2023-11-09 19:18

Nov 9 - Traders of futures contracts that track expectations for the Federal Reserve's policy rate pushed out bets on the U.S. central bank's likely first interest-rate cut to June of next year, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he was not yet convinced rates are "sufficiently restrictive." The contracts had earlier priced the Fed's first rate cut as more likely than not in May. Traders still are overwhelmingly betting against another Fed interest-rate hike, although prices after Powell spoke reflected a slight bump up in the probability seen of a rate hike in December or January. https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/traders-now-see-fed-starting-rate-cuts-later-2024-2023-11-09/

2023-11-09 18:59

Nov 9 (Reuters) - Asset management giant BlackRock registered to create an ethereum trust, a potential first step toward asking regulators to approve an exchange-traded fund tied to ether, the second-largest digital token. BlackRock registered the iShares Ethereum Trust as a Delaware statutory trust on Thursday. Nasdaq also filed a proposal on Thursday to list and trade shares of the trust. The price of ethereum was last up 9.18% at around $2,062.8, its highest level since April. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, was up 2.56% at $36,553, hovering around an 18-month high. Earlier this year, BlackRock registered a bitcoin trust in the same manner and a week later filed an application with the SEC to launch a spot bitcoin ETF. BlackRock declined to comment on the trust's creation or on any plans for an ETF filing. To date, roughly a dozen ETF providers have filed to create spot bitcoin ETFs, or convert existing products into spot ETFs, helping fuel the recent rally in the cryptocurrency. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has so far not approved any other than ETFs tied to futures contracts, with SEC Chair Gary Gensler arguing that the spot bitcoin market is prone to fraud and manipulation. Several other ETF providers that have applied for spot bitcoin ETFs also have sought SEC approval for spot ether ETFs, including Ark Investment Management, Invesco and VanEck. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/blackrock-plans-ethereum-trust-fuel-speculation-about-etf-filing-2023-11-09/

2023-11-09 18:45

MEXICO CITY, Nov 9 (Reuters) - A recent government push to cancel Ganfeng Lithium's concessions has forced the Chinese company to indefinitely postpone its target to start mining the battery metal in Mexico, a company executive told Reuters. Mexican mining authorities have issued a notice to Ganfeng's local subsidiaries indicating nine of its concessions had been canceled, saying it had failed to comply with minimum investment requirements, the company said in an August filing. "Once we heard from the government about their intentions to undertake these actions, the timetable for development moved," Peter Secker, head of the Sonora Lithium project, said on Wednesday, adding the miner cannot continue its plans until the issues with the government are resolved, for which there is no clear timeframe. Construction work for Ganfeng's $800 million production plant has not started, which had already made a 2023 production start target unreachable even without the government challenge. Lithium, an essential component of electric vehicles, is coveted by rechargeable battery makers worldwide. Secker said construction on the production plant will take 18 months, and it will begin activity right after, adding the only factor now halting its start is the government move. Battery production and recycling plants are set to be part of a larger project, which will be built after production starts. He denied the mining authority's investment allegation about its lack of investment in the plant to be built in Mexico's northwestern state of Sonora. "We have exceeded the minimum spend required," Secker said, adding the company will use all legal resources available to challenge the move and avoid a cancellation. Mexico's government did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the status of the concessions. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who last year announced a sweeping lithium nationalization, said in September the country's concessions for the metal were being reviewed. Secker said the only license clause being questioned by the government is the minimum investment. Mexico, where much of its lithium reserves are trapped in clay deposits, making extraction difficult, does not currently produce any lithium. Ganfeng, which acquired the site's initial developer Bacanora in 2021, has run tests in its Mexico and China pilot plants to ensure its technology to mine the metal works on a commercial scale, Secker said. More than a decade has passed since Bacanora first acquired the Sonora concession. A Mexican national lithium company created last year by Lopez Obrador could strike private sector partnerships as long as the government holds the majority stake, its newly appointed head Pablo Taddei said at the time. "If the government is going to invest, there will need to be a valuation," Secker said when asked about a potential partnership, adding the company is open to it and willing to open its balance sheet, people and technology to move forward on any potential deal. "It would be silly for the government not to work with Ganfeng to develop a strategy," he added. Ganfeng also plans to produce fertilizers using potassium found at the same site during its exploratory works, he said. Lithium reserves in Mexico's Sonora state stand at just under 9 million tonnes, enough to sustain over 200 years of mining activity, company data shows. Even as the Sonora project has stagnated, Ganfeng has tripled its projects in Argentina, Secker noted. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/chinas-ganfeng-indefinitely-postpones-mexican-lithium-target-date-amid-govt-spat-2023-11-09/

