2025-11-14 12:17

U.S. senators, Energy Dept, Permitting Council support Standard Direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology is not yet commercial Standard was targeted by short-sellers but has pivoted Standard aims to use DLE technology developed by Koch Industries LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Standard Lithium is getting a boost from Washington as it vies with Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab to become the first company to produce lithium in Arkansas, a U.S. state containing one of North America's largest supplies of the battery metal. The vote of confidence by multiple parts of the U.S. government is one of Washington's strongest yet for any lithium project and shows increasing comfort with the still-unproven direct lithium extraction (DLE) industry. Sign up here. U.S. senators, the Department of Energy and federal permitting officials have backed Standard this year. U.S. allies are considering providing debt financing. Standard had been working to develop its DLE project for more than seven years, but Exxon in 2023 made a splash with a $100 million investment into Arkansas with aims to be a dominant player. Lithium prices have been weak in recent months and Exxon has now delayed its lithium plans by at least a year. Standard has also gone slowly, but still aims to push the project forward on its 30,000 Arkansas acres, with first production slated for 2028. Standard's fortunes have turned since 2022 when its shares were targeted by a short-seller who claimed its DLE process was faulty, a claim the company rejected but one that dragged on its shares nearly 30% in one day. The claims gained attention in part because no DLE technology had then or has since worked at commercial scale for any company, sparking investor angst across the industry. Standard responded by pivoting its DLE strategy. It now plans to extract lithium using a process developed by Koch Industries with a different type of adsorbent material. Koch became Standard's largest shareholder, and the company hired new executives and took on Norwegian energy giant Equinor (EQNR.OL) , opens new tab as partner for its $1.45 billion project. "The fact that Standard has gone through multiple iterations (of its DLE technology) was actually a selling point for us," said Allison Kennedy Thurmond of Equinor, which invested in Standard's Arkansas project last year over California's lithium-rich Salton Sea region. Short seller positions in the stock have dropped by more than 50% since the 2022 report. Five Wall Street analysts now recommend buying Standard's shares; none recommend selling, according to the LSEG data. "We are definitely at a tipping point," David Park, Standard's CEO, told Reuters. "We very strongly believe that the DLE tech will work." In a letter last month, three U.S. senators described Vancouver-based Standard as having "the only proven direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology and operations team in the United States," a strong assertion given the company's multiple DLE rivals across the country. "A resilient domestic lithium supply will shield our military from supply chain disruptions, geopolitical manipulation and other external threats," three Republican senators - John Cornyn of Texas and John Boozman and Tom Cotton of Arkansas - wrote to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. President Donald Trump has ordered the Defense Department to rename itself the Department of War, a change that will require action by Congress. The senators encouraged Hegseth to fund Standard via a Cold War-era law known as the Defense Production Act that can unlock government money for projects tied to national security. "As with all congressional correspondence, the department will respond directly to the members," a Pentagon official said in response to a request for comment. PRODUCTION PLANS Arkansas sits atop the Smackover, an underground geological formation stretching from Florida to Texas filled with salty brines containing more than 5 million metric tons of lithium, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. DLE is essential to removing that lithium. In January, the Energy Department gave Standard a $225 million grant to help process lithium from the Smackover for batteries. The U.S. kept paying out the grant during the government shutdown, and the company meets weekly with department staff, said Park, adding that Washington has not asked that the funding be converted into equity, as it has with Lithium Americas LAC.TO , opens new tab. "We couldn't be more confident about the grant," Park said. In a statement, the Energy Department said it "performs oversight functions for all of its active financial assistance awards, including holding regular project review meetings with recipients and paying invoices for allowable, reasonable and allocable expenses within the project award agreement." The grant requires the company to undertake a potentially lengthy federal permitting review process. In April, Trump put Standard on a fast-track permitting list to speed up that process. "We can make sure that they stick to that timeline that we've set up (for Standard) and move it forward," Emily Domenech, executive director of Trump's Permitting Council, told Reuters. Standard expects lithium prices to more than double from current depressed levels to an average price of $22,000 per metric ton over the life of the 20-year project. That price would provide plenty of profit for Standard, which expects its costs to be $5,924 per metric ton of lithium. Koch's lithium business was bought earlier this year by privately held Aquatech, which counts private equity fund Cerberus as a minority investor. Cerberus co-founder Steve Feinberg is U.S. deputy defense secretary and is not involved in Cerberus' operations. Aquatech said it does not believe Feinberg's role has aided any part of their operation, including with Standard. Standard is in final talks with several banks and foreign governments about funding $1 billion in loans for the project, Park said, adding that a decision could come within weeks. The government credit agencies Export Finance Norway, Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, and Japan's Nippon Export and Investment Insurance all declined to comment. Korea and Japan are large cathode manufacturers and thus lithium buyers, and Equinor's largest shareholder is Norway's government. Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has thrown her support behind the nascent industry, including Standard. "We feel comfortable with the (DLE) technology and how that's moved forward," said Sanders. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/standard-lithium-gets-boost-washington-arkansas-lithium-race-2025-11-14/

