2026-02-11 12:38
Companies say costs hurt EU versus US, China CEOs warn that power pricing structure is hiking costs High energy bills push investment out of EU ANTWERP, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Top business leaders urged the European Union on Wednesday to act urgently to bring down energy prices, saying that was key for European industries to be able to compete with the United States and China. The industries' message is timed to land just before EU leaders gather in a Belgian castle on Thursday for an informal "retreat" to thrash out a plan for how Europe can compete economically with China and the U.S. Sign up here. "Why is Europe so much behind compared to the rest of the world? It's the energy situation," Swiss specialty chemicals maker Clariant CEO Conrad Keijzer told Reuters as corporate leaders gathered for a meeting in the Belgian town of Antwerp. Asked what his main message to EU leaders was, Jon Morrish, CEO for Europe of Heidelberg Materials, told Reuters: "Number one, on energy prices, that they must come down. They must take us seriously, and they must realize that that is really hampering Europe's competitiveness." The loss of cheap Russian gas imports following Moscow's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine hiked bills for many energy-intensive industries. Congested power grids, national taxes and the EU's CO2 emissions price also contribute to power prices - which for industries in Europe are more than double those in the United States and China. The EU's electricity system is designed so that the last power plant needed to meet total demand sets the power price. Often, that is a natural gas plant - leaving many consumers highly exposed to gas prices, which are significantly higher in Europe than in the U.S. "The pricing structure for power is a big challenge," said Morrish, adding that Heidelberg, the world's largest cement maker, whose home market is Germany, was starting to move some investments out of Europe due to high energy prices. ENERGY PRICES Companies and some government leaders complain Europe has failed to address energy prices head-on, despite years of warnings from industry. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who will also attend the Antwerp summit, said EU countries needed to better link up their power grids to ensure cheaper low-carbon energy can flow freely across the bloc. "Prices remain too high and volatile. And we know why. It is because of lack of interconnection and grids and our reliance on fossil fuels," she told the European Parliament on Wednesday. The Commission proposed legal changes in December to slash deadlines on permits for grid projects, to try to speed up the modernisation of power networks. It also recommended governments cut their national taxes on energy as a quick way to bring down bills. EU officials say that request has found little support among governments struggling to increase public funds for defence and other spending priorities. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/fix-energy-prices-be-competitive-business-leaders-tell-eu-2026-02-11/
2026-02-11 12:12
LONDON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Sterling strengthened against the dollar and the euro on Wednesday on investor relief that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's position looked more secure than it did earlier in the week. The pound rose 0.5% against the dollar to $1.3708, and while much of that was a result of the dollar being weaker across the board ahead of what could be soft U.S. jobs data, the British currency also firmed against the euro. Sign up here. The common currency dropped 0.26% to 86.97 pence and was down from as high as 87.41 pence on Monday, when Starmer's position looked under serious threat. Starmer pledged on Tuesday to never walk away from his job to change Britain, brushing off a challenge to his authority by the Labour leader in Scotland and other figures in the party who have called on him to quit. Investors are also assessing the Bank of England's decision to keep rates on hold last week, in an unexpectedly narrow vote, which caused traders to raise their bets on a rate cut in March. The euro fell as low as 86.13 pence last week before the BoE decision. "The bulk of the move higher in euro/sterling is justified by dovish Bank of England reinforcing our view that they'll be more active in cutting rates this year," said Lee Hardman, senior currency analyst at MUFG. "And then the renewed political uncertainty is never helpful for the pound, though it looks for now that Starmer's position as PM is on more secure ground at least until the (May) local elections." "If he is removed, the knee-jerk reaction is to sell the pound and gilts (British government bonds)". Once traders have got through the U.S. payrolls data, due later in the day, the focus will be on Thursday's British GDP data for both January and the fourth quarter of 2025. Stronger data could cause markets to reassess bets on a March BoE rate cut. Traders currently see around 60% chance of a 25 basis point cut. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-strengthens-easing-concerns-over-pm-starmers-position-2026-02-11/
