2026-02-11 16:45

Mining executives cautious on new projects Long-term price stability needed for greenfield investments Rising costs challenge South African PGM industry growth CAPE TOWN, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Platinum's run to record highs will need to be sustained for miners to invest heavily in new projects, with executives signalling they plan to prioritise shareholder payouts for now amid concerns over past missteps and rising costs. After years of margin pressure that forced deep cost cuts and mass layoffs, the rebound in platinum prices — with spot platinum hitting a record $2,918.80 per ounce in January after surging 127% in 2025 — has lifted miners' fortunes. Sign up here. Valterra Platinum (VALJ.J) , opens new tab, the world's biggest platinum producer by value of sales and spun off from Anglo American (AAL.L) , opens new tab last year, expects annual profit to jump by as much as 106%. Impala Platinum (IMPJ.J) , opens new tab has forecast half-year profit growth of up to 392%. But that doesn't mean a spending spree is coming. "We're still maintaining our discipline, being really disciplined around executing what we can control within the business and then making sure that whatever additional value that we create, we return it back to shareholders," Valterra CEO Craig Miller told Reuters on the sidelines of a mining conference in Cape Town. Valterra plans to keep its 40% dividend payout policy. Zimplats, Zimbabwe's largest platinum producer and majority owned by South Africa's Impala, is also preparing to reward shareholders after they backed the company's 10-year, $1.8 billion expansion plans announced in 2021. "We certainly look forward to an opportunity where we can reward them, in terms of giving them a dividend," Zimplats CEO Alex Mhembere said. Zimplats last declared a dividend in the financial year ended June 2023. NEW OUTPUT CAUTION Despite strong prices, mining executives are wary of launching new projects without evidence of sustained long-term platinum group metals (PGM) price stability, as costs are still weighing heavily. "PGM prices today are not far off what we think is that price that you'd be able to earn a reasonable return on a new mining project," said Valterra's Miller, adding he would prefer a period of consistently higher prices to support greenfield development. He said past platinum booms triggered unsustainable investment, noting that probably only two of 20 projects launched by the industry between 2005 and 2010 remain operational. Miller cited sustained prices of $2,300 to $2,500 per ounce as a reasonable range for long-term planning. Hilton Ingram, Valterra's executive head of marketing, pointed to long-term average price forecasts rising by only 5% to 10%, which he said was not enough to spur greenfield output or reopen mothballed assets. Sibanye Stillwater (SSWJ.J) , opens new tab CEO Richard Stewart told Reuters that any decision to restart its Stillwater West mine in the U.S., placed on care and maintenance in 2024, would depend on a long-term view of the palladium market rather than short-term price moves. Platinum and palladium - both used in autocatalysts that reduce vehicle exhaust emissions - have surged since the second half of 2025, driven by a supply deficit that has helped offset long-term headwinds from the shift to electric vehicles. COST PRESSURES Rising energy and labour costs in South Africa, the world's biggest PGM producer, remain a major concern for miners. An S&P Global report in January projected all-in sustaining costs (AISC) for primary platinum production would rise 7.7% to $1,006.14 per ounce in 2026. "Persistent inflation, higher energy and labour costs, and the geological challenges of mining deeper, lower-grade ore bodies will continue to exert upward pressure on the AISC," the report said. While South African utility Eskom has stabilised electricity supply after years of severe outages, soaring power costs continue to squeeze miners. Electricity prices for large users have risen more than 900% since 2008, according to the Minerals Council. "The constraint on growth within the PGM industry is not a question of incentive pricing," said Sibanye's Stewart. "It's a lot more complex than simply a trigger price that will incentivise new production." https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/platinum-miners-favour-payouts-over-projects-even-prices-surge-2026-02-11/

