2025-11-17 21:19

FRANKFURT, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Activist fund Enkraft has urged Germany's ABO Energy to ensure all shareholders can benefit from a sales process started by the renewable firm, a letter to management showed, concerned smaller investors could lose out in case of a change of control. In late September, ABO Energy (AB9.DE) , opens new tab said it had mandated private bank Metzler to advise it on a deal that could see the firm's founders -- whose families jointly hold 52% -- cede control to an outside investor. Sign up here. While German takeover law stipulates that suitors must make a full takeover bid once they cross the 30% ownership threshold those rules do not apply to the less regulated open market, in which ABO Energy is listed. A spokesperson for ABO Energy, which is currently valued at around 315 million euros ($365 million), said management would seek to achieve a transaction that is equally fair for all shareholders. Enkraft, which owns more than 4% of ABO Energy, said management was still obliged to treat all shareholders fairly in the sales process and give them the same opportunity to sell their stock if a bidder emerges. In a letter dated November 5 that was seen by Reuters, Enkraft said management was required to act in the interest of all shareholders if it was "involved in preparing the acquisition, for example by providing non-public information as part of due diligence or by directly appointing an advisory bank for the benefit of a few shareholders". Enkraft has repeatedly criticised the firm for strategic decisions - most notably a recent change in its legal form that it said had hurt its access to capital markets. ($1 = 0.8623 euros) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/activist-fund-enkraft-urges-abo-energy-draw-up-fair-ma-process-letter-shows-2025-11-17/

2025-11-17 21:11

Environmental group accused Tyson of misleading consumers Tyson had claimed net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 Company says it made no admission of wrongdoing CHICAGO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Tyson Foods (TSN.N) , opens new tab has agreed to stop saying it will reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and marketing beef as climate friendly to settle a lawsuit that accused the U.S. meat company of misleading consumers with the claims, the nonprofit Environmental Working Group said on Monday. Companies have faced a string of cases over allegations of "greenwashing," in which they try to present an environmentally responsible image to the public. Sign up here. Examples of misleading advertising cited in the Environmental Working Group's lawsuit included a Tyson brand called Brazen Beef. The company had said this was the first beef product to receive U.S. Department of Agriculture approval for a "climate-friendly" claim by showing a 10% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions during the production process, compared to other beef. The 2024 lawsuit alleged that Tyson gave consumers the misleading impression that available Tyson beef products were "climate-smart" and had not presented a rigorous plan for reaching its net-zero goals. Tyson will not repeat the claims or introduce new ones for five years unless they are verified by a mutually agreed upon expert, according to a settlement agreement , opens new tab provided by Environmental Working Group. "This settlement reinforces the principle that consumers deserve honesty and accountability from the corporations shaping our food system," said Caroline Leary, the group's general counsel and chief operating officer. "The decision to settle was made solely to avoid the expense and distraction of ongoing litigation and does not represent any admission of wrongdoing by Tyson Foods," a company spokesperson said. The agreement said Tyson denied the group's allegations and also said the company invested more than $65 million to reduce greenhouse gas emissions relating to its beef products. This month, New York state Attorney General Letitia James said meatpacker JBS USA agreed , opens new tab to pay $1.1 million to settle allegations it misled the public with a pledge to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. In October, a French court said oil major TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab misled consumers in a 2021 ad campaign claiming it could become carbon neutral by 2050. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/tyson-foods-halt-carbon-emissions-claims-environmental-group-says-2025-11-17/

