2025-10-29 20:43
Oct 29 (Reuters) - U.S. nuclear power generation is set to rise, analysts at Wood Mackenzie said, as surging demand driven by data centers strains grids across the country and a wave of tech companies sign deals to source power from the zero-carbon resource. A flurry of announcements in nuclear energy investments - most recently an $80 billion U.S. government partnership with the owners of Westinghouse Electric - underscore the rising interest in the sector. The power industry is grappling with increasing electricity demand from energy-intensive data centers, rising temperatures and electrification. Sign up here. “Technology companies are now becoming energy providers by necessity to meet this growing demand, especially in the U.S. where nuclear power is emerging as a preferred solution,” said Lindsey Entwistle, principal research analyst at Wood Mackenzie. NextEra Energy reached a partnership deal this week with Google to restart an Iowa nuclear plant, while other tech giants like Microsoft have also signed deals for next-generation nuclear technologies. But many of these will take time to complete construction, Entwistle said. Wood Mackenzie expects U.S. nuclear generation will remain steady until 2035, and then increase 27% through 2060. Globally, data center power demand is expected to hit 700 TWh in 2025, rising to 3,500 TWh by 2050 – equal to the current combined electricity demand from India and the Middle East - according to the firm's latest energy transition outlook. Global nuclear capacity is expected to grow from 400 GW currently to between 800 GW and 1,600 GW by 2060. Small modular reactors in particular are viewed as cheaper, quicker to build, and can be co-located with data centers, removing the need for additional power infrastructure, said James West, managing director at Melius Research. However, the nuclear industry will face multiple challenges to stay competitive, including project and permitting delays, cost overruns and labor shortage. For newer technologies like small modular reactors, ensuring policy support and funding for first-of-a-kind projects will also be a challenge, said Entwistle. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-nuclear-generation-grow-27-post-2035-data-centers-fuel-power-demand-woodmac-2025-10-29/
2025-10-29 20:39
CAIRO, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Most Gulf central banks cut key interest rates on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve moved to reduce rates by a quarter of a percentage point, its second rate cut decision this year. The Fed's decision to cut rates by 25 basis points drew dissents from two policymakers and Chair Jerome Powell said a further reduction in interest rates in December was far from a foregone conclusion. Sign up here. The oil and gas exporters of the Gulf Cooperation Council generally follow the Fed's lead on interest rate moves as most regional currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar. Only the Kuwaiti dinar is pegged to a basket of currencies, which includes the U.S. dollar. Saudi Arabia, the region's biggest economy, cut its repurchase agreement (repo) rate by 25 bps to 4.50% and its reverse repo rate also by 25 bps to 4%. The United Arab Emirates' central bank reduced the base rate applied to its overnight deposit facility to 3.9%, effective Thursday. Shielded from stubbornly high inflation elsewhere, the Gulf region is expected to benefit from lower interest rates to stimulate economic activity and bolster non-oil growth. All have embarked on ambitious programmes to diversify domestic economies away from hydrocarbons and develop sectors such as real estate, tourism and manufacturing, which require billions in financing and investment. The central banks of Qatar, Bahrain and Oman all followed the Fed move and cut key rates by 25 basis points. The Central Bank of Kuwait decided to hold rates steady and said monetary policy was consistent with local economic conditions. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/most-gulf-central-banks-cut-key-rates-by-25-basis-points-after-fed-move-2025-10-29/
2025-10-29 20:39
BRUSSELS, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Anglo American's (AAL.L) , opens new tab $500 million sale of its Brazilian nickel assets to a unit of Hong Kong-listed MMG (1208.HK) , opens new tab faces an EU antitrust investigation after regulators rejected the companies' proposed remedies, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. The companies had offered to buy ferronickel from MMG for resale in Europe for up to 10 years to ease concerns that the deal could cut off some of the supply of the metal for customers in Europe amid global concerns about the supply of key minerals under China’s influence. Sign up here. The European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, has not asked for feedback from rivals and customers regarding the proposed remedy, one of the sources said. The EU executive, which is scheduled to finish its preliminary review of the deal on November 4, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The companies said in a joint statement that they continue to work with the Commission to secure its approval for the deal. "This includes the measures that we have recently put forward to ensure continued access to sustainable produced cupronickel, which we believe presents them the most positive outcome for customers," they said. "We believe that European customers would support Anglo American's ongoing role as a marketer of cupronickel, while supply competition in Europe would also increase with the addition of MM as a new supplier," they added. https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/anglo-americans-mmg-deal-faces-eu-antitrust-probe-source-says-2025-10-29/
2025-10-29 20:37
