2025-06-26 11:46
Bolivians using crypto as hedge against currency devaluation Crypto ATMs, stores accepting Bitcoin or Tether pop up in cities Economists warn trend is not a sign of stability Other Latam countries have also been adopting crypto COCHABAMBA, Bolivia, June 26 (Reuters) - In the busy shopping district of the Bolivian city of Cochabamba, ATMs let shoppers swap coins for cryptocurrency, beauty salons offer cut-price deals if you pay in Bitcoin, and people use Binance accounts to buy fried chicken. Bolivians are facing a rising economic crisis, with reserves of dollars near zero, inflation at 40-year highs and fuel shortages causing long lines at the pump. The country's currency has lost half its value on the black market this year, even as the official exchange rate has been held artificially steady by government intervention. Sign up here. Some Bolivians are now turning to crypto exchanges like Binance, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, and stablecoins like Tether as a hedge against the depreciation of the boliviano. Official data is patchy, and cryptocurrency was outlawed in Bolivia until last year, but the most recent central bank figures showed transactions of digital assets at $24 million in October. Analysts estimate it has since risen significantly. In the speed of uptake, "Bolivia is now comparable to countries like Argentina and Venezuela," said Mauricio Torrelio from the Bolivian Blockchain Chamber. The overall size of the market, though, remains well behind those South American neighbors and other transactions domestically. Jose Gabriel Espinoza, former head of Bolivia's central bank, estimated that daily USDT volumes hover around $600,000, a fraction of the $18-$22 million in the formal financial sector and $12-$14 million in the cash-based black market. "While crypto is growing, it's still a nascent market," he said. Torrelio said Binance was the most popular platform locally, for its relatively low transfer fees and peer-to-peer trading. The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance has come under scrutiny globally. It agreed to pay a fine of over $4.3 billion in 2023 after pleading guilty to violating U.S. laws against money laundering. In Cochabamba, Pablo Unzueta's steakhouse Bros allows customers to pay via Binance accounts or buy Bitcoin using an ATM linked to Blink, a crypto wallet developed in Central American country El Salvador - which made waves in 2021 when it made Bitcoin legal tender. "If you go to the banks today, they don't have dollars," Unzueta told Reuters. "Paying for a chicken with Bitcoin or saving in Bitcoin is the most innovative and promising thing a city like Cochabamba can do." Unzueta demonstrated how the ATM works, feeding a one-boliviano ($0.14) coin into the machine. "The idea is to move away from the piggy bank and instead use this technology." Carla Jones, a local spa and salon owner, offers incentives to customers who pay with crypto assets, which she said both attracted younger customers and acted as a savings safeguard. "If you buy three tanning sessions, you get a discount if you pay with Bitcoin," she said. "It's a way to keep my money safe and also try to grow my wealth." 'THIS IS NOT A SIGN OF STABILITY' Bolivia is facing its most acute economic crisis in a generation. Dwindling domestic gas production has forced it to import costly fuel, eroding its foreign currency reserves, and making it hard to continue to pay for imports. The lack of dollars has spawned a black currency market, with a wide gap between the formal and parallel FX rates. On the street, you need over 16 bolivianos to buy a dollar versus the largely symbolic official rate of around 6.9 per dollar. Crypto proponents have pushed blockchain-based tokens as an answer. On June 7, Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino posted photos from a duty-free shop in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz, showing items like sunglasses and Oreo cookies priced in USDT, the firm's dollar-pegged stablecoin. "A silent revolutionary shift: digital dollars powering daily life, commerce, and economic stability," he said on X. Economists, however, warned it was not so rosy. "This isn't a sign of stability," said former central bank head Espinoza. "It's more a reflection of the deteriorating purchasing power of households." Peter Howson, assistant professor in international development at Northumbria University in Britain, warned that Bolivians would be vulnerable to crypto's constant fluctuation in value. "We've seen in Bolivia and across Latin America, what we call 'crypto-colonialism'. Crypto companies try to convince the rural poor to invest what little real money they have in a cryptocurrency," he told Reuters. "When it goes down in price, no vendor wants to accept it." But in Cochabamba, 35-year-old Andree Canelas is a Bitcoin enthusiast, helping install crypto ATMs in shops and cafes. "More and more people have understood that if they save bolivianos and keep them in their tills for too long, they're going to lose purchasing power," Canelas said. Cryptocurrencies did come with risk, he said, but added: "They may see some volatility in the short or medium term, but long term it's a good store of capital." https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/crypto-gains-foothold-bolivia-small-businesses-seek-currency-alternatives-2025-06-26/
