2025-11-05 00:26

SAO PAULO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Brazilian lender Itau Unibanco on Tuesday reported third-quarter net recurring profit in line with analysts' estimates and raised its projection for 2025 net interest income with the market. Itau, Latin America's largest private lender by total assets, reported an 11.9 billion reais ($2.20 billion) net recurring profit for the July-September period, matching the expectations of analysts polled by LSEG. Sign up here. Return on equity stood at 23.3%, increasing 0.6 percentage points from the same period a year earlier, but stable from the previous quarter. "Once again, the bank demonstrated its capacity to maintain an already high profitability," Citi analysts led by Gustavo Schroden wrote to clients, noting an "overall solid bottom line." The lender revised upward its yearly projection for net interest income with the market to between 3 billion reais ($555.2 million) and 3.5 billion reais ($647.7 million), from a previous estimate of between 1 billion and 3 billion reais. "This revision mostly reflects the more positive dynamics of the trading desk's accumulated results compared to the original expectation," Itau said, adding all other 2025 projections remain unchanged. Itau's total credit portfolio reached 1.4 trillion reais in the quarter, rising 6.4% year-on-year, while Itau's net interest income increased 10.1% to 31.4 billion reais. The over-90-day delinquency rate came in at 1.9%, stable quarter-on-quarter, while the rate between 15 and 90 days rose 0.3 percentage points to 2%, with Itau citing the impact of an unnamed large client. Itau has not been releasing the year-over-year comparison for delinquency rates following a regulatory change on provisions that took effect in Brazil in January. Itau's rivals Santander Brasil and Bradesco released their third-quarter earnings last week, while Banco do Brasil (BBAS3.SA) , opens new tab and Nubank (NU.N) , opens new tab are set to publish results next week. ($1 = 5.4039 reais) https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/brazils-itau-hikes-net-interest-income-outlook-posts-line-recurring-profit-2025-11-04/

2025-11-05 00:02

LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves needs to embark on major tax rises in her November 26 budget or risk a repeat of the loss of market confidence that cost former prime minister Liz Truss her job, a leading think-tank said on Wednesday. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research said Reeves should build 30 billion pounds ($40 billion) of margin for error against economic shocks, up from 10 billion at her last budget. Sign up here. Combined with a likely 20-30-billion pound downgrade to Britain's fiscal outlook by the government's Office for Budget Responsibility, that makes a fiscal consolidation of 50 billion pounds necessary, it added. As Reeves had set out long-term spending plans in June, the bulk of this would need to come from tax rises. "It's a vital message that all the MPs (members of parliament) need to understand, that a large adjustment needs to happen on the fiscal side," NIESR director David Aikman said. "The risk is that markets react badly to whatever comes out in the budget later this month and..., rather than the credibility dividend we could see happening, we see the opposite of that, something more like the Liz Truss moment," he told reporters. TRUSS BUDGET TRIGGERED SPIKE IN GOVERNMENT BORROWING COSTS Reeves has repeatedly contrasted her approach with that of Truss, whose Conservative government's unfunded plans for tax cuts announced in September 2022 triggered a surge in government borrowing costs that required the Bank of England to step in. While British long-term borrowing costs fell to a seven-month low on Tuesday, over the past year they have been sensitive to concerns that Reeves only aims to meet her budget goals by a narrow margin and could be knocked off course by economic shocks. In a speech on Tuesday, Reeves - whose centre-left Labour Party came to power in July 2024 - renewed her criticism of the Conservatives' economic legacy, saying "we will all have to contribute" at her next budget. Speculation has been widespread in British media and financial markets that Reeves is preparing to break Labour's pre-election promise not to raise income tax. A 50-billion-pound tax rise would require a 5 percentage point increase in income tax rates, which have not risen for most British workers since the 1970s. NIESR's estimate of the size of Britain's fiscal hole, and the amount of headroom Reeves should build against future shocks, is at the top end of economists' forecasts. ($1 = 0.7451 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-needs-big-tax-rises-avoid-second-liz-truss-episode-think-tank-says-2025-11-05/

