2025-06-02 14:37

SINGAPORE, June 2 (Reuters) - Hotel101 Global Holdings Corp and Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company JVSPAC Acquisition Corp (JVSA.O) , opens new tab said on Monday they had obtained a regulatory nod to proceed with a business combination agreement. They said in a statement that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had declared effective Hotel101's registration statement on form F-4 filed with the SEC in connection with the business tie-up. Sign up here. JVSPAC is a publicly listed shell that raises funds to merge with a private entity. Hotel101 is the hotel arm or subsidiary of Philippines-listed DoubleDragon (DD.PS) , opens new tab. The business combination values Hotel101 at an equity value of $2.3 billion, according to the statement. Upon listing, the combined company will operate as Hotel101 and will become the first Philippine-owned company to be listed and traded on Nasdaq, the statement showed. JVSPAC said that it has scheduled an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on June 24 to vote on the proposed business combination with Hotel101. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/philippines-doubledragon-subsidiary-hotel101-progresses-towards-nasdaq-listing-2025-06-02/

2025-06-02 12:47

NEW YORK, June 2 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) , opens new tab CEO Jamie Dimon said on Monday that the rising U.S. national debt is a "big deal" that could create a "tough time" for the bond market that causes spreads to widen, he told Fox Business’ "Mornings with Maria" program. The comments echo his earlier warnings about potential market turmoil, citing rising U.S. government spending. Sign up here. "If people decide that the U.S. dollar isn't the place to be, you could see credit spreads gap out; that would be quite a problem," Dimon said. "It hurts the people raising money. That includes small businesses, that includes loans to small businesses, includes high yield debt, includes leveraged lending, includes real estate loans. That's why you should worry about volatility in the bond market." Shifting U.S. economic policies have sent bond markets tumbling in recent weeks. Dimon, 69, is one of the most prominent voices in corporate America and has regularly been consulted by administrations during times of crisis. His name was floated for senior economic roles in government during the 2024 presidential campaign, including Treasury Secretary, but he stayed put at the bank. Dimon has been running the biggest U.S. lender for more than 19 years, outlasting many other CEOs. When asked about the timeframe for his succession, Dimon said "it's several years," adding, "there will be an appropriate time and then I may stick around for a couple of years as chairman or executive chairman... I love what I do." https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/jpmorgan-ceo-jamie-dimon-tells-fox-business-us-debt-could-cause-bond-turmoil-2025-06-02/

2025-06-02 12:36

MUMBAI, June 2 (Reuters) - Foreign investors sold Indian government bonds included in global indexes for a second straight month in May, driven by profit-taking and currency volatility rather than a change in sentiment towards the country, several investors said. Foreign investors offloaded 123.2 billion rupees ($1.44 billion) of Indian bonds under the Fully Accessible Route in May, the highest since its 2020 launch, after selling 111.4 billion rupees in April. Sign up here. They have invested 1.20 trillion rupees in Indian bonds till March since June 2024, when Indian bonds were included in the JPMorgan emerging debt market index. "The recent outflows are best viewed through the lens of profit-taking after a strong run, rather than a shift in fundamental conviction," said Rong Ren Goh, portfolio manager at Eastspring Investments, which manages $256 billion of assets. Some headwinds, including geopolitical tensions and uncertainty over the new RBI governor's stance on FX policy, may have also led investors to trim exposure and rebalance portfolios, he added. The Indian rupee has grown more volatile over the past six months since new RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra took charge in December, with implied volatility averaging 4.26%, up from 2.24% during the final six months of former governor Shaktikanta Das's tenure. A rise in U.S. Treasury yields due to fear of a wide budget gap and inflationary impact of President Donald Trump's tariff policies and a drop in Indian rate due to declining inflation have also narrowed the yield differential between the two markets. The spread between Indian and U.S. bond yields have collapsed to 21-year low of around 170 bps now, from 250 bps early November. "This (selling in Indian bonds) was not driven by skepticism towards India, but rather by shifts in global macro sentiment," Jean‑Charles Sambor, head of emerging markets debt at TT International Asset Management said, that manages $3.15 billion of assets across EM. "We do not see this (outflows) as a game changer. Sentiment towards Indian bonds is likely to improve as inflation continues to decline and there is more fiscal space," Sambor said, adding he remains constructive on rupee bonds and believes appetite for local currency bonds is returning. ($1 = 85.3790 Indian rupees) https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-index-linked-bonds-see-record-foreign-selling-may-profit-booking-currency-2025-06-02/