2025-11-17 21:02

Saudi leader wants security guarantees AI, civilian nuclear energy also top Saudi priorities Trump confirms plans to approve sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudis Trump focused on Saudi pledge to invest $600 billion in US RIYADH/WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - A visit by Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler to the White House for talks on Tuesday with U.S. President Donald Trump aims to deepen decades-old cooperation on oil and security while broadening ties in commerce, technology and potentially even nuclear energy. It will be the first trip by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the U.S. since the 2018 killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul, which caused a global uproar. U.S. intelligence concluded that MBS approved the capture or killing of Khashoggi, a prominent critic. Sign up here. The crown prince, widely known by his initials MBS, denied ordering the operation but acknowledged responsibility as the kingdom's de facto ruler. More than seven years later, the world's largest economy and the world's top oil producer want to move forward. Trump is seeking to cash in on a $600 billion Saudi investment pledge made during Trump's visit to the kingdom in May. He steered clear of mentioning human rights concerns during that trip and is expected to do so again. The Saudi leader is seeking security guarantees amid regional turmoil and wants access to artificial intelligence technology and progress toward a deal on a civilian nuclear programme. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump confirmed that he plans to approve the sale to Saudi Arabia of advanced U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets that the kingdom has sought. "I will say that we will be doing that," he said in response to a question. Such a sale would mark a significant policy shift, potentially altering the military balance in the Middle East and testing Washington's definition of the longtime commitment to maintain what the U.S. had termed Israel's "qualitative military edge" over its neighbors. "There is a page that has been turned" on Khashoggi's killing, said Aziz Alghashian, Saudi-based lecturer of international relations at Naif Arab University for Security Sciences. FOCUS ON DEFENCE DEAL The United States and Saudi Arabia have long had an arrangement for the kingdom to sell oil at favourable prices and for the superpower to provide security in exchange. That equation was shaken by Washington's failure to act when Iran struck oil installations in the kingdom in 2019. Concerns resurfaced in September, when Israel struck Doha, Qatar, in an attack it said targeted members of Palestinian militant group Hamas. In the aftermath, Trump signed a defence pact with Qatar via executive order. Many analysts, diplomats and regional officials believe the Saudis will get something similar. Saudi Arabia has sought a defence pact ratified by the U.S. Congress in recent negotiations. But Washington has made that contingent on the kingdom normalizing ties with Israel. Riyadh has in turn linked that to a commitment from Israel's government, the most right-wing in its history, to Palestinian statehood. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who agreed to a Trump-brokered ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza last month after two years of war, on Sunday reaffirmed his staunch opposition to Palestinian independence. A Trump executive order on defence similar to the pact with Qatar would fall short of the defence agreement the Saudis have sought. But Alghashian said it would "be a step on the way, part of the process, not the end of the process." A Western diplomat based in the Gulf summed up the dynamic: "Trump wants normalization and Saudi wants a full defence pact, but the circumstances don't allow. In the end, both sides will likely get less than they want. That's diplomacy." Dennis Ross, a former Middle East negotiator for Democratic and Republican administrations now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said he expects an executive order that would call for the U.S. and the Saudis "to immediately consult on what to do in response to the threat" while not committing Washington to actively come to the defence of Riyadh. "That could run the gamut of providing a range of different assistance, replacing arms, deploying defensive missile batteries like THAAD or Patriot, deploying naval forces with a Marine unit - to actively taking part in the combat in an offensive not only defensive manner," he said. DEALS KEY AMID REGIONAL RIVALRY Riyadh has also been pressing for deals in nuclear energy and artificial intelligence under its ambitious Vision 2030 plan to diversify its economy and strengthen its position relative to regional rivals. Securing approval to acquire advanced computer chips would be critical to the kingdom's plans to become a central node in global AI and to compete with the United Arab Emirates, which in June signed a U.S. multibillion-dollar data centre deal that gave it access to high-end chips. MBS also wants to strike an agreement with Washington on developing a Saudi civilian nuclear programme, part of his effort to diversify from oil. Such a deal would unlock access to U.S. nuclear technology and security guarantees and help Saudi Arabia level up with the UAE, which has its own programme, and traditional foe Iran. But progress on a U.S. deal has been difficult because the Saudis did not want to agree to a U.S. stipulation that would rule out enriching uranium or reprocessing spent fuel - both potential paths to a bomb. Ross said he expected an announcement of an agreement on nuclear energy, or at least a statement on progress towards one. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/saudi-crown-prince-visits-us-with-defence-ai-nuclear-agenda-2025-11-17/