2023-11-09 18:28

JERUSALEM, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Israel's military said an organisation in Syria launched a drone that hit a school in the southern Israeli city of Eilat on Thursday and that it struck the group in response. The military did not say what organisation in Syria had launched the drone toward Eilat, on the Red Sea approximately 400 kms (250 miles) from the nearest point in Syrian territory. But it said in a statement it holds Syria's government fully responsible "for any terror activity emanating from its territory." There were no reports of injuries from the drone strike, which caused light damage. The drone incident adds to a spate of attacks directed from the region since the Oct. 7 outbreak of Israeli fighting with Gaza's Hamas militants. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement has launched repeated missile and drone attacks on Israel since Oct. 7, all of which were either shot down or fell short. On Thursday, the Houthis, which govern swathes of Yemen including the capital Sanaa, said they fired ballistic missiles at various Israeli targets including what the group's military spokesperson described as military targets in Eilat. Israel's military said its "Arrow" air defence system intercepted a missile launched at Israeli territory near the Red Sea, and that its Patriot defence system had intercepted a "suspicious target" in the southern Negev desert. Israel's military did not attribute blame for the missile launch or the target intercepted in the Negev. Israel has boosted its naval presence in the Red Sea to better protect its southern shores, while the United States also has a significant amount of naval power in the region. Eilat is the Israel's main commercial gateway through the Red Sea. Daniel Mueller, analyst with British maritime security company Ambrey, said Thursday's drone hit "would be the first confirmed damage within the city of Eilat since the October 7 hostilities commenced." Hamas and the Houthis "have fired multiple rockets, cruise missiles and UAVs towards Eilat," Mueller added. Israeli waters are considered a high risk zone by marine insurers and every ship is required to pay an additional war risk premium, which is typically renewed every seven days. Such premiums have soared 10-fold in recent weeks, adding tens of thousands of dollars to every voyage, industry sources say. And this means higher freight costs. The southern Mediterranean port of Ashkelon, which is closest to Gaza, has closed in recent weeks with at least one oil tanker diverted to Eilat. Ambrey has advised clients that merchant shipping can still call at Ashkelon port, as shipping is doing in Ashdod, but to adopt ballistic protection measures. These can include hardware, but also procedures such as minimising crew deck movements. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-military-says-unidentified-drone-hits-southern-city-eilat-2023-11-09/

2023-11-09 17:18

Liquidity assistance alone not enough to solve Credit Suisse crisis- SNB Measures needed to slow speed of deposit withdrawal Banks need to improve preparation of collateral ZURICH, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Slowing deposit withdrawals and better preparation of collateral will be crucial in handling future bank crises, said SNB vice chairman Martin Schlegel, after the biggest-ever cash injection into a bank was needed to engineer the rescue of Credit Suisse. Reuters reported last week that Swiss authorities, including the central Swiss National Bank (SNB), and lenders, are discussing ways to prevent bank runs by, for example, staggering the withdrawal of funds over a period of time and imposing fees on exits. The SNB provided nearly 168 billion Swiss francs ($186.58 billion)in emergency funds to keep Credit Suisse afloat after the bank suffered massive cash outflows from rattled customers in March. "It was the largest amount of liquidity assistance ever provided to a single bank anywhere in the world," Schlegel said at an event in Basel on Thursday. But the bank, although solvent, was suffering from not just a temporary liquidity shortfall but also a fundamental loss of confidence, he said. "Liquidity assistance alone would not have resolved the crisis," he said, adding that other measures like the eventual state-brokered takeover by rival Swiss bank UBS (UBSG.S) were needed. Schlegel highlighted other problems related to the crisis, including Credit Suisse not having enough collateral - bonds, equities and mortgages - ready to offer the SNB as security for the liquidity provided. This limited the level of cash that could be offered via the Emergency Liquidity Assistance scheme (ELA), the SNB's usual tool as lender of last resort. Additional money was provided for Credit Suisse via the Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA+), which provided cash secured only by preferential rights if Credit Suisse went bankrupt rather than against collateral. The Public Liquidity Backstop (PLB), which provided funds covered by a government guarantee, was also used. In future, Schlegel said improved preparation of collateral was needed by banks to allow them to better access emergency funding through existing schemes. It was also crucial to slow the speed that deposits could be withdrawn, by extending the maturity of deposits for example. "The bank and the authorities would thus gain valuable time to manage a crisis," he said. Finally, the PLB should be used in future if the conventional ELA scheme was unable to cover the requirements of the bank, not ELA+, Schlegel said. "ELA+ was necessary in the specific case of Credit Suisse, but it is not a model for managing future crises," Schlegel said. ($1 = 0.9004 Swiss francs) https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/banks-should-slow-deposit-withdrawals-prepare-better-collateral-evade-crises-snb-2023-11-09/

2023-11-09 16:43

Nov 9 (Reuters) - The unions representing hospitality workers in Las Vegas on Thursday reached a tentative deal with MGM Resorts International (MGM.N) for a new contract, less than 24 hours before a strike threatened to shut down the Strip. The culinary workers and bartenders Unions said that 25,470 workers have a new five-year tentative agreement with MGM. The agreement averts a strike on Friday at eight MGM properties and comes a day after rival Caesars Entertainment (CZR.O) reached a deal with 10,000 workers. Unions across industries are pressing employers for better pay and benefits, buoyed by a shortage of workers. Casino resort operators have been earning record profits from a steady post-pandemic recovery in Las Vegas tourism. "After seven months of negotiations, we are proud to say that this is the best contract and economic package we have ever won ... in our 88-year history," Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Union, said in a statement. "We're pleased to have reached a tentative agreement that averts a strike, gives our Culinary Union employees a well-earned boost to pay and benefits and reduces workloads," Bill Hornbuckle, MGM chief executive officer, said in a statement. The Las Vegas unions, considered among the most powerful in the United States, said they also successfully negotiated mandated daily room cleaning and increased safety protections for workers. Shares of MGM were down 1.5% in morning trading. MGM workers in Detroit have been on strike since mid-October. Caesars Entertainment (CZR.O), the second-biggest Las Vegas casino operator after MGM by number of employees, said that its deal with the unions provides "meaningful wage increases." The union called the tentative deal "historic." Wynn Resorts (WYNN.O) has yet to yield an agreement ahead of Friday's strike deadline but said it has negotiations scheduled with the unions on Thursday. Visits to Las Vegas in September were 4% lower than in the same period in 2019, the year before the pandemic, according to data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Room rates, however, have surged more than 47%. https://www.reuters.com/business/mgm-resorts-reaches-labor-deal-with-las-vegas-unions-averts-strike-2023-11-09/