2025-08-15 19:23
Trump-Putin summit to discuss Ukraine ceasefire and LNG project Alaska LNG project involves 800-mile pipeline for Asian exports Russia's nuclear icebreaker vessels crucial for Northern Sea Route access LONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - The United States has had internal discussions on using Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker vessels to support the development of gas and LNG projects in Alaska as one of the possible deals to aim for when President Donald Trump meets Vladimir Putin on Friday, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Trump landed in Alaska on Friday for what he called a "high stakes" summit with Russia's Putin to discuss a ceasefire deal for Ukraine and end the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two. Sign up here. Both the U.S. and Russian presidents, meeting at a Cold War-era air force base in Alaska's largest city, are seeking wins from their first face-to-face talks since Trump returned to the White House. The icebreaker idea has been discussed among White House officials as one of the potential deals to try to strike with Russia at the Alaska summit, one of the sources said. The ongoing talks between the U.S. and Russia over Ukraine have included discussions about business deals. The White House is planning to continue this approach at the summit on Friday, said the source, who like the others spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kremlin officials were not available for comment. Russia operates the world's only fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers, which play a central role in maintaining year-round shipping access along the Northern Sea Route, a strategic path for global energy and trade flows. Trump's administration is pushing to transport gas from Alaska's remote north to Asian clients. Trump has pitched Alaska LNG, a proposed $44 billion project to ship liquefied natural gas along a 800-mile pipeline from Alaska, to Asian buyers as a way to reduce their dependence on Russian LNG. Another project, similarly aimed at Asian markets, is Qilak LNG, which is targeting 4 million tons per annum of LNG. Mead Treadwell, a Qilak LNG founder, said it would not be unusual for a U.S. LNG project to rely on icebreakers of any nation that the U.S. government allowed. "But we haven't specifically asked for that," Treadwell said. An industry source said that Alaska LNG had "no identified needs for Russian icebreakers." Reuters was not immediately able to establish which, if any, specific project would benefit if a deal was reached in the Alaska talks. The nuclear icebreakers could also facilitate the transport of construction materials and equipment to remote areas in Alaska, where infrastructure is limited and weather conditions are harsh. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-mulled-use-russia-icebreakers-gas-development-ahead-summit-sources-2025-08-15/
2025-08-15 19:10
STOCKHOLM, Aug 15 (Reuters) - One person was killed and several people were injured when a train hit a vehicle and derailed in southern Denmark on Friday, Danish police said. Pictures from the scene showed that a carriage had been torn from the train and was lying on the side, Danish TV2 reported. Sign up here. Police said that of the 95 people on board the train, one was killed, and several were injured, of whom two were carried away by helicopter, the police of Southern Jutland region of Denmark said in a press release. The incident happened when the train hit a vehicle at a road crossing, national rail system operator Banedanmark said on X. Denmark's national railway operator, state-owned DSB, separately said it had halted all journeys between the towns of Kliplev and Tinglev near Denmark's border with Germany. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/one-killed-several-injured-after-train-derails-denmark-2025-08-15/
2025-08-15 19:09
ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Nearly 200 people were killed in torrential rains in northwest Pakistan over the past 24 hours, with bad weather also bringing down a rescue helicopter, local officials said on Friday. Cloud bursts, flash floods, lightning strikes and building collapses amid heavy rain caused fatalities in the hills and mountains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, they said. Sign up here. The National Disaster Management Authority, a government body, put the death toll at 194 late on Friday. Worst hit was the Buner area, where floods and heavy rain caused 100 deaths, the provincial Chief Secretary, Shahab Ali Shah, told Reuters. A helicopter carrying relief supplies to those hit by flooding in Bajaur, close to the Afghan border, crashed due to the bad weather, killing the five crew members. In the district of Swat, more than 2,000 people were moved to safer ground, after rivers and streams swelled, rescue officials said. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif chaired an emergency meeting to review the flood situation caused by the recent rains, a statement from his office said. Hundreds of others have been killed in recent weeks as Pakistan experienced more rain than usual during the current monsoon season, washing away roads and buildings. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/nearly-200-people-killed-heavy-rain-floods-pakistan-2025-08-15/
2025-08-15 19:08
