2025-06-23 15:43
June 23 (Reuters) - Brent crude oil prices could hit $110 a barrel if the Strait of Hormuz is blocked, Goldman Sachs analysts have forecast, while HSBC analysts see prices topping above $80. Prices for Brent could average around $95 in the fourth quarter of 2025, Goldman Sachs said in a note dated June 22. Sign up here. Their assumptions included oil flows through the critical waterway halving for a month and remaining down by 10% for the following 11 months. Oil prices on Monday jumped to their highest since January after Washington joined Israel over the weekend in attacking Iran's nuclear facilities. Prediction markets, despite limited liquidity, reflect a 52% probability of Iran closing the strait this year, Goldman said, citing data from Polymarket. About a fifth of the world's oil consumption passes through it. "While the events in the Middle East remain fluid, we think that the economic incentives, including for the U.S. and China, to try to prevent a sustained and very large disruption of the Strait of Hormuz would be strong," Goldman Sachs said. HSBC in a note on Monday said that oil prices are set to rise on the higher probability of a closure, or other Iranian retaliatory actions following U.S. military strikes against Iran's nuclear sites. If there is no disruption, prices should trend down by the fourth quarter as OPEC+ adds supply and demand drops, HSBC analysts wrote. They forecast Brent at $67 in second and third quarter and at $65 from fourth quarter onwards, but sees upside risks. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/goldman-sachs-warns-rising-risks-energy-supply-sees-potential-surge-oil-prices-2025-06-23/
2025-06-23 15:19
BUENOS AIRES, June 23 (Reuters) - A technical mission from the International Monetary Fund is expected to arrive in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires on Tuesday for the first review of a funding program worth some $20 billion, an IMF source told Reuters on Monday. The IMF had in April approved the four-year Extended Fund Facility deal with Argentina's government, which had prepared for the deal by dismantling key parts of the country's years-long currency controls. Sign up here. A $12 billion disbursement was set for April and another $2 billion was made available for June. Under the deal, Argentina must build up some $4 billion in net foreign reserves by the end of this year compared to the end of 2024, but pressure on the peso has hampered the government's efforts. The IMF source said the mission would be led by economist Bikas Joshi and that more information on the next steps would be shared in due course. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/imf-mission-travel-argentina-review-20-bln-program-tuesday-2025-06-23/
2025-06-23 15:14
June 23 (Reuters) - Fiserv (FI.N) , opens new tab on Monday unveiled plans to launch a stablecoin, joining a growing number of U.S. companies exploring the technology as the crypto asset moves into the mainstream. The announcement comes after the U.S. Senate passed a landmark stablecoin bill last week, which analysts said could mark a turning point in the crypto oversight debate and a breakthrough for a sector long mired in regulatory uncertainty. Sign up here. The financial technology firm said its stablecoin, FIUSD, will be integrated into its existing banking and payments infrastructure by year-end. The company added that FIUSD will rely on stablecoin infrastructure provided by Paxos and Circle Internet (CRCL.N) , opens new tab. Shares of Circle, which issues the second-largest stablecoin by market value, rose 15%, while Fiserv and PayPal were last up 2.3% and 1.7%, respectively. Stablecoins are pegged to currencies such as the U.S. dollar and designed to hold a steady value backed by reserves. Once a niche corner of crypto, they have gained popularity for offering protection from price swings. Fintechs and traditional financial firms are increasingly turning to stablecoins to streamline cross-border payments, speed up settlements, and broaden access to digital finance. "We view it (the launch) as a positive indicator of Fiserv's ability to innovate rapidly and leverage central positioning between financial institutions and merchants to bridge traditional and emerging payment systems," analysts at TD Cowen said. Analysts say the stablecoin bill, known as the GENIUS Act, could lend greater legitimacy to the sector, but the Republican-led House must first pass its version before it goes to President Donald Trump for approval. "It's a timely series of announcements with passage of GENIUS Act appearing increasingly imminent," the brokerage added. Fiserv said it has partnered with PayPal (PYPL.O) , opens new tab to build future interoperability between FIUSD and PayPal USD (PYUSD), to allow consumers and businesses to move funds domestically and internationally. Interoperability typically allows different stablecoins to function across platforms, enabling users to send, receive or convert between tokens without disruption. https://www.reuters.com/technology/fiserv-shares-rise-stablecoin-launch-plans-2025-06-23/
2025-06-23 15:06
FRANKFURT, June 23 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank should only engage in massive bond buying in "absolutely exceptional cases" after this form of monetary stimulus caused it to report major losses, ECB policymaker Joachim Nagel said on Monday. The Bundesbank's president was joining a growing number of policymakers in signalling the ECB wanted to turn the page on the aggressive-money printing policy that marked the last decade, when inflation in the euro zone was too low. Sign up here. "In light of the latest experience, we should deploy the instrument of large-scale asset purchases at the lower bound for interest rates in absolutely exceptionally cases in the future," Nagel said in a speech. Having vanquished high inflation, the ECB is reviewing its long-term strategy, including the role of massive bond purchases, or quantitative easing (QE). An announcement is expected in coming weeks. The ECB bought 5 trillion euros ($5.77 trillion) worth of debt in 2014-21, a wave of money printing that has been criticised for creating bubbles in property and financial markets. When inflation and interest rates eventually rose, the ECB and its shareholding central banks, particularly the Bundesbank, ended up paying high interest on the reserves they had created while collecting little income from the bonds. ECB vice-president Luis de Guindos told Reuters earlier this month the central bank had "learned much more" about the side effects of its stimulus policies. Croatia's central bank governor Boris Vujcic said "the bar for QE would be higher" in the future. ECB President Christine Lagarde said in the European Parliament on Monday the central bank "certainly prefer(red) to use interest rates" over QE as its policy tool. ($1 = 0.8673 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/ecbs-nagel-says-bond-buying-is-only-exceptional-cases-2025-06-23/
