2025-11-11 12:07

LONDON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab has challenged its defeat in an arbitration case against U.S. liquefied natural gas producer Venture Global in the New York Supreme Court, a legal filing seen by Reuters shows, weeks after rival BP (BP.L) , opens new tab won a similar $1 billion-plus arbitration. Both arbitration cases were over Venture Global's (VG.N) , opens new tab failure to deliver LNG under long-term contracts while selling on the spot market as prices soared after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Sign up here. Shell, in its new filing, argued that while the legal hurdle to challenge arbitration decisions is high, it believed such an appeal was justified because Venture Global held back crucial evidence. A Shell spokesperson confirmed the filing, which was dated Monday. Venture Global said Shell had a full and fair arbitration process, which resulted in a unanimous decision against the oil company. "Their court petition to vacate the award is without merit and is another desperate attempt to exert leverage to achieve a result they couldn’t secure contractually or in arbitration," a Venture Global spokesperson said in response to Reuters' request for comment. "Venture Global will continue to deliver, build and sign new customers — helping to keep the global market well supplied with low-cost LNG. We will continue to focus on progress, not distraction, and will be responding appropriately," the spokesperson added. Venture Global shares plummeted on the news, declining 11.3% to near an all-time low price of $7.48 seen in April 2024. The company has lost nearly 70% of its value since it went public in January of last year. Venture Global has enough cash to power through any arbitration decisions, CEO Mike Sabel told an earnings call on Monday. He said the company has enough projects and free cash flow to ensure growth continues uninterrupted. CRUCIAL DOCUMENTS NOT DISCLOSED Shell and other firms including BP, Edison (EDNn.MI) , opens new tab and Galp (GALP.LS) , opens new tab filed claims starting in 2023. They accused Venture Global of profiting from the sale of LNG on the spot market while not providing the firms with their cargoes agreed under long-term contracts from the Calcasieu Pass export facility in Louisiana. Shell lost its case in August, while BP won its case in October. Shell now aims to overturn August's arbitration decision, alleging that Venture Global failed to disclose crucial documents to explain why it had postponed the commercial start of operations beyond what Shell claims was the initial plan of 2022, the filing showed. Shell claims a third party testified in arbitration that the U.S. LNG supplier had communicated to the third party its decision to postpone the commercial start of operations of its Calcasieu Pass plant "abruptly and inexplicably". Shell claims it had requested the arbitrators to study the communication between Venture Global and the third party but the U.S. LNG supplier "avoided disclosure through a series of misleading statements". The undisclosed exchange of documents with a third party may raise serious questions about the reliability and integrity of witness testimony in an arbitration case, said Agnieszka Ason of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, adding that the petition does not reopen the case on its merits, but asks the court to vacate the arbitration award "on narrow, mainly procedural grounds". "While a post-award challenge may seem paradoxical, given that arbitration is intended to avoid court involvement, it remains an ordinary course of action for a losing party seeking to quash an unfavourable outcome," she said. Venture Global argued that the Calcasieu Pass LNG plant was still in start-up mode and therefore not obliged to sell cargoes under long-term contracts, Reuters previously reported, citing a source. The U.S. company argued that the plant only became fully operational in April this year once it was approved by regulators and lenders to do so, the same source said. SHELL MENTIONS BP CASE IN FILING Shell said in the new filing that Venture Global earned more than $20 billion from selling over 400 LNG cargoes on the spot market between 2022-25 before declaring commercial operations - and before starting deliveries to longer-term contract holders in April this year. Shell referred to BP's win in the legal filing. Reuters previously reported that BP won its arbitration case with an argument of unfair behaviour by the U.S. company, citing five sources close to the matter. Combined claims from customers amounted to $5.5 billion, Venture Global said last January before it won the case against Shell, lost against BP and settled with China's Unipec. "We are not able to comment further at this time, as the proceedings will be before the Court in due course and we remain bound by the confidentiality requirements of the contract and ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) arbitration rules," Shell said in an emailed statement. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/shell-challenges-venture-global-arbitration-decision-new-york-supreme-court-2025-11-11/

