2025-08-15 20:43
Aug 15 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index closed flat on Friday as investors keenly watched a high-stakes meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin on a potential path to ending the war in Ukraine. Trump and Putin met face-to-face in Alaska on Friday afternoon. Markets are hoping the meeting could pave the way for a resolution to the Ukraine conflict and determine the outlook for crude prices. Sign up here. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab was down 10.50 points, or 0.04%, at 27,905.49. The index gained 0.5% in the week. South of the border, blue-chip Dow Jones ended higher after hitting an intraday record high, but other Wall Street indexes slipped as mixed data clouded the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy move. Among TSX sub-indexes, healthcare (.GSPTTHC) , opens new tab rose 4%, boosted by an 11% jump in Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) , opens new tab. Materials (.GSPTTMT) , opens new tab rose 0.8%, while energy stocks (.SPTTEN) , opens new tab fell 0.2%. "Short-term investors are hoping at least the meeting brings some kind of ceasefire or at least has continuous talks as we're moving towards the end of the summer," said Michael Constantino, CEO at Webull Canada. Meanwhile, Air Canada's (AC.TO) , opens new tab unionized flight attendants threatened to go on strike just before 1:00 a.m. ET on Saturday with the country's largest air carrier warning it would cancel 500 flights by the end of the day. Its shares were up about 0.6%. Data on Friday showed Canadian factory sales grew 0.3% in June from May, led by petroleum, coal and food products, while wholesale trade rose 0.7% on gains in food, beverage and tobacco. South of the border, retail sales rose by an expected 0.5% in July, but a spike in import prices raised concerns that U.S. tariffs could fuel inflation in the months ahead. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/toronto-stocks-subdued-friday-closes-green-week-2025-08-15/
2025-08-15 20:40
Aug 15 (Reuters) - Via Transportation's revenue rose 27% in the first half of 2025, the transit-tech firm disclosed on Friday in its U.S. initial public offering paperwork, as it advances plans for a long-sought New York listing. The company posted a net loss of $37.5 million on revenue of $205.8 million for the six months ended June 30, narrowing from a net loss of $50.4 million on $162.6 million in revenue a year earlier. Sign up here. Founded in 2012, New York-based Via develops technology that powers public transit systems in hundreds of cities across more than 30 countries. Via first confidentially filed for an IPO in late 2021. The company was valued at $3.5 billion in a 2023 funding round led by venture firm 83North. Other major shareholders include Exor, the investment firm of Italy's Agnelli family. U.S. initial public offerings have rebounded strongly following a slowdown in April caused by tariff-driven volatility. "During the next few weeks, IPO activity is expected to be seasonally subdued. Afterwards, we expect U.S. IPO activity to continue to come in at a brisk pace, driven by strong sentiment for stocks as a whole," IPOX CEO Josef Schuster said. Via derives more than 90% of its revenue from government contracts, with the rest coming from corporations and universities — a potential over-reliance Schuster said is a "clear risk factor." The bulk of its revenue comes from North America, with the remainder from Europe. Its clients include municipalities, transit agencies, transport operators, school districts, universities, and corporations. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Allen & Company, and Wells Fargo are acting as lead underwriters. The company plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "VIA." Proceeds from the offering will be used for general purposes, including expansion into new markets. https://www.reuters.com/business/transit-tech-firm-via-reveals-revenue-gains-us-ipo-filing-2025-08-15/
2025-08-15 20:07
MOSCOW, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a decree that could allow foreign investors, including top U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab, to regain shares in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project. The signing of the decree comes on the day Russian president Vladimir Putin meets Donald Trump in Alaska for a summit where opportunities for investment and business collaboration will be on the agenda, alongside talks to find peace in Ukraine. Sign up here. Friday's decree was published as a follow-up to one Putin signed in October 2022, which ordered the seizure of the Sakhalin-1 project. Exxon previously held a 30% operator share in the lucrative project, and is the only non-Russian investor to have quit its stake. Exxon did not immediately reply to Reuters request for comment. The path to Western investment returning to Russia is unclear given the U.S. and European Union would need to lift far-reaching sanctions to facilitate investment. Companies who might wish to return, having spent significant amounts of money to exit the country three years ago, also face high barriers put up by the Russian government. Trump and his team have considered what sanctions they may be able to lift quickly in the case of progress in talks. Sakhalin-1 has to date not been directly designated under extensive U.S. sanctions on Russian energy. The decree stipulates that foreign shareholders must undertake actions to support the lifting of Western sanctions if they want to regain their share. They must also conclude contracts for supplies of necessary foreign-made equipment to the project, and transfer funds to Sakhalin-1 project accounts. Exxon took an impairment charge of $4.6 billion to exit its Russian business after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. In December 2024, Putin signed a decree extending the sale period for the unclaimed Exxon stake in Sakhalin-1 until 2026. The October 2022 decree established Rosneft subsidiary Sakhalinmorneftegaz-shelf as the new operator, allowing the Russian government to decide foreign investors' ownership rights in Sakhalin-1. Alongside Exxon, Russian company Rosneft (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab, India's ONGC Videsh (ONVI.NS) , opens new tab and Japan's SODECO were partner investors. The Russian government allowed both ONGC Videsh and SODECO to keep their stakes. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-decree-opens-door-exxon-return-sakhalin-1-project-2025-08-15/
2025-08-15 20:01
