2025-08-19 19:48

WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's top regulatory official suggested on Tuesday that central bank staff should be permitted to own small amounts of crypto products, arguing experience would better inform their work policing activities in those financial markets. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said easing restrictions on staff investments may also help recruit and retain expert bank examiners, and "de minimus" holdings of crypto and other digital assets would help staff develop a working understanding of those products. Sign up here. "There’s no replacement for experimenting and understanding how that ownership and transfer process flows," she said in prepared remarks delivered to a crypto conference in Wyoming. "I certainly wouldn’t trust someone to teach me to ski if they’d never put on skis, regardless of how many books and articles they have read, or even wrote, about it." Bowman did not offer specifics in terms of amounts or types of holdings she was considering, but her remarks serve as the latest indication of the friendlier tone regulators in the Trump administration are taking towards the crypto sector. Under Trump, the Fed and other bank regulators have already taken several steps to be more open to crypto activities by banks, after years of requiring banks to clear additional hurdles before diving into the sector. Throughout her remarks, Bowman emphasized that bank regulators need to be less skeptical of new technologies in the financial sector, including crypto products. She accused bank watchdogs of having an "overly cautious mindset," which she argued could actually hinder the banking sector by placing undue restrictions on activities. "We must choose whether to embrace the change and help shape a framework that will be reliable and durable - ensuring safety and soundness and incorporating the benefits of both efficiency and speed - or to stand still and allow new technology to bypass the traditional banking system altogether. From a regulator’s perspective, the choice is clear," she said. Bowman said there are risks that come from any rapid transformations, but she maintained regulators need to acknowledge the potential benefits of those changes as well as potential problems. "Risks may be offset or at least determined to be manageable when we recognize and consider the potentially extensive benefits of new technology," she said. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/feds-bowman-suggests-allowing-central-bank-staff-own-small-amounts-crypto-2025-08-19/

2025-08-19 19:22

Trump says 'radical left court' trying to block Resolution Copper project Post came after Trump met at White House with CEOs of Rio, BHP Court calls for briefings to be filed by October 14 Aug 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized an appeals court's decision to temporarily block federal officials , opens new tab from completing a land transfer needed for Rio Tinto (RIO.L) , opens new tab and BHP (BHP.AX) , opens new tab to develop Arizona's Resolution Copper project. The post came after Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum met at the White House with the CEOs of Rio and BHP, the Anglo-Australian mining companies that have been trying to develop Resolution for more than a decade. Sign up here. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that the transfer - which had been slated for Tuesday - should be halted while the court weighs a request from the San Carlos Apache tribe to block the project for religious, cultural and environmental reasons. It was the first time any court has ruled in favor of the Apache or their allies in more than five years of myriad legal maneuvers against Resolution, slated to become one of the world's largest supplies of a metal used to build nearly every electronic device. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, called the court a "radical left court" and said that those who oppose the mine "are Anti-American, and representing other copper competitive Countries." "It is so sad that Radical Left Activists can do this, and affect the lives of so many people," Trump said in the post. "We can't continue to allow this to happen to the U.S.A.!" Trump did not outline any actions he plans to take to sway the court, but said that "our Country, quite simply, needs Copper — AND NOW!" Trump did not provide evidence for his claims about the court and opponents of the project. The court made clear it takes "no position on the merits" of the Apache's arguments and would expedite its review. Judges asked for filings to be submitted by October 14, but have not yet scheduled a hearing date. Ten of the appeals court's 29 members were appointed by Trump. Representatives for the San Carlos Apache tribe were not immediately available to comment. Rio, which owns 55% of the project to BHP's 45%, declined to comment on Trump's post, but said it was "confident the court will ultimately affirm" the land transfer. Rio CEO Jakob Stausholm and his successor Simon Trott, who will take the company's reins next month, were at the White House meeting with Trump. BHP was not immediately available to comment, but CEO Mike Henry thanked Trump and Burgum in a post on social media "for their strong leadership to reinvigorate mining and processing supply chains in and for America." Trump's post comes less than a month after he imposed a copper tariff on wiring and pipe, but not the copper concentrate produced by mines themselves, a levy falling far short of what the mining industry had expected. That will allow other countries to import copper into the U.S. without fear of tariff implications. HISTORY The mine's construction would cause a crater that would swallow a site where the Apache worship. That has fueled strong opposition from all but one of the state's 22 Native American tribes, as well as the National Congress of American Indians. Congress and then-President Barack Obama approved the mine in 2014 after it was added at the last minute to a must-pass military funding bill with the condition that an environmental report be published. The underground mine - which Trump approved in his first term before successor Joe Biden reversed him - would supply more than a quarter of U.S. appetite for copper and be a key part of Trump's plan to boost U.S. mining. Apache Stronghold, a nonprofit group comprised of some Apache and conservationists, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the transfer, a request that the high court denied in May. Meanwhile, the tribe itself made the same request of federal courts. They failed last week at the district court level and appealed over the weekend. Rio, which counts a Chinese aluminum company as its largest shareholder, has said it plans to keep all of Resolution's copper inside the U.S. should the mine be approved. The company controls one of the two U.S. copper smelters. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-blasts-appeals-court-halting-resolution-copper-land-transfer-2025-08-19/

