2025-08-06 11:45

Shares drop due to inflated earnings from player transfers Bayer cuts 12,000 jobs amid restructuring efforts Roundup litigation provisions reach $7.4 billion FRANKFURT, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Investor concerns that Bayer's (BAYGn.DE) , opens new tab earnings were inflated by soccer player transfer fees rather than supported by its core healthcare and agriculture businesses helped send its shares plummeting nearly 5% to a one-month low on Wednesday. The German maker of pharmaceuticals and crop protection products reported in unscheduled preliminary results last week that second-quarter operating income, adjusted for some items, came in at a better-than-expected 2.1 billion euros ($2.43 billion). Sign up here. In a more detailed disclosure on Wednesday, however, it said those results included higher revenue from its German Bundesliga team Bayer Leverkusen resulting from player transfers. Bayer shares were down 4.7% at 0958 GMT. Fresh details in Wednesday's disclosure indicating that Bayer's performance was also more the result of established blood thinner Xarelto than newer drugs with longer patent protection contributed to the stock selloff as well. "The detail of the beat being somewhat related to Xarelto and the sale of a footballer could be disappointing to some," JPMorgan analysts said in a note. British media reported in June that Premier League champions Liverpool had agreed a fee of 136.3 million euros to sign Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz. Bayer's finance chief Wolfgang Nickl, however, would not provide details on the transfer earnings on Wednesday. "If we have these transfers, we need to compare the book value with the prices that we get, and that can lead to an extraordinary result on several players, and that was just recorded last quarter," he said during a call with journalists. JOB CUTS, ROUNDUP PROVISIONS Bayer also said it has now cut around 12,000 full-time positions since the start of a restructuring programme aimed at speeding up decision-making and reducing managerial and administrative positions. A previous tally for jobs slashed in 2024 was at 7,000. The total number of global employees at the end of June stood at close to 90,000 when counted in full-time equivalents, according to its quarterly report. Bayer, which is burdened by U.S. lawsuits claiming its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer, has said it is holding off on breaking up the diversified group even as some investors call for a sale of the consumer health unit or separate stock market listing for its crop science division. It reiterated that it would have to stop U.S. production of key Roundup ingredient glyphosate unless lawmakers, courts or regulators help it further stave off the costly litigation. Bayer said last week it had added 1.2 billion euros to its provisions for the Roundup litigation. Total Roundup litigation provisions totalled $7.4 billion, or 6.3 billion euros, it said on Wednesday. ($1 = 0.8636 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/bayer-investors-concerned-soccer-transfers-inflated-earnings-shares-drop-2025-08-06/

2025-08-06 11:35

SINGAPORE/LONDON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - The dollar stuck to its recent trading range on Wednesday, with investors choosing to stay on the sidelines after another round of weak U.S. data and as President Donald Trump prepared to fill a coming vacancy on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. Trump said on Tuesday he will decide on a nominee to replace outgoing Fed Governor Adriana Kugler by the end of the week and had separately narrowed the possible replacements for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to a short list of four. Sign up here. Data on the same day showed the U.S. services sector activity unexpectedly flatlined in July while input costs climbed by the most in nearly three years, underscoring the hit from Trump's tariffs on the economy, which have also begun to bite corporate earnings. Still, traders were hesitant to take on fresh positions ahead of the Fed developments. Concerns are mounting that partisan loyalty could invade the staid world of central bank policy. The dollar was last flat against the yen at 147.55, while the euro edged up 0.3% to $1.16065. Sterling reversed earlier losses to trade up 0.1% at $1.3324. "Trump’s open attacks on the Bureau of Labor Statistics over payroll revisions have not had much market impact, but it will be interesting to see whether the selected Fed chair candidate echoes that narrative. If so, it could ignite fears of a disconnect between Fed policy and official data - a scenario we see as decidedly dollar-negative," ING strategist Francesco Pesole said in a note. TREASURY YIELDS RISE While moves in the dollar have been more subdued this week, the currency has yet to recover from its steep losses on Friday, when it clocked its largest one-day percentage fall in nearly four months following an alarming jobs report. Trump fired BLS commissioner Erika McEntarfer last week, after the July employment report. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar dipped 0.2% to 98.547 , some way off Friday's peak of 100.25 hit before the nonfarm payrolls figures. Traders continue to price in a 91% chance of a Fed rate cut in September, with about 58 basis points worth of easing expected by the year-end. But data such as Tuesday's services ISM report underscore the fine line the Fed has to tread, as policymakers weigh rising price pressures from Trump's tariffs against signs of a weakening U.S. economy. "The services ISM has obviously got that kind of stagflationary whiff about it ... that's obviously a bit of a two-edged sword in terms of what does that mean for policy," said Ray Attrill, head of FX research at National Australia Bank. "At the moment, I think we're sort of the view that maybe there's a bit too much confidence in the market about the certainty of a September move." U.S. Treasury yields rose, leaving the 10-year note up 4.2 basis points on the day at 4.238% and two-year notes up 2 bps at 3.74%, after a $58 billion auction of 3-year notes , which was seen as somewhat soft by analysts, with demand equivalent to 2.53 times the notes on sale. More supply hits the market this week with $42 billion in 10-year notes on Wednesday and $25 billion in 30-year bonds on Thursday. Among other currencies, the Australian and New Zealand dollars both rose 0.6% to $0.6506 and $0.5933, respectively. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dollar-holds-firm-investors-await-trumps-fed-governor-decisions-2025-08-06/

