2025-12-15 11:19

MILAN, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Italy's largest utility Enel (ENEI.MI) , opens new tab has completed the purchase of two onshore wind farm projects in Germany, the company said on Monday, marking its first significant acquisition of renewable power plants in the country. The deal is worth around 80 million euros ($94 million) including debt, Enel said, adding that the acquisition would contribute approximately 10 million euros per year to its ordinary core earnings. Sign up here. The wind plants, with a total installed capacity of 51 megawatts, are linked to a tariff scheme that ensures a minimum remuneration level for the electricity they produce, Enel said. ($1 = 0.8516 euros) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/italys-enel-buys-wind-farms-germany-80-mln-euro-deal-2025-12-15/

2025-12-15 11:19

TSX ends down 0.1%, at 31,843.44 Inflation rate holds at 2.2% in November Energy falls 1.4% as oil settles 1.1% lower Financials gain 0.5% Dec 15 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged lower on Monday as a drop in oil prices weighed on energy shares and despite domestic inflation data that tempered expectations that the Bank of Canada would hike interest rates next year. The S&P/TSX Composite Index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended down 43.95 points, or 0.1%, at 31,843.44, slightly extending its pullback from a record closing high on Thursday. Sign up here. "We got some inflation data in Canada which I thought came in fairly tame," said Allan Small, senior investment advisor of the Allan Small Financial Group with iA Private Wealth. "I don't think the Bank of Canada is too concerned." Canada's annual inflation rate was 2.2% in November, unchanged from the previous month and below expectations for a 2.3% rate. Investors were pricing in about 23 basis points of tightening from the Bank of Canada next year, down from 35 basis points last Wednesday when the central bank left its benchmark rate on hold at 2.25%. U.S. economic data can set the tone for markets in the coming days, Small said. The U.S. nonfarm payroll figures for October and November are due later this week, along with reports on retail sales, business activity and inflation. October's jobs data was delayed by the government shutdown earlier this quarter. The energy sector (.SPTTEN) , opens new tab fell 1.4% as the price of oil settled 1.1% lower at $56.82 a barrel. Investors balanced disruptions linked to escalating U.S.-Venezuelan tensions with oversupply concerns. Technology (.SPTTTK) , opens new tab lost 0.8%, with shares of e-commerce company Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) , opens new tab down 2.6%. Six of the 10 major sectors ended higher. That included a gain of 0.5% for financials (.SPTTFS) , opens new tab as long-term borrowing costs fell. Canada's 10-year yield eased 2 basis points to 3.423%. Consumer staples was another standout, rising 0.8%. https://www.reuters.com/business/tsx-futures-climb-with-precious-metals-ahead-canadian-inflation-data-2025-12-15/