2025-11-11 11:52

BRASILIA, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Brazil's central bank said on Tuesday that recent economic developments evolving as expected have reinforced its view that the current 15% benchmark rate is adequate to bring inflation back to the 3% target. "The committee proceeds with the stage in which it opts to keep the rate unchanged for a very prolonged period, but with greater confidence that the current rate is enough to ensure the convergence of inflation to the target," it said. Sign up here. The message was conveyed in the minutes of its latest policy meeting last week, when it kept the Selic rate steady for the third straight time at a near 20-year high. The decision came during a sharper decline in market inflation expectations and clearer signs of a slowdown in Latin America's largest economy. However, the bank stressed in the minutes that services inflation remains resilient, driven by a still-strong labor market. Despite a downward trend in inflation expectations, they remain above target across all horizons, it added. "Perseverance, determination, and serenity in the conduct of monetary policy will support the continuation of this movement, which is crucial for the convergence of inflation to the target at a lower cost," it wrote. The bank said it had included a preliminary estimate of the impact of the government's measure expanding income tax exemptions in its inflation forecasts, while stressing the effect remains "highly uncertain" and will be monitored. Congress recently approved the higher exemption, a key pledge by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ahead of the 2026 elections, which analysts warn could fuel inflation. The central bank said it chose to maintain "a conservative and data-dependent stance," reinforced by recent fiscal and credit measures that were initially expected to cause deviations from projections but ultimately did not. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-central-bank-shows-stronger-conviction-keeping-rates-steady-2025-11-11/

2025-11-11 11:44

Nov 11 - What matters in U.S. and global markets today By Mike Dolan , opens new tab, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets Sign up here. Tuesday's tech-led Wall Street jump on a likely reopening of the U.S. government , opens new tab displayed dogged "buy-the-dip" behavior, but the move has run out of steam into today's Veterans Day holiday. With its quarterly results due out next week, the world's most valuable company Nvidia bounced 6% on Tuesday as the U.S. Senate passed a key bill to fund government through the end of January - moving the procedure to the House this week. The tech sector and megacaps led the S&P500's 1.5% surge while the Nasdaq rallied more than 2%. AI data analytics firm Palantir jumped 9% and Tesla climbed 4%. Still, the moves only reclaimed about two thirds of the 6% Nasdaq drop and 15% Nvidia swoon seen over the past two weeks. And futures have stalled into today's open. Nvidia-backed CoreWeave's shares dropped more than 7% overnight after it trimmed its annual revenue forecast, taking the shine off a strong September quarter driven by demand for AI cloud services. And as Japan's SoftBank reported more than a doubling of quarterly profits to 2.5 trillion yen ($16.6 billion), driven by valuation gains in its OpenAI holdings, it said it sold the remainder of its shares in Nvidia for almost $6 billion. SoftBank has been a repeat investor in Nvidia, selling its investment before the AI boom took off and then buying the chip giant's shares again before divesting in October. More broadly, Japanese government data showed domestic investors sold significant amounts of foreign stocks last month to lock in profits from the AI-fuelled rally. With Treasury markets closed today, the dollar was firmer - probing six-month highs against the yen after Monday's broadside from new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi against Bank of Japan tightening as she loosened fiscal policy rules more broadly. In Britain, UK government bond yields and the pound fell sharply on news that the unemployment rate there jumped to four-year highs and wage growth slowed - bolstering speculation that the Bank of England will cut interest rates again next month. Swiss stock markets and the Swiss franc jumped after U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States is working with Switzerland on a deal to lower the 39% tariff rate it faces on exports, with sources saying the rate is likely to be cut to 15%. Watchmaker stocks jumped 2-4%. In today's column, I look at whether centrists on the Federal Reserve's policymaking committee are turning more hawkish and making the case for a policy pause next month. Today's Market Minute Chart of the day Japanese investors sold significant amounts of foreign stocks last month to lock in profits from an AI-fuelled rally amid concerns over stretched valuations and the U.S. government shutdown. According to data from Japan's Ministry of Finance on Tuesday, domestic investors withdrew about 1.84 trillion yen ($12.20 billion) from foreign stock markets in October - the largest net sales for a month since June. Today's events to watch * U.S. Veterans Day, bond markets closed * U.S. NFIB October small business survey (6:00 AM EDT) * Federal Reserve Board Governor Michael Barr speaks 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 author. 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-2025-11-11/

