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☆ Exclusive: Gerald Group's 'tin concentrate' bought in Brazil revealed to be sand
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Pratima Desai | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The trader supplies tin concentrate to the Thai smelter Thaisarco, which does not price or pay for the material until after it has arrived and been authenticated. Fifty containers would hold 1,250 metric tonnes of tin concentrate and Brazilian concentrate would yield 875 tonnes of metal. In addition to selling tin to Thaisarco, Gerald typically sends tin concentrate to Malaysia Smelting Corp (MSCB.KL) to turn into metal in a process known as tolling. Tin concentrate from Brazil typically contains about 70% metal. With regional variations, tin concentrate also contains byproducts or impurities such as iron, antimony, bismuth, lead and silver.

Persons: Gerald Group, Gerald, Andrew Davies, Pratima Desai, Veronica Brown, Barbara Lewis, Catherine Evans Organizations: Reuters, London Metal Exchange, Malaysia Smelting Corp, Geological Survey, Thomson Locations: Brazil, Asia, London, Thaisarco

Berlin has agreed subsidies worth nearly 10 billion euros with the U.S. chipmaker, a person familiar with the matter said, more than the 6.8 billion euros it had initially offered Intel to build two leading-edge facilities in the eastern city. "Today's agreement is an important step for Germany as a high-tech production location – and for our resilience," Scholz said after Monday's signing. Globally, semiconductor manufacturing is expected to become a trillion-dollar industry by 2030, expanding from $600 billion in 2021, according to McKinsey. Initially, Intel wanted to invest 17 billion euros in the Magdeburg plant, an amount that has nearly doubled to more than 30 billion. About 7,000 construction jobs will be created in the first expansion, plus around 3,000 high-tech jobs at Intel and tens of thousands of jobs across industry, the U.S. chipmaker said.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Pat Gelsinger, Scholz, Israel, Dado Ruvic, Robert Hermann, Taiwan's TSMC, Tesla, Robert Habeck, chipmaker, Gelsinger, Maria Martinez, Riham, Christoph Steitz, Rachel More, Jason Neely, Sharon Singleton, Catherine Evans Organizations: Intel, Intel Intel, Germany's, U.S, AMD, Nvidia, Samsung, Union, McKinsey, REUTERS, Germany Trade, Invest, Reuters, Germany, Thomson Locations: Germany, Frankfurt BERLIN, STOCKHOLM, Magdeburg, Europe, Berlin, Saxony, Anhalt, EU, chipmaking, Poland, United States, South Korea, Taiwan, Frankfurt, U.S, Ireland, France, Asia

☆ Analysis: Global tax deal at risk as first pillar teeters
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Leigh Thomas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Reuters GraphicsDIGITAL SERVICE TAXWhile the global minimum tax was always expected to bring in far more revenue, the collapse of plans to redistribute taxing rights would not come without consequences. The Biden administration backed the deal in 2021 in part because it requires other countries to abandon existing or planned digital services taxes targeting big U.S. tech groups. France, which the Trump administration hit with tariff action over its digital services tax before the Biden administration suspended it, has said that it will keep the tax in place as long as Pillar I of the deal is not resolved. Against that background, U.S. companies are eager to see progress on a multilateral solution that would get rid of unilateral digital services taxes. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told CNBC last week that the bill had little chance of passing and that the United States would get on board with the global minimum.

Persons: Peter Barnes, Biden, Trump, Megan Funkhouser, Janet Yellen, Barnes, Leigh Thomas, Christian Kraemer, David Lawder, Catherine Evans Organizations: PARIS, Google, Fiscal Association, Republican, U.S . Congress, Economic Cooperation, Development, Reuters, OECD, Information Technology Industry Council, Republicans, Treasury, CNBC, Trump, Thomson Locations: United States, Paris, France, Washington, U.S, United, Berlin

Growth in the euro zone is at best stagnating and inflation has been moderating for months, courtesy of lower energy prices and the steepest increase in interest rates in the ECB's 25-year history. But inflation in the euro zone is still unacceptably high for the ECB at 6.1% and underlying price growth, which typically excludes food and energy, is only starting to slow. That was set to keep the ECB on the tightening path, particularly after it failed to predict the current bout of high inflation and began raising rates later than many global peers last year. Two quarters of contraction in industrial powerhouse Germany dragged the euro zone into a shallow recession last winter and the economy is likely to eke out only modest growth this year. "The Governing Council’s past rate increases are being transmitted forcefully to financing conditions and are gradually having an impact across the economy," the ECB said in the statement.