2025-11-04 23:55

Carney has been criticized for backing away from party's focus on environment Budget promises strengthened industrial carbon pricing to boost investor certainty Budget extends time frame for carbon capture tax credits OTTAWA, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Canada could scrap a cap on oil and gas emissions in favor of other measures like strengthened industrial carbon pricing and the deployment of carbon capture and storage technology, the government said in a budget plan unveiled on Tuesday. The climate plan, disclosed as part of Prime Minister Mark Carney's first budget, said under those conditions, the cap “would no longer be required as it would have marginal value.” Sign up here. Reuters reported in September that , opens new tab Canada was in talks with energy companies and the oil-producing province of Alberta about eliminating the emissions cap from the country’s oil and gas sector if the industry and province reduce their carbon footprint in other ways. Canada’s emissions cap was not enforced through legislation and not scheduled to take effect until 2030. It has been condemned by Canadian oil and gas companies that say it would result in lower production. Carney, who has been focused on trying to steer Canada's economy through trade wars with the U.S. and China, has been criticized by some members of his own party for backing away from the Liberals' focus on the environment. The budget also said the government would propose amendments to greenwashing legislation that had created investment uncertainty. Passed during former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government last year, the legislation had been criticized by oil companies. "PAN-CANADIAN AGREEMENT" The Carney government said it remains committed to driving down greenhouse gas emissions and will work with provincial governments to strengthen the country's existing industrial carbon pricing system. The budget says a "pan-Canadian agreement" on carbon pricing will help increase investor certainty and the government will apply the federal industrial carbon price to emitters in any province where carbon-pricing efforts do not meet the standards of the federal system. The oil and gas-producing province of Alberta, for example, has frozen its own industrial carbon price while Saskatchewan is currently not applying one at all. Oil and gas companies worry that a too-stringent industrial carbon price will put Canada at a competitive disadvantage with countries that do not have one, said Mike Holden, chief economist for the Business Council of Alberta, whose members include some of Canada's largest energy firms. But the emissions cap was "universally panned" by industry, he said. "If you're talking about a choice between that or strengthening the industrial carbon price, I think the latter would be the preferred choice," Holden said. Many analysts say large-scale corporate investments in decarbonization — such as a C$16 billion ($11.47 billion) carbon capture and storage project proposed by the Pathways Alliance, a group of Canada's six largest oil sands companies — do not make sense without the financial incentive of a price on emissions. The budget references the Pathways project as being "potentially transformative" for the country, and extends by five years the availability of an existing investment tax credit for carbon capture projects. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/canada-could-eliminate-oil-gas-emissions-cap-budget-plan-says-2025-11-04/

