2025-01-06 09:37
FRANKFURT, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Investor morale in the euro zone fell in January to its lowest in more than a year, a survey showed on Monday, with Germany remaining a continued drag on the bloc. The Sentix index for the euro zone dropped to -17.7 in January from -17.5 in December. That is the lowest level since November 2023, though it was not as bad as the -18.0 forecast by analysts polled by Reuters. "In the euro zone, the economic engine is threatening to freeze up for the long-term," the survey said, adding that Germany's recessionary economy "is hanging on to the euro zone like a lead weight". The survey of 1,121 investors from Jan. 2 to Jan. 4 showed expectations slightly improved to -5.0 in January from -5.8 points last month. But that gain was outweighed by the worsening view of the current situation, which sagged to -29.5 in January from -28.5 in December. That is the lowest level since October 2022. The survey also found that Germany - Europe's largest economy and one facing federal elections next month - appears to be in recession and is unlikely to emerge from it any time soon. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/euro-zone-investor-morale-falls-january-lowest-more-than-year-2025-01-06/
2025-01-06 07:41
JOHANNESBURG, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (ACLJ.J) , opens new tab said on Monday that it would proceed with the wind down of the Longs Steel business, which will be placed into care and maintenance subject to the consultation process. The steel producer said that jobs will be affected and the final number of cuts will depend on agreed alternatives and consultation outcomes. About 3,500 direct and indirect jobs may be affected, the company said. "The company is at a point where any further delay could affect the sustainability of the company and therefore, a decision cannot be pushed back any further," Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal SA's (MT.LU) , opens new tab South African division said in a trading statement. The company expects a headline loss per share of between 4.06 rand ($0.2164) and 4.41 rand for the year ended Dec. 31, from a 1.70 rand loss one year earlier. ($1 = 18.7628 rand) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/arcelormittal-south-africa-close-longs-steel-business-job-cuts-expected-2025-01-06/
2025-01-06 07:20
JAKARTA, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's ambitious multi-billion dollar programme to provide free meals to more than a quarter of his people was officially underway on Monday, officials said, with 570,000 mouths to feed on its opening day. Despite being the centrepiece of an election campaign that catapulted Prabowo to power last year, the scheme was rolled out with little fanfare on Monday, with no official launch and just 190 kitchens involved in preparing the first meals to school children and pregnant women in more than 20 provinces. The free meal plan will be a Herculean logistical effort when in full swing, with a target by 2029 of reaching 82.9 million of the country's 280 million population. Prabowo's signature policy has been controversial, however, with previous estimates of its cost of $28 billion over five years triggering concern among some economists that it could dent Indonesia's hard-won reputation for fiscal prudence. Prabowo has defended the programme and last month described it as strategic in countering child malnutrition and spurring growth in Indonesia's economy at regional level. It is estimated to cost 71 trillion rupiah ($4.39 billion) in its first stage this year, providing meals for 15 million people. At an elementary school in West Jakarta, staff carried food trays to class and students picked them up one by one, finding rice, fried chicken, fried tofu, beans, and an orange. Hana Yohana, a parent of a first grader, said she hoped the programme continues as it made her morning routine easier. "Thank God, this helps us. We normally had to work hard preparing food every morning, and now we don't," she said. The government and military, who will help prepare and distribute the meals, have been running pilot programmes where they have handed out trays of food including rice, chicken and milk. The number of meal recipients will gradually expand to 3 million by March and more throughout the year, according to Dedek Prayudi, a spokesperson for Prabowo's office. Dedek said milk would be given but not every day. Indonesia has imported dairy cows from Australia to boost milk production. ($1 = 16,193.0000 rupiah) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-dishes-out-first-free-meals-programme-targeting-83-million-people-2025-01-06/
2025-01-06 06:47
BEIJING, Jan 6 (Reuters) - China's Trina Solar (688599.SS) , opens new tab has set a new world record for the conversion efficiency of a certain type of solar module, the company said in a statement on Monday. In laboratory tests, Trina's large surface area n-type fully passivated heterojunction (HJT) modules demonstrated an efficiency of 25.44%, according to the results certified by the Fraunhofer CalLab in Germany, a solar research body. Passivation is a technology that covers defects on the surface of a solar cell, while cell efficiency refers to the percentage of solar energy hitting a device that is converted into usable electricity. Increasing cell efficiency can help reduce the size needed for solar installations as well as cut costs. Professor Martin Green at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, whose lab held the solar cell efficiency record for decades, said the result demonstrated the potential of HJT solar technology, one of several contending to become the predominant next-generation technology for the sector. "In the long run it's all about efficiency, so even if some sequences are at the moment more costly than others, what tends to happen is that as the industry gets itself into a new technology the cost comes down quite quickly," Green told Reuters. Trina's chairman and CEO Gao Jifan said the company will continue to increase its research and development in passivated solar technology to maintain its technology leadership. HJT remains a relatively small percentage of the market, estimated by solar consultancy InfoLink to make up 7% of high-efficiency solar cell capacity in 2024, 8% in 2025 and 9% in 2026. TopCON, or tunnel activated passive contact, cells are expected to make up the bulk of the market over the next five years. In addition to representing a record for HJT technology, the results are a new milestone for the photoelectric conversion efficiency of single-crystalline silicon solar cell modules, Trina said in the statement. (This story has been refiled to fix a typo in paragraph 3) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/trina-solar-sets-world-record-solar-technology-2025-01-06/
