2025-10-09 11:23
Oct 9 (Reuters) - Saatvik Green Energy (SAAT.NS) , opens new tab, one of India's biggest solar module makers by capacity, said on Thursday it is shunning the once-promising U.S. export market as it is no longer "worth the risk" due to the thorny tariff issue. The United States is India's top overseas market, accounting for 90% of module exports, according to industry officials and analysts. Sign up here. "We want to be risk-free and focus on the domestic market," said CEO Prashant Mathur in a press conference. The company said on its initial public offering draft filing that it gets a portion of its revenue from exports to the U.S., but has not revealed how much. Saatvik Green Energy has joined major industry players in India in expanding their renewable energy capacity recently, both with an eye on exports and as the South Asian country targets 500 gigawatts of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. However, U.S. tariffs of up to 50% on solar panel shipments from India and potential anti-dumping duties will pile on to the existing surplus in India next year as domestic project bidding slows, industry officials and analysts say. Saatvik, which currently has a solar cell manufacturing capacity of 3.8 GW, plans to reach 4.8 GW by April 2027. Separately, it also plans to add 4 GW of solar module capacity by April 2026. Mathur said the company is seeing extensive domestic demand as many projects that were delayed due to land, transmission and tariff issues are being built now. We expect this demand to continue for the next few years, he added. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/us-market-not-worth-risk-says-one-indias-biggest-solar-companies-2025-10-09/
2025-10-09 11:17
TOKYO, Oct 9 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan should be cautious about raising interest rates again as the economy is still fragile, said Etsuro Honda, a close economic adviser to Sanae Takaichi, who is likely to become the country's next prime minister. "Japan is at a delicate stage right now, where the long-standing deflationary mindset is gradually giving way to a more positive inflationary outlook," Etsuro Honda, who advises Takaichi on economic policy, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. Sign up here. Pointing to a recent surge in Japanese stock markets that has been partly driven by optimism that Takaichi will promote economic stimulus policies, Honda said her election as the new leader of the ruling party has created positive momentum. "I genuinely hope they (the BOJ) don't raise rates now," he said. But he emphasised that monetary policy decisions rest with the central bank. "There's a growing sense that the timing may be approaching when another rate hike could be tolerated," he said. "Whether that's in December or January is still unclear. At the very least, Takaichi appears to be taking a cautious stance." Honda, a former special adviser to the cabinet, was an architect of the "Abenomics" stimulus policies that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe deployed in 2013 - a mix of bold monetary easing, flexible fiscal policy and reform which helped the economy escape more than a decade of deflation but ran up the government's massive debt. The ruling party's pick of Takaichi, a long-time advocate of Abenomics, as its head last week puts her on course to become Japan's prime minister, which has driven stocks higher and pushed down the yen as investors balance the prospects of more stimulus with higher government debt and pressure on the BOJ to hold off on more rate rises. Totan Research/ICAP expectations for an end-October BOJ hike have fallen to 27%. Expectations for a hike in December are 44%. While slower monetary tightening could further weaken the yen, which could in turn accelerate inflation and weigh on consumption, Honda said a moderate decline in the yen is good for the economy when it is in a recovery phase. "As inflation expectations remain moderate, a sharp depreciation beyond 155 yen to the dollar is unlikely," he said. The Japanese currency touched 153 per dollar on Thursday, levels last seen in February. It has fallen more than 3.8% for the week. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/takaichi-adviser-calls-caution-over-boj-interest-rate-hikes-2025-10-09/
2025-10-09 11:09
Oct 9 (Reuters) - Sterling clawed back some losses on Thursday after Bank of England policymaker Catherine Mann suggested rates could stay higher for longer, though the pound remained largely at the mercy of dollar crosses. BoE's Mann said on Thursday that inflation expectations in Britain remain too high. Sign up here. Traders are fully pricing in a 25 basis point BoE rate cut by April as concerns over the British economy and next month's budget keep investors on edge. Sterling was down 0.20% at $1.3374, after hitting $1.3344, its lowest since September 26. It also lost ground against the euro and the yen as investors took a breather after a four-day rising streak. The U.S. dollar extended this week's gains (.DXY) , opens new tab, helped by a euro weakened by the political crisis in Paris and a struggling yen amid a change of guard in Japan's ruling party. Sterling eased 0.05% to 86.82 pence per euro . The pound hit 86.57 pence on Wednesday, the strongest since September 16. It also fell 0.35% to 204.20 versus the yen on Thursday, having touched a 15-month high of 205.08 the day before. Investors fretted that potential tax hikes in next month’s budget, aimed at meeting fiscal rules, could weigh on the economy and currency. Britain's housing market lost momentum for a third month in a row and confidence among businesses has fallen sharply, according to two surveys published on Thursday that reflected worries about finance minister Rachel Reeves' November budget. “Whether this is the start of a marked downturn in the housing market will depend on the outcome of the budget,” said Ashley Webb, UK economist at Capital Economics. “The prospect of tax rises...has put the housing market on ice.” https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-pares-losses-after-comments-boes-mann-2025-10-09/
2025-10-09 10:47
