2025-01-20 20:39

Jan 20 (Reuters) - Newly sworn-in President Donald Trump has tapped Mark Uyeda, a Republican member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to be acting chair of the agency, the White House said on Monday. Uyeda takes over from Gary Gensler, former President Joe Biden's hard-charging SEC chair whose ambitious agenda led him to clash with Wall Street and the crypto industry. Trump has said he will nominate former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins to run the agency on a permanent basis. Atkins, for whom both Uyeda and current SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce both previously worked at the agency, is expected to make a sharp turn away from how the Biden administration oversaw capital markets. Gensler, who stepped down on Monday, inked dozens of rules aimed at boosting transparency, reducing risks, and stamping out conflicts of interest on Wall Street. He also sued multiple crypto firms he alleged were flouting SEC rules. Sources said this month that Peirce and Uyeda are expected to kick-start a cryptocurrency policy overhaul as early as this week, Reuters reported. Uyeda's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Republican SEC commissioner since June 2022, Uyeda has criticized Gensler's approach to rulemaking and enforcement. "The pending administration change will give the SEC a chance to reset its regulatory agenda to focus on capital formation and innovation, while protecting investors, like seniors, from scam artists defrauding them," Uyeda told Reuters in November. Uyeda's appointment is likely to be applauded by crypto companies, as he has criticized the SEC for failing to offer guidance on how crypto companies can register with the agency. He called the agency's approach a "disaster for the whole industry" in an October interview with Fox Business. During his time at the SEC, Uyeda has called for the agency to ease what he said were regulatory burdens that prevented companies from going public and advocated for clear rules on digital assets. He regularly also voted against approving, and at times publicly dissented on, SEC enforcement actions, including a settlement with the blank-check company that helped take Trump's media company public. Before joining the SEC, Uyeda worked for former U.S. Senator Pat Toomey on the Senate Banking Committee and was previously tapped by former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as a top advisor to the state's securities regulator. Uyeda attended Georgetown University and Duke University's law school. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/trump-taps-republican-uyeda-acting-sec-chair-white-house-says-2025-01-20/

2025-01-20 20:34

WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Newly sworn-in President Donald Trump vowed on Monday that the United States would take back the Panama Canal as he delivered an inauguration speech in which he invoked the 19th century expansionist doctrine of "Manifest Destiny" in laying out plans for space exploration. Doubling down on his pre-inauguration threat to reimpose U.S. control over the canal, Trump again accused Panama of breaking the promises it made for the final transfer of the strategic waterway in 1999 and of ceding its operation to China - claims that the Panamanian government has vehemently denied. "We didn't give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we're taking it back," Trump said. He gave no further details on when or how he intended to do that but had previously refused to rule out possible use of military force, which drew criticism from Washington's Latin American friends and foes alike. Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino on Monday responded on X that his country has administered the canal responsibly for world trade, including for the U.S., and that it "is and will continue to be Panamanian." Trump's reiteration of his threat about the Panama Canal as he began his second term was his most blatant mention of an agenda for territorial expansion that he has laid out in recent weeks. In the run-up to his inauguration, he had also said he wanted to acquire Greenland, portraying the overseas Danish territory as crucial for U.S. national security interests, and mused about turning Canada into a U.S. state. POSSIBLE ENCOURAGEMENT FOR RUSSIA, CHINA AMBITIONS Critics have accused Trump of language that evokes modern-day imperialism, suggesting such rhetoric could encourage Russia on its war in Ukraine and give justification to China if it decides to invade self-ruled Taiwan. "You can’t be a president of peace and take back the Panama Canal," Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia under the Obama administration, wrote on X. Some analysts have questioned whether Trump is serious about pursuing what critics say would be a land grab, speculating he may be laying down an extreme negotiating position to squeeze out concessions later on. Also, Trump, in first term from 2017-2021, was known for issuing some headline-grabbing threats and pronouncements that he failed to deliver on. While Trump made no mention of Greenland or Canada in his inaugural address, he offered hints of territorial aspirations during his second four-year term. "The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation, one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons," he said. "And we will pursue our Manifest Destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars," Trump added. Manifest Destiny, a phrase originally coined in the mid-1800s, was the belief in a God-ordained right of the U.S. to expand its control throughout North America, and was used to justify the seizure of lands from Mexico and from Native Americans. In Monday's speech, Trump also repeated his promise to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Trump said the U.S. had "foolishly" given the Panama Canal to Panama. The United States largely built the canal and administered territory surrounding the passage for decades. But the United States and Panama signed a pair of accords in 1977 that paved the way for the canal's return to full Panamanian control. The United States handed it over in 1999 after a period of joint administration. "We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made, and Panama's promise to us has been broken. The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated," Trump said. He said U.S. ships are "being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form." Panama has insisted that it treats fairly all vessels that transit the canal, and has said China has no control over its administration. China does not control or administer the canal, but a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings 0001.HK has long managed two ports located near the canal's Caribbean and Pacific entrances. Shortly after Trump spoke on Monday, the Panama maritime authority said it had launched an audit of the Panama Ports Company, controlled by CK Hutchison. The canal is an 82-km (51-mile) artificial waterway that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans through Panama and is critical to U.S. imports of autos and commercial goods by container ships from Asia, and for U.S. exports of commodities, including liquefied natural gas. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trump-says-us-will-take-back-panama-canal-2025-01-20/

