2025-06-18 11:21
ISLAMABAD, June 18 (Reuters) - Careem, Uber's ride-hailing arm in the Middle East, will suspend its Pakistan service on July 18, citing economic challenges, rising competition, and capital constraints, ending its core business in a country where it helped pioneer app-based transport nearly a decade ago. The move underscores strain on Pakistan’s digital economy, as tech firms scale back amid high inflation, weak consumer demand, and tighter global capital flows. It ends a nearly decade-long run for Careem, which launched in 2015 and became a dominant player in app-based mobility. Sign up here. "This was an incredibly difficult decision," Mudassir Sheikha, co-founder and CEO of Careem, said in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday. "The challenging macroeconomic reality, intensifying competition, and global capital allocation made it hard to justify the investment levels required to deliver a safe and dependable service in the country." Careem helped normalize digital payments, app-based bookings, and female ridership in Pakistan. Newer entrants such as Russia-backed Yango and Latin America’s inDrive have expanded in major cities, offering low-cost models. The decision follows Uber’s exit from Pakistan in 2022. Pakistan’s startup ecosystem has come under pressure since 2022 as venture funding dried up, inflation surged to a record 38% before falling to 3.5%, and consumption weakened. Startups including Airlift, Swvl, VavaCars and Truck It In have shut down or scaled back. Globally, firms like Uber, Lyft and Grab have exited unprofitable markets, narrowed focus, or expanded into adjacent services such as deliveries and payments. Rising costs, regulation, and thin margins in emerging markets have added to the strain. Uber still operates in parts of the Middle East and North Africa but has pulled back from Pakistan in 2024 after announcing an initial exit in 2022. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/ride-hailer-careem-suspend-decade-old-pakistan-service-2025-06-18/
2025-06-18 11:17
LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - The Front Tyne oil tanker was sailing through the Gulf between Iran and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday when just past 9:40 a.m. shiptracking data appeared to show the massive vessel in Russia, in fields better known for barley and sugar beets. By 4:15 p.m., the ship's erratic signals indicated it was in southern Iran near the town of Bidkhun, before later placing it back and forth across the Gulf. Sign up here. Mass interference since the start of the conflict between Israel and Iran has affected nearly 1,000 ships in the Gulf, according to Windward, a shipping analysis firm. A collision involving tankers south of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for the world's oil, occurred on Tuesday with both vessels catching fire. One of them, the Front Eagle, a sister ship of the Front Tyne, and like it, more than three football pitches long, appeared to be onshore in Iran on June 15, data from commodity data platform Kpler showed. "There is usually no jamming in the Strait of Hormuz and now there is a lot,” said Ami Daniel, chief executive of Windward. "The culmination of all that is higher risk. It's a hot area... if you don't geolocate, there's a bigger chance you'll have an accident." Ships are required to indicate their location and are fitted with transmitters similar to GPS called an AIS, or Automatic Identification System, that send regular signals on location, speed and other data. Jamming disrupts these signals. "The problem these days is that most ships use digitised systems, so if your GPS is jammed, then you have no real form of navigating other than by the seat of your pants," said Jim Scorer, secretary general of International Federation of Shipmasters’ Associations. If a ship's crew intentionally disrupts its signalling, it is called spoofing, and may indicate illegal conduct, such as an effort to conceal a cargo or destination. If a third party disrupts signals, as is happening in the Gulf, it is referred to as jamming, according to Dimitris Ampatzidis, an analyst at Kpler. The practice has become increasingly common in conflict areas, as some militaries seek to obscure the location of navy vessels or other potential targets. Jamming has been observed in the Black Sea during Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports, in the Taiwan Strait and in waters near Syria and Israel, analysts said. Several ships appeared to be on land at Port Sudan last month. "If you don’t know where vessels are, you’re unable to target them," said Ampatzidis. International Maritime Organization, along with other United Nations agencies, issued a statement in March expressing concern over rising cases of interference in global navigation. The oil tanker Xi Wang Mu, which was placed under U.S. sanctions, appeared to be at a Hindu temple in India earlier this year when it spoofed its location, according to analysis by maritime data platform Lloyd’s List Intelligence. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/oil-tankers-near-iran-appear-be-rural-russia-signals-jammed-2025-06-17/
2025-06-18 11:06
June 18 (Reuters) - A 90,000 metric ton cargo of gasoline from Nigeria's Dangote refinery will be sold out of the region for the first time and bound for Asia, a source familiar with the matter. Since the 650,000 barrel-per-day refinery started gasoline exports last year, the cargoes have stayed in west Africa. Sign up here. Mercuria is due to load the cargo on June 22, the source close to the deal said, speaking on condition on anonymity. A spokesperson for Mercuria did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. "We sell our products to those who are willing to give us the highest price. It's the buyer's right to take the products to any destination of their choice," a spokesperson for the Dangote refinery said. Some analysts see this new trade route as the company's readiness to supply motor fuel globally. "This development shows the Dangote refinery's growing global importance as a gasoline supplier, and the company's confidence that production is now stable enough to meet Nigeria's domestic needs," said a director at political risk consultancy Horizon Engage Clementine Wallop. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/nigeria-export-first-gasoline-cargo-asia-dangote-refinery-source-says-2025-06-18/
