2025-02-05 11:13
Q4 adjusted profit $2.13 per share vs forecast $2.24 Sees 2025 adjusted EPS of $7.75 vs forecast $8.71 Shares down more than 4% in premarket trade Feb 5 (Reuters) - Agricultural commodities trader Bunge Global (BG.N) , opens new tab posted lower than expected fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday as weak oilseed processing margins in key markets dragged down results in its core agribusiness segment. The company said its processing business would remain under pressure in 2025 due to weak margins and a challenging economic environment, with global trade tensions and biofuel policy uncertainty creating headwinds for crop traders. The struggles come as Bunge is working to close a deal to acquire grain handler Viterra, a merger that would create an agribusiness powerhouse closer in size to its peers Archer-Daniels-Midland and Cargill. Bunge said regulatory approvals for the deal were in the late stages. Bunge shares were down 4.3% before the bell. The company has seen profits erode as a global glut of staple crops like soybeans and corn dragged prices to four-year lows last year, whittling down margins. ADM (ADM.N) , opens new tab on Tuesday posted its lowest fourth-quarter profit in six years and said it was slashing costs and cutting jobs, joining Cargill in tightening its belt. Bunge's agribusiness segment, which represents over 80% of its total revenue, saw adjusted core earnings decline to $364 million in the fourth quarter from $639 million a year earlier. Adjusted earnings in the processing sub-segment tumbled nearly 60% due to lower soybean crushing results in North and South America and weak softseed markets in Europe. Bunge's refined and specialty oils unit's adjusted profit dropped 25% due in part to U.S. biofuel policy uncertainty. Bunge forecast adjusted earnings to be $7.75 per share in 2025, down from an adjusted annual profit of $9.19 per share in 2024 and missing analysts' expectations of $8.71. The Missouri-based company posted an adjusted profit of $2.13 per share in the quarter ended Dec. 31, down from $3.70 in the same period a year earlier and below the consensus analyst estimates of $2.24, according to data compiled by LSEG. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/bunge-misses-fourth-quarter-profit-estimates-2025-02-05/
2025-02-05 11:12
NEW DELHI, Feb 5 (Reuters) - India is set to review import tariffs on over 30 items including luxury cars and solar cells, potentially leading to higher imports from the United States, a senior finance ministry official said. In a bid to counter President Donald Trump's growing tariff actions, the government has already reduced tariffs on several items including high-end bikes, cars, and chemicals in the latest budget, while imposing additional Agriculture Infrastructure Development Cess (AIDC), an alternative tariff, on many items. Below is the list of key items on which AIDC tariff could be reviewed: CUT IN BASIC CUSTOMS DUTIES The Indian budget on Saturday slashed basic customs duties on several items including luxury cars, solar cells and machinery. The peak import tariff has been cut from 150% to 70%, and average tariffs to below 11% from 13%, while an alternative tariff called the Agriculture Infrastructure Development Cess (AIDC), has been raised on certain items. AGRICULTURE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT CESS After reducing peak import tariffs, India has introduced a special list of 32 items, including luxury cars and chemicals, upon which the AIDC tariff of 5% to 70% has been imposed. Earlier there was zero AIDC tariff on these items. LUXURY CARS, MOTOR VEHICLES Luxury cars with a CIF (cost, insurance and freight) value exceeding $40,000 attract a surcharge of 40%, along with a reduced basic custom duty of 70%. Transport vehicles and used motor vehicles face an AIDC tariff of 20% and 67.5% respectively, while basic customs duty has been lowered to 20% from 40%. Yachts and sports vessels attract a surcharge of 7.5%. SOLAR CELLS, MODULES Solar cells, modules, and other semiconductor devices attract a surcharge of 7.5% to 20% on top of a reduced import tariff of 20%, down from 25%-40%. CHEMICALS Laboratory chemicals now face a reduced basic customs duty of 70%, down from 150%, along with an agriculture cess of 70%. BUILDING MATERIAL Marbles, granite and slabs attract a surcharge of 20% on top of 20% basic customs duty of 20%, down from 40%. HOUSEHOLD ITEMS Footwear and materials for manufacturing them face a surcharge of 18.5% while items like bicycles attract surcharge of 15% after a reduced basic customs duty of 20%. Home furniture items, smart electricity meters, electronic toy parts attract the surcharge of 5% to 20%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-review-tariff-surcharge-luxury-goods-renewables-chemicals-amid-us-pressure-2025-02-05/
2025-02-05 11:04
Banks argue rules, not ideology, hinder service provision Republican-led states push for anti-discrimination banking laws WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - U.S. banks and their regulators were scrutinized on Wednesday by lawmakers as they examined claims that they deny services to particular industries or political groups. The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on what is commonly referred to as debanking, hearing testimony from subject matter experts and business owners who claim they were unfairly denied access to banking products. Senior Republicans and Democrats agreed that banks may be improperly denying services to some clients, but disagreed on the root cause. Republicans trained much of their ire toward regulators, who argued opaque and restrictive rules and oversight discouraged some banking activity for industries such as firearms manufacturers and cryptocurrency firms. "These banks want to look for business but because of a regulatory environment that they have been in, they have been forced to decide whether they want to do business with certain types of industries," said Senator Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican. Democrats focused on industry missteps and argued they show the need for robust watchdogs. Senator Elizabeth Warren, the top committee Democrat, highlighted thousands of complaints collected in recent years in a regulatory database from people who could not open accounts or had accounts abruptly closed. "Big banks are relying on black-box algorithms and middlemen companies, and shutting down accounts without doing careful due diligence," she said, listing groups such as Muslims, cannabis businesses and