2024-06-14 10:57

BORGO EGNAZIA, Italy, June 14 (Reuters) - Group of Seven leaders made no direct reference to abortion in their final communique on Friday, according to a draft seen by Reuters, with Italy refusing to bow to French pressure to include the word. The issue caused a diplomatic spat between the two countries, with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni accusing French President Emmanuel Macron of seeking to score political points ahead of national elections in France. The G7 statement upheld commitments "to universal access to adequate, affordable, and quality health services for women", that the leaders made at their summit in Hiroshima in Japan last year. However, it removed specific reference in the 2023 communique on the importance of "access to safe and legal abortion and post-abortion care". Rome -- which holds the rotating G7 presidency -- said there was no need to repeat the language because they had specifically reiterated their Hiroshima pledge. However, diplomats said France and Canada had sort to strengthen the language on abortion rights, but had failed to get it past the Italians. "You don't have the same sensibilities in your country," Macron told an Italian reporter on Thursday evening. "France has a vision of equality between women and men, but it’s not a vision shared by all the political spectrum." Meloni, who is anti-abortion, responded that there was no reason to generate a controversy over the issue. "I think it is profoundly wrong, in difficult times like these, to campaign (for an election) using a precious forum like the G7," Meloni told reporters. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/draft-g7-statement-makes-no-mention-abortion-reiterates-past-commitments-2024-06-14/

2024-06-14 10:55

FRANKFURT/LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) - Uniper this week won a $14 billion arbitration against Gazprom (GAZP.MM) New Tab, opens new tab about suspended gas deliveries since 2022, a victory for the German utility that was bailed out during Europe's energy crisis after the Russian firm company stopped supplies. Below are some of the most pressing questions on the legal implications following the ruling, which was made by an arbitration tribunal in Stockholm on June 7. WHAT WAS THE CASE ABOUT? For decades, Russia supplied Germany reliably with gas. This came to an abrupt halt in 2022 following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, when Gazprom first cut and later suspended deliveries to Uniper, until then the main European recipient of deliveries. To honour its supply contracts, Uniper bought volumes on the spot market, where Russia's move to curtail deliveries had caused prices to skyrocket. As a result, Uniper nearly collapsed due to the high costs to buy replacement volumes, causing Berlin to nationalise the utility to safeguard supply of gas to Europe's biggest economy. Uniper subsequently launched arbitration before a Stockholm tribunal at the end of 2022, blaming Gazprom for its losses. Gazprom said it had to cut supplies due to faulty gas turbines and sabotage of the now defunct Nord Stream pipeline. WHAT'S THE VERDICT? Uniper said the tribunal ruled in accordance with Swiss law and that the decision was legally binding and final, adding that a dispute resolution via arbitration was contractually agreed and had been used by both sides in the past. While the verdict is not public, Uniper said the decision awarded it a title to claim damages worth more than 13 billion euros ($14 billion) from Gazprom. It also enabled the German firm, more than 99% now owned by the German government, to cancel 250 terawatt hours of dormant gas contracts with Gazprom, some of which run to the mid-2030s. This, sources have said, has removed a major investor risk ahead of a Uniper's planned return to the stock market in 2025. WILL UNIPER GET THE MONEY FROM GAZPROM? That's quite unlikely. Gazprom, via its exporting arm, successfully challenged the case in a St Petersburg court, which ruled in March that Uniper and a subsidiary would be fined 14.3 billion euros should they proceed with the arbitration. Gazprom has so far not replied to a request for comment on this week's ruling. One possibility could be to seize any Gazprom assets outside Russia, provided the verdict is recognised in all jurisdictions. One source said Gazprom had no notable foreign assets that could be seized after ditching its German division in 2022, which also had to be nationalised as a result. Gazprom's subsidiary, called Gazprom International, oversees assets in so-called friendly countries, which have not introduced sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine. Those assets are located in Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Algeria, Libya, Bolivia and Bangladesh. Even if Uniper were to get any money, it would go straight to the German government as its main owner. CAN UNIPER SEIZE PAYMENTS TO GAZPROM? Technically yes. But only in countries that recognise the arbitration tribunal's decision, which would potentially put Germany at odds with its European partners. Previous titles awarded from other courts already enabled Uniper to exercise claims against Gazprom's Austrian division, causing that business to file for insolvency last year. "The risk is that if Gazprom does not pay Uniper these damages, buyers who are still receiving Russian gas could be forced to redirect payments due to Gazprom to Uniper instead," ING analysts said in a note. Austria's OMV (OMVV.VI) New Tab, opens new tab, which still gets most of its gas from Gazprom, in late May said supplies from the Russian group could be suspended in connection with a foreign court ruling, that, if enforced, would oblige it to make payments to a major European energy company it did not identify. A person familiar with the matter said the company in question is Uniper. Some other European states have already taken action to prevent this. Hungary, which also gets most of its gas from Russia, last month issued a decree effectively preventing that payments made by state-owned energy conglomerate MVM to Gazprom can be seized, arguing it would put the country's energy supply at risk. ($1 = 0.9341 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/whats-stake-with-unipers-14-bln-arbitration-success-2024-06-14/

