2025-10-22 11:42

UN reports 12% of methane alerts answered by companies and governments Methane emissions have increased despite global pledge to cut by 30% this decade Observatory to track super emitters in coal, waste and agriculture sectors COPENHAGEN, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Almost 90% of satellite-detected methane leaks flagged to governments and oil and gas companies are not being acknowledged, the UN said Wednesday ahead of the COP30 climate talks next month. The International Methane Emissions Observatory, which integrates over 17 satellites to observe plumes, got a 12% response rate from 3,500 alerts from leaks detected across the oil and gas sector, the report said, marking limited progress from last year's response rate when only 1% of alerts resulted in action to prevent them. Sign up here. Although methane stays in the atmosphere for a shorter time than carbon dioxide, which is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, it is much more effective at trapping heat. As a result, scientists consider cutting methane emissions to be the fastest way to tackle climate change in the near term. More than 150 countries have signed a 2021 pledge to cut methane emissions by 30% this decade. "Actions remain too slow," said Inger Andersen, executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme, which oversees the observatory's Methane Alert and Response System that remotely detects leaks of the colourless gas. "We are talking about tightening the screws in some cases," Anderson said, referring to methane leaks from the oil and gas sector from venting and flaring. "We can't ignore these rather easy wins." The report said it has documented 25 instances where a notification led to a large emissions event being fixed. At the start of this month, investors representing over 4.5 trillion euros ($5.3 trillion) of assets urged the EU not to weaken its methane emissions law following concerns the European Union might relax the rules to facilitate increased U.S. LNG imports, as part of the bloc's efforts to smooth trade tensions. Methane leaks from the oil and gas sector offer the most potential for mitigation, the observatory says. But it also plans to expand its detection work to include emissions from other major sources, including metallurgical coal for steel production, waste, and agriculture, Giulia Ferrini, the head of the observatory, said. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/super-warming-methane-gas-is-being-tackled-too-slowly-un-says-ahead-cop30-2025-10-22/

2025-10-22 11:35

Man injured in shooting near parliament Shooting occurs near tents set up by president's backers Vucic calls incident a 'terrorist act' Anti-government protests have been going on for a year BELGRADE, Oct 22 (Reuters) - A man was seriously injured on Wednesday when shots were fired outside the parliament building in Belgrade near a tent erected by supporters of Serbian President Aleksander Vucic. One person was detained and police secured the scene, officials and local media reported. Vucic told a government event he was addressing he had to leave early due to "a terrorist act that has just happened in front of the Serbian assembly building". Sign up here. Huge street protests have been going on for a year against Vucic, triggered by the collapse of a train station awning in the city of Novi Sad last November that killed 16 people and that many blame on government neglect and corruption. The shooting took place in a park between the parliament and Vucic's office where his supporters have erected tents to block the protesters from approaching the buildings. No protest was going on at the time. One video posted online showed armed security officers approaching one of the tents as a man hobbled away from the scene. A few shots were fired and then a fire broke out inside the tent, according to a video posted on the NOVA media outlet, the location of which was verified by Reuters. It was not clear who fired the shots or started the fire, which was put out soon after. A 70-year-old man shot a 57-year-old man in the leg and then shot a gas canister in the tent camp, Telegraf.rs reported, citing sources. Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar told reporters that a man had a serious wound and would have to be operated on urgently. Another video posted on X and verified by Reuters showed a man lying on the ground with his hands behind his back and surrounded by police officers. A Reuters reporter saw fire engines and police surrounding the site. Local police declined to comment but one officer at the scene said "there is no danger anymore". https://www.reuters.com/world/shots-fired-outside-serbian-parliament-one-detained-2025-10-22/

2025-10-22 11:25

CAIRO, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Egypt's Suez Canal Authority said on Wednesday it had signed a $2 billion strategic partnership agreement with Anchorage Investments to establish a petrochemical complex in Ain Sokhna, Egypt. The first phase of the project aims to primarily produce polypropylene along with hydrogen. Sign up here. In a later phase, estimated to cost an additional $4.5 billion, Anchorage Investments would add complementary plants to produce other petrochemicals mainly intended for exports. The statement did not give further details on the partnership or a timeline for the project. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/egypts-suez-canal-authority-signs-2-billion-petrochemical-complex-deal-2025-10-22/

2025-10-22 11:11

BRUSSELS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - The European Parliament voted on Wednesday to reopen the EU's corporate sustainability law to potentially weaken it further, as Brussels faces pushback from the U.S. and Qatar over the rules. EU lawmakers will now consider further changes to the law, with the aim of agreeing them at a Parliament session next month. The Parliament and EU countries will then negotiate the final changes - with the aim of approving them by the end of the year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/eu-parliament-plans-more-changes-due-diligence-law-after-us-qatar-pushback-2025-10-22/

