2025-05-12 13:15

BRASILIA, May 12 (Reuters) - The United States should look more generously at Latin America and South America, Brazil Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Monday, arguing that the world's largest economy has "much to gain" from greater industrial development across the continent. Speaking to local outlet UOL, Haddad said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will not choose between the United States and China, as he believes Brazil must adopt a multilateral approach. Sign up here. Haddad noted that China has been Brazil's top trading partner for years, while the United States remains at the forefront of technological innovation, something Latin America's largest economy also cannot afford to ignore. According to the minister, Lula will set a date to announce a national policy for data centers upon returning from his trip to China, adding that the initiative is strategic for Brazil, including for security reasons. As previously reported by Reuters, Lula is expected to issue an executive order granting tax waivers for technology investments in data centers, pitching Brazil as a green infrastructure hub by leveraging its abundant renewable energy supply. More than 80% of Brazil's electricity comes from renewable sources such as hydro, solar, and wind. "We are importing 60% of our data center services today, which makes no sense," Haddad said. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-should-take-more-generous-view-latin-america-brazil-finance-minister-says-2025-05-12/

2025-05-12 12:51

May 12 (Reuters) - American Bitcoin, a new bitcoin miner backed by U.S. President Donald Trump's two eldest sons, said on Monday it will list on the Nasdaq via an all-stock merger with Gryphon Digital Mining (GRYP.O) , opens new tab. Existing shareholders of American Bitcoin, including co-founder Eric Trump, his brother Donald Trump Jr. and crypto miner Hut 8 (HUT.O) , opens new tab, will retain 98% ownership of the newly formed entity. Sign up here. The move is the latest in a series of crypto ventures by the Trump family, including a meme coin launched in January and World Liberty Financial, a crypto company partly owned by the president. President Trump has pledged to make the U.S. a global leader in the crypto space, and has promised a lighter regulatory touch. However, he has drawn criticism from government ethics experts and political opponents over potential conflicts of interest. Gryphon shares rose more than three-fold to $2.19, while Hut 8 shares gained over 11% to reach $15.45. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025. American Bitcoin, which launched in March, will retain Eric Trump as its chief strategy officer. "Our vision for American Bitcoin is to create the most investable Bitcoin accumulation platform in the market," he said in a statement. Over the past few weeks, several corporations have launched new ventures or struck deals to become entities that accumulate bitcoin on their balance sheets. These ventures let investors gain exposure to the crypto token without directly owning it, an approach pioneered by Strategy (MSTR.O) , opens new tab in 2020, and have soared in popularity among retail traders. "Buying a stock is a very familiar investment to way more people than buying crypto on a platform," Allan Marshall, CEO of e-commerce platform Upexi (UPXI.O) , opens new tab, said in an interview last week. Since unveiling its plan last month to hold Solana as a treasury asset, Upexi's shares have climbed more than four-fold. https://www.reuters.com/business/eric-trump-backed-american-bitcoin-go-public-through-all-stock-merger-2025-05-12/

