2025-11-07 14:06
WASHINGTON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - The economic impact of the U.S. government shutdown is far worse than expected, but the U.S. economy is likely to rebound quickly once it ends, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Friday. Construction projects are starting to slow down and travel is suffering, Hassett said in an interview with Fox Business Network. Sign up here. "Travel and leisure is a place that's really being heavily hit right now, and if it continues to get hit, if the air travel thing goes south for another week or two, then you could say that they would have at least a near-term downturn," Hassett said. Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, stopped short of saying any pocket of the U.S. economy was in recession, not going as far as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did last week. The labor market is a bit softer, in part because of uncertainty caused by the 38-day government shutdown, Hassett said on "Mornings with Maria." Hassett said he was disappointed after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed could pause interest rates in December. In remarks to reporters later at the White House, Hassett said he expected the U.S. economy to bounce back quickly once the federal government reopens. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/impact-us-government-shutdown-far-worse-than-expected-white-house-adviser-says-2025-11-07/
2025-11-07 13:24
S&P lowered rating outlook to negative in April Fiscal pledges mount ahead of 2026 national vote Economy mired in stagnation for a third year PM Orban launches pension top-up, tax cuts BUDAPEST, Nov 7 (Reuters) - A sharp rise in Hungary's budget deficit, if coupled with higher inflation and currency market pressure, could threaten Hungary's credit rating, S&P Global said, as public spending promises mount in the run-up to a tightly contested 2026 election. Faced with the weakest economic stretch of his 15-year rule, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has launched tax cuts for families, wage hikes and other measures ahead of the vote, which S&P Global estimates are already worth some 2% of economic output. Sign up here. On Tuesday, Orban said his government would launch a pension top-up from January, targeting a key demographic with an extra month of payment despite a fresh warning from Fitch Ratings that Hungary's deficit cuts would be slower than expected. "One of the downside dimensions that we are watching, among others, is the developments to Hungary's near- and medium-term fiscal position," S&P Global told Reuters. In April, it lowered the outlook on Hungary's BBB- ratings to negative from stable. S&P said its baseline forecast saw higher budget deficits than the government's targets, taking the possibility of additional public spending promises into account. In mid-October, S&P projected Hungary's budget deficit at 4.5% of economic output this year and 4.25% in 2026. The government now expects a deficit of between 4 and 4.5% this year and around 4% next year. "Should Hungary's fiscal path materially deviate from our forecast, and particularly if coupled with elevated inflation and compounding currency market pressures, risks to the rating level would build," it said in an emailed reply to questions. As an example of the fiscal pressures, Hungary spent 536 billion forints ($1.61 billion) in February under an existing pension top-up scheme, adding to a large shortfall at the start of 2025. Hungary's central bank has left its benchmark rate at the European Union's highest level of 6.5% for more than a year amid uncertainty over the inflation outlook. Government price controls have kept a lid on inflation in the run-up to the vote. ($1 = 333.79 forints) https://www.reuters.com/business/sharp-rise-hungarys-deficit-inflation-could-harm-credit-rating-sp-global-says-2025-11-07/
2025-11-07 12:53
Nov 7 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi state oil firm ADNOC's trading unit plans to increase the volume it handles by two-thirds over the next few years as part of its international expansion, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing its CEO. ADNOC has been stepping up its global expansion in recent years to find new revenue streams for the Gulf state, including building trading operations since 2018. Sign up here. State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company sees trading as a way to capture greater value from the sale of fuels produced in the emirate and elsewhere, Ahmed Bin Thalith, chief executive officer of ADNOC Global Trading, told Bloomberg in an interview published on Friday. "In only five years, we've established offices in Singapore, in Geneva and, soon to come, in the U.S.,” Thalith told Bloomberg. Reuters reported last year that ADNOC was planning to set up a trading desk in the U.S. as part of the United Arab Emirates-backed oil and gas producer's global expansion efforts. Thalith told Bloomberg that the next phase of ADNOC Global Trading's expansion would be an office in Houston in 2027. ADNOC counts two divisions as part of its trading business - ADNOC Trading, focused on crude oil, and ADNOC Global Trading, a joint venture with Italy's Eni (ENI.MI) , opens new tab and Austria's OMV (OMVV.VI) , opens new tab, focused on refined products. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/uaes-oil-trading-arm-plans-rapid-global-expansion-bloomberg-reports-2025-11-07/
2025-11-07 12:47
NEW DELHI, Nov 7 (Reuters) - India's top gas importer Petronet LNG (PLNG.NS) , opens new tab will receive 500,000 tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2026 in its 1.2 million ton per year supply deal with ExxonMobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab from Australia's Gorgon project, its managing director said on Friday. Petronet already imports 1.42 million tons per year of LNG from the Gorgon project, in which ExxonMobil has a stake, under a separate long-term contract with the U.S. oil major. Sign up here. The first cargo under the new 15-year deal, which was agreed in 2017, is expected to arrive between March and April next year, Managing Director A.K. Singh told a press conference. ExxonMobil will deliver about eight cargoes to Petronet in 2026, Singh said. The volumes will gradually increase over three years to 20 cargoes annually, equivalent to 1.2 million tons per year, he said. Singh said global LNG prices could hover around $11-$12 per million British thermal units if the winter is severe, but expects prices to soften in 2026 as more supply comes online globally. Indian companies are investing in their gas infrastructure as the country aims to raise the share of natural gas in its energy mix to 15% by 2030 from the current 6.2%. Petronet plans to complete the expansion of its Dahej LNG import terminal in western India to 22.5 million tons per year by March 2026, Singh said. It also operates a 5 million-ton-per-year LNG terminal at Kochi in southern India and is building a new 4-million-ton-per-year plant at Gopalpur in easter Odisha state. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/indias-petronet-lng-get-500000-t-lng-exxon-2026-under-new-deal-2025-11-07/