2025-06-18 11:04
WARSAW, June 18 (Reuters) - Polish pipeline operator Gaz-System will receive a 2.2 billion zlotys ($593 million) loan from state bank BGK to finance the onshore segment of Poland's first floating storage and regasification unit near Gdansk, BGK said on Wednesday. The loan, sourced from European Union funds, will finance construction of a 250-km (155-mile) pipeline that will connect the terminal to the core of Poland's gas network, BGK Deputy President Marta Pustula told reporters. The loan will be repaid over 25 years, Pustula added. Sign up here. The floating storage and regasification unit will be based in the Bay of Gdansk and is expected to be completed in 2028. In January, Gaz-System completed the expansion of its LNG terminal in Świnoujście, increasing its regasification capacity to 8.3 billion cubic metres, which corresponds to nearly 50% of the annual gas demand of domestic consumers. ($1 = 3.7112 zlotys) https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/polands-gaz-system-get-593-million-loan-countrys-floating-lng-terminal-2025-06-18/
2025-06-18 10:55
Redeia says own investigation discovered anomalous disconnection of power plants before blackout Some power failed to help maintain an appropriate voltage, Redeia report shows Disputes government report that blamed Redeia for miscalculating energy mix needed System was operating normally before blackout occurred, Redeia said MADRID, June 18 (Reuters) - Spanish grid operator Redeia (REDE.MC) , opens new tab blamed power plants for the massive blackout that affected the Iberian peninsula in April, as it disputed a government report that said its failure to calculate the correct energy mix was a key factor. While agreeing that a surge in voltage was the immediate cause of the outage, REE-owner Redeia blamed it on some conventional power plants - thermal power plants using coal, gas and nuclear - for failing to help maintain an appropriate voltage. Sign up here. "Based on our calculation, there were enough voltage control capabilities planned" by Redeia, operations chief Concha Sanchez told a news briefing on Wednesday. "Had conventional power plants done their job in controlling the voltage there would have been no blackout," she said. Redeia, which is partly state-owned, also discovered anomalies in the disconnection of power plants in the run-up to the April 28 outage, even though voltage in the system was within legal limits, Sanchez said. A combined-cycle plant that was supposed to provide stability to the system disconnected in the first seconds of the blackout when it should not have, while there was also an anomalous growth in demand from the transport network, she said. Aelec, which represents Spain's main electricity companies including Iberdrola (IBE.MC) , opens new tab and Endesa (ELE.MC) , opens new tab, said on Wednesday that "claiming everything was done correctly" while blaming some power plants for the blackout was damaging to the sector's reputation. "The operator failed to safely cover all the system's needs," the lobby added. Redeia on Wednesday released its own full report on the causes of the outage, a day after the Spanish government published its findings. The government's report released on Tuesday said Redeia's miscalculation was one of the factors hindering the grid's ability to cope with a surge in voltage that led to the outage that caused gridlock in cities across the Iberian peninsula and left tens of thousands stranded on trains overnight or stuck in lifts. But Sanchez said the system was in "absolutely normal conditions" at noon just before the blackout and that adding another gas plant to the system to absorb additional voltage would have made no difference. Redeia Chair Beatriz Corredor told the same news briefing she had absolute faith in the company's calculations and that the operator had complied with all procedures and rules. "Red Electrica didn't breach any procedure and has acted diligently," Chief Executive Roberto Garcia Merino said at the briefing, adding that as a result he did not expect the company to face any claims. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/spains-grid-operator-release-own-report-april-blackout-2025-06-18/
2025-06-18 10:54
LONDON, June 18 (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today I'm excited to announce that I'm now part of Reuters Open Interest (ROI) , opens new tab, an essential new source for data-driven, expert commentary on market and economic trends. 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 Sign up here. The alarming Israel-Iran war is keeping world oil prices volatile, but crude moves have not yet hit red-alert territory, and markets are now turning their attention to Wednesday's Federal Reserve policy decision. I'll discuss this and all of the market news below. Be sure to check out today’s column, where I explain why the dollar’s decline may persist despite signs that 'short dollar' is already a crowded trade. Today's Market Minute * Thousands of people were fleeing Tehran on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said they should leave the capital, while a source said Trump was considering options that include joining Israel in attacking Iranian nuclear sites. * Oil prices eased in Asian trade on Wednesday, after a gain of 4% in the previous session, as markets weighed the chance of supply disruptions from the Iran-Israel conflict against a U.S. Federal Reserve rates decision that could impact oil demand. * While global energy markets are not yet pricing in worst-case scenarios for the Israel-Iran war, oil tanker rates are providing a good real-time gauge of the escalating risks, writes ROI columnist Ron Bousso. * Energy