2025-07-14 18:45

Deadline for YPF turnover now July 17 Judge faults Argentina for continued delay Argentina has said a turnover could destabilize economy NEW YORK, July 14 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Monday temporarily spared Argentina from turning over its 51% stake in oil and gas company YPF (YPFDm.BA) , opens new tab to partially satisfy a $16.1 billion judgment, while criticizing the South American country for resisting payment. U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan pushed back Monday's deadline to complete the turnover to July 17, solely to let Argentina continue seeking relief in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Sign up here. Preska rejected a longer stay, saying Argentina "continues to delay and circumvent its obligations" under the $16.1 billion judgment, and cited legislation in the country to prohibit the YPF turnover. "The Republic has abused the court's accommodations and thus will not be given additional ones," the judge wrote. A spokesperson for the government of Argentine President Javier Milei said the country "is not failing to comply" with the turnover order. Argentina on July 10 filed an emergency motion with the appeals court to delay the turnover to Petersen Energia Inversora and Eton Park Capital Management, which won the $16.1 billion judgment. On Monday, it proposed giving them until July 17 to oppose a longer delay, with Argentina's reply due by July 22. Argentina has warned its economy could be destabilized if it gave up its controlling stake in YPF, the country's largest energy company. Milei has been seeking to bolster foreign currency reserves and rein in soaring inflation, while dealing with a heavy government debt burden. The dispute arose from Argentina's 2012 decision to seize the YPF stake from Spain's Repsol (REP.MC) , opens new tab without making a tender offer to minority shareholders Petersen and Eton Park. Those shareholders are represented by litigation funder Burford Capital (BURF.L) , opens new tab, which has said it expected to receive 35% and 73% of Petersen's and Eton Park's respective damages. Burford and its U.S.-based lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday's order. In September 2023, Preska ordered Argentina to pay $14.39 billion to Petersen and $1.71 billion to Eton Park. Argentina is appealing that judgment. The country has argued that the YPF shares were immune from turnover under the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, and that a turnover would irreparably harm its sovereignty, violate international law and wrongly expand U.S. courts' power. Argentina also said it would be unfair to give up its YPF stake, because doing so would likely be irrevocable even if it ultimately won the case. Burford said a commercial activity exception to sovereign immunity, plus years of evasion by Argentina, justified a YPF turnover. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-appeals-court-delays-turnover-argentinas-51-ypf-stake-2025-07-14/

2025-07-14 17:51

July 14 (Reuters) - Crypto-focused asset manager Grayscale said on Monday it has confidentially submitted paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission, signaling potential plans for a U.S. listing as bitcoin scales new highs. The move coincides with the start of the "crypto week" in Washington, where lawmakers are set to debate three major bills that could offer long-awaited clarity to the industry. Sign up here. Investor enthusiasm around the bills, which are expected to pave the way for digital assets to potentially be further integrated into traditional finance, has pushed bitcoin above $120,000 for the first time. "All the previous crypto cycles were led by retail in absence of regulatory clarity. However, this cycle has been led by institutions," analysts at Bernstein wrote in a note. Grayscale's announcement comes more than a month after stablecoin giant Circle's (CRCL.N) , opens new tab blockbuster debut, and could add to a growing cohort of high-profile IPO candidates looking to list in the coming months. Gemini, a crypto exchange run by billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, is also preparing to go public. Crypto firms have seen a surge of interest since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. So far this year, shares of crypto giants Coinbase (COIN.O) , opens new tab and Strategy (MSTR.O) , opens new tab have jumped 56% and 50%, respectively. Grayscale, founded in 2013, manages over $33 billion of assets across more than 35 investment products. A prominent player in the crypto space, the Stamford, Connecticut-based company also oversees a leading spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund. The company's legal challenge against the SEC was instrumental in paving the way for the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs last year. Confidential filings allow companies to withhold details about their finances and offering terms until closer to the actual listing. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/crypto-focused-grayscale-confidentially-files-us-listing-2025-07-14/

2025-07-14 16:54

MOSCOW, July 14 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble reversed losses against the dollar and rose against China's yuan after U.S. President Donald Trump warned he would impose "very severe tariffs" on Russia if no deal on a peaceful settlement is made in 50 days. As of 1605 GMT, the rouble was 0.2% weaker at 78.10 per U.S. dollar after hitting 78.75 during the day, according to LSEG data based on over-the-counter quotes. The rouble is up about 45% against the dollar since the start of the year. Sign up here. Trump announced new weapons for Ukraine on Monday and threatened to hit buyers of Russian exports with sanctions, expressing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin due to the lack of progress in ending the war in Ukraine. "Trump performed below market expectations," said analyst Artyom Nikolayev from Invest Era. "He gave 50 days during which the Russian leadership can come up with something and extend the negotiation track. Moreover, Trump likes to postpone and extend such deadlines." Against the Chinese yuan, the most traded foreign currency in Russia, the rouble strengthened 0.8% to 10.87 after weakening by over 1% on Friday. The Russian stock market rose 2.7% after Trump's statement, according to the Moscow Stock Exchange. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/russian-rouble-stock-market-gain-after-trumps-statement-russia-2025-07-14/

