2025-10-17 17:05
Governments urged to stabilize debt and improve fiscal policies Coordination between fiscal and monetary policies is crucial, IMF says Potential growth in region lags behind other emerging markets Oct 17 (Reuters) - Latin America and the Caribbean face slower growth and lingering inflation pressures as the global economy adjusts to major policy shifts and persistent geopolitical tension, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday in its latest Regional Economic Outlook. The IMF said earlier this week it expects the region to grow 2.4% in 2025, slowing to 2.3% in 2026 as the post-pandemic rebound fades and global trade tensions weigh. Despite a slowdown in inflation, several countries are still expected to miss their targets. In its World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday, the IMF upgraded its forecast for global growth this year because of milder-than-expected effects of tariff shocks and more benign financial conditions. Sign up here. The fund said governments in the region should put debt on a stable path, coordinate fiscal and monetary policy, and make it easier for businesses to grow. Delays, it warns, could make even these modest growth forecasts harder to achieve. Debt is again near highs reached during the COVID pandemic and the fund estimates that for Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, the region’s largest economies excluding Argentina, governments need to raise primary balances by about 1.5 percentage points of GDP compared with 2024 to stop debt ratios from worsening. “Whether it’s spending or revenues … those things matter almost everywhere in the region,” said Rodrigo Valdes, the IMF’s outgoing director for the Western Hemisphere. “There’s a lot of deductions in the tax codes … the base of taxes is smaller than it should be.” CREDIBILITY AND POLITICS The fund called for credible, multiyear fiscal plans, better tax collection and more efficient spending. The goal, it said, should be to stabilize debt without cutting investment or core social programs. Valdes, who will become director of the IMF’s fiscal affairs department on October 27, said “it is always politically super difficult, but it’s never too late to deploy a plan that is credible.” Such credibility, Valdes said, can help attract investment. “If you believe that the economy will be growing faster in two, three years’ time, you invest today,” he said. “The critical point is how to make a package that is a sequence of things that make tangible or credible that this will happen.” COORDINATION AT RISK The IMF warned of the risk of conflicting signals from fiscal and monetary authorities. It highlighted Brazil and Mexico as key countries where this could matter. “Lack of coordination is a problem, like driving one car with two drivers, one braking and the other accelerating. That’s not great,” Valdes said. The fund stressed that central banks work best when public finances are stable. High debt and weak fiscal signals can limit the impact of interest rate moves and undermine confidence in the policy mix. The fund sees potential growth stuck around 2.5%, well below other emerging markets. It pointed to weak productivity, too much red tape and not enough regional trade. “I think in the region, the predictability, rule of law, crime … that is very unique in the region, and we need to improve much more so that investment can come fast,” Valdes said. “The second thing is to have more regional trade integration.” https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/stable-debt-policy-coordination-are-key-latam-caribbean-growth-imf-says-2025-10-17/
2025-10-17 15:13
Italian hedge fund executives embroiled in London legal battle Discrimination, whistleblowing claims dismissed Claimant awarded reduced 1,286 pounds for unfair dismissal Hedge fund secures 49,000 pounds in costs LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Hedge fund founder Davide Leone and his eponymous firm have successfully defended themselves against allegations of bullying, victimisation and discrimination in a London lawsuit brought by a former director. However, while the Central London Employment Tribunal ruled that former senior director Jacopo Moretti had been fired after a protracted period of ill-health, it accepted his claim of unfair dismissal, partly because a disciplinary letter had been too unspecific. Sign up here. He won 1,286 pounds ($1,725), sharply reduced from a basic award the judge set at 2,572 pounds because of his conduct before his dismissal. Moretti was dismissed by Davide Leone & Partners Investment Company (DLP) in 2023 after an absence of around 13 months. The dispute offered a rare glimpse into the often-secretive world of hedge funds, which manage more than $4 trillion. The tribunal rejected whistleblowing and harassment claims brought by Moretti related to issues such as race, religious belief, sex and disability. Claims that he was dismissed for making health and safety disclosures and that the hedge fund failed to make reasonable adjustments for his deteriorating mental health were also rejected. Moretti was ordered to pay just over 49,000 pounds for his share of translating 72 hours of covert Italian-language recordings of what the judge described as sometimes "emotionally charged" conversations with Leone and others that he had entered in evidence. The sum included DLP's costs for pursuing him for non-payment of those translation and transcription fees. In a 119-page judgment published on Tuesday, Judge Richard Nicolle said Moretti was at least partly motivated by a desire to cause "maximum embarrassment and potential reputational damage" to Leone. The judge questioned whether all Moretti's discrimination and whistleblowing claims were made in good faith, saying in one example that Moretti had effectively "induced" Leone to speak of a colleague who he had "obvious antipathy" towards, while secretly recording him. However, language used by Leone in the taped conversations with Moretti was "wholly inappropriate, misogynistic and discriminatory" and did not meet the standards expected of a senior executive in financial services, Nicolle said. Leone expressed regret for his vocabulary during what he thought were private conversations, the judgment said. Moretti's lawyer declined to comment on his client's behalf. DLP told Reuters that as well as rejecting Moretti's claims, the judge had found an independent internal investigation at the hedge fund into Moretti's allegations to be fair and impartial. The judgment can be appealed. ($1 = 0.7453 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/hedge-fund-founder-leone-successfully-defends-london-harassment-case-2025-10-17/