Aug 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday unveiled stricter rules for how solar and wind projects can qualify for federal tax subsidies that President Donald Trump's new tax and spending law is phasing out over the next two years. The revisions change longstanding definitions for what it means for a project to be considered under construction by requiring developers of big solar arrays and wind farms to complete physical work rather than simply show that they have invested capital. Sign up here. The changes are in response to an executive order Trump issued last month directing the Treasury Department to restrict tax credit eligibility unless a substantial portion of a facility is built. Since taking office in January, Trump has repeatedly sought to stall development of wind and solar energy, calling them unreliable, expensive, and overly dependent on Chinese supply chains. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law last month, requires projects to begin construction by July of next year or enter service by the end of 2027 to qualify for a 30% tax credit and bonuses that can push the subsidy even higher. Under the new rules, which will affect projects that start construction as of September 2, utility-scale projects will be required to show substantial and continuous physical work to be eligible for the credits. They will still have four years to claim the subsidies. For the last decade, project developers had also been able to "safe harbor" projects for four years by incurring 5% of total costs before a credit expired or stepped down to a lesser value. According to an agency document, "substantial" work does not include permitting, design or holding components in inventory. Small projects of under 1.5 megawatts will still be able to use the 5% "safe harbor" provision, Treasury said, a positive for the residential solar industry. A solar industry trade group said the rules would harm businesses and undermine lawmakers' intentions with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. "This is yet another act of energy subtraction from the Trump administration that will further delay the buildout of affordable, reliable power," Solar Energy Industries Association CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said in a statement. "American families and businesses will pay more for electricity as a result of this action, and China will continue to outpace us in the race for electricity to power AI." https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/trump-administration-unveils-stricter-subsidy-rules-wind-solar-projects-2025-08-15/
2025-08-15 19:59
SAO PAULO, Aug 15 (Reuters) - A unit of U.S.-based grain merchant Cargill will build a corn ethanol plant adjacent to its sugarcane plant in Brazil's Center-Western state of Goias, the company said on Friday. Agribusiness portal AgFeed reported the plans first. Cargill confirmed the business decision but declined to disclose other details of the project. Sign up here. Cargill already produces ethanol from sugarcane and corn in Goias. The company's biofuels subsidiary in Brazil is called Cargill Bioenergia. The new plant's construction is another step by Cargill to grow production of biofuels in Brazil, a global grains powerhouse. In February, Cargill agreed to purchase a 50% stake in SJC Bioenergia, giving it control of the company's assets in the towns of Quirinopolis and Cachoeira Dourada, both in Goias. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/cargills-brazil-unit-build-new-corn-ethanol-plant-2025-08-15/
2025-08-15 19:27
US retail sales increase solidly in July Dollar weaker across the board Trump-Putin summit over Ukraine in focus NEW YORK, Aug 15 (Reuters) - The dollar slipped on Friday as a data-heavy week wound down, keeping the case for a September Federal Reserve interest rate cut intact, while traders awaited talks in Alaska between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin regarding Ukraine. The dollar, which had jumped on Thursday as data showed U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in July, gave up most of those gains on Friday, and was set to finish the week 0.4% lower against a basket of currencies. Sign up here. "The PPI figure yesterday was a shock, but there is still little concrete evidence for a tariff-driven spike in inflation," Kyle Chapman, forex markets analyst at Ballinger & Co in London, said. "With markets staying firm on their bets for a September cut and the focus now shifting to Alaska, the dollar is handing back its gains this morning," Chapman added. Money markets reflect a 93% chance of a 25-basis-point Fed rate cut in September, according to CME FedWatch. A Fed interest rate cut in September, the first this year, followed perhaps by another before year-end, remains the base forecast for most economists polled by Reuters amid rising concerns about the health of the world's biggest economy. Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Austan Goolsbee on Friday said the latest reports this week showing a rise in services inflation are a source of "unease" given what he sees as the stagflationary impulse from tariffs on the economy. On Friday, investors were also watching to see if the Trump-Putin summit made any progress towards a ceasefire in Ukraine. "While anything could happen at the meeting between Trump and Putin, I think expectations are low for progress towards a lasting ceasefire and that tilts the risks towards a softer dollar if the market is pleasantly surprised," Ballinger's Chapman said. Most analysts expect Europe's single currency to benefit from any ceasefire deal in Ukraine. The euro was 0.5% higher at $1.1702 versus the dollar. The dollar found little support on Friday from data that showed U.S. import prices rebounded in July, boosted by higher costs for consumer goods. Separately, U.S. retail sales increased solidly in July, boosted by strong demand for motor vehicles as well as promotions by Amazon and Walmart. Markets also await next week's Jackson Hole symposium for clues on the Fed's next move. Signs of weakness in the U.S. labour market combined with any inflation from trade tariffs could present a dilemma for the Fed's rate cut trajectory. "While there are more Fed officials talking about resuming rate cuts, (Fed Chair Jerome) Powell may try to temper expectations about when and how much they’ll cut," Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, said in a note. Against the yen, the dollar was 0.4% lower at 147.23 yen, following the release of surprisingly strong Japanese growth data, which showed export volumes held up well against new U.S. tariffs. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's remarks earlier this week that the Bank of Japan could be "behind the curve" in dealing with the risk of inflation proved to be another tailwind for the yen this week. Sterling rose against a weakening dollar on Friday and was set to end the week higher after upbeat economic data and a hawkish rate cut by the Bank of England. The pound was last up 0.2% at $1.35520, taking its gains for the week to 0.7%. Elsewhere, bitcoin was about unchanged on the day at $117,126. Bitcoin had at one point touched a record high on Thursday as increasing expectations for easier monetary policy from the Fed added to optimism stemming from a pro-crypto regulatory environment in Washington. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dollar-eases-data-keep-september-rate-cut-track-eyes-trump-putin-meeting-2025-08-15/
