2025-12-16 11:35
MILAN, Dec 16 (Reuters) - JP Morgan-backed renewable energy company Sonnedix has secured contracts for 805 megawatts of solar capacity in Italy under three government-sponsored schemes, it said on Tuesday. Considered easier to develop than wind projects due to the Mediterranean country's geographical characteristics, solar power is playing a central role in the energy transition in Italy, which has emerged as one of Europe's leading producers of the clean energy. Sign up here. Sonnedix, which already has over 900 MW of capacity in Italy, said the new contracts will expand its existing pipeline of renewable projects and support its goal of supplying clean electricity to industrial customers. It won the bulk of the capacity – 670 MW across nine solar sites – in the auction completed by Italy's energy services agency in early December under an incentive scheme known as FER X. It also secured 125 MW under the so-called "Energy Release Mechanism", which aims to give incentives for high-energy-consuming companies to switch to renewable sources. It won an additional 10 MW through a tender reserved for solar projects built without equipment manufactured in China. Italy awarded 7.7 gigawatts of solar capacity in total through the FER X auction and an additional 1.1 GW in its first tender for projects built without Chinese components. Sonnedix currently operates renewable projects worth 12 GW globally, with nearly 1 GW under construction and a development pipeline exceeding 6.7 GW. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/sonnedix-wins-contracts-805-mw-solar-capacity-italy-2025-12-16/
2025-12-16 11:35
Dec 16 (Reuters) - Sterling rose against the euro and the dollar on Tuesday after recent losses, as UK data left expectations for a Bank of England rate cut unchanged and traders shifted focus to U.S. figures due later in the session. Britain's unemployment rate climbed to its highest since early 2021, while the composite S&P Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 52.1 in December - above forecasts in a Reuters poll but still below its long-term average. Sign up here. Yields on two-year gilts , which are more sensitive to BoE policy expectations, edged up 1.5 basis points to 3.77%, having been up 1 bp just before the PMI release. Markets are pricing around 60 bps of BoE rate cuts by the end of next year and about a 90% chance of a cut on Thursday. Sterling gained 0.25% to $1.3410 and was up 0.35% against the euro at 87.59 pence, after earlier touching 87.89 pence - its weakest since December 3. The U.S. dollar index slipped, while the euro firmed slightly against the greenback. "We continue to think the BoE will cut faster than markets currently price, with the Bank Rate declining to 3% by the end of 2026. The PMI data does not change that view," said Jefferies economist Modupe Adegbembo. "The improvement in the headline (PMI) measure is welcome, but it still points to sluggish UK growth at best," she added, warning that the real risk was that "labour market deterioration deepens from here". Barring a major data surprise before Thursday's decision, BoE policymakers are expected to vote 5-4 to lower the benchmark rate to 3.75% from 4.0%, according to most analysts polled by Reuters. The final piece of the puzzle will be Wednesday's release of November CPI inflation figures. "We revised down our forecasts for 2026 growth and inflation recently as our concerns shifted from persistent price pressures to the growing likelihood of a demand slump," said Berenberg economist Andrew Wishart. "Indications that job losses are mounting give us greater confidence in our view," he added, forecasting three rate cuts in 2026 and confirming that view even after the PMI data. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-rises-after-uk-economic-data-us-figures-focus-2025-12-16/
2025-12-16 11:26
TSX ends down 0.7%, at 31,263.93 Energy declines 3.7% as oil settles 2.7% lower Technology loses 0.9% Curaleaf shares jump 23.4% Dec 16 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell for the third straight session on Tuesday as energy stocks followed oil prices lower and investors locked in profits heading toward the end of the year. The S&P/TSX Composite Index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended down 219.51 points, or 0.7%, at 31,263.93, its lowest closing level since last Tuesday. Sign up here. "We've got a bit of selling pressure at year end and it's been an extremely positive year for the most part," said Michael Sprung, president at Sprung Investment Management. The index has climbed 26.4% since the beginning of 2025, putting it on track for its biggest advance since 2009. Wall Street's main indexes also slipped on Tuesday as investors evaluated delayed U.S. jobs data that showed the unemployment rate rising to a four-year high of 4.6%. "I don't think those jobs are going to be filled too quickly in the new year," Sprung said. "Companies are looking for ways to scale back." The Toronto market's energy sector (.SPTTEN) , opens new tab lost 3.7% as oil settled 2.7% lower at $55.27 a barrel. Prospects of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal appeared to strengthen, raising expectations sanctions could be eased. Technology was down 0.9% and the materials group, which includes metal mining shares, ended 0.6% lower. Healthcare was among the sectors that notched gains, rising 6.7%, as the potential for a U.S. executive order that would reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug boosted cannabis stocks. Curaleaf Holdings Inc (CURA.TO) , opens new tab shares jumped 23.4% to their highest closing level since May 2024. NFI Group Inc (NFI.TO) , opens new tab was another standout. It climbed 12.3% after the bus and coach manufacturer announced a battery recall agreement with XALT Energy. https://www.reuters.com/business/tsx-futures-fall-us-jobs-data-looms-2025-12-16/
2025-12-16 11:21
BEIJING, Dec 16 (Reuters) - A Chinese court imposed jail sentences and fines on Tuesday on 27 people for shipping antimony ingots out of the country without export licences, in a ruling that highlights how China is tightening enforcement of its controls on strategic minerals. China is the world's largest producer of antimony, which is used in batteries, chips, flame retardants and the defence sector. Beijing added antinomy to its export control list , opens new tab in September 2024. Sign up here. Last month, China said it had suspended a ban on exports of antimony, gallium and germanium to the United States following a meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, but the metals remain subject to broader export controls requiring shippers to first obtain licences from Beijing. The main defendant, Wang Wubin, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined 1 million yuan ($141,899) for smuggling the antimony ingots, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court said in a statement on its WeChat account. Wang was found to have conspired with smugglers overseas to organise other defendants to buy antimony ingots and smuggle them out of the country through concealment, disguise and false declaration without the required export licences in February and March this year, according to the statement. The penalties for the other 26 defendants include fines and prison sentences ranging from four months to five years, depending on the volumes of the smuggled metal. The case involved the smuggling of more than 166 metric tons of antimony, of which Chinese customs seized more than 96 tons, the court statement said. In April, Hong Kong authorities said they had seized a cargo of antimony ingots. No arrests were announced at the time. Reuters exclusively reported in July that unusually large quantities of antimony had poured into the United States from Thailand and Mexico after China barred U.S. shipments last year. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinese-court-sentences-27-people-smuggling-antimony-ingots-2025-12-16/
