2025-07-28 11:39
KATHMANDU, July 28 (Reuters) - The United States will resume its funding for two major infrastructure projects in Nepal that were earlier put on hold after President Donald Trump suspended all foreign development assistance, authorities said on Monday. U.S. government aid agency the Millennium Challenge Corporation agreed in 2017 to provide $500 million to fund a power transmission line and road improvement project in the Himalayan nation, one of the world's poorest countries. Sign up here. But the projects were put on hold after Trump in January ordered a 90-day pause in foreign development assistance on the day he returned to the White House, pending a review of its efficiency and consistency with U.S. foreign policy. A statement from Nepal's finance ministry said the U.S. government had completed the review of the assistance under the MCC Nepal Compact for these projects. "Information has been received that the implementation of the MCC Nepal Compact has been recommended," the statement said without providing details. The transmission line was meant to promote power trade between Nepal and neighbouring India. The U.S. embassy in Nepal confirmed the development in a post on its official X handle, adding that the project "supports prosperity and regional energy security by building electricity transmission infrastructure and improving the road network". Nepali authorities said the projects will now resume. The finance ministry made no reference to seven other projects in the field of education, health, agriculture and statistics that were also funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and were stalled in February. The funding cuts by the Trump administration have effectively shut down USAID, leading to the firing of thousands of its employees and contractors. The MCC grant sparked street protests in 2022, with Nepal's opposition parties saying it would undermine sovereignty as Kathmandu would not have sufficient control over the projects. Parliament approved the projects the same year by a majority vote. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-resume-grants-nepal-two-key-infrastructure-projects-2025-07-28/
2025-07-28 11:26
NEW DELHI, July 28 (Reuters) - Russia-backed Indian refiner Nayara Energy Monday said it has started legal proceedings against Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab following the abrupt and unilateral suspension of critical services by the U.S.-headquarterd software giant. "Microsoft is currently restricting Nayara Energy’s access to its own data, proprietary tools, and products—despite these being acquired under fully paid-up licenses," the refiner said in a statement. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-backed-indian-refiner-nayara-takes-microsoft-court-over-outage-2025-07-28/
2025-07-28 11:10
US futures higher, euro slides after outline trade agreement US-China talks to continue with truce likely to be extended Megacap earnings and Fed, BOJ meetings due this week LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) - Europe's major bourses made modest gains and the euro fell on Monday as investors greeted a trade agreement between the U.S. and European Union with cautious relief at the start of an action-packed week for markets. The STOXX 600 (.STOXX) , opens new tab touched a four-month high with a slender 0.5% rise, while the euro slid 0.7% against the dollar in what was shaping up to be the biggest hit to this year's 10% rally since May. Sign up here. The framework trade deal, which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described as the best the bloc could get, will impose a 15% import tariff on most EU goods and see the EU spend $600 billion on U.S. investments while opening up some important parts of its market. "The deal is better than the 30%-50% tariff rates threatened over the last couple of months, although it is probably as bad as the universal tariff rates being discussed late last year," ING analyst Chris Turner said. While the U.S.-EU deal averts a more damaging standoff between the two blocs, which account for almost a third of global trade, a number of European capitals complained it was lopsided in favour of Washington. Other major economies are still scrambling to finalise deals ahead of Trump's August 1 deadline. Talks between the U.S. and China in Stockholm on Monday are expected to lead to the two sides extending their trade truce for another 90 days, while Europe's deal comes hot on the heels of one struck with Japan last week. MUFG FX strategist Derek Halpenny said the EU deal was ultimately "good news from a financial markets perspective as it reduces uncertainty further still ahead of 1st August, which is now looking like an insignificant date". Apolline Menut at fund manager Carmignac meanwhile called it a win for the U.S., given the forced purchases of U.S. energy and military equipment and zero tariff retaliation by Europe. "This isn’t a trade breakthrough - it’s damage control for the sake of diplomatic pragmatism," she said. "The economic cost may sting, but the strategic calculus is brutally rational." Germany's exporter-heavy DAX (.GDAXI) , opens new tab and France's CAC 40 (.FCHI) , opens new tab had also risen early on but had sagged back into negative territory by early afternoon trading, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures , pointed to fresh record highs on Wall Street when it resumes. The euro had also strengthened as Asian markets reopened, but it too dropped deeper into the red as the dollar nudged higher across the board. /FRX Euro area government bond yields, which are a proxy for borrowing costs, also edged down. Germany’s 10-year yield , the euro area’s benchmark, was 0.5 basis points lower at 2.71% after rising more than 10 basis points at the end of last week when the European Central Bank curbed talk of imminent rate cuts. FED, BOJ AWAIT Wall Street's S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow futures were between flat and 0.3% higher as the weekend's EU deal sealed at Donald Trump's golf course in Scotland added to ones struck with Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines in Asia last week. Analysts at Morgan Stanley said the probability of the S&P now reaching their "bull case" of 7,200 points by mid next year had gone up, although was "not without risks" given possible tariff-driven inflation and high long-term U.S. bond yields. Overnight in Asia, MSCI's broadest index of regional shares (.MIAP00000PUS) , opens new tab ended 0.3% weaker, with Japan's Nikkei falling back more than 1% after it hit a one-year high last week. The Australian dollar , often seen as a proxy for global risk appetite, was at $0.657, hovering around the near eight-month peak it had scaled. Traders are also waiting for interest rate decisions from both the U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan, monthly U.S. non-farm payrolls, and earnings from megacap companies Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab and Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab. While the Fed and the BOJ are expected to maintain rates, comments from the officials will be crucial for investors to gauge the interest rate path. The trade deal with Japan has opened the door for the BOJ to raise rates again this year. Meanwhile, the Fed is likely to be cautious on any rate cuts as officials seek more data to determine the impact of tariffs on inflation before they ease rates further. But tensions between the White House and the central bank over monetary policy have increased, with Trump repeatedly lashing out at Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting rates. Two of the Fed Board's Trump appointees have articulated reasons for supporting a rate cut this month. In commodities, oil prices rose after the U.S.