LONDON, 9 Oct (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today By Mike Dolan , opens new tab, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets Sign up here. World stocks and gold paused their latest steep rally on Thursday as a series of warnings about excessive stock valuations and overly loose policy settings reverberated through global markets. International Monetary Fund boss Kristalina Georgieva , opens new tab warned about risk to the world economy from potentially large corrections in lofty stock markets, while she also noted that fiscal policies were too lax worldwide, adding "don't get too comfortable." The caution followed the Bank of England's red flag , opens new tab earlier on Wednesday about the risk of a sharp reversal if investor moods soured on doubts about AI or Fed independence. And JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon on Thursday added his voice to warnings of a risk of significant pullback in the U.S. stock market over the next year or two. "I am far more worried about that than others," he told the BBC. Despite the trepidation, soundings on the AI frenzy ahead of this month's corporate earnings season remained upbeat and the world's largest contract chipmaker TSMC reported another forecast-beating, AI-driven jump in annual revenue of 30%. China's markets also returned in buoyant form from the Golden Week break and played catch-up to the global stock gains in their absence. Chinese chipmakers surged on more pressure in Washington for broader bans on exports of chip equipment to China and rare earth indexes jumped as Beijing tightened export controls of the strategic minerals. Europe held on to Wednesday's recovery in French markets as President Emmanuel Macron batted away speculation of another snap election and said he would appoint a new prime minister within 48 hours to end the latest political hiatus. Back on Wall Street, there was some cooling of the week's main moves today after fresh closing highs for the main stock indexes on Wednesday. Gold stalled at new records after surging past $4,000 earlier in the week. With official data still thin on the ground amid the U.S. government shutdown, investors took their cue from Fed minutes that nodded to further easing even as inflation worries linger. Stock futures were flat and U.S. Treasury yields nudged up a bit, however, after a mixed 10-year note auction late Wednesday and ahead of the long-bond sale later today. The dollar held much of the week's gains, with the yen sliding through 153 for the first time since February as Japan's next likely new prime minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to reassert government sway over the Bank of Japan. In today's column, I look at how estimates of a record $600 trillion global wealth pile can only hold if a genuine productivity boom materializes. Today's Market Minute * Oil prices dipped on Thursday as geopolitical tensions eased on news that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire plan to end the two-year conflict. * French President Emmanuel Macron will appoint a new prime minister in the next 48 hours, his office said on Wednesday, adding that a majority of lawmakers were against holding a snap parliamentary election amid France's worst crisis in decades. * A pledge by Japan's next likely prime minister to reassert government sway over the central bank has fanned worries about political interference in monetary policy, however, a weak yen and politics could limit any such push. * The amount of U.S. Treasuries held at the New York Fed on behalf of global central banks has slumped to its lowest in over a decade, writes ROI markets columnist Jamie McGeever, casting renewed doubt on foreign appetite for U.S. sovereign debt and other dollar-denominated assets. * China's longstanding dominance of clean energy manufacturing is translating into a behemoth export business, with close to $1 trillion of related goods shipped globally since 2018. Read ROI global energy transition columnist Gavin Maguire's latest piece. Chart of the day U.S. President Donald Trump's net public approval ratings, the difference between approval and disapprovals, have been falling since the inuguration and the overall rating is a negative -18% - the latest Reuters/IPSOS opinion polls show. Despite the GDP and stock market recoveries since the Spring, the economy remains a drag on his popularity and Trump's performance in that category gets a negative -21% - roughly where it was at midyear. Today's events to watch * Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, Fed board member Michelle Bowman, St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem, Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari and Fed Board Governor Michael Barr all speak; European Central Bank chief economist Philip Lane speaks * Euro group meeting in Luxembourg, with ECB President Christine Lagarde and ECB board member Piero Cipollone * U.S. Treasury sells $22 billion of 30-year bonds Want to receive the Morning Bid in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for the newsletter here. You can find ROI on the Reuters website , opens new tab, and you can follow us on LinkedIn , opens new tab and X. , opens new tab Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles , opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/global-markets-view-usa-2025-10-09/
2025-10-09 10:43
This is a breaking news story. Full coverage will be available soon. Democratic republic of the congo's central bank to start building gold reserves as gold price soars -governor Sign up here. Congo's gold reserves move will help shore up local currency, central bank governor says https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/democratic-republic-congos-central-bank-start-building-gold-reserves-gold-price-2025-10-09/
2025-10-09 10:20
JOHANNESBURG, Oct 9 (Reuters) - South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago said on Thursday that the central bank and National Treasury agreed that the country's inflation target should be lowered but they were still discussing when to make the change. Kganyago surprised financial markets in July by saying the SARB would effectively target 3% inflation, rather than the formal 3-6% range set by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. Sign up here. Godongwana rebuked Kganyago for his "unilateral announcement", though the two officials later issued a joint statement saying they were on the same page. Addressing lawmakers on Thursday, Kganyago said: "There isn't a disagreement about the lowering of the target; it's a question of timing." He acknowledged the SARB's communication over the target was not what it was supposed and said he and Godongwana had met and told their teams to "go tie down these loose ends". "That's why you will find our (joint) statement does not say by this date, as soon as it's practically possible. And the poor chaps are working very hard to make sure that all those loose ends are tied," Kganyago said. Kganyago has advocated a lower inflation target for years, saying the current band makes Africa's biggest economy uncompetitive. But he has argued particularly forcefully in 2025, saying that this year's well-contained price pressures (ZACPIY=ECI) , opens new tab present the ideal opportunity to "lock in" low inflation. Kganyago said on Thursday that lower inflation and the SARB's preference for a lower target had boosted the rand and brought down government borrowing costs on benchmark bonds by between 80 and 160 basis points since April. "When the cost of borrowing for the government comes down, the cost of borrowing for everybody else also comes down," he said. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-african-policymakers-agree-lowering-inflation-target-timing-still-an-issue-2025-10-09/
