2025-05-12 11:27

May 12 (Reuters) - Guinea has cancelled a bauxite mining concession granted to Kebo Energy SA over its failure to deliver on promised investments, according to a statement broadcast on state television. The cancellation was announced late on Friday, with state television citing a decree issued by junta leader Mamady Doumbouya, who seized power in a coup in 2021. Sign up here. A senior Guinean mining official confirmed that the concession had been cancelled. A source close to Kebo Energy SA said the company had failed to raise sufficient funding for the project, which included building an alumina refinery. A spokesperson for Kebo Energy SA could not be reached for comment. Last week, Reuters reported Guinea's government had moved to revoke Emirates Global Aluminium's (EGA) mining licence over the company's failure to fulfil its commitment to construct an alumina refinery. Guinea has also cancelled a gold permit previously awarded to Guiter Mining SA, according to Friday's statement. Guiter Mining SA did not respond to a request for comment. Military-led governments in Guinea, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have pushed to rewrite mining laws and contracts after seizing power in coups in recent years. In some cases they have detained mining executives, suspended operations and seized products as they demand greater control and revenue of mineral resources. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/guinea-cancels-bauxite-concession-awarded-kebo-energy-sa-2025-05-12/

2025-05-12 11:24

LONDON, May 12 (Reuters) - Bank of England monetary policymaker Megan Greene said on Monday that wage and inflation measures were moving in the right direction but remained too high and that she was worried about rising public inflation expectations. "What's a little bit more worrisome for me is that medium-term inflation expectations have also started picking up," Greene said in a panel discussion during a conference at King’s Business School. Sign up here. Last week, Greene voted with the majority when the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point for the fourth time since last August. Greene, who has previously been among the MPC members most concerned about inflation risks in the UK, said she had been among BoE policymakers who were initially unsure about whether to cut borrowing costs at the central bank's May meeting. "I came into this last round quite torn about whether to hold or cut by 25 basis points," she said, echoing comments earlier on Monday by BoE Deputy Governor Clare Lombardelli. Rising trade tensions - started by U.S. President Donald Trump's sharp U.S. import tariff increases - eventually helped to convince her of the need to lower rates, Greene said, adding that Monday's announcement of a temporary U.S.-China agreement to suspend higher tariffs would not have changed her mind. Greene said it was not yet clear what would happen to tariffs on trade between the United States and the European Union which was an important factor for demand in Britain. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/boes-greene-says-price-pressures-still-too-high-inflation-expectations-rising-2025-05-12/

2025-05-12 11:15

TOKYO, May 12 (Reuters) - Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM) (5713.T) , opens new tab said on Monday it has agreed to buy a 30% stake in the Winu copper-gold project in Western Australia from Rio Tinto (RIO.L) , opens new tab, (RIO.AX) , opens new tab. The move comes as part of the Japanese miner's efforts to expand its copper and gold assets, and follows the two miners' agreement last December to form a joint venture to develop and operate the project. Sign up here. Under the deal, as consideration for the acquired interest, SMM will make an upfront cash payment of $195 million to Rio Tinto in 2025 when the transaction is expected to close. Additionally, SMM will pay deferred consideration of up to $235.4 million, contingent upon the achievement of milestones based on potential future expansion of the project's mill throughput. The Winu project, located in the Great Sandy Desert region of Western Australia, is a copper-gold mineralized zone discovered by Rio Tinto in 2017. As of the end of 2024, the project's estimated indicated and inferred resources total 741 million metric tons, containing about 3 million tons of copper and 250 tons of gold, SMM said in a statement. Rio Tinto is currently conducting a pre-feasibility study for building a mill with an annual throughput capacity of 10 million tons and has initiated the relevant environmental permitting processes. A spokesperson for SMM said it remains unclear when production is likely to begin and what the total development cost will be. SMM, which produced 230,000 tons of copper through equity holdings in the fiscal year ended March 31, aims to boost its copper output to 300,000 tons over the long term. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/sumitomo-metal-buy-30-stake-rios-winu-copper-gold-project-australia-2025-05-12/

2025-05-12 11:06

BERLIN, May 12 (Reuters) - Germany's network regulator on Monday started a formal process to rethink the electricity grid fee structure, aiming for a system better suited to renewable energy. Fees for using the power network already make up around 20% of consumer bills in Germany, contributing to energy prices that are among the highest in Europe, hurting the country's industry and overall economic output. Sign up here. The current system needs reform to boost revenue and involve more stakeholders in network expansion costs. It lacks incentives for flexible users to reduce peak demand and fails to guide energy infrastructure planning with clear price signals, industry experts say. In a discussion paper published by the regulator on Monday, the agency outlined several proposals, including making renewable energy producers contribute to the cost of the grid, so far borne by consumers alone through their energy bills. The new system might charge a flat fee or a surcharge based on the size of a user's connection instead of how much electricity is used. It introduces so-called dynamic pricing, determining grid fees by how busy the network is, hoping to push consumers to use energy in a smarter way. The network agency, which gave a June 30 deadline for the public and stakeholders to comment on the paper, may set up special rules to better integrate batteries and storage facilities into the system. In addition to the proposals, Germany's new government plans to reduce power tax to the European minimum and halve transmission network fees, with the aim of permanently capping them, in a bid to lower prices. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/germany-proposes-grid-fee-overhaul-better-suit-renewables-2025-05-12/

