2025-10-09 11:49

G20 to miss target for global payments system improvements Cost of making international payments remains stubbornly high FSB says not clear whether stablecoins will benefit efforts LONDON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Global financial authorities are set to miss a 2027 target set by the G20 group of nations to make international cross-border payments faster, cheaper and more transparent, the G20's Financial Stability Board said on Thursday. Goals set in 2021 included cutting the global average cost of a retail payment to no more than 1% and for 75% of wholesale and retail payments to be credited within an hour of being made. Sign up here. While most of the initial "Roadmap" work has now been completed, an FSB progress report published ahead of G20 meetings later this month said it had not yet translated into tangible improvements for end-users at the global level. "It's becoming clear that the (G20) targets are not going to be hit by 2027," FSB Deputy Secretary General Martin Moloney told Reuters, saying the huge number of countries involved and challenges of overhauling infrastructure had caused problems. The report said key performance indicators (KPIs) showed only a slight improvement at a global level since they were first calculated in 2023. While the speed of both wholesale international payments and remittance payments - where individuals send money back to their home countries - had improved, the costs remained high and there had been insufficient progress in terms of payment transparency. With the 2027 target now unrealistic, Moloney said G20 decision makers would have to choose whether to extend it or come up with a fresh one altogether. "That needs to be a rich and focused debate at G20 level," Moloney said. "If we fall short of those KPIs we will still have an unsatisfactory situation," he said, in terms of the global payments system. STUBBORNLY HIGH COSTS One of the needs is for countries' payments plumbing to operate all day every day and to use standardised language so that moving money between countries and weeding out fraud and sanctions infringements is easier. Costs of cross-border payments remain stubbornly expensive, the FSB's report showed, with person-to-person payments in sub-Saharan Africa the highest globally and now more costly than they were, at 4% compared to 3.2% in 2023 and the less than 1% the G20 is targeting. Some countries are also now seeing cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and so-called stablecoins being used for payments or transferring money. Moloney said that it is an open question at this point what contribution stablecoins will make to the global payments system. "The real issue is in the first and last leg," he said, referring to difficulties in finding the right method to make a payment and a recipient getting their payment at the other end. "I haven't seen anything persuasive (with regards to stablecoins) to suggest they would solve those issues." https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/g20s-cross-border-payments-push-set-miss-2027-target-2025-10-09/

2025-10-09 11:45

BEIJING, Oct 9 (Reuters) - China on Thursday announced export curbs on some types of artificial diamonds set to take effect just before the U.S.-China tariff truce is scheduled to end, further tightening Beijing's grip over high-tech manufacturing supply chains. Certain artificial diamond micropowders, single crystals, wire saws and grinding wheels will require an export licence from November 8, China's commerce ministry and customs authority said in a statement. Sign up here. Diamond, one of the hardest known materials, is crucial to high-precision manufacturing, and is commonly used for ultra-fine polishing of semiconductors, machining hard metals and ceramics in quantum devices, and dissipating heat in advanced electronic systems. Artificial diamonds also have dual-use military applications, and are used to tool munitions and in the production of radar components. In a separate statement, the two authorities also announced export controls on certain lithium-ion batteries, key manufacturing equipment, and artificial graphite anode materials, measures that could further strengthen Beijing's hold over the global clean energy supply chain. The world's second-largest economy on Thursday also added five new rare earth elements to its export control list, as it looks to strengthen its negotiating position amid trade tensions with the United States. Citing a need to protect its "national security," the raft of export control curbs come ahead of an expected meeting later this month between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The two superpowers appear to be struggling , opens new tab to chart a path just before the end of their current tariff truce, a 90-day pause from August 11 that ends around November 9. U.S. and Chinese officials met after last month's Madrid summit, widely viewed as a breakthrough for its TikTok deal, to discuss technical issues that predated the meeting. China exported $30 million worth of the types of artificial diamonds and related equipment targeted by the new export controls to the U.S. in 2024, according to Chinese customs data. The U.S. was the third-largest buyer of diamond powders, behind India and South Korea, and the third-largest buyer of grinding wheels, behind Vietnam and India. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/china-announces-artificial-diamond-export-curbs-set-take-effect-day-before-us-2025-10-09/

