2024-10-15 12:06
Oct 15 (Reuters) - Crypto firm Ripple launched a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, looking to disrupt a market in which the top two incumbents account for nearly 90% of the value. The venture marks a major milestone for Ripple, coming more than a year after a landmark win in a case against the Securities and Exchange Commission last year. However, it will face the uphill task of elbowing into a concentrated market where the two biggest players - Tether and USD Coin (USDC) - account for nearly 90% of the total market capitalization, according to data from CoinGecko. The stablecoin, RLUSD, will be available globally on a slew of platforms including Uphold, Bitstamp, Bitso, MoonPay, Independent Reserve, CoinMENA and Bullish, Ripple said. Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to keep a constant value. They are backed by traditional currencies such as the U.S. dollar or euro. They can be more suitable for payments and for converting crypto tokens into traditional currencies as they are shielded from the wild price fluctuations seen in bitcoin and ether . Each RLUSD token is 100% backed by U.S. dollar deposits, U.S. government bonds and cash equivalents, Ripple said. The company has appointed Sheila Bair, former chair of U.S. banking regulator Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, on the advisory board of RLUSD. Previously, Bair was also the chair of the board at government-backed mortgage finance company Fannie Mae and the assistant secretary for financial institutions at the U.S. Treasury Department. The board will include Ripple co-founder and executive chair Chris Larsen, along with David Puth, former CEO of CENTRE Consortium. CENTRE, which previously oversaw USDC, was a joint venture between crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN.O) , opens new tab and stablecoin network Circle. It was shut down last year, with Circle taking full control over the issuance and governance of USDC. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/ripple-challenges-industry-giants-with-new-stablecoin-2024-10-15/
2024-10-15 11:37
IEA cuts 2024 demand growth forecast by 40,000 bpd Projection for 2025 raised by 50,000 bpd Oil drops as Iran supply disruption concerns ease LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The world oil market is heading for a sizeable surplus in the new year, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday as it reassured markets that the agency stood ready to act if needed to cover any supply disruption from Iran. Oil prices have risen in recent weeks on investor concern that Israel may retaliate against a missile attack from Iran, a major oil exporter and OPEC member, by hitting its oil facilities or nuclear sites. But the IEA, which manages industrialised countries' emergency oil stocks, said public stocks were more than 1.2 billion barrels and spare capacity in OPEC+, which comprises the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, stood at historic highs. "As supply developments unfold, the IEA stands ready to act if necessary," the agency said in a monthly report on Tuesday. "For now, supply keeps flowing, and in the absence of a major disruption, the market is faced with a sizeable surplus in the new year." Also in the report, the IEA further cut its global oil demand growth forecast for this year, citing weakness in China, a day after OPEC also lowered its demand projections. Oil was down more than 4% a barrel towards $74 on Tuesday, pressured by the weaker demand outlook and after a media report said Israel is willing not to strike Iranian oil targets. CHINA UNDERSHOOTS World oil demand will rise by 860,000 barrels per day this year, down 40,000 bpd from the previous forecast, the IEA said. For next year, it sees an expansion of 1 million bpd, about 50,000 bpd higher than expected last month. China has for years driven global rises in oil consumption. The IEA has been saying that slower Chinese economic growth and a shift towards electric vehicles have changed the paradigm for the world's second-largest economy. The Paris-based agency now expects Chinese demand to grow by 150,000 bpd in 2024, down 30,000 bpd from the previous forecast. Consumption dropped by 500,000 bpd in August compared to the same month last year, a fourth consecutive month of declines. "Chinese oil demand continues to undershoot expectations and is the principal drag on overall growth," the IEA said. OPEC also reduced its forecast for 2024 global demand growth on Monday, but it is still projecting a much stronger expansion of 1.93 million bpd driven in part by a bigger contribution from China. The gap between the IEA and OPEC forecasts is equal to more than 1% of world demand. While demand slows, non-OPEC nations are driving up supply. The IEA forecasts non-OPEC growth at 1.5 million bpd this year and next, with higher production from the U.S., Guyana, Canada and Brazil - above the rate of demand growth. "Heightened oil supply security concerns are set against a backdrop of a global market that – as we have been highlighting for some time – looks adequately supplied," the IEA said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iea-cuts-2024-oil-demand-growth-view-sees-surplus-looming-2024-10-15/
2024-10-15 11:24
MOSCOW, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The Kremlin rowed back on Tuesday from earlier comments describing Saudi Arabia as a member of the BRICS group of countries, and left open the question of whether the kingdom would be represented at a BRICS summit in Russia next week. Saudi Arabia has been invited to join BRICS but has not yet formally done so. Last week, however, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov described it as a BRICS member and said its foreign minister would attend the summit in the Russian city of Kazan. Asked to clarify Saudi Arabia's status in BRICS, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "The summit will take place now, we will supply additional information on who will represent Saudi Arabia, whether it will be represented at this summit, and we will draw conclusions from this." High-level Saudi involvement in the Oct. 22-24 summit would be a boost for Russia, which last week called on its partners in the group to work together to create new global financial institutions as an alternative to the International Monetary Fund. BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, and China, has expanded to include South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Moscow sees the development of the group as an important part of its strategy to counter U.S. global influence and defeat Western attempts to isolate it with sanctions over the war in Ukraine. "Russia is not isolated. In the modern world, it is very difficult to isolate any country, especially a state like the Russian Federation," Peskov said. Saudi Arabia is a key partner for Russia. The two countries cooperate closely in the OPEC+ group of oil-producing countries. President Vladimir Putin has cultivated a warm personal relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and visited him in Riyadh last December, declaring at the time that Russia's ties with the kingdom were at an "unprecedented level". Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/kremlin-rows-back-comments-saudi-brics-membership-2024-10-15/
