2025-11-12 14:14
EBA says MiCA's stablecoin safeguards should be used ESRB and ECB concerned about risks around redemption requests Stablecoin demand growing fast, nearly all in dollars PARIS, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Europe's existing crypto rules already contain safeguards against risks posed by stablecoins, the region's banking supervisor told Reuters, after the European Central Bank warned that the tokens could threaten financial stability. The ECB and the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) have urged Brussels to ban the “multi-issuance” model, where global stablecoin firms treat tokens they issue in the EU as interchangeable with those outside the bloc. The ESRB, chaired by ECB President Christine Lagarde, said in a report that a rush by non-EU holders to redeem EU-issued tokens could “amplify runs within the bloc.” Sign up here. Asked about the ESRB's concerns, a spokesperson for the Paris-based European Banking Authority said the report "reflects the inherent risks related to potential massive redemption requests" but their severity depended on a stablecoin's business model and scale. "Based on these elements, necessary safeguards following MiCA should be put in place to mitigate the risk," the spokesperson added. The EBA said it was waiting for clarification from the European Commission on whether multi-issuance is allowed under the EU's crypto rules, known as MiCA. Issuers of stablecoins - a type of cryptocurrency pegged to a currency, usually the U.S. dollar - say they hold dollar-based reserves to enable redemptions. "From a liquidity point of view, issuers need to hold an amount of liquid assets to meet potential redemption requests. And this should work at a global level," Luis del Olmo, senior expert at the EBA, said in an interview. Stablecoins remain a small part of the financial system but they are growing fast, driven by El Salvador-based Tether. Circle's USDC, the largest EU-regulated stablecoin using multi-issuance, has $75 billion tokens in circulation. National regulators oversee MiCA-licensed entities, but the EBA will directly supervise significant stablecoins. People familiar with the positions of two national regulators told Reuters they share the concerns of the ECB and ESRB, speaking on condition of anonymity. One source said they were worried the U.S. could prevent reserves from being transferred to Europe to meet redemption requests. The European Commission has signalled that it sees no need for major changes to MiCA. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/existing-eu-crypto-rules-address-stablecoin-risk-banking-regulator-says-2025-11-12/
2025-11-12 12:44
FTSE 100 down 0.1%, FTSE 250 up 0.1% BP and Shell decline as oil drops SSE soars on 33 billion pounds investment plan Nov 12 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 index edged lower on Wednesday after closing at record high levels for two consecutive sessions, as losses in industrials and energy shares weighed on the market. The blue-chip index (.FTSE) , opens new tab was down 0.1% at 9,886 points as of 1214 GMT, but still hovering near record levels and within striking distance of the 10,000 mark. The mid-cap index FTSE 250 (.FTMC) , opens new tab gained 0.1%. Sign up here. Market sentiment improved earlier this week on hopes of a U.S. government shutdown resolution. Investors are now expecting that the U.S. House of Representatives might soon vote to end the shutdown that has suspended crucial economic data releases. This resolution would likely provide greater clarity for the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decisions. In UK markets, industrial shares (.FTNMX502050) , opens new tab declined 1.3%, with credit data specialist Experian (EXPN.L) , opens new tab dropping 3.1% despite forecasting full-year revenue growth of 11%, the upper end of its outlook range. Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZN.L) , opens new tab was down 0.5%, retreating from the record high achieved in the previous session. The broader pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector (.FTNMX201030) , opens new tab slipped 0.6%. Energy shares (.FTNMX601010) , opens new tab weakened as oil prices dipped following Tuesday's surge, with oil majors BP (BP.L) , opens new tab and Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab falling 0.8% and 0.3%, respectively. Homebuilders (.FTNMX402020) , opens new tab declined 1.8%. Taylor Wimpey's (TW.L) , opens new tab shares fell nearly 4% after reporting a softer autumn selling season as British buyers hesitated ahead of the budget announcement. Conversely, personal goods (.FTNMX402040) , opens new tab led the gainers, rising 3.2%. Utilities (.FTUB6510) , opens new tab advanced 2.4% as SSE (SSE.L) , opens new tab surged 12.3% to a record high after unveiling a 33 billion pounds ($44.29 billion) five-year investment plan to upgrade the UK's regulated electricity networks and expand its renewable business. Looking ahead, market participants are awaiting Thursday's preliminary UK GDP figures for the third quarter, which will offer crucial insights into the nation's economic health before the government's budget announcement later this month. Among other stocks, Smithson Investment (SSON.L) , opens new tab rose 6.7% after announcing plans to convert its assets into an open-ended fund, while Avon Technologies (AVON.L) , opens new tab jumped 8.3% to a five-year high following an upbeat fiscal year outlook. ($1 = 0.7451 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/uks-ftse-100-edges-lower-industrial-energy-shares-weigh-2025-11-12/
2025-11-12 12:32
MOSCOW, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Moscow said on Wednesday that about 3% of Russia's total grain harvest will come from its "new territories" in Ukraine this year, the same as last year's figure despite a drought there and in adjoining regions during the summer. Russian Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut said the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which Russia largely controls, harvested about 4 million tons of grain, slightly less than in 2024, and 600,000 tons of oilseeds from about 3 million hectares of land. Sign up here. Russia refers to the four regions as "new territories"; they are still internationally recognised as Ukrainian. Ukraine considers all grain produced in the four regions and Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, to have been stolen by Moscow, and regularly asks its Western allies to sanction importers of it. Lut said the state subsidies for farmers in the regions had increased by 70% in 2025 - Russia's third full year of control. Russia expects to harvest 135 million tons of grain in total this year. Speaking in parliament, Lut said that since the start of the military campaign in Ukraine in 2022, Russia had cleared mines from about 200,000 hectares of land in the regions, increasing the bank of arable land. She said that mine clearing was ongoing. https://www.reuters.com/world/russian-controlled-ukrainian-regions-make-up-3-russias-harvest-moscow-says-2025-11-12/