2025-01-06 06:35
Exports, FDI fuel GDP growth of 7.09% in 2024, vs 5.05% in 2023 Q4 growth was 7.55%, fastest quarterly growth in more than two years Senior official says data a 'good foundation' for economy in 2025 HANOI, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Vietnam's economy expanded 7.09% last year to $476.3 billion, faster than the 5.05% expansion in 2023, driven by strong exports and robust foreign investment inflows, government data showed on Monday. Gross domestic product grew 7.55% in the fourth quarter, the fastest quarterly growth in more than two years, the General Statistics Office said in a report. The Southeast Asian country, a regional manufacturing hub, has benefited from a recovery in global consumption despite being badly affected by Asia's strongest typhoon last year. "This is a positive result amid difficulties including natural disasters and is a good foundation for 2025 growth," Nguyen Thi Huong, head of the GSO, said at a press conference after the report was released. Exports in 2024 grew 14.3% from a year earlier to $405.53 billion, led by shipments of electronics, smartphones, clothing and farm produce, the report said. Imports grew 16.7% to $380.76 billion in 2024, resulting in a trade surplus of $24.77 billion. The strong rebound in growth was also helped by the government increasing coal imports for power generation to avoid a repeat of the electricity shortages of previous years. Coal imports in 2024 rose 24.8% from a year earlier to 63.8 million metric tons, while electricity output in the year rose 9.6% to 293.3 billion kilowatt hours. Foreign investment inflows into Vietnam rose 9.4% last year to $25.35 billion. Average consumer prices in 2024 were up 3.63% while industrial production output rose 8.4%. The benchmark stock index (.VNI) , opens new tab was up 0.13% as of mid-day on Monday after the release of the 2024 data. Vietnam has set an official GDP growth target of 6.5% to 7.0% for this year. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh last month said it would aim for growth of 8.0%. "Looking forward, Vietnam will actively monitor monetary policies, stabilise exchange rates, and monitor closely big trade partners to have timely policies," Huong said. She added that Vietnam was among countries concerned over Donald Trump's plans for his second term as U.S. President starting on Jan. 20. Trump has talked of imposing new tariffs on imports into the U.S. "When Trump takes office, his messages will be much clearer, and we will have preparations for the changes under his term accordingly," Huong said. Oxford Economics said in a note on Monday it expected Vietnam's GDP to grow 6.5% this year, but warned that the momentum of services exports seemed to be slowing. "Despite the positive growth data, challenges from the banking and real estate sectors remain, and credit growth has been below-trend," Oxford Economics added. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/vietnam-2024-gdp-growth-quickens-709-2025-01-06/
2025-01-06 06:29
Dollar fell sharply after report on narrower tariffs Euro jumps, Chinese yuan firms Canadian dollar higher after Trudeau resignation NEW YORK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar was lower on Monday in choppy trading after conflicting reports about how aggressive President-elect Donald Trump's tariff plans could be when he takes office. The dollar dropped as much as 1.07% on the session against a basket of major currencies after the Washington Post reported that Trump's aides were exploring plans that would apply tariffs to every country - but only on sectors seen as critical to U.S. national or economic security, easing concerns about harsher and wider levies. The dollar then sharply pared declines after Trump denied the report in a post on his Truth Social platform. "The reality here is that Trump's Truth Social views are going to drive FX volatility for a while and (Monday) morning's reaction is indicative of the underlying dynamics," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay in Toronto. "The market consensus is that Trump's bark will be worse than his bite, and any news that confirms that concept is fuel for rallying in risk assets and for a decline in the dollar and Treasury yields, but the reality here is that the downside risks remain and there's no clear endpoint for that," Schamotta added. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.64% to 108.26, with the euro up 0.76% at $1.0386. The dollar was on pace for its biggest daily percentage drop since Nov. 27 with the euro poised for its biggest daily gain since Aug. 2. The dollar index had reached a two-year high of 109.54 last week en route to its fifth straight weekly gain, as the resilient economy, the potential for higher inflation from tariffs and a slower pace of rate cuts from the Federal Reserve have buttressed the greenback. The Chinese yuan strengthened 0.16% against the greenback to 7.348 per dollar. The dollar reached a 26-month high against the currency last week as China is seen as one of Trump's major tariff targets. Also helping the dollar pare declines were comments from Fed Governor Lisa Cook, who said the Fed can afford to be cautious with any further rate cuts given an economy that is on solid footing and inflation that has been stickier than expected. Various Fed policymakers are scheduled to speak this week, and are likely to echo recent comments from other Fed officials that there remains a need to combat the stubborn levels of inflation. The euro, which hit its lowest level since November 2022 last week, strengthened after annual German inflation rose more than forecast in December, according to preliminary data. "There's a window there for potentially 2%, 3% or 4% correction in the dollar index that could unfold in the next while, but we'd need either a stronger sense that either the European economy's doing a bit better, so we see a further pick up in European interest rates, or some further moderation in expectations regarding tariffs to drive that," said Shaun Osborne, chief FX strategist at Scotiabank in Toronto. U.S. economic data showed new orders for U.S.-manufactured goods fell in November while business spending on equipment appeared to have slowed in the fourth quarter. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar firmed 0.17% to 157.53 while sterling strengthened 0.72% to $1.251. Investors will gauge a string of data on the U.S. labor market this week, culminating in Friday's key government payrolls report. The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.74% versus the greenback to C$1.43 per dollar after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would step down as leader of the ruling Liberals in the coming month. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/dollar-holds-near-two-year-high-yuan-under-threat-2025-01-06/