recently incarcerated people as victims of such practices. BANKS RESIST DEBANKING CHARGES The banking industry has fiercely resisted accusations that it denies services based on ideological reasons. It has instead argued that onerous, outdated and opaque rules make it difficult for banks to sometimes provide services, or explain why they cannot. Witnesses who testified include the head of Anchorage Digital, a crypto platform that says it has been debanked, and Old Glory Bank, a bank established in 2022 that brands itself as a response to debanking complaints about larger lenders. Republican-led states have pushed legislation to discourage perceived discrimination by banks, and the patchwork of varying laws meant to ensure banks lend fairly has led to frustration in the industry. The dispute drew headlines in January, when President Donald Trump accused the CEOs of Bank of America (BAC.N) , opens new tab and JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) , opens new tab of not providing banking services to some conservatives, echoing complaints of "woke capitalism." The banks responded by saying they do not refuse services on political grounds. The industry is prepping a fresh push for clearer rules, arguing for a clear national standard on fair access to financial services, clarity around anti-money laundering laws that can force banks to close accounts, and streamlined bank supervision to help firms better understand who they can provide services. Aaron Klein, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, said in his testimony that banks are required to report to the government any cash transaction over $10,000, a threshold that has not been updated since it was set in 1972. Adjusted for inflation, it would now be over $75,000. He also said banks have rapidly escalated the number of reports they file with regulators to flag suspicious activity, in compliance with anti-money laundering rules. Banks filed 288,000 suspicious activity reports in 2003 and 2.5 million in 2023, he said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-panel-dives-into-debanking-fight-2025-02-05/
2025-02-05 11:00
LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) , opens new tab is not immune to tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to levy on the European Union, its chief executive said on Wednesday, but it is confident its business is well-positioned. Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen was speaking to journalists at the company's headquarters just outside Copenhagen after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/novo-nordisk-says-its-not-immune-potential-trump-tariffs-business-is-well-2025-02-05/
2025-02-05 11:00
KYIV, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Ukraine is experiencing the lowest soil moisture levels of the last seven seasons, raising concerns about yields in 2025, the Ukrainian national agricultural academy was quoted as saying on Wednesday. Ukraine, a global grain producer and exporter, traditionally grows winter crops whose yields are highly dependent on incoming moisture in autumn and winter. "The total amount of precipitation for November-January was only 79.6 mm and was significantly inferior to the long-term average of 117 mm," APK-Inform consultancy quoted the Academy as saying. "For the last 7 years such provision of winter crops with atmospheric moisture was observed for the first time," it added. Scientists said the insufficient amount of precipitation during most of the winter period and very low reserves of moisture in the soil "cause special concern for grain producers." Most parts of Ukraine remained rainless during and before autumn sowing and farmers threw seed into dry soil with the hope of winter snows. Ukraine's state weather forecasters said in October that most of Ukraine's winter crop was under threat as almost all seedlings were underdeveloped. Farmers sowed 5.24 million hectares of winter grain for the 2025 harvest and wheat dominates the area. Winter wheat accounts for about 95% of all Ukrainian wheat. The first deputy agriculture minister Taras Vysotskiy said last year that Ukraine's wheat harvest may increase to up to 25 million metric tons in 2025 from around 22 million tons in 2024 thanks to a larger sowing area and conditional on good weather. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/prolonged-lack-rain-threatens-ukraines-crops-scientists-say-2025-02-05/
2025-02-05 10:55
CEO says company can respond to changed trade flows Believes U.S. have an interest in economic growth Expects Hapag-Lloyd to slightly grow above market HAMBURG, Germany, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Container shipping liner Hapag-Lloyd (HLAG.DE) , opens new tab will be able to cope with the advent of U.S. tariffs on Chinese products, its chief executive told reporters on Tuesday. "It is too early to push the panic button," CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said in the remarks published on Wednesday, when additional 10% tariffs kicked in, and made before U.S. President Donald Trump proposed that his country to take over the Gaza Strip. "Fortunately we are able to react when transport flows change," he said, adding foreseeable events were easier to handle than the unexpected ones, such as the Red Sea crisis when the Iran-backed Houthi militants launched attacks on vessels passing the Suez Canal in November 2023. The tariffs imposed by Trump on China so far should not change the flow of goods too much, said Habben Jansen, who heads the world’s fifth-biggest container company. In Trump’s first term between 2017 and 2021, he also applied tariffs but global trade had developed well nevertheless, said Habben Jansen. "The U.S. President also wants the U.S. economy to grow. They will need more goods for that," he said. Shipping, a proxy for trade and a health measure of the world economy, could see transport volumes rise between 2.8% and 3% in 2025, he said. Hapag-Lloyd is expected to grow slightly above the industry average, he added. The company's Gemini co-operation with Danish peer Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) , opens new tab started on Feb. 1, bringing together a network of 340 ships on seven trade corridors. In preliminary earnings for 2024 issued last week, the company said it saw earnings quadruple in the fourth quarter, contributing to a slight rise in annual profit. Comprehensive 2024 earnings will be released on March 20. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/hapag-lloyd-says-it-can-cope-with-us-china-tariffs-2025-02-05/
