2025-09-02 06:20

TOKYO, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Suntory Holdings CEO and Chairman Takeshi Niinami has resigned following a police investigation into his purchase of a potentially illegal supplement, the company said on Tuesday. Niinami, an outspoken business leader who has often served as the face of corporate Japan at Davos and other international events, told the company he purchased the supplement believing that it was legal, Suntory said in a statement. Sign up here. The Tokyo Shimbun daily reported earlier that police in Fukuoka prefecture have been conducting an investigation into whether supplements containing cannabis components had been sent to Niinami's home in connection with a man who was arrested in July. Police questioned Niinami and searched his Tokyo home, although no illegal drug possession or use has been confirmed, the daily said, citing sources familiar with the matter. Niinami, a fluent English speaker, is chair of the powerful Keizai Doyukai business lobby and has served as economic adviser to several Japanese prime ministers. A graduate of Harvard Business School, he was previously chief executive of convenience store operator Lawson before becoming the first head of Suntory from outside its founding family. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/suntory-says-ceo-niinami-resigns-after-buying-potentially-illegal-supplement-2025-09-02/

2025-09-02 06:00

LITTLETON, Colorado, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Clean electricity production in India has surged by 20% to new highs so far this year, giving utilities a rare chance to cut fossil fuel-fired generation and reduce reliance on energy imports for power production. India's clean electricity sources are also on track to provide a third of its utility electricity for the first time over the next month or so, thanks to record combined output from renewables, hydro and nuclear assets, data from Ember shows. Sign up here. The steep build in home-grown clean electricity comes just as India faces unprecedented scrutiny over its energy import practices, particularly its heavy reliance on sanctioned Russian oil that has triggered stiff new tariffs from the United States. India also faces pressure to boost imports of U.S. LNG as a means to reduce its trade deficit with the United States, but has steadily reduced its reliance on gas for power as clean energy output has increased. Continued growth in clean generation - alongside rising homemade production of clean energy tech such as solar panels and battery systems - may help India limit its reliance on foreign-sourced fossil fuels while continuing to expand its overall energy generation. NEW PEAK Over the first half of 2025, India's utilities generated a record 236 terawatt hours (TWh) of clean electricity, data from Ember shows. That total is 20% more than during the same months in 2024, and allowed utilities to curb generation from fossil fuels by 4% from the year before to around 691 TWh. A 29% jump in wind generation (to 47.2 TWh) and a 25% rise in solar generation (to 85 TWh) were the main drivers of the advance in clean electricity supplies. Record output from India's nuclear fleet - to 29 TWh - and a 14% year-over-year climb in output from hydro dams also helped lift the overall clean supply total. On the fossil fuel side of the generation ledger, coal-fired electricity supplies dropped by 3% from the year before to 675 TWh, while gas-fired electricity output shrank by 34% to 13.75 TWh. SEASONAL SWAY The collective upswing in multiple clean generation sources is leading to clean power grabbing a record share of India's generation mix, which will likely exceed 30% for the months of July, August and September. The average clean generation share through the opening half of 2025 was 25%, compared to an average of 21% for the same months in 2024. In June, clean power sources accounted for 31% of the overall generation mix, which was the highest reading on record for that month and meant the share from fossil fuel sources dropped below 70% for the first time. Data on India's generation during July and August has yet to be released, but clean power sources are likely to have secured even larger shares of the overall mix during that period as wind and hydropower output tends to hit annual peaks around then. Over the first half of 2025, total clean generation from all sources was around 24% more than average generation levels from India's clean generation assets during the same months from 2022 to 2024. If wind and hydro production rise as expected during July, August and September, total clean electricity production in India will smash previous records this year and may set the stage for even steeper cuts to fossil fuel generation going forward. Given the fast pace of electricity demand growth in India, utilities are likely to continue adding coal-fired generation capacity to the generation system to ensure that overall electricity supplies keep up with consumption. But with solar and wind capacity expected to continue growing at a faster pace, the share of fossil fuels within India's overall generation mix may be close to peaking, which would mark a major milestone for India's fast-growing energy system. An established peak in the share of fossil fuels in electricity generation could then trigger a potential decline in fossil fuel imports and use, and reduce the pressure on India to succumb to international pressure on oil and gas import trends. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn , opens new tab and X , opens new tab. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/india-cuts-fossil-electricity-output-clean-generation-hits-new-peak-2025-09-02/

