2025-10-24 12:06

LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves is expected to raise tens of billions of pounds in taxes in her budget on November 26 to stay on track to meet her fiscal targets and avoid a loss of confidence in the bond market. Reeves has said she is looking at spending reductions too but any cuts are expected to be small. Sign up here. Following is a summary of measures that Reeves is reportedly considering or has been urged to introduce as she seeks as much as 30 billion pounds a year ($40.3 billion) in extra revenue. INCOME TAX Reeves and Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised voters last year they would not raise the rates of income tax, value-added tax or social security contributions paid by "working people." The Guardian said on October 23 that Reeves might increase the main income tax rate by one percentage point to raise an extra 8 billion pounds. Such an increase in just the higher and top rates of income tax would raise around 2 billion pounds and 230 million pounds a year respectively. A minister said on October 24 the pre-election tax commitment stood. Reeves could raise about 8 billion pounds of extra income tax by extending a freeze on the thresholds at which people pay basic and higher income tax rates by two years until 2030. VAT Value-added tax could be simplified by ending lower or zero rates for products such as food and children's clothes. But that could add to British inflation which is the highest among the Group of Seven economies. Tax experts also say a lower starting threshold for businesses paying VAT would bring in more revenue and remove a disincentive for growth among small firms. A NEW TAX Reeves might introduce a new tax, on incomes for example, dedicated to a specific area of spending such as public health. Such a move would probably be seen as breaking the spirit of the 2024 commitment. THE WEALTHY Reeves has ruled out a new wealth tax but said on October 15 that higher taxes on the wealthy "will be part of the story," leading to speculation that she might increase taxes on capital gains and other income sources. Reeves often says "those with the broadest shoulders should pay their fair share of tax". PROPERTY Many economists say a stamp duty tax paid by homebuyers discourages mobility and holds back economic growth. A separate local tax paid by homeowners is based on out-of-date valuations. Reeves might seek to increase taxes paid by owners of expensive homes and reduce stamp duty. PENSIONS Options include charging social security levies on pension contributions made by employers to staff or lowering the 25% tax-free lump sum that individuals can take from a pension. Legal & General CEO Antonio Simoes told Reuters the budget must not deter pension savers. SAVINGS ACCOUNTS The Financial Times said on October 14 that Reeves was looking at lowering the tax-free limit for cash Individual Savings Accounts in the hope of driving more money into the UK stock market. LAWYERS AND ACCOUNTANTS The Times reported on October 21 that Reeves was considering an increase in tax on people in limited liability partnerships, which are typically used by partners at large accountancy and law firms, triggering protests from professional bodies. BANKS Some think tanks have called for higher taxes on banks to claim back some of the billions of pounds of interest that lenders have received on reserves held at the Bank of England, a feature of the BoE's quantitative easing programme. Such a move could hurt lending and slow growth, bankers say. Reeves said on October 16 she wanted to ensure there is a "competitive environment" for financial services firms. 'SIN TAXES' Taxes on alcohol, tobacco, gambling and vaping could go up. Other options are air travel, plastics and sugary drinks. But higher "sin" taxes could prompt consumers to change their spending behaviour and limit the extra government revenues. They could also be inflationary. FUEL DUTY Successive governments have kept fuel duty frozen since 2011, fearful of protests by drivers over petrol and diesel costs. The duty is a big revenue-raiser bringing in around 25 billion pounds a year, so ending the freeze could boost tax revenues significantly. ($1 = 0.7451 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/uk-tax-options-finance-minister-reeves-november-budget-2025-10-24/

2025-10-24 11:57

KYIV, Oct 24 (Reuters) - A man detonated an explosive device as border guards checked documents at a railway station in northern Ukraine on Friday, killing himself and three women, the State Border Guard Service said. It said in a statement that 12 other people were hurt in the blast at the station in Ovruch, close to the border with Belarus, and that a border guard was among the dead, who were aged 29, 58 and 82. Sign up here. The man who detonated the explosive device was a 23-year-old resident of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine who had recently been detained for trying to cross the border, it said. It made no mention of any link with Russia's war in Ukraine. https://www.reuters.com/world/man-kills-himself-three-women-ukrainian-railway-station-2025-10-24/

