2025-04-25 10:14

NAIROBI, April 25 (Reuters) - Kenya's shilling was flat against the dollar on Friday, data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) showed. At 0932 GMT, the shilling was trading at 129.10/50 per dollar, the same as the close of Thursday's session, according to LSEG data. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/kenyan-shilling-flat-versus-dollar-lseg-data-shows-2025-04-25/

2025-04-25 10:09

MUMBAI, April 25 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee ended weaker in a volatile session on Friday as investors stayed cautious amid fears of an escalation in tensions with Pakistan after a militant attack in Kashmir earlier this week. The rupee ended 0.2% lower against the U.S. dollar at 85.45 compared with its previous close of 85.26. It moved between 85.09 and 85.6550 on Friday. Sign up here. The local unit dropped about 0.1% week-on-week. The rupee's "inability" to rise above its key psychological level of 85 and month-end dollar payments "exacerbated" its downward move, a trader with a private bank said. Indian stock markets dropped on Friday, significantly underperforming other Asian equity indexes on growing fears of further tensions with neighbouring Pakistan. The nuclear-armed nations have unleashed a raft of measures against each other, with India keeping a critical river water-sharing treaty in abeyance and Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines, among other steps. There have been calls for and fears that India could conduct a military strike in Pakistani territory as it did in 2019. The Indian army chief is expected to review security arrangements in Kashmir on Friday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that New Delhi will pursue Kashmir attackers to "the ends of the earth". "The forex market is perplexed with the increased geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan, which is why there was a bout of dollar buying," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury at Finrex Treasury Advisors. USD/INR forward premiums and implied volatility rose on concerns over brewing tensions between the countries. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rupee-falls-amid-rising-tensions-with-pakistan-after-kashmir-attack-2025-04-25/

2025-04-25 07:53

COLOMBO, April 25 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka will start work next month on plans to develop an energy hub with India and the United Arab Emirates, the energy minister said on Friday, as the nation looks to leverage its strategic location to cement a recovery from a financial crisis. The trio signed a deal to create the hub during a visit this month by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the first global leader to visit the island since President Anura Kumara Dissanayake took office last September. Sign up here. Dissanayake won an election with pledges of stability after the worst financial crisis in decades three years ago triggered runaway inflation, sent the local rupee into free-fall and forced the country to default on $25 billion of debt. The hub in the eastern harbour city of Trincomalee will involve the construction of a multi-product pipeline as well as bunkering facilities and potentially a refinery. It will also include development of a World War II-era storage tank farm partly owned by the Sri Lankan subsidiary of Indian Oil (IOC.NS) , opens new tab. Representatives from state-run Ceylon Petroleum, Indian Oil and AD Ports (ADPORTS.AD) , opens new tab will meet in Sri Lanka in late May to start discussions on a detailed business plan for the hub, said Energy Ministry Secretary Udayanga Hemapala. "A joint project monitoring committee has been set up to oversee the development of the business plan and eventually finalise detailed proposals," Hemapala told Reuters. President Dissanayake also discussed energy cooperation in Colombo this week with UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president's office said. Chinese state energy firm Sinopec (600028.SS) , opens new tab has signed a deal to build a $3.2 billion oil refinery in Sri Lanka's southern port city of Hambantota. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/sri-lanka-begin-talks-with-india-uae-new-energy-hub-2025-04-25/