Persons: Christine Lagarde, Francesco Canepa, Catherine Evans Organizations: European Central Bank, ECB, U.S . Federal Reserve, Staff, Reuters, Germany, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, ECB's

☆ ECB raises rates to 22-year high and signals more to come
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, June 15 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank raised interest rates for the eighth successive time as expected on Thursday and signalled further policy tightening, as it battles high inflation. "The Governing Council’s future decisions will ensure that the key ECB interest rates will be brought to levels sufficiently restrictive to achieve a timely return of inflation to the 2% medium-term target," the ECB said after lifting the deposit rate by 25 basis points to a 22-year high of 3.5%. But the labour market remains tight, nominal wage growth is quick and underlying price pressures, particularly for services, appear to be stubbornly high. Prior to Thursday's decision, markets had priced in another 25 basis point ECB rate hike in July or September and saw a moderate chance of another move later this year, perhaps in September or October. Attention now turns to ECB President Christine Lagarde's 1245 GMT news conference.

Persons: Christine Lagarde's, Balazs Koranyi, Catherine Evans Organizations: European Central Bank, ECB, Staff, U.S . Federal Reserve, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT

That is likely to keep the ECB on the tightening path, particularly after it failed to predict the current bout of high inflation and began raising rates later than many global peers last year. Economists polled by Reuters expect another move of the same magnitude in July before the ECB pauses for the rest of 2023. Instead, euro zone rate-setters have focused on actual economic data that has been painting a mixed picture. Two quarters of contraction in industrial powerhouse Germany dragged the euro zone into a shallow recession last winter and the economy is likely to eke out only modest growth this year. As a result, economists expect the ECB to send out a more balanced message about the outlook than at recent meetings, when it stressed the need to raise rates further to cool demand.

Persons: Carsten Brzeski, Christine Lagarde, Berenberg, Francesco Canepa, Catherine Evans Organizations: ECB, European Central Bank, U.S . Federal Reserve, ING, Reuters, Deutsche Bank, Germany, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, ECB's

☆ Bank of England to press on with rate hikes, peak at 5.00% in Q3
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Jonathan Cable | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In December 2021 the BoE was one of the first major central banks to draw a line under its ultra-loose pandemic-era monetary policy. It has now raised borrowing costs by 440 basis points across 12 consecutive meetings in modest-sized rate rises. All 64 economists polled June 12-14 said the BoE would add another 25 basis points to Bank Rate on June 22, taking it to 4.75%. A majority of economists surveyed, 52 of 64, said Bank Rate will have peaked by end-August with the median forecast putting it at 5.00%. Although starting later, both the Fed and the European Central Bank have largely been raising rates in greater magnitudes than the BoE.

Persons: BoE, Ellie Henderson, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey, Jonathan Haskel, Catherine Mann, Megan Greene, Silvana Tenreyro, Stefan Koopman, Investec's Henderson, Jonathan Cable, Aditi Verma, Anitta Sunil, Ross Finley, Catherine Evans Organizations: Bank of England, Monetary, Committee, Rabobank, U.S . Federal, Fed, European Central Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Investec

LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) - Incoming Bank of England rate-setter Megan Greene signalled on Tuesday that the central bank may have a tough job returning British inflation to its 2% target, even if it drops quickly at first from double-digit figures. British inflation fell in April from double digits to 8.7% but this was still jointly the highest reading among Group of Seven countries, along with Italy. Short-dated British government bond yields rose to their highest level since 2008 as Greene spoke. She described inflation expectations in Britain as pretty well-anchored, but said there were lessons from the 1970s on how not to conduct monetary policy. Greene will replace MPC member Silvana Tenreyro, who has voted against the BoE's rate increases in recent months.

