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☆ Explainer: Why the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act has rattled Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The European Commission presented its Green Deal Industrial Plan on Wednesday in response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), with increased levels of state aid to help Europe compete as a manufacturing hub for clean tech products. The Treasury is set to provide guidelines in March for electric vehicles bought by consumers, but there appears less room for manoeuvre. The European Commission and the White House have set up a high-level task force to discuss the issue. France has led calls for Europe to respond with state support of its own for European companies, including through a "buy European act" and large-scale subsidies. Longer term, the European Commission says it will propose a European Sovereignty Fund, but it is unclear how it will operate and how it will be funded.

The plan is partly a response to multi-billion-dollar support programmes of China and the United States, including the latter's Inflation Reduction Act. Many EU leaders are concerned that the local content requirements of its $369 billion of green subsidies will encourage companies to relocate, making the United States a leader in green tech at Europe's expense. RESISTANCEThe European Commission is hoping member states will back its plan at a Feb.9-10 summit but huge chunks are likely to be hotly debated among member states. There is also clear opposition from some EU members to previous suggestions that the plan could entail further joint borrowing. The bloc is heavily reliant on China for rare earths and lithium, which are vital materials for the green transition.

The plan is partly a response to multi-billion-dollar support programmes of China and the United States, including the latter's Inflation Reduction Act. Many EU leaders are concerned that the local content requirements of its $369 billion of green subsidies will encourage companies to relocate, making the United States a leader in green tech at Europe's expense. Longer term, the Commission will propose creating a European Sovereignty Fund to invest in emerging technologies. The bloc is heavily reliant on China for rare earths and lithium, which are vital materials for the green transition. The EU executive also wants to seal more free trade agreements and partnerships to make supply chains more resilient and to open markets for green goods.

The business has been valued at as much as 3 billion pounds ($3.7 billion), according to analysts. "But we do see a pathway whereby, via consolidation, ITV may be able to simultaneously both demonstrate and create value from ITV Studios," they said. ITV built up its Studios production business in the last decade to reduce its reliance on the British advertising market and tap into rising global demand for content. Revenue in the nine months to end-September rose 16% to 1.39 billion pounds ($1.71 billion). That would imply a valuation of about 3 billion pounds, in line with analysts' calculations and nearly as much as ITV's total market value of 3.27 billion pounds.

☆ Russia approves Veon's sale of Vimpelcom to management -RBC, citing sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 1 (Reuters) - A Russian government commission has approved the sale of telecoms company Vimpelcom to senior managers by its Dutch owner Veon (VON.AS), the Russian economic news outlet RBC reported, citing two unnamed sources. The disposal is notable in that Veon, unlike many Western investors, is receiving money for its asset - one that accounts for about half of Veon's revenue. RBC reported that the deal had been amended to ensure all bondholders were treated equally. Veon declined to comment and no comment was immediately available from Vimpelcom or the Russian digital ministry. Writing by Kevin Liffey Editing by Barbara Lewis and David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Case of mad cow disease in Netherlands is old age variant
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, Feb 1 (Reuters) - A case of mad cow disease discovered on a farm in the Netherlands is the old age variant that is not dangerous to public health, the agriculture ministry said on Wednesday. "Atypical cases of (mad cow disease) occur sporadically in older cows," the ministry said in a statement, adding that the last found case in the Netherlands dated back to 2011. The other variant of mad cow disease, the classic type of infection, is usually caused by contaminated animal feed. Widespread cases of mad cow disease hit cattle herds in Britain and other European countries in the 1990s. Atypical cases have occasionally been detected and can lead to temporary trade restrictions.

☆ Investors cheer after UniCredit lifts payout goal by 40%
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

However, the receding chances of a recession in the bloc as energy prices ease have boosted banking shares, with investors less wary of regulators hindering generous capital distribution plans. Shareholders, who have been promised more than 16 billion euros in dividends and buybacks by 2024, received 3.75 billion euros from 2021 earnings. Analysts calculate UniCredit could have at least 6 billion euros to spare after delivering on the 16 billion euro payout goal. STRONG PROFIT BEATUniCredit's net profit of 2.46 billion euros for the quarter to Dec. 31 was more than twice the 1.10 billion euros expected by analysts polled by the bank. The tax boost more than offset an increase in generic provisions against future loan losses, known as overlays, to 1.8 billion euros from 1.3 billion.

"Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Stop choking Africa: it is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered," Francis said. [1/9] Pope Francis sits next to Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi as he attends the welcoming ceremony at the Palais de la Nation on the first day of his apostolic journey, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, January 31, 2023. The pope criticised rich countries for ignoring the tragedies unfolding in Congo and elsewhere in Africa. On Wednesday, Francis will celebrate Mass at a Kinshasa airport that is expected to draw more than a million people.

☆ Campaigners urge bond investors to shun Adani Group on green concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Isla Binnie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Jan 30 (Reuters) - An advocacy group focused on the impact of debt markets on climate change called on Monday for major bond investors to shun India's Adani Group, saying a critical report by a short-seller had undermined confidence in the company's governance. Billionaire chairman Gautam Adani, one of the world's richest people, dismissed these as baseless. Spokespeople for the Adani Group, BlackRock, Allianz and Pimco did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Green bonds, used to raise funds for specific projects that are seen to benefit the environment, are one of Adani's sources of financing. "The interconnected financial nature of the Adani Group makes it clear that buying debt from any subsidiary of Adani, is by extension supporting Adani's mining businesses," Haines said in the letter.

The four each held a sizeable short position of between 13,000 and 24,000 lots, equivalent to 78,000 to 144,000 tonnes. LME warehouses held just 80,088 tonnes of nickel stocks when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. The mix of producer hedging and speculative overlay in the short position landscape is impossible to know with any precision. It's worth remembering that Tsingshan is itself a huge nickel producer, albeit not in a form that can be delivered against an LME short position. Excerpt from Oliver Wyman reportLATE ARRIVALThe shorts were not helped by the rapid build-up of a long position on March 7 which the report links to "one financial client with no material existing nickel position".

☆ Illumina challenges EU order to keep Grail separate
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Jan 10 (Reuters) - U.S. life sciences company Illumina (ILMN.O) on Tuesday challenged an EU antitrust order to keep biotech firm Grail (GRAL.O) separate, ratcheting up its fight against EU regulators which blocked a merger deal last year. Following its veto, the European Union competition enforcer renewed an interim measure last October requiring Illumina to keep Grail as a separate entity so the company can unwind a takeover it had completed without waiting for the deal to get EU approval. "Today, we appealed the European Commission's interim measures order to hold separate Illumina and Grail," Illumina said in a statement. The EU executive said in emailed comment it would defend its case in court. Illumina has three appeals pending in the Luxembourg courts, Europe's top courts, against the EU enforcer's ruling that it jumped the gun by closing the deal without securing approval, the EU's subsequent veto and the EU decision to examine the case.

☆ G7 seeks two price caps for Russian oil products
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The Group of Seven (G7) coalition will seek to set two price caps on Russian refined products in February, one for products trading at a premium to crude oil and the other for those trading at a discount, a G7 official said. The coalition - which consists of Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States, plus the 27-nation European Union - introduced a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian crude from Dec. 5, on top of the EU embargo on imports of Russian crude by sea. From Feb. 5, the coalition will also impose price caps on Russian products, such as diesel, kerosene and fuel oil, to further reduce Moscow's revenue from energy exports and its ability to finance its invasion of Ukraine. But capping Russian oil product prices is more complicated than setting a price limit on crude alone, because there are many oil products and their price often depends on where they are bought, rather than where they are produced, the official said, asking not to be named. Citing the example of diesel and kerosene that tend to trade at a premium to crude, while fuel oil typically sells at a discount, he said this was why the G7 was considering two price caps.

☆ Britain to push ahead with readying ground for a digital pound
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Getting the design of a digital pound right is a bigger priority than a rapid launch, Britain's Financial Services Minister Andrew Griffith said on Tuesday. China has pushed ahead with piloting a digital yuan and the European Central Bank is studying a digital euro, piling pressure on Britain to do the same and keep abreast of advances in financial technology. The finance ministry is due to launch in the coming weeks a public consultation on the attributes of a digital pound. A digital pound raised many public policy issues, he said. The first case use of a digital pound would probably be in the settlement of wholesale financial transactions, he added.