2025-04-25 07:33

Africa's oldest national park threatened by war, deforestation Cocoa farming part of scheme to discourage poaching Handcrafted chocolate gorillas to be sold across Europe BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo, April 25 (Reuters) - Threatened by armed conflict, volcanic activity and rampant deforestation, Africa's oldest national park is turning to a new product to raise its profile and boost conservation efforts: chocolate gorillas. Virunga National Park in war-ravaged eastern Congo is marking its 100th anniversary this month by producing 25,000 handcrafted treats at a nearby chocolate factory to be sold in Europe, including Belgium, Congo's former colonial power. Sign up here. Spanning more than 3,000 square miles, Virunga is home to many of the world's last mountain gorillas, yet much of the park is under rebel control and fighting has accelerated forest loss. M23 rebels have seized eastern Congo's two largest cities since January in an unprecedented advance that has risked igniting an all-out regional war. Cocoa for the chocolate gorillas comes from farms created at the periphery of the park, part of a push to promote agricultural and industrial activities in the area so residents do not turn to logging and poaching. The chocolate factory is located five kilometres (3.1 miles) outside the park. Profits from sales of the chocolates are meant to be reinvested in nearby communities. Clarisse Kyakimwa has been working her small cocoa farm for three years. "This cocoa has several benefits. It helps me send my children to school, feed them, pay my hospital bills," she said. Buyers take her crop to the Virunga factory, but she has not seen the finished product: a glistening chocolate rendering of a full-grown gorilla with its arms on the shoulders of one of its young. "They say this chocolate is taken abroad... I've never seen this chocolate, since we're not used to eating it," Kyakimwa said. SYMBOL OF 'RESILIENCE' Instability has been a problem at Virunga since well before M23's latest advance. "With the insecurity we're seeing in the region, it's sometimes difficult to access the raw material, which is cocoa," said Roger Marora, master chocolatier and a native of North Kivu province. The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to M23. Rwanda denies backing M23 and says its military has acted in self-defence against Congo's army and a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide. Mediation efforts by various African leaders as well as Qatar have not yet yielded a ceasefire. "The chocolate gorillas symbolise the park's resilience in the face of multiple threats," said Virunga National Park Director Emmanuel de Merode. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/war-hit-congo-park-turns-chocolate-gorillas-conservation-push-2025-04-25/

2025-04-25 07:26

BERN, April 24 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency campaigners have stepped up calls for the Swiss National Bank to buy bitcoin, saying the global economic turmoil triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs made it more important for the central bank to diversify its reserves. Supporters launched a referendum campaign in December to change the Swiss constitution to require the SNB holds bitcoin in its reserves alongside gold. Sign up here. "Holding bitcoin makes more sense as the world shifts towards a multipolar order, where the dollar and the euro are weakening," said campaigner Luzius Meisser, a board member of cryptocurrency broker Bitcoin Suisse. Buying bitcoin would free the SNB from political influence on the value of its foreign currency holdings, three-quarters of which are in dollars and euros, said Meisser, who is due to speak at the SNB annual general meeting in Bern on Friday. "Politicians eventually give in to the temptation of printing money to fund their plans, but bitcoin is a currency that cannot be inflated through deficit spending," he said. Switzerland has emerged as a hub for blockchain and cryptocurrency innovation, with projects such as Ethereum founded in the town of Zug – dubbed "Crypto Valley". Currently, 11% of the Swiss population has invested in crypto assets, according to a study by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. But the SNB remains sceptical, citing large price swings, liquidity concerns and security risks. It does not own bitcoin. "Cryptocurrencies are essentially software. And we all know that software can often have bugs and other vulnerabilities," SNB Chairman Martin Schlegel told Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger in March. Yves Bennaim, an organiser of the Bitcoin Initiative, said the technology behind bitcoin was one of the most reliable and secure IT systems ever created, and was constantly improving. Although both Bennaim and Meisser hold bitcoin, they said they were not advocating for it to boost their personal investments. With a market capitalisation of nearly $2 trillion, the global bitcoin market is the most liquid and stable among digital assets, Bennaim said, with billions of dollars worth traded every day. "We are not saying - go all in with bitcoin, but if you have nearly 1 trillion francs in reserves, like the SNB does, then it makes sense to have 1–2% of that in an asset that is increasing in value, becoming more secure, and that everyone wants to own." https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/cryptocurrency-campaigners-call-swiss-central-bank-hold-bitcoin-2025-04-24/