Persons: Megan Greene, Greene, Kroll, BoE, Silvana Tenreyro, Kylie MacLellan, Suban Abdulla, Sarah Young, Catherine Evans Organizations: Incoming Bank of, Monetary, parliament's, MPC, Thomson Locations: Italy, Britain, U.S

"It is clear that to ensure economic confidence, legal consistency is a must," one of the senior officials said. Deniz Ozen, lawyer for the Turkish Workers' Party MP, said authorities are violating Turkish law by keeping him in jail. Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey director of Human Rights Watch, said a discredited justice system is a matter of concern especially for European investors. Reinforcing the apparent U-turn, Erdogan on Friday named Hafize Gaye Erkan as central bank governor, paving the way for interest rate hikes. "No matter the economic reforms, the investment will not significantly ramp up," he said.

Persons: Erdogan, Tayyip Erdogan, Mehmet Simsek, Simsek, Mehmet Gun, Orhan Turan, Turkey's, Osman, Deniz Ozen, Emma Sinclair, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Howard Eissenstat, Burcu Karakas, Jonathan Spicer, Catherine Evans Organizations: Better Justice Association, Istanbul Convention, Gazette, Bank, AK Party, of Human, Human Rights, Turkish Workers ' Party, Finance, St, Lawrence University, Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, Turkey, Istanbul, Osman Kavala, Kavala, Webb

☆ JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley review prime broking ties with Odey Asset Management -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Nell Mackenzie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) - JPMorgan (JPM.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) are reviewing their prime broking relationships with Odey Asset Management after allegations of sexual misconduct and bullying by Crispin Odey reported by the Financial Times and Tortoise Media on Thursday, sources familiar with the matter said. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters JPMorgan was also reviewing its relationship with Odey Asset Management. A source at one of the banks said the allegations of misconduct at Odey Asset Management conflicted with their standards. Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan declined to comment. Odey Asset Management did not respond immediately to a phone call and email requesting comment.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Crispin Odey, Odey, Morgan Stanley's, Nell Mackenzie, Elisa Martinuzzi, Dhara Ranasinghe, Catherine Evans Organizations: JPMorgan, Odey, Management, Financial Times, Tortoise Media, FT, Reuters, Odey Asset Management, Thomson Locations: Brexit

☆ Exclusive: Turkey's new cabinet almost certain to include Simsek, four sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Orhan Coskun | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Simsek was highly regarded by financial markets when he served as finance minister and deputy prime minister between 2009 and 2018. After chairing a final meeting of his old cabinet on Wednesday, Erdogan will announce new ministerial roles by Saturday, officials said. The new cabinet is almost certain to include his spokesman Ibrahim Kalin and intelligence chief Hakan Fidan, they added. One of the sources, a senior official with knowledge of the subject, said Erdogan and Simsek had spoken for 2-1/2 hours. The same official said former minister Cevdet Yilmaz could take up the role of Treasury and Finance Minister if Simsek were to become a vice president.

Persons: Erdogan, Tayyip Erdogan, Mehmet Simsek, Simsek, Ibrahim Kalin, Hakan Fidan, Nureddin Nebati, Guillaume Tresca, Cevdet Yilmaz, Lutfi Elvan, Sahap Kavcioglu, Timothy Ash, Ash, Amruta Khandekar, Daren Butler, Jonathan Spicer, Toby Chopra, Catherine Evans Organizations: Intelligence, Lira, FX, Reuters, Treasury, Finance, Emerging, Generali Investments, AK, Simsek, BlueBay Asset Management, Thomson Locations: ANKARA

☆ Blur's Alex James on making new album: 'It's exciting and emotional'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Members of the British band Blur Alex James, Graham Coxon, Damon Albarn and Dave Rowntree, sit in a recording studio in this undated handout photo. Reuben Bastienne-Lewi/Parlophone... Read moreLONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - Recording Blur's first new album in eight years has been "exciting and emotional", bassist Alex James says, as the band prepares for a series of gigs this summer where fans will get to hear their new tunes. Blur, who exploded onto the British music scene in the early 1990s with hits like "Girls & Boys" and "Parklife", surprised fans on Thursday by announcing their ninth studio album, "The Ballad of Darren", would be released on July 21. "What's incredible about this record is it just does feel like we've just sort of picked up where we left off. We started making the record in the depths of winter, and now... we're into summer and we're ready to rock."