BERLIN, Jan 10 (Reuters) - German carmakers, Tesla, chip producers and battery maker Northvolt met the German chancellor and cabinet ministers on Tuesday to discuss topics from European law on vehicle emissions to energy prices, according to two participants. The annual summit was formerly only for carmakers but was this time dubbed a "mobility" summit, with the broader focus signalled by Northvolt's presence on the guestlist for the first time. Tesla (TSLA.O), was not on the first draft of the guest list shared with participants but was present, according to a participant, alongside German carmakers Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), BMW (BMWG.DE), Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) and Opel. Associations, including cyclist club ADFC and rail association "Allianz pro Schiene", criticised the summit as still too car-focused. German chancellor Olaf Scholz, Economy Minister Robert Habeck, Transport Minister Volker Wissing and Labour Minister Hubertus Heil were among those present from the government, the other participant said.

Brazil's real , snapped a three-day winning run, last down 0.4% after falling over 1% earlier in the day. A central bank survey on Monday showed Brazil's inflation and interest rate expectations for the year had risen. While most other Latin American currencies also fell, underperforming broader emerging market peers, Chile's peso rose 0.8% as copper prices hit six-month highs. Data showed Chile posted a trade surplus of $1.85 billion in the month, up from a $417 million surplus in December 2021. Data showed Mexico's headline inflation ended 2022 slightly below analysts' expectations, while core inflation appeared to have lost steam.

☆ Brazil markets fall as Bolsonaro supporters storm capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Susan Mathew | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The market impact will depend on how the Lula administration and other government institutions react to the protests, said Bertrand Delgado, head of Latam Fx and fixed income with Societe Generale. A central bank survey on Monday showed Brazil's inflation and interest rate expectations for the year had risen. While most other Latin American currencies also fell, underperforming broader emerging market peers, Chile's peso rose 0.8% as copper prices hit six-month highs. Data showed Mexico's headline inflation ended 2022 slightly below analysts' expectations, while core inflation appeared to have lost steam. In Argentina, the economy will grow significantly more than 5% in 2023, Economy Minister Sergio Massa said on Sunday.

"We are ready to add a number of your nominees to the board promptly and well before the general meetings," Capricorn said in a letter to Palliser posted on its website. Capricorn declined to clarify how exactly the board might change. Madison Avenue Partners, Capricorn's biggest shareholder at around 8%, on Monday separately reiterated its opposition to the board. The shareholder meeting to vote on the board changes is planned for Feb. 1, with a shareholder vote on the NewMed deal "on or around the same date", Capricorn said. "Holding the general meetings so close together deprives any reconstituted Capricorn board of the opportunity to re-assess the merits and terms of the NewMed transaction in parallel with a consideration of a range of other options," the statement said.

☆ German regulator identifies 5,000 km to aid green power switch
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The natural regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur has planning authority over a total of 7,300 km of grid. It reports to the economy ministry, which shares the goal of increasing the use of renewable energy and distributing wind energy, concentrated in Germany's north, and solar energy from the south. "The renewable energy generated in the north of the country must be transported," Klaus Mueller, the authority's president, said in a statement. Germany plans a total 14,000 km of high voltage grids, responsibility for which would be shared between the central regulator and state level authorities in co-operation with four transmission grid companies (TSOs). Since the Green Party gained prominence as part of the coalition government installed in late 2021, Berlin has accelerated planning and approval procedures to ease the take-up of renewable power.

☆ BoE's Pill sees risk of persistent inflation, even if gas prices fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Markets see BoE rates peaking at 4.5% in June, while economists polled by Reuters in December predicted a peak of 4.25% in the second quarter of 2023. The BoE also forecast headline inflation will fall this year as natural gas prices level off. Natural gas prices in Britain , which spiked in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February, have retreated to around the same level as a year ago, but are several times higher than in early 2021. Pill said that even if natural gas prices eased further, that would not guarantee that underlying price pressures would fall enough for inflation to return to its 2% target. If businesses and workers did not pursue moderate price and wage strategies, Pill said the BoE would have to keep raising rates.