2025-10-09 11:43

Ukraine has targeted Russia's refining capacity Zelensiky says estimates range from 13%-20% loss of supply Russia says it has adequate fuel, officials due to discuss KYIV, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian energy facilities may have reduced gasoline supplies in Russia by up to a fifth, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, as both sides step up attacks on each other's energy infrastructure. With diplomatic efforts to end the war largely stalled and little movement along the fiercely contested front line, Russian forces have focused on crippling Ukrainian gas production while Ukraine has been targeting Russia's oil refining capacity. Sign up here. Reuters calculations in August showed that Ukrainian attacks had reduced Russian oil refining by almost a fifth on certain days. Zelenskiy's comments implied that level of shortage was now ongoing. "This still needs to be verified, but we believe that they've lost up to 20% of their gasoline supply – directly as a result of our strikes," Zelenskiy said in remarks to journalists released on Thursday. He said there were various estimates as to the impact, and they ranged from 13% to 20%. One of the latest attacks hit the Kirishi oil refinery, one of Russia's largest, halting a big crude processing unit, two industry sources said this week. The Kremlin has said that Russia's domestic fuel market is fully supplied. Zelenskiy said the estimates were based on data, without specifying. Russia's government was due to hold a meeting on domestic fuel supplies on Thursday. Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces had used domestically produced Neptune and Flamingo missiles in recent attacks, part of Ukraine's effort to scale up its homegrown arms industry. Zelenskiy also said Russian forces had carried out 1,550 strikes on energy-related targets in Ukraine's Chernihiv, Sumy and Poltava regions over the past month, but had achieved only 160 hits. US, RUSSIA HAVE 'NO SHARED PERSPECTIVE' Russian forces have sought to grind forward on the battlefield since summer in a campaign Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces had broken. Kremlin troops will try "urgently" to take the strategic eastern city of Pokrovsk, he said, adding that Moscow had failed to convince U.S. President Donald Trump that it is able to capture all of the eastern Donbas region. Trump, who had been seeking a quick peace in the war, has in recent weeks signalled frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin and stronger support for Kyiv's war effort against Moscow. "We believe that, as of today, the U.S. and Russia have no shared perspective on the war," Zelenskiy said. "And the U.S. understands that Russia is lying." Zelenskiy said his chief of staff and Ukraine's prime minister would visit Washington early next week to discuss air defence, energy and sanctions on Russia. The U.S. will provide Ukraine with intelligence on long-range energy infrastructure targets inside Russia, the Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported last week. The Kremlin said last week that Washington and NATO are already supplying intelligence to Ukraine to hit energy targets. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/zelenskiy-says-russia-gasoline-supplies-may-be-down-by-fifth-after-ukrainian-2025-10-09/

2025-10-09 11:40

MOSCOW, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Taiwan and India were the main destinations for Russian seaborne naphtha exports in August, as cheaper barrels attracted buyers, data from market sources and LSEG showed. Since the European Union's full embargo on Russian oil products went into effect in February 2023, countries in the Middle East and Asia have become the main destinations for Russia's naphtha supplies. Sign up here. Naphtha is a primary feedstock in the petrochemical industry for producing olefins and aromatics, which are then used to manufacture a wide array of products, including plastics, synthetic resins, synthetic fibers, and various other chemicals. Naphtha export loadings from Russian ports to Taiwan more than doubled in August month-on-month to around 370,000 metric tons and totalled 1.8 million tons in the first eight months of 2025, according to LSEG data. Meanwhile, Taiwan's economy minister said on Wednesday that privately run refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organisations criticised the island's continued business with the country. While Taiwan's state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no such restriction on private companies so far. Naphtha exports from Russian ports to India in August totalled 151,000 metric tons, down 28% from July after previous ample supplies, and exceeded 1.7 million tons in January-August 2025. Russian naphtha arrived at the western Indian ports of Mundra, Hazira and Sikka, shipping data showed. China, Singapore, Malaysia and Turkey were among the other top destinations for Russian naphtha export supplies in August. All the shipping data above are based on the date of cargo departure. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/taiwan-india-were-top-destinations-russian-naphtha-august-lseg-data-shows-2025-10-09/