2025-11-12 12:26
BERLIN, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The German government is considering acquiring a 25.1% minority stake in electricity grid operator TenneT's German unit, an economy ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday, for which it plans to allocate several billion euros in the 2026 budget. With more than 14,000 km (8,700 miles) of power lines, TenneT Germany is the country's biggest operator of high-voltage transmission grids, upgrades of which have been key to strengthening grids during times of more input from renewables. Sign up here. Germany already holds minority participation in high-voltage power grids TransnetBW (EBKG.DE) , opens new tab and 50Hertz (ELI.BR) , opens new tab. "We see potential for an economically sensible investment" and the opportunity to contribute to a stable financing structure for the unit and grid expansion, said the spokesperson. According to a finance ministry document seen by Reuters, Germany plans to allocate up to 7.6 billion euros ($8.9 billion) in the coming years towards acquiring a stake in the unit. The document foresees around 102 million euros in expenditures for 2026 and makes commitments for the following years with the remaining 7.48 billion euros. The funds are initially subject to a budget freeze and may only be released with the approval of the budget committee. The spokesperson said the draft provisions do not mean a decision has been made, and if the acquisition were to take place via state-owned lender KfW (KFW.UL), only refinancing costs in the low three-figure millions would affect the budget. The Dutch government said in September it is selling 46% of the unit to an investor consortium, following an unsuccessful attempt to sell it to Berlin last year under the previous government. The Handelsblatt business newspaper first reported on Wednesday on the inclusion of the TenneT unit in ministry budget documents. ($1 = 0.8575 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/germany-set-aside-76-bln-euros-tennet-germany-stake-2025-11-12/
2025-11-12 12:09
FRANKFURT, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Euro zone inflation is unlikely to fall too low and risks may actually be skewed toward higher than forecast readings, but the European Central Bank can tolerate small target deviations, ECB board member Isabel Schnabel said on Wednesday. Euro zone inflation has been holding around the bank's 2% target for most of this year but may slip below it next year, fuelling a debate about the risk of a more persistent undershooting, much like in the pre-pandemic decade. Sign up here. Schnabel, an outspoken hawk, dismissed such worries and argued that many of the factors which could have pulled price growth too low are showing rather benign developments. "My narrative is one of an economy that is recovering, with a closing output gap, expecting a significant fiscal impulse, which stimulates the economy," Schnabel told a BNP Paribas conference. "And all of that is not an economy that produces disinflationary pressures," Schnabel said. "If anything, it goes in the other direction." The exchange rate, which curbs imported inflation, has now stabilized, while fears that China would dump surplus export goods on the bloc are also not materialising. "Actually, exports from China to the EU are actually now going down," Schnabel said. "So far this risk hasn't materialised." She argued that geopolitical fragmentation may push up costs and the same goes for supply chain disruptions, like the loss of access to rare earths. Food price inflation is also relatively high and wage growth has come down more slowly than thought, she added. "Overall, this leads me to the conclusion that, if anything, risks are rather tilted a little bit to the upside," she said. https://www.reuters.com/business/euro-zone-inflation-risks-may-be-tilted-upside-schnabel-argues-2025-11-12/
2025-11-12 11:59
Nov 12 (Reuters) - Circle's (CRCL.N) , opens new tab third-quarter profit beat Wall Street expectations on Wednesday, driven by higher reserve income amid rising circulation of its flagship stablecoin, but shares fell on concerns over potential competition and valuation. Global adoption of stablecoins — digital tokens backed by low-risk assets such as the U.S. dollar or Treasuries — is gaining momentum as traditional financial firms roll out new offerings in the space and regulators worldwide move toward clearer rules. Sign up here. The Trump administration, which has pledged to position the U.S. as a global leader in cryptocurrency, enacted the Genius Act earlier this year, establishing a legal framework for regulating dollar-backed stablecoins aimed at enhancing the safety of digital payments. "This isn't just crypto speculation anymore, this is the plumbing of digital finance getting laid brick by brick," said David Bartosiak, stock strategist at Zacks Investment Research. Circulation of USDC more than doubled from a year earlier to $73.7 billion in the third quarter. Circle, the issuer of USDC, earns reserve income from investing the fiat reserves that back its stablecoin. The company posted adjusted earnings of 36 cents per share, beating analysts' estimates of 22 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG. Total revenue, including reserve income, jumped 66% to $739.8 million. In recent months, Circle has struck partnerships with traditional financial institutions and rolled out several initiatives to boost USDC circulation. The company's shares fell 10% on Wednesday. The stock has more than tripled over its IPO price since its listing in June, despite recent weakness. U.S. Tiger Securities analyst Bo Pei attributed the stock decline to Circle's revised annual gross margin outlook of 38%, which implied a weaker fourth quarter. "It (stock move) could be due to the still elevated expectation for the growth of USDC reflected in valuation, as well as the potential launch of Arc native token which could impact the adoption of USDC," Owen Lau, managing director at Clear Street, told Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/circle-quarterly-revenue-rises-stablecoin-growth-2025-11-12/