2025-05-12 11:01

LONDON, May 12 (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today By Mike Dolan , opens new tab, Editor-At-Large, Financial Industry and Financial Markets Sign up here. A confusing mix of trade policy shifts and opaque economic data has left financial markets and the Federal Reserve searching for solid ground. In today's column, I take a close look at this pervasive lack of clarity, examining whether the recent market rally signals a genuine easing of pressures or merely a temporary lull before further economic storms. Now on to more market analysis. Today's Market Minute * The United States and China said on Monday they have agreed a deal to slash reciprocal tariffs for now as the world's two biggest economies seek to end a trade war that has disrupted the global outlook and set financial markets on edge. * U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would sign an executive order to cut prescription prices to the level paid by other high-income countries, an amount he put at 30% to 80% less. * The military operations chiefs of India and Pakistan are set to discuss on Monday the next steps for the nuclear-armed neighbours, India said, as a ceasefire returned calm to the border, and their equity markets edged higher. * China's imports of crude oil edged into positive territory for the first months of the year, but this is not necessarily a sign of improving fuel demand. Find out why in Clyde Russell’s latest column. * Holding high levels of cash is usually frowned upon by asset managers because of the "drag" on portfolio returns, but in this uncertain environment, fixed income investors may be wise to consider doing just that. Read Marty Fridson’s latest piece. Trade peace in our time? Wall Street stock futures and the dollar soared on Monday after U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators meeting in Geneva agreed to slash sky-high reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, as several hot wars are cooling to boot. The breakthrough in weekend talks far exceeded most investors' expectations, even though the pause now ushers in a period of intense talks on details that mean tensions won't disappear. But the Geneva climbdown from both sides marks a broader de-escalation of April's U.S. tariff shock and comes on the heels of last week's U.S.-Britain agreement to roll back many of April 2's planned U.S. levies on British imports. The extent of the market reaction on Monday shows just how much the Sino-U.S. news was a genuine surprise. S&P 500 futures soared almost 3% before Monday's bell, with Nasdaq and Russell 2000 futures climbing almost 4%. Hong Kong stocks (.HSI) , opens new tab also surged 3%, with European stocks (.STOXXE) , opens new tab following with slightly more modest gains of more than 1%. The dollar index (.DXY) , opens new tab burst higher to its best levels in more than a month, with the euro and yen weakening. U.S. Treasury yields also climbed to their highest in a month. Crude oil prices jumped to two-week highs and Bitcoin hit its best level since January. Perhaps most significant, given other geopolitical developments in the background, gold tumbled 3%. Frenetic politicking over the weekend around the Ukraine conflict led Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to say he was ready to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin in Turkey on Thursday, after U.S. President Donald Trump told him publicly to accept the Kremlin leader's proposal of direct talks. Zelenskiy's suggestion of a meeting with Putin capped a dramatic 48 hours in which European leaders joined Zelenskiy in demanding a 30-day ceasefire from Monday, only for Putin to make a counterproposal to instead hold the first direct Ukraine-Russia talks since the early months of the 2022 invasion. Elsewhere, a ceasefire between India and Pakistan appears to have held over the weekend. And in Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, which has been locked in bloody conflict with the Turkish state for more than four decades, decided to disband and end its armed struggle. Back to more prosaic economic matters, the trade optimism will dominate later on Monday, but April retail and inflation numbers later in the week should now start to tot up some of the damage caused by the jarring uncertainties of last month. And shares of U.S. drugmakers fell between 2% and 3% pre-market after Trump pledged to slash prescription prices by about 30%–80%, which aligns with price levels paid by other wealthy nations. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he would sign the executive order on Monday morning to pursue what is known as "most favored nation" pricing or international reference pricing. Make sure to check out my column today, where I look at whether markets are justified in thinking we're through the worst of the trade fog. Chart of the day As the United States and China on Monday agreed a deal to slash sky-high reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, world stock markets and the U.S. dollar rallied sharply. But even before today's news, measures of trade policy uncertainty were already ebbing from April's extreme historic highs, helped by last week's U.S.-Britain agreement to roll back many of April 2's planned U.S. levies on British imports and Washington's promise of more bilateral deals to come this week. The trade component of the Baker, Bloom & Davis , opens new tab model of U.S. Economic Policy Uncertainty rocketed in March and April to record highs - four times the previous peaks of the past 40 years. But weekly moving averages of the index show it has almost halved from those peaks in May, even if it remains well above prior highs from 2019. Today's events to watch * U.S. April Federal budget * Federal Reserve Board Governor Adriana Kugler speaks. Bank of England policymakers Catherine Mann and Alan Taylor speak * Eurogroup finance ministers meet in Brussels * U.S. corporate earnings: Fox, NRG, DaVita, Hertz, Simon Property Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles , opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/global-markets-view-usa-2025-05-12/

2025-05-12 10:53

LONDON, May 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) is involved in a proposal that aims to create a US international ship registry domiciled in the U.S. territory, the island's governor said. President Donald Trump's administration is considering the proposal as part of efforts to enlarge the tiny commercial shipping fleet flying the American flag, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters last week. Sign up here. Using the USVI could be the most efficient way to "strengthen American maritime posture" because the island territory could provide a U.S.-controlled flag without the costly restrictions associated with a straight U.S. flag registration, according to Eric Dawicki, president of the Center for Ocean Policy and Economics research body, which submitted the proposal to U.S. officials. "We have been working with Eric R. Dawicki on this project for a while now. This is an innovative solution to strengthen American shipping," USVI Governor Albert Bryan Jr. said in a LinkedIn post on Saturday. Bryan's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. Increasing the number of U.S.-flagged vessels is important for Trump's administration because it would enhance the ability of the U.S. commercial shipping fleet to provide logistical support for the military in time of war, and ease Washington's dependence on foreign ships to transport supplies and equipment across sea lanes. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-virgin-islands-involved-us-international-ship-registry-proposal-governor-says-2025-05-12/