2025-12-15 11:18

US seeks exemption from EU methane emissions law until 2035 EU has been increasing US LNG imports to replace Russian supply EU has refused to weaken world-first climate change policy BRUSSELS, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. has demanded that the European Union exempt its oil and gas from obligations under the bloc's methane emissions law on fuel imports until 2035, a U.S. government document seen by Reuters showed. Starting this year, the EU requires importers of oil and gas to Europe to monitor and report methane emissions associated with those imports, in a bid to curb emissions of the potent planet-warming gas. Sign up here. The world-first climate policy has faced opposition from U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who has called it impossible to implement and warned it could disrupt U.S. gas supplies to Europe. European countries have increased imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas as they phase out oil and gas from Russia. The U.S. document said that in the absence of a "full repeal" of the EU law, Washington was asking the EU to "delay requiring U.S. emissions data reporting under the EUMR [EU Methane Regulation] until October 2035." "The EU Methane Regulations is a critical non-tariff trade barrier that imposes an undue burden on U.S. exporters and our trade relationship," said the document, circulated to EU member governments ahead of a meeting of their energy ministers in Brussels on Monday. The U.S. Department of Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the document. The EU said last week it would offer companies simpler routes to prove compliance with the law, aimed at complex supply chains like those in the U.S. where one LNG shipment contains gas from many different production fields. EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen told reporters on Monday the bloc was in talks with the U.S., but would not weaken the methane law, which will impose increasingly tough obligations on fuel imports over time. "We are trying to be as helpful as we can, with regards to implementation, but the legislation stands," Jorgensen said. "We are not considering withdrawing the legislation or an exemption to the legislation." Methane emissions are the second-biggest cause of global warming, after carbon dioxide. The U.S. document also asked the EU to deem U.S. methane emissions laws equivalent to its own – meaning U.S. producers would automatically comply – and for Brussels to commit to not apply penalties if U.S. oil and gas imports breach the rules. Industry sources said it was unlikely the U.S. could be granted this "equivalence", since the Trump administration has moved to roll back its federal emissions reporting requirements, including by suspending some for the oil and gas sector until 2034. A joint paper by U.S. and EU oil and gas industry groups, seen by Reuters, also called for changes to the policy, including delaying tougher obligations due to apply from 2027. Dan Byers, vice president for policy at industry group the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the EU methane law was "uniquely complicated for the United States, where you have all of these countless producers, molecules being co-mingled". https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-demands-eu-exempt-its-gas-methane-emissions-law-document-shows-2025-12-15/

2025-12-15 11:07

EU targets Murtaza Lakhani, middleman in Iraqi and Russian oil Kildiyarov from Lukoil's Dubai trading arm also targeted Lists Etibar Eyyub, linked to 2Rivers, formerly Coral Energy BRUSSELS, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The European Union adopted fresh sanctions against Russian oil interests on Monday, targeting traders Murtaza Lakhani and Etibar Eyyub for helping Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions on crude exports that help to fund Russia's war in Ukraine. The EU has imposed 19 packages of sanctions so far, but Moscow has managed to adapt to most measures and is still selling millions of barrels of oil to India and China, albeit at discounts to global prices. Much of this is transported using a so-called shadow fleet of vessels operating outside of the Western maritime industry. Sign up here. The latest EU sanctions prohibit the bloc's citizens from doing business with the listed companies and individuals, reducing their access to shipping and insurance providers. The EU has listed more than 2,600 individuals and companies in total. The EU has targeted nine individuals and entities supporting Russia's shadow fleet of oil tankers, the Council of the European Union and the EU's Official Journal said, referring to businessmen linked to oil companies Rosneft (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab and Lukoil (LKOH.MM) , opens new tab as well as shipping companies that own and manage tankers. The EU is expected by analysts to list more than 40 ships in Russia's shadow fleet this week, bringing the total to about 600 vessels. Russia's Permanent Mission to the EU, in a statement quoted by Russian news agencies, said the new measures would only hurt citizens of European Union countries and prove ineffective. "We note with regret Brussels' inability to recognise a simple truth: if the same action is repeated over and over and does not produce the desired result, it means the original strategy fundamentally does not work and is flawed," it said. The measures, it said, would amplify "the growing socio-economic problems and the declining standard of living for European citizens". OIL TRADER LINKS TO RUSSIA Among those targeted by the EU is Canadian-Pakistani oil trader Murtaza Lakhani, CEO of trading company Mercantile & Maritime. "Through his companies, he enables shipments and export of Russian oil, notably from the Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft," said the listing in the EU's Official Journal. "In particular, Murtaza Lakhani controls vessels transporting crude oil or petroleum products originating in Russia or being exported from Russia." Lakhani, Mercantile & Maritime, Litasco Middle East DMCC and 2Rivers Group did not respond to a request for comment. Lakhani, 63, runs mid-sized trading house Mercantile & Maritime Group with offices in Singapore and London. He started his career at global trader Glencore, where he worked on Iraqi oil exports during the Saddam Hussein era and later moved to Iraq’s Kurdistan region, where he acted as an intermediary between the oil ministry and international companies to sell oil independently of Baghdad. KURDISTAN OIL AND GAS DEALS During this period, he helped Russian state-controlled energy giant Rosneft to sign oil and gas deals in Kurdistan, working closely with Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, including during signing ceremonies at Russia's main economic forum in St Petersburg. Building on this relationship, Lakhani partnered top oil trader Vitol to invest in a 5% stake in Rosneft’s largest oil project in decades, Vostok Oil in the Arctic. “This country (Russia) is the largest resource country in the world. Hampering it is a very short-term effect, not a long-term goal for anybody. They will always need Russia,” he told Russia's SolovievLive at the St Petersburg Forum in June. The EU also listed Valery Kildiyarov, a director of sanctioned Lukoil trading subsidiary Litasco Middle East DMCC and a manager at another Lukoil trading business, Alghaf Marine, in Dubai. The EU's listing of Eyyub along with Anar Madatli and Talat Safarov related to their ties to trading firm Coral Energy, renamed 2Rivers Group, the Council of the European Union said. Coral Energy grew into one of the top Russian oil traders. After a management buyout and name change in 2024, 2Rivers claimed the company largely stopped Russian oil trading in 2023 and quit its last contract in early 2024. Following UK and EU sanctions, the company said it stopped all trading activities in June before dissolving the business in August. https://www.reuters.com/world/eu-foreign-ministers-adopt-sanctions-targeting-russian-shadow-fleet-eu-official-2025-12-15/

