2024-05-22 19:41

BRUSSELS, May 22 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators are seeking feedback on whether the European Energy Exchange (EEX) might expand its market power by bundling products when it buys Nasdaq's European power trading and clearing business, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. The European Commission, which is examining the deal, sent a questionnaire to the companies' rivals and customers this month, asking for replies early this week, the person said. EEX is Europe's leading electricity and natural gas exchange, serving 800 participants. "One dedicated section in the questionnaire is about conglomerate effects," the person said, referring to the impact on competition from the merger of two companies in closely related but not competing markets. "The Commission would like to understand whether the merged entity could use its strong position in one market to increase its market position in markets of similar products," the person said. The questionnaire asked if the merged entity might do this by offering products only as part of bundles for a fixed fee or making the sale of one product conditional on the sale of another related one, the person said. The Commission, which last year said the merged company could have an incentive to raise trading fees or worsen conditions for market participants, declined to comment. The questionnaire also asked about the impact of the deal on prices and the barriers for rivals to enter the market, the person said. EEX and Nasdaq in their response to the Commission last year said the deal posed no significant threat to competition in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway or any other EU country, that it would not eliminate competition between the two companies, and that market reaction had been positive. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/eex-nasdaq-deal-triggers-eu-concerns-about-bundled-products-price-hikes-2024-05-22/

2024-05-22 17:06

BUENOS AIRES, May 22 (Reuters) - Argentina's black market peso weakened 3.91% against the dollar in the informal parallel market on Wednesday, hitting a record low of 1,280 per greenback as a rally earlier this year faltered on rising political tensions and slow grains exports. The gap between the official exchange rate and the popular parallel market used to get around strict capital controls widened to some 44%. That gap had narrowed from near 200% to under 18% after libertarian President Javier Milei took office in December and sharply devalued the official FX rate. Traders played down a run on the currency, but Argentina's peso has been facing a downward trend in recent days due to political tensions, slow farm sales and the central bank's move to cut interest rates to 40% from 50% last week. The government of libertarian President Javier Milei is also facing delays to its reforms plans and hopes for a pact with regional governors, key to being able to get things done with only a minority in Congress and limited regional presence. "You have pressure in Congress, the farmers are bringing in less (currency) than expected and there is no incentive with rates to invest in funds," said a financial trader at private local bank Macro, who asked not to be named. "Those are sufficient factors to understand the reason why the dollar is gaining (against the peso)." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/argentine-black-market-peso-hits-record-low-milei-rally-falters-2024-05-22/

2024-05-22 16:46

LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) - Sterling edged higher while UK stock futures fell on Wednesday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a parliamentary election for July 4, which analysts said removed a degree of political uncertainty from the picture for traders. The British currency was up 0.3% on the day at $1.2744, gaining modestly from levels before Sunak started speaking outside his Downing Street residence. Futures on the FTSE 100 stock index fell 0.7%. They had traded down 0.6% earlier in the day. The blue-chip index (.FTSE) New Tab, opens new tab earlier closed down 0.6%, while UK gilt yields rose sharply after British data showed inflation had slowed more slowly than expected in April, undermining the case for the Bank of England to cut interest rates as early as June. "Currencies like political certainty and the pound is no exception. An election generates unknown variables and moving parts," Neil Jones, senior FX sales to financial institutions at TJM Europe, said. "There is very heavy focus on the BoE and the dollar right now and that will remain key, we've just added another layer of significance into the mix for the pound," he said. Sterling options volatility, a measure of trader demand for protection in the case of large price swings in the future, rose for contracts that cover July 4. Two-month options volatility rose by the most in one day since mid-April to 6.08%. A UK election by law must be held by Jan. 28, 2025, and speculation of an early election had been building throughout Wednesday. The opposition Labour Party has held a lead over the Conservatives of around 20 points in opinion polls since late 2021. Sunak took office in October 2022. A UK election has been widely anticipated this year, and was not expected to have any immediate bearing on the outlook for the economy or Britain's debt trajectory. Still, investors and analysts say that with an election date announced, markets would start to pay more attention to policy proposals, especially from the Labour Party as it leads in the opinion polls. "Markets really 7are just looking for stability and certainty from any government coming in, and right now it looks like we are going to get a relatively moderate Labour government that is going to pursue relatively market friendly borrowing policies and markets are looking at it and going 'thank goodness'," said Nicholas Rees, an FX analyst at Monex Europe. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/pound-holds-firm-after-british-pm-calls-july-election-2024-05-22/

2024-05-22 16:20

May 22 (Reuters) - Brazil's finance minister said on Wednesday that the country's monetary policy is still at a "very restrictive" level despite what he considers good consumer price readings, with headline inflation running within the central bank's target range. Fernando Haddad's remarks came as the central bank earlier this month voted to reduce the pace of its ongoing easing cycle, lowering Brazil's benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 10.5% after six cuts twice that size. Haddad at a lower house hearing said that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government had been doing its job to help keep inflation under control. He emphasized that fiscal and monetary policies must be in harmony. Brazil's annual inflation hit 3.69% in April, within the central bank's target of 3% plus or minus 1.5 percentage points, but the monetary authority cited global and local uncertainties among the reasons to reduce the pace of its easing cycle. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/brazils-haddad-says-monetary-policy-still-very-restrictive-2024-05-22/

2024-05-22 16:19

May 22 (Reuters) - Federal officials began the process to transfer Sam Bankman-Fried to a new prison, overriding his wish to stay in New York while helping to prepare his appeal, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing a spokesman for the jailed FTX founder. Bankman-Fried was earlier this year sentenced to 25 years in prison by a judge for stealing $8 billion from customers of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded. A jury found him guilty in November on seven fraud and conspiracy counts stemming from FTX's 2022 collapse in what prosecutors have called one of the biggest financial frauds in U.S. history. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ftxs-bankman-fried-being-transferred-new-prison-wsj-reports-2024-05-22/

2024-05-22 14:46

SAO PAULO, May 22 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Carlyle Group (CG.O) New Tab, opens new tab has sold all of its minority stake in Brazilian hospital chain Rede D'Or (RDOR3.SA) New Tab, opens new tab, local outlets Brazil Journal and Valor Economico reported on Wednesday. Carlyle initially intended to sell about half of its stake in a block trade, but later it raised the deal to about 2.2 billion reais ($426.9 million) due to a strong demand, according to the reports. Rede D'Or declined to comment. Carlyle did not respond to request for comment. Data from exchange operator B3 showed more than 69 million shares of Rede D'Or were sold in a block trade in the morning, at 29.44 reais each, raising a total of 2.04 billion reais. B3 did not say who sold. Brazil Journal said Carlyle also sold some 7 million shares after the block trade on Wednesday to an unnamed foreign investor. Although it was not clear how many shares Carlyle had, latest regulatory filings showed it was less than 5% of Rede D'Or. Rede D'Or shares closed on Wednesday down 6% at 29.12 reais, among the biggest declines of Brazil's equities benchmark index Bovespa (.BVSP) New Tab, opens new tab, which fell 1.4%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/carlyle-sells-213-million-shares-brazils-rede-dor-reports-2024-05-22/