-EU trade agreement. Brent crude futures and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude were both up 0.5%. Gold prices eased 0.1% to $3,334 an ounce, their lowest in nearly two weeks, on reduced appetite for traditional safe havens. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-4-pix-2025-07-28/
2025-07-28 11:07
OMV's detected contamination before refinery arrival Italy's Eni also found contamination in its oil systems Price differentials fell to four-year low last week on news of contamination LONDON, July 28 - Austrian energy group OMV has found organic chloride contamination in Azeri crude cargoes planned for delivery to its oil refineries, it said, adding it had prevented it from causing any disruption. Organic chloride contamination in Azeri BTC crude cargoes was discovered last week, sending price differentials to a four-year low and causing several days' delays to loadings from Turkey's BTC Ceyhan terminal. Sign up here. In its statement on Friday, OMV said the contaminated crude had been discovered through its quality control procedures. It said it had not reached its refineries, and there had been no disruption of its refining operations or of its supply of fuel to the market. OMV said it had worked to secure alternative crude from other sources to "ensure continuity and security of fuels supply," but it did not clarify what it planned to do with the contaminated Azeri crude. Organic chlorides are used in the industry to boost extraction from oilfields by cleaning oil wells and to accelerate the flow of crude, but the compounds must be removed before oil enters pipelines. In large concentrations, they can pose risks to refinery equipment, OMV said. Italy's Eni told Reuters last week that it had detected organic chloride contamination in oil already in its systems. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/austrias-omv-finds-chloride-contamination-azeri-crude-2025-07-28/
2025-07-28 11:00
ATHENS, July 28 (Reuters) - Firefighters battled to put out wildfires on Monday in three separate provinces in Turkey and near a tourist resort in Albania, stoked by strong winds after days of searing heat across the Mediterranean region. Smoke billowed over the mountainous Black Sea province of Karabuk, some 200 kilometres north of the capital Ankara, as a wildfire which raged for a sixth day forced the evacuation of more than a dozen villages and burnt swathes of forests. Sign up here. In the northwestern province of Bursa, three firefighters were killed on Sunday when their vehicle crashed, Turkey's Forestry Ministry said on Monday. Crews fought to tame two separate blazes there on Monday, following the evacuation of more more than 3,600 people from settlements in the southern provinces of Mersin and Antalya. Turkey has seen dozens of wildfires in recent weeks amid extreme heat, while 10 firefighters were killed last week battling a fire in the central Eskisehir province. Hot and dry summers have been common in the Mediterranean region, but more intense heatwaves have contributed to destructive wildfires in recent years amid fast-rising temperatures across the globe. In Albania, firefighters assisted by the army battled to control a wildfire before it reached the seaside city of Saranda and other tourist resorts in the couth of the country on the Ionian coast. Some 13 people have been arrested over arson-related offenses in the past three days, local police said. Bulgaria deployed firefighting planes to help ground forces tame a large wildfire in a wooded southwestern area, while in Greece, several villages were evacuated and five people were injured in separate wildfires over the weekend under scorching heat and strong winds. As Greece saw off its third summer heatwave on Monday, rainy weather in Serbia helped firefighters there bring more than 100 wildfires under control. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/firefighters-battle-blazes-turkey-albania-after-days-scorching-heat-2025-07-28/
2025-07-28 10:54
US, EU avert trade war with 15% tariff agreement European shares hit four-month high after US-EU deal US, China to resume tariff talks in Stockholm July 28 (Reuters) - Gold prices steadied on Monday, with gains curbed by improved risk sentiment following a trade deal between the United States and the European Union, while investors looked forward to the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting later this week. Spot gold was flat at $3,335.87 per ounce as of 1035 GMT, after touching its lowest level since July 17 earlier in the day. Sign up here. U.S. gold futures were unchanged at $3,335.30 per ounce. Washington struck a framework trade agreement with the European Union in Scotland on Sunday, imposing a 15% import tariff on most EU goods - half the threatened rate - and averting a bigger trade war. Risk appetite in the wider financial markets rose with European shares advancing to a four-month high, led by gains in auto and pharmaceutical stocks. Meanwhile, talks between the U.S. and China are scheduled in Stockholm on Monday amid expectations of another 90-day extension to the trade war truce between the world's top two economies. "There are two offsetting factors keeping gold in balance. The (U.S.-EU) trade deal weighs on demand for safe-haven assets," said UBS commodity analyst Giovanni Staunovo. "At the same time the deal removes some inflation uncertainty for the Fed, eventually allowing the Fed to cut rates later this year, which normally is gold supportive." The U.S. central bank is expected to maintain its benchmark interest rate in the 4.25% to 4.50% range after its two-day policy meeting concludes on Wednesday. Markets continue to price in a potential rate cut in September. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he had a positive meeting with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, suggesting the Fed chief might be inclined to lower interest rates. Gold tends to do well in a low-interest-rate environment. Elsewhere, spot silver was unchanged at $38.12 per ounce, while platinum rose 0.2% at $1,404.72 and palladium gained 1.2% to $1,234.97. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/gold-subdued-by-risk-on-mood-after-us-eu-tariff-deal-focus-fed-2025-07-28/