2025-11-11 11:24

Toronto Stock Exchange gains led by energy and financial sectors Utilities and technology stocks temper overall index gains Investors await larger catalysts for significant market movement Nov 11 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index closed slightly higher on Tuesday as relief over the end of the U.S. government shutdown gave way to caution, with investors signaling they need bigger catalysts to push the market higher. The S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab closed 0.31% up at 30,409.25 points, led by index-heavyweight sectors such as energy, industrials and financials. Sign up here. However, losses in utility and technology stocks tempered the index's gains. "America is the world's largest economy by far. Their government's been shut down for the longest period in the history of America. So when you bring that government back together... that's a real positive," said Robert Gill, portfolio manager at Fairbank Investment Management. However, investors are waiting for some larger catalysts to move higher and not just chasing returns, he added. Higher commodity prices and a potential end to the longest U.S. government shutdown had lifted the index on Monday. The positive momentum continued as the U.S. Senate passed a bill late on Monday to end the shutdown that has weighed on the U.S. economy and stalled economic data. The modest gains on the TSX were also aided by higher oil prices that lifted energy stocks and a general positive mood that pushed financial shares up. The energy index (.SPTTEN) , opens new tab, which accounts for almost 13% of the main TSX index, ended up 1.56%. Oil prices gained about $1 with Brent crude futures trading at $65.03 a barrel on Tuesday due to the impact of the latest U.S. sanctions on Russian oil and the optimism over a potential end to the U.S. government shutdown, although oversupply concerns limited gains. The index of financial companies (.SPTTFS) , opens new tab, with over one-fourth share of the index weight, ended up 0.18% while real estate shares on average rose by 1.23%. Gill from Fairbank said that potential good news from the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Canada, some breakthrough in the current geopolitical situation or the resumption of trade talks between Canada and the U.S. could be the likely triggers for the TSX. The TSX has had a stellar year so far with the main index rising by almost 22% led by gold, energy and mining stocks, even though fears around overvaluation of technology stocks have started to resurface lately. Utilities were down on the TSX on Tuesday with Brookfield Renewable Partners shares declining 5.64% after the electric utility announced a $650 million equity raise. https://www.reuters.com/business/tsx-futures-flat-investors-seek-fresh-catalysts-2025-11-11/

2025-11-11 11:17

Russian and Kazakh presidents meeting in Moscow Kremlin keen to hear about Tokayev's talks with Trump Sanctioned Lukoil holds stakes in Kazakh fields MOSCOW, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will discuss gas projects and the fallout from U.S. sanctions on Russian oil companies at talks in Moscow on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Kremlin said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would also be keen to hear about talks that Tokayev and other Central Asian leaders held with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington last week. Sign up here. "If the president of Kazakhstan considers it necessary to inform our president about the content of the contacts he had in Washington, of course that will be extremely interesting for the Russian side," Peskov said. US OIL SANCTIONS ON THE AGENDA Asked whether the two leaders would talk about the impact of U.S. sanctions on Russian oil majors Lukoil (LKOH.MM) , opens new tab and Rosneft (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab, Peskov said: "Our trade and economic cooperation with Kazakhstan is very much multi-faceted. It covers virtually every possible area of cooperation." "Therefore, all areas of cooperation will be discussed in detail without fail," he said. Both Russian oil companies, which were sanctioned by the Trump administration last month as U.S. efforts to broker peace in Ukraine have stalled, have significant holdings in Kazakhstan, itself an energy giant that exports most of its oil via Russia. Lukoil holds stakes in the Tengiz and Karachaganak fields, which are operated by Western majors. WALKING A DIPLOMATIC TIGHTROPE Kazakhstan has walked a diplomatic tightrope over the war in Ukraine, maintaining close ties with neighbour and major trading partner Russia whilst also expressing support for Ukraine's territorial integrity. Russia has long been the principal outside power in Central Asia, though China also enjoys significant influence and Western powers are looking to deepen their own relationships in the region. Kazakhstan's Tokayev joined the four other Central Asian presidents in visiting Washington last week, where they held talks with Trump and Tokayev heralded the "beginning of a new era of interaction between the United States and Central Asia." https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/putin-kakakhstans-tokayev-discuss-gas-projects-kremlin-says-2025-11-11/

2025-11-11 11:08

CACHAGUA ISLAND, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Chilean scientists warned of further risks to the world's shrinking population of Humboldt penguins, one of the few species that live on rocky coastlands in more temperate regions, after officials declared the species endangered. Chile's Pacific coast is home to 80% of the world's remaining Humboldt penguins, and scientists at the Universidad de Concepcion estimate that their numbers have dwindled to fewer than 20,000 from around 45,000 in the late 1990s. Sign up here. International organizations consider the species vulnerable and prohibit commercial trade, but late last month Chile's Environment Ministry reclassified the seabird as "endangered." Biologists fear numbers will continue to decline. Competition for food from commercial fishing as well as habitat loss, pollution, bird flu and the worsening impacts of climate change have contributed to declining numbers. "The series of threats facing penguins today has not diminished," Guillermo Cubillos, a marine biologist at Chile's national zoo, told Reuters. "If these threats persist over time, it is very likely this species will go from endangered to critically endangered, and from there it is a very short step to the species disappearing for good." Paulina Arce, a veterinary expert on the Humboldt penguin, said the species is threatened by deaths in fishing nets as well as competition for marine resources, and the classification calls for stricter legislation for sustainable fishing, both on the industrial and small-scale fronts. "The measures that have been implemented so far are not working," she said. "It is useless to reclassify a species if this is not combined with measures to ensure that this species can continue to live and feed in its habitats." Legislation, Arce said, is key so humans can coexist with nature. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/chiles-endangered-humboldt-penguins-risk-further-decline-scientists-say-2025-11-11/