2025-07-17 11:05

BUCHAREST, July 17 (Reuters) - Dubai-owned ports and logistics company DP World has cut shipping times between Romania and Turkey by half, a senior executive said, as it expands its Black Sea operations at the European Union's eastern border. DP World more than doubled its container shipping capacity at Romania's largest Black Sea port of Constanta last year, with the addition of a roll-on, roll-off (Ro-Ro) terminal, and a logistics hub in western Romania. Sign up here. It has this year added an integrated European logistics service out of Romania offering road, sea, air and rail services, initially for clients in neighbouring Bulgaria, Moldova, Serbia and Turkey. "We have made huge strides in optimising maritime trade between Turkey and Constanta, improving the transit time by sea by 50%," DP World Eastern Europe Vice President Kris Adams told Reuters. "Istanbul-to-Bucharest shipments have been cut to under 30 hours, creating a viable alternative to road transport." A new scanner at DP World's Constanta Ro-Ro terminal has reduced truck inspection times from 5-7 hours to 2 minutes, he added. The upgrades cost a total of 130 million euros, but Adams said more would follow as there is growth potential in automotive, e-commerce and renewable energy cargo. "We're looking at ultimately investing over 200 million euros, there will be more in staff, in a digital platform and ... we have an ambition to operate contract logistics, so that means that we will at some stage be operating warehouses but it is too early to comment." Investment in infrastructure and exports of Ukrainian grain through Constanta in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion helped boost operations at the port, which is a gateway to Central Asia and provides access to the Danube river and Western Europe. Its importance has also grown as companies relocate operations to Eastern Europe's low-cost manufacturing hubs to shorten supply chains. Adams said the company's investment plans would continue regardless of pending tax hikes by Romania's broad coalition government, although he noted the rises could dampen trade. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dp-world-halves-romania-turkey-shipment-times-it-bolsters-black-sea-assets-2025-07-17/

2025-07-17 10:02

LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) - The pound strengthened against the euro on Thursday, after data showed that a cooling in the British labour market, which had alarmed some policymakers, now appears less acute than the previous report had suggested. The euro was last down 0.22% on the pound at 86.52 pence, as the data reduced pressure on the Bank of England to accelerate the pace of its rate cuts, supporting sterling. Sign up here. The labour market numbers presented a mixed picture. Annual wage growth in the three months to May was 5.0%, its lowest since the second quarter of 2022, but was still slightly higher than the 4.9% median forecast from economists in a Reuters poll. In addition, data from the previous month showing a dramatic 109,000 drop in the number of employees on company payrolls in May was revised to show just a 25,000 decline. "Today’s labour market report continues to paint a picture of a loosening jobs market. That said, the labour market picture looks better than it did last month," said Sanjay Raja, Deutsche Bank’s chief UK economist, in emailed comments. In combination with Wednesday's hotter than expected British inflation data, the jobs numbers leave the Bank of England in a somewhat tricky situation, balancing sticky inflation, and slowing, if not collapsing employment. However, for this year, "this takes some of the pressure off the Bank of England to cut rates more quickly", said James Smith, developed markets economist, UK, at ING in a note. As well as the euro, the pound was stronger on most other currencies including the yen, and Swiss franc. , Versus the dollar, however the pound was down 0.15% at $1.1340, as the U.S. currency strengthened across the board, recovering from its Wednesday selloff. On Wednesday, media reports saying U.S. President Donald Trump was likely to soon fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sparked a drop in the dollar. Trump said later that day he was not planning on firing Powell, but kept the door open to the possibility and renewed his criticism of the central bank chief for not lowering interest rates. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-strengthens-against-euro-after-job-market-data-2025-07-17/

2025-07-17 09:10

LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) - Companies in the U.S. are expected to buy $1 trillion worth of their own stock in 2025 and remain the largest buyers of U.S. equities, according to Scott Rubner, Citadel Securities' head of equity and equity derivatives strategy. A corporate repurchase window, when companies can buy their own stock, reopens after companies' blackout period. The most recent corporate reporting season ends in August. Stock purchases, whether from investors trading equities or from the companies themselves, generally lead to asset prices rising. Sign up here. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT August is typically a positive month for stock markets and there has been a debate as to whether the scale of the rally is justified given ongoing uncertainties over U.S. tariffs. Big investors are staying out of markets for now and corporate buybacks may support higher asset values. Plus, earnings expectations this season are low, Rubner adds. "I put the current set-up in baseball terms – inning 7 out of 9," he said, referring to the final stages of a game. KEY QUOTE(S) "July seasonals are exceptional for U.S. stocks. Since 1928, July is the best-performing month of the year for the S&P 500, while September is the worst-performing month of the year as investors go 'back to school'," Rubner said in a note released on Wednesday and seen by Reuters. CONTEXT The S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab and Nasdaq (.IXIC) , opens new tab indexes hit record highs on July 15, up 6.7% and 7.5% respectively so far this year. MARKET REACTION Citadel Securities' retail trading flows have seen retail traders buy cash equities for the past 14 trading sessions, the longest daily retail buying streak since December 2024, which lasted 16 days, its note said. There has been a competition in markets for who can buy the dip the fastest, said Rubner. WHAT’S NEXT "I think that equities can rally further from here led by positive seasonal factors, strong flow-of-funds, continued retail support, return of corporates, and final buy-in from fundamental investors," he said. GRAPHIC https://www.reuters.com/business/us-corporates-expected-buoy-stock-markets-with-buy-backs-says-citadel-securities-2025-07-17/

