2025-12-30 12:28

KYIV, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Russia attacked infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa region on Tuesday, damaging a civilian ship and facilities in the Black Sea ports of Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said. Kuleba said a civilian Panama-flagged ship loaded with grains was damaged, and that oil storage tanks were also hit. One person was wounded, he said on the Telegram app. Sign up here. "This is yet another targeted attack by Russia on civilian port infrastructure. The enemy is trying to disrupt logistics and complicate shipping," Kuleba said. Despite the attacks, both ports continued to operate, he said. Odesa and the wider nearby region are home to the Black Sea ports that are crucial for Ukraine's foreign trade and the survival of its wartime economy. Ukraine is a major global producer and exporter of agricultural products. During nearly four years of the war, the role of Odesa and its two other ports - Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk - as major trading hubs grew as other Ukrainian ports were destroyed, occupied, or disrupted by Russia's forces. In the past several months, maritime warfare between Ukraine and Russia has intensified. Both sides have attacked naval and commercial assets in the Black Sea and beyond. Ukraine is increasingly using its sea drones for attacks on ships connected to Russia’s shadow fleet. At the same time, Russia has stepped up its attacks on the city of Odesa and its port infrastructure. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/russia-attacks-ukraines-black-sea-ports-damages-civilian-ship-kyiv-says-2025-12-30/

2025-12-30 11:48

LONDON, Dec 30 (Reuters) - The pound touched its strongest level in two months on the euro and held steady against the dollar in Tuesday's holiday thinned trading, though there was little in terms of news to jolt the currency far. Sterling was flat on the dollar at $1.3518, just shy of last week's three-month top. Sign up here. The UK currency was marginally more active against the euro, firming as far as 87.03 pence to the common currency, sterling's strongest since mid October, though that was still little more than a 0.1% move on the day. Trading has been thin around the Christmas holiday period in Britain, and remains so in the run-up to the New Year holiday. That has left sterling still largely shaped by the Bank of England meeting earlier in December. The BoE cut interest rates after a narrow vote by policymakers, but it signalled that the already gradual pace of lowering borrowing costs might slow further. Should that materialise, that would see the pound remain supported versus other currencies, particularly the dollar, with the U.S. Federal Reserve expected to continue easing next year. Goldman Sachs analysts, however, said in a Tuesday note that with the British labour market weakening, they expect British headline inflation to fall further in the coming months. "As a result, we expect the Bank of England to cut the policy rate three times in 2026 for a terminal rate of 3%, below current pricing," they said. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-hits-strongest-two-months-euro-holiday-thinned-trade-2025-12-30/

2025-12-30 11:29

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Transalloys, which operates South Africa's last functioning manganese smelter, may have to close the plant and cut hundreds of jobs if its soaring electricity costs are not brought down, its CEO said on Tuesday. More than a dozen smelters have shut down in South Africa in recent years, citing high electricity costs, leading to thousands of job losses. Sign up here. Transalloys CEO Konstantin Sadovnik told local television station Newzroom Afrika on Tuesday that the business has been loss‑making for about three years, mainly due to sharply rising power costs, which make up nearly 40% of total expenses. The company plans to cut about 600 direct jobs, a move that could impact as many as 7,000 livelihoods in the broader economy of the eMalahleni municipality, where it is based. "Their jobs are indeed on the line," said Sadovnik. He said the plant could be mothballed pending a near‑term solution or closed permanently, depending on whether manganese smelters are included in a proposed electricity pricing framework being discussed by the government and the ferrochrome industry. South Africa is the world's largest producer of manganese, which is used in steel-making, but exports most of the mineral in ore form due to limited smelting capacity. The country's energy regulator Nersa is currently reviewing an interim power tariff adjustment for struggling smelters in the ferrochrome sector, with the government also working on a longer-term mechanism to support competitive pricing. "Energy is our biggest cost driver," Sadovnik said, adding that Transalloys is competing against smelters abroad whose electricity costs are "roughly half" of South Africa's regulated levels. The company hopes for a resolution within the next two months. Restructuring would proceed around February if no solution is found. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/south-africas-last-manganese-smelter-brink-high-power-costs-weigh-ceo-says-2025-12-30/

