2025-11-13 17:08
Nov 13 (Reuters) - Current benign international financial market conditions are an opportunity for Argentina to accelerate its accumulation of international reserves, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday. "The recent improvement in market conditions does present a window of opportunity for the authorities to strengthen macroeconomic policies, to entrench stability and to accelerate reserve accumulation," said IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack in a scheduled press briefing. Sign up here. She added it was also a time for planned structural reforms, singling out the areas of tax and labor. The Fund said U.S. support for Argentina has helped stabilize markets and complements the objectives of the Fund's $20 billion program with the South American country. Kozack said the Fund has stressed to Argentina the need to accelerate reserves accumulation and maintain a consistent monetary and foreign exchange framework. "The choice of the FX regime is one for the country authorities," Kozack said. "Our view at the IMF is that the chosen regime needs to be consistent with strengthening international reserves and external stability." U.S. SUPPORT SUSPECTED Argentina's Special Drawing Rights holding at the IMF increased last month by the same amount as the United States' holding diminished, Fund data showed, suggesting the Trump administration came through in its support for Javier Milei's government as a payment to the Fund was due. The United States' holdings of SDR, the IMF's reserve asset, diminished by 640.8 million by the October 31 cutoff, the same amount that Argentina's holdings increased in the same period, according to the Fund's website. Argentina was due to make a payment to the Fund for just over 620 million SDRs on November 1, IMF data show. Asked whether the numbers indicated direct U.S. support, Kozack said: "The specific size and modalities of the support are bilateral matters between the US authorities and the Argentine authorities." https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/imf-says-market-conditions-are-opportunity-argentina-accumulate-reserves-2025-11-13/
2025-11-13 16:53
WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Thursday the government would release the closely watched employment report for October, but without the jobless rate after a weeks-long federal government shutdown. "The household survey wasn't conducted in October, so we're going to get half the employment report. We'll get the jobs part, but we won't get the unemployment rate. And that'll just be for one month," Hassett told Fox News' "America's Newsroom" program. "We probably ... will never actually know for sure what the unemployment rate was in October." Sign up here. The 43-day government shutdown, the longest on record, caused the suspension of data collection, processing and publishing by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics as well as the Commerce Department's Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis. The employment report is made up of two parts, the household survey from which the unemployment rate is derived and the establishment survey from which the nonfarm payroll count is calculated. The government surveys businesses and households for the employment report during the week that includes the 12th day of the month. Economists had raised doubts about whether the October household survey portion of the report would be published as the data is collected from a random sample of households through interviews by field workers. Hassett also separately told reporters that the Council of Economic Advisers estimated the shutdown, which ended on Wednesday night, cost the economy about $15 billion per week. He estimated that translated to a subtraction of roughly 1.0 to 1.5 percentage points from annualized gross domestic product growth in the fourth quarter. That is broadly in line with projections from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Hassett said the CEA estimated that 60,000 non-federal workers lost their jobs because of the ripple effects of the shutdown. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/white-house-make-housing-recommendations-within-months-hassett-says-2025-11-13/
2025-11-13 16:33
Company's refining capacity will rise to 829,000 bpd in Q4 Citgo will use a portion of its liquidity to complete redemption of $650 million in outstanding notes HOUSTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Citgo Petroleum's profit rose to $167 million in the third quarter from $100 million in the previous period, while the liquidity of the Venezuela-owned refiner increased to $2.75 billion from $2.6 billion, the company said on Thursday. The Houston-based company, which in the second quarter returned to profit after two consecutive periods of losses, is fighting in Delaware to suspend the auction of its parent, PDV Holding, in a court-ordered process to pay creditors for debt defaults and expropriations in Venezuela. Sign up here. On Thursday, Delaware Judge Leonard Stark denied motions by the Venezuela parties and bidder Gold Reserve (GRZ.V) , opens new tab to disqualify him, the court officer and advisors overseeing