2026-02-11 14:57

WASHINGTON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed figures that showed better- than-expected job growth in January on Wednesday and pressed his view that the U.S. should pay much less in borrowing costs. "The United States of America should be paying MUCH LESS on its Borrowings (BONDS!)," Trump said in a Truth Social post. "We are again the strongest Country in the World, and should therefore be paying the LOWEST INTEREST RATE, by far." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-welcomes-great-jobs-numbers-says-us-should-pay-less-borrow-2026-02-11/

2026-02-11 13:43

January jobs data supports Fed's decision to hold rates steady Traders trim bets on rate cuts, still see June as likely next Fed move Frozen job market in 2025 tied to lower immigration, rise in productivity growth Feb 11 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve policymakers look likely to keep interest rates on hold for longer after data on Wednesday showed the U.S. job market began 2026 on better footing than expected, but revisions showing payroll growth all but stalled last year will keep alive concerns about a weakening labor market. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, in its shutdown-delayed report, said nonfarm payrolls rose by 130,000 jobs in January, compared with the gain of 70,000 economists in a Reuters poll had forecast. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.3% from 4.4%. Sign up here. Fed policymakers voted 10-2 last month to keep the central bank's benchmark overnight interest rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range, after cutting it at each of the last three meetings of 2025. The bigger-than-expected job gain in January may give them some assurance that the labor market is stabilizing, and allow their attention to shift towards controlling inflation, which remains above the Fed's 2% target. "With the policy rate around neutral, January's guidance pointing toward patience and the economy chugging along, an extended pause still seems likely," Oren Klachkin, financial market economist at Nationwide, wrote in a note. Traders of interest-rate futures agreed. Though they are still betting the U.S. central bank will next reduce its policy rate at the June 16-17 meeting, they see almost a 40% chance it will not move then, versus about 25% before the jobs report. The gain of 130,000 jobs in January "was good news," said Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid, who noted his dissents on rate cuts at the end of last year were because he felt slow job growth was related more to shifting demographics and immigration policies rather than weak demand for workers. JOB MARKET STALL, PRODUCTIVITY GAINS Revisions to last year's job-market figures, also published on Wednesday, put the estimated average monthly job growth in 2025 at about 15,000. That reading was an anemic pace more usual at the start of a recession than during a period of healthy economic growth. From 2010 to 2019 the average monthly payroll gain was 183,000, more than all of last year's increase. A sharp decline in immigration in President Donald Trump's first year back in the White House was likely the biggest factor in last year's job growth slowdown, because a shrinking labor force means the economy doesn't need to create as many jobs for there to be enough to go around. But it also has made reading the underlying state of the labor market difficult. Adding to a muddled employment picture is an apparent rise in productivity growth , opens new tab - whether from the adoption of artificial intelligence or simply because firms facing uncertainty on tariffs and other policies are working harder at making do with less labor. U.S. GDP grew at an annualized pace of 4.4% in the third quarter, a pace that's expected to ease somewhat this year but continue to exceed the sub-2% pace that Fed policymakers had thought was the economy's healthy speed limit. "In past cycles, GDP growth like this has usually required far more hiring," Rick Rieder, BlackRock's chief investment officer of global fixed income, wrote in a note. "The fact that hiring has slowed while growth has advanced may potentially be an early signal of a productivity boom that we expect to continue." Fed Governor Christopher Waller, one of the dissenters on the decision last month to hold rates steady, said on January 30 that he felt the labor market last year was far weaker than appreciated and showed it could weaken substantially from here. Though not quite the "Zero. Zip. Nada" job growth that Waller had thought the revisions would show, it adds to evidence of a frozen job market that at some point may crack. "The low-hire/low-fire environment continues for now, and the declining unemployment rate is always a welcome sign," Laura Ullrich, director of economic research in North America for the Indeed Hiring Lab, wrote in a note. "But this balance is precarious." https://www.reuters.com/business/traders-trim-bets-fed-rate-cuts-after-jobs-report-2026-02-11/

