2025-12-10 18:35

China issues rare-earth licenses to Ford suppliers New system stems from Xi-Trump meeting German automakers excluded in first issuance Dec 10 (Reuters) - Chinese rare-earth magnet suppliers to U.S. automaker Ford Motor (F.N) , opens new tab were included in the first batch of new export licenses issued by Beijing to boost shipments and reduce shortages of the vital components, the carmaker said on Wednesday. The so-called general licenses were agreed after Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump met in South Korea and will reportedly allow larger shipments with fewer hurdles under year-long permits for individual customers. Sign up here. China’s introduction of rare-earth export controls in April forced companies to apply for licenses for every shipment, creating shortages that brought parts of the auto supply chain to a halt and handed Beijing enormous leverage in trade talks with Washington. Reuters reported last week that three Chinese magnet suppliers had licenses issued, but Ford appears to be the first foreign customer to acknowledge that suppliers have received approvals under the streamlined system. China has said little publicly about the new licenses, how they will work or who will receive them, raising fears among non-U.S. diplomats and producers that the licenses will be for U.S. customers primarily. Those concerns were heightened this week when Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said that the country's automakers were not included in this first round. Many of those manufacturers, such as Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) , opens new tab, have had ties with China for many years. Wadephul said that "quite a lot of work" was still needed to persuade Beijing to grant the new licenses to German companies. BMW (BMWG.DE) , opens new tab said it is monitoring the issue of general licenses along with its suppliers. VW said its rare-earths supply is stable and it is not experiencing any shortages. “Our suppliers are continuously working with their subcontractors to obtain the necessary export licenses,” the automaker said. While the system agreed between Xi and Trump should accelerate exports for some customers, it remains to be seen how widely Beijing will issue licenses and whether customers in more sensitive sectors such as aerospace or semiconductors will qualify. China's rare-earth exports jumped in November. "While we are pleased that some of our suppliers have secured these approvals, we urge the U.S. and Chinese governments to continue their collaboration to fully resolve supply chain issues," Ford said in its statement to Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/ford-suppliers-receive-chinas-new-streamlined-rare-earth-licences-2025-12-10/

2025-12-10 18:04

Rail project to link Los Angeles and San Francisco Trump administration cancels $4 billion-plus in grants Dec 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge rejected on Wednesday a bid by President Donald Trump's administration to throw out a lawsuit filed by a California agency to challenge the cancellation of more than $4 billion in federal grants for the state's high-speed rail project linking Los Angeles and San Francisco. Sacramento-based U.S. District Judge Dale Drozd rejected the Justice Department argument that the July lawsuit by the California High Speed-Rail Authority was brought in the wrong legal venue and should have been filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Sign up here. The lawsuit by the state agency responsible for developing the high-speed rail system challenged the grant cancellation as an "arbitrary and capricious" abuse of authority. In August, the Transportation Department canceled another $175 million for four projects that are part of California's high-speed rail project, following the cancellation of $4 billion in federal grants. The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is a prominent critic of the Republican president. The funding cuts have emerged as the latest hurdle in the 16-year effort to link Los Angeles and San Francisco by a three-hour train ride, a project that would deliver the fastest passenger rail service in the United States. The rail system, whose first $10 billion bond issue was approved by California voters in 2008, has built more than 50 major railway structures, including bridges, overpasses, under-crossings and viaducts, and completed 70 miles (113 km) of guideway for the project. In November, the California High-Speed Rail Authority said it was seeking requests for proposals for a $3.5 billion plan to deliver high-speed rail track and systems. The route originally was supposed to be completed by 2020 at a cost of $33 billion. But the projected cost has risen to $89 billion to $128 billion, and the start of service is now expected by 2033. A previous move by Trump in 2019 during his first term as president to revoke $929 million in federal grants was challenged by the state, leading to a settlement in 2021 under Democratic President Joe Biden restoring the full amount. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/judge-rejects-us-bid-toss-california-high-speed-rail-lawsuit-2025-12-10/