2025-10-09 11:37

Cutting costs, firms aim to trim work days, not jobs Railway, construction, auto and mining sectors affected Move highlights pressure on Russia's war economy Non-military sectors shrank 5.4% since January MOSCOW, Oct 9 (Reuters) - From railways and automobiles to metals, coal, diamonds and cement, some of Russia's biggest industrial companies are putting employees on furlough or cutting staff as the war economy slows, domestic demand stalls and exports dry up. The efforts to reduce labour costs show the strain on Russia's economy as President Vladimir Putin and the U.S.-led NATO military alliance square off in Ukraine, Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. Sign up here. Reuters identified six companies in Russia's mining and transport sectors, many of them industrial titans, that have cut their working week in an attempt to reduce wage bills without raising unemployment, according to industry sources. Cemros, Russia's biggest cement maker, has moved to a 4-day week until the end of the year to preserve staff amid a sharp downturn in the construction industry and a rise in cement imports. "This is a necessary anti-crisis measure," said Cemros spokesman Sergei Koshkin. "The goal is to keep all our staff." The company has 13,000 employees and 18 plants across Russia. Koshkin said increased imports from countries including China, Iran and Belarus, combined with a drop in new houses being built, had curbed demand for cement. Cemros expects Russia to consume less than 60 million tonnes of cement this year, a figure last seen during the COVID pandemic. The push to reduce wage bills shows the toll that conflict in Ukraine and Western sanctions are taking on corporate Russia and on the workers of its heavy industry plants, many of which were founded during Josef Stalin's industrialisation of Soviet Russia in the 1930s. Russia's ministries of Labour and Industry did not respond to requests for comment on Reuters findings. The news agency reported in January that Putin had grown increasingly concerned about distortions in Russia's economy, including the impact of high interest rates on its non-military sectors. Russia's Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-term Forecasting - an influential research non-profit - said sectors of the economy not connected with the military had contracted by 5.4% since the start of the year. The Center forecasts a major slowdown in GDP growth to 0.7%-1.0% this year. During Putin's first two terms as president from 2000 to 2008, Russia's economy soared to $1.7 trillion from less than $200 billion in 1999. But Russia's nominal GDP is now $2.2 trillion, about the same level it was in 2013, the year before Russia annexed Crimea. In 2022, the year Putin ordered troops into Ukraine, the economy contracted 1.4%, but then outperformed the average of the G7 group of leading industrial nations by growing 4.1% in 2023 and 4.3% in 2024. Growth this year is forecast by the economy ministry to fall to just 1.0%. Amid a tight labour market, unemployment has fallen to a record low of 2.1% of the workforce, according to state statistics. Putin has publicly rejected warnings from senior bankers that Russia's economy is stagnating. He says the government is slowing the economy to keep control of inflation - forecast at 6.8% this year. CHINESE IMPORTS, HIGH RATES, SANCTIONS Companies are struggling with a growing list of problems ranging from high interest rates and the strong rouble, falling domestic demand, weak export markets due to sanctions, and cheap Chinese imports, according to economists. Russian Railways, which has 700,000 employees, has asked staff in its central office to take three additional days off per month at their own cost, in addition to normal holidays and non-working days, two sources told Reuters. Long seen as a mirror of the Russian economy - particularly its commodity exports - the company's revenues are declining as shipments of coal, metals and oil drop, economists said. Russian Railways declined to comment. The Gorky Automobile Plant (GAZ), a leading manufacturer of vans that employs at least 20,000 people, moved to a 4-day week in August, as did truckmaker Kamaz, with around 30,000 employees. The trade union at Avtovaz, Russia's biggest carmaker with some 40,000 employees, confirmed to Reuters that it started a 4-day-week from September 29. The company, which said in July it was considering the move, declined to comment. A GAZ spokeswoman said the company resumed a 5-day week from October. Kamaz said its situation had not changed and declined additional comment. Alrosa, the