2025-01-20 20:27

BUENOS AIRES, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Argentina posted a record $18.9 billion trade surplus for 2024, according to official data released on Monday, that largely coincides with libertarian President Javier Milei's first full year on the job. Last year's trade surplus exceeds the previous annual record of $16.89 billion set in 2009, and came in at the upper end of the forecast from analysts polled by Reuters, who expected a figure between $18 billion and $19 billion. December's monthly trade balance featured a $1.67 billion surplus, marking thirteen consecutive months that the value of exports exceeded the value of imports. The December data was also well above the $921 million surplus forecast in a Reuters poll. Since he took office in late 2023, Milei has bet on boosting grains and energy exports along with slashing public spending in a bid to tame runaway inflation in South America's second-biggest economy. The far-right economist and one-time political outsider aims to make Argentina a net energy exporter, powered by its vast shale oil and gas reserves, while also easing currency controls to boost other exports, including from the country's major grains sector. The value of last year's exports stood at nearly $80 billion, led by farming and ranching, while imports totaled almost $61 billion, according to data from the government's official statistics office. Neighboring Brazil was the main destination for Argentina's exports last year, accounting for 17% of the total, followed by buyers in the United States and Chile. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/argentina-marks-record-trade-surplus-nearly-19-bln-mileis-first-year-president-2025-01-20/

2025-01-20 20:05

ACCRA, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Ghana has delayed the delivery of 370,000 metric tons of cocoa in the 2023/24 season due to poor output, its food and agribusiness minister-designate told a parliamentary committee Monday, up from the 350,000 tons previously reported by Reuters. The unprecedented move to delay delivery from the previous 2023/24 season to the ongoing season follows a sharp drop in production to a two-decade low, Eric Opoku said during his vetting process in parliament. Reuters reported in June that Ghana, the world's No.2 cocoa producer, was looking to delay the delivery of up to 350,000 tons of cocoa beans to the following season due to poor crops. Cocoa production in the West African country peaked in 2021, with output of over 1 million tons of beans. But it has been in rapid decline ever since, hitting its lowest level in decades last season. Analysts say climate change and tree disease are responsible, while many farmers also blame the government for failing to clamp down on wildcat gold mining that has destroyed large parts of the cocoa heartland. Opoku said production fell to "the lowest in two decades" in the 2023/24 season, citing production figures of below 550,000 tons provided by the cocoa marketing board (COCOBOD). He said the poor cocoa output forced Cocobod to default on the repayment of a $800 million loan secured from international lenders to finance cocoa purchases that season. Cocobod could not immediately be reached for comment. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/ghana-delayed-delivery-370000-t-cocoa-202324-season-official-says-2025-01-20/

