2025-07-10 09:53

MILAN, July 10 (Reuters) - Italy's competition authority (AGCM) has opened a probe into some units of British financial technology giant Revolut for alleged unfair commercial practices related to its investment and banking services, the watchdog said on Thursday. Revolut allegedly misled users, promoting investments in shares by emphasising the absence of commissions and failing to flag additional costs and limitations, AGCM said. Sign up here. Revolut said that it was fully cooperating with AGCM and would continue to do so, adding it could not comment on specific details because the probe is ongoing. "We take AGCM enquiries very seriously," it said. "Revolut remains fully committed to upholding the highest standards of compliance and customer protection in Italy and across the globe." According to the watchdog, Revolut did not make clear that its so-called zero fee products included fractional shares, which are significantly different from whole stocks in terms of voting and transfer rights. The regulator, which is in charge of policing consumer rights, added that Revolut allegedly failed to clearly tell clients with investments in crypto assets that they would not be able to change stop-loss and take-profit settings, options that usually help investors in managing risks. AGCM also said Revolut adopted an aggressive approach in suspending and blocking financial accounts, without providing customers with sufficient notice or adequate assistance. "This prevented users to access their cash and related services, even for extended periods of time," it said. The regulator and Italy's finance police carried out inspections at the Italian premises of Revolut Bank UAB on Tuesday, AGCM said in a statement. Revolut has emerged as the most successful of the handful of European fintechs founded in the past decade with a digital-only model. It was valued at $45 billion last year, rivalling big European lenders, and it has plans to expand into mortgages and consumer lending to challenge high street lenders, as well as to grow in the United States. Under Italian legislation, breaches of consumer rights rules can lead to company fines ranging from 5,000 euros to 10 million euros. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/italy-probes-revolut-over-alleged-unfair-practices-investment-services-2025-07-10/

2025-07-10 09:50

US tariff impact on output, exports limited for now, BOJ says Firms fret about slumping demand, regional branch managers say Some regions already feeling strain of U.S. automobile tariffs BOJ seen cutting growth forecast in July, ex-policymaker says TOKYO, July 10 (Reuters) - Japanese companies are taking U.S. tariffs in their stride for now, but worry about a potential hit from weakening global demand, the central bank said on Thursday, signalling a prolonged pause in interest rate hikes. While some firms were delaying plans for capital expenditure, higher U.S. levies have yet to materially hurt exports and factory output, a summary of findings from a quarterly meeting of the BOJ's regional branch managers showed. Sign up here. "Many regions saw companies voice concern about slumping demand from rising U.S. sales prices and a slowdown in the global economy," the bank said. The findings, from surveys by regional branch managers, show companies unable to grasp the full potential impact of higher U.S. tariffs, due to the swift changes U.S. President Donald Trump is prone to make in trade policy. They do not reflect Trump's announcement on Monday for a raise in tariffs on Japanese goods to 25% from 10% unless a trade deal is struck by August 1, a BOJ official told reporters. The summary will be among factors the BOJ will scrutinise at its next policy meeting on July 30 and 31, when the board will issue fresh quarterly growth and price forecasts. Amid the gloom spread by the tariffs, former BOJ board member Makoto Sakurai expects the central bank to cut its growth forecasts again this month. "The BOJ probably wants to raise rates further. But given the difficult economic environment, the earliest the BOJ could resume rate hikes will be March," he told Reuters on Wednesday. After raising its policy interest rate to 0.5% in January, the BOJ cut growth forecasts in May and signalled a pause in rate hikes after Trump threatened higher tariffs. A glimmer of hope is offered by a steady inflow of tourists and a tight labour market that underpin consumption, the BOJ's Osaka branch manager, Kazuhiro Masaki, told reporters. But some regions were already showing signs of strain from the tariff of 25% on Japanese automobiles, a mainstay of the export-reliant economy. Kenji Sakuta, the manager of the BOJ's Fukuoka branch, said some automakers were shifting production to the United States and cutting export prices to swallow the cost of tariffs. "Companies are vaguely worried about the impact of U.S. tariffs, but not sure about the extent to which they could hurt profits," Sakuta told a press conference. "There's also vague hope among some firms that Japan can avert huge U.S. tariffs, which could prove elusive." Companies had a mixed outlook on wages, key to the timing of the next rate hike, with some hinting at cutting bonuses if the tariffs hurt profit, while others saw a need to hike wages to retain talent, the summary showed. Japan's economy shrank in the first quarter as rising living costs hurt consumption. Exports fell in May for the first time in eight months, stoking recession fears. A slight majority in a June Reuters poll of economists saw the bank forgoing another rate hike this year. https://www.reuters.com/business/boj-sees-us-tariff-hit-exports-limited-now-warns-gloom-ahead-2025-07-10/

