2025-05-07 15:23

MEXICO CITY, May 7 (Reuters) - There is still room for Mexico's central bank to lower its benchmark interest rate as the country's economy slows, deputy governor Jonathan Heath said in a podcast with lender Banorte published on Wednesday. Last month, the Bank of Mexico cut its interest rate 50 basis points to 9% in a unanimous decision, while its board also warned of economic uncertainty linked to trade tensions worldwide. Sign up here. In all scenarios, the central bank expected a slowdown in Mexico's economy, as well as in the United States, Heath said. Heath said that a stagnant economy leads to lower inflationary pressures, giving the bank room to take a less restrictive monetary stance. Several indicators such as industrial production and business confidence have already shown deterioration, he said. In the face of risks linked to tariffs imposed by the U.S., "we're still taking a restrictive monetary stance, but less and less restrictive than previously expected," Heath said. That uncertainty likely will not translate into a major acceleration of inflation in Mexico, he added. In the second half of the year, however, the central bank's decisions will require more caution, Heath said. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-central-bank-still-has-room-lower-benchmark-rate-heath-says-2025-05-07/

2025-05-07 14:02

COPENHAGEN/LONDON, May 7 (Reuters) - Obesity drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) , opens new tab said on Wednesday it would drop gender representation requirements for senior leadership positions in its U.S. business following executive orders by President Donald Trump to stop diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. "While Novo Nordisk maintains our global aspiration of a minimum 45% representation for each gender by the end of 2025, Novo Nordisk's operations in the U.S. will no longer participate in this global initiative due to evolving legal requirements," the company said in its first-quarter earnings statement. Sign up here. Following Trump taking office in January and up to Wednesday, the Danish company had, when asked, affirmed it would not change its stance on the importance of a diverse workforce. With the changed stance for its U.S. business, Novo joins peer European drugmakers who have acted to avoid potential penalties from recent U.S. executive orders. In March, Swiss drugmaker Roche abandoned global diverse workforce targets and compatriot Novartis ended its use of diverse panels for U.S. hiring. In February, GSK announced it will no longer set diversity targets. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/society-equity/drugmaker-novo-nordisk-drops-gender-representation-requirements-us-2025-05-07/

2025-05-07 13:55

SINGAPORE, May 7 (Reuters) - The European Commission will announce on Thursday details of its next countermeasures against U.S. tariffs should negotiations with Washington fail, European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said on Wednesday. "Tomorrow we will announce next preparatory steps, both in the area of possible rebalancing measures, and also in the areas important for the further discussions," Sefcovic told a news conference in Singapore after the signing of a digital trade agreement with the Southeast Asian country. Sign up here. He added that he will work closely with member states and industries to prepare for every scenario. "I would like to make it very clear that negotiations clearly come first, but not at any cost," he said. The new measures would represent the EU's response to U.S. import tariffs on cars and so-called reciprocal tariffs on most other goods. The 27-nation bloc had in April approved duties mostly of 25% on U.S. imports amounting to 21 billion euros ($23 billion), including maize, wheat, motorcycles and clothing. The duties have been paused until July, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 90-day suspension of reciprocal tariffs. The EU faces 25% U.S. import tariffs on its steel, aluminium and cars. It also faces reciprocal tariffs of 10% for almost all other goods, a levy that could rise to 20% after the 90-day pause expires on July 8. Sefcovic previously said U.S. tariffs now covered 70% of EU goods trade to the United States and could rise to 97% after further U.S. investigations into pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and other products. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/eu-set-out-next-countermeasures-against-us-tariffs-thursday-2025-05-07/

2025-05-07 13:24

SANTIAGO, May 7 (Reuters) - Chile's state-owned miner Codelco (COBRE.UL), the world's largest copper producer, said on Wednesday it signed a credit agreement for $500 million through Spanish lender Santander (SAN.MC) , opens new tab and with a guarantee from Italian state credit insurance agency SACE. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/chiles-codelco-signs-500-million-insurer-backed-credit-agreement-2025-05-07/

2025-05-07 12:38

May 7 (Reuters) - Coal India (COAL.NS) , opens new tab, which produces over 75% of the country's coal, reported a drop in fourth-quarter revenue on Wednesday, hurt by subdued power demand. The company, which mainly produces thermal coal for power generation and industries, said consolidated revenue from operations fell 1% to 378.25 billion rupees ($4.47 billion) in the quarter ended March 31. Sign up here. India's coal demand remained soft from January through March as a slowdown in manufacturing activity led to muted power demand. The company's coal production declined 2% in the quarter, while offtake, or the volume of coal dispatched from its mines, was nearly flat. However, its profit rose 12% to 96.04 billion rupees due to a 75% jump in income from interest on an income tax refund and as expenses were flat. The company's average realisation from e-auction sales rose about 52 rupees per ton to 2,614.94 rupees, which helped lift overall average price realisation of coal supplied by four rupees. Coal India generates about 10% of its sales through e-auctions at rates close to market prices, while the rest is sold to domestic buyers under long-term contracts. The company also reported a final dividend of 5.15 rupees per share. ($1 = 84.6950 Indian rupees) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/coal-india-posts-lower-quarterly-revenue-power-demand-dwindles-2025-05-07/

2025-05-07 12:36

ABIDJAN, May 7 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast, the world's biggest cashew grower, has raised its projected output to 1.3 million metric tons from 1.15 million tons even as potential U.S. tariffs and a falling dollar drag down exports, the head of the sector regulator told Reuters. The production increase stems in part from curbs on the smuggling of raw cashews to neighbouring Ghana and Burkina Faso, Mamadou Berte of the Cotton and Cashew Council (CCA) said. Sign up here. At the same time, Vietnamese buyers have drastically cut purchases of Ivorian raw cashews for processing in response to U.S. tariffs, Berte said. Vietnam usually buys 80% of Ivory Coast's cashew production, of which 60% is re-exported to the United States. But Vietnamese buyers have only purchased 200,000 tons of raw cashews for this year, compared with 700,000 to 800,000 tons for last year, Berte said. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration announced sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries, including Ivory Coast, which faced a tariff of 21%, the highest in West Africa. Trump then paused the tariffs for 90 days for negotiations, while retaining an across-the-board levy of 10%. Vietnam is facing a 46% tariff if a reduction cannot be agreed before a U.S. moratorium expires in July. "We are in total loss if we continue," said the manager of a Vietnamese cashew company. The drop in the U.S. dollar this year has also complicated contract execution and lowered prices for local producers, as contracts were arranged at the higher rate, Berte said. Prices have dropped to as low as 200 CFA francs ($0.35) per kilogram from 425 CFA francs ($0.73) earlier in the year, Berte said, likely due to the threatened U.S. tariffs and a weakening dollar affecting exports and profitability. Eight buyers and five exporters, including Vietnamese and Indians, confirmed to Reuters the drop in price. The buyers said there were about 200,000 tons of raw cashew nuts from Ivorian producers they could not purchase, warning that local producers would need to store them or sell them locally to avoid waste. Berte said local buyers had bought more than 650,000 tons of raw cashew nuts so far this year compared to 300,000 tons last year. "Faced with this situation of poor sales, the CCA is considering support mechanisms for the total purchase of the residual stock," he said. ($1 = 575.0000 CFA francs) https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ivory-coast-raises-projected-cashew-output-threatened-tariffs-hit-exports-2025-05-07/