2025-10-07 09:31

Oct 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is mulling options to sell off parts of the federal government's $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio to the private market, Politico reported on Tuesday, citing three people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Sign up here. The White House, the Treasury and the Department of Education did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. The discussions are said to have taken place among senior Department of Education and Treasury officials, and have focused on selling high-performing portions of the government's massive portfolio of student debt owed by about 45 million Americans, the report added. The discussions also involved industry executives, including potential buyers of the debt, the report said. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-weighs-selling-parts-16-trillion-federal-student-loan-portfolio-politico-2025-10-07/

2025-10-07 07:59

Engines, batteries units restart on Wednesday Main production lines restart later this week Offers qualifying suppliers upfront cash payment for parts Quarterly sales volumes drop LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Britain's biggest carmaker, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), said on Tuesday some factories would restart manufacturing on Wednesday after an almost six-week shutdown following a cyberattack, one of the country's most disruptive hacks. To try to help smaller parts suppliers who have been pushed to the brink after weeks without business, JLR also announced it would be providing some companies with up-front cash for parts during the production restart phase. Sign up here. The luxury carmaker, owned by India's Tata Motors (TAMO.NS) , opens new tab, has three factories in Britain, which together produce about 1,000 cars per day, and economists had warned of the impact of a prolonged shutdown on the country's manufacturing output. HIGH PROFILE HACKS JLR was the latest high profile cyberattack target in Britain this year, and comes after one of the country's major retailers Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) , opens new tab lost about 300 million pounds (about $400 million) after a breach forced it to shut down its online shop for two months. The incidents highlight the vulnerability of global business to increasingly sophisticated and more frequent attacks. Last month, a ransomware attack on check-in services left passengers stranded across major European airports. JLR, which analysts estimated was losing around 50 million pounds per week from the shutdown, was provided with a 1.5 billion pound loan guarantee by the British government in late September to help it support its suppliers. Business minister Peter Kyle said in a statement on Tuesday that his focus was on helping JLR resolve the incident and supporting the long-term health of the auto supply chain, which supports over 180,000 manufacturing jobs. "This is very welcome news for workers and suppliers, but I know many are still under pressure, particularly further down the supply chain," he said. PHASED RESTART JLR said in a separate statement on Tuesday that for the three months to September 30, wholesale and retail volumes dropped 24.2% and 17.1%, respectively, reflecting the impact of the production stoppage, plus the planned wind down of legacy Jaguar models and the effect of U.S. tariffs. "It has been a challenging quarter for JLR," JLR CEO Adrian Mardell said in a statement. JLR said its engines and battery units would restart work on Wednesday, as well as parts of its vehicle production plant including its body and paint shops, meaning the return of some of its 33,000 staff to work. Production lines for the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport vehicles at its main factory in Solihull will start later this week, the company added. Qualifying suppliers of parts used in the company's just-in-time production lines will now be paid shortly after the point of order, JLR said, compared to a previous 60-day post-invoice arrangement, helping to allay fears that some smaller businesses could go bust. ($1 = 0.7445 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/business/jlr-restart-some-manufacturing-operations-wednesday-2025-10-07/

2025-10-07 07:43

Current payouts unsustainable with oil below $80 a barrel Crude oil prices expected to continue falling Companies under pressure to cut debt Reduced buybacks and job cuts announced PARIS/LONDON, Oct 7 - The five biggest global oil majors are moving to cut costs, jobs and share buybacks as falling oil prices threaten to make shareholder payouts unsustainable without increasing debt, analysts said. Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab, ExxonMobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab, BP (BP.L) , opens new tab, Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab have pledged high returns for the past decade to avert an investor exodus as fossil fuels lost their appeal. Sign up here. But maintaining those generous payouts, which have topped $100 million annually since 2022, has increasingly been funded by debt as energy prices retreated from highs caused by sanctions and supply disruptions in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Oil majors, now pressed to reinvest in exploration and production, must choose between cutting some operations, letting debt rise to unsustainable levels or weaning shareholders off popular but pricey returns. Rising global oil output, meanwhile, is expected to keep prices falling, leaving the majors facing some difficult decisions. Most oil majors need oil prices above $80 a barrel to sustain current levels of dividends and share buybacks, which hit record highs buoyed by bumper profits in 2022, according to data from RBC Capital Markets and BofA Global Research. But Brent oil prices fell below $65 last week, the lowest since July, on fears of oversupply. Citi expects oil prices to drop to the low $60s and Goldman Sachs to the $50s next year. To contend with lower prices, TotalEnergies said it will reduce its buybacks from the fourth quarter of this year and cut costs to the tune of $7.5 billion by the end of 2030 to reduce debt. BP and Chevron have reduced buybacks this year. Shell has not announced plans for any cuts to its buyback programme. More than a dozen energy companies have announced job cuts for 2025 and 2026, including ExxonMobil, , Shell and BP. (This story has been refiled to correct the dateline to Oct. 7) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-price-fall-turns-up-heat-big-oils-bloated-payouts-2025-10-07/