2025-05-12 12:45

US-UK trade deal removed UK tariffs on US ethanol AB Foods, Ensus say operating environment now impossible Plants will have to close under current situation, they say Would be "irresponsible" to sign new supplier contracts Producers call for urgent government action LONDON, May 12 (Reuters) - Britain's two largest bioethanol producers have warned that last week's U.S.-UK trade deal which removed tariffs on U.S. ethanol entering the UK has triggered an "existential threat" to the industry. Thursday's agreement will see Britain's 19% tariffs on U.S. ethanol fall to zero through a 1.4 billion-litre (370 million gallon) quota - a figure equating to the size of the UK's entire ethanol market today. Sign up here. Producers Associated British Foods (ABF.L) , opens new tab and Ensus, which operate bioethanol facilities at Teesside and Hull in northern England, together account for nearly all of the UK’s bioethanol production capacity. Along with supply chain partners, they support thousands of jobs. Both said the operating environment "is now impossible". "This (tariff) change comes on top of regulations that give overseas producers an unfair advantage in the British market," Paul Kenward, CEO of ABF Sugar, and Grant Pearson, chairman of Ensus, said in a joint statement. "This vital sector is now facing imminent collapse because of the trade deal. In our current situation, we will have to close these plants," they said, going further than a statement AB Foods made on Friday. Bioethanol is produced from crops like wheat and sugar cane and is used to make petrol. Byproducts of its production include animal feed and carbon dioxide, the latter facing severe shortages in 2022. Britain's National Farmers' Union has warned the ethanol measure could mean the loss of a profitable outlet for arable growers which supply the industry. ABF Sugar and Ensus jointly purchase more than two million tonnes of wheat annually. "We are fast approaching the point where we need to decide whether to sign new contracts. In the current conditions, that would be irresponsible," they said, calling for "urgent government action". Britain's concession on ethanol and beef was made in return for the removal of 25% additional tariffs on steel and aluminium, and a quota of 100,000 cars at a duty of 10%. A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said officials from the Department for Business and Trade had met the affected companies, and that "close engagement will continue in the coming weeks and months". https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/british-bioethanol-industry-faces-existential-threat-after-us-trade-deal-2025-05-12/

2025-05-12 12:44

FRANKFURT, May 12 (Reuters) - Bayer (BAYGn.DE) , opens new tab said on Monday it would focus production, research and development of its Crop Science division in Germany on "strategic technologies" to react to competitive pressure. "Manufacturers of generic crop protection products, particularly from Asia, have built significant overcapacity over recent years and are pushing onto the market with persistently low prices, some of which are below the manufacturing costs of crop protection products in Europe," the company said in a statement. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/bayer-restructure-german-agriculture-activities-amid-asian-competition-2025-05-12/

2025-05-12 12:39

BEIJING, May 12 (Reuters) - Rare earth export permits for U.S. customers are likely to have an easier time getting approval from Beijing after Monday's trade war truce, however a complete removal of the restrictions is unlikely, according to two sources in the industry in China. China added seven rare earths and related items to a control list in April as part of its retaliation against U.S. tariffs. The decision means exporters need to apply for licenses before selling outside China. Sign up here. While the decision applied to all countries, the likelihood of U.S. customers receiving export licenses during the trade war looked unlikely. Elon Musk said last month Tesla was in talks with Beijing over licenses for its Optimus robots. The truce announced on Monday could see the Ministry of Commerce expedite approvals, which in theory take 45 days, and even grant licenses for U.S. customers soon, according to two sources in the industry who were granted anonymity given the sensitivity of rare earths in China. "We are expecting to see an acceleration in the issuance of the required export license and exporters with clients in the U.S. might get a license soon," said one of the sources. However, China is unlikely to remove the export controls because they form part of a broader package of measures designed to give Beijing greater control over various critical minerals where it dominates the mining or processing, they added. China, the world's largest supplier of dozens of strategic minerals, began imposing restrictions in 2023 on exports of several minerals vital to sectors ranging from chipmaking and energy transition to defence. The United States, which imports most of its rare earths from China, faces the threat of being cut off the critical minerals vital to defence and other high-tech sectors. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-customers-should-get-chinese-rare-earth-permits-more-easily-after-trade-truce-2025-05-12/