2025-10-24 11:51

LONDON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Copper has a long history of mine supply disruption, but this year is proving to be a particularly troubled one for a sector that has been racing to keep up with smelter demand. Several of the world's largest copper mines have experienced unexpected production hits and the cumulative impact will be felt in full force next year, according to the International Copper Study Group (ICSG). Sign up here. Tightness in the mined concentrates segment of the market will act as a hard brake on refined copper production growth in 2026, the Group said in its latest biannual statistical update , opens new tab. Even with demand growth expected to slow next year, metal production is projected to fall short by 150,000 metric tons. It's a significant revision from the Group's last meeting in April, when it was expecting a 209,000-ton supply surplus. MINE SUPPLY GROWTH STALLS With many copper mines operating in remote, challenging conditions, a degree of unforeseen disruption is hard-wired into the market's supply profile. This year, however, is proving to be an outlier of the worst kind with a string of accidents at several of the world's mega mines. Ivanhoe Mines' (IVN.TO) , opens new tab Kakula mine was hit by seismic activity and subsequent flooding in May. Chilean state producer Codelco's El Teniente mine suffered a fatal collapse in July and Freeport-McMoRan's (FCX.N) , opens new tab Grasberg mine experienced a devastating inflow of mud in September. The ICSG has unsurprisingly cut its 2025 mine supply forecasts, with growth now expected to be just 1.4%, down from a previous forecast of 2.3% and actual growth of 2.8% in 2024. This is still a pretty conservative call. Analysts at Citi and UBS, for example, are forecasting "no growth" and "negligible growth" respectively this year. HITTING THE BRAKES The loss of units will take some time to feed through to the refined segment of the copper market. The ICSG has actually lifted its assessment of metal production growth this year to 3.4% from April's 2.9% to reflect the surge in new Chinese smelter capacity. But growth next year will slow to a 0.9% crawl, with production constrained by a shortage of mined concentrates. Even that lowball figure flatters to deceive. Production from secondary recyclable sources is expected to rise by a robust 6.0% next year, while straight-to-metal mine output using leaching technology will increase by 2.2%. Primary production at smelters using concentrates as feed will by implication struggle to register any growth at all. The imbalance between raw material availability and smelter demand is likely to accentuate already fierce competition for copper concentrates. SURPLUS TODAY, GONE TOMORROW The ICSG concludes that despite tepid demand growth of 2.1% next year, the copper market is on course to register a supply deficit after two consecutive years of surplus. But not quite yet. This year is still expected to be a year of plenty, although the Group has trimmed the forecast production surplus to 178,000 from 289,000 tons at its April meet. Most of the surplus metal is in the U.S. due to the incentive created by the threat of import tariffs on refined copper, deferred until next year. Stocks of copper registered with U.S. exchange CME now exceed those held by the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange combined. However, even as global inventory has moved location, total exchange stocks have risen by 120,000 tons since the start of the year, with the strong likelihood there is more copper sitting in off-market storage in the United States. The current inventory cushion is acting as a counterweight to the market's bullish exuberance. But futures markets price in future expectations. The LME three-month metal price , currently bubbling just below the $11,000-per ton level, comes with a delivery date of January 2026. And next year is when the copper market looks set to feel the full impact of this year's string of mine supply shocks. Andy Home is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/copper-study-group-highlights-impact-mine-supply-hits-2025-10-24/