2025-11-14 12:17

American Bitcoin's quarterly revenue more than doubles Company's bitcoin holdings swell to 4,004 American Bitcoin mines at less than half the cost, CEO says Nov 14 (Reuters) - American Bitcoin (ABTC.O) , opens new tab, backed by two of U.S. President Donald Trump's sons, swung to third-quarter profit on Friday as the miner and buyer of the world's largest digital asset benefited from wider margins. Crypto has drawn strong interest this year, with investors betting on looser oversight under the new Trump administration and bitcoin trading at record levels, even though the token's rally has slowed in recent weeks. Sign up here. Eric Trump is American Bitcoin's co-founder and chief strategy officer, while Donald Trump Jr. is a stockholder in the company. "Since our Nasdaq debut, we've added over 3,000 bitcoin to our reserves, steadily advancing among the world's leading public bitcoin treasuries," Eric Trump said in a post-earnings conference call. The company, a majority-owned subsidiary of Hut 8 Corp, is the latest in a series of crypto ventures by the Trump family, including a meme coin and World Liberty Financial, a crypto company partly owned by the president. Bitcoin mining uses specialized computers to solve complex calculations that secure the network and generate new bitcoins. "While conventional vehicles accumulate bitcoin at spots, we mine at less than half the cost," CEO Mike Ho said in a conference call. CRYPTO TREASURY PUSH American Bitcoin's shares, which initially rose after the results, fell 1.3% in morning trading as bitcoin slipped 2.6%. Stocks of crypto treasury companies typically move in line with the token's price as shifts in prices directly affect the value of reserves. Crypto prices have tumbled in recent weeks amid a broad pullback in risk assets, with bitcoin going deeper into the red on Friday. Still, digital asset treasuries have grown at a swift pace this year as firms added sizable token positions to their balance sheets to capture the rally. It held 4,004 bitcoins as of November 5. Based on the digital asset's previous close, the holding is worth roughly $400 million. The push has been spurred by the Trump administration's pledge to make the U.S. a global leader in the crypto space and promise of a lighter regulatory approach. President Trump has faced criticism from government ethics experts and political opponents who say his stance raises concerns about potential conflicts of interest. American Bitcoin reported revenue of $64.2 million in the three months ended September 30, compared with $11.6 million in the prior-year period. Its gross margin expanded to 56% from 49% in the prior quarter. The company posted a net income of $3.5 million in the third quarter, compared with a loss of $0.6 million for the prior-year period. https://www.reuters.com/business/trump-brothers-backed-american-bitcoins-quarterly-revenue-more-than-doubles-2025-11-14/

2025-11-14 12:16

LONDON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Executives at DWS (DWSG.DE) , opens new tab, one of Europe's largest money managers, are thinking through the potential impacts in the unlikely event that the U.S. Federal Reserve limits access to dollar funding, the firm's CEO told Reuters. Any move to cross that "red line" would have a big impact particularly on emerging markets that are more reliant on dollar funding, Stefan Hoops said in an interview, adding that he believed any such action was highly unlikely. Sign up here. "We are thinking what (restrictions to dollar funding) would mean. That would have a profound impact on smaller countries, it would have a profound impact on emerging markets," he said. Hoops was speaking before Reuters reported on Thursday that European financial officials are debating whether to create an alternative to Fed funding backstops by pooling dollars held by non-U.S. central banks in an effort to reduce their reliance. The talks have come in response to policies pursued by U.S. President Donald Trump that have upended long-standing ties, put the Fed's independence in doubt and underlined the dominant role the U.S. plays in global finance. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told a European Central Bank-hosted conference in July that the U.S. central bank had no plans to change how it offered dollar liquidity to other official entities. A White House spokesman said Trump had "repeatedly affirmed his commitment to maintaining the strength and power" of the dollar. Hoops said China's interventions in financial and economic markets, such as in rare earth processing where it is dominant, had shown the world that countries could use market levers as "geopolitical tools". "The U.S. has an incredible toolkit for anything around dollar-clearing payments," he said. "I think Fed swap lines are a... red line, meaning, once you do that then it changes forever." Hoops said any interventions would undermine faith in previously neutral market processes such as clearing. "My personal view is that it's difficult to see because this is almost like a last resort." https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/top-asset-manager-dws-warns-global-risks-if-us-restricts-dollar-access-2025-11-14/