2025-12-30 11:25

Leadership acknowledges protests stem from economic pressure, promises monetary reforms Iranian rial hits record low under Western sanctions impact Previous protests drew violent crackdowns, widespread arrests DUBAI, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Protests over Iran's soaring cost of living spread to several universities on Tuesday, with students joining shopkeepers and bazaar merchants, semi-official media reported, as the government offered dialogue with demonstrators. Iran's rial currency has lost nearly half its value against the dollar in 2025, with inflation reaching 42.5% in December in a country where unrest has repeatedly flared in recent years and which is facing U.S. sanctions and threats of Israeli strikes. Sign up here. President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a social media post late on Monday that he had asked the interior minister to listen to "legitimate demands" of protesters. Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said a dialogue mechanism would be set up and include talks with protest leaders. "We officially recognise the protests ... We hear their voices and we know that this originates from natural pressure arising from the pressure on people's livelihoods," she said on Tuesday in comments carried by state media. PROTESTERS MARCH STREETS IN TEHRAN Video of protests, verified by Reuters as taking place in Tehran, showed scores of people marching along a street chanting "Rest in peace Reza Shah", a reference to the founder of the royal dynasty ousted in the 1979 Islamic revolution. Footage aired on Iranian state television on Monday showed people gathered in central Tehran chanting slogans. The semi-official Fars News Agency reported that hundreds of students held protests on Tuesday at four universities in Tehran. On social media, some Iranians voiced support for the protests with one, Soroosh Dadkhah, saying high prices and corruption had led people "to the point of explosion" and another, Masoud Ghasemi, warning of protests spreading across the country. Iranian authorities have quashed previous bouts of unrest that have flared over issues ranging from the economy to drought, women's rights and political freedoms, with violent security actions and widespread arrests. The government has not said what form dialogue will take with the leaders of this week's demonstrations, the first major protests since Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran in June, which prompted widespread expressions of patriotic solidarity. Pezeshkian said in a meeting with trade unions and market activists on Tuesday that the government will do its best to resolve their issues and address their worries, according to state media. SANCTIONS HAMMER ECONOMY Iran's economy has been in deep trouble for years after U.S. sanctions were reimposed in 2018 when U.S. President Donald Trump ended an international deal over the country's nuclear programme during his first term in office. United Nations sanctions on the country were reimposed in September and Reuters reported in October that several high-level meetings had been held on how to avert economic collapse, circumvent sanctions and manage public anger. Economic disparities between ordinary Iranians and the clerical and security elite, along with economic mismanagement and state corruption - reported even by state media - have fanned discontent at a time when inflation is pushing many prices beyond the means of most people. The currency slid to 1.4 million rials to the U.S. dollar on Tuesday according to private exchange platforms, a record low after starting the year at 817,500 rials to the dollar. Monthly annualised inflation figures have not dropped below 36.4% since the Iranian new year started in late March according to official figures. On Monday the central bank chief resigned with Iranian media saying the government's recent economic liberalisation policies had put pressure on the open-rate rial market, where ordinary Iranians buy foreign currency. Most businesses use official currency exchanges where the rial price is supported. In 2022, Iran was buffeted by protests across the country over price hikes, including for bread, a major staple. Over the same period and into 2023, the country's clerical rulers faced the boldest unrest in years touched off by the death of a young Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of the morality police, who enforce strict dress codes. Iran remains under intense international pressure, with Trump saying on Monday that he might back another round of Israeli airstrikes if Tehran resumed work on ballistic missiles or any nuclear weapons programme. The U.S. and Israel carried out 12 days of airstrikes on Iran's military and its nuclear installations in June aimed at stopping what they believe were efforts to develop the means to build an atomic weapon. Iran says its nuclear energy programme is entirely peaceful and that it has not tried to build a nuclear bomb. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/irans-government-offers-dialogue-protesters-2025-12-30/

2025-12-30 11:07

FTSE 100 up 0.4%; FTSE 250 up 0.2% Blue-chip FTSE 100 set for strongest annual gain since 2009 Mining shares gain as metal prices stabilize Dec 30 (Reuters) - UK shares edged higher in quiet trading on Tuesday, the penultimate session of 2025, with mining shares gaining some ground as metal prices stabilized a day after a sharp pullback. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index (.FTSE) , opens new tab added 0.4% by 1040 GMT, less than 0.2% away from its all-time high in November, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 index (.FTMC) , opens new tab eked out a 0.2% gain. Sign up here. Shares of Fresnillo (FRES.L) , opens new tab climbed 4.6%, while Glencore (GLEN.L) , opens new tab, Anglo American (AAL.L) , opens new tab and Rio Tinto (RIO.L) , opens new tab added between 0.6% and 2.8% as gold, silver and copper recovered from Monday's lows. Precious metal miners' stocks (.FTNMX551030) , opens new tab added 3%, while industrial metal miners (.FTNMX551020) , opens new tab firmed 1.9%, leading gains among sectors. Shares of heavyweights HSBC (HSBA.L) , opens new tab, Barclays (BARC.L) , opens new tab, Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) , opens new tab and Standard Chartered (STAN.L) , opens new tab, up between 0.8% and 1.1%, also supported FTSE 100's advance on Tuesday. Trading volumes at the London stock market have stayed below their 20‑day moving average since last week, LSEG data showed, as many investors were away during the holiday‑shortened Christmas and New Year period. Domestic markets will close early on Wednesday for New Year's Eve and remain closed across most of the world on Thursday, January 1. The FTSE index has climbed 21% in 2025, on track for its fifth consecutive year in the green and its strongest annual showing in 16 years helped by accommodative monetary policy, as well as gains in heavyweight financial and mining stocks. Earlier in December, the Bank of England cut interest rates by 25 basis points in a narrow vote for the fourth time this year but it signalled that the already gradual pace of lowering borrowing costs might slow further. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/british-equities-drift-higher-thin-year-end-trade-2025-12-30/

2025-12-30 11:04

ABIDJAN, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's ruling party increased its majority in parliament in elections held at the weekend, while the main opposition party, led by former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam, lost half of its seats, provisional results showed. The strong showing for the Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace, or RHDP, should make it easier for President Alassane Ouattara to implement his agenda that includes luring private investment to French-speaking West Africa's largest economy, the world's biggest cocoa grower. Sign up here. Ouattara, an 83-year-old former deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund who secured a fourth term in October, has also said he would use his mandate to prepare the way for a new generation of political leaders. The RHDP took 197 of 255 seats in the National Assembly in Saturday's elections, according to provisional results announced on Monday by the electoral commission, up from 163. Thiam's Democratic Party of Ivory Coast, or PDCI, won 32 seats, down from 65, while independent candidates won 23 seats. Voter turnout was 35.04%, down from 37.88% during the last legislative elections in 2021. Ouattara first came to power in 2011 after a four-month war. He was re-elected with more than 89% of the vote in the presidential contest on October 25 in which Thiam and former President Laurent Gbagbo were barred from running. Gbagbo's party boycotted this year's legislative elections, saying they would not be credible. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ivory-coasts-ruling-party-increases-its-majority-weekend-vote-2025-12-30/