2025-10-24 11:43

MOSCOW, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Moscow, which for decades has run on caffeine, could be rediscovering its taste for tea as some shun coffee as a Western introduction and embrace the more traditional drink. Andrei Kolbasinov, founder of retro-chic teahouse chain Nitka, which means "thread" in Russian, says his business is all about trying to resurrect Russia's lost tea-drinking culture. Sign up here. "We are trying to revive modern Russian teahouses," he said. "Before the (1917) Revolution, there used to be a lot of them in Russia, especially in Moscow. Unfortunately, they all disappeared during Soviet times," Kolbasinov said. "Five years ago there were just coffee shops everywhere. We try to imagine how teahouses would look, had they continued existing," he said. His company runs three teahouses in Moscow and two more in other cities. While Russians are some of the biggest consumers of tea worldwide, they mostly do so at home, typically accompanying their brews with jam, lemon, and sweets. As in the rest of Europe, busy city dwellers are more likely to grab a coffee on the go than opt for a cup of tea. But with the country at loggerheads with the West over the conflict in Ukraine, even a simple tea shop reflects how the country has changed over the last three and a half years. Nitka customer Kirill, who did not give his last name, said: "Tea is ... well, it's more Russian I guess. It has this home warmth and cosiness." Kolbasinov said the rising popularity of his teahouses represented "a turn inward", as Russia rediscovers its own cultural traditions. Though a part of Nitka's tea is Russian grown, Western sanctions against Russia have complicated the country's tea imports, said Kolbasinov. For instance, some of Nitka's tea is sourced from Nepal, but sanctions have interfered with the complex supply chains that bind Russia to the landlocked South Asian country. Far more of the tea comes from Russia's neighbour and ally China, and from Georgia, where much of the Soviet Union's tea was grown before 1991. Neither country has imposed sanctions on Russia, and both have deepened economic ties with Moscow since 2022. https://www.reuters.com/world/some-russians-shun-coffee-western-favour-traditional-tea-2025-10-24/

2025-10-24 11:28

BERLIN, Oct 24 (Reuters) - A China trip by German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul to China that was originally planned for Sunday will not take place, a spokesperson for his ministry said on Friday. "We are postponing the journey to a later time," the spokesperson told a regular news conference, adding that Germany was concerned about constraints placed on rare earth exports. Sign up here. It had also been impossible to arrange sufficient meetings for the trip, she added. She declined to say which country had cancelled the trip, adding that Germany regretted the development, including given China's importance in as a country, "which like no other has influence over Russia in its war against Ukraine". https://www.reuters.com/world/china/german-foreign-ministers-china-trip-cancelled-spokesperson-says-2025-10-24/

2025-10-24 11:07

Foreign buyers skip checks to ship parts before new rules hit China leads with 6 of top 10 global battery makers, led by CATL Delay may hit Reliance's battery and solar energy plans in India BEIJING/NEW DELHI, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) , opens new tab is rushing to get its orders of battery components out of China ahead of new export curbs, two people briefed on the matter said, as concerns mount worldwide about how Beijing intends to enforce its widening export control regime. A team from Reliance has travelled to China to speed up the work, one of the sources said. Sign up here. Reliance and China's Ministry of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment. The people declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation. Chinese companies are world leaders in electric battery technology and to maintain that competitive edge Beijing introduced new rules this month requiring companies to seek permission before exporting battery supply chain equipment. The new curbs take effect on Nov. 8. At least a dozen other foreign customers of the Chinese battery sector are in a similar situation to Reliance, said the second source, who said some were foregoing quality assurance or other final stages of manufacturing to get goods shipped more quickly. "Who cares if it hasn't been painted yet or the screws haven't been checked," the second source said. "They are saying we'll do the testing once it lands, just get it out the door." CHINA HAS MAJOR ROLE IN BATTERY SUPPLY CHAIN Without the Chinese gear, Reliance cannot fulfill its plan to locally assemble or produce batteries to store energy from its mega solar power project being championed by the Indian government to cut dependence on fossil fuels, the person added. China's battery makers account for six out of the top ten players globally, according to consultancy SNE Research. The people did not say which Chinese companies supplied Reliance. CATL, China's largest battery maker, said in a statement to Reuters it was confident exports to its factories overseas would proceed smoothly under the new export regime. "The export of equipment and materials needed for our plants in Europe is progressing as planned," it said. China exported $48 billion worth of batteries in the first eight months of this year, up 26% compared to the same period last year, according to Chinese customs data. China's battery export action adds to concerns about the risk of being dependent on Beijing for key technologies that can become caught up in trade conflicts. China's export controls on rare earths have highlighted the risks of being dependent on one supplier. The curbs, introduced in April, led to shortages that threatened to cripple car production around the world. Chinese battery makers are reassuring foreign customers that nothing so drastic is likely to happen for batteries and export licences should be granted quickly and widely within a few months of the new regime starting, the second source said. But in the meantime foreign companies have to play a waiting game. "It is a very tense situation," said the first source. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/reliance-races-get-battery-gear-orders-out-china-ahead-export-curbs-sources-say-2025-10-24/