Tariffs and beef costs pressuring Chipotle's margins Households earning below $100,000 a year cut visits sharply, says CEO Company signals sales pressure through early 2026 Oct 29 (Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG.N) , opens new tab on Wednesday cut annual sales forecast for the third time this year, warning that consumer spending on dining out is likely to remain under pressure through early 2026, sending its shares down 15% after the bell. U.S. households earning less than $100,000 a year, which make up about 40% of Chipotle's sales, have pulled back sharply, executives said. Customers aged 25-35 years were particularly pressured, owing to rising unemployment, resumed student loan payments and sluggish wage growth, CEO Scott Boatwright said. Sign up here. President Donald Trump's shifting trade policies, persistent inflation and growing fears of a prolonged U.S. government shutdown have rattled consumer confidence in recent months, hurting even higher-income consumers. Tariffs and surging costs of beef, Chipotle's largest commodity, have fueled inflation, with executives saying the company would take a "slow and measured" approach to price hikes in 2026 rather than fully offset cost pressures. "While the move will pressure margins, we think it's the right thing to do," Chief Financial Officer Adam Rymer said on a post-earnings call. Chipotle also flagged issues with digital order accuracy, ingredient availability and cleanliness, based on an internal survey. The company is retraining staff and tweaking bonus incentives to bolster customer experience and digital execution. "Even though Chipotle has long argued it offers strong value given its high-quality ingredients, many consumers aren't buying it," Emarketer analyst Zak Stambor said. Third-quarter comparable restaurant sales at the burrito chain rose 0.3%, compared with analysts' estimate of a 1.36% rise, according to data compiled by LSEG. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 29 cents, in line with the estimate, while restaurant level margin fell to 24.5% from 25.5% a year ago. The company expects 2025 comparable restaurant sales to decline in the low-single digit range, compared with prior forecast of about flat. https://www.reuters.com/business/chipotle-cuts-annual-sales-forecast-again-2025-10-29/
2025-10-29 20:09
Oct 29 (Reuters) - Mastercard (MA.N) , opens new tab is in late-stage talks to acquire crypto startup Zerohash for between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, Fortune reported on Wednesday, citing five sources familiar with the matter. If the deal goes through, it would be Mastercard's one of the biggest bets yet on stablecoins, the report said , opens new tab, adding that the talks might still fall through. Sign up here. Mastercard and Zerohash declined to comment on Reuters' request. Card firms are increasingly integrating stablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to assets such as the U.S. dollar, into their systems, viewing the technology as a faster, cheaper and safer alternative to traditional payment methods, while tapping into blockchain infrastructure. Mastercard has long recognized the potential of stablecoins, as reflected in its partnerships with companies such as Crypto.com, OKX and Kraken. Zerohash, founded in 2017, develops infrastructure for stablecoin and blockchain, which allow companies such as Mastercard and other finance firms in services such crypto trading, custody and staking. Last month, Morgan Stanley said it would offer cryptocurrency trading on its platform E*Trade from the first half of 2026 through a partnership with Zerohash. The crypto startup completed a financing round of a little more than $100 million earlier in the year, giving it a valuation of over $1 billion. The funding round was led by Interactive Brokers (IBKR.O) , opens new tab, while Morgan Stanley, SoFi and others also participated. The potential deal for Zerohash follows previous discussions by Mastercard and Coinbase to buy stablecoin startup BVNK for about $2 billion, the Fortune report said. However, Coinbase (COIN.O) , opens new tab appears to have won that race and is in exclusivity with BVNK. Coinbase declined to comment, while BVNK did not immediately respond. https://www.reuters.com/business/mastercard-poised-buy-crypto-firm-zerohash-nearly-2-billion-fortune-reports-2025-10-29/
2025-10-29 20:06
SAO PAULO, Oct 29 (Reuters) - E-commerce firm MercadoLibre (MELI.O) , opens new tab posted on Wednesday a net profit below analysts' expectations, impacted by currency effects and weaker demand in Argentina, while a free-shipping boost in Brazil hit margins but helped to drive a revenue beat. Uruguay-headquartered MercadoLibre, Latin America's most valuable company by market cap, posted a $421 million net income for the July-September quarter, up 6% year-on-year but missing the $481 million expected by analysts in a LSEG poll. Sign up here. Net revenue for the firm, which runs an e-commerce platform in Latin America and fintech Mercado Pago, grew 39% to $7.4 billion, above the $7.2 billion expected by analysts, as sales measured by Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) jumped 35% on a currency-neutral basis. "We made investments in Brazil and we are already seeing the paying-off of those investments," Chief Financial Officer Martin de los Santos told Reuters. MercadoLibre in June lowered its free-shipping threshold in Brazil, its main market, which helped it to deliver in the country a 34% GMV jump and its fastest unique buyers growth since early 2021. However, the initiative continued to hurt profitability, with its operational margins, or EBIT margins, falling to 9.8%, the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2023. Sales in Argentina slowing down from the first half of the year also contributed to margin contraction, as higher economic instability led to weaker demand, de los Santos said, adding that on the other hand Mexican operations were margin accretive. MercadoLibre's management has been saying that the company will not miss growth opportunities that could be key to long-term development even if those opportunities might generate short-term margin pressure. The firm's EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) increased 30% year-on-year to $724 million, but missed the $752 million estimated by analysts. The CFO said the peso devaluation and higher tax rate in Argentina also negatively impacted MercadoLibre's net profit. For the fintech Mercado Pago, its loan book rose 83% year-over-year to $11 billion, mainly driven by credit cards, while the 15-to-90-day delinquency rate fell to 6.8% from 7.8%. Total payment volume from Mercado Pago's acquiring operations grew 32% to $47.7 billion. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mercadolibres-third-quarter-net-profit-misses-estimates-despite-revenue-beat-2025-10-29/