2025-11-17 19:24

Pope says world failing to do enough to fight climate change Competing priorities make final COP30 summit week tough Brazil's President Lula will aim to help bridge gaps Summit scheduled to end Friday BELEM, Brazil, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Pope Leo criticized world governments on Monday for failing so far to slow global warming and called for a stronger response to the threat, as countries at the U.N. climate summit in Brazil's Amazon city of Belem entered the second week of negotiations with a goal to resolve their thorniest issues ahead of schedule. The Pope's message reflected mounting concern about flagging international ambition and rising greenhouse gas emissions a full decade after the 2015 Paris Agreement, a landmark deal at which countries for the first time agreed to limit global warming to well within 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Sign up here. Scientists say the Earth is destined now to overshoot that threshold, opening the door to devastating impacts. "The creation is crying out in floods, droughts, storms and relentless heat," Pope Leo said in a video message played at an event on the sidelines of the summit. "The Paris Agreement has driven real progress and remains our strongest tool for protecting people and the planet. But we must be honest: it is not the Agreement that is failing, we are failing in our response. What is failing is the political will of some." Delegates in the steamy riverside city are seeking to reach agreement by Wednesday on a number of difficult topics, including climate finance and goals to reduce emissions, with the rest of the agenda to be resolved by the last scheduled day on Friday, COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago said on Monday. "It's super difficult, as you all know, because it's lots of documents, and there are still many texts that are open... but all involved thought that it's worth the try," he said. Most climate summits spill into overtime. DEVELOPING NATIONS FLEX MORE MUSCLE Governments representing nearly 200 countries gathered in Belem for the annual conference to hash out a deal they hope can demonstrate global resolve to follow through on the goals of the Paris Agreement, while acknowledging its shortcomings by laying out clear plans for future climate action. The job will not be easy. Countries are now digging into some of the toughest issues - from fossil fuel use to climate finance - many of which have been left off the formal agenda to ensure the talks keep moving even if one issue gets hung up. "The time for performative diplomacy has now passed. Now is the time to roll up our sleeves, come together and get the job done," U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell told delegations in a speech opening the second week of the conference. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is expected to arrive on Wednesday to help rally consensus among parties at the summit ahead of Friday's final scheduled session. New dynamics in climate diplomacy have seen China, India and other developing nations flex more muscle this year, while the European Union is hobbled by weakening support back home and the once-dominant United States has skipped out altogether. Danish climate minister Lars Aagaard said the European Union was showing leadership but that it was still early in the negotiations. MIND THE GAPS Over the last week negotiators had a chance to air their differences on three key issues: climate finance, unilateral trade measures, and planned emissions cuts that do not go nearly far enough. "It is a must-have to be able to talk about how we close the gap going forward," Norway's climate minister, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, told Reuters. A bloc of developing countries is also seeking a payment schedule to ensure wealthy countries follow through on promises made at last year's COP29 to annually deliver $300 billion in climate finance by 2035. The United States - absent from COP30 - has reneged on past commitments. PROGRESS IN SOME, BUT NOT ALL, AREAS Denmark, which produces the majority of its electricity from wind, announced a new binding target to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 82% by 2035, compared with 1990 levels. "We think this is the highest, most ambitious number of any country in the developed world," Aagaard said. Denmark's target is substantially more ambitious than the EU's overall commitment to a 66.25%-72.5% emissions cut by 2035. South Korea, which operates the world's seventh-largest fleet of coal-fired power stations, announced it would stop building new coal plants and phase out nearly two-thirds of existing ones by 2040. The rest would also be phased out, though the timeline was not specified. However, the transition away from fossil fuels in developing countries remains a vexed issue. Indonesia's plan to retire 6.7 gigawatts of coal-fired power plant capacity by 2030 is at risk of failure due to stalled disbursal of funding from rich countries. "If there is no one really willing to jump in to finance the coal phase-out, then we will have to think about whether phase-out is actually the best option," Paul Butarbutar, head of the Indonesia Secretariat of the Just Energy Transition Partnership program, told Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/cop30-delegates-dig-into-toughest-issues-climate-talks-enter-final-week-2025-11-17/

2025-11-17 19:13

Nov 17 (Reuters) - Central banks likely bought large amounts of gold in November in a multi-year trend to diversify reserves to hedge geopolitical and financial risks, Goldman Sachs said on Monday. The Wall Street firm estimated purchases of 64 tonnes for September, up from 21 tonnes in August. Sign up here. Goldman reiterated in a note that gold prices will reach $4,900 by the end of 2026, with further gains likely if private investors continue diversifying their portfolios. Spot gold fetched about $4,068 per ounce on Monday. Prices have gained 55% so far this year, driven by economic and geopolitical concerns, rising exchange-traded fund inflows, and expectations of further U.S. interest rate cuts. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/goldman-sachs-sees-continued-central-bank-gold-buying-november-2025-11-17/

2025-11-17 19:00

NEW YORK, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The Trump administration's decision to eliminate tariffs on most coffee bean imports will be a boon for coffee roasters and importers in the U.S., but top global grower Brazil will suffer because its coffee remains subject to a steep tariff. While the measures announced late on Friday eliminate import tariffs on coffee beans from nearly all producing countries, only the 10% reciprocal tariff on coffee imports from Brazil was scrapped, with a 40% duty remaining. Sign up here. Analysts and coffee industry officials said on Monday the changes will further drive the U.S., the world's largest market for coffee, to seek beans from Asia and Latin America, while snubbing Brazilian beans. "It is just a question of price adjusting the trade flows," said Judith Ganes, president of J. Ganes Consulting and a senior soft commodities analyst. Most coffee countries in the Americas, except Brazil, previously had tariffs of 10%, which were eliminated. Asian growers had even larger tariffs, which were also scrapped, meaning they will also be able to supply the U.S. tax-free. "It brings some relief for the U.S. coffee supply, but with the 40% on Brazil it will remain difficult," Dutch bank Rabobank said in a note. "Without the full exemption for Brazil it will not really matter as much, as it is still prohibitive to import coffee into the U.S.," said a California-based coffee importer. Brazil, which used to supply a third of the U.S. coffee beans, continues to negotiate a separate deal. "The changes distort the market and further hurt our competitiveness," said Marcos Matos, a director at Brazilian coffee exporters association Cecafe. "We are losing market share, while our competitors are gaining it." Brazil's specialty coffee sector has seen shipments to the U.S. fall 55% in the last three months since tariffs started, Luiz Saldanha, vice president of the Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association, said, adding that things would get worse. "Existing Brazilian coffee stocks up there (U.S.) are being depleted, the industry is seeking alternatives to replace Brazilian coffee in its blends," Saldanha said. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trumps-coffee-tariff-change-helps-us-roasters-hurts-brazil-2025-11-17/