2025-11-04 23:41

Indexes down: Dow 0.53%, S&P 500 1.17%, Nasdaq 2.04% Palantir slides despite estimate-topping Q4 revenue forecast Uber slides as Q4 adjusted core profit misses estimates NEW YORK, Nov 4 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Tuesday as big banks warned that equity markets could be headed for a drawdown, reflecting mounting concerns over stretched valuations. All three major U.S. stock indexes slid well into negative territory after the CEOs of Morgan Stanley (MS.N) , opens new tab and Goldman Sachs (GS.N) , opens new tab stoked fears of a potential market bubble, with the S&P 500 having climbed to a series of all-time highs, largely powered by the artificial intelligence boom. Sign up here. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq suffered their biggest one-day percentage drop since October 10. Tech shares (.SPLRCT) , opens new tab weighed particularly heavily on the Nasdaq, with six of the "Magnificent Seven" AI-related momentum stocks losing ground on the day. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index (.SOX) , opens new tab dipped 4.0%. JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) , opens new tab CEO Jamie Dimon warned last month of the heightened risk of a significant stock market correction within the next six months to two years, citing factors including geopolitical tensions. "Investors seem a little more worried about valuation than they have in a while, at least today," said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana. "A lot of these companies' valuations were pretty stretched and their earnings were good, but not great," Carlson added. "And that's a recipe for profit-taking." The U.S. government shutdown, the result of a congressional impasse, is nearing the record for the longest ever. The resulting dearth of official government data has led to increased scrutiny of private sources such as ADP's National Employment Report expected Wednesday. Comments from Federal Reserve officials are being parsed for clues as to how the data-dependent central bank will forge its monetary policy in the absence of crucial economic indicators. Local elections for New York's mayor and governors in New Jersey and Virginia will also be closely tracked. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 251.44 points, or 0.53%, to 47,085.24, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab lost 80.42 points, or 1.17%, to 6,771.55 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab lost 486.09 points, or 2.04%, to 23,348.64. Tech was down the most among the 11 major sectors comprising the S&P 500, falling 2.3%. Financials (.SPSY) , opens new tab led the gainers. Palantir Technologies (PLTR.O) , opens new tab slid 8.0% despite the data analytics company's better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue forecast. The stock has soared over 152% so far this year. Uber (UBER.N) , opens new tab fell 5.1% in the wake of the ride-hailing platform's quarterly profit miss, while Henry Schein (HSIC.O) , opens new tab advanced 10.8% after hiking its annual profit forecast. Spotify (SPOT.N) , opens new tab and U.S.-listed shares of Shopify dipped 2.3% and 6.9%, respectively, after their quarterly results. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.45-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, where there were 68 new highs and 178 new lows. On the Nasdaq, 1,134 stocks rose and 3,578 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 3.16-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and 19 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 54 new highs and 260 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 19.82 billion shares, compared with the 21.04 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. https://www.reuters.com/business/futures-tumble-after-wall-st-banks-warn-market-pullback-palantir-slides-2025-11-04/