2025-12-16 10:56
UK flash composite PMI beats all Reuters poll forecasts Euro zone flash PMI weakened in December Businesses reduce staff numbers, echoing weak official data LONDON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - British businesses appear to be emerging from months of worry about tax increases in finance minister Rachel Reeves' budget in late November, a closely watched survey of the private sector showed on Tuesday. The S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 52.1 in its preliminary measure for December from 51.2 in November, above all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists but still below its long-term average. Sign up here. The improvement contrasted with a slowdown in a similar set of surveys for the euro zone. The British PMI represented the first comprehensive gauge of the private sector since Reeves announced 26 billion pounds ($35 billion) in tax increases in her budget on November 26 but delayed the introduction of most of them and spared employers the kind of hit they took in her first budget last year. "Firms seem reassured that the drag on demand will be less severe than feared, helped by most of the tightening being pushed down the line," Jake Finney, senior economist at PwC, said. "The one caveat is that job losses remain widespread, and it is unclear whether hiring will pick up now." The value of the pound edged up against the dollar and the euro after the PMI was published. Government bond prices fell but there was no change to expectations among investors that the Bank of England will cut interest rates on Thursday. SURVEY POINTS TO JUST 0.1% GDP GROWTH IN Q4 Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the survey implied economic growth of only 0.1% in the fourth quarter. "It's a big relief that business confidence has not slumped in a repeat of last year's post-budget gloom," Williamson said. "However, the overall pace of output and demand growth remains lacklustre, and the expansion is still very dependent on technology and financial services activity, with many other parts of the economy struggling to grow or in decline." The PMI's overall reading and one for the dominant services sector were both the highest in two months, while the measure of manufacturing was the strongest in 15 months. New work grew at the fastest pace since October last year and the survey's measure of expectations for the 12 months ahead rose to its second-highest level in more than a year albeit still below the long-term average. New work from abroad rose after falling for 13 months and backlogs edged up for the first time in almost three years as suppliers struggled to respond to the pickup in demand. BUSINESSES KEEP CUTTING STAFF, JOB MARKET WEAK But staffing levels were cut again as employers responded to the higher costs of hiring which went up earlier in April due to a tax increase ordered by Reeves. Earlier on Tuesday, official data showed the jobs market weakened with the jobless rate hitting its highest since 2021, payrolled employment falling and private-sector wage growth rising at the slowest pace in almost five years. Inflation pressures increased in the PMI with the prices of inputs - including labour costs - accelerating for the second month in a row while prices charged by firms also went up after touching a five-year low in November. ($1 = 0.7460 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-firms-see-some-relief-after-reeves-budget-pmis-show-2025-12-16/
2025-12-16 10:53
Italy, France and Poland object to pact with S American bloc Negotiations for unprecedented deal began 25 years ago Supporters say it will offset US tariffs' damage Opponents fear cheap products including beef flooding EU STRASBOURG, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Germany and the EU executive have been making a last-ditch attempt to convince Italy to back a free trade agreement , opens new tab with South American bloc Mercosur, which will falter if not signed soon, a leading EU lawmaker said on Tuesday. Some 25 years in the making, a trade pact with Mercosur would be the EU's largest in terms of tariff cuts. Sign up here. Germany, Spain and Nordic countries say it will help exports hit by U.S. tariffs and reduce dependence on China by providing access to minerals. But critics fear cheap commodities flooding the market, including beef to the detriment of European farmers. With Poland outright opposed and France pushing for a delay, lobbying has focussed on Italy. The head of the European Parliament's trade committee, Bernd Lange, told Reuters that included a meeting late on Monday between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. "If Italy is not on board, it's over. I hope today we will see a little clearer," he said in an interview. Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron have apparently agreed on delaying a vote, according to two sources familiar with the discussion. SIGN THIS WEEKEND? The EU and Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay agreed an accord in principle last December. Von der Leyen aims to go to Brazil to sign it this weekend, but needs approval from the Council, the grouping of EU governments. To block it requires opposition of four EU nations making up 35% of the population and diplomats believe it is inevitable another nation, such as Hungary, will dissent. Lange said he believed that the deal would collapse if not signed this year. "Mercosur countries are running out of patience. If it is not possible to sign now the window of opportunity will be closed and they will look towards countries we don't like," he said. "We are on track but I have my doubts about what is happening in the Council." EU lawmakers were due to vote later on Tuesday on strengthening safeguards for farmers in a potential deal with Mercosur - a key lobbying point for France. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/eu-races-win-over-italy-mercosur-trade-deal-says-eu-lawmaker-2025-12-16/