2025-08-06 11:31

Bajaj Auto's EV output constained by rare earth shortage Bajaj to meet only 50%-60% of planned e-scooters deliveries in Q2 Production affected ahead of key festive season ramp-up Aug 6 (Reuters) - Bajaj Auto (BAJA.NS) , opens new tab will not meet its electric vehicles delivery target in the second-quarter as the Indian automaker grapples with a shortage of rare earth magnets, a senior executive said on Wednesday. "At this point in time, it looks like we might be able to deliver about 50%-60% of our (electric) two-wheeler plan for this quarter and about 70%-80% of the (electric) three-wheeler plan," Bajaj Auto's chief financial officer Dinesh Thapar told reporters in a post-earnings call. Sign up here. The automaker is working on a host of alternatives to soften the production blow, including using motors made with more abundant light rare earths, rather than heavy rare earths, he said. China, which controls 90% of the global production of rare earths, banned its export in April, forcing automakers, including Bajaj Auto's peer TVS Motor, to search for alternatives amid a scramble for supplies. Bajaj "should be in a position" to de-risk itself from China's ban by March 2026, Thapar said. The output slump at India's second-largest electric scooter manufacturer comes at a time when most automakers boost production during a lucrative festive period that begins late August. "Even if we unlock a lot of supply after this, there's certainly likely to be an impact in terms of the festive loading that we would have liked," Thapar said. Earlier in the day, Bajaj Auto beat quarterly profit estimates on Wednesday, helped by an boost in exports as it resumed overseas shipments of its premium KTM motorcycles. It also attributed the higher profit to improving margins at its e-scooter business Chetak and electric three-wheeler Gogo. The company reported a profit of 20.96 billion rupees ($239 million) for the April-June period, while analysts had expected 20.42 billion rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG. Bajaj Auto shares closed 0.6% lower on the day. ($1 = 87.6770 Indian rupees) https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-bajaj-auto-flags-lower-than-planned-ev-output-rare-earths-crunch-2025-08-06/

2025-08-06 11:27

10-year Treasury yields rise after four days of falls Trump set to fill Fed board vacancy by end of week Traders see 87% chance of Fed rate cut in September Perth Mint's July gold sales fall by 33% Aug 6 (Reuters) - Gold prices eased on Wednesday as U.S. Treasury yields inched higher, while investors remained cautious ahead of President Donald Trump's Federal Reserve appointments. Spot gold was down 0.5% at $3,362.54 per ounce by 1047 GMT, after hitting a nearly two-week high on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures also fell by 0.5% to $3,417.30. Sign up here. Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasuries rose after four straight days of declines, reducing the appeal of non-yielding bullion. "Investors will be keeping a close eye on developments regarding White House appointments to the Federal Reserve and any trade-related news, both of which have the potential to influence market sentiment," said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades. Trump said on Tuesday he will announce a nominee this week for an upcoming vacancy on the Fed's Board of Governors. He also confirmed that the shortlist of potential successors to Chair Jerome Powell has been narrowed to four candidates. Markets anticipate an 87% chance of a September rate cut, CME FedWatch , opens new tab shows, after Friday's weak jobs report that prompted Trump to fire the commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, adding to policy uncertainty. Trade tensions continue, with Trump renewing his threat to hike tariffs on Indian goods over the country's purchases of Russian oil. Gold, long seen as a safe haven in times of political and economic uncertainty, typically performs well in a low-interest-rate environment. Despite the day's pullback, Evangelista at ActivTrades said there was scope for further gains in gold, with a near-term target of $3,400, citing persistent demand driven by tariff frictions, concerns over growth and inflation, and sustained weakness in the dollar. On the physical markets, Perth Mint reported that gold product sales in July dropped by 33% from the previous month and silver sales fell to a six-month low. Spot silver prices eased 0.1% to $37.80 per ounce, platinum edged up 0.1% to $1,321.86 and palladium fell 0.3% to $1,171.47. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/gold-dips-treasury-yields-rise-with-market-waiting-trumps-fed-pick-2025-08-06/