world's largest producer of rough diamonds, has cut its payroll for all staff levels not directly involved in mining by 10%, partly by shortening the working week. It also paused operations at less profitable deposits in spring and summer. Alrosa told Reuters it had sought to minimize layoffs, but did not specify how many employees had been let go. Across plants in the metals, mining, timber and coal industry there have been cuts to the working week, staffing or production, according to industry sources and company statements. Sveza, one of Russia's leading timber and paper companies, shuttered a plywood mill in Tyumen, a Siberian city 1,700 km (1,056 miles) east of Moscow, last month due to a sharp decline in furniture demand, the region's prosecutor said. More than 300 people lost their jobs. Sveza didn't respond to a request for comment. Signs of stress are appearing in Russian state statistics. Overdue salary arrears in Russia at the end of August amounted to 1.64 billion rubles, an increase of 1.15 billion rubles, or 3.3 times, compared to the same period last year. The geography of Russian heavy industry - often the dominant employer in cities and towns across European Russia and the Urals - means that wage cuts can have a significant impact on regional prosperity. GOVERNMENT FORCED TO PROVIDE SUPPORT In previous downturns, Russia has bailed out major employers to stem discontent in many of the industrial towns and cities that often rely on one major enterprise. Russian Railways and the country's car manufacturers received state support during the 2008-2009 global crisis to avoid mass lay offs. In 2022, Russia told car factories to furlough, not fire, staff. The current economic strains have already forced the government to intervene across the economy, from shoe manufacturers to coal and metals, offering discounts on rail transport, deferral of taxes and targeted state support. The coal sector, which employs about 150,000 people, has been badly hit as exports decline, according to Russian officials. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Putin in April the sector's financial health was deteriorating, with 30 enterprises - employing roughly 15,000 people and producing around 30 million metric tons annually - at risk of bankruptcy. In Siberia's Kuznetsk Basin, or Kuzbass, which holds some of the world's biggest coal deposits, local officials said in September that 18 out of 151 enterprises had been shuttered. Alexander Kotov, a partner at Russian consulting agency NEFT Research, told Reuters that 19,000 coal workers were laid off in the first half of 2025. "If we don't start saving the coal industry urgently, it could be hit by a wave of crisis," Kotov said. Mechel (MTLR.MM) , opens new tab, one of Russia's biggest coal miners, reported worsening losses in August and said it had suspended output at one of its mines and cut operations that did not make a profit. One source with knowledge of the industry told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Mechel cut staff this summer. Mechel declined to comment. Vladimir, a coal miner in Kuzbass, told Reuters his salary had been reduced. "I'm now in a higher position, but I'm earning less than I did before in a lower one," said the miner, who declined to give his second name. He said there was enough to live on and some workers had found work in other regions, but the coal sector was struggling. "Wages have been cut everywhere, absolutely everywhere in Kuzbass," he said. "They say it's the crisis: coal isn't in demand." STEEL INDUSTRY UNDER STRAIN In Russia's vast steel industry, too, there are signs of trouble. Russia is considering a moratorium on bankruptcies in the metals industry and a host of other measures, according to a protocol from the government's Financial Stability Commission meeting on August 28. Russia is the world's fifth-largest steel producer, with an output of about 71 million tons in 2024. "There is a quiet cutback going on in the metals industry," said one source close to the industry, blaming high interest rates, a strong rouble and weak demand at home and abroad. While the industry was not moving to a four-day week yet, the source said, almost all metal processing plants were cutting auxiliary staff. A second source said the industry had too many employees for the current environment but it wanted to avoid mass lay offs. "They would prefer to introduce a 4-day week but so far none of the big players have," said the second industry source. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-industrial-titans-furlough-workers-its-war-economy-stalls-2025-10-09/