2026-02-11 12:04
FTSE 100 up 0.7% and FTSE 250 down 0.5% AI tools launch by Altruist impacts UK wealth managers LSEG climbs after reports Elliott Management has built stake Feb 11 (Reuters) - UK midcap stocks fell on Wednesday, with British wealth managers slumping as the sector became the latest casualty of fears of disruption by artificial intelligence, while LSEG shares rose following reports activist investor Elliott has built a stake. The FTSE 250 index of domestically oriented companies (.FTMC) , opens new tab dipped 0.5% as of 1137 GMT, having closed on Tuesday at its strongest level in four years. Sign up here. Shares of Aberdeen Group (ABDN.L) , opens new tab, Quilter (QLT.L) , opens new tab, IG Group (IGG.L) , opens new tab and AJ Bell (AJBA.L) , opens new tab fell in the range of 2.4% to 6%, tracking losses in their U.S. peers after wealth management startup Altruist introduced AI-enabled tax-planning features, fuelling fears over disruption to incumbents. FTSE 100-listed St. James's Place (SJP.L) , opens new tab tumbled 10.7%. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) , opens new tab, however, rose 0.7%, helped by miners and bank stocks. London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L) , opens new tab rose 2% after media reports said activist investor Elliott Management has built a stake and is engaging with the financial data and analytics group to improve its performance. In a busy day for corporate updates, investors were also looking to U.S. payrolls data later in the day. The report is expected to show a pickup in job growth in January. Preliminary reading of UK's fourth-quarter GDP is due on Thursday, while December jobs data will be released next week. The Bank of England said last week that borrowing costs were likely to fall if an expected drop soon in inflation was sustained. Among other movers, London-listed miners Rio Tinto (RIO.L) , opens new tab and Anglo American (AAL.L) , opens new tab rose 2.5% each, as copper prices climbed on a weaker dollar. Barratt Redrow (BTRW.L) , opens new tab fell 5.5% after the home builder reported a 13.6% decline in first half adjusted pre-tax profit amid subdued demand in the industry. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/uk-midcaps-fall-ai-disruption-concerns-hit-wealth-managers-2026-02-11/
2026-02-11 11:57
Feb 11 (Reuters) - India's Titan (TITN.NS) , opens new tab expects double-digit percentage growth in profit for the ongoing quarter, the jeweller's CFO said on Wednesday, as demand remains resilient amid firm gold prices. The Bengaluru-based firm, known for its Tanishq and CaratLane brands, has seen robust growth led by its mainstay jewellery segment as consumers in the world's most-populous country splurge on gold even as prices skyrocket. Sign up here. Titan's third-quarter profit jumped 61%, buoyed by higher selling prices for jewellery and strong demand during India's traditional October-to-December festive season. "January has gone very well, almost continuing the momentum which is there," Ashok Sonthalia said in an interview, adding that gold prices coming off should boost the number of buyers. Spot gold prices fell , opens new tab nearly 15% over two days in January after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his choice for Fed chair. They are up 18% so far this year. Indians are piling on gold for investment as buyers assume it will yield good returns over five to six years, Sonthalia said commenting on demand being resilient despite the high prices. The growth in number of consumers has been flattish during the third-quarter, Sonthalia said, with revenue rise primarily driven by higher selling prices. The firm posted 42% revenue jump in the third quarter that ended on December 31. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indian-jeweller-titan-poised-doubledigit-q4-profit-rise-cfo-says-2026-02-11/
2026-02-11 11:43
11 Feb - What matters in U.S. and global markets today By Mike Dolan , opens new tab, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets Sign up here. Just as everyone was waiting nervously for the January payrolls report due later today, retail sales came in with a miss that scared the horses. The surprisingly flat retail readout from December sowed doubts about Main Street and consumption generally as traders braced for an employment report the White House has warned us not to “panic” about. I’ll get into that and more below. But first, check out my latest column on how the dollar's drift is proving convenient for some - but could have a sting in its tail. And listen to the latest episode of the Morning Bid daily podcast. Subscribe to hear Reuters journalists discuss the biggest news in markets and finance seven days a week. RETAIL SOFTENS AS JOBS LOOM Investors are a bit anxious that the consensus forecast for an increase of 70,000 jobs in January may be overoptimistic, considering the weak jobs readings last week. And there’s trepidation about annual benchmark payrolls revisions to boot, which could downgrade the last twelve months' job growth by a forecast 750,000-900,000 positions. Fed futures pricing responded sharply to the negative