2025-09-02 05:44

MUMBAI, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee strengthened to 88 per U.S. dollar on Tuesday, lifted by offshore position trimming and a recovery in local shares. The currency was last at 88.0050, up 0.2% from Monday's close. It hit an intraday high of 87.9550 on the interbank order-matching system. Sign up here. The 87.95 level is seen an important support for the dollar/rupee pair since it was the previous record high before being breached last Friday. "I will be very surprised if we break below 87.95 and hold," said a currency trader at a private bank. "That would nullify the immediate upside bias, which doesn’t make sense considering the current news flow." The dollar/rupee had slipped in the non-deliverable forward market before domestic trading began, and the "markets here followed through", he added. An FX salesperson at the same bank said the recovery in Indian equities was helping the rupee "at the margin" and "maybe there is a one-off inflow via foreign banks." India equities rose on Tuesday, adding to Monday's rally. Bankers said equity moves have recently played a smaller role in driving the rupee. However, when the currency trades at record or near-record levels its sensitivity to stock market swings increases, adding to intraday volatility. Meanwhile, Asian currencies were steady on Tuesday with investors awaiting U.S. data that could shape expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. The focus is on two key releases — the August jobs report and the inflation print — both due before the September 16–17 policy meet. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-back-88usd-offshore-cleanup-equity-rebound-2025-09-02/

2025-09-02 05:36

MOSCOW, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) , opens new tab and China National Petroleum Corporation signed an agreement to increase annual gas supplies to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline as well as via the Far Eastern Route, Russia's RIA agency reported on Tuesday. Reuters reported last month that China was seeking to buy more Russian gas through an existing pipeline as talks between the two countries have failed to make progress on building a second link. Sign up here. The agreements were signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China where he is due to attend a military parade on Tiananmen Square on Wednesday marking the end of World War Two after Japan's formal surrender. RIA, citing Gazprom's CEO Alexei Miller, said that Gazprom and CNPC have agreed to increase supplies to 44 billion cubic metres (bcm) a year from 38 bcm a year. Additionally, the two have agreed to increase gas supplies via the Far Eastern route to 12 bcm from the 10 bcm. Miller also said that a legally binding memorandum has been signed for the construction of the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline to China and the Soyuz Vostok transit gas pipeline through Mongolia. "Gazprom and CNPC also signed today a new memorandum on strategic cooperation, which reflects a new stage in our work with CNPC on new projects," Miller said. (This story has been corrected to say 38 bcm, not 33 bcm, in paragraph 4) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/gazprom-cnpc-sign-agreement-increase-gas-supplies-china-ria-reports-2025-09-02/