2025-04-25 07:25

April 25 (Reuters) - Donald Trump is nearing the 100-day mark of his second presidency and investors are no closer to figuring out how to trade his policies, nor do central bankers have much clarity on how their economies may be affected. Additionally, earnings season is ramping up, there's crucial U.S. jobs data, a Canadian election and a litmus test for the health of the euro zone. Sign up here. Here's a look at the week ahead from Kevin Buckland in Tokyo, Lewis Krauskopf in New York and Dhara Ranasinghe, Naomi Rovnick and Amanda Cooper in London. 1/ 100 DAYS Trump marks 100 days in office on April 30, facing a multitude of challenges, many of his own making. Trump's on-off tariffs have sent shockwaves through financial markets, which still have no real way of pricing in the possible economic hits. His public meltdown with Volodymyr Zelenskiy shocked the Ukrainian President's allies in Europe, who, excluded from ceasefire talks with Russia, are now rearming at the fastest pace in decades. A heavy-handed approach towards migrants and tourists has slashed visitor arrivals to the United States. And Trump's jibes about making Canada the 51st U.S. state have sparked an anti-U.S. backlash there. Old alliances lie in tatters, market sentiment is fragile and uncertainty rife. Investors are keen for a bit more visibility in Trump's next 100 days. 2/ EARNINGS, THEN JOBS Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab, Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab and Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab deliver quarterly results in the coming week, which will also feature some big economic indicators. After two years of massive gains, these stocks and the rest of the "Magnificent Seven" megacap companies - Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab, Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab and Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab - are off to a rough start in 2025, weighing on equity markets. Over one-fifth of the S&P 500 have reported results and overall earnings are expected to have grown 8.4% in the first quarter. But the focus is firmly on corporate outlooks, given the uncertain trade backdrop. April employment data on May 2 and inflation figures a day earlier may offer some steer on how the economy is doing. Forecasts are for a 130,000 rise in the number of workers on non-farm payrolls after March's 228,000 increase. 3/ RELATIVELY RELAXED RHETORIC Tensions between the U.S. and China seem to be thawing somewhat with Beijing considering some exemptions for its 125% tariffs on U.S. imports. A list of 131 categories of products eligible for exemptions was circulating widely on social media and among businesses and trade groups on Friday. This comes after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday indicated the U.S. was willing to de-escalate. It also doesn't seem as if Bessent will be aggressively pressuring Tokyo for a stronger yen, in what can only be welcome news to the Bank of Japan, which meets on May 1. Bessent said he has no numbers in mind for the exchange rate as he prepared to meet his Japanese counterpart Katsunobu Kato for talks in Washington. Only a week earlier, Trump accused Japan of weakening the yen to help exporters. 4/ O CANADA Canadians head to the polls on Monday and Prime Minister Mark Carney wants a strong mandate to tackle Trump. Carney believes his southern neighbour poses a huge threat because of his tariffs and talk of annexation, so the answer is to reduce reliance on the United States and restructure the economy. Voters appear to agree. Carney's Liberal party has rebounded to a 5-point lead over the opposition Conservatives, having trailed by 24 points in January. Markets anticipate this outcome. Canada's dollar , up from February's 22-year low, shouldn't be too impacted. That said, the road ahead is bumpy. The IMF has slashed Canadian growth forecasts and Liberal plans to ramp up spending to boost growth suggest a higher-than-anticipated budget deficit. The stakes for Carney, who earned a reputation as the "unreliable boyfriend" during his tenor as Bank of England chief, are high. 5/ HAVENS OF CHOICE With the euro and euro zone bonds now functioning as havens for investors fleeing U.S. tariff turmoil, their reaction to key data next week will show if these assets have completely decoupled from the bloc's economy. Flash euro zone inflation data on May 2 may show price growth has continued to ease towards the European Central Bank's 2% target and strengthen the case for further rate cuts. HCOB's final purchasing managers index for European manufacturers, due the same day, could also confirm widespread fears that confidence is draining out of the regional supply chain. However, few analysts expect weak data to shake the euro. Bank of America reckons Germany's fiscal splurge will keep it strong, while Barclays expects the common currency to stick around $1.15 unless White House policy shocks abate. https://www.reuters.com/business/take-five/global-markets-themes-graphic-2025-04-25/