But Michelin, Continental and Pirelli (PIRC.MI) told Reuters they are pursuing alternatives to 6PPD, with Michelin and Continental adding collective industry action may be necessary to find solutions. Continental said its dandelion tyres were developed to find a sustainable form of natural rubber, and addressing 6PPD was a separate focus. The worst-performing rival tyres Michelin has tested so far emit around 8 kg per year. Michelin and Continental said they are already focused on making their tyres more durable - Michelin cut its tyre emissions 5% between 2015 and 2020, Roget said. "The advent of the EV is the time to make this change," to improve tyres," Enso's Erlendsson said.

☆ German exports to Russia's neighbours fuel sanctions evasion fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Rene Wagner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Although they remain relatively modest in value, German exports to Georgia rose by 92%, while those to Kazakhstan rose 136%, to Armenia 172% and to Tajikistan 154%. An 11th package of EU sanctions, currently being negotiated, will also focus on people and countries circumventing existing trade restrictions. "The circumvention of sanctions against Russia is unacceptable," German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said in Brussels on Tuesday. That came after a six-fold rise in German exports to Kyrgyzstan last year following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. "But because Turkey does not participate in EU sanctions, EU goods are further exported from there to Russia."

Ahead of an election on May 21, a cost-of-living crisis that is eroding earnings is foremost in voters' minds. For Klaoudatou it means voting for anyone but the incumbent conservative New Democracy or the opposition leftist Syriza. Reuters GraphicsThree international bailouts saved Greece from toppling out of the euro zone during a decade-long debt crisis that peaked in 2015. "Εven during the crisis - and this is the joke - I didn't think so much before spending a single extra euro," Klaoudatou told Reuters. Reuters GraphicsPAYCHECK BARELY GETS TO PAYCHECKOne in two Greek households could barely get by on their monthly income last year.

☆ Bank of England set to raise rates to 4.5% next week, a possible peak
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Economists polled by Reuters this week were unanimous that the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will raise rates to 4.5% next week, in sharp contrast to a poll two weeks earlier which showed only a slim majority expecting a hike. "Previously we had seen the MPC holding Bank Rate at 4.25% but the April labour market and March CPI inflation data were too much to ignore," said Peter Schaffrik, global macro strategist at Royal Bank of Canada. Only a minority of economists polled by Reuters this week expect the BoE to raise interest rates above 4.5% this year. But investors in interest rate futures - whose views shift more rapidly - see rates reaching 4.75% or 5% by September. "In our view, further tightening beyond May can't be ruled out," said Andrew Goodwin, chief UK economist at Oxford Economics.

"We are not pausing - that is very clear," ECB President Christine Lagarde told a press conference. NOT FED DEPENDENTShe also dismissed the notion that the ECB would have to pause if its U.S. counterpart did so, saying the ECB was "not Fed-dependent". The German 10-year yield , the euro zone benchmark, fell as much as 7 basis points to a one-month low of 2.18%. "In a nod to the hawks, the ECB hinted at 'future decisions' in the plural," Holger Schmieding at Berenberg said. Firms in the services sector especially have complained of labour shortages, suggesting that more wage pressures could come this summer.

But it made clear that further action was likely given mounting wage and price pressures. "We are not pausing - that is very clear," ECB President Christine Lagarde told a press conference. The ECB move, a slowdown after three consecutive 50 basis point increases, comes only days after euro zone banking data showed the biggest drop in loan demand in over a decade. That suggests previous rate rises are working their way through the economy and that ECB policies are now restricting growth. Reuters GraphicsPolicymakers had been split in the run up to Thursday's meeting between a 25 basis point and a 50 basis point rise, but markets and economists had overwhelmingly bet on the smaller increase after soft data in recent weeks and similar moderation by other big central banks, most recently the Fed on Wednesday.

ECB chief Christine Lagarde said the central bank for the 20 countries that share the euro was not pausing. "This is a very restrictive policy and it will turn into credit tightening and that will bring a recession." The ECB has now increased its key deposit rate by some 375 bps since last July, from -0.5%. U.S. rates have jumped 500 bps, with the Federal Reserve hiking again on Wednesday while opening the door to a pause. Gareth Rudd, a European equity fund manager at Chelverton Asset Management, said he was negative on European bank stocks because regulators will want them to conserve capital instead of paying dividends.