2025-08-19 19:14

Aug 19 (Reuters) - A group of finance industry bodies is calling for a rethink on looming regulatory standards that they say will make it difficult for banks to participate in crypto markets. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, which comprises regulators and central banks from the world's main financial centres, agreed a set of standards in 2022 for how banks should manage and disclose risks around their exposure to crypto assets. Sign up here. In an open letter to the committee, various finance industry groups said that the crypto market has changed since 2022, making the proposed standards too conservative. While the crypto market remains a small part of the overall financial system, it has grown rapidly in recent years, with cryptocurrency prices reaching record highs. It has also become increasingly connected to mainstream financial markets. Banks are trying to tap into a shift in the regulatory environment in the U.S., where President Donald Trump has taken a pro-crypto approach. U.S. regulators this year made it easier for banks to engage in crypto-related activities. "The Cryptoasset Standard’s restrictive qualification standards, combined with otherwise punitive market and credit risk capital treatments, effectively make it uneconomical for banks to meaningfully participate in the cryptoasset market," the letter said. The letter called for the committee to "temporarily pause" implementation of the new standards, seek new information and consider making changes. Signatories included the Global Financial Markets Association, the Institute of International Finance and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association - which lobby for the mainstream financial sector - as well as crypto industry groups. The Basel Committee has no enforcement powers, but its members agree to apply its standards to international banks in their jurisdictions. The standards around crypto are due to come into effect in January 2026. The Bank for International Settlements, where the Basel Committee is based, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A series of collapses at major crypto companies in 2022 left millions of investors out of pocket and revealed widespread misconduct in the industry, prompting calls for regulation. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/finance-industry-bodies-call-changes-crypto-rules-banks-2025-08-19/

2025-08-19 19:05

Traders gauge promising signals toward ending Russia-Ukraine war Fed's Jackson Hole symposium in focus for policy hints Odds of Fed rate cut in September at 85% NEW YORK, Aug 19 (Reuters) - The dollar was mixed on Tuesday as traders awaited the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium later this week for further clues on U.S. interest rate policy. A speech on Friday by Fed Chair Jerome Powell is this week's main focus, with little major economic data to drive market direction. Traders are tuned into whether Powell will push back against market pricing of a rate cut in September. Sign up here. Traders ramped up bets on a rate cut at the Fed's September 16-17 meeting after a weak July jobs report, and as last month's consumer price inflation report showed limited upward pressure from tariffs. But a hotter-than-expected July producer price reading has tempered some rate-cut expectations. Powell has said he is reluctant to cut rates due to an expected increase in inflation this summer from tariffs. "Last week, when we had about 25 basis points priced in for September, and more than two cuts for the rest of the year, there was probably some risk that the Powell speech would disappoint those expectations if he wasn't clear enough in committing to a September cut," said Vassili Serebriakov, an FX and macro strategist at UBS in New York. "Now that we're pricing in about 20 basis points for September and just slightly over 50 basis points for the rest of the year, I think the risks are much more balanced," Serebriakov added. Traders are pricing in 54 basis points of cuts by year-end. The Fed will also release minutes from its July 29-30 meeting on Wednesday, though they may offer limited insight as the meeting came before July's weak jobs report. Data on Tuesday showed groundbreaking for new U.S. single-family homes and permits for future construction rose in July even as high mortgage rates and economic uncertainty continued to hamper home purchases. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, was last up 0.15% on the day at 98.27, with the euro down 0.12% at $1.1646. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar weakened 0.22% to 147.54. Currency moves have been relatively muted for the past few weeks following a steep drop in the dollar in the first half of the year. "There's been a bit of de-risking in FX over the summer and now investors are just waiting for the more clear catalyst for the next move," said Serebriakov. In other currencies, sterling slipped 0.16% to $1.348. The Aussie dropped 0.62% to $0.6451, the weakest since August 5. Traders are also focused on any developments in peace talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he hoped Russian President Vladimir Putin would move forward on ending the war in Ukraine but conceded that the Kremlin leader may not want to make a deal at all, adding this would create a "rough situation" for Putin. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 2.88% to $113,112. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dollar-mixed-traders-wait-jackson-hole-2025-08-19/

