles fell into a sinkhole that opened beneath a road. Floodwaters invaded the train station in downtown Los Angeles, submerging a pedestrian walkway.At least a dozen fatalities have been attributed to several back-to-back storms that have lashed California since Dec. 26. More

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Some hedge funds that bet on macroeconomic trends boasted eye-popping double and even triple digit gains for 2022, investors said, while other prominent firms that were long on technology stocks got clobbered with deep losses in volatile markets.Rokos Capital, run by Chris Rokos and one of a handful of so-called global macro firms, gained 51% last year. Brevan Howard Asset Management, the firm Rokos once worked for, posted a gain of 20.14% and Caxton Associates returned 16.73%, investors in the funds said this week, asking not to be identified.Haidar Capital Management’s Haidar Jupiter Fund surged 193%, an investor said.Many macro managers sidestepped tumbling equity markets rocked by fast-paced interest rate hikes and geopolitical turmoil including the war in Ukraine to rank among the hedge fund industry’s best performers, data from Hedge Fund Research show. The firm’s macro index gained 14.2% while the overall hedge fund index dropped 4.25%, its first loss since 2018.Equity hedge funds, where the bulk of the industry’s roughly $3.7 trillion in assets are invested, however fared worse with a 10.4% loss, according to HFR data. While that beat the broader stock market S&P 500 index’ 19.4% loss, some prominent funds posted even bigger losses. Tiger Global Management lost 56% while Whale Rock Capital Management ended the year with a 43% loss and Maverick Capital lost 23%. Coatue Management ended 2022 with a 19% loss.But not all firms that bet on technology stocks suffered. John Thaler’s JAT Capital ended the year with a 3.7% gain after fees following a 33% gain in 2021 and a 46% gain in 2020.Sculptor Capital Management (NYSE:SCU), where founder Dan Och is battling the firm’s current chief executive in court over his rising pay, posted a 13% drop.David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital, which bet that Elon Musk would end up being forced to buy Twitter, ended the year with a 37% gain while Rick Sandler’s Eminence Capital was up 7%. A number of so-called multi-manager firms where teams of portfolio managers make bets on a variety of sectors also boasted positive returns and were able to make good on promises that hedge funds can deliver better returns in tumbling markets.Balyasny’s Atlas (NYSE:ATCO) Enhanced fund gained 9.7% while Point72 Asset Management was up 10%. Millennium Management gained 12% while Carlson Capital ended the year with a 7% gain.Representatives for the firms either did not respond to requests for comment or declined to comment. More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is digging in to oversee billions of dollars in federal climate and infrastructure spending that she believes will transform the economy, close associates say, defying demands from Republicans to step down.Yellen’s oversight of about $270 billion in tax credits for electric vehicles, home solar panels and other climate purchases contained in the Inflation Reduction Act have made her a pivotal climate figure in President Joe Biden’s administration.But the high profile, as well as signals from markets and some economists of a coming recession, are expected to intensify demands from Republicans for Yellen, 76, to step down, citing her too-rosy inflation forecasts and her failure to rein in federal spending that they say is to blame.Yellen has also clashed with Republican lawmakers over the statutory limit on U.S. debt, warning that a failure to raise the debt ceiling threatened America’s credit rating and could disrupt financial markets.Yellen told CNBC late last year that she was “in good company” in misjudging inflation, and that Biden’s COVID spending plans were needed to boost the recovery. She has publicly and repeatedly shaken off speculation that she would step aside midway through Biden’s four-year term, steeled by what close associates say is her confidence in Biden’s continuing support.The White House and Treasury had no immediate comment on a Bloomberg report saying that Biden asked her personally to stay on.White House and Treasury officials say inflation was spurred by supply chain problems and exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but note that inflation is now easing and investments in manufacturing will reduce future supply chain log-jams.”Secretary Yellen is all-in on making sure we achieve the dual goals of reducing emissions and rebuilding American industry,” Senator Ron Wyden, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, told Reuters in an emailed statement. REPUBLICANS SEE A RADICAL The first woman to serve as Fed chair and Treasury secretary, Yellen in December presided over another milestone: the launch of the first U.S. banknotes signed by two women.While Republicans broadly supported Yellen’s confirmation as Treasury Secretary, some say they are disappointed by what they see as her too-progressive agenda, including a drive to forgive student debt, which economists say could add $300 billion to $600 billion to the federal debt. “Sadly, she is living proof that when financial aptitude is made subservient to ideology, even the talented fall from grace,” EJ Antoni, a research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation wrote in a recent blog post.Treasury declined to comment on the Antoni blog.Republicans, who now control the House of Representatives, have launched a probe of Yellen’s advisory committee on racial equity, saying it would further politicize the department, and are eyeing an investigation into her proposal for a 15% minimum global corporate tax.In a letter to Yellen in December, senior Republicans including Senator Jim Risch and Representative Kevin Brady said the tax would have a negative impact on U.S businesses and criticized Yellen for not responding to their concerns.Treasury had no comment on the Republican concerns, but officials have previously said the department’s policies are overdue and urgently needed.In addition to advancing Biden’s domestic climate agenda, Treasury officials say another key priority for Yellen in 2023 will be advancing reforms of the World Bank and other multilateral lenders to free up more resources for countries to address climate change and other priorities.Yellen, who has logged about 100,000 miles of air travel in the job, leaves next week for Africa, with stops planned in Senegal, Zambia and South Africa, as part of a broader U.S. push to counter China’s outsized influence on the continent. The secretary’s mounting frustration with Beijing – now the world’s largest creditor – for not moving forward more quickly to restructure the debt of low-income countries in Africa will be a key issue, especially in Zambia, Treasury officials say.”Janet Yellen has restored the United States to the center of the multilateral system, in terms of global economics,” said Kevin Gallagher, who heads the Global Development Center. “Will it be perfect? No, but at least the United States isn’t facing 100% inward, which is the way it was a couple of years ago.” More