2026-01-05 10:04

LONDON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - British consumer borrowing rose by the most in two years in November, Bank of England data showed on Monday, suggesting household demand remained solid ahead of finance minister Rachel Reeves' budget. Consumer borrowing grew by a net 2.08 billion pounds ($2.79 billion) during the month, the most since November 2023 and more than any forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. Sign up here. The increase was above October's 1.713 billion-pound rise, taking the annual rate of consumer credit growth to 8.1%, the fastest since the 12 months to May 2024. "Today's release adds to the evidence that speculation about tax rises ahead of November's Budget didn't influence households' spending decisions too much," Alex Kerr, UK economist at Capital Economics, said. "This also suggests there isn't much scope for a pick-up in consumer spending in 2026." Reeves announced 26 billion pounds in tax rises in her annual budget on November 26 but delayed the introduction of most of the increases. The BoE said the number of mortgages approved by British lenders for house purchase fell to 64,530 in November from 65,010 in October. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast that there would be 64,400 mortgage approvals in November. ($1 = 0.7445 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-mortgage-approvals-dip-november-consumer-borrowing-rises-2026-01-05/

2026-01-05 09:52

Jan 5 (Reuters) - China's top financial regulator asked its policy banks and other major lenders to report their lending exposure to Venezuela after the U.S. capture of the Venezuelan president, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. The National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) also advised banks to strengthen risk monitoring of all Venezuela-related credit, seeking to assess potential dangers to China's lenders, the report added. Sign up here. The NFRA did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment. For years, China has extended credit lines to Venezuela under loans-for-oil deals. The Bloomberg report said the NFRA's move highlights growing concerns among regulators over potential shocks to the banking sector as geopolitical risks mount. Billions in loans have been extended over the past decade by China to the South American country, primarily led by policy banks such as China Development, the report added. China's foreign ministry on Monday reiterated Beijing's stance on the situation after the U.S. attack on Venezuela and called for the immediate release of President Nicolas Maduro. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/china-nudges-banks-disclose-lending-ties-with-venezuela-bloomberg-news-reports-2026-01-05/

2026-01-05 09:48

TAIPEI, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker, reported record fourth-quarter revenue on Monday, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence products. Revenue for Nvidia's (NVDA.O) , opens new tab biggest server maker and Apple's (AAPL.O) , opens new tab top iPhone assembler jumped 22.07% from the same quarter last year to T$2.6028 trillion ($82.73 billion), Foxconn said in a statement. Sign up here. The results exceeded the T$2.418 trillion LSEG SmartEstimate, which gives greater weight to forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate. Foxconn said revenue for the quarter grew significantly on both a quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year basis, exceeding its expectations and creating a high base of comparison for the first quarter of 2026. For the first quarter, information and communications technology products have entered a seasonal slowdown, Foxconn said in the statement. However, robust demand for AI server rack products, even against the elevated fourth-quarter base, is expected to bring performance toward the upper end of its past five-year range. On a U.S. dollar basis, Foxconn (2317.TW) , opens new tab said fourth-quarter revenue rose 26.4%. The growth was driven by strong performance in Foxconn's cloud and networking products division, led by booming demand for AI products, while its smart consumer electronics segment - which includes iPhones - posted a slight revenue decline due to unfavorable exchange rates. In December alone, Foxconn posted revenue of T$862.86 billion, up 31.77% annually and a record for that month. Foxconn, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry, does not provide numerical forecasts. It will report fourth-quarter earnings in March. Foxconn's shares rose 25.3% last year, in line with the broader Taiwan market (.TWII) , opens new tab. The stock closed up 1.08% on Monday ahead of the revenue data, compared with a 2.57% gain for the benchmark index. ($1 = 31.4620 Taiwan dollars) https://www.reuters.com/world/china/foxconns-q4-revenue-surges-2207-year-earlier-ai-demand-2026-01-05/