2025-06-26 11:37
June 26 (Reuters) - Flavoring products maker McCormick (MKC.N) , opens new tab on Thursday beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit, aided by the resilient demand for its higher-priced products and cost-saving initiatives. Waning consumer confidence has led to customers opting to eat at home more than dining out, boosting sales for packaged foods companies such as McCormick despite the looming economic uncertainty. Sign up here. "We are well positioned with our robust plans to mitigate current tariff related costs, fuel growth investments, and expand operating margins," CEO Brendan Foley said. The Cholula hot sauce maker's heavy marketing and promotional investments have also brought back customers previously lost to lower-priced competitors, including private label brands. The Hunt Valley, Maryland-based company's quarterly volumes rose 1.3%, while its prices were up 0.3% from a year ago. McCormick plans to mitigate the additional tariff-led costs through product-sourcing strategies and cost-savings initiatives under its comprehensive continuous improvement program. The company reaffirmed its annual forecasts, taking into consideration the 10% tariff on U.S. imported goods and an incremental 30% tariff on goods from China. For the fiscal year, McCormick expects flat to 2% increase in sales and adjusted earnings per share of $3.03 to $3.08. Most of its U.S. imports from Mexico and Canada are compliant with the country's trade agreement, the company said. The spice and seasoning maker's net sales rose 1% to $1.66 billion in the quarter ended May 31, in line with estimates. Its quarterly adjusted profit per share of 69 cents beat expectations of 66 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG. Shares of the company were up 4% in premarket trading following the results. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/spice-maker-mccormick-beats-quarterly-profit-estimates-cost-saving-efforts-2025-06-26/
2025-06-26 11:34
MUMBAI, June 26 (Reuters) - India's annual monsoon rains are set to cover the entire country within the next three to four days, over a week ahead of their typical schedule, two senior weather officials said on Thursday, accelerating planting of summer-sown crops. The monsoon, the lifeblood of India's nearly $4 trillion economy, delivers almost 70% of the rainfall needed to water farms and replenish aquifers and reservoirs. Sign up here. Nearly half of India's farmland, which is not irrigated, depends on the annual June-September rains for crop growth. In a typical year, rains lash the southwestern coastal state of Kerala around June 1 and move northwards to cover the entire country by July 8. After stalling for two weeks, the monsoon regained momentum last week and rapidly covered central India and most northern states, the India Meteorological Department said. Rains had reached all parts of India except some areas in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, neighbouring Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, an IMD chart released on Thursday showed. The monsoon has continued its expansion over some parts of northwestern states, said R. K. Jenamani, head of the national weather forecasting centre, and conditions are favourable for it to reach the remaining untouched areas over the next three to four days. Despite receiving rainfall 31% below average in the first half of June, the monsoon's revival has turned the deficit into a 9% surplus so far this month. Central and northern states are likely to receive above-average rainfall this week and next week, which will help farmers accelerate sowing of summer-sown crops, another weather official said. Farmers usually start planting summer-sown crops such as rice, corn, cotton, soybeans, and sugarcane after the arrival of monsoon rains. India is likely to see above-average monsoon rains for the second straight year in 2025, according to an IMD forecast released last month. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/land-use-biodiversity/indias-monsoon-set-cover-entire-country-over-week-early-2025-06-26/
2025-06-26 11:28
LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said on Thursday that a recent pickup in inflation created more uncertainty about the medium-term picture for price growth but he also noted signs of a slowdown in the jobs market in Britain. "In recent months, the evidence that slack is opening up has strengthened, especially in the labour market," Bailey said in a speech at a conference held by the British Chambers of Commerce. Sign up here. "But there remain uncertainties around the overall balance between supply and demand in the economy as well as the remaining inflation persistence in the system." Bailey reiterated the central bank's guidance on borrowing costs, saying rates were not on a pre-set path but were likely to come down gradually. The central bank governor was among the majority of Monetary Policy Committee members who last week voted to keep borrowing costs on hold at 4.25%. Investors are betting on the BoE cutting rates in two further quarter-point moves to 3.75% by the end of 2025. Bailey said elevated global uncertainties continued to impact the UK economy but the direct impact from trade policies on world output could be smaller than initially thought. "There have been significant moves in the oil price following the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, although not always in the direction we may intuitively have expected," Bailey said. "That only goes to show the unpredictability of events in the world today." https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/bank-englands-bailey-notes-jobs-market-slowdown-says-inflation-outlook-uncertain-2025-06-26/
2025-06-26 11:23
BRASILIA, June 26 (Reuters) - Brazil's central bank projected on Thursday that inflation will hover near the official goal by the end of 2027, as it trimmed its estimates for this year and next in its quarterly monetary policy report. After projecting earlier this month annual inflation at 3.6% for 2026, the relevant horizon for current policy decisions, policymakers unveiled a 3.2% forecast for the fourth quarter of 2027, the final period covered by the report. Sign up here. The bank targets inflation at 3%, with a tolerance band of 1.5 percentage points in either direction. Last week, it raised interest rates by 25 basis points to a near two-decade high of 15%, signaling a "very prolonged pause" in its action to curb consumer prices. Despite an aggressive tightening cycle launched in September that has lifted the benchmark Selic rate by 450 basis points, Latin America's largest economy remains resilient. In the report, the central bank raised its 2025 GDP growth forecast to 2.1% from 1.9% in March, citing stronger than expected labor market conditions early in the second quarter and some boost to consumption and activity from recent changes to payroll-deductible loans for private sector workers. Still, policymakers stressed they maintained expectations for a slowdown in economic activity over the current quarter and the second half of the year. "This expected moderation stems from the continuation of a restrictive monetary policy, limited slack in production factors, prospects of slower global growth, and a decline in the agricultural boost seen in the first quarter," they said. Compared with the March report, the central bank lowered its 2025 inflation forecast by 0.2 percentage point to 4.9%, while the projection for 2026 declined by 0.1 percentage point. "Among the factors pushing inflation higher are stronger-than-expected economic activity, while downward pressures include currency appreciation and falling oil prices," policymakers wrote. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-central-bank-lifts-2025-gdp-forecast-sees-inflation-nearing-target-2027-2025-06-26/
2025-06-26 11:18
June 26 (Reuters) - Palantir Technologies (PLTR.O) , opens new tab on Thursday said it was teaming up with a nuclear deployment company to develop an artificial intelligence-driven software system built for the construction of nuclear reactors. Nuclear energy has garnered renewed interest from investors and companies, as it is considered to be a cleaner source of fuel and more reliable than wind or solar energy. Sign up here. Palantir and Nuclear Company will jointly create the nuclear operating system (NOS), which will simplify construction, allowing the firm to build plants faster and at lower cost. The deal follows U.S. President Donald Trump's executive orders that aimed to boost U.S. nuclear energy production amid a boom in demand from data centers and AI. The orders, signed in May, direct the nation's independent nuclear regulatory commission to cut down on regulations and fast-track new licenses for reactors and power plants. Kentucky-based Nuclear Company will pay the data analytics company around $100 million over five years to develop the platform, according to a Palantir spokesperson. The industry is also expected to benefit from Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill, which rolled back many green-energy subsidies but preserved tax credits for nuclear energy. U.S. power consumption is estimated to reach record highs in 2025 and 2026 after stagnating for nearly two decades, as power-hungry data centers dedicated to AI and crypto miners plug into the grid. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/palantir-partners-develop-ai-software-nuclear-construction-2025-06-26/
