2025-05-19 07:22
LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - JPMorgan said on Monday that an election win by Romania's centrist Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan is reducing political risk ahead and that a sovereign ratings downgrade to below investment grade was now less of a concern. The Wall Street bank adjusted its forecasts following Sunday's runoff election, saying it now expected a "moderate devaluation" for the country's currency. It predicts the leu at 5.10 versus the euro by the end of the second quarter and at 5.25 by year-end, according to a note. Sign up here. JPMorgan also moved its exposure on Romania's international bonds to "marketweight" from "underweight" and to "overweight" from "marketweight" on local government bonds. "The process to form a majority remains tricky," Nicolaie Alexandru-Chidesciuc at JPMorgan said. "In a best-case scenario, a government might be in place by mid-June and a fiscal package might be, in a best-case scenario, approved by end-June." Dan won the country's presidential election in a shock upset over a hard-right, nationalist rival who had pledged to put Romania on a path inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump's politics. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/romania-election-win-dan-reduces-political-risk-ahead-says-jpmorgan-2025-05-19/
2025-05-19 06:58
TOKYO, May 19 (Reuters) - Japan's Yoshinoya (9861.T) , opens new tab said on Monday it was betting on ramen noodles for its next phase of growth, looking to turn it into a third business pillar along with 'gyudon' beef bowls and udon noodles. Announcing a growth plan for the next five years, the fast-food chain operator best known for its gyudon, or stewed beef over rice, said it would target a 10-fold jump in operating profit from the ramen business to 4 billion yen ($28 million). Sign up here. By the financial year ending in February 2035, it hopes to become the world's top seller of ramen, it said. The new business plan comes as Japanese restaurant chains struggle from higher food prices - particularly of domestic rice and U.S. beef - and the difficulty of raising product prices in a country just emerging from years of deflation. "I see significant potential for ramen," incoming CEO Tetsuya Naruse told a press conference to announce the plan. Yoshinoya expects its ramen business to garner revenues of 40 billion yen by the 2029 financial year and account for 13% or total sales, versus 4% last year. Setting the stage for growth, Yoshinoya bought two Kyoto-based ramen shop operators, Takara Sangyo and Kiramekino Mirai, last business year, adding to its portfolio of ramen brands including Withlink in Hiroshima and Setagaya in Tokyo. Yoshinoya said its ramen expansion would involve further inorganic growth with more acquisitions. ($1 = 145.1600 yen) https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/japans-yoshinoya-bets-big-ramen-noodles-next-phase-expansion-2025-05-19/
2025-05-19 06:55
Moody's downgrade adds to investor worry about US fiscal path Dollar down 0.7% against basket of currencies China April industrial output, retail sales growth slow May 19 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose more than 1% on Monday, helped by a weaker dollar and safe-haven demand after Moody's downgraded the U.S. government's credit rating amid lingering trade concerns. Spot gold was at $3,239.18 an ounce by 1033 GMT, reversing the previous session's losses. U.S. gold futures gained 1.7% to $3,242.60. Sign up here. "Gold's safe-haven appeal has been swiftly rekindled by growing concerns over U.S. debt," said Nikos Tzabouras, Senior Market Analyst at Tradu.com. "Rising risk aversion and a weakening U.S. dollar helped gold recover from its worst week of the year, keeping the door open to potential new all-time highs." Moody's cut the United States' top sovereign credit rating by one notch on Friday, the last of the major ratings agencies to downgrade the country, citing concerns about its growing $36 trillion debt pile. The dollar (.DXY) , opens new tab slipped 0.7% against a basket of other major currencies, making greenback-priced gold cheaper for overseas buyers. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in television interviews on Sunday that President Donald Trump will impose tariffs at the rate he threatened last month on trading partners that do not negotiate in "good faith". Meanwhile, soft economic data out of China also weighed on risk sentiment in the wider financial markets. Gold, often used as a safe store of value in times of political and financial uncertainty, rose to an all-time high of $3,500.05 per ounce on April 22 and is up 22% so far this year. "We maintain our gold price forecast of $3,700/oz by year-end and $4,000/oz by mid-2026, despite delayed Fed cuts and lower U.S. recession risk," Goldman Sachs said in a note. President Donald Trump on Saturday said in a social media post that the Federal Reserve should cut rates "sooner, rather than later". Spot silver rose 0.8% to $32.52 an ounce, platinum gained 0.4% to $992.06 and palladium was steady at $961.22. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/gold-rises-soft-dollar-trumps-tariff-threats-spur-safe-haven-demand-2025-05-19/
2025-05-19 06:41
Iran says nuclear talks could break down if US insists on no enrichment US credit rating cut by Moody's China's retail sales disappoint Putin says efforts to end Ukraine war on right track after talk with Trump NEW YORK, May 19 (Reuters) - Oil prices settled marginally higher on Monday as signs of a breakdown in U.S. talks with Iran over its nuclear program offset a Moody's downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating. Brent crude futures settled 13 cents higher at $65.54 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude closed up 20 cents at $62.69 a barrel. Both contracts rose more than 1% last week. Sign up here. Nuclear talks will lead nowhere if Washington insists that Tehran stop its uranium enrichment activity, Iranian state media quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi as saying on Monday. That remark dented hopes for an agreement, which would have paved the way for the easing of U.S. sanctions and allowed Iran to raise its oil exports by 300,000 to 400,000 barrels per day, StoneX analyst Alex Hodes said. "That potential increase looks very unlikely now." The U.S. sovereign credit downgrade by Moody's raised questions about the economic health of the world's largest oil consuming nation. Pressure also came from news of slowing industrial output growth and retail sales in China, the top oil importer. "The weaker-than-expected Chinese data is not helping crude oil, although I would describe the setback as modest," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. Additional pressure came from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's comments that President Donald Trump will impose tariffs at the rate he threatened last month on trading partners that do not negotiate in "good faith." Oil prices are likely to remain volatile for the foreseeable future as investors look for updates on the tariffs, U.S.