2025-12-15 08:32

Dec 15 (Reuters) - Foreign investors snapped up Asian bonds in November as they sought shelter from an equity market selloff driven by concerns over stretched tech valuations and uncertainty around the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate outlook. They bought a net $10.86 billion of bonds in South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, India and Indonesia in November, marking their largest monthly net purchase since $15.29 billion of inflows in May, data from local regulatory authorities and bond market associations showed. Sign up here. "Divergence between equity and debt assets emerged again in November, likely due to investors rotating to low-risk assets," said Khoon Goh, the head of Asia research at ANZ. South Korean bonds drew $11.08 billion, the largest monthly net inflow since at least 2016, on optimism over their inclusion in the FTSE World Government Bond Index starting in April 2026. "We suspect that part of the strong inflows into South Korean bonds were diverted from the equity market," ANZ's Goh said. Thai bonds recorded a third consecutive month of foreign inflows, totalling $319 million, while Malaysian bonds saw net foreign purchases of $316 million. In contrast, foreign investors sold Indian and Indonesian bonds worth $447 million and $400 million, respectively. The U.S. Federal Reserve last week cut interest rates by 25 basis points to a 3.50%–3.75% range, reinforcing expectations that lower U.S. borrowing costs would support regional assets. Jonathan Davis, portfolio manager at PineBridge Investments, said that as equity valuations climb alongside lingering macro uncertainty, investors should remain focused on core fixed income and mindful of risk concentration in more indebted issuers. "That is why we see a growing number of institutions looking toward the Asia-Pacific dollar bond market to maintain stability and diversify risks within their core fixed income portfolios." https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/foreign-inflows-into-asian-bonds-hit-six-month-high-november-2025-12-15/

2025-12-15 07:54

NEW DELHI, Dec 15 (Reuters) - India's merchandise trade deficit (INTRD=ECI) , opens new tab narrowed to $24.53 billion in November, driven by fall in gold, oil and coal imports, government export and import data released on Monday showed. Economists had expected the November trade deficit to be $32 billion, according to a Reuters poll, compared to a record deficit of $41.68 billion in the previous month. Sign up here. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration has rolled out measures including consumer tax cuts, an export promotion package and labour reforms to cushion the economy from the impact of steep U.S. tariffs. Modi spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump last week following a U.S. trade delegation's visit as New Delhi seeks relief on key export lines. Meanwhile, Washington is pushing India to lower tariffs and non-tariff barriers on U.S. goods and open its market to American farm products, including soybean and grain sorghum. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-trade-deficit-narrows-2453-billion-november-2025-12-15/