2025-06-23 14:20
FRANKFURT, June 23 (Reuters) - European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Monday urged European lawmakers to speed up the introduction of legislation backing the launch of a digital euro. The ECB has been working for years on a digital version of the single currency, essentially an online wallet, but it needs the European Parliament to pass legislation -- a step that has proven elusive amid resistance from lawmakers. Sign up here. Lagarde renewed her plea in the European Parliament on Monday, describing the digital euro as key to Europe's financial autonomy and taking aim at competing, privately issued digital currencies known as stablecoins. "A legislative framework to pave the way for the potential introduction of a digital euro should be put in place rapidly, please," Lagarde told a committee of the European Parliament. The European Commission proposed digital euro legislation in June 2023, but not much has happened since. If the European Parliament passes the necessary law, the ECB's Governing Council hopes to vote on launching a digital euro in the autumn. Representatives from four of the eight political groupings that make up the European Parliament have said an outage in the ECB’s existing payment system earlier this year raised some questions about the central bank’s ability to deliver a digital euro project. In the ECB's design, digital euros would be available to all euro area residents, probably up to a threshold in the 3,000 euro ($3,440.40) region. They would be guaranteed by the central bank but made available by banks and wallet operators. European bankers have mostly been sceptical, fearing that it would empty their coffers as customers transfer some of their cash to the safety of an ECB-guaranteed wallet. A study by accounting firm PwC on behalf of some bank industry bodies estimated the digital euro may cost the banking sector between 18 billion euros and 30 billion euros in technical, commercial and operational expenses. The ECB has pitched the digital euro as a response to U.S. President Donald Trump's push to promote stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency typically pegged to the U.S. dollar. Lagarde said stablecoins posed "risks for monetary policy and financial stability" because they could lure deposits away from banks and don't always maintain their fixed value. Stablecoin TerraUSD collapsed in May 2022 when it was unable to maintain its peg to the dollar. Its collapse and that of its sister token Luna caused a market crash that triggered a wave of bankruptcies in the crypto industry. Lagarde also noted there was no global regulation for this corner of the market and the issuer of the largest stablecoin, Tether, was based in El Salvador, "which lacks any prudential framework" for this product. "This fragmented approach prevents a global level playing field and can open the door to new risks and systemic vulnerabilities," Lagarde said. "We must therefore remain alert to developments in other jurisdictions and advocate for globally aligned regulations for stablecoins." ($1 = 0.8720 euros) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/ecbs-lagarde-urges-eu-lawmakers-speed-up-digital-euro-law-2025-06-23/
2025-06-23 12:59
ProCap BTC raises $750 million in equity and convertible note ProCap Financial to use bitcoin for revenue via lending, derivatives Institutional investors commit capital, but Reuters can't verify investments BOSTON, June 23 (Reuters) - (This June 23 story has been corrected after ProCap BTC corrects that Citadel is not an investor in the new company in paragraph 7 and to fix the name of the company to 'MicroStrategy' not 'Strategy' in paragraph 4) U.S. investor and entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano announced on Monday the creation of a new bitcoin treasury company that would hold up to $1 billion of the world's largest cryptocurrency on its balance sheet. Sign up here. Pompliano said in a statement that his financial services firm ProCap BTC would merge with Columbus Circle Capital I, a special purpose acquisition company (CCCM.O) , opens new tab, to create ProCap Financial, a bitcoin treasury firm. Several public companies have employed bitcoin treasury strategies, which involve allocating a portion of their cash and reserves toward bitcoin, to replicate the success of software company MicroStrategy (MSTR.O) , opens new tab, which began accumulating bitcoin in 2020 and now holds more than $63 billion worth of the digital token. The trend comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to overhaul cryptocurrency policy, including calls to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve, after courting cash from the industry on the campaign trail. Pompliano, one of the biggest investors in the crypto space over the last several years, said ProCap BTC has raised $500 million in equity and $250 million in a convertible note, in what he termed the largest initial fundraising in history for a bitcoin treasury company. Unlike traditional bitcoin treasury companies, Pompliano said ProCap Financial would use its bitcoin balance sheet to generate revenue and profit through a variety of strategies, including lending, derivatives, and other products and services. He also said leading institutional investors Susquehanna, Jane Street, and Magnetar have committed capital, as have crypto firms Off the Chain Capital, Pantera, Coinfund, Parafi, Blockchain.com , opens new tab, and FalconX. Reuters was unable to verify whether these companies were investing in ProCap Financial. "The legacy financial system is being disrupted by bitcoin right before our eyes," Pompliano said. "Our objective is to develop a platform that will not only acquire bitcoin for our balance sheet, but will also implement risk-mitigated solutions to generate sustainable revenue and profits from our bitcoin holdings." https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/us-investor-strikes-1-billion-merger-create-bitcoin-treasury-company-2025-06-23/
