2025-04-26 00:28

WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged Asian Development Bank President Masato Kanda to take concrete steps towards ending loans to China, the Treasury said on Friday. During a bilateral meeting, Bessent also emphasized the need for an "all-of-the-above energy strategy" and exchanged views with Kanda on financing civilian nuclear energy. Sign up here. "Secretary Bessent urged President Kanda to take concrete steps towards putting China on a clear path to graduation from ADB borrowing and emphasized the value of the Bank's work on procurement practices based on best value," the Treasury said in a statement. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-treasurys-bessent-urges-asian-development-bank-move-towards-ending-china-2025-04-26/

2025-04-25 23:33

Angola based its 2025 budget on oil price of $70 per barrel De Sousa says IMF loan more likely, but final decision not made Finance ministry in talks with JPMorgan on margin calls WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - A slide in crude oil prices is increasing the likelihood that Angola will need an International Monetary Fund loan, Finance Minister Vera Daves de Sousa told Reuters, adding the government is running stress tests to gauge the impact on its finances. Sub-Saharan Africa's second-biggest crude oil exporter has based its 2025 budget on an oil price of $70 per barrel, but Brent oil futures briefly traded below $60, the lowest level in four years, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on April 2. The contract settled at $66.91 on Friday. Sign up here. "We are rolling out stress test scenarios," Daves de Sousa said in an interview on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington on Friday. While a smaller decline in oil prices could trigger a freeze in some spending, a drop to say $45 would likely require a supplementary budget, de Sousa said. The government is working on measures to mitigate the impact of lower oil prices on the revenue side, make tax administration more efficient, and boost enforcement of property taxes, she said. BOND PRICE DECLINES The oil price drop and recent turmoil in fixed-income markets, especially U.S. Treasuries, has been felt keenly by many smaller, riskier emerging economies - including Angola, which has suffered a sharp drop in its international bonds. Like other frontier issuers, Angola's dollar bonds were pummelled as investors sold off risky assets in the wake of U.S. Trump's sweeping trade tariffs. The 2049 maturity is trading with a yield of 13%, compared with 12% before the U.S. tariffs. Bond yields move inversely to prices. On Monday, the bond was quoted at 70.87 U.S. cents on the dollar. A level below 70 usually signifies that a country could struggle to borrow. The bonds had rallied last week on wider market hopes of a resolution to the tariffs stand-off. Angola had to post $200 million earlier this month to JPMorgan as margin on its $1 billion total return swap - a loan issued by the lender in December and backed by the country's dollar bonds. JPMorgan did not respond immediately to a request for comment. De Sousa said she was in talks with JPMorgan on measures that could be implemented to avoid another margin call. Ratings agencies and investors have not expressed concerns about the payment, she said. "There are no negative connotations ... they were positive, surprised that we were able to mobilize such an amount of money so fast," she said, adding that the government was studying the option of requesting a financing programme from the IMF. Asked about Chinese loans backed by oil, de Sousa said the government had to pay back another $8 billion, which it expected to be able to do by 2028 rather than 2030-2031, as previously anticipated. Angola also is borrowing more money from China, mostly from China's EXIM bank, which was not backed by collateral but concessional and earmarked for specific projects such as boosting internet capabilities in rural areas or improving education. De Sousa said Angola would like to tap international capital markets again, but is not planning to do so at this time. "We want to go to the market, but the way they are performing now - this is not the moment. We will continue to look at it and make sure that we are ready if the moment comes." De Sousa also said Trump administration officials had reiterated in meetings in Washington their commitment to funding the Lobito rail corridor, without specifying the amount. The project aims to help transport critical minerals from the central African copperbelt to the West. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/angolas-finance-minister-says-country-stress-testing-lower-oil-prices-imf-2025-04-25/

2025-04-25 21:20

NEW YORK, April 25 (Reuters) - Nike (NKE.N) , opens new tab was sued on Friday by purchasers of Nike-themed non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other cryptocurrency assets who said they suffered significant losses when the athletic wear company abruptly closed the business that created those assets. In a proposed class action filed in Brooklyn, New York federal court, purchasers led by Australian resident Jagdeep Cheema said the sudden closure in December of Nike's RTFKT unit caused demand for their NFTs to dry up. Sign up here. They said they would never have bought the NFTs at the prices they did, or at all, had they known the tokens were unregistered securities, and that Nike would "cause the rug to be pulled out from under them." Nike, based in Beaverton, Oregon, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Phillip Kim, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, declined to comment. The legal status of NFTs is unsettled, and there has been much litigation over whether they are securities under federal law. Friday's lawsuit sought unspecified damages of more than $5 million for alleged violations of New York, California, Florida and Oregon consumer protection laws. Nike bought RTFKT, pronounced "artifact," in December 2021, saying the fashion brand was leveraging "cutting edge innovation to deliver next generation collectibles that merge culture and gaming." It announced , opens new tab RTFKT's since-completed winddown on December 2, 2024, while projecting that the innovation RTFKT represented would live on through the "countless creators and projects" it inspired. The case is Cheema v Nike Inc, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 25-02305. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/nike-sued-over-closure-crypto-business-2025-04-25/

