2025-07-21 16:18
July 21 (Reuters) - India's Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) has extended the deadline for submitting bids for its green hydrogen project in Assam by two weeks, according to a tender document, as uncertainty looms over the state's flagship clean energy policy. NRL, owned by explorer Oil India (OILI.NS) , opens new tab, has extended the last bid submission date to August 6 from July 23 without citing a reason for the extension, per the document seen by Reuters. Sign up here. Last week, Reuters reported that the northeastern state of Assam had paused its green hydrogen policy, surprising investors who were already grappling with reduced incentives for renewable energy projects. The delay has prompted companies to reassess their investment plans worth billions of rupees in the region that has historically lagged behind in clean energy adoption, Reuters had reported, citing sources. Last week, Harit Molecules Foundation (HMF), an industry body representing green hydrogen project developers in India, wrote to NRL seeking an extension to submit bids for NRL's 10,000-metric-tonnes-per annum green hydrogen generation project at the Assam refinery, per an email seen by Reuters. The HMF sought the extension citing a lack of clarity on incentives applicable to the project and the complex nature of the project. NRL and Harit Molecules Foundation did not respond to requests for comment. NRL had announced the green hydrogen tender last year and it is among the top tenders floated in the country to boost clean energy adoption. Green hydrogen, produced using renewable electricity, is seen as a key tool in decarbonising heavy industries and transport. Assam in February announced several incentives to attract clean energy investments into the state, but in June, it sharply reduced transmission subsidies and increased bank guarantees without giving reasons. Multiple industry and government sources had told Reuters that the state was coming out with a new green hydrogen policy by July-end. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/indias-numaligarh-refinery-extends-key-green-hydrogen-tender-date-amid-assam-2025-07-21/
2025-07-21 14:35
By Promit Mukherjee and David Ljunggren OTTAWA, July 21 (Reuters) - Canadian businesses see less chance of a worst-case tariffs scenario but remain cautious and are keeping hiring and investment under check, the Bank of Canada said in a regular quarterly survey on Monday. Sign up here. Firms' short-term inflation expectations have returned to levels observed at the end of last year and the number of businesses planning for recession has declined slightly, the bank's Business Outlook Survey said. Earlier this year firms had fretted that U.S. tariffs would hit the economy hard, triggering inflation, weak economic growth and joblessness. But their impact has largely been contained to the steel, aluminum and automobile sectors. Inflation, job numbers and the economy have not deteriorated markedly. "Tariffs and related uncertainty ... continue to have major impacts on businesses' outlooks. However, the worst-case scenarios that firms envisioned last quarter are now seen as less likely to occur," the survey said. Around one-third of the firms expect higher tariff-related costs, down from roughly two-thirds in the last quarter, the bank said. A separate monthly survey of business leaders suggests the outlook amongst companies, especially exporters, improved as few have been directly affected by the tariffs so far. But there is still widespread uncertainty on how the U.S. measures and their impacts will play out in the economy. The business outlook indicator - a metric of what business prospects look like under current economic conditions - fell to its lowest level in a year to a negative 2.42. The quarterly survey said around 35% of the firms reported their indicators of order books, advance bookings and sales inquiries had deteriorated compared with 12 months ago as against 29% who said indicators had improved. Investment intentions remain muted, the survey said, adding the balance of opinion is well below its long-term average. Analysts and economists say the business outlook survey gives the central bank more teeth to take a call on rates. The Bank of Canada has kept its key rate steady at 2.75% since April. Only around 12% of the current money market bets show a likely cut on July 30 when the bank will announce its monetary policy decision. A separate survey by the central bank into consumer expectations showed 64.5% of Canadians expect a recession within the next 12 months, down from 66.5% in the first quarter. "The trade conflict is leading consumers to become increasingly cautious about their spending plans and to change their spending behavior," the report said. Many respondents wanted to spend money on Canadian goods and local vacations. ((Reuters Ottawa bureau)) Keywords: CANADA CENBANK/ https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/bank-canada-survey-firms-less-worried-by-worst-case-tariff-scenarios-2025-07-21/