2025-11-14 12:14

Bitcoin in bear market territory Crypto market cap falls by $1 trillion Ether falls to a more than one-week low Long-term bitcoin holders continue to take profits - Glassnode NEW YORK/LONDON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Bitcoin dropped to its lowest level in six months on Friday, as a broad sell-off in risk assets deepened amid fading hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut U.S. interest rates at its upcoming policy meeting. Selling in U.S. equities, however, eased slightly in the afternoon ahead of the weekend, but investors stayed on edge as they braced for a slew of economic data next week following the government's reopening after a record 43-day shutdown. Sign up here. "Bitcoin and crypto have generally enjoyed a positive correlation with good times in equities, so it has not become an asset of alternative value to hedge against fear in other sectors," said Juan Perez, director of trading at Monex USA in Washington. "If there is no enthusiasm toward risk-taking, it seems like that also translates into hesitation with bitcoin and the like." Risky assets overall have come under pressure in recent days as expectations of a rate cut from the Fed next month have shrunk as a growing number of policymakers signaled an inclination to hold off on easing. Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid, a voter on the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, was the latest central bank official to express doubts about a December rate cut. He said on Friday his concerns about "too hot" inflation go well beyond the narrow effects of tariffs alone. Markets now price in about a 40% chance of a December rate cut, down from about 90% earlier this month and just over 60% earlier this week. In early afternoon trading, bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, was last down 2.3% at $96,564, having earlier dropped to $95,885.33, its lowest since May 7. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, was last flat on the day at $3,175.22 , after dropping to a 10-day low. Dave Rosenberg, founder and president of Rosenberg Research, said bitcoin is in "official bear market terrain, having declined by more than 20% in barely more than a month." He also pointed to huge redemptions at exchange-traded funds, totaling $870 million on Thursday alone. Since peaking on October 7, the crypto market capitalization has fallen by more than $1 trillion, or 24%. The backdrop for bitcoin remains bearish, analysts said. Long-term bitcoin holders have accelerated profit-taking, according to crypto research firm Glassnode. Those long-term bitcoin holders have sold 815,000 bitcoin over the past 30 days, a record high since January 2024, according to CryptoQuant, another digital asset research firm. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/bitcoin-slides-six-month-low-risk-off-tone-grips-markets-2025-11-14/

2025-11-14 12:12

LONDON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The UK government's commitment to its own fiscal rules to balance the budget by 2029/30 remains vital for the country's AA- credit rating, credit agency Fitch said. UK bond markets reacted badly on Friday to a report that British finance minister Rachel Reeves had scrapped plans to raise income tax rates in this month's budget in a bid to avoid further political backlash for the government. Sign up here. "We’re not saying that the growth side is not necessarily relevant, but for the way that we think about it, to have the commitment to the fiscal framework is very important," Fitch's head of Western Europe Sovereigns ratings Federico Barriga-Salazar told Reuters on Friday. "If we see that there is less of that, then the risk on the fiscal side will be higher." Barriga-Salazar said there was bound to be plenty of "political noise" about plans to fill the fiscal gaps, but that it didn't fundamentally change Fitch's baseline assumptions. It reaffirmed the 'stable' outlook on its AA- UK rating in August, forecasting that the government's deficit would narrow 0.6 percentage points to 5.3% of GDP this year, dropping to 4.7% in 2026 and 4.4% in 2027. Those levels, however, are well above the 2% median AA rating bracket countries are predicted to have in 2027. The UK's forecast 106% debt-to-GDP ratio at that point is also almost double the projected AA-rated sovereign median of 52%. "We still think that they have that commitment to following the fiscal rules, so there, for example, we see less of a risk at the moment than in France." https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uks-commitment-fiscal-rules-crucial-credit-rating-fitch-says-2025-11-14/