retail surprise, now showing an almost 50% chance of another Fed cut as soon as April, Jerome Powell's last meeting as Chair. A cut by June, when Kevin Warsh is due to take the helm, is now fully priced. Some 60 basis points of easing is priced for the full year. That might please President Trump - but only a bit. He said on Tuesday that the U.S. should have the lowest interest rates in the world. Taken at face value, that would mean negative interest rates, which he probably isn’t aiming for, though it's safe to assume he meant a lot lower than where a 60 bps cut would leave us. This fresh dovish take on the Fed outlook contrasts with the views of two hawks on the policymaking council. Cleveland Fed boss Beth Hammack and Dallas Fed’s Lorie Logan said on Tuesday they don’t see rates going anywhere any time soon. For more on that tilt, we probably have to wait for the CPI inflation report this Friday. The broader market take on the unfolding picture was to push Treasury yields lower across the curve during another big debt auction week. The dollar continued to tumble on Wednesday, especially against the resurgent yen. The S&P 500 ended in the red yesterday on the retail flub and futures were subdued ahead of today's bell amid the ongoing tech and AI disruption. On the AI front, there was more good news from global chip giant TSMC as it reported January revenues up almost 40% year-on-year, as well as further capex plans. Elsewhere, TikTok owner ByteDance is reportedly developing a new AI chip with South Korea's Samsung. But another wave of AI negativity also struck yesterday - and so soon after last week’s Anthropic-linked plunge in software and data analytics stocks. Wealth management startup Altruist launched an AI-enabled tax planning tool that on Tuesday whacked the shares of more established wealth managers such as Charles Schwab, with the ripple effect felt in European financial services stocks on Wednesday. The market is becoming vicious when trying to sort out the winners and losers from the AI revolution. Chart of the day More than 90% of economists polled by Reuters this month think Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh is more likely to set policy too loose rather than too tight. Today's events to watch * U.S. January employment report (8:30 AM EST) * U.S. 10-year note auction * Fed's Michelle Bowman, Kansas Fed's Jeffrey Schmid, and Cleveland Fed's Beth Hammack all speak * U.S. corporate earnings: Cisco Systems, Equinix, Hilton Worldwide, Kraft Heinz, McDonald's, T-Mobile US Want to receive the Morning Bid in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for the newsletter here. You can find ROI on the Reuters website , opens new tab, and you can follow us on LinkedIn , opens new tab and X. , opens new tab Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles , opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/global-markets-view-usa-2026-02-11/
2026-02-11 11:17
Feb 11 (Reuters) - Futures tracking Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday, supported by a jump in precious metals and oil prices, ahead of key U.S. jobs data that could offer fresh insight into the Federal Reserve's interest-rate path. March futures on the S&P/TSX composite index were up 0.33%, as of 5:52 a.m. ET. Sign up here. Toronto's resources-heavy benchmark index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab closed at a record high of 33,256.83 points on Tuesday, lifted by strength in industrial shares and extended gains in mining stocks. Investors are looking at U.S. jobs data for January, scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, for cues on monetary policy outlook. A Reuters survey of economists showed that nonfarm payrolls increased by 70,000 jobs last month after rising 50,000 in December. Spot gold gained 1.4% on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar fell to a near two-week low, making precious metals more affordable. Silver jumped 6%, while copper prices also firmed. Oil prices jumped more than 1% amid lingering U.S.-Iran tensions. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East, even as Washington and Tehran prepared to resume negotiations aimed at averting a new conflict. Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said after a conversation with Trump that the issue of a $4.7 billion bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, will be resolved. Trump had threatened on Monday to bar the bridge from opening, in his latest salvo against Canada over trade issues. In after-market earnings on Tuesday, property insurer Intact Financial (IFC.TO) , opens new tab booked a 12% jump in its net operating income for the fourth quarter, driven by strong underwriting performance. Manufacturer Toromont (TIH.TO) , opens new tab surpassed fourth-quarter revenue estimates, while miner First Quantum (FM.TO) , opens new tab also beat fourth-quarter revenue expectations. FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES: TSX market report Canadian dollar and bonds report CA/ Reuters global stocks poll for Canada , Canadian markets directory https://www.reuters.com/business/tsx-futures-rise-gold-oil-gain-ahead-us-jobs-data-2026-02-11/