2025-01-20 20:04

COPENHAGEN, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Offshore wind developer Orsted (ORSTED.CO) , opens new tab on Monday posted an impairment charge of 12.1 billion Danish crowns ($1.69 billion) in the fourth quarter, citing a delay and higher costs for its Sunrise Wind project, as well as higher U.S. financing costs. The company said it had reassessed the 924-megawatt offshore wind project, situated about 30 miles east of Montauk, New York, to include delays and increased costs, which would lead to an impairment of 4.3 billion crowns in the fourth quarter. "The impairments announced today, and especially the continued construction challenges, are very disappointing," Orsted CEO Mads Nipper said in a statement. "We remain committed to the U.S. market in the long term with its potential for renewables ... We continue to navigate the complexities and uncertainties we face in a nascent offshore industry in the new U.S. market," he added. The expected commissioning of Sunrise Wind has been delayed into the second half of 2027, Orsted said, adding that project costs had increased in particular with regard to the monopile foundations to keep fabrication and installation on track. Orsted also said higher U.S. financing costs had hurt its U.S. portfolio, primarily its offshore wind projects, leading to an impairment of 4.3 billion crowns in the fourth quarter. The company's preliminary profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, and excluding new partnerships and cancellation fees, landed at 24.8 billion crowns for the full year of 2024. ($1 = 7.1779 Danish crowns) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/orsted-flags-impairments-about-17-billion-us-rate-increases-2025-01-20/

2025-01-20 19:50

Nu Holdings considering moving legal domicile to UK, CEO says Nubank looking at now 'more attractive' US market for expansion No plans now to enter a new market, eyes move in 18-24 months DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Nu Holdings Ltd (NU.N) , opens new tab, the fintech that created Latin America's most valuable lender in Nubank, is considering moving its legal domicile to Britain ahead of a global expansion that may include the United States, its founder and CEO David Velez told Reuters. "We are actively thinking what are some of the jurisdictions that make sense for us to consider, as we think about the next 10 years of global expansion," Velez said on Monday. "We are considering the UK," he added, while cautioning that tax changes bring "uncertainty in terms of jurisdiction and where to operate," Velez said in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos. If Nu Holdings goes ahead with moving its legal base to Britain, a move Bloomberg said the bank was considering in a report citing sources last November, it will be a significant coup for the country in the post-Brexit financial landscape. Since Velez started Nubank's operations in Sao Paulo more than a decade ago, it has grown past 100 million customers in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, making it one of the world's largest digital challenger banks. Velez said President Donald Trump's new U.S. administration, which has signalled a likely embrace of regulation for digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, should create a more favourable environment for Nubank to consider entering that market. "With the U.S. getting on board, fintech and crypto are back," Velez said. "When an administration suddenly sees fintech as being good for consumers and more competition, that makes it more attractive." Velez said that a streamlining of U.S. regulations could make the banking sector more interesting for new entrants. "The U.S. has several regulatory agencies regulating the same thing. So if there is a simplification of the regulatory agencies, they could make a much more interesting environment for other players to come in," he added. While Europe is a relevant market from a size perspective, Velez said it is not a priority for Nubank to launch services, given the regulatory and competitive environment. Instead, he said a potential European domicile could serve as a legal presence from which to manage the group and recruit talent. Nubank, which is domiciled in the Cayman Islands, already has about 40 employees working from offices it opened in Berlin in 2017. Asked about expanding internationally, Velez said Nubank's $150 million investment last month in Singapore-based digital bank Tyme Group, which has 15 million customers in South Africa and the Philippines, offered a window into new emerging markets. "When you look at a lot of emerging markets, there are a lot of similarities with what we've seen in Brazil and Mexico," he said, adding there were no immediate plans for entering a new market, but he expected to make a move in the next 18 to 24 months. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/nubank-ceo-considers-moving-domicile-britain-expanding-us-2025-01-20/