-Iran negotiations, and talks to end the war in Ukraine, said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital in New York. Russian President Vladimir Putin, after a call with Trump on Monday, said Moscow was ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum about a future peace accord and that efforts to end the war were on the right track. An end to the Ukraine war would pave the way for the lifting of some Western sanctions against Moscow's oil sales, potentially boosting global supply and adding more pressure to oil prices, said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/oil-little-changed-investors-eye-iran-us-talks-china-data-2025-05-19/
2025-05-19 06:17
May 19 (Reuters) - Australia's Mineral Resources (MIN.AX) , opens new tab on Monday named outsider Malcolm Bundey as non-executive chair, replacing James McClements after a decade in the role and sending shares of the lithium miner down 9% amid a broader governance shake-up. Bundey is currently the deputy chair at brick manufacturer Brickworks (BKW.AX) , opens new tab and has previously worked as a managing director and executive chief at packaging solutions provider Pact Group (PGH.AX) , opens new tab. Sign up here. The mining services provider plunged 8.8% to A$24.08 in its weakest trading session in nearly five weeks, after tumbling as much as 10.2% earlier in the session, making it one of the benchmark's (.AXJO) , opens new tab worst performers. "I would say his lack of mining experience could be driving the sell-off today, but he is surrounded by a highly mining-experienced board and leadership team," said Grady Wulff, market analyst at Bell Direct. "His experience and role to play comes through the extensive management and leadership skills he has," added Wulff. The billionaire Chris Ellison-founded company has been trying to rebuild its tarnished image following scandals last year tied to its founder, which led to a string of board departures. The Onslow Iron Ore project haulage road in Western Australia will be a priority for the new management due to several incidents which have impacted the performance of the project, Wulff said. In March, the company restarted haulage operations after a week following a road train accident. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australias-mineral-resources-names-malcolm-bundey-next-chair-shares-slide-2025-05-19/
2025-05-19 06:08
LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - A joint venture project developing the first marine fuel facility for liquefied natural gas in the U.S. Gulf Coast has secured final permits and construction is expected to begin later this year, executives involved said on Monday. The global shipping industry has been looking for fuel solutions to cut carbon emissions, with LNG seen as a cleaner alternative. Sign up here. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to expand LNG exports to help reduce Europe's dependency on Russian gas after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine three years ago. U.S. LNG can be used as a marine fuel in U.S. ports and surrounding waters without export licences needed, which is emerging as a separate market that the project is looking to capitalise on. The facility is located on the Texas City Ship Channel and the Galveston LNG Bunker Port (GLBP) company will supply LNG by fuel barge to the expanding fleet of LNG-fuelled vessels in the greater Houston-Galveston region, GLBP said. GLBP is a joint venture between Houston based Pilot LNG and Seapath, a subsidiary of global business group Libra. The total project's overall cost is estimated in the region of at least $300 million, Seapath said. The project received the final authorisations from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard. Initial bunker deliveries are scheduled for the second half of 2027, Seapath said. "After several years of challenging and complex work ... we are now comfortably ahead in the marketplace to be the first dedicated LNG marine fuels supplier in the U.S. Gulf," Seapath's president Josh Lubarsky added in a statement. "We have made a significant financial commitment to this project and, over the course of the last few years, have positioned GLBP to be the foremost clean fuel supply hub in the Galveston Bay/Gulf region." The first phase of production at the 140-acre greenfield development will target 360,000 gallons per day (gpd), which will come online within approximately two years, with the second phase for a full production of 720,000 gpd, approximately eight to 12 months thereafter, Seapath said. The GLBP project is the second dedicated LNG bunkering facility in the U.S. after Florida-headquartered joint venture JAX LNG, which operates a 360,000 gpd plant , opens new tab. GLBP will also support Port Houston - the largest port for waterborne tonnage in the U.S., which has $906 billion in national economic value , opens new tab. Libra Group, which has more than 50 years of maritime experience, also owns Lomar Shipping that operates a fleet of more than 40 vessels. Libra's other maritime subsidiary, Americraft Marine, owns and operates a Jones Act shipyard in Florida - one of the few in the U.S. that is building crew transfer vessels to service the growing offshore wind industry, as well as tugboats and barges. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/first-lng-ship-bunkering-hub-us-gulf-coast-secures-permits-start-work-2025-05-19/