2025-10-09 11:30

Indexes down: Dow 0.52%, S&P 500 0.28%, Nasdaq 0.08% Delta Air Lines shares rise on Q4 profit forecast Albemarle advances on PT hike, China's rare earth export controls Costco gains after September sales data NEW YORK, Oct 9 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended in negative territory on Thursday as investors, left with no economic data or any sentiment-swaying catalysts, took the opportunity to consolidate ahead of third-quarter earnings season. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq inched back from Wednesday's record closing highs, while the blue-chip Dow closed with the deepest percentage decline. Sign up here. "The earnings cycle is upon us and there's a wait-and-see in terms of whether we’ll see the same level of consistency of earnings growth in the coming quarter that we've seen in the last two quarters," said Matthew Keator, managing partner in the Keator Group, a wealth management firm in Lenox, Massachusetts. "Couple that with the uncertainty surrounding the lack of data coming out of Washington and how the Fed navigates that, it's natural to see a bit of a pullback." The stock market's pause comes amid a steep rally that has been largely driven by the rise of artificial intelligence technology. The runup has prompted concerns that a bubble is forming, which could be a harbinger of an impending correction. Sunday will mark the current bull market's third anniversary; the benchmark S&P 500 touched the nadir of its current market cycle on October 12, 2022 on the heels of monetary tightening from the Fed. Over that time period, while tech and tech-adjacent megastocks have driven the index nearly 90% higher, history suggests the current bull market has more gas in its tank. The U.S. government shutdown entered its ninth day, with few signs of progress. Consequently, market participants continue to be deprived of essential economic data. And with the start of third-quarter earnings season just days away, the scarcity of market-moving catalysts is focusing investors' attention on remarks from monetary policymakers for clues regarding the central bank's rate cut intentions through the end of the year. New York Federal Reserve President John Williams favors more interest rate reductions before year-end due to risks facing the weakening labor market, he said in an interview with the New York Times published on Thursday. Financial markets are currently pricing in a 94.6% likelihood that the Fed will implement a 25 basis-point interest rate cut at the conclusion of its October 28-29 meeting, according to CME's FedWatch tool. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 243.36 points, or 0.52%, to 46,358.42, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab lost 18.61 points, or 0.28%, to 6,735.11 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab lost 18.75 points, or 0.08%, to 23,024.63. Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, materials (.SPLRCM) , opens new tab suffered the biggest drop, while consumer staples (.SPRLCS) , opens new tab were the sole gainers. Housing (.HGX) , opens new tab and homebuilding (.SPCOMHOME) , opens new tab were among the clear underperformers, both off more than 2% amid margin and demand worries. On Tuesday of next week, JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) , opens new tab, Goldman Sachs (GS.N) , opens new tab, Citigroup (C.N) , opens new tab and Wells Fargo (WFC.N) , opens new tab are slated to report quarterly results, marking the unofficial launch of third-quarter earnings season. Analysts currently predict year-on-year S&P 500 earnings growth of 8.8% in the July-September period, weaker than the second quarter's 13.8% and the year-ago quarter's 9.1% annual growth, according to the most recent data from LSEG. Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) , opens new tab provided an upbeat forecast for the current quarter, after posting stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings. The airline's shares jumped 4.3%. Other U.S. carriers also gained, boosting the S&P 1500 Airlines index by 1.9%. U.S. retailer Costco Wholesale (COST.O) , opens new tab rose 3.1%, after reporting September sales data. Shares of Albemarle (ALB.N) , opens new tab increased 5.3% after brokerage TD Cowen raised its price target on the lithium producer and as China tightened export controls on rare earths. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.91-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 354 new highs and 91 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 1,694 stocks rose and 2,966 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.75-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 20 new 52-week highs and 11 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 133 new highs and 66 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 20.44 billion shares, compared with the 19.75 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. https://www.reuters.com/business/wall-st-futures-muted-investors-await-powells-take-inflation-jobs-2025-10-09/