the auction, which could allow the sale process to move forward for now. Improved refining margins led to the third quarter's results, the company said in a release. "Our refineries performed reliably as market conditions improved during the quarter," said the company's chief executive, Carlos Jordá. Planned maintenance was completed at Citgo's Lake Charles, Louisiana, refinery as well as preparations for a major turnaround at its Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery. The company's crude refining capacity will rise to 829,000 barrels per day starting in the fourth quarter, from 807,000 bpd currently. Citgo plans to use a portion of its quarter-end liquidity of $2.75 billion, which includes cash and credit facilities available, to complete the redemption of $650 million in outstanding notes due next year, it said. After the redemption, it will have repaid more than $1.8 billion in senior notes and industrial revenue bonds this year. Citgo's cash flow and financial results are key metrics for the company's valuation as part of the Delaware auction. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/citgo-raises-profit-167-million-liquidity-up-275-billion-2025-11-13/
2025-11-13 14:57
21shares launches first US crypto index ETFs under '40 Act ETFs include bitcoin and exclude it, fees set at 0.5% and 0.65% 21shares sees slower uptake than for single coin crypto ETFs Nov 13 (Reuters) - 21shares launched its first exchange-traded funds tracking the price of a basket of cryptocurrencies, including ethereum, solana and dogecoin, for U.S. investors, the Swiss-based digital assets manager said on Thursday. The debut of the 21Shares ETFs marks the most recent push by issuers beyond single-coin spot ETFs and into index products, although the firm is the first to do so under the terms of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Sign up here. While most ETFs are 1940 Act funds, the vast majority of crypto vehicles have launched as 1933 Act funds, a category designed for riskier assets and underlying structures, such as commodity pools. "There's a difference in the tax treatment, and for professional investors, '40 Act funds are really the gold standard," said Duncan Moir, president of 21shares. 21shares launched the new ETFs in partnership with Teucrium Trading, which has used the '40 Act structure to roll out other commodity-linked funds. Such funds obtain their exposure to the underlying asset indirectly, through other publicly-traded securities. In this case, 21shares will invest in its own exchange-traded products that are listed and traded in Europe. The FTSE Crypto 10 Index ETF (TTOP.P) , opens new tab and the 21Shares FTSE Crypto 10 ex-BTC Index ETF (TXBC.P) , opens new tab ETFs will have fees of 0.5% and 0.65%, respectively. UPTAKE EXPECTED SLOWER THAN BITCOIN ETFS Moir expects uptake of multi-coin crypto funds to be slower than the blockbuster growth of the spot bitcoin ETFs in January 2024. "Those single-coin products tend to be dominated by retail investors, while an index product is likely to be adopted first by financial advisers," and other professionals who "are aware that no one really knows yet which of these cryptocurrencies will be the eventual winners," said Moir. They will make their debut in what Moir described as a volatile price environment. Bitcoin's price briefly fell below $100,000 this month for the first time since June, driven by growing risk aversion among investors and profit-taking. They also arrive on the market at a time when asset managers are competing to attract investor interest in an array of spot crypto ETFs tied to altcoins, the first of which launched during the U.S. government shutdown. Prior to 21shares, only two index crypto ETFs tied to multiple coins have launched. Both are '33 Act funds. In late September, Grayscale Investments converted its private index fund, the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC.P) , opens new tab, into an exchange-traded vehicle offering capitalization-weighted exposure to bitcoin, ethereum, solana, Ripple's xrp, and cardano. It joined the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF as the early multi-coin fund to include altcoins in the mix. T. Rowe Price (TROW.O) , opens new tab also submitted a recent filing to launch a crypto index fund. Bitwise Asset Management is awaiting U.S. regulatory approval to convert its own 10-coin investment fund into an ETF. https://www.reuters.com/business/21shares-launches-two-us-crypto-index-etfs-2025-11-13/
2025-11-13 14:53