2024-06-14 10:48

LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) - French markets endured another brutal sell-off on Friday as political uncertainty unleashed the biggest weekly jump in the premium investors demand to hold French government debt since 2011 and bank stocks tumbled. France's Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire warned the euro zone's second-biggest economy faced the risk of a financial crisis if the far right were to win parliamentary elections in the coming weeks. Marine Le Pen's eurosceptic National Rally (RN), is leading in opinion polls following President Emmanuel Macron's surprise decision at the weekend to call a snap election. Le Pen's party is calling for a lowering of the retirement age, cuts in energy prices, increased public spending and a protectionist "France first" economic policy approach. French banks were hit hard. The country's biggest three - BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) New Tab, opens new tab, Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) New Tab, opens new tab and Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) New Tab, opens new tab - have lost between 12-16% in value this week, the most since the banking crisis of March 2023. The premium investors demand to hold French government bonds over euro zone benchmark Germany meanwhile rose to its highest level since 2017 at nearly 80 basis points . It was set for a rise of roughly 25 bps this week, the biggest weekly increase since 2011, when the euro zone was the throes of a sovereign debt crisis that led to multiple government and bank bailouts worth trillions of dollars. "It's really hard to ignore the parallels from the situation of 2011-2012 in the sovereign debt crisis," Justin Onuekwusi, chief investment officer at investment firm St. James's Place, said. "If you go back to that period, very similar themes -- elections, sovereign debt spreads, debt sustainability in focus with no real sign of what's going to stop this momentum." Stock-market volatility roared higher on Friday, rising by the most in a day since last July (.V2TX) New Tab, opens new tab. Reflecting the level of nervousness, the cost of insuring the debt of BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole rose to its highest since the start of the year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Shares in Italian banks also took a dive, with UniCredit (CRDI.MI) New Tab, opens new tab down 4.7% and Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) New Tab, opens new tab down 3.6%, as investors ditched the bigger euro zone banks, including Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) New Tab, opens new tab, down 5.5%. French state-backed finance body SFIL postponed a bond sale on Friday, a lead manager memo seen by Reuters, in a sign of how market unease was rippling out. The CAC 40 (.FCHI) New Tab, opens new tab was last down over 2%, heading for a weekly loss of nearly 6%, its largest since early 2022, and underperforming the regional STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) New Tab, opens new tab, down just 1.8% for the week. A decision by France's left wing parties to form a 'Popular Front' added to selling pressure as it dents Macron's chances emerging victorious in the election, analysts said. The euro touched a one-month low at around $1.0690 and was last down 0.5% . The possibility that the RN could win has compounded investor concerns around France's fiscal discipline. The first round of voting takes place on June 30. France's debt to gross domestic product ratio is above 100%, and its deficit is around 5%. Its credit rating was downgraded last month by S&P Global. It now costs the French government more to borrow money for 10 years than it does the Portuguese government for the first time since at least 2005, according to LSEG Datastream . There is now also less than half a percentage point of difference in the long-term borrowing costs of the French government and those of Greece, the biggest casualty of the euro zone debt crisis of 2011-2012 . A year ago, that number was closer to 80 basis points. "In terms of positioning, fast money accounts have been short France over the last few months. However, real money accounts, institutional accounts and Asian real money are long France," said Jefferies analyst Mohit Kumar. "As these accounts seek to exit their positions or reduce exposure, buyers are unlikely to step in given that elections are just three weeks away." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/french-markets-caught-storm-bonds-bank-stocks-hit-2024-06-14/

2024-06-14 10:38

LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) - Sterling was on track for its biggest weekly gain against the euro in nearly seven months on Friday, as investor concerns sparked by France's snap election continued to pummel the euro zone currency. The euro was broadly flat on the day against sterling at 84.09 pence, but was on course for a nearly 1% weekly fall - its biggest since November 2023. The pound slipped 0.4% on the day against the broadly stronger dollar, to $1.27065. The euro has tumbled across the board this week as opinion polls project that Marine Le Pen's far right National Rally (RN) party is on track to come out top in the French elections. Markets appear to be taking Britain's own general election largely in their stride so far, with the opposition Labour party currently projected to win comfortably next month. Labour has tacked to the centre ground in recent years which has helped reassure businesses, although some of their policies have unnerved the super-rich. The Bank of England (BoE) is set to meet on June 20 to determine its monetary policy, with markets betting the central bank will hold the benchmark interest rate at 5.25%, despite the European Central Bank cutting earlier this month. Market pricing suggests a 91% chance that the BoE will hold, with a 9% chance of a reduction. While headline UK inflation has fallen close to the BoE's 2% target, it was much higher than expected in the key services sector in April, and 6% wage growth in May remained roughly double the level consistent with the target. "While the data has done most of the heavy lifting in taking a June cut off the table, the proximity of the June meeting to the election date probably reduces the chance of the BoE cutting a little further," economists at BNP Paribas said in a note. The British public's expectations for inflation cooled last month and the highest proportion since the global financial crisis thought it would be best for the economy if interest rates fell, a BoE survey showed on Friday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/sterling-track-best-week-year-against-ailing-euro-2024-06-14/