2025-12-10 17:58

Two sustainability disclosure rules watered down Requirement for climate transition plans also dropped Investors warn will make it harder to assess companies Industry groups welcome the reduced reporting burden LONDON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - A reduction in scope of the European Union's sustainability disclosure rules may cut red tape for businesses but investors say less transparency will make it harder to identify which companies are genuinely moving toward low-carbon operations. After months of pressure from companies and governments, the European Union agreed on Tuesday to sharply scale back two flagship sustainability disclosure laws. Sign up here. The changes affect the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) - the EU’s rulebook that requires large companies to publish detailed information on their environmental, social and governance performance, and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which requires firms to check their supply chains for human rights abuses and environmental harm. The CSDDD had also required companies to have and implement a plan to cut emissions to net zero, but that obligation has now been dropped. Watering down the rules means investors will have less reliable, comparable information on companies' sustainability efforts, making it harder to tell which businesses are serious about cutting emissions, managing climate risks and environmental, social and governance standards. MORE DETECTIVE WORK Eleanor Fraser-Smith, Head of Sustainability at investor Victory Hill Capital Partners, said the weakening of the rules would "leave investors with poorer information for decision-making". "Yes, EU reporting has become overly complex, but the solution is clearer guidance and better structure, not dilution. Stepping back from requirements doesn't make the system easier, it just makes it less coherent." Some investors highlighted the scrapping of climate transition plans in the EU's due diligence law as a major concern. "Without credible transition plans, Europe could lose comparability, visibility on progress and a potentially useful tool to access transition finance. Investors rely on these plans to assess climate risks and opportunities," said Carlota Garcia-Manas, head of climate transition at British investor Royal London Asset Management, which manages around 180 billion pounds ($239.53 billion). Hortense Bioy, Head of Sustainable Investing Research at industry tracker Morningstar Sustainalytics, said the changes would put the onus on investors to assess whether companies follow through on their promises. "The responsibility will increasingly fall on asset managers offering these strategies to hold companies accountable." PRESSURE TO RAISE THRESHOLDS Under the changes to CSRD, only companies with more than 1,000 staff making more than 450 million euros would report, with financial firms excluded. For CSDDD, the threshold was even higher at 5,000 staff and 1.5 billion euros in net turnover, with a delayed start-date and breaches dealt with at the national rather than EU level, with added flexibility for companies on what to report. Hans Stegeman, chief economist at sustainability-focused lender Triodos Bank, said the moves represented a "significant weakening of essential sustainability rules". "Legislation meant to combat child labour, environmental pollution, and exploitation in supply chains is being hollowed out. The so-called 'anti-looking-away law' has had its scope drastically limited," he said. Debated since February, the cuts to the EU laws follow months of pressure from companies and governments, including the U.S. and Qatar, who warned Brussels that the rules risked disrupting their gas supplies to Europe. Industry groups welcomed the move as relief from Europe's complex sustainability regime, among the most ambitious globally. BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer said the EU was delivering on its pledge to slash red tape. "Even with the improvements achieved ... it will still be a substantial challenge for companies to comply with the new rules," he added. Oliver Moullin, Managing Director for Sustainable Finance at the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, said the changes were a step toward simplification but urged further streamlining. "Notwithstanding these important simplification efforts, the EU's sustainable finance framework is set to remain the most ambitious and comprehensive globally," he said. ($1 = 0.7515 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/eu-sustainability-cutbacks-make-low-carbon-leaders-harder-spot-2025-12-10/

2025-12-10 16:40

The Bank of Canada holds rates steady at 2.25% as expected Macklem says economy was proving more resilient to tariffs Macklem reiterates policy rate at about the right level U.S. Federal Reserve likely to announce rate cut on Wednesday OTTAWA, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada held its key policy rate steady at 2.25% on Wednesday as widely expected, and Governor Tiff Macklem said the economy was proving resilient overall to the effect of U.S. trade measures. Despite tariffs between 25% and 50% on some critical sectors such as cars, lumber, aluminum and steel, Canada's economy has shown signs of strength. Sign up here. Third quarter annualized GDP grew by 2.6%, much more than expected, while employment data showed the economy added 181,000 new jobs between September and November. "It's been a difficult year for Canadians and Canadian businesses. But as the year is closing, it's looking better than it looked in the spring, in the summer," Macklem said during a press conference after the rates decision. Macklem said the impact of tariffs has not totally spilled over into the broader economy. Uncertainty remains high and if the outlook changes, the bank is ready to respond, Macklem said, reiterating comments he made when the bank cut rates in October to their current level. "Governing Council sees the current policy rate at about the right level to keep inflation close to 2% while helping the economy," said Macklem. The U.S. Federal Reserve will also announce a rate decision on Wednesday and a majority of economists expect it will cut rates by 25 basis points. Macklem said even though the economy had shown some resilience, he expected GDP growth to be weak in the fourth quarter and hiring intentions to be muted. While the economy is adjusting to tariffs, volatility in trade and quarterly GDP numbers are making it more difficult to assess the underlying momentum of the economy, Macklem noted. The recent data has "not changed our view that GDP will expand at a moderate pace in 2026 and inflation will remain close to target." Andrew Kelvin, Head of Canadian and Global Rates Strategy at TD Securities called the bank's commentary a fairly cautious tone. "It leads me to be very comfortable with the idea that the bank will be on hold for quite some time," he said. CHOPPINESS IN INFLATION The consumer price index eased to 2.2% in October but economists have regularly flagged that measures of core inflation, which strips out volatile components, have stayed around 3%, the top end of the BoC's inflation target. In the months ahead, the BoC expects some choppiness in headline inflation which would push inflation temporarily higher in the near term. Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers acknowledged that while inflation had largely stayed at around 2%, Canadians have struggled with affordability, especially due to high food and shelter costs. "So what we need to do is keep inflation at target and support the structural shift that the economy is going through," she said. But Macklem said the ongoing economic slack would roughly offset these cost pressures. He said the bank expects the growth in final domestic demand to resume after registering a flat growth in the third quarter. The Canadian dollar weakened after the announcement and was trading down 0.13% to 1.3865 to the U.S. dollar, or 72.12 U.S. cents. Yields on the two-year government bonds fell 3.3 basis points to 2.556%. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/bank-canada-holds-rates-says-economy-is-resilient-2025-12-10/