2025-09-02 05:36

Dollar bounces off 5-week low Gold hits all-time high of $3,508.50 per ounce U.S. August economic data in focus later this week SINGAPORE, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar clawed back some ground in Asian trading on Tuesday following five days of selling, ahead of the return of U.S. traders from the Labor Day holiday. The dollar index was last up 0.2% at 97.873, having touched its lowest since July 28 on Monday. Gold hit an all-time high. Sign up here. "Capital markets across equities and credit are still optimistic on the U.S., which suggests that foreign holders of U.S. assets are not in retreat," analysts from DBS wrote in a client note. Traders have sold the greenback as U.S. President Donald Trump's attacks on the Federal Reserve, including his decision to remove Governor Lisa Cook, raise fear that the White House is undermining the central bank's independence at a time when the case to begin cutting interest rates is far from clear. "The Fed could be ominously poised to start its rate-cutting cycle," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group in Melbourne. "People see the attraction of being in gold." Bullion reached a record high of $3,508.50 after notching up a sixth day of gain on Tuesday. It was last up 0.5% at $3,494 per ounce . Silver advanced 0.2% to within reach of a 14-year high set on Monday. Trump's appointments to the Fed are likely to further weigh on the dollar, according to DBS. "Already, the labour market is softening, and Chair Powell has signalled the possibility of rate cuts at Jackson Hole," the analysts wrote. "This means that the overvalued USD could ease again as markets anticipate coming Fed rate cuts." Against the yen, the dollar was 0.4% stronger at 147.81 yen , after Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino struck a dovish tone on Tuesday, saying the central bank should keep raising interest rates but also warning that global economic uncertainty remained high, suggesting it was in no rush to push up still-low borrowing costs. An auction of 10-year Japanese government bonds (JGBs) on Tuesday also drew the strongest demand in almost two years. U.S. economic data for August will be in focus later this week as market watchers try to ascertain the extent to which Trump's policies are affecting industrial activity and the labour market. Data due include ISM's manufacturing and services purchasing managers' indices and the non-farm payrolls report. The euro slipped, last off 0.2% at $1.1690 so far in Asia, after data released on Monday showed the HCOB euro zone manufacturing PMI expanded in August for the first time in three years. Consumer price data for the same month is due later on Tuesday. The Australian dollar paused for breath after five days of gain, last trading down 0.3% at $0.6538 , near its highest in more than two weeks. The kiwi traded 0.3% lower at $0.5884 to snap a three-day winning streak, which had pushed the currency to a two-week high. Sterling traded at $1.3526 , down 0.1% so far on the day, retreating from a two-week high reached on Monday. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/dollar-inches-up-gold-hovers-near-record-high-2025-09-02/

2025-09-02 05:35

Undermining central bank independence raises long-term borrowing costs, says Schnabel Schnabel: End of Fed independence would disrupt global financial system World not yet ready for end of dollar supremacy, she says FRANKFURT, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Curtailing the U.S. Federal Reserve's independence could backfire and push up borrowing costs rather than lower them while disrupting the entire global financial system, European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel said. U.S. President Donald Trump has been exerting relentless pressure on the Fed to cut interest rates and publicly discussed firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom he called a 'numbskull' and a 'moron', for not giving in to his demands. Sign up here. Upping this battle, Trump last month attempted to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, setting off a critical legal test over the Fed's ability to function without political interference, the cornerstone of modern central banking. "Any attempt to undermine central bank independence is going to lead to an increase in medium and long-term interest rates," Schnabel told Reuters in an interview. "History is very clear about the benefits of central bank independence: it lowers risk premia and it eases financing conditions for households, firms and governments," Schnabel, an academic who runs the ECB's market operations, said. Trump is demanding lower rates to boost investment and give mortgage borrowers relief over some of the highest interest rates in the developed world. But politically motivated rate cuts would signal that the Fed is willing to tolerate higher inflation, eroding trust among investors, who hold trillions of dollars of U.S. assets, banking on policy certainty from the Fed. "If the loss of Fed independence happened – and I very much hope that it doesn’t – this would be very disruptive for the global financial system and it also would have an impact on the ECB," Schnabel said. Such a loss of confidence could then push up longer-term borrowing costs, which are more relevant than short-term central bank rates for mortgages and business loans, potentially undoing any Fed effort to ease the financing burden. The U.S. could also export higher inflation as the pandemic's key lesson was that countries struggle to fight off global inflationary developments, Schnabel said. While such a loss of trust could also threaten the dollar's supremacy in the global financial system, there was no alternative to the greenback for now, Schnabel said. Some European officials have argued that distrust in U.S. policy could create an opportunity for the euro to gain market share, Schnabel said the world was not yet ready to live without the dollar's supremacy. "The big question is whether the U.S. dollar can maintain its current status," Schnabel said. "I’m inclined to think that it can." "But if it weren’t able to, then it’s not clear what would happen in the global financial system because there is no clear alternative," Schnabel said. "The global financial system is not in a situation where it could easily live without the U.S. dollar as the key currency." https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/loss-fed-independence-would-push-up-borrowing-costs-set-off-turmoil-ecbs-2025-09-02/