2025-12-12 16:17

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Mexico's central bank will lower its key interest rate to 7% at its meeting on December 18, according to a Reuters poll of economists who were almost evenly split on whether policymakers will follow through with another cut early next year. It would be the 13th cut since February 2024, after the benchmark cost of borrowing hit a record 11.25%. Just over half of the analysts with a view into next year expect one or two more cuts by end-March, with the rest forecasting a pause in the long easing cycle. Sign up here. They expect next week's policy statement to reinforce a cautious tone as worries about soft economic conditions are offset by higher inflation risks amid a still uncertain trade outlook. This would put the central bank, known as Banxico, on a similar track to the U.S. Federal Reserve, which cut interest rates this week but signaled the bar was high for further easing in the near term. Banxico's five-member board of governors is set to cut the benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point to 7.00% from 7.25% at Thursday's meeting, according to all 29 economists polled December 8-11. "Despite lingering (inflation) pressures, we still expect a 25bp cut," said analysts at Morgan Stanley. "However, these pressures, January's health-related taxes and potential tariff pass-through raise the likelihood of a February pause." Last month, Banxico trimmed its growth forecast for Mexico's economy to near zero and maintained an estimate for a slow 1.1% expansion in 2026. It also reiterated its view that inflation would hit the 3% target by the second half of next year but slightly raised forecasts for consumer price rises for some periods ahead. The annual inflation rate accelerated more than expected in November to 3.80%, with one of the central bank's board members warning of additional risks for the coming year. Another policymaker, Jonathan Heath, has been more vocal, saying Banxico's forecasts faced a "credibility crisis" given the implausibility of reaching the 3% inflation goal in just a few months' time. Of the 21 poll participants who gave quarterly forecasts, 10 saw Banxico holding the rate at 7.00% through the January-March period, while seven saw it falling to 6.50% and four to 6.75%, for a median estimate of 6.75%. This contrasted with November's poll when seven of 19 economists forecast the bank would hold or raise rates in the first quarter, from 7.00% in December 2025, with a consensus estimate of 6.75% as well. In the latest survey, of 21 economists who answered an extra question on the bank's next move after this month's decision, nine saw a cut in February, two in March, and the other 10 in different months of 2026. "For 2026, we expect Banxico to pause in the first quarter to analyze price pressures stemming from the imposition of tariffs and taxes," said Ivan Arias, an economist at Banamex. "Then resume easing with a couple of cuts in May and June to reach a terminal rate of 6.50%." (Other stories from the Reuters global economic poll) https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-central-bank-cut-rates-december-18-economists-closely-split-early-2026-2025-12-12/

2025-12-12 12:52

HEIDELBERG, Germany, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The European Commission on Tuesday will propose rule changes that reverse previous plans for an effective ban on selling new cars with combustion engines in the 27-nation bloc from 2035, a senior EU lawmaker said on Friday. The comments, which still need to be confirmed by Brussels in an announcement slated for December 16, mark a key victory for Germany, the bloc's top economy, in its efforts to protect its most important industry, which has come under intense pressure due to growing competition and trade barriers. Sign up here. "Next Tuesday, the European Commission will be putting forward a clear proposal to abolish the ban on combustion engines," Manfred Weber, president of the largest party in the European Parliament, EPP, said at a press conference in Heidelberg, Germany. He added it should be left to markets and consumers how climate targets are achieved. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who also attended the press conference, said that electric mobility remained the main path but that there would be other technologies, such as synthetic fuels, towards carbon neutrality. "And that is precisely what we mean by technological openness. This now gives the industry real planning security," Merz said. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/eu-commission-reverse-effective-2035-combustion-engine-ban-epps-weber-says-2025-12-12/