2024-10-15 10:51
TSX ends down 0.1% at 24,439.08 Energy slides 4.8%; oil settles 4.4% lower Canada's annual inflation rate slows to 1.6% Utilities sector climbs 1.9% Oct 15 (Reuters) - Canada's commodity-linked main stock index fell on Tuesday as a drop in oil prices offset cooler-than-expected inflation data that bolstered expectations for an outsized interest rate cut from the Bank of Canada. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended down 32.09 points, or 0.1%, at 24,439.08 after notching on Friday a record closing high. "Canada remains vulnerable to selling pressure related to the selloff in the price of oil," said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management. U.S. crude oil futures settled 4.4% lower at $70.58 a barrel after a media report said Israel would not strike Iranian nuclear and oil sites, easing fears of a supply disruption. The energy sector tumbled 4.8%, with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (CNQ.TO) , opens new tab, Canada's largest oil and gas producer, down 5.7%. Technology also lost ground, falling 0.5%. Canada's annual inflation rate slowed more than expected to 1.6% in September, prompting investors to price in a 74% chance of a 50-basis-point rate cut by the BoC next week, up from 50% before the data. "The inflation number kind of helps, but Canadian markets don't always trade-off of Canadian economic data," Cieszynski said. The real estate and utilities sectors, which include many high-dividend paying stocks that could particularly benefit from a faster pace of rate cuts, added 1.4% and 1.9% respectively. Healthcare also notched gains, rising 2.1%, led by a 5.7% jump in the shares of pharmaceutical company Bausch Health Companies Inc (BHC.TO) , opens new tab. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/tsx-futures-slip-investors-await-domestic-inflation-data-2024-10-15/
2024-10-15 10:47
MOSCOW, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The Russian General Prosecutor's office was seeking to collect more than 1 billion euro ($1.09 billion) in damages from international energy major Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab, the RIA news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the Moscow Arbitration court. Russia's Prosecutor General earlier this month filed a lawsuit against eight units of Shell, which quit Russia following the start of Moscow's military conflict with Ukraine in February 2022, according to the court's website. It cited Shell plc, Shell Energy Europe Limited, Shell Global Solutions International B.V., Shell International Exploration & Production B.V., Shell Neftegaz Development, Shell Exploration & Production Services B.V., Shell Sakhalin Services B.V. and Shell Sakhalin Holdings В.V. among the defendants. Shell had a stake in a liquefied natural gas-producing plant on the Pacific island of Sakhalin led by Kremlin-controlled Gazprom. Moscow has consolidated its control over the plant in response to sanctions imposed by the West following Shell's departure from Russia. A hearing on the case was scheduled for Dec. 11, the court said. Shell has not immediately responded to a request for comment. ($1 = 0.9163 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-seeks-over-1-billion-damages-shell-report-says-2024-10-15/
2024-10-15 10:42
LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The British pound edged higher against the dollar and the euro on Tuesday after mixed labour market data, which should clear the way for the Bank of England to lower interest rates next month but proceed at a measured pace. British pay grew at its slowest rate in more than two years in the three months to August, according to official data, but the unemployment rate fell to 4% - its lowest reading this year - and employment jumped by the most on record. However, the statistics agency stepped up its health warning over the Labour Force Survey amid falling response rates, saying it likely overstated employment growth and the fall in unemployment. "Ongoing problems with the Labour Force Survey means the EY ITEM Club doubts that the labour market is really as tight as the latest data implies," said Matt Swannell, chief economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club. "The pay data will give the Bank of England more confidence that inflation persistence is easing, increasing the likelihood of a 25 basis point cut in Bank Rate at its November meeting," Swannell added. Stickier inflation in the UK has supported the pound this year as analysts bet that the BoE would be slower and later to cut interest rates, but shifting bets have pushed it lower in recent weeks. The pound was last up 0.2% at $1.3084, hovering above last week's one-month low of $1.3011. It has fallen by over 2% this month after BoE Governor Andrew Bailey said the central bank could move more aggressively to cut interest rates if inflation pressures continue to weaken. A readout on British inflation is scheduled on Wednesday, where the headline consumer price index is expected to fall to 1.9%, below the BoE's 2% target for the first time since mid-2021. ING FX strategist Francesco Pesole believes the pound could weaken more against the euro if tomorrow's inflation figures show a moderation in price pressures. "The BoE has more room than other central banks to catch up on the easing cycle," Pesole said. "But obviously much will depend on what happens with tomorrow's CPI, which has been volatile recently." Futures markets are pricing in around 20 basis points of easing at the BoE's November meeting, implying around an 80% chance that the central bank will lower interest rates by a quarter point next month. Against the euro , the pound was up about 0.1% at 83.43 pence. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/sterling-stages-small-rebound-hovers-above-1-month-low-2024-10-15/