2025-12-10 16:08

MOSCOW, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble weakened against the U.S. dollar and China's yuan for the third consecutive session this week on Wednesday, after hitting its highest level to the dollar since May 2023 on December 5. At 1450 GMT, the rouble was 0.8% weaker at 77.09 against the dollar in over-the-counter trade and 1% weaker at 11.05 against the Chinese yuan on the Moscow Exchange, where it is the most-traded foreign currency. Sign up here. The central bank said on Wednesday that exporting companies sold 17% less foreign currency in Russia in November, compared with October. The central bank said that lower demand for foreign currency from importers also supported the rouble. The central bank's poll, published on Wednesday, showed that analysts saw an average rouble rate in 2025 at 83.8 to the dollar, 1.4% stronger than in the previous poll. In 2026, they expected the rouble to weaken to 90.3 per dollar on average. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/russian-rouble-weakens-after-hitting-strongest-since-may-2023-last-week-2025-12-10/

2025-12-10 15:57

Dow, S&P 500 up, Nasdaq down Industrials lead sector gainers; tech lags Fed expected to cut rates on Wed Crude, dollar, gold, bitcoin all down US 10-year Treasury yields ease to 4.17% Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at [email protected] , opens new tab STOCKS MIXED, TECH WEAKENS BEFORE EXPECTED FED RATE CUT Sign up here. Stocks were mixed on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab and S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab recording modest gains, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab is in the red, ahead of an expected rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Traders are cautious, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell expected to strike a hawkish tone over future rate cuts as he presides over an increasingly divided U.S. central bank that is weighing high inflation against a weakening labor market. Fed funds futures traders are pricing in 91% odds of a rate cut, and traders will focus on how many officials dissent to the move. Policymakers are also due to update their economic and interest rate projections for the coming quarters. Industrials (.SPLRCI) , opens new tab is the best performing sector ahead of the decision, while tech (.SPLRCT) , opens new tab is the laggard. The U.S. dollar , gold , crude oil and bitcoin are all lower on the day, while benchmark 10-year Treasury yields have eased to 4.17%. Here is Tuesday’s opening market snapshot: (Karen Brettell) ***** EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS: GIMME CREDIT FLAGS BIG DEBT RISKS IN NETFLIX'S WARNER BROS DISCOVERY DEAL CLICK HERE STAPLES STUCK: HSBC WARNS 2026 WON'T BE A PICNIC FOR CONSUMER GIANTS CLICK HERE HIGH HO, SILVER! CLICK HERE BELLIES PINCHED AS CENTRAL BANK EXPECTATIONS SHIFT CLICK HERE ONE BITCOIN BULL HAS CUT THEIR FORECAST AS "COLD BREEZE" BLOWS CLICK HERE STOXX DIPS CLICK HERE BEFORE THE BELL: EUROPE DIPS ON FED DAY; DELIVERY HERO SHINES CLICK HERE ONE LAST HURDLE REMAINS FOR THE YEAR CLICK HERE https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/live-markets-stocks-mixed-tech-weakens-before-expected-fed-rate-cut-2025-12-10/