☆ ECB slows rate hikes and keeps options open
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, May 4 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank eased the pace of its interest rate hikes on Thursday and kept its options open on future moves as it continues its fight against stubbornly high inflation in the euro zone. The 25-basis-point increase to the ECB's three policy rates was the smallest since it started lifting them last summer and the central bank did not explicitly commit to further hikes. The ECB's seventh consecutive hike brings the rate it pays on bank deposits, the benchmark for borrowing costs in the 20-country euro zone, to 3.25% from 3.0% (EUECBD=ECI). That was in line with analysts' expectations and with the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate decision on Wednesday. After Thursday's hike, the rate on the ECB's little-used weekly cash auctions will rise to 3.75% (EUECBR=ECI) while overnight loans from the central bank will now cost 4.0%.

☆ ECB to stop reinvesting cash in largest bond scheme
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The Governing Council will keep reducing the Eurosystem’s asset purchase programme portfolio at a measured and predictable pace," it said. "In line with these principles, the Governing Council expects to discontinue the reinvestments under the APP as of July 2023." Redemptions fluctuate, but about 148 billion euros' worth of debt held under the APP expires in the second half of the year. That means a halt to reinvestment would see an extra 58 billion euros' worth of maturities on top of the currently scheduled 15 billion euros per month. At 7.7 trillion euros, the ECB's balance sheet is already more than a trillion euros below its peak size but remains well above its historical average.

A 25 basis point move, a slowdown after three straight 50 basis point hikes, appears the most likely outcome, although the bigger increase is still a possibility at what is almost certainly not the end of a historic tightening cycle. Markets see an 80% chance of a 25 basis point move while the vast majority of economists polled by Reuters were also betting on the smaller hike. Supporting a possible ECB downshift, the U.S. Federal Reserve lifted rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday and signalled it may pause further increases. At 3%, the ECB's deposit rate is already restricting economic activity, and underlying inflation has also stopped rising - at least for the time being. The ECB will announce its policy decision at 1215 GMT and Lagarde will hold a press conference at 1245 GMT.

"Because of higher prices, people are buying smaller amounts of groceries overall and may have become more careful not to waste food." "Despite all of that, (there are) 8% to 12% missing items on shelves," he said. "This has created a major, major issue around out-of-stock" in most of the 16 Middle Eastern countries where the company operates, he said. Laurent Thoumine, Accenture's Europe lead for retail, said supermarkets in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain have had the worst stock issues. Products that are scarce in some stores include ketchup, pasta, chocolate, tea, potato chips, toothpaste and pet food, according to Nielsen IQ's Data Impact.

☆ Euro zone inflation picks up but core unexpectedly slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FRANKFURT, May 2 (Reuters) - Euro zone inflation accelerated last month but underlying price growth eased unexpectedly, adding to arguments for a smaller interest rate hike at the European Central Bank's regular policy meeting on Thursday. Overall price growth in the 20 nations sharing the euro currency picked up to 7.0% in April from 6.9% a month earlier, Eurostat said on Tuesday, in line with expectations in a Reuters poll of economists. Excluding volatile food and fuel prices, core inflation slowed to 7.3% from 7.5%, while an even narrower measure, which excludes alcohol and tobacco, slowed to 5.6% from 5.7%, coming below forecasts for 5.7% for its first decline since last June. In a hopeful development for the ECB, processed food, alcohol and tobacco inflation slowed a full percentage point to 14.7%, suggesting that a long-awaited turnaround in food prices may now be happening. Services inflation accelerated to 5.2% from 5.1% but the price growth of non-energy industrial goods, another crucial segments, slowed to 6.2% from 6.6%.

In March, depositors fled Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O), withdrawing $42 billion in 24 hours, some via their mobile phones. Information about the bank's difficulties spread fast online, creating a social media-driven bank run. Officials said the bank turbulence added urgency to discussions of a European Commission proposal to broaden the EU's bank resolution framework, now applied to just over 100 of the biggest European banks, to smaller and medium-sized lenders. The proposal, called Crisis Management and Deposit Insurance (CMDI) was requested by EU finance ministers in mid-2022. It would ensure that the resolution of smaller banks could be paid for from the EU's resolution fund, financed by banks, rather than by taxpayers.

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