2025-12-12 12:50

Opposition leader defied travel ban to go to Oslo Machado won Nobel Peace Prize in October Trump has campaigned for Maduro's ouster Large-scale US military build-up in Southern Caribbean OSLO, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado said on Friday that Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro would leave power, whether there was a negotiated changeover or not, adding that she was focused on achieving a peaceful transition. The Venezuelan opposition leader arrived in Oslo early on Thursday, defying a decade-long travel ban imposed by authorities in her home country, after spending more than a year in hiding. Sign up here. "Maduro will leave power, whether it is negotiated or not negotiated," Machado, speaking in Spanish, told a press conference in the Norwegian capital. "I am focused on an orderly and peaceful transition." Venezuela's Ministry of Information did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Machado's remarks. U.S. MILITARY BUILD-UP Her appearance in Norway comes as the U.S. executes a large-scale military build-up in the southern Caribbean and as U.S. President Donald Trump campaigns for Maduro's ouster. On Wednesday, Trump said the U.S. had seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Machado was barred from running in the presidential election last year, despite having won the opposition's primary by a landslide. She went into hiding that year after authorities expanded arrests of opposition figures following the disputed vote. The electoral authority and top court declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner, but international observers and the opposition say its candidate handily won and the opposition has published ballot box-level tallies as evidence of its victory. "I have confidence that the immense majority of the Venezuelan armed forces and the police are going, in the instant that the transition begins, to obey orders, guidelines, instructions from the superiors who will be designated by the civil authority duly elected by Venezuelans," she said. ALIGNED WITH TRUMP When Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize in October, she dedicated it in part to Trump, who has said he himself deserved the honour. She has aligned herself with hawks close to Trump who argue that Maduro has links to criminal gangs that pose a direct threat to U.S. national security, despite doubts raised by the U.S. intelligence community. Trump has repeatedly raised the possibility of military intervention in Venezuela, accusing it of sending narcotics to the United States. The U.S. has already carried out more than 20 strikes against suspected drug vessels, which have raised concerns among lawmakers and legal experts. "I believe that it has become very clear that... the Venezuelan conflict is absolutely a priority in matters of national security of the United States and in matters of hemispheric security," Machado said on Friday. Maduro and his government have always denied any involvement in crime and have accused the U.S. of seeking regime change out of a desire to control Venezuela's natural resources, especially its vast oil reserves. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuelas-machado-aims-peaceful-transition-after-maduro-2025-12-12/

2025-12-12 12:48

Rain floods tents sheltering displaced Gazans Materials for shelters not being allowed in, says UN At least 13 buildings collapse, Gaza authorities say Disease risk rises with inadequate waste drainage, says UN GENEVA, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans face flooding of their tents and shelters by heavy rains, and materials for shelters and sandbags are not being allowed to enter the enclave, the U.N. International Organization for Migration said on Friday. Torrential rain swept across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, flooding tents sheltering families displaced by two years of war, and leading to the death of a baby girl due to exposure, local health officials said. Sign up here. A total of 12 people are dead or missing as a result of the storm, with at least 13 buildings having collapsed and 27,000 tents flooded, the media office of the Hamas-run Gaza government said. Nearly 795,000 displaced people are at heightened risk of potentially dangerous flooding in low-lying, rubble-filled areas where families are living in unsafe shelters, the IOM said. Insufficient drainage and waste management also heightened the risk of disease outbreak, the U.N. agency added. 'OUR FOOD IS RUINED,' SAYS FLOOD-HIT FATHER Materials to help reinforce shelters such as timber and plywood, as well as sandbags and water pumps to help with flooding have been delayed from entering Gaza due to access restrictions, the IOM said. Israel says it is meeting its obligations and accuses agencies of inefficiency and failing to prevent theft by Hamas, which the group denies. COGAT, the Israeli military arm that oversees humanitarian matters, said Israel had approved 100,000 pallet requests submitted by organizations of winter-related items, shelter equipment, and sanitation supplies over the past three months. "‏Over the last few months, COGAT coordinated with the international community and facilitated the transfer of close to 270,000 tents and tarpaulins directly to the residents of the Gaza Strip," COGAT said in a statement. In a displaced camp in Nuseirat, central Gaza, ankle-deep water had pooled around the tents, soaking mattresses, shoes and clothes. Working with a bucket, 50-year-old Youssef Tawtah was trying to bail the water out, but it had nowhere to go and he appeared to make little progress. "All night long the children and I were on our feet," he said. "How can the children handle it?" As his family gathered around a small open fire on a sandy bank near the tent, he hauled a sopping mattress through the floodwaters. Even cooking a meal will be difficult. "Our food is ruined," he said. SUPPLIES CANNOT WITHSTAND FLOODING, SAYS IOM Supplies already dispatched to Gaza, including waterproof tents, thermal blankets and tarpaulins, were not able to withstand the flooding, the IOM added. "After this storm made landfall yesterday, families are trying to protect their children with whatever they have," IOM Director General Amy Pope said. A ceasefire has broadly held since October, but the war destroyed much of Gaza’s infrastructure, and living conditions are dire. U.N. and Palestinian officials said at least 300,000 new tents are urgently needed for the roughly 1.5 million people still displaced. The World Health Organization said more than 4,000 people were living in what it described as high-risk areas on the coast, with 1,000 people directly affected by high waves from the sea. It warned of health risks from pollution. "Thousands of families are sheltering in these low-lying and debris-filled coastal areas with no drainage or protective barriers, with heaps of garbage everywhere along the roads," said WHO representative Rik Peeperkorn. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/un-agency-warns-displaced-gazans-face-floods-emergency-supplies-blocked-2025-12-12/

