2025-12-08 20:50
MILAN, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank urged Rome on Monday to reconsider a proposed amendment that would say the Bank of Italy's gold reserves belong to the Italian people, warning the move could jeopardise the central bank's independence. In a document published on its website, the ECB reiterated its objections to the idea. Italy has reworded the amendment twice and the latest draft clarifies that the measure does not override European Union rules protecting central bank independence. Sign up here. Italy's gold reserves - the world's third-largest - are recorded on the central bank's balance sheet, and the law says the Bank of Italy manages them in line with EU rules, which forbid using the gold to fund government spending. Lawmakers from Italy's ruling party have proposed an amendment to the 2026 budget law. Initially it said the central bank's gold belonged to the state, but they have revised that to say it belongs to the Italian people. The ECB last week urged Italy to drop the revised provision. The ECB said Italy's Treasury on Thursday asked it to assess the latest version of the proposal. The document left unclear "what the concrete purpose of the revised draft provision is," it said in an opinion dated Monday. "The revised draft provision is not accompanied by an explanatory note or memorandum explaining its rationale," the ECB said. The ECB said that Italian authorities should consult the Bank of Italy to preserve its independence if they "consider it necessary to clarify the legal ownership of the gold reserves." "The Italian authorities are invited to reconsider the revised draft provision," the ECB said. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/ecb-criticises-italys-revised-proposal-gold-reserves-worries-about-central-bank-2025-12-08/
2025-12-08 20:44
WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that neither Netflix nor Paramount Skydance are great friends of his after both companies bid for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) , opens new tab. "I know the companies very well. I know what they're doing, but I have to see, I have to see what percentage of market they have... none of them are particularly great friends of mine," Trump said at a White House roundtable. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trump-says-netflix-paramount-are-not-his-friends-warner-bros-fight-heats-up-2025-12-08/
2025-12-08 20:16
MARRAKECH, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Morocco will open a new deepwater Mediterranean port next year and another on the Atlantic in 2028, Equipment and Water minister Nizar Baraka said, as the North African country aims to replicate the success of Africa's largest port, Tanger Med. Nador West Med, under construction on the Mediterranean, is scheduled to be operational in the second half of 2026, Baraka told Reuters in an interview. Sign up here. It will offer 800 hectares for industrial activity, with plans to expand to 5000 hectares, surpassing Tanger Med's industrial zones, he said. The port will also host Morocco's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal - a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) - linked by a pipeline to industrial hubs in the northwest, as Morocco pushes investments in natural gas and renewable energy to reduce dependence on coal. Further south on the Atlantic coast, Morocco is building a $1 billion port in Dakhla, in the disputed Western Sahara region. The facility will be surrounded by 1,600 hectares for industrial activities and 5,200 hectares for farmland irrigated by desalinated water, Baraka said. "The port will be ready in 2028 and will be Morocco's deepest at 23 meters," Baraka said. Such depth would support heavy industries focused on processing raw materials from Sahel countries, he said. Officials have marketed Dakhla as a gateway for landlocked Sahel nations to global trade. Both Nador and Dakhla ports will include quays dedicated to exporting green hydrogen once production begins, Baraka said. Nador and Dakhla would be Morocco's third and fourth deepwater ports after Tanger Med and Jorf Lasfar, an energy, bulk cargo and phosphates exports port on the Atlantic. By 2024, industrial zones near Tanger Med hosted 1,400 firms employing 130,000 people across sectors including automotive, aeronautics, textiles, agri-food and renewable energy, official figures show. Morocco is also considering building a port in Tan-Tan on the Atlantic in partnership with green hydrogen investors, Baraka said. "We are conducting studies to decide the appropriate size of the port," Baraka said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/morocco-open-two-deepwater-ports-2026-2028-minister-says-2025-12-08/
2025-12-08 20:12
Tsunami warnings issued, later downgraded to advisories No irregularities at nuclear plants, but power outages reported Yen weakens against major currencies after quake news TOKYO, Dec 8 (Reuters) - A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake shook northeastern Japan late on Monday, prompting orders for about 90,000 residents to evacuate and tsunami warnings that hours later were downgraded to advisories. The Japan Meteorological Agency initially said a tsunami as high as 3 metres (10 feet) could hit Japan's northeastern coast after the earthquake struck off the coast at 11:15 p.m. (1415 GMT). Sign up here. Tsunami warnings were issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, and tsunamis from 20 to 70 cm (7 to 27 inches) high were observed at several ports, JMA said. In the early hours of Tuesday the JMA downgraded the warnings to advisories, meaning it now sees lower estimated wave heights and less risk of inundation. The epicentre of the quake was 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of Aomori prefecture, at a depth of 54 km, the agency added. On Japan's 1-7 scale of seismic intensity, the tremor registered as an "upper 6" in Hachinohe city, Aomori prefecture -- a quake strong enough to make it impossible to keep standing or move without crawling. In such tremors, most heavy furniture can collapse and wall tiles and windowpanes are damaged in many buildings. As of 1700 GMT, there was little information of major damage or casualties from public broadcaster NHK. It cited a hotel employee in Hachinohe as saying a number of people were injured and taken to hospital, but that all were conscious. "As of now, I am hearing that there have been seven injuries reported," Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters early on Tuesday morning. East Japan Railway (9020.T) , opens new tab suspended some services in the area, which was also hit by the massive 9.0-magnitude quake in March 2011. "There is a possibility that further powerful and stronger earthquakes could occur over the next several days," a JMA official said at a briefing. Following the tremor, the JMA issued an advisory for a wide region from the northernmost island of Hokkaido down to Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, calling on residents to be on alert for the possibility of a powerful earthquake hitting again within a week. No irregularities were reported at nuclear power plants in the region run by Tohoku Electric Power (9506.T) , opens new tab and Hokkaido Electric Power (9509.T) , opens new tab, the utilities said. Tohoku Electric initially said thousands of households had lost power but later lowered that number to the hundreds. YEN WEAKENS BRIEFLY The yen weakened against major currencies after news of the tremor, before regaining some ground. The dollar touched a session high and was trading at around 155.81 yen around 1533 GMT, while the euro also hit a session high. Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, with a tremor occurring at least every five minutes. Located in the "Ring of Fire" of volcanoes and oceanic trenches partly encircling the Pacific Basin, Japan accounts for about 20% of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater. The northeastern region suffered one of the country's deadliest earthquakes on March 11, 2011, when a 9.0-magnitude tremor struck under the ocean off the coast of the northern city of Sendai. It was the most powerful ever recorded in Japan and set off a series of massive tsunami that devastated a wide swathe of the Pacific coastline and killed nearly 20,000 people. The 2011 tsunami also damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, leading to a series of explosions and meltdowns in the world's worst nuclear disaster for 25 years. Drawing on lessons from that disaster, when a magnitude 7-level earthquake had struck two days beforehand, the government now issues a one-week "megaquake" advisory whenever a significant earthquake occurs in the region. In a similar vein, a megaquake advisory was issued in August last year for the Nankai Trough area in central-southern Japan. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/japan-warns-3-metre-high-tsunami-after-magnitude-72-earthquake-2025-12-08/
2025-12-08 20:02
'Sentimental Value' and 'Sinners' also claim film nominations DiCaprio, Clooney among acting nominees Globes winners to be announced in January LOS ANGELES, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Dark comedy "One Battle After Another" racked up a leading nine Golden Globe nominations on Monday, positioning the Leonardo DiCaprio thriller as an early favorite on Hollywood's road to the Academy Awards. The movie directed by Paul Thomas Anderson stars DiCaprio as a washed-up revolutionary who springs into action when his daughter's life is in danger. The Warner Bros (WBD.O) , opens new tab film will compete in the best movie musical or comedy category against "Marty Supreme" and "Bugonia," among others. Sign up here. Norwegian family drama "Sentimental Value" claimed eight nominations, just ahead of supernatural horror film "Sinners" with seven. Both were nominated for the movie drama prize alongside Guillermo del Toro's take on "Frankenstein" and "Hamnet," a story about the family of William Shakespeare. "'Frankenstein' is a film I have been wanting to make for as long as I can remember, and to have it embraced in this way means so much to me," del Toro said in a statement. Acting nominees included DiCaprio and "One Battle" co-stars Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti and Teyana Taylor, who said the nominations left her "speechless and teary-eyed." George Clooney and Adam Sandler received nods for "Jay Kelly," as did Dwayne Johnson for "The Smashing Machine" and Jessie Buckley for "Hamnet." Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo earned nominations for their roles in "Wicked: For Good," though the second part of Universal Pictures' "The Wizard of Oz" prequel failed to make it into the musical or comedy field. The Globes are among first Hollywood accolades to be handed out before the film industry's top honors, the Oscars, in March. The Globes telecast is scheduled for Jan. 11. INTERNATIONAL FILMS RECOGNIZED Voters for the Globes are entertainment journalists from around the world. Their choices this year reflected their affection for films made outside of Hollywood, said Debra Birnbaum, editor of awards website Gold Derby. Beyond "Sentimental Value," they nominated revenge thriller "It Was Just an Accident" from Iranian director Jafar Panahi and Brazilian drama "The Secret Agent." "The biggest surprise over everything is the big showing for all the international films," Birnbaum said. "I think those are the films we're going to be watching, not just at the Golden Globes, but throughout all the film (awards) season." In a new podcast category, Globes voters nominated "Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard," "Call Her Daddy," "Good Hang with Amy Poehler," "The Mel Robbins Podcast," "Smartless" and National Public Radio's "Up First." HBO's vacation mystery "The White Lotus" led TV categories with six nominations, ahead of Netflix (NFLX.O) , opens new tab limited series "Adolescence" about a 13-year-old accused of murder. Netflix, the streaming pioneer attempting to remake Hollywood by purchasing TV, film and streaming assets including HBO from Warner Bros Discovery, outpaced all networks with 22 nominations in television categories. Paramount Skydance (PSKY.O) , opens new tab made a hostile bid for Warner Bros Discovery on Monday. Independent distributor Neon, the studio behind "Sentimental Value," "It Was Just an Accident" and "The Secret Agent," landed the most film nominations with 21. Globe winners are chosen by more than 300 entertainment journalists, compared with roughly 9,000 voters who select the Oscars. The Globes voting body was expanded in recent years and organizers instituted reforms after criticisms for ethical lapses and a lack of diversity. Comedian Nikki Glaser will return to host the Globes ceremony for a second time. The show will be broadcast live on CBS and streamed on Paramount+. https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/one-battle-after-another-leads-golden-globe-nominations-with-nine-nods-2025-12-08/
2025-12-08 20:02
WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that farming equipment has gotten too expensive and his administration would help tractor companies by removing some environmental rules that affect them. "We're going to also give the tractor companies, John Deere and all of the companies that make the equipment, we're going to take off a lot of the environmental restrictions that they have on machinery. It's ridiculous," Trump said at a White House roundtable where he announced aid to farmers hit by his tariff policies. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-will-help-tractor-companies-by-removing-environmental-restrictions-2025-12-08/