2025-07-10 07:55

KATHMANDU, July 10 (Reuters) - The deadly flood in Nepal's Bhote Koshi River that killed at least nine people and left more than two dozen missing this week was triggered by the draining of a supraglacial lake in the Tibet region of China, a regional climate monitoring body said on Wednesday. At least 19 people, including six Chinese workers at the Beijing-aided Inland Container Depot, remain missing in Nepal after Tuesday's floods that also washed away the 'Friendship Bridge' that links Nepal and China. Sign up here. China's official Xinhua news agency has said 11 people were unaccounted for on the Chinese side of the mountainous border region. The Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said satellite imagery showed the flood originated from the draining of the lake north of Nepal's Langtang Himal range. "This is based on the preliminary analysis based on the available satellite images," Sudan Maharjan, a remote sensing analyst and expert of glaciers at ICIMOD, told Reuters. A supraglacial lake is formed on the surface of glaciers, particularly in debris-covered areas. It often begins as small meltwater ponds that gradually expand and sometimes merge to form a larger supraglacial lake, experts say. Saswata Sanyal, another ICIMOD official, said such events were increasing at an "unprecedented" pace in the Hindu Kush mountains that are spread across Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan. "We need to delve deeper into the triggers that are resulting in cascading impacts," Sanyal said. The June-September monsoon causes massive floods and landslides in mountainous Nepal which, officials and experts say, is vulnerable to effects of climate change like extreme weather patterns, inconsistent rainfall, flash floods, landslides and glacial lake outburst floods. This year's early monsoon rains have inflicted deadly damage elsewhere in Nepal where at least 38 people have been killed or are missing since May 29, according to data from the government's National Disaster Relief, Reduction and Management Authority. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/tibetan-glacial-lake-drainage-triggered-deadly-flood-nepal-climate-body-says-2025-07-10/

2025-07-10 07:47

SINGAPORE, July 10 (Reuters) - There were 95 piracy and armed robberies against ships in Asia from January to June this year, an 83% increase compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Information Sharing Centre of intergovernmental anti-piracy group ReCAAP. Most of the incidents occurred in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, which the watchdog flagged as an area of concern. There were 80 incidents in these waters over the period, compared to 21 in the first half of 2024. Sign up here. Most incidents in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore were not severe, with no ship crew injured 90% of the time. Nine in 10 incidents happened after dark, said the information centre for ReCAAP , opens new tab, which stands for the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia. The group said there was no evidence to suggest that ships of a particular flag were being targeted, and that incidents tended to occur on ships that were slow moving and had crew who were less vigilant. "Perpetrators take grave risk to their lives during attacks on the ships to steal low value items. This indicates that socioeconomic conditions are driving the perpetrators to commit crimes," said the anti-piracy group. In half of the 80 cases in the two Southeast Asian waterways, nothing was stolen, while in 29% of the incidents, the attackers took engine spares. About half of the attacks in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore were on bulk carriers and a quarter on tankers, the information centre said. "In most incidents, the criminals boarded ships that were ill-prepared, had low freeboard, and manoeuvred at slow speed in restricted areas of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore," the ReCAAP centre said, referring to narrow parts of the straits where there is congestion and less space to manoeuvre. Authorities in the region should increase their presence in places where piracy and armed robberies repeatedly occur while crews need to be more vigilant, said Vijay D Chafekar, executive director of ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre. "Shipmasters transiting the areas of concern need to increase watchkeeping on deck during hours of darkness and install preventive measures to deter unauthorised boarding," Chafekar said. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/ship-piracy-robberies-rise-83-asia-jan-jun-anti-piracy-group-says-2025-07-10/