2025-06-02 12:36

US Midwest aluminium premium up 164% since start of 2025 The U.S. is a net importer of aluminium New tariff to take effect on Wednesday LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) - Premiums for consumers buying aluminium on the physical market in the United States soared on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he planned to increase tariffs on imported steel and aluminium to 50% from 25%. The U.S. is heavily reliant on aluminium imports. About half of all aluminium used in the country for transport, packaging and construction is delivered from elsewhere, with the vast majority coming from Canada. The new tariffs are due to take effect on June 4. Sign up here. Buyers on the physical market usually pay the London Metal Exchange (LME) benchmark aluminium price plus a premium covering taxes, transport and handling costs. The U.S. Midwest duty-paid aluminium premium reached $0.58 per lb, or $1,279 a metric ton, on Monday. That was a 54% jump from Friday and 164% growth since the start of 2025. Part of Monday's growth was amplified by June 2 being the first trading day of the new month, when regional premiums often make a strong move. Goldman Sachs said the premium would need to rise to between $0.68 and $0.70 per lb to fully reflect the 50% import tariff. LME benchmark aluminium was last up 0.4% at $2,453.5 a ton. The higher premium could weigh on U.S. spot market purchases if consumers wait to see if there is a reversal or any exemptions, Morgan Stanley said in a note. Aluminium production depends heavily on the competitively priced and secure power supply source. It has been forty-five years since anyone built a primary aluminium smelter in the U.S. Emirates Global Aluminium said in May it would invest $4 billion in construction of an aluminium plant in the U.S. with first metal expected by the end of the decade. The plant would have an annual production capacity of 600,000 metric tons. For comparison, the U.S. imported 2.7 million tons of unwrought aluminium from Canada last year, according to the Trade Data Monitor. Steel and aluminium tariffs were among the earliest put into effect by Trump when he returned to office in January. The tariffs of 25% on most steel and aluminium imported to the U.S. went into effect in March. The 25% tariff prompted some producers to divert aluminium to Europe, leading to a 45%-fall in the European aluminium premium since the start of 2025 and inflating an outflow of aluminium scrap from the EU to the U.S. https://www.reuters.com/business/aluminium-premium-us-buyers-soars-after-trump-doubles-tariffs-2025-06-02/

2025-06-02 12:25

MOSCOW, June 2 (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) , opens new tab and Algeria's Sonatrach have cut June's official selling prices for liquefied petroleum gas by between 1.6% and 11.2% from the previous month due to rising global supply, traders said on Monday. Aramco's June OSP for propane was cut by $10 to $600 a metric ton while butane prices were lowered by $20 to $570 a ton , the traders said. Sign up here. Propane and butane are types of LPG with different boiling points. LPG is used mainly as fuel for cars and heating as well as a feedstock for other petrochemicals. Sonatrach cut its June OSP for propane by $45 to $445 a ton and for butane by $55 to $435 a ton , traders said. Aramco's OSPs are used as a reference for contracts to supply LPG from the Middle East to the Asia-Pacific region. Sonatrach's OSPs are used as benchmarks for the Mediterranean and Black Sea region, including Turkey. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/sonatrach-saudi-aramco-cut-june-lpg-prices-by-2-11-2025-06-02/

2025-06-02 11:54

PARIS, June 2 (Reuters) - Latvia has reported a first outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza among poultry, the World Organisation for Animal Health said on Monday. The outbreak occurred in a flock of 190 backyard poultry birds in the district of Birzgales, Paris-based WOAH said in a notice, citing Latvian authorities. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/latvia-reports-bird-flu-backyard-poultry-2025-06-02/