2025-07-21 14:04
SAO PAULO, July 21 (Reuters) - Private economists polled weekly by Brazil's central bank trimmed their 2026 inflation outlook for the first time in over two months, according to a survey released on Monday, in a welcome development for the central bank. Consumer prices in 2026 are now expected to rise 4.45%, down from 4.50% the previous week, a projection that had remained unchanged for nine straight weeks. Sign up here. The central bank targets inflation at 3% with a tolerance range of plus or minus 1.5 percentage points. Central bank officials have expressed concern that long-term inflation expectations may be becoming unanchored, despite the country's main interest rate standing at a restrictive 15%. Economists' forecasts for inflation held steady at 4% for 2027 and dipped slightly to 3.80% from 3.81% for 2028, the survey showed. Inflation projections for this year have been on a steady decline, supported by a stronger exchange rate. They continued that trend this week, easing to 5.10% from 5.17% previously. Central bank chief Gabriel Galipolo said in a letter earlier this month that inflation is expected to return to within the tolerance band by the end of the first quarter of 2026. Estimates for Brazil's benchmark interest rate remained unchanged from the previous week, at 15% for 2025 and 12.5% for 2026. The following is a set of projections from the survey: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-economists-trim-2026-inflation-forecast-boost-central-bank-2025-07-21/
2025-07-21 12:26
SAO PAULO, July 21 (Reuters) - Brazil's finance minister said on Monday his country would not give up negotiating with the U.S. but acknowledged that a trade deal may fail to be reached by August 1, when President Donald Trump's 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods are due to take effect. "That could happen," Fernando Haddad told radio station CBN in an interview, saying Latin America's largest economy was still awaiting a response from Washington on trade proposals initially submitted in May. Sign up here. Trump announced the steep tariffs earlier this month, citing what he called a "witch hunt" against former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial on charges of plotting a coup, and trade practices he said were unfair. Haddad said Brazil had contingency plans to deal with any potential tariffs, and could ultimately redirect more than half its current U.S. exports to other markets. "But that would take time," he cautioned. The U.S. is a large buyer of Brazil's oil, steel products, coffee, aircraft and orange juice, but runs a trade surplus with the South American country - a point Brazilian officials have used to label the threatened tariffs as unjustified. Companies such as planemaker Embraer (EMBR3.SA) , opens new tab, which has the U.S. as its main market, would be hard hit by Trump's move. Haddad said the Brazilian government may need to support the sectors most affected by tariffs, but stressed that such measures would not necessarily incur larger primary spending. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has pledged to reciprocate like-for-like if tariffs take effect as promised, but Haddad on Monday said Brazil would not seek to punish U.S. companies operating in the country. "We cannot pay back in kind something that we consider unfair," the minister said. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-acknowledges-possibility-no-us-trade-deal-by-august-1-2025-07-21/
2025-07-21 12:21
LISBON, July 21 (Reuters) - Portugal's Galp Energia (GALP.LS) , opens new tab on Monday raised its core profit target for the full year after a better-than-expected performance in the second quarter and said it expects to find a partner to develop a promising oil discovery offshore Namibia. Its shares were up 2.5% on Monday. Sign up here. Galp raised its target for adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation this year to more than 2.7 billion euros ($3.1 billion), up from a previous 2.5 billion euro forecast. The raised forecast reflects the contribution of its gas trading business, lifted by deliveries of liquefied natural gas cargoes from Venture Global's (VG.N) , opens new tab Calcasieu Pass export facility in Louisiana. Galp is due to receive 1 million metric tons of LNG a year from the plant in a take-or-pay deal with Venture agreed in 2018. In