2025-08-19 18:49

NEW DELHI, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Hindustan Zinc (HZNC.NS) , opens new tab, India's top refined zinc producer, will aim to expand into uranium mining if the government opens up the sector to private players, its chief executive Arun Misra told Reuters on Tuesday. Government sources told Reuters last week that India wants to allow private firms to mine, import and process uranium as part of plans to end a decades-old state monopoly over the nuclear sector and bring in billions of dollars in investment. Sign up here. "If new uranium blocks are put out for private companies, Hindustan Zinc will be the first to bid," Misra said in an interview. "We will get into atomic minerals and especially uranium because the country needs it." Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government plans to expand nuclear power production capacity 12-fold by 2047. The state has historically maintained tight control over the sector due to concerns about safety, strategic security and the potential misuse of nuclear materials. Hindustan Zinc is, meanwhile, also looking to begin mining rare earth minerals in India, having won its first such block in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh earlier this year. It has floated global tenders for companies to explore the potential of the block, where it expects to start extracting neodymium - a rare earth used in magnets for motors and generators - in five to six years, Misra said. Among other critical minerals, Hindustan Zinc is interested in mining lithium, antimony, germanium, copper, and graphite and is seeking the assistance of firms from Australia, South Africa, Peru, Chile, as well as China for exploration, he said. China, which controls the bulk of global rare earth mining, suspended exports of a wide range of rare earths and related magnets in April, upending critical supply chains for automakers, aerospace manufacturers, and semiconductor companies. Beijing has promised to address New Delhi's rare earth needs, however, a top Indian official and a source said on Tuesday, as the neighbours rebuild ties damaged by a 2020 border clash. Misra said Hindustan Zinc will, meanwhile, ramp up its traditional zinc business, doubling its production capacity to 2 million metric tons by 2029. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/hindustan-zinc-expand-into-uranium-mining-if-government-allows-ceo-says-2025-08-19/

2025-08-19 18:06

NEW YORK, Aug 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks have tended to fare well around the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole gathering in August, according to a historical analysis from DataTrek Research, although the market has seen sizable moves in both directions in recent years. The Fed's annual Wyoming research conference is set for Thursday through Saturday, and Chair Jerome Powell's speech on Friday is expected to be the main event for markets. Sign up here. DataTrek looked at the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab in the five trading days before and after the Fed chair's speech since 2010. The index gained an average of 0.9% over the period, with the bulk after the speech. "This suggests that markets get incremental clarity from the chair’s speech, which in turn boosts equity valuations," Nicholas Colas, DataTrek's co-founder, said in a research note. This year, the S&P 500 has slipped in the lead-up to the speech so far, Colas said in the note published early Tuesday. "This goes against the usual pattern, so we would not be surprised to see the index rally modestly through Thursday," he said. One notable exception to the trend was in 2022, when the index slumped 7.4% in the 10-day period. That year at Jackson Hole, Powell warned of slower growth as the Fed fought high inflation. The S&P 500 fell over 19% for the full year 2022 as the Fed raised interest rates. In 2023, the index gained 3.3% in the studied period. DataTrek noted the S&P 500 fell in 2013 and 2015 when Fed chairs Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen did not attend the symposium. This year, investors are eager to see if Powell reinforces expectations of a central bank interest rate cut at its September 16-17 meeting. Recent weak labor market data bolstered those expectations. Fed Fund futures on Tuesday were pricing in an 84% chance of such a move, according to LSEG data. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-stocks-tend-gain-around-feds-jackson-hole-summer-conference-analysis-shows-2025-08-19/