2025-07-10 07:25

Crop in top region Rostov expected to fall by 20% Stavropol could become Russia's top wheat-producing region Farmers facing drought as well as cost challenges KUTEINIKOVO, Russia, July 9 (Reuters) - Two of Russia's top wheat-growing regions are having very different years as Rostov endures a second year of drought while good weather in Stavropol promises record output. That should keep supply from the world's largest exporter steady and could see Stavropol dethrone Rostov as its biggest wheat-growing region, according to forecasts. Sign up here. In Rostov, where the harvesting campaign will start this month, Governor Yuri Slyusar has warned that this year's crop could fall by 20% from last year's 10.1 million tons, to its lowest level since 2015. He has declared a state of agricultural emergency in 10 districts, a move that facilitates state aid payments to farmers. Although frosts this spring were milder, drought is now seen as the main risk. Short rains in May did not help to retain moisture in the soil. "It's another bad year for us. The seedlings have been affected by drought since last autumn. The wheat is weak. This year, it suffered from frost, and now the drought is finishing it off," said Maxim Zolotaryov, an agronomist at Luch farm in Rostov's Chertkov district. Chertkov has been hit hardest by bad weather in 2024 and 2025. Yields last year fell by 61% to 1.7 metric tons per hectare compared to about 3.4 tons in the United States. Zolotaryov pointed to green plants in dry land and said that normally at this time of the year the stems are higher. He said some farmers have experimented with other crops but ultimately decided to stick to wheat given its guaranteed export demand. RECORD HARVEST In contrast, analysts expect a bumper crop in Stavropol, south of Rostov, where the weather has been much better with 30% more rain so far this year. That is underpinning hopes for government forecasts that see Russia's grain harvest this year at 135 million metric tons, up 4% from 2024. The wheat harvest is seen at 90 million tons this year. "We expect a record harvest in Stavropol this year, it will become the leading region in terms of wheat production," said Dmitry Rylko, head of the IKAR consultancy. A Reuters calculation shows that the wheat crop in Stavropol, which harvested 7.8 million tons in 2024, will need to exceed 8 million tons to top Rostov. Local agriculture officials say part of the increase in rain was due to the use of the "cloud seeding" technology where clouds are sprayed with silver iodide from planes. Krasnodar is Russia's other top wheat-growing region, which collected 9.9 million tons last year. Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said in March he hoped the region would harvest no less this year, but with drought in some parts of the region this figure is now in doubt. Russia's more northern regions have also been boosting agricultural output as it gets warmer. For example, the mostly industrial Perm region next to the Urals Mountains posted a 30% jump in wheat output in 2024. Fertiliser supply to northern regions, including Perm, has tripled in the last decade, according to producer Uralchem. Deputy Agriculture Minister Andrei Razin said in March that average temperatures in Russia are expected to rise by 1.5 degrees between 1976 and 2030, with previously unused lands in the north and east being brought into agricultural production. Russia's long-term grain market strategy calls for a combination of efforts to maintain existing yields in the south while bringing new lands into use. EXPENSES, EQUIPMENT In addition to demanding weather conditions, Russia's farmers face other challenges, including interest rates at their highest level since the early 2000s and sanctions that hobble their access to new Western machinery or spares. "Due to the increase in the key interest rate, loans have become very expensive. As of today, every farmer is calculating their finances, capabilities, and the feasibility of acquiring new equipment," said Alexei Shantaliy, a local administration official for farming in Chertkov. Farmers also complain about a rise in input costs such as fertilizers and fuel. Crops grown with lower inputs often have lower yields. "Today we are striving to minimize expenses to at least break even," said Alexander Plakhov, director of Luch farm. Farmers say that challenging weather requires more intensive use of machinery during short time windows to sow or harvest quickly while conditions permit. Yet the machinery on many farms is aging and equipment is often out of order due to a lack of spare parts, making it hard for farmers to move quickly during sowing and harvesting campaigns. Farmers have experimented with other crops but ultimately decided to stick to wheat with its guaranteed demand for export, said Zolotaryov. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/stavropol-boosts-russian-wheat-hopes-despite-rostov-drought-2025-07-10/

2025-07-10 07:23

July 10 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Thursday, underpinned by mining stocks, as investors awaited progress on a potential trade deal between the United States and the European Union. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) , opens new tab was up 0.5% at 552.45 points, as of 0709 GMT. Sign up here. Other major regional indexes also traded higher, except Spain's IBEX (.IBEX) , opens new tab, which edged 0.1% down. In the latest trade developments, U.S. and EU negotiators moved closer to a deal. EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said on Wednesday that the European Commission has made good progress on a framework agreement with Washington, and a deal could be reached within days. The negotiators were discussing potential measures to protect the EU auto industry, according to EU officials and auto industry sources. Also on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new 50% tariff on copper imports and a 50% duty on goods from Brazil, both effective August 1. Trump also issued new tariff letters for seven minor trading partners, adding to 14 others issued earlier in the week. European mining (.SXPP) , opens new tab stocks rose 2.8%, while healthcare (.SXDP) , opens new tab gained 1.1%. Shares of Barry Callebaut (BARN.S) , opens new tab fell 7.2% after the Swiss chocolate maker cut its volume outlook for the third time this year. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/european-shares-rise-investors-focus-us-eu-trade-talks-2025-07-10/