Daly says balanced risks mean Fed needs more data before decision Fed's direction for policy rate remains downward, open minded on December: Daly Notes recent services inflation acceleration, says recent rate cuts support labor market DUBLIN, Ireland, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Risks to the Federal Reserve's two goals of price stability and full employment are balanced now that the Fed has cut interest rates twice so far this year, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said on Thursday, leaving her open minded about the upcoming December rate-setting decision. "To my mind, it's premature to say definitely no cut, or definitely a cut" for the U.S. central bank's December 9-10 meeting, Daly said at an event hosted by the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin, Ireland. "I have an open mind, but I haven't made a final decision on what I think." Sign up here. With just under four weeks before she flies to Washington to join her 18 fellow U.S. central bankers at the Fed's policy-setting table, Daly said she feels it's still clear that the general direction for the policy rate is downward. But the timing, she suggested, will depend on what the data says. The risks to missing the Fed's 2% inflation goal or of falling short of its maximum-employment mandate "are in balance at this point and maybe even still slightly higher on employment because the evidence has come in over the course of this year that says inflation's increased less than we had projected and employment has deteriorated more than we projected," she said. Still, she said, there's been some recent acceleration in services inflation, and the Fed's half-percentage-point of rate cuts this year has delivered some support to the labor market, where a drop in demand has kept wage growth muted, "I would be fine with 'balanced' at this point," Daly said. "We need to collect more information before we make a decision about December, in my judgment, you know, because we have two goals and both of them have risks attached to them." Daly does not vote on rates until 2027, but takes part in the policy debate that informs the decision by her 12 voting colleagues. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/feds-daly-open-minded-december-rate-cut-amid-balanced-risks-2025-11-13/
2025-11-13 14:04
BENGALURU, Nov 13 (Reuters) - U.S. 10-year Treasury yields, assuming no upside inflation surprises, are likely to rise modestly in coming months, according to a Reuters poll of market experts, while short-dated yields are forecast to decline on rate cut bets. The survey results suggest inertia in the world's largest debt market despite a long list of potential risks, not least of which is a mountain of upcoming supply. Sign up here. U.S. President Donald Trump’s recently passed budget will require an estimated $3 trillion of additional borrowing over the coming decade but that flood of expected issuance has yet to make any significant impact on current pricing. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, currently 4.09%, was forecast to trade at 4.10% in the coming three and six months, before rising to 4.21% in a year, according to median forecasts from over 50 bond strategists surveyed from November 6 to 13. Medians were broadly unchanged from last month's survey. Other market pricing, including multiple breakeven rates embedded in inflation-protected Treasury securities, points to lower market-based inflation expectations compared with earlier in the year. That has coincided with the absence of official government data during the longest shutdown in history that just ended on Wednesday and still no serious official inflation evidence from U.S. tariffs on imported goods put in place this year. Jean Boivin, head of the BlackRock Investment Institute, said this reflects a familiar pattern: bond markets are often excessively responsive to near-term developments. "The implication is it's very likely the market is over-indexing on the recent track of inflation. And I don't think you make a good return by positioning in the near-term for what the market will only eventually price in properly. But I do think eventually the market will start to reflect more inflation expectations." Indeed, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge is running at nearly 3% and has been above the 2% target for over four years. U.S. consumer inflation expectations have also remained elevated through most of the year. Boston Fed President Susan Collins said on Wednesday persistent inflation warrants greater caution about the path of future easing, particularly for the upcoming December 17-18 Fed meeting. According to the poll, the rate-sensitive two-year Treasury yield, currently 3.58%, was forecast to fall to 3.50% in three months and 3.40% in six months. Interest rate futures remain priced for three-to-four rate reductions by end-2026 despite stark divisions on the Federal Open Market Committee on how soon rates need to fall again. Over three-quarters of respondents to an additional question, 26 of 34, said the yield curve would modestly steepen by end-January. That included Michael Chang, head of rates derivatives strategy at Citi, who said the market was still bracing for higher "term premium" - compensation demanded for holding debt over time - as Treasury issuance continues to rise. "We're expecting most of the coupon issuance increase to be announced in next year's November refunding meeting...And regardless of where the increase happens on the curve, that's going to translate to repricing for a higher term premium overall." "That means the curve is probably going to be steeper, with the long end underperforming the front and the belly of the curve," Chang added. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-10-year-treasury-yields-priced-no-inflation-surprises-set-rise-modestly-2025-11-13/