2025-10-22 10:46

Oct 22 - What matters in U.S. and global markets today By Mike Dolan , opens new tab, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets Sign up here. Gold's stellar climb this year has hit the buffers and streaming giant Netflix disappointed Wall Street with its latest earnings, stopping stock markets in their tracks as trade and geopolitical jitters mounted again. Despite being on course for the best year since 1979 and with no ostensible trigger, gold prices turned tail on Tuesday and plunged 5% - the biggest one-day drop in five years. The recoil extended on Wednesday, bringing it close to breaking back below $4,000 per ounce before steadying. The size of the gold drop suggested that speculative fervor has driven the latest run-up as much as safe-haven demand and a firmer dollar - largely driven by the yen's fall on reports of another big Japanese fiscal boost. With the S&P500 stalling on Tuesday and futures flat ahead of today's bell, Netflix fumbled overnight - dropping almost 6% in out of hours trading after its third-quarter update missed targets on a Brazilian tax dispute. Netflix had risen 39% this year up to that release. Tesla and IBM and a host of other big names are due out later, with the overall U.S. earnings season so far marginally ahead of expectations and tracking 9% annual profit growth. With Friday's U.S. inflation report and Wednesday's 20-year Treasury bond auction on the radar, the long-bond yield eked out another 6-month low. British government bonds were one of the big market movers in Europe and 10-year gilt yields hit their lowest since April after UK September inflation unexpectedly held steady at 3.8% - encouraging bets on another Bank of England rate cut this year. Sterling slipped back against the dollar and euro. Barclays stock jumped 5% after it announced a surprise share buyback and upgraded a key profitability target for the year. Meantime, hopes for an end to the Washington shutdown this week were knocked back somewhat- as was speculation of separate meetings soon between President Donald Trump and both China's leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the U.S.-China trade standoff and Ukraine war, respectively. In today's column, I take a look at Friday's U.S. inflation report and how the U.S. has likely moved into an above-target inflation regime - whatever you think about the tariff impact. Today's Market Minute * A planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was put on hold on Tuesday, as Moscow's rejection of an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine cast a cloud over attempts at negotiations. * Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is preparing an economic stimulus package that is likely to exceed last year's $92 billion to help households tackle inflation, government sources familiar with the plan said on Wednesday. * British inflation and a key underlying measure of price growth both unexpectedly held steady in September, official figures showed on Wednesday, offering some relief to finance minister Rachel Reeves ahead of her November budget. * Global oil prices are signalling that the market is tipping into a protracted period of oversupply, but the huge disparity in forecasts for OPEC’s production will likely limit the selloff, argues ROI energy columnist Ron Bousso. * Is the U.S. equity market near the peak scaled in the lead-up to the dotcom bubble? Comparing current pricing with the late 1990s indicates that – far from reaching a summit – U.S. equities may only be at "base camp", argues Stephen Jen, CEO of Eurizon SLJ asset management, in his latest piece for ROI. Chart of the day Argentina's central bank sold $45.5 million from its reserves on Tuesday to support the exchange rate, after the peso reached the upper limit of the central bank's floating band despite U.S. support and a $20 billion currency swap to guarantee payment of the next public debt maturity. The intervention came as uncertainty in the market ahead of Sunday's legislative elections spurred a shift toward dollar assets. Today's events to watch * Federal Reserve Board Governor Michael Barr speaks; European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos and ECB board member Claudia Buch all speak; Bank of England's Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation Sam Woods speaks * US corporate earnings: Tesla, IBM, Lam Research, Northern Trust, CME, Moody's, Boston Scientific, Kinder Morgan, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Teledyne, Amphenol, Molina Healthcare, Westinghouse, AT&T, Packaging Corp of America, Hilton Worldwide, Globe Life, GE Vernova, United Rentals, Avery Dennison, First Energy, Las Vegas Sands, Raymond James, Crown Castle, Lennox, O'Reilly Automotive, * US Treasury sells $13 billion of 20-year bonds Want to receive the Morning Bid in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for the newsletter here. You can find ROI on the Reuters website , opens new tab, and you can follow us on LinkedIn , opens new tab and X. , opens new tab 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/business/finance/global-markets-view-usa-2025-10-22/

2025-10-22 09:47

ZURICH, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Swiss inflation is likely to rise slightly in the coming quarters, Swiss National Bank Chairman Martin Schlegel said on Wednesday, with economic indicators pointing to stable situation with moderate growth. "Uncertainty remains high. With the announced but currently suspended U.S. tariffs on certain pharmaceutical products, the downside risks could increase somewhat," Schlegel said, according to slides prepared for an SNB event in Belp, central Switzerland. Sign up here. The SNB will continue to monitor the situation and adjust its monetary policy if necessary to ensure price stability in the medium term, the slides said. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/swiss-national-bank-expects-slight-increase-inflation-2025-10-22/