2025-08-06 11:26

MUMBAI, Aug 6 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India's inflation and growth outlook suggest the current policy rate may mark the end of the easing cycle, six analysts said on Wednesday, after the central bank held rates steady and kept its growth forecast unchanged. The RBI has trimmed its key policy rate by 100 basis points since February. Sign up here. While a Reuters poll had predicted one more 25 basis points cut this cycle, some analysts are now reassessing that view. "Given the characterisation of monetary policy in the August meeting and the growth and inflation forecasts, we do not find much scope for an immediate rate cut," said Samiran Chakraborty, chief economist at Citi. The bank, which had earlier expected a 25 basis points cut in August, now sees the repo rate holding at 5.50% this cycle, up from its previous forecast of 5.25%. The RBI retained its Jan–March inflation outlook at 4.4% and projects a rise to 4.9% in April–June 2026. India's retail inflation fell to a more than six-year low of 2.1% in June and is expected to hit a record low in July. Data is due to be released on August 12. However, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the sharp fall in headline inflation was driven by volatile food prices and is likely to pick up toward year-end. "One year ahead, factoring in the April–June inflation forecast at 4.9% and the repo rate at 5.5%, the real rate buffer will narrow significantly. The terminal rate is likely to stay at 5.5% this year," said Radhika Rao, senior economist at DBS Bank. Analysts at Capital Economics, Bank of Baroda, Kotak Securities and Edelweiss Mutual Fund also said the central bank may have ended its easing cycle. "There is little in today's policy announcement to change our view that the easing cycle has come to an end," said Shilan Shah, deputy chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rbis-inflation-growth-outlook-may-mean-end-easing-cycle-some-analysts-say-2025-08-06/

2025-08-06 11:25

Aug 6 (Reuters) - (This is an excerpt of the Health Rounds newsletter, where we present latest medical studies on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here.) An experimental flu-fighting drug combination that includes a compound found in chocolate is more effective than the current most commonly used influenza treatment, researchers reported in PNAS , opens new tab. Sign up here. In test tubes and in animal experiments, the combination of theobromine and arainosine was more effective than Roche’s (ROG.S) , opens new tab Tamiflu against even the deadliest flu strains, including bird flu and swine flu, the researchers said. Theobromine is a stimulant naturally found in cacao plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words for “food of the gods.” Theobromine plus arainosine – a synthetic compound that interferes with the ability of cells to repair themselves – together target proteins on the virus that serve as pathways for ions to travel in and out. Without functioning ion channels, the virus can’t survive. Existing drugs typically target a viral protein that mutates frequently, rendering treatments less effective over time, the researchers said. “We’re not just offering a better flu drug,” study leader Isaiah Arkin of Hebrew University in Jerusalem said in a statement. “We’re introducing a new way to target viruses... that may help us prepare for future pandemics.” Because many viruses, including coronaviruses, also rely on ion channels, this new approach could form the basis of future antiviral strategies, the researchers said. COLORECTAL CANCER DIAGNOSES SURGE WITH EARLIER SCREENINGS U.S. diagnoses of early-stage colorectal cancers rose steeply among 45- to 49-year-olds during 2019 to 2022, after new guidelines called for screening in that age group, according to new research from the American Cancer Society published in JAMA. The surge included a 50% relative increase from 11.7 to 17.5 cases per 100,000 people of that age from 2021 to 2022, researchers found. The increase in diagnoses was largely attributable to detection of early-stage tumors, which increased by 18.8% annually from 2019 to 2022 for colon cancers and by 25.1% per year for rectal cancers. The finding , opens new tab “is promising news because the uptick of cases is likely due to first-time screening in the wake of new recommendations for younger average-risk adults to begin testing for colorectal cancer earlier,” study leader Elizabeth Schafer of the ACS said in a statement. Earlier detection of these cancers often leads to better outcomes for patients, health experts say. The recommended age to begin colorectal cancer screening was lowered to 45 from 50 years by the ACS in 2018 and by the United States Preventive Services Task Force in 2021. A second study , opens new tab in JAMA found that colorectal cancer screening among U.S. adults 45-49 years of age increased by 62% from 2019 to 2023. “It’s not only thrilling to see the increase in colorectal cancer screening among younger adults, but also how it likely ties into rises in earlier stage diagnosis as noted in the other ACS led paper,” Jessica Star of the ACS, who led the second study, said in a statement. “However, we still have a long way to go. Screening for colorectal cancer in ages 45-49 remains suboptimal and has not increased equitably by both" education and insurance coverage status. A third paper , opens new tab in JAMA reports on a randomized trial testing various methods for encouraging more screening. Among 20,500 participants, sending an unsolicited stool test kit by mail was the most effective way to boost screening rates for adults ages 45 to 49 years. However, those authors said, “overall screening rates were low, underscoring the need for more effective strategies to engage this age group.” (To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here) https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/health-rounds-flu-drug-with-compound-found-chocolate-tops-tamiflu-early-study-2025-08-06/