2025-11-14 11:42

14 Nov - Everything Mike Dolan and the ROI team are excited to read, watch and listen to over the weekend. From the Editor Sign up here. Hello Morning Bid readers! The end of the U.S. government shutdown may be an example of “buying the rumor and selling the news”, as Wall Street tumbled on Thursday after rallying earlier in the week. Though with Nvidia and other AI leaders recording meaningful losses yesterday, and bets on Federal Reserve cuts getting pared back, the major market-moving issues clearly remain “AI bubble” fears and the trajectory for policy easing. One reason the end of the longest-ever government shutdown – 43 days, if you were counting – had only a modest impact on markets is that economic clarity – one of investors’ biggest concerns related to the closure – is unlikely to clear up, even with Washington DC open, as ROI markets columnist Jamie McGeever and ROI editor-at-large Mike Dolan both explained this week. That lack of clarity is bad news for Fed Chair Jay Powell, and can help explain why the U.S. central bank may pause next month, as Mike Dolan argues. Over in Asia, the yen fell to its weakest level in nine months on Wednesday, brushing up against the crucial 155 level. Jamie McGeever argues that government intervention to prop up the yen may not yet be a given, but investors should still remain on high alert. Staying in Japan, a peculiar similarity is emerging between new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and U.S. President Donald Trump. They both appear set on using fiscal stimulus to combat cost-of-living concerns – which, as Jamie McGeever argues, is a bit like trying to bring a fire under control by dousing it with gasoline. Meanwhile, in energy markets, the International Energy Agency on Wednesday published its World Energy Outlook, which introduced a new scenario showing that, given current government policies, oil demand will not plateau in 2030 as previously expected, but will instead keep rising through mid-century. It’s sobering reading for world leaders meeting in Brazil for COP30, explains ROI energy columnist Ron Bousso examines. Speaking of the climate summit, ROI energy transition columnist Gavin Maguire looks at what has – and what hasn’t – changed since the landmark COP21 Paris agreement ten years ago. The growing bullishness about the outlook for oil and gas demand was certainty apparent in energy giant Chevron’s latest strategy update, also released on Wednesday. Ron Bousso argues that it shrugs off long-term anxieties about the transition toward low-carbon energy as well as near-term concerns about a potential looming oversupply. On the topic of oversupply, ROI Asia commodities columnist Clyde Russell wrote this week that the LNG market is bracing for a surge in supply next year, with significant uncertainty about how low spot prices will have to drop to clear the additional volumes. Finally, over in the metals markets, ROI metals columnist Andy Home notes that copper has been added to the U.S. government's list of critical minerals, even though the U.S. has the world's second largest copper stockpile. As we head into the weekend, check out the ROI team’s recommendations for what you should read, listen to, and watch to stay informed and ready for the week ahead. I’d love to hear from you, so please reach out to me at [email protected] , opens new tab . , opens new tab This weekend, we're reading... CLYDE RUSSELL, ROI Asia Commodities and Energy Columnist: This in-depth new report from the think tank Asia House , opens new tab looks at the expanding trade between the Middle East Gulf and Asia, noting that – for the first time ever – trade between the Gulf and China is now bigger than the region’s trade with the West. While energy remains the foundation of the trade relationship, it also is expanding into other sectors such as construction and electronics. MIKE DOLAN, ROI Financial Markets Editor-at-Large: This piece by economic historian Marc-William Palen for the IMF's Finance & Development , opens new tab magazine is a nice sweep of economic history that compares the current attempt to roll back globalization with the prior free trade waves going back into the 18th and 19th centuries - and the periodic, sometimes, disastrous retreats to economic nationalism. The piece asks whether we’re at a unique juncture now or just experiencing another cyclical wave. JAMIE MCGEEVER, ROI Markets Columnist: “Bubble or Nothing” is deep-dive by the Center for Public Enterprise into the AI boom – its funding and energy needs, its ‘circular’ financing, the revenues it may or may not generate, and the potential economic risks if the bubble pops. It has some excellent – and simple – graphics too. It’s long and detailed, though, so it’s perhaps one to bookmark. , opens new tab GAVIN MAGUIRE, ROI Global Energy Transition Columnist: While the IEA's latest report may have grabbed attention for saying that fossil fuels will linger in the global energy mix for longer that previously forecast, this outlook from Ember expects that clean energy sources will continue to squeeze out coal and gas in world electricity generation. It also features great detail on trends in key markets. , opens new tab We're listening to... RON BOUSSO, ROI Energy Columnist: How effective are U.S. sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas industry? The answer is a mixed picture. This Carnegie Politika podcast , opens new tab with Edward Fishman offers some great insights. And we're watching... ANNA SZYMANSKI, ROI Editor-in-Charge: Our very own Mike Dolan joined the Reuters Econ World podcast , opens new tab for part two of the “AI bubble” discussion. Mike spoke with host Carmel Crimmins about the real-world impact of the artificial intelligence capex frenzy and the role national security is playing in the multi-billion dollar spending spree. Want to receive the Morning Bid in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for the newsletter here. You can find ROI on the Reuters website , opens new tab, and you can follow us on LinkedIn , opens new tab and X. , opens new tab Opinions expressed are those of the authors. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles , opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/global-markets-view-usa-2025-11-14/