2025-05-12 12:19

US and China agree to temporarily slash reciprocal tariffs Deal boosts dollar, stocks; safe havens slump But uncertainty prevails, focus turning to tax cuts LONDON/SHANGHAI/NEW YORK, May 12 (Reuters) - A truce in the U.S.-China trade war set off a relief rally in stocks on Monday and propelled the dollar higher, but investors fear further negotiations could prove a long slog, as risks of a global economic slowdown persist. After two days of talks with Chinese officials in Geneva, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two sides agreed to a 90-day pause under which tariffs would fall by over 100 percentage points. Sign up here. That leaves U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods at 30% from May 14 to August 12 and Chinese duties on U.S. imports at 10%. The outcome exceeded the hopes of many investors ahead of the talks. The dollar jumped over 1% against a basket of major currencies , as the yen and Swiss franc fell along with other safe-haven assets like gold and government bonds. U.S. stocks soared, with the benchmark S&P 500 index (.SPX) , opens new tab ending up 3.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab jumped more than 4%. U.S. Treasury prices sagged, sending the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield to 4.48%, its highest in about a month, as investors shed safe havens and scooped up risk assets. MSCI's index of global shares (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab rose over 2%. The Cboe Volatility index (.VIX) , opens new tab, an options-based measure of investor anxiety, fell below 20 for the first time since late March. "This is a relief rally that the worst case scenario in tariffs, being tariffs over 100%, is not likely to materialize," said John Praveen, managing director at Paleo Leon in Princeton, New Jersey. "We may not get zero tariffs but the worst case is unlikely. We've pulled back from the brink." The cheer was tempered by caution, given a more permanent trade deal needs to be struck, while higher tariffs overall could still weigh on the global economy. "It's long-term positive plus 90 days of uncertainty," said Charles Wang, chairman of Shenzhen Dragon Pacific Capital Management Co. Michael Metcalfe, head of macro strategy at State Street Global Markets in London, estimated that Monday's U.S.-China deal implied an average effective tariff rate of around 15%. "Given where expectations were, it's a net positive," he said. "You basically reverse the reciprocal tariff announcement, and if you reverse the reciprocal tariff announcement you are back to square one." U.S. President Donald Trump had imposed tariffs of 145% on imports of Chinese goods. China in turn raised tariffs on U.S. goods to 125% and limited exports on some vital rare earth minerals. Those measures had brought nearly $600 billion in two-way trade to a standstill, disrupting supply chains and sparking fears the global economy could crater. Trump's April 2 "Liberation Day" announcement of sweeping tariffs sparked a sharp exit from U.S. assets, including the dollar and Treasuries, mainstays of the global financial system. Heightened uncertainty over U.S. trade policy hurt business and consumer confidence. "It's still hard for companies to make decisions on spending," said Patrick Kaser, portfolio manager at Brandywine Global in Philadelphia. "The market is acting like the risk has gone away, but I don't think that's how a lot of businesses and companies are going to view the situation." SOFTENING STANCE Investors saw signs Trump may be rethinking his trade strategy, as economic indicators have weakened and central bankers have warned of risks of slowing growth and rising inflation. A deal last week with Britain, plus positive noises from Japan, Vietnam and South Korea, helped restore some confidence, as have cooling geopolitical tensions. "As we've seen since the start of April, lower trade uncertainty translates into lower equity market volatility, which in turn eases financial conditions and improves risk sentiment," said Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones in St. Louis. "That's kind of the chain reaction." Rabobank's head of FX strategy Jane Foley said there was more optimism the tariffs will not be as devastating as many had feared, but this did not mean a return to the pre-Trump status quo. "We still have a fair amount of uncertainty about where these tariffs will settle, their impact on world growth and central bank policy," she said. State Street's Metcalfe said concerns could turn from trade to other issues. For instance, many investors wonder what Trump's planned tax cuts will mean for U.S. debt levels, especially as revenues from tariffs drop. The U.S.-China trade deal "doesn't mean the policy uncertainty has gone away, it's moved on to a new area," he said. The Treasury market's response appeared at odds with the Trump administration's goal of bringing down yields on government debt, which provide benchmarks for a wide range of borrowing costs. "Bessent's goal of getting long-term rates down is now in tatters,” said Dean Smith, chief strategist at FolioBeyond in New York. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/investors-cheer-us-china-tariff-truce-cautious-over-final-deal-2025-05-12/