2025-10-07 07:41

Blizzard trapped at least 550 trekkers near Everest in Tibet Since Sunday, about 350 hikers have been led to safety Snowstorms also hit Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu in western China BEIJING, Oct 7 (Reuters) - More than 200 trekkers still stranded in freezing temperatures near the eastern face of Everest in Tibet are expected to be evacuated by Tuesday, a source familiar with the situation said, after unexpectedly strong snowstorms tore across western China. Outdoor enthusiasts have flocked to China's rugged interior since an eight-day holiday began on October 1, but a sudden blizzard over the weekend caught off guard hundreds of hikers hoping to catch a glimpse of Everest's Kangshung face. Sign up here. Their evacuation, which began on Monday, should be completed by Tuesday, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity in the absence of authorisation to speak to media on the matter. Tibet's regional government had no immediate comment. FOLLOWING FOOTPRINTS IN HEAVY SNOW Snow fell through Saturday in Tibet's remote Karma valley, at an average altitude of 4,200 m (13,800 ft.). On Sunday, rescuers had guided about 350 stranded hikers to safety. "Thankfully, some people ahead of us were breaking trail, leaving footprints we could follow - that made it a little easier," said Eric Wen, 41, adding that he trudged through 19 km (12 miles), most of it heavy snow, to leave the valley. "Otherwise, it would've been impossible for us to make it out on our own." There has been no official word on the condition of the remaining trekkers since then, even though Chinese state media reported that communication with them had been established. "If there is bad weather coming in, trekkers and climbers should alert local authorities exactly where they are and should stay in a safe place - either a shelter, lodge, or tent that is clear of avalanche zones or far from the riverbed or somehow sheltered," British mountaineer Adriana Brownlee , opens new tab told Reuters. "All trekkers and climbers should always carry at least one satellite phone or tracking device." First explored by Western travellers a century ago, the Karma valley is relatively pristine. But it is less visited compared to the north face of Everest, where there is road access. More than 540,000 tourists visited the Everest region last year, a new record. 'METRE OF SNOW' The snowstorm also thwarted the plans of climbers guided by U.S.-based Madison Mountaineering to summit Cho Oyu, a 8,188-m (26,864-ft) peak on China's border with Nepal that is the world's sixth highest. "A major storm suddenly developed and dumped over a metre of snow on Everest and the surrounding Himalayan peaks," expedition leader Garrett Madison told Reuters in a text message on Tuesday. When the weather improves, they aim to resume their ascent. North of Tibet, one trekker died of hypothermia and acute mountain sickness after being stranded by snowstorms on Sunday in a gully in the Qilian Mountains on the border of the western provinces of Qinghai and Gansu. By Monday evening, 213 in the Qilian area were pulled to safety, China Central Television (CCTV) said on Tuesday. On Tuesday, authorities further west in Xinjiang suspended hiking and camping in the lake district of Kanas in the Altai mountains. Police have so far convinced more than 300 hikers heading for the area to turn back. On Tuesday, CCTV said highways had been cleared of dangerous ice and snow that had blanketed them over the weekend, stranding tourist vehicles. Police patrolling the area on Sunday had encountered a group of 16 hikers, one of whom, showing symptoms of hypothermia and unable to move, was taken to hospital and is now in stable condition, the broadcaster added. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/remaining-trekkers-stranded-near-mount-everest-tibet-being-evacuated-source-says-2025-10-07/

2025-10-07 07:09

MUMBAI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - India on Tuesday launched a foreign currency settlement system via the country's tax-neutral zone GIFT City. This will help speed up foreign currency transactions, federal Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at the Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai. Sign up here. Banking major Standard Chartered's (STAN.L) , opens new tab India unit has been selected for U.S. dollar clearance. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-launches-foreign-currency-settlement-system-via-gift-city-2025-10-07/

2025-10-07 07:07

MADRID, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Spanish power utility Naturgy (NTGY.MC) , opens new tab has sold about 3.5% of its shares into the market through an accelerated bookbuilding process to further increase its free float in a push to join the MSCI indexes, the company said on Tuesday. The company listed on Madrid's Ibex-35 index said it raised 883 million euros ($1 billion) at a price of 25.90 euros per share, reducing its own stake in the business to less than 1%. Sign up here. The transaction increases the free float - or shares available to the public for trading - to about 18.7%, Naturgy's statement said. The company said it was the same price, after paying a dividend, it offered in February to buy back almost 2.5 billion euros of its own shares and then resell them in the market. Naturgy's shares closed at 26.94 euros on Monday. ($1 = 0.8556 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/naturgy-sells-35-stake-increase-free-float-2025-10-07/