2026-01-05 07:40

Geopolitical risks may be underestimated after U.S. action in Venezuela, investors warn Markets relatively calm due to partly Venezuela's small oil output, analysts say U.S. actions raise questions on implications for China and Iran SINGAPORE, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Markets may have shrugged off the audacious U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, but some investors warn that geopolitical risks are perhaps being underestimated after Donald Trump threatened further action in the Americas. Investors held their nerve on Monday, with stocks in Asia surging and oil prices down modestly although safe-haven flows lifted gold prices, after President Trump said the U.S. would take control of the oil-producing nation. Sign up here. While Washington has not made such a direct intervention in Latin America since the invasion of Panama in 1989, Trump's threats against Colombia and Mexico highlighted the aggressive shift in U.S. policy and brought geopolitical perils back to the fore for financial markets at the start of the year. "We're being reminded that geopolitical risks are much larger than some number cast on imports," said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro research for Asia Ex-Japan at Mizuho Securities in Singapore. "The case and the question in mind is - Is broader LatAm stability at risk? Then it's a different proposition isn't it, the flow-through effects and all could be much greater." Analysts and investors said the relatively calm market reaction to Maduro's capture was because Venezuela's oil production relative to global output is small and it would take years of investment for production to catch up. Still, the far-reaching impact of the military actions will weigh on sentiment, although the move could unlock Venezuela's vast oil reserves and boost risk assets over the longer-term. American oil companies are prepared to tackle the difficult task of entering Venezuela and investing to restore production in the South American country, Trump said. "There should be broader geopolitical implications from this event, but in my view, the financial markets are not very efficient in pricing such risks accurately," said Tai Hui, chief market strategist for Asia-Pacific at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. MARKETS' FIRST TEST IN 2026 U.S. and global stocks made a fast start to the new year after ending 2025 near record highs, having notched double-digit gains in a tumultuous year dominated by tariff wars, central bank policy and simmering geopolitical tensions. The immediate impact is likely to be seen in the defence sector as countries are expected to keep raising defence spending in the wake of Trump's readiness to use U.S. military force as part of his broader policy agenda. At the same time, the heightened uncertainty around U.S. policies will weigh on the dollar and its safe-haven status, analysts say. The U.S. dollar firmed a bit on Monday but is coming off its worst year since 2017, dropping over 9% against major currencies in 2025. For investors, Trump's actions in Venezuela have also raised uneasy questions about their implications for China's posture towards Taiwan and whether Washington might push more aggressively for regime change in Iran. However, Li Fang-kuo, chairman of Taiwan food conglomerate Uni-President (1216.TW) , opens new tab stock investment advisory unit, said investors are not worried that China might attack Taiwan. "Yes, China has staged military drills around Taiwan, but we've seen nothing like the months of escalation we saw from the U.S. (against Venezuela)." Indeed, some analysts say investors have increasingly become used to Trump's various foreign policy and military gambits. Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo, said the U.S. action in Venezuela is more of a geopolitical bombshell rather than an oil shock for now, noting that unless it threatens the broader supply chain, investors tend to rotate back to rates, earnings, and positioning. "We’re in a regime where geopolitics has become a persistent feature, not a surprise." https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trumps-venezuela-gambit-tests-investor-appetite-geopolitical-risk-2026-01-05/

2026-01-05 07:39

TOKYO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Toda Construction said on Monday that its consortium has started commercial operations at the Goto offshore wind farm in Nagasaki in southern Japan, marking the country's first commercial floating wind project. The 16.8-megawatt (MW) floating wind farm is the first facility certified under a new law by the industry and land ministries aimed at promoting the sector, as Japan seeks to expand renewable power capacity to meet its 2050 carbon-neutral goal. Sign up here. The Goto Floating Wind Farm consortium, led by Toda and comprising five other companies including Eneos (5020.T) , opens new tab and Osaka Gas (9532.T) , opens new tab, uses a hybrid spar-type floater with a steel upper section and a concrete lower section. Designed and built by Toda, it marks the world's first commercial application of hybrid spar-type floater technology, the company said. Japan aims to develop 10 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind projects by 2030 to bolster energy security and cleaner power, but the sector faces growing uncertainty amid rising costs and developer withdrawals. The country is also targeting a 45-GW offshore wind pipeline by 2040, including 15 GW or more of floating wind across its vast exclusive economic zone, the world's sixth largest. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/toda-starts-commercial-operation-japans-first-floating-wind-farm-2026-01-05/

2026-01-05 07:14

AMSTERDAM, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Snowfall disrupted air, train and road traffic in the Netherlands on Monday, as hundreds of flights were cancelled and trains around Amsterdam came to a standstill. Amsterdam Schiphol airport, one of Europe's busiest hubs, cancelled almost 500 flights on Monday morning and was closed to incoming traffic until 1200 GMT due to the snow, news agency ANP reported. Sign up here. Planes headed for Amsterdam were diverted to other airports, ANP said. Schiphol could not immediately be reached for further comment. The airport had already been forced to scrap hundreds of flights a day since Friday due to snow and icy temperatures. The snow, which covered large parts of the Netherlands on Monday morning, also crippled traffic. The Dutch railway company NS said no trains were operating in the region around Amsterdam and public transport was severely affected in many places across the country. Ice and snow also caused many delays and accidents on the roads, even as authorities advised people to stay at home whenever possible. Snowfall is expected to continue in the Netherlands throughout the week. https://www.reuters.com/world/amsterdam-airport-scraps-450-flights-due-snow-ice-anp-reports-2026-01-05/