2026-02-11 13:40

Reeves: UK needs closer trade, security ties with Europe Says she backs further alignment with the EU on rules Defence cooperation is vital too, Reeves says Further announcements in security cooperation could come soon LONDON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Wednesday that she would push for closer integration with the EU to reduce the trade barriers put up by Brexit, adding that European countries should cooperate on defence spending too. Speaking during a week when Prime Minister Keir Starmer has had to fight to stay in power due to fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, Reeves said Britain's future was inextricably bound with that of Europe on both the economy and security. Sign up here. "The biggest prize is clearly with the EU. The truth is economic gravity is reality. Almost half of our trade is with the European Union," Reeves said at an event at the London School of Economics. "I'm all up for doing deals with India and the U.S. and Korea. But none of them are going to be as big as what we can get to grow trade relations with Europe," she said. Reeves said deeper integration would require further alignment with the EU on issues such as rules and standards "but I'm up for that." Since leaving the EU in 2020, Britain has sought to lower some barriers to trade but it has trod carefully, wary of angering supporters of the Brexit decision to leave the bloc in a 2016 referendum. However, Reeves and Starmer are also trying to show voters and restless Labour lawmakers that they can honour their promises to galvanise Britain's sluggish economy. Reeves last year said Britain's trading relationship with Europe was "arguably even more important" than its ties with the United States, due to the country's proximity to the EU. On Wednesday she also said cooperation with European countries on defence spending was vital, saying they could improve value for money by working together in areas such as interoperability and procurement. "Many European finance ministers and defence ministers are keen to seize the opportunities there. And I hope that in the coming weeks there's more to say on that," Reeves said. Starmer has previously said his government will consider applying to join a second possible multi-billion-euro European Union fund for defence projects. A British plan to join the original 150 billion euro ($178.25 billion) SAFE fund broke down in November after the government refused to pay a financial contribution to join, representing a setback for the post-Brexit reset of relations. ($1 = 0.8415 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/uks-reeves-sees-integration-with-europe-biggest-prize-telegraph-says-2026-02-11/

2026-02-11 12:47

ANTWERP, Belgium, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The European Union will introduce requirements for EU-made goods and low-carbon for public procurement in a bid to favour European companies, EU Commission's president Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday. "Too often, our public buyers have to take the subsidized foreign products, instead of the high-quality European alternatives. That is home-grown value we are leaving on the table," she said in a speech in Antwerp. Sign up here. The requirements set on public procurement will be e a central focus of the Industrial Accelerator Act the Commission is putting forward later this month, she said. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/eu-introduce-low-carbon-eu-made-requirements-public-procurement-2026-02-11/

2026-02-11 12:46

Feb 11 (Reuters) - Locomotive parts maker Wabtec (WAB.N) , opens new tab forecast 2026 profit above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, as higher locomotive deliveries drive strong demand for its products. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based company expects 2026 adjusted profit per share between $10.05 and $10.45, the midpoint of which is higher than analysts' estimates of $10.23, according to LSEG data. Sign up here. Annual sales are forecast to be $12.19 billion to $12.49 billion, the midpoint of which is above estimates of $11.98 billion. Higher locomotive deliveries lifted net sales for Wabtec's freight segment by 18.3% from a year earlier in the fourth quarter. Its digital unit saw sales jumping nearly 74.4%, driven by the acquisition of Evident's inspection technologies division and Frauscher Sensor Technology, which specializes in train detection and wayside object control solutions. Wabtec also benefitted from robust domestic and international demand for its digital products, as railroads ramp up investment to upgrade their networks. Earlier this month, the company signed a $1.2 billion agreement with Union Pacific to modernize the railroad’s AC4400 locomotives. Wabtec's adjusted profit rose to $2.1 per share in the fourth quarter, up from $1.68 per share a year ago. Analysts on average expected a profit of $2.08 per share. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 14.8% to $2.97 billion, beating analysts' expectations of $2.86 billion. https://www.reuters.com/business/wabtec-forecasts-2026-profit-above-estimates-higher-locomotive-deliveries-lift-2026-02-11/