2024-06-14 10:34

BEIJING/LONDON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - China has opened an anti-subsidy probe into imported dairy products from the European Union, stepping up tension with the bloc a day after Brussels released its revised draft decision related to tariffs on China-made electric vehicles. Below are details on the probe into EU dairy imports and other industries which are under investigation. DAIRY The anti-subsidy investigation on dairy announced by China's commerce ministry on Wednesday will focus on various types of cheeses, milks and creams intended for human consumption. It was prompted by a complaint submitted by the Dairy Association of China and the China Dairy Industry Association on July 29 on behalf of the domestic dairy industry. China will examine 20 subsidy schemes from across the 27-strong bloc, specifically those from Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Ireland, and Romania, it said in a statement. The EU was China's second-largest source of dairy products with at least 36% of the total value of imports in 2023, behind only New Zealand, according to Chinese customs data. The EU exported 1.7 billion euros ($1.84 billion) in dairy products to China in 2023, down from 2 billion in 2022, according to European Commission data. PORK The anti-dumping investigation announced in June by China's commerce ministry is focussing on pork intended for human consumption, such as fresh, cold and frozen whole cuts, as well as pig intestines, bladders and stomachs. It was prompted by a complaint submitted by the China Animal Husbandry Association on behalf of the domestic pork industry, the ministry said. Pork suppliers from South America, the U.S. and Russia could be among those gaining market share if Beijing restricts imports from the European Union. The EU accounts for more than half the roughly $6 billion worth of pork China imported in 2023, according to customs data, around a quarter of which was from Spain alone. Second- and third-ranking, the Netherlands and Denmark last year exported to China pork products worth $620 million and $550 million respectively. BRANDY China's commerce ministry said on Thursday it would not impose provisional tariffs on brandy imported from the European Union, despite finding it had been sold in China below market prices. Beijing said in January it was looking into whether EU brandy makers were selling their product in the country at below-market rates, weighing on sentiment for cognac producers, especially for French companies such as Remy (RCOP.PA) , opens new tab and Pernod (PERP.PA) , opens new tab. The French cognac industry makes up almost all of China's EU brandy imports. French producers said they suspected the probe was linked to a broader trade row rather than the liquor markets. PLASTIC In May, Beijing launched an anti-dumping probe into POM copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, imported from the EU, U.S., Japan and Taiwan. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/chinas-potential-probes-eu-firms-following-ev-tariffs-2024-06-14/

2024-06-14 10:15

MUMBAI, June 14 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee closed nearly unchanged on Friday as intervention from the Indian central bank prevented it from hitting a lifetime low even as a broadly stronger dollar pressured most Asian currencies. The rupee closed at 83.5550 against the U.S. dollar, barely changed from its close at 83.5425 in the previous session. The currency was down 0.2% week-on-week. State-run banks were spotted selling dollars to support the rupee, likely on behalf of the RBI, traders said. Regular interventions from the Indian central bank across market segments this week have helped the rupee stay above it record low of 83.5750 hit in April. The dollar index rose nearly 0.4% to 105.6, its highest in over a month, boosted by a weaker euro amid concerns about political uncertainty in France. Asian currencies were mostly weaker by 0.1% to 0.8%. For the dollar-rupee pair, "upside shall be capped around 83.70 and, on the downside, support lies around 83.30-40 zone," Amit Pabari, managing director at FX advisory firm CR Forex said. Meanwhile, dollar-rupee forward premiums rose with the 1-year implied yield up 3 basis points at 1.63%, aided by interbank paying in near-forwards and a dip in US bond yields. The 10-year U.S. treasury yield was hovering close to its lowest level since April after softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data supported bets of a September rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Despite choppy price action on most Asian currencies through this week, the rupee was rangebound between 83.47 and 83.57. Save for unanticipated large inflows or outflows, future price action on the rupee will largely depend on how the RBI acts, a foreign exchange trader at a foreign bank said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rupee-ends-nearly-flat-aided-by-rbi-intervention-logs-weekly-decline-2024-06-14/