2025-10-17 14:09
WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - French politicians agree that public finances need to be shored up and this consensus keeps financial markets calm despite the political instability France has been experiencing since mid 2024, the head of the IMF's European department Alfred Kammer said. Kammer said French fundamentals were sound, the country had no liquidity problems, French bond spreads over German paper were contained and France had a draft budget proposal with a lower budget deficit for 2026. Sign up here. "In terms of these short-term risks, they haven't risen to a level where one would need to be exceptionally concerned," Kammer told Reuters. "What makes us positive is that we expect the 2026 budget is submitted in line with the French commitments under European fiscal rules, in order to lower the budget deficit next to 4.7% of GDP," Kammer said. French public debt rose to 114.1% of GDP in the first quarter of the year from 113.2% at the end of 2024, well above the 88% of GDP for the whole of the euro zone, making France the third-most indebted EU country after Greece and Italy. Kammer said that while French political parties would hotly debate the measures to reduce the deficit, the direction of the discussion -- further consolidation -- was clear and undisputed. "What happens sometimes is that recognition is missing, and then the reminder comes by markets acting," Kammer said. "One reason why markets stay relatively calm is that the political class and members of parliament have clearly understood that this is a problem they need to tackle," he said, adding the understanding did not exclude a difference of views on how the consolidation should be achieved. https://www.reuters.com/business/france-knows-it-must-cut-deficit-that-calms-markets-imf-says-2025-10-17/
2025-10-17 14:09
WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - World Bank President Ajay Banga on Friday stressed the need to increase transparency in debt restructuring processes to give greater clarity to all parties involved, including by expanding the debtor reporting system to all Group of 20 major economies. Banga said the World Bank was working very closely with the International Monetary Fund and others to accelerate debt restructuring under the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatments, while advancing domestic revenue reforms, expanding financing and supporting liability management. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/world-banks-banga-calls-more-transparency-debt-restructuring-process-2025-10-17/
2025-10-17 13:54
Oct 17 (Reuters) - UBS Global Wealth Management upgraded its stance on global equities to "attractive", citing expected productivity gains from AI spending and a supportive policy backdrop. "Structural trends remain firmly in place. The wave of strategic partnerships among leading AI players reinforces our confidence in a sustained capex cycle and greater revenue visibility", UBS said in a note on Thursday. The AI boom has spurred a wave of high-profile deals involving Big Tech and Silicon Valley startups in recent weeks. Global equities have climbed to record highs, driven by optimism that the U.S. Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates early enough to avoid a recession. The MSCI World Index (.MIWO00000PUS) , opens new tab, which is dominated by U.S. stocks, has risen about 15.5% from its April lows, rebounding after a selloff sparked by recession fears following President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs. The brokerage also raised U.S. equities to "attractive" from "neutral", adding that the rally still has room to run. The U.S. stock market's bull run reached its three-year mark recently, powered by AI enthusiasm and, more recently, expectations of interest rate cuts. However, investor worries over high valuations and bubble risks have grown. Separately, UBS lifted its 2025 year-end target for the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab index to 6,900 from 6,600, aligning with a string of upward revisions from peers, citing resilient corporate earnings and a more dovish Fed. Sign up here. The current target implies about a 4% upside to the index's last close of 6629.07 points. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ubs-lifts-global-equities-view-attractive-ai-boost-2025-10-17/
2025-10-17 12:54
Oct 17 (Reuters) - Nuclear technology firm Oklo (OKLO.N) , opens new tab said on Friday it has signed an agreement with Europe-based newcleo to develop advanced fuel fabrication and manufacturing infrastructure in the U.S. Under the agreement, nuclear reactor developer newcleo plans to invest up to $2 billion. Sweden's advanced nuclear technology developer Blykalla is also considering co-investing in the same projects and procuring fuel-related services from them. Sign up here. Shares of Sam Altman-backed Oklo were up 1.7% in premarket trading. Nuclear power in the U.S. has been gaining traction after decades of stagnation, fueled by surging electricity demand from energy-hungry data centers and the electrification of transportation and manufacturing industries. The investments announced on Friday, which will include multiple projects, will be regulated by the U.S. to promote transatlantic cooperation and enhance energy security, with further details on specific projects to be disclosed in upcoming agreements. In September, the U.S. energy department had selected Oklo, along with three other companies for its pilot program to build advanced nuclear fuel lines as part of Trump administration's efforts to strengthen domestic supply chains. Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte said fissioning surplus plutonium is the best way to eliminate a legacy liability while creating an abundant near-term fuel source. "It can accelerate the deployment of multiple gigawatts of advanced reactors and serve as a bridge fuel until uranium enrichment and recycling scale up," DeWitte said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oklo-receive-up-2-billion-investment-newcleo-2025-10-17/