2025-07-14 16:12

FRANKFURT, July 14 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's threatened 30% tariff on European Union imports is complicating the European Central Bank's decision-making but is unlikely to derail plans for a pause in rate cuts next week, five ECB policymakers told Reuters. The ECB signalled after its June meeting that it was likely to keep interest rates unchanged on July 23-24. Sign up here. But the 30% duty floated by Trump is steeper than the ECB had anticipated even under the most negative of three scenarios for the euro zone economy it released last month. That means the ECB has been forced to come up with new estimates and policymakers to contemplate a more negative outcome than they thought possible in June, said the five sources, all members of the ECB's Governing Council. They said governors remain reluctant to act on the basis of what is still a threat, however, especially given the sometimes contradictory statements made by Trump's administration since his first announcement of global tariffs in April. Any discussion about rate cuts is therefore likely to be kept for the ECB's September meeting, the sources said. Trump said on Sunday that his tariffs would kick in on August 1, and the European Commission has also paused its countermeasures until that date. Market economists have largely said they think it unlikely that Trump will follow through with his tariff threat because of the damage it would cause to the U.S. economy in terms of higher inflation and lower growth. But should the 30% levy be imposed, they expect the ECB to cut interest rates in response. Barclays analysts predicted a lowering of the ECB's deposit rate to just 1% by next March from 2% now if the U.S. imposes an average tariff rate on EU goods of 35%, which they estimated would subtract 0.7 percentage points from euro zone growth. The ECB's latest macroeconomic projections, released in June, pointed to a gradual recovery in the euro zone economy in coming years, with inflation hovering around its 2% target. Those projections assumed as their baseline a 10% tariff on EU good exports to the U.S., which would put euro zone economic growth at 0.9% this year, 1.1% next year and 1.3% in 2027. But forecasts under an alternative scenario released at the same time showed that a 20% U.S. tariff would curb growth by 1 percentage point over the same period and also pull down inflation to 1.8% in 2027, from 2.0% in the baseline scenario. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/tariff-threat-complicates-ecbs-july-decision-wont-derail-pause-rate-cuts-sources-2025-07-14/

2025-07-14 15:33

LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - The pound fell on Monday, under broad pressure from investor worries about the impact on growth from U.S. President Donald Trump's escalating trade war. Sterling fell against the euro , which strengthened to the tune of 0.3% to 86.915 pence , even after Trump warned on Saturday he would slap a 30% tariff on goods imports from the European Union. Sign up here. The euro fell against the dollar, but managed to scrape higher against the pound and against other currencies that are more closely linked with growth, such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars , . Britain already has a trade deal in place with the United States that is limited in scope, but other countries have until August 1 to strike agreements with the Trump administration, or risk getting hefty levies applied. With that in mind, investors are looking more closely at the underlying economic picture for Britain, where the sustainability of the country's finances are once again front of mind for many, after the government could not deliver promised cuts to welfare benefits. "Sterling is starting to underperform a little. Fiscal policy is back in the headlines after the government failed to deliver spending cuts in welfare. Other spending cut options look limited, leaving the alternatives of tax hikes or a softening of the fiscal rules – neither of which look good for sterling," ING strategists said. The pound , which often trades more in line with the more volatile commodities currencies, like the Aussie and kiwi dollars, was down 0.3% at $1.3446 in late London trading. Data last week showed the UK economy shrank for a second month in May. The inflation report this week is expected to show consumer price pressures continued to accelerate in June. The consumer price index is expected to have risen by 3.4% last month, showing no slowdown from May's rate, while core inflation, which excludes food and energy, is expected to have run at 3.5%, showing no change on May, according to a Reuters poll of economists. The Bank of England does not meet again until August and, right now, money markets show traders fully expect a quarter-point cut to 4%, with one more cut before the end of the year. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-sags-trump-tariff-threats-dent-confidence-2025-07-14/

2025-07-14 12:59

BRASILIA, July 14 (Reuters) - Brazil's economic activity unexpectedly fell in May, central bank data showed on Monday, dragged down by a sharp drop in the farm sector along with declines in tax revenue and industrial output. The IBC-Br index, a leading indicator of gross domestic product (GDP), fell 0.7% in May from April on a seasonally adjusted basis, well below the flat reading expected in a Reuters poll. Sign up here. The decline was driven by a 4.2% drop in agricultural output, which is typically stronger in the earlier months of the year in Latin America's largest economy. Even excluding the farm sector, activity remained in negative territory, down 0.3% on the month, reflecting the impact of the central bank's aggressive monetary tightening to curb inflation. Since last September, policymakers have raised interest rates by 450 basis points to a near 20-year high of 15%. While services, the main engine of Brazil's economy, were flat in May, tax revenue fell 1.0% and industrial output declined 0.5%, according to the IBC-Br breakdown. On a year-over-year basis, the index rose 3.2%, and was up 4.0% in the 12 months through May. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-economic-activity-posts-unexpected-drop-may-2025-07-14/