the second quarter, Galp's adjusted EBITDA was 840 million euros, surpassing the 724 million euro consensus provided by the company, while its second-quarter adjusted net profit rose 25% to 373 million euros. Lower taxes and higher oil production offset lower crude prices and narrower refining margins, the company said. Galp, whose main business is extracting crude from rich fields offshore Brazil, said it is confident it can find a partner to develop the Mopane field off the coast of Namibia, which was initially estimated to hold at least 10 billion barrels of oil and gas equivalent. Galp is in talks with potential partners to sell part of its 80% stake to an oil company that will be the operator of the field. Co-CEO Maria Joao Carioca said Galp had already received "several non-binding offers" and will move into bilateral talks to analyze each of them, wanting also to see their plans for Mopane and a decision should be taken by year-end. "We're very happy that we have credible players engaging with us. We're focused on making sure this partnership is successfully derived," she told a conference call with analysts. ($1 = 0.8586 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/galp-energia-raises-forecasts-expects-find-partner-namibia-2025-07-21/
2025-07-21 12:12
Eyes IPO proceeds of $1.03 billion Pro-bitcoin stance sparks social media buzz Warns of competition from AI July 21 (Reuters) - Figma is targeting a fully-diluted valuation of up to $16.4 billion in its initial public offering, as the cloud-based design software firm prepares for a debut on the NYSE that could inject fresh momentum into a resurgent market for tech listings. The San Francisco-based company, along with some investors, is eyeing proceeds of up to $1.03 billion by selling nearly 37 million shares priced between $25 and $28 each, it said on Monday. Sign up here. The listing could be a major milestone for Figma, coming more than a year after its $20 billion sale to Adobe (ADBE.O) , opens new tab failed due to regulatory hurdles in Europe and the UK. An equities rally and a bunch of strong debuts recently have helped remove the IPO market overhang. Figma is expected to start trading close on the heels of stablecoin giant Circle (CRCL.N) , opens new tab, which debuted with eye-popping gains last month and has continued surging since. As a major technology player that appears supportive of bitcoin, Figma has already drawn attention on social media. The company had around $70 million invested in Bitwise's bitcoin exchange-traded fund as of March 31 and intends to allocate a further $30 million to bitcoin, its filing showed. Figma expects to list under the symbol "FIG". Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Allen & Co and J.P. Morgan are among the underwriters for the offering. It was valued at $12.5 billion in a tender offer last year that allowed employees and early investors to cash out a portion of their stake. 'BIG SWINGS' Figma is a cloud-based design platform that allows users to collaboratively create and edit apps, websites and software interfaces. Its customers include ServiceNow (NOW.N) , opens new tab, Workday (WDAY.O) , opens new tab and SAP (SAPG.DE) , opens new tab. Its revenue rose 46% in the first three months of 2025, while net income jumped three-fold. "Figma's product is its primary marketing engine. Its collaborative nature fosters viral, bottoms-up adoption, leading to a best-in-class sales efficiency," said Tomasz Tunguz, founder of venture capital firm Theory Ventures. The company has also signaled it may take "big swings" with M&A, with co-founder and CEO Dylan Field saying it is prepared to "make decisions that may not seem immediately rational." Still, the listing will take place at a time when the industry landscape is shifting. While Figma is sharpening its focus on AI, it has also warned that design tools driven by the technology could make some customers less reliant on its platform. The company has noted that restrictive immigration policies could impact its ability to recruit talent, citing past adjustments to hiring practices due to changes in visa assessment frameworks. A majority of its revenue in 2024 came from outside the United States, exposing it to potential demand softness if international clients tighten their purse strings in response to tariffs. Renewed trade tensions could also add to the caution among IPO investors, risking further disruption. Against this backdrop, investor attention remains firmly on companies with solid fundamentals and a clear path to profitability, said Leslie Marlow, a corporate attorney at Blank Rome. https://www.reuters.com/technology/figma-aims-164-billion-valuation-tech-ipos-bounce-back-2025-07-21/