2025-07-17 08:38

DURBAN, South Africa, July 17 (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil doubled down on Berlin's criticism of the European Commission's proposed budget on Thursday, taking aim at corporate tax under the plan which he said sends "the wrong signal". "Everyone should come to us, we want investments to take place in Germany and in Europe," Klingbeil said in Durban, South Africa, on the sidelines of a gathering of G20 finance ministers. Sign up here. "And in this regard, the corporate taxation now proposed by the European Commission, in this form, sends the wrong signal." His comments echoed a statement from the German government on Wednesday expressing its opposition. "A comprehensive increase in the EU budget is unacceptable at a time when all member states are making considerable efforts to consolidate their national budgets," government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said, also taking aim at the corporate tax element. The European Commission on Wednesday proposed a 2-trillion-euro ($2.31-trillion) EU budget for 2028 to 2034, with a new emphasis on economic competitiveness and defence and plans to overhaul traditional spending on farming and regional development. The Commission proposed several ways to raise more funds directly, including a new tax on companies doing business in Europe that have an annual net turnover exceeding 100 million euros in an EU country. "At first glance, much of what has now been proposed by the Commission does not meet with our approval," Klingbeil said, mentioning a tobacco duty estimated to raise 11.2 billion euros annually, which he said Germany also cannot support. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/taxation-eu-budget-proposal-sends-wrong-signal-german-minister-says-2025-07-17/

2025-07-17 07:13

SPDR Gold Trust holdings rise 0.3% on Wednesday Investors focus on U.S. tariff negotiations July 17 (Reuters) - Gold prices dipped on Thursday, pressured by a firmer dollar and easing market tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump said it was "highly unlikely" he would dismiss Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Spot gold was down 0.4% at $3,334.19 per ounce, as of 0655 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.6% to $3,340.30. Sign up here. The dollar index (.DXY) , opens new tab rose 0.4% against its rivals, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for other currency holders. "Gold dropped (to) $3,340/oz as the U.S. dollar regained ground following eased uncertainty over the Federal Reserve chair's position" said Jigar Trivedi, senior commodity analyst at Reliance Securities. Trump is open to the idea of firing Fed's Powell, a source told Reuters on Wednesday. However, Trump said on Wednesday that he is not planning to fire Powell, but kept the door open to the possibility and renewed his criticism of the central bank chief for not lowering interest rates. Data showed that U.S. producer prices were unexpectedly unchanged in June as an increase in the cost of goods because of tariffs on imports was offset by weakness in services. "June's flat U.S. PPI reading indicated steady wholesale prices, suggesting tariffs may be impacting the economy less than initially feared," Trivedi said. On the trade front, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic headed to Washington for tariff talks, an EU spokesperson told Reuters, adding that he will meet U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.33% to 950.79 tons on Wednesday from 947.64 tons in the prior session. Elsewhere, spot silver edged 0.2% lower to $37.87 per ounce. Platinum fell 0.6% to $1,408.85 and palladium slipped 1.3% to $1,214.53. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/gold-prices-slip-dollar-firms-trump-eases-powell-uncertainty-2025-07-17/

2025-07-17 07:03

HAMBURG, July 17 (Reuters) - Low water levels following dry weather continue to hamper Rhine river cargo shipping in Germany, with rain in past days causing only a moderate rise in water levels, commodity traders said on Thursday. Low water is hampering shipping on all the river south of Duisburg and Cologne, including the chokepoint of Kaub. Sign up here. Cargo vessels are generally only able to sail about half full. But freight is still being delivered, with loads being carried by several vessels instead of one, traders said. The volumes vessels can load have risen slightly, traders said. Shallow water means vessel operators impose surcharges on freight rates to compensate for vessels not sailing fully loaded, increasing costs for cargo owners. Some rain is forecast in river catchment areas in the next week, which could at least prevent a further fall in water levels, traders said. The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities such as grains, minerals, ores, coal and oil products, including heating oil. German companies faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in summer 2022 after a drought and heat wave led to unusually low water levels on the Rhine. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/low-water-hinders-rhine-river-shipping-germany-despite-rain-2025-07-17/