2025-12-12 12:37

PARIS, Dec 12 (Reuters) - France imposed stricter controls and expanded vaccination zones to contain the spread of contagious lumpy skin disease in cattle amid mounting farmer protests in the southwest against the policy of culling entire herds when outbreaks are detected. Lumpy skin disease is a virus spread by insects that affects cattle and buffalo, causing blisters and reducing milk production. While not harmful to humans, it often results in trade restrictions and severe economic losses. Sign up here. By December 9, France had detected 109 outbreaks of the disease, according to the ministry's website. Several outbreaks were confirmed this week in southwestern France, including at a farm with over 200 cows in the Ariege region. Authorities ordered all cows culled, sparking protests from farm unions who called the policy exaggerated and cruel. "It is clear that the State's strategy is not effective, despite the systematic culling carried out as a precaution as soon as an infected bovine is detected in a herd," Coordination Rurale union said in a statement, calling for nationwide protests. France says that total culling of infected herds, alongside vaccination and movement restrictions, is necessary to contain the disease and allow cattle exports. "The depopulation of their herd is a dramatic event, of which the public authorities are fully aware: psychological support is therefore offered to the farmers," the ministry said in a statement on Friday. The head of farm union FNSEA, Arnaud Rousseau, called for calm. In a video on X, he backed government policy, stressing the need to prevent restrictions that could lower meat and dairy prices. The ministry said on Friday it had created a new regulated area covering six departments in southwestern France where movements would be restricted and surveillance enhanced. It has regularly pointed to illegal movement of animals as a likely cause for the disease's spread in France. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/france-toughens-cattle-lumpy-skin-disease-rules-amid-farm-protests-2025-12-12/

2025-12-12 12:22

NEW DELHI, Dec 12 (Reuters) - India's cabinet on Friday permitted the export of coal as the country's power plants have a surplus, information minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. Power plants that have access to coal supply will be permitted to export up to 50% of their allocation and use coal flexibly across group companies. Sign up here. India, the world’s second-largest coal producer, has been opening its coal sector to private players and commercial mining to meet rising energy demand and reduce import dependence. The move to allow export of domestic coal comes as the country's coal-fired power generation, which typically accounts for about 75% of India's electricity output, has fallen on an annual basis in seven out of 11 months this year, the most since 2020. The move will also benefit the country's top coal miner, Coal India (COAL.NS) , opens new tab, which accounts for about three quarters of the country's production. India is the world's No.2 coal producer and consumer after China. Indian power plants have comfortable stock levels because domestic coal production is strong and electricity demand growth has slowed, iEnergy Natural Resources said this week in a report. The cabinet on Friday also approved the auction of coal for any industrial use. The policy will allow domestic buyers to secure long-term coal supplies through auctions without end-use restrictions, except for coking coal, which will not be offered under the scheme. Traders will be barred from participating, the government said. The move aims to accelerate coal reserve utilisation, ease business processes and cut reliance on imports, the government said in a statement. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/india-start-coal-exports-first-time-2025-12-12/