Traders watch for progress in Trump-Putin talks Weaker Chinese data raises fuel demand concerns Projected oil market surplus weighs on price sentiment HOUSTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Oil prices closed down nearly $1 on Friday as traders awaited talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, which could lead to an easing of the sanctions imposed on Moscow over the war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures settled 99 cents, or 1.5%, lower at $65.85 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures eased $1.16, or 1.8%, lower at $62.80. Sign up here. Trump arrived in Alaska on Friday for his summit with Putin after saying he wants to see a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine "today." Trump has said he believes Russia is prepared to end the war, but he has also threatened to impose secondary sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil if there is no progress with peace talks. Putin also arrived in Anchorage. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia expects the talks to bring results, Russia's Interfax news agency reported. "President Trump will likely threaten further tariff pressure on India and possibly China as far as oil imports from Russia if the meeting stalemates, which is keeping a nervous trade to crude," said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial. "If a ceasefire announcement is made, it will be taken as a negative to crude near-term," Kissler added. For the week, WTI dropped 1.7%, while Brent eased 1.1%. Weaker economic data from China, meanwhile, raised concerns over fuel demand. Chinese government data showed factory output growth slumped to an eight-month low and retail sales growth expanded at its slowest pace since December, weighing on sentiment despite stronger oil throughput in the world's second-largest crude user. Throughput at Chinese refineries rose 8.9% year-on-year in July, but that was down from June levels, which were the highest since September 2023. Despite the increase, China's oil product exports last month were also up from a year ago, suggesting lower domestic fuel demand. Forecasts of a growing oil market surplus also weighed on sentiment, as did the prospect of higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates. Oil rig count, an indicator of future supply, rose by one to 412 this week, Baker Hughes data showed. Bank of America analysts said on Thursday that they were widening their forecast for the oil market surplus, citing growing supplies from the OPEC+ producer group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other allies. The analysts now project an average surplus of 890,000 barrels per day from July 2025 through June 2026. That forecast follows this week's International Energy Agency predictions saying the oil market looks "bloated" after the latest increases to OPEC+ output. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-settled-nearly-1-lower-trump-putin-talks-loom-2025-08-15/
2025-08-15 16:25
WASHINGTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve announced on Friday it was scrapping a so-called "novel activities" supervision program it created to specifically police banks on their crypto and fintech activities, and instead will integrate that work into its regular bank oversight. The Fed launched the new program in 2023 as a way to focus on how banks interact with those emerging technologies. But the central bank said it was no longer needed as the Fed has strengthened its understanding of those risks and how banksmanage them. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/fed-scrap-program-devoted-policing-banks-crypto-fintech-activities-2025-08-15/
2025-08-15 15:36
SAO PAULO, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Banco do Brasil (BBAS3.SA) , opens new tab is facing the highest default level ever recorded in its agribusiness loan portfolio , opens new tab, CEO Tarciana Medeiros said on Friday, adding that the deterioration had not been anticipated even in the most pessimistic forecasts. The state-run lender on Thursday reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter results , opens new tab and announced a sharp cut to its full-year outlook, following an already challenging , opens new tab first quarter marked by high delinquency in the agribusiness segment. Sign up here. Most of the defaults stem from soybean, corn, and cattle producers in Brazil's center-west and southern regions, Medeiros said during a call with analysts. "We have a portfolio of over 600,000 clients, of which 20,000 are in default. And 74% of them had never been in default until December 2023," she said. Many farmers in Brazil - a top global supplier of grains, coffee, meat, cotton and sugar - have struggled in recent years with bad weather, high interest rates , opens new tab and elevated input costs, leading to an increase in the number of bankruptcy filings. Banco do Brasil reported a 90-day default ratio of 3.49% in the sector in the April-to-June period, up from 3.04% in the previous quarter and 1.32% a year earlier. The bank, long seen as a pillar of farm credit in the South American agricultural powerhouse, expects the sector to continue to hurt its results in the very short term, Medeiros said. She pointed to a "still stressed" third quarter and said the lender did not want market participants to have unrealistic expectations, as it has debt from the 2024/25 season maturing through September. The bank hopes that favorable weather conditions, forecasts for a bumper 2025/26 grain crop and improving commodity prices will help lower delinquency in agribusiness in the new season. Banco do Brasil expects some improvement in its overall results from the fourth quarter onwards, driven by net interest income growth. Its shares fell as much as 4% in early Sao Paulo trading, before reversing course to trade up 1%. They had plunged more than 30% since the weaker-than-expected first quarter results and are still down 13% year-to-date. "Certainly a weak quarter, but somewhat expected," analysts at Itau BBA said in a note to clients. "We remain cautious, looking for more visibility on the still-worsening credit quality trends, but do not expect a major negative reaction," they added. ($1 = 5.3934 reais) https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/banco-do-brasil-facing-record-agribusiness-default-levels-ceo-says-2025-08-15/
