2025-07-11 00:25
BUENOS AIRES/NEW YORK, July 10 (Reuters) - Argentina on Thursday filed an emergency appeal of a U.S. judge's order that it turn over its 51% stake in oil and gas company YPF (YPFDm.BA) , opens new tab to partially satisfy a $16.1 billion court judgment. Saying "the stakes could not be higher," Argentina told the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan that requiring a turnover by Monday would irreparably harm its sovereignty, destabilize its economy and cause the irrevocable loss of a controlling stake in the country's largest energy company. Sign up here. Argentine President Javier Milei has been seeking to bolster foreign currency reserves and rein in soaring inflation, while navigating a heavy debt burden. The country asked that the YPF turnover be put on hold while it appeals. The case centers on Argentina's 2012 seizure of the 51% YPF stake from Spain's Repsol (REP.MC) , opens new tab without making a tender offer to minority shareholders Petersen Energia Inversora and Eton Park Capital Management. In September 2023, U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan ordered Argentina to pay $14.39 billion to Petersen and $1.71 billion to Eton Park. Argentina hasn't, and has been appealing that decision. On June 30, Preska ordered Argentina to turn over the YPF stake within 14 days. The plaintiffs 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. In Thursday's appeal, Argentina also said a YPF turnover would violate international law and comity, and mark a "sea change" in how U.S. courts interact with the rest of the world. "To flip the script, this order is akin to a foreign trial court directing the U.S. government to pack up the gold stored at Fort Knox and ship it abroad based on that court's erroneous interpretation of U.S. law," Argentina said. Argentina asked the appeals court to decide its motion by 10 a.m. EDT on Monday, so it could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. On Thursday evening, Preska said she will decide by Monday whether to put the turnover on hold, and give both sides another three days to appeal. A spokesman for Argentina declined to comment. https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/argentina-appeals-us-court-order-transfer-51-ypf-stake-2025-07-10/
2025-07-10 23:18
HOUSTON, July 10 (Reuters) - Oil major Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab told its trading counterparts that it will not buy the Mars crude oil grade until a zinc contamination issue is fixed, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Zinc contamination in the Mars crude oil stream has pushed down demand and slashed prices for the flagship crude oil produced off the U.S. Gulf coast, sources said earlier this week. Sign up here. Mars traded at a 10-cent premium on Thursday to crude oil at the Cushing storage hub in Oklahoma, dealers said. It had eased to 10-cent discount earlier in the week compared with a $1 premium at the end of June. Exxon did not respond to requests for comments. Zinc does not typically occur naturally in crude oil and running crude with zinc could lead to damage to refining units and catalysts used in processing oil. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exxon-halt-mars-crude-purchases-until-zinc-contamination-fixed-sources-say-2025-07-10/
2025-07-10 23:02
US Education Dept probing GMU, DOJ probing Minnesota Trump has attempted to crackdown on DEI His government has made funding threats over several issues WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Thursday announced probes into hiring practices and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives by the state of Minnesota and Virginia's George Mason University. It was the latest crackdown on such programs by President Donald Trump's administration. Sign up here. The U.S. Education Department said it opened an investigation into George Mason University over its DEI practices. The department alleges that they violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars racial discrimination in U.S. education programs that receive federal funding. The U.S. Justice Department said its civil rights division opened an investigation into Minnesota, including the Minnesota Department of Human Services, to determine whether it has engaged in race- and sex-based discrimination in its state employment hiring practices. George Mason University said it received a department letter on Thursday morning and would "work in good faith to give a full and prompt response," adding it did not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity. The Education Department statement cited a complaint from some professors at the university. "According to the complaint, GMU leadership have promoted and adopted unlawful DEI policies from 2020 through the present, which give preferential treatment to prospective and current faculty from 'underrepresented groups' to advance 'anti-racism,'" the department said in its statement. The Minnesota Department of Human Services said it followed all state and federal hiring laws. "Justification of non-affirmative action hires for some vacancies has been required by state law since 1987," it said in a statement. The Trump administration has threatened educational institutions and some U.S. states with federal funding cuts over DEI practices, climate initiatives, transgender policies and pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. ally Israel's military assault on Gaza. Trump has signed multiple executive orders aimed at dismantling diversity initiatives, and has cast DEI as anti-merit and discriminatory against white people and men. Civil rights advocates say DEI practices help address historic inequities for marginalized groups like women, the LGBT community and ethnic minorities. Separately, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Thursday it would no longer consider a farmer's race or sex in many of its farm loan, commodity and conservation programs, ending a longstanding effort to address the agency's history of discrimination. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-probes-minnesota-george-mason-university-over-dei-hiring-practises-2025-07-10/
2025-07-10 22:50
ATHENS, July 10 (Reuters) - Greece's Cosmoship Management on Thursday said one person is believed dead and four more have not been seen since Houthi militants attacked the Eternity C cargo ship in the Red Sea this week. Maritime security sources have said that four people were believed to have been killed during the repeated raids on the Liberia-flagged ship that started on Monday. Sign up here. Twenty-one mariners, including at least two armed guards, later abandoned the vessel. Since then, 10 of them have been rescued. The manager of the Eternity C said another 10 individuals remain unaccounted for and that the company was working through multiple channels to verify a Houthi claim that the Iran-aligned group had picked up some crew after the vessel went down on Wednesday. The company said it has asked all ships in the area to assist in the ongoing search, and is also working to provide families with timely updates. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/eternity-c-manager-says-one-individual-believed-dead-four-unaccounted-after-2025-07-10/
2025-07-10 22:43
OTTAWA, July 10 (Reuters) - The Canadian International Trade Tribunal has determined there is reasonable indications China, South Korea, Turkey and Vietnam have dumped steel strapping, harming Canada's domestic industry, the tribunal said on Thursday. The tribunal, an independent quasi-judicial body that reports to the Canadian parliament, also found indications that steel strapping from China was subsidized. Sign up here. The findings were the result of an inquiry related to dumping and subsidizing investigations by the Canada Border Services Agency, which will issue preliminary determinations by August 8, the tribunal said in a statement. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/canadian-industry-likely-harmed-by-dumped-steel-strapping-china-three-others-2025-07-10/
2025-07-10 22:34
July 10 (Reuters) - Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Thursday launched an investigation into Robinhood Crypto, alleging that the platform may have misled customers by promoting itself as the least expensive way to buy cryptocurrencies. The AG's office said in a statement , opens new tab that it issued a subpoena to the unit of Robinhood Markets (HOOD.O) , opens new tab to obtain internal documents as part of the probe into possible violations of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. Sign up here. "When consumers buy and sell crypto assets, they deserve transparency in their transactions," Uthmeier said. "Robinhood has long claimed to be the best bargain, but we believe those representations were deceptive," he added. The platform lets users buy and sell stocks and cryptocurrencies without charging direct commissions. Instead, the company makes money by routing client orders to third-party firms, which pay Robinhood under a practice known as payment for order flow (PFOF), the AG's statement said. Robinhood Markets General Counsel Lucas Moskowitz said the company discloses "pricing information to customers during the lifecycle of a trade that clearly outlines the spread or the fees associated with the transaction and the revenue Robinhood receives. We are proud to be a place where customers can trade crypto at the lowest cost on average." Robinhood Crypto has until July 31 to respond to the subpoena. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/florida-ag-probes-robinhood-crypto-over-claims-low-cost-trading-2025-07-10/
