2026-01-27 17:14

Jan 27 (Reuters) - Money launderers received at least $82 billion in cryptocurrencies last year, up sharply from $10 billion in 2020, driven in part by fast growth among Chinese-speaking groups, blockchain researchers said on Tuesday. The fastest-growing ‌category has been Chinese-language money-laundering networks, which emerged during the pandemic and processed almost $40 million worth of crypto per day in 2025, U.S.-based blockchain research company Chainalysis said in a report. Sign up here. Blockchains create a record of the wallet addresses involved ‌in cryptocurrency transactions, but identifying who is behind the wallets is difficult. However, Chainalysis said it had identified nearly 1,800 active wallets used by Chinese-language money-laundering networks to process $16.1 billion worth of crypto in 2025, and ‍that its numbers were likely an underestimate. A spokesperson for Chainalysis declined to detail the company's methodology but directed Reuters to its website, which said it connects real-world activity to ⁠blockchain records using machine learning and forensic experts. Crypto trading is banned ‍in China and digital tokens are not recognised as legal tender or assets there. In ‌2024, ‌China sued 3,032 people involved in crypto-related money laundering, the country's top procurator has said. Regulators and authorities worldwide have warned for years about crypto's role in crime, as it is generally subject to less specific regulation than mainstream ⁠finance. Still, experts ⁠say it is just one of many ways criminals move funds. Crypto money-laundering networks' techniques to avoid detection include using "guarantee" platforms, which provide escrow services and allow money launderers to advertise their ‍services, Chainalysis said. "Chinese-language guarantee platforms, money movement services and associated financial crime networks reveal a complex and resilient ecosystem that continues to adapt despite enforcement efforts," Chainalysis said. "As with other genres of illicit on-chain activity, actions ‍against guarantee services can be disruptive, but the core networks persist and migrate to alternative channels when challenged." https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/crypto-money-laundering-hit-82-billion-2025-researchers-say-2026-01-27/

2026-01-27 15:59

STOCKHOLM, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Sweden's Moderate Party will appoint a commission to weigh the pros and cons of joining the euro if it can remain in power after a parliamentary election in September, Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson said on Tuesday. Swedes rejected euro membership in a referendum in 2003, but with the economy ever more integrated into Europe's, a recent study concluded that the potential benefits of the single currency now outweigh the risks. Sign up here. "I think it's obvious that we should examine this question and it's a task ... I will set to work on as soon as possible in the next mandate period," Svantesson said during a parliamentary debate on euro membership. The Moderates are the biggest party in the current minority coalition government. Discussion about Swedish membership of the euro area has been reignited by a series of geopolitical and economic shifts in recent years - not least Russia's invasion of Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies. While Sweden's independent monetary policy is widely seen as having helped during the 2008-9 credit crunch, the euro crisis a few years later and during the pandemic, researchers also point to trade and security benefits if Sweden were to integrate further with the euro area. Svantesson said membership would be many years away, even if a commission were to recommend adopting the euro. The biggest obstacle is likely to be the Sweden Democrats, the largest party on the right. It supports the minority, coalition government but is dead set against euro membership. "It (the euro) is a massively risky bet with the welfare of the Swedish people in the pot," Sweden Democrat economic spokesperson Oscar Sjostedt said during the debate. In 2003, 56% of Swedes voted against the euro with 42% in favour. In May, 49.5% were against and 32% backed the single currency with 18.5% undecided, according to a poll by the statistics agency. https://www.reuters.com/business/swedish-finance-minister-wants-look-pros-cons-euro-membership-after-election-2026-01-27/

2026-01-27 14:14

TOKYO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Tuesday that the government would take appropriate action on foreign exchange if needed, while declining to comment on another sharp spike in the yen. The Japanese currency jumped by more than one yen to the dollar late on Tuesday amid heightened speculation that Tokyo would soon conduct yen-buying intervention. Sign up here. When asked if any rate checks were conducted, Katayama said she wouldn't comment on currency moves, but reiterated that the government would continue to closely coordinate with the U.S. authorities as needed and respond appropriately. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-respond-appropriately-forex-finance-minister-says-2026-01-27/