2025-11-04 23:06

Crypto exchanges in Japan ramp up offerings as demand surges Japanese investors' digital asset holdings hit record in July Anticipated domestic regulatory changes add to tailwinds Experts warn of risks; investors prefer larger tokens over altcoins TOKYO, Nov 5 (Reuters) - From the launch of new products and services in Japan to facilitating leveraged trading bets, crypto exchanges and some financial firms are rushing to cash in on rising investor enthusiasm for digital assets amid hopes of easing regulations. The recent surge underscores a higher appetite for riskier investments in Japan as inflation outpaces wage growth and overrides a wariness around crypto investments that followed serious security breaches at exchanges in 2014 and 2018. Sign up here. Japanese investors' crypto assets surpassed a record 5 trillion yen ($33.16 billion) at the end of July, jumping 25% from just a month earlier. The price of bitcoin - the dominant holding - rose only 15% in yen terms over the same period. Holdings have since dropped marginally to 4.9 trillion yen as of end-September. Industry players are now positioning for growth to pick up pace. Regulatory changes under discussion could bring in yet more retail investors by potentially cutting tax paid on crypto gains and easing curbs on trading using borrowed money and asset securitisation. 'CONSIDERABLE OPPORTUNITY' "There are around three times as many people with securities accounts as crypto accounts, so there's still a considerable opportunity," said Satoshi Hasuo, representative director and executive officer of exchange Coincheck (CNCK.O) , opens new tab . "Next, we have to think about how we'll win these people over," Hasuo said. CJ Fong, Asia Pacific general manager at crypto market maker GSR, said the firm has also been engaged in more talks this year with Japanese exchanges and financial firms, mainly to provide greater liquidity across a spectrum of digital assets. The burst of activity shows how Japan is re-establishing itself as a major crypto market as industry players capitalise on the boost the industry has had globally under U.S. President Donald Trump. "The Trump administration has spurred the Japanese government and regulators into adopting a friendlier approach to crypto, so Japan doesn't fall behind," said Noriyuki Hirosue, CEO of exchange Bitbank. According to a report by crypto data platform Chainalysis, Japan ranked 19th out of the top 20 nations in crypto adoption globally this year. NEW PRODUCTS AND ENTRANTS Established exchanges are developing products and services in anticipation of regulatory changes that would tax digital-asset gains like those of securities and allow crypto investment through products such as ETFs and tax-free investment vehicles. The Japan Financial Services Agency is refining rule changes, which will then be debated by parliament and, if passed, would come into effect in 2026 or 2027. A similar overhaul of tax rules around foreign exchange trading in 2012 triggered a boom that saw trading volumes swell about tenfold in the space of 10 years, Bitbank's Hirosue said. "I think this could hugely expand the market," he added. In August, Coincheck announced a partnership with the crypto assets arm of online marketplace Mercari (4385.T) , opens new tab to offer a wider range of assets to Mercari's more casual customer base. Mercari introduced simple crypto trading functions to its marketplace buyers and sellers in March 2023 and grew to 3.4 million crypto accounts by July 2025, making up over a quarter of Japan's total of 13.2 million accounts. Its rapid growth has helped introduce crypto trading to a much larger audience, industry players say. SBI VC Trade is considering "enhancing leveraged trading services" on the prospect of leverage trading ratios being relaxed from the current two times to about 5-10 times, representative director and president Tomohiko Kondo said. The firm, the crypto trading arm of conglomerate SBI Holdings (8473.T) , opens new tab, also plans to offer lending services in USDC stablecoin and is exploring the launch of crypto ETF products, Kondo said. Japan's financial regulator is considering allowing members of banking groups to launch cryptocurrency trading services, in a move to expand market access and foster competition, the Nikkei reported in October. CHASING THE HIGHS The crypto trading boom in Japan comes as retail investors seek higher returns and diversify away from low-yielding assets like government bonds and bank loans. "Over 90% of my assets are in cryptocurrency. A diversified portfolio is only worthwhile when you have a big sum of money already," said Umi Soyama, a 27-year-old worker at a Tokyo-based advertising agency and a crypto investor for around two years. "I want to take on risk now and then. If I build up enough assets I'll diversify into stocks, bonds and gold," Soyama said. Other investors have responded to Trump's crypto boosterism. In the month he was elected, SBI VC Trade said it saw account openings grow five times more than usual. However, crypto assets' wild volatility poses risks to new investors. "It can go up, go down. People have to understand this kind of movement and if they are to invest it's an alternative investment, not the main play," said Motonobu Matsuo, senior managing director of the Japan Securities Dealers Association. And with asset prices near all-time highs, some investors are now looking to reduce their holdings. Kou Okamoto, CFO at a Tokyo-based financial firm, has invested a small proportion of his assets in crypto since 2019. He now primarily owns bitcoin but is considering reducing his exposure to "altcoins" - those other than bitcoin. "You can't make 100 or 200 times returns on other types of investments and easing regulations would make crypto more attractive, but altcoins are like gambling with slightly better odds than horse racing," Okamoto said. "I'm considering moving those into more medium-risk, medium-return investments," he said. ($1 = 150.7800 yen) https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/japans-crypto-players-jostle-market-share-regulatory-easing-hopes-2025-11-04/

2025-11-04 22:43

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Canada's integrated oil and gas firm Suncor Energy (SU.TO) , opens new tab beat third-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday, as higher production and strong refining margins helped offset lower prices. Demand and margins for refiners are recovering after last year's slump, when profits eased from post-pandemic highs and supply disruptions from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Sign up here. The company's refining and marketing segment reported operating adjusted earnings of C$894 million ($637.48 million), up about 85% from a year earlier. Its refined product sales were up 5.6% to its record high of 646,800 barrels per day from a year earlier, while refinery utilization was at 106%, compared with 105% last year. The company also benefited from higher upstream production, which was at 870,000 bpd in the quarter, up 5% from a year earlier. Canadian oil producers are gaining from the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline, which opens access to global markets and lessens their dependence on the U.S. pipeline system. The production helped offset lower oil prices, which were down about 14% to $69.10 per barrel, after OPEC+ accelerated output hikes and raised concerns about oversupply. The company also raised its current-year production forecast by about 3%, its refinery throughput by about 7% and its refined product sales by about 8%, at the mid-point. The company reported an adjusted profit of C$1.48 per share for the quarter ended September 30, compared with the analysts' average estimate of C$1.08 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. ($1 = 1.4024 Canadian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/suncor-energy-beats-third-quarter-profit-estimates-2025-11-04/