2025-11-03 12:18
LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - British transport minister Heidi Alexander said there were no injuries reported after a train bound for London from Glasgow derailed in northern England on Monday. North West Ambulance Service later said on Monday morning that it had stood down from "major incident status" and was withdrawing resources it had dispatched to the scene. Sign up here. Avanti West Coast, which operates long-distance services between London and Scotland, has advised passengers not to travel north from the city of Preston. The train operator said it expected disruptions to last a number of days. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/no-injuries-reported-after-uk-train-derails-minister-says-2025-11-03/
2025-11-03 12:07
SHANGHAI, Nov 3 (Reuters) - A Chinese state bank closed retail gold accounts to new investors on Monday, two days after Beijing tweaked a long-standing tax exemption for the metal that is likely to hit retail demand in the world's biggest consumer market. State-owned China Construction Bank said on Monday it would no longer accept applications for one of its gold purchasing accounts without giving a reason. Fellow major ICBC also restricted new applicants but reversed the move hours later. Sign up here. The decisions follow Beijing’s announcement , opens new tab two days earlier that it would cut the full 13% value-added tax exemption to 6% for certain gold purchases through the Shanghai Gold Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange from November 1. The change will affect industrial and jewellery users because gold purchased for investment, for example gold bars or ingots, is exempt, as are paper trades on the exchange. The new regime applies to non-members of the SGE regardless of the gold's ultimate use. "We expect the net effect is higher costs on gold consumption in jewellery and industrial uses," UBS analyst Joni Teves said in a note on Monday, adding it could spur more companies to join the exchanges, improving liquidity and transparency. The new tax regime comes amid a worldwide rush to buy gold, especially in China where consumers have lined up to purchase jewellery from retailers. The buying helped drive gold's rally to a record $4,381 an ounce on October 20. Spot gold prices on Monday briefly slipped below $4,000 an ounce and were last trading near that level and have dropped about 9% since hitting the record. Shares of gold jewellery retailers Laopu Gold (6181.HK) , opens new tab and Chow Tai Fook (1929.HK) , opens new tab dropped as much as 9% and 12%, respectively, on Monday, while gold miners Zijin Mining (601899.SS) , opens new tab and Zhongjin Gold (600489.SS) , opens new tab each fell around 1.5%. Last month, the value-added tax exemption for platinum was also removed for China Platinum Company, also beginning on November 1. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-cuts-gold-tax-exemption-some-retailers-which-may-curb-buying-2025-11-03/
2025-11-03 11:44
Nov 3 - SM Energy (SM.N) , opens new tab and Civitas Resources (CIVI.N) , opens new tab said on Monday they will merge in a deal valued at about $12.8 billion, including debt, creating one of the largest independent U.S. oil producers that will hold a dominant position in the Permian Basin. The sale signals a recovery in dealmaking in the shale industry as companies seek scale to tackle volatility in the energy and equity markets. Sign up here. U.S. shale producers are turning to mergers as investors favor disciplined spending and steady shareholder returns over rapid growth in an uncertain oil market. Civitas shareholders will get 1.45 shares of SM Energy for each Civitas share, giving them about 52% ownership of the combined company. This values Civitas at about $30.29 per share, a 5% premium to its closing price on Oct. 31, and gives the deal an equity value of roughly $2.81 billion, according to Reuters calculations. Shares of SM rose 2.1% and that of Civitas climbed 2.7% in premarket trading. The combined company will hold about 823,000 net acres across top U.S. shale basins, including Permian and Denver-Julesburg (DJ), and is expected to generate over $1.4 billion in free cash flow this year. The merged firm will keep the SM Energy name and ticker, and remain headquartered in Denver. SM Energy expects to save about $200 million annually, and potentially up to $300 million, through lower overhead and operating costs. The company plans to prioritize free cash flow to cut debt and to maintain its quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share. SM Energy CEO Herb Vogel will lead the combined company. Its 11-member board will include six directors from SM and five from Civitas. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/sm-energy-civitas-resources-combine-128-billion-deal-2025-11-03/
2025-11-03 11:41
LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The pound remained under pressure against both the dollar and euro on Monday as traders tried to fine-tune their positions ahead of Thursday's in-the-balance Bank of England meeting. Sterling was down 0.27% on the dollar at $1.3132, just above last week's more than six-month low of $1.30965. Sign up here. It was steady versus the euro at 87.70 pence, but again wasn't far from last week's 88.17 pence to the common currency, the pound's softest in over two years. Monday data showing British factories had their strongest month in a year in October did little for sterling, in part because the recovery was driven by one-off factors. Instead, the week's focus is the BoE meeting - unusual among October and November's developed market central bank meetings in that there is reasonable uncertainty heading into it. Market pricing currently reflects around a one-in-three chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut, having risen from close to zero after a raft of economic data last month, most notably a cooler-than-expected inflation print. Pricing reflects a roughly two-in-three chance of a cut at either next week's or December's meeting. "Our base case is still a cut in December - I don't think one softer CPI print is enough and by December they'll have more information and have the budget - though it wouldn't be a huge surprise if they cut this week," said Lee Hardman, senior currency analyst at MUFG. British finance minister Rachel Reeves will announce her much-discussed budget in late November. And the uncertainty around Thursday's meeting means a sharp swing in the pound either way on the decision is likely, at least relative to other central bank meetings. Last week's well telegraphed hold by the European Central Bank did very little to the euro. Moves may not last, however. 'If they do stay on hold, we might get an initial rally in the pound, but I think it will peter out as people start thinking about December," said Hardman. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-under-pressure-boe-week-arrives-2025-11-03/
2025-11-03 11:40
Nov 3 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley on Monday raised its Brent crude forecast for the first half of 2026 to $60 a barrel from $57.5, citing the decision by OPEC+ to pause quota hikes in the first quarter of next year and recent U.S. and EU sanctions on Russian oil assets. The bank expects a "substantial surplus" in the oil market next year, peaking in the second quarter. However, it expects non-OPEC production growth will have slowed by then, and that OPEC production will also not grow significantly in 2026, due to diminished spare capacity, paving the way for the market to balance by the second half of 2027. Sign up here. OPEC+ on Sunday agreed to a small oil output increase for December and a pause in hikes during the first quarter of next year, as the group takes a cautious stance amid mounting concerns about a potential supply glut. It has raised output targets by about 2.9 million barrels per day (bpd), roughly 2.7% of global supply, since April. "The decision to halt quota hikes during 1Q does not materially change our production forecasts but still sends an important signal, i.e. the group is still adjusting supply in response to market conditions," Morgan Stanley said. The bank highlighted widening uncertainty in OPEC production data, noting that the spread between the lowest and highest estimates has regularly topped 2.5 million bpd this year. Although OPEC+ has announced production increases of 2.6 million bpd from March, the bank's best estimates suggest production has only increased by 0.5 million bpd. The United States this month hit Russian oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil with sanctions, while the European Union adopted a separate package of Russia sanctions. Brent crude futures were trading around $64.61 a barrel on Monday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate stood at $60.80. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/morgan-stanley-lifts-h1-2026-brent-forecast-60-opec-pause-russia-sanctions-2025-11-03/
2025-11-03 11:39
BERLIN, Nov 3 (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has spoken to his Chinese counterpart on the phone about security, economic policy and other topics of mutual interest, a foreign ministry spokesperson said in Berlin on Monday. The ministers agreed that a trip by Wadephul to China that was recently cancelled should be rescheduled soon, the spokesperson said, adding that the Chinese side also reiterated its invitation to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/german-foreign-minister-holds-call-with-chinese-counterpart-security-economic-2025-11-03/