2026-01-27 14:00

ABUJA, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Nigeria's Niger State government will work with the Islamic Development Bank to develop a $163 million solar electrification project to increase power supply and support agriculture and industry, officials said on Tuesday. The project will involve the construction of a 100‑megawatt solar power facility in north-central Nigeria on about 200 hectares of land, providing electricity to several communities across the state. Sign up here. Governor Umaru Mohammed Bago said it would complement the state’s agricultural investments by improving access to reliable power for food production and agro‑processing, adding that it would help boost industrial activity and revenue generation. Daniyar Abylkhan, leader of the development bank's Task Team, said the bank was leveraging Niger State’s abundant sunlight to support clean energy generation and deepen its long‑standing development partnership with the state. Secretary to the State Government Usman Abubakar said the meeting marked the start of the bank’s project preparation process, including technical, environmental and social assessments required for final approval and funding. None of the officials gave any indication of when the project would become operational. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/nigerias-niger-state-work-with-islamic-development-bank-163-million-solar-2026-01-27/

2026-01-27 12:59

Data centers driving up US power demand, driving revival of nuclear energy NextEra just beat Wall Street estimates for Q4 profit Jan 27 (Reuters) - NextEra Energy (NEE.N) , opens new tab is considering expanding its nuclear fleet to deliver electricity to data centers, with the giant U.S. power provider ‌saying on Tuesday that it is in advanced discussions to power an additional 9 gigawatts of the server warehouses. Big Tech's data centers are driving up U.S. power demand, leading to historic deals with the country's electric utilities, including the revival of multiple shut nuclear power facilities. Sign up here. Last year, NextEra announced that it would restart its Duane Arnold nuclear power generating station in Iowa to serve ‌Google data centers. NextEra, on a call with investors on Tuesday, said it has the ability to add 6 gigawatts of new nuclear technologies to serve data centers at its existing nuclear sites. It is also considering greenfield sites to build advanced nuclear power. The company (NEE.N) , opens new tab narrowly beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, ‍helped by steady growth at its regulated Florida utility and a record year for renewable energy and battery storage additions, as electricity demand surges across the United States. Power consumption in the U.S. is expected to hit fresh all-time highs in 2026 as data centers for AI ⁠and cryptocurrency expand and homes and businesses increasingly replace fossil fuels with electricity for heating and transportation, according to the ‍Energy Information Administration. Florida Power & Light, the company's regulated utility, posted a net income of $958 million, up 13.4% from a year earlier, driven ‌by ‌higher capital investment. In Florida, NextEra has about 20 gigawatts of data center customers interested in connecting to its system. Nearly half of those are in advanced discussions, with the potential to come online by 2028, the company said. The company added that there will be some announcements in 2026, based on the interest that it is seeing on the ground ⁠in Florida. NextEra Energy Resources, the ⁠company’s renewable energy arm, added about 13.5 gigawatts of new generation and battery storage projects to its backlog in 2025, including 3.6 GW since the third-quarter call in October last year. The unit's total backlog now totals roughly 30 GW. The segment reported a net income of $545 million in ‍the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $442 million a year ago. NextEra reaffirmed its adjusted earnings forecast for 2026 to be between $3.92 and $4.02 per share and said it expects to grow adjusted earnings at an annual rate of 8% or more through 2032, while targeting dividend growth of about 10% per year through 2026. The company earned 54 cents ‍per share on an adjusted basis for the quarter ended December 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of 53 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/nextera-energy-beats-fourth-quarter-profit-estimates-2026-01-27/

2026-01-27 12:36

Jan 27 (Reuters) - India's central bank on Tuesday advanced plans to buy 1 trillion rupees ($10.9 billion) of bonds in two tranches by January 29 and February 5, instead of the previously announced February 5 and 12. The move follows a surge in Indian government bond yields earlier in the day, which pushed the benchmark yield to a near 11-month high, pressured by heavy state borrowing and tight system liquidity. Sign up here. The two open market bond purchase auctions of 500 billion rupees each are part of a broader set of measures unveiled by the Reserve Bank of India last week to inject more than $23 billion of liquidity into the banking system. The bank plans to do this through a combination of bond purchases, buy/sell FX swaps and repo operations. The RBI bought 3 trillion rupees of bonds during December-January, boosting the note-purchase tally for the fiscal year to a record 5.7 trillion rupees. Under Governor Sanjay Malhotra, the RBI has stepped up liquidity injections over the past year to reinforce its rate cuts and to manage the impact RBI's market interventions to support the rupee have on banking system liquidity. ($1 = 91.6600 Indian rupees) https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-central-bank-advances-1-trillion-rupee-bond-purchases-2026-01-27/