equity investors are adjusting their positions in an attempt to pick winners and cut losers as President Donald Trump's tax-and-spending bill makes its way through the U.S. Congress. Read the analysis from ROI energy transition columnist Gavin Maguire. * As debate rages around 'de-dollarization' and the world's appetite for dollar-denominated assets, one major cohort of overseas investors appears to be quietly backing away from U.S. securities: central banks. Check out the latest from ROI markets columnist Jamie McGeever. Oil ebbs again as Fed meets The intensity of the Middle East conflict went up several more notches overnight amid speculation the U.S. military would join the attacks on Iran. The central question now is whether the U.S. air force would be involved in any attempt to take out Iran's underground nuclear enrichment facilities, particularly the Fordow plant. An Israeli military strike on Iran's nuclear complex at Natanz directly hit the underground uranium enrichment operation there, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday, after initially reporting only indirect damage. Markets have to calculate whether we're apt to see a long drawn-out war and related energy disruptions or a shorter and more decisive outcome that could limit any hit to Iranian crude supply. Back home in the U.S., any energy shock would be economically and politically sensitive. And it's unclear how much public support there would be for involvement in the sort of foreign wars Trump campaigned to keep America out of. So far, U.S. crude prices remain relatively contained despite the war, slipping back slightly again on Wednesday to just under $75 per barrel. Even though spot prices have risen about 14% since the start of last week, they have not breached intraday highs set last Friday nor the $80-plus peak hit in January, and they also remain down 7% year on year. What's more, crude prices remain below the average of the past two years since the latest wave of Middle East conflict was triggered by Hamas's Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Gold price moves have also been moderate over the past week, as the prices of the safe haven have failed to hit new records set in April and slipped on Wednesday. The dollar (.DXY) , opens new tab and Swiss franc both edged lower again too today, the latter impacted by a likely interest rate cut to zero from the Swiss National Bank tomorrow. U.S. stock futures were higher ahead of the open after a near 1% drop in the S&P 500 index on Tuesday. The Fed decision, press conference and new economic projections later today will keep many markets in check, however, not least as they come before the U.S. 'Juneteenth' public holiday and market closures on Thursday. No change in the Fed policy rate is expected, especially now that the edgy energy outlook is adding to the already uncertain U.S. import tariff picture. But the Fed's nods and winks about its future course will be crucial as always, not least its 'dot plot' of policymakers' expectations on future rate moves. The most recent set of quarterly projections penciled in two more rate cuts by year-end, but there's some speculation that may be reduced to one in today's update. As of Wednesday, futures markets were pricing in 45 basis points of easing by December. Treasury yields fell back ahead of the meeting, following a series of soft U.S. economic readings for May on retail, industrial activity and housing. Treasuries got an additional lift as the Fed announced a board meeting for June 25 to consider plans to ease leverage requirements on larger banks, kicking off what is expected to be a broad effort to reconsider bank rules. Changes to the so-called "supplementary leverage ratio," which requires banks to set aside capital against assets regardless of their risk, could enable banks to hold more Treasuries. Elsewhere, stocks were mixed to higher around the world, with Hong Kong (.HSI) , opens new tab underperforming and European defense stocks (.SXPARO) , opens new tab a big gainer. Sweden's crown weakened after the Riksbank cut its key interest rate to 2.0% from 2.25% as expected on Wednesday, saying it may ease further before the end of the year. And Bitcoin remained relatively subdued even after the U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed a bill to create a regulatory framework for dollar-pegged cryptocurrency tokens known as stablecoins, seen by some as a watershed moment for digital assets. In today's deep dive, I look at whether the dollar's steep losses this year may already have run their course or whether this is longer-term exit from the currency. Chart of the day Much like world oil prices, freight rates out of the Persian Gulf have jumped sharply since the start of the Israel-Iran war on June 13. But also like crude prices, these shipping rates have so far failed to even hit their highest points for the year to date, never mind longer-term historical highs. Concerns about shipping disruption and energy supplies have clearly risen, but with too many contrasting scenarios for the conflict's outcome still in play, traders may be wary of betting one way or the other. Today's events to watch * U.S. May housing starts, weekly jobless claims (8:30 AM EDT), April TIC data on foreign holdings of Treasury securities (4:00 PM EDT) * Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee policy decision (2:00 PM EDT), news conference from Fed Chair Jerome Powell and policymakers' new economic and rates projections * European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos and heads of central banks of Italy, Spain, Netherlands, France and Germany meet students in Milan; ECB chief economist Philip Lane speaks in Amsterdam; Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem speaks * U.S. corporate earnings: Progressive 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. Want to receive the Morning Bid in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for the newsletter here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/global-markets-view-usa-2025-06-18/