2025-11-07 12:46
HELSINKI, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Finnish petrol station chain Teboil, owned by Russia's Lukoil, is running out of fuel as U.S. sanctions against its parent company prevented it from doing business, daily Helsingin Sanomat reported on Friday, citing a Teboil spokesperson. U.S. President Donald Trump on October 22 hit Rosneft and Lukoil with sanctions in a sharp policy shift on Moscow's war in Ukraine, and said companies doing business with subsidiaries of the two groups could also be sanctioned. Sign up here. A deal for Swiss commodity trader Gunvor to buy Lukoil's foreign assets collapsed on November 6 after the U.S. Treasury called it Russia's "puppet" and signalled Washington opposed the deal. Lukoil is struggling to keep operations running at its sprawling foreign businesses, including in Iraq, Finland and Switzerland, sources have said. "We are running down our fuel stocks, which means some stations are already out of certain fuel types and the number of such stations is growing daily," Toni Flyckt, Teboil's marketing and communications director, told HS. Teboil did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Finland's Financial Supervisory Authority last month said banks and other Finnish institutions subject to its regulations should exercise caution in dealing with Lukoil and companies directly or indirectly owned by it. Teboil, which is fully owned by Lukoil, has 430 Finnish stations according to its website, or roughly one fifth of the Nordic country's 2,250 stations according to a 2024 report by an industry group. The company's revenue fell in recent years as some Finns said they chose other stations due to Teboil's link to Lukoil, declining to 1.61 billion euros ($1.88 billion) in 2024 from 2.36 billion euros in 2022, its annual reports show. The Kremlin said on Friday that Lukoil's international interests should be respected. ($1 = 0.8575 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/lukoils-finnish-fuel-stations-are-running-dry-due-sanctions-daily-hs-reports-2025-11-07/
2025-11-07 12:24
Nov 7 (Reuters) - Democratic victories this week have caught investors' attention, signaling a potential comeback after the party's bruising defeat during last year's election. A strong showing for congressional Democrats at the midterm elections in 2026 could push and revive policies favoring sectors sidelined by the GOP. Sign up here. While Trump would still have to sign any legislation, control of one or both chambers of Congress would hand Democrats command over key committees, giving them the power to launch investigations and call Trump officials to Capitol Hill for public hearings. Although markets are not pricing a full shift yet, investors are watching some key sectors. ENERGY AND CLEAN ENERGY A Democratic victory in either chamber of Congress could slow or reverse some of President Trump's measures against clean energy projects. Investors withdrew a record $8.6 billion from global sustainable funds in the first quarter, according to research from Morningstar, which attributed the outflows largely to Trump's shift against climate and social initiatives. The industry has since regained its footing , opens new tab, helped by surging energy demand from the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, which requires massive power for data centers. The U.S. president has championed fossil fuels, pledging to "drill, baby, drill" as part of a plan to boost oil and gas output. His administration also withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate accord and scrapped $7.56 billion in funding , opens new tab for clean energy projects it said would not deliver adequate taxpayer returns. Democrats, who have championed climate action, are expected to try to block much of that agenda if given the chance. HEALTHCARE Healthcare has been a major political flashpoint and a key factor behind the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, now the longest ever. If Democrats took the Senate next year, they would likely revive efforts to expand the Affordable Care Act, strengthen Medicaid funding and push back against Trump's attempts to roll back coverage mandates. Such a shift would likely benefit health insurers with large Medicaid and Affordable Care Act businesses. Hospital chains could also gain from higher insured patient volumes. CRYPTOCURRENCIES The crypto industry and many tokens have boomed under President Trump's crypto-friendly administration, with bitcoin reaching multiple new highs. Democrats have opposed its light-touch stance, warning of fraud, market manipulation, money laundering and other risks. After Tuesday's strong showing, Democrats may negotiate harder on a major crypto bill in the Senate, potentially weighing on some crypto tokens and listed crypto exchanges. If they win the Senate next year, they may ramp up scrutiny of any moves by the securities regulator that could give crypto companies a free hand to launch new products. FINANCIALS The banking industry has benefited from looser oversight of deals under Republican agencies, de-regulatory efforts aimed at freeing up bank capital and the weakening of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which oversees consumer lending. The S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) , opens new tab has jumped over 22% so far this year, outperforming the benchmark S&P 500 index's (.SPX) , opens new tab 15.6% gain. A Senate led by Democrats would have more power to interrogate and potentially slow the de-regulatory changes. BIG TECH Progressives in Congress would also likely renew efforts to rein in Big Tech, whose market dominance has expanded dramatically. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence, meanwhile, have deepened their influence. While the current administration has focused on ensuring the U.S. stays ahead of China in the AI race, Democrats may take a harder line, scrutinizing Big Tech partnerships more closely and tightening antitrust oversight. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/democrats-potential-resurgence-puts-investors-watch-policy-shifts-2025-11-07/