2025-04-25 21:00

April 25 (Reuters) - There is a much higher risk of stagflation than recession in the U.S. economy over the next year, while the asset class most expected to outperform in 2025 is cash, according to the results of a JPMorgan survey published on Friday. The trade war started by the U.S. administration of Donald Trump is seen by the majority as the policy with the most negative impact on the world's largest economy. Sign up here. Three in five respondents believe U.S. economic growth will stall and inflation will remain above the 2% Federal Reserve target, with one-in-five respondents expecting inflation above 3.5%. There is also consensus on the weakness of the U.S. dollar, with a majority expecting the euro at or above $1.11 to end the year, at least an 8% decrease for the U.S. currency this year. "Our meetings were noteworthy for the differences in views between US investors compared to global investors on the consequences and market implications" of the regime change in the United States, JPMorgan said. Cash is expected to remain expensive as yields on the U.S. 10-year note are not seen declining much from current levels. Over half of respondents believe the benchmark yield will be at or above 4.25% by the end of 2025. Almost half of the respondents expect Brent oil prices to stabilize not far from the current price of $66 per barrel, while 3 in 10 foresee prices dropping to or below $60. At 13%, more investors bet that emerging market equities will outperform other asset classes than the 9% who think developed stocks will. Fifty-seven percent of respondents expecting Wall Street stocks to be the asset class with the largest outflows this year. ESG investing was out of favor with 30% committed to maintaining their strategies while 42% showed no interest. JPMorgan's survey was conducted on April 1-24 and 495 investors responded, according to the bank. https://www.reuters.com/business/global-markets-survey-2025-04-25/

2025-04-25 20:54

Subcontractors face liquidation, work stoppages due to dispute Highlights uncertainty over Barrick's Loulo-Gounkoto operations Hundreds of jobs at stake Some Barrick employees being relocated to DRC DAKAR, April 25 (Reuters) - At least four subcontractors employing several hundred people at Barrick Gold's (ABX.TO) , opens new tab complex in Mali are laying off staff following a two-year dispute between the Canadian miner and the state, according to documents seen by Reuters and people familiar with the matter. Some of the subcontractors said they have not received any payments from Barrick for months. The layoffs indicate that the dispute between the world's No. 2 gold producer and the West African nation is not expected to end anytime soon. Sign up here. Operations at Barrick's Loulo-Gounkoto complex, a major source of gold production for the Toronto-based company and the largest mining operation in Mali, have been suspended since January after the government seized around 3 metric tons of gold stock from it, accusing the company of not fulfilling its tax obligations. Mali's government, which took power after coups in 2020 and 2021 and introduced a new mining code in 2023, had been blocking the company's gold exports since early November. Boart Longyear's local subsidiary, BLY Mali, said in a letter dated Friday that it was liquidating the company following the suspension of its contract with Barrick on January 25, which it said "placed BLY in an irremediably compromised situation." It employed 98 people at the complex as of March, according to a document seen by Reuters. ETASI, a heavy equipment rental company, said in a letter dated Wednesday and seen by Reuters on Friday that it would suspend all personnel. It employed 68 people as of last month, according to the same internal document. A work-placement firm representing ATC, a metal construction company, sent letters to employees notifying them that they were being laid off following the expiry of a three-month temporary work stoppage that began earlier this year, according to a source who shared one of the letters, dated Tuesday and seen by Reuters on Friday. ATC employed 45 people at the mining complex as of January but only four as of March, according to the internal document. Some of the employee figures could be higher. MAXAM, a civil explosives subcontractor for the Loulo-Gounkoto complex, will announce a temporary work stoppage for most of its employees in Mali as soon as Saturday, according to a person familiar with the matter and a letter seen by Reuters. But while the internal document lists the subcontractor as having 69 employees at the site as of March, the source said the real figure is nearly double that - over 120 - because its employees work in rotations. eneva-based subcontractor SGS (SGSN.S) , opens new tab , meanwhile, was granted a three-month temporary work suspension beginning February 1 and due to expire next week, according to a government document seen by Reuters on Friday. It is unclear what steps will be taken after its expiry. Spokespeople for BLY, ETASI, ATC, SGS and MAXAM did not immediately respond to requests for comment, nor did spokespeople for Barrick Gold and Mali's mines ministry. ESCALATION Last week, Malian authorities shut Barrick's office in the capital Bamako over the alleged non-payment of taxes, an escalation of the dispute. Barrick employees have continued to receive their salaries despite the office closure and suspension of operations at the mining complex, according to a person familiar with the matter. Nearly 40 Malian Barrick staff from the Loulo-Gounkoto complex are being at least temporarily transferred to Barrick's Kibali mine in Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the same person, who said the transfers are part of a first wave but that 100 Malian staff in total have been identified for relocation. Barrick in February signed an agreement to end the dispute, but the Malian government has yet to approve or execute it. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/barrick-gold-contractors-mali-lay-off-staff-amid-government-dispute-documents-2025-04-25/

2025-04-25 20:37

CAIRO, April 25 (Reuters) - Iraq will ship 220,000 tons of wheat to Syria as "a gift", Syrian media said on Friday, citing the director of the General Organization for Grains, adding that the first batch has already arrived in Syria's Deir el-Zor. Syria had bought about 100,000 tons of wheat in its previous tender reported on March 25, which was believed to be the first large purchase tender since the change of power in Syria late last year. Sign up here. Syrian officials of the new Islamist-led government say that while imports of wheat and other basics are not subject to U.S. and U.N. sanctions, challenges in securing financing for trade deals have deterred global suppliers from selling to Syria. Russia and Iran, both major backers of former President Bashar al-Assad who was ousted by rebels in December, previously provided most of Syria's wheat and oil products, but stopped after the rebels triumphed and Assad fled to Moscow. A ship carrying wheat has arrived in Syria's Latakia port, the first delivery of its kind since Assad was ousted by rebels, the government said on Sunday. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iraq-transport-220000-tonnes-wheat-syria-gift-syrian-state-media-says-2025-04-25/