The sale of the plant to a consortium, led by Cypriot private equity firm G.O.I. The sale process is in contrast to Germany's confiscation of Rosneft's Schwedt refinery and Gazprom Germania, or Russia's takeover of Sakhalin 1 from Exxon Mobil (XOM.N). Energy is run by Michael Bobrov, who is also CEO of Israeli firm Green Oil that holds a major stake in Israel's biggest refiner Bazan Group. The deal marks an expansion into the refining sector for Trafigura that concluded a similar deal with Prax in 2021 for a refinery in Britain. Trafigura also holds a 3% stake in Italian refiner Saras, an indirect stake in India's major Nayara refinery and runs two small refineries via its subsidiary Puma Energy.

☆ South Africa's Eskom says police investigating alleged poisoning of CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Wendell Roelf | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan also told Reuters on Sunday the alleged incident "will be thoroughly investigated" and anyone responsible charged. Faced with political pressure, De Ruyter resigned on Dec. 14 after failing to solve a crisis in Eskom that has led to record power cuts in Africa's most industrialised economy. After officially taking office in January 2020, De Ruyter led a company-wide clampdown on corruption and organised criminal behaviour, including sabotage of infrastructure, at Eskom plants. The alleged cyanide poisoning was first reported by specialist energy publication EE Business Intelligence on Saturday. Reporting by Wendell Roelf in Cape Town and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sweden says Turkey asking too much over NATO application
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks during the annual Society and Defence Conference in Salen, Sweden, January 8, 2023. TT News Agency/Henrik Montgomery via REUTERSSTOCKHOLM, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Sweden is confident that Turkey will approve its application to join the NATO military alliance, but will not meet all the conditions Ankara has set for its support, Sweden's prime minister said on Sunday. "Turkey both confirms that we have done what we said we would do, but they also say that they want things that we cannot or do not want to give them," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a defence think-tank conference in Sweden. Finland and Sweden signed a three-way agreement with Turkey in 2022 aimed at overcoming Ankara's objections to their membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. "From time to time, Turkey mentions individuals that they want to see extradited from Sweden.

☆ IT services firm to be Qatar's first to use book building for IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Qatari IT services firm MEEZA will be the first company in the country to use book building to carry out an initial public offering, it said in a statement on Sunday, as Qatar aligns itself with international practices. The IPO process, which begins this month, will allow the company to offer a price range to test investors’ appetite and determine the IPO price. The offering's price range is between 2.61 riyals ($0.7135) to 2.81 riyals per share, which could raise between 846 million and 911 million riyals. Qatar introduced the regulations for book building in February 2021 to help entice foreign investors and elevate its status towards a developed market. Until now, the standard practice in Qatar has been for a company to set a price based on feedback from two independent valuation reports.

☆ NATO declines Serbia's request to deploy its troops in Kosovo
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Serbia's former province of Kosovo declared independence in 2008 following the 1998-1999 war during which NATO bombed rump-Yugoslavia, comprising Serbia and Montenegro, to protect Albanian-majority Kosovo. Last month, for the first time since the end of the war, Serbia requested to deploy troops in Kosovo in response to clashes between Kosovo authorities and Serbs in the northern region where they constitute a majority. Kosovo authorities condemned the incident, which has inflamed tensions. Goran Rakic, the head of the Serb List, which is the main Serb party in Kosovo, accused Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti of trying to drive out Serbs. International organisations condemned the attacks, expected to deepen mistrust between majority ethnic Albanians and around 100,000 ethnic Serbs that live in Kosovo.

☆ Germany backs Norwegian plan to capture carbon from cement
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Habeck's visit to the Norcem cement plant in Brevik, Norway, represents a shift in German policy back towards efforts to deal with planet-warming emissions by capturing them and making use (CCSU) of them in industrial processes. Projects have repeatedly stalled on issues of cost and environmental opposition as campaigners have been concerned carbon capture and storage can serve to prolong the use of fossil fuels. As cement-making inevitably emits carbon, its capture is necessary to mitigate pollution, and the Norwegian plant is meant to serve as a global blueprint, eventually capturing 400,000 tonnes of CO2 - half its emissions - per year. Germany aims to cut 65% of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 compared with 1990 and to become carbon-neutral by 2045. During Habeck's visit, Norwegian state-controlled oil firm Equinor (EQNR.OL) and German utility RWE said separately they planned to develop a supply chain for low-carbon hydrogen.

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