2025-09-26 18:20

SAO PAULO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem has hired financial and legal advisors to evaluate options to optimize its capital structure, it said on Friday, driving its shares sharply lower. The company, with $8.5 billion of debt in the second quarter, noted that the global petrochemical market remains in a prolonged downturn that is expected to last for several more years. Sign up here. Sao Paulo-traded Braskem stock fell more than 12%, the worst performer on the Bovespa (.BVSP) , opens new tab benchmark index, which was roughly flat. The company has been facing capital structure problems due to its debt. It ended the second quarter with $1.7 billion in cash, excluding its Mexican operations. In early August, Braskem CEO Roberto Ramos strongly defended the company's strategy of replacing naphtha with gas as the main raw material for its operations and producing "green" chemicals derived from renewable sources such as sugarcane and corn. At the time, Ramos said the size of Braskem's debt was not a problem because the company had no short-term maturities. He also expressed opposition to selling any assets to repay debt. Braskem's debt has an average maturity of nine years, with 68% of it due 2030 onwards, according to company data. Last week, ratings agency S&P downgraded the company's credit rating from "BB-" to "B+" and revised its outlook to negative. Braskem's Mexican joint venture, Braskem Idesa, had already hired advisory firm Lazard and two other firms to help it evaluate financial alternatives. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/brazils-braskem-hires-advisors-help-it-with-capital-structure-shares-fall-2025-09-26/

2025-09-26 18:07

Sept 26 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group (9984.T) , opens new tab and Ark Investment Management are among potential investors in a funding round for stablecoin issuer Tether, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. The two investors are among several high-profile backers in early talks to fund the world's largest stablecoin issuer in its biggest search for capital, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Sign up here. Tether is seeking between $15 billion and $20 billion for about a 3% stake through a private placement that could value the crypto giant at as much as $500 billion, Bloomberg News had reported on Tuesday. Ark and a spokesperson for Tether did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company is advised by Cantor Fitzgerald, the New York-based investment bank long run by current U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the report added. Tether has cemented its lead in the stablecoin market, issuing tokens pegged to fiat currencies to reduce volatility and ease transfers between digital assets. The El Salvador-based firm's dollar-linked USDT stablecoin has a market capitalization of around $173.47 billion, according to CoinGecko. However, Tether is also broadening its investments beyond digital assets, spanning sectors including AI, telecommunications, cloud computing and real estate. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/softbank-ark-talks-join-tether-major-funding-round-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-09-26/

2025-09-26 18:04

Rig count still 6% below last year's level, Baker Hughes reports Permian Basin rig count falls to lowest since September 2021 EIA projects crude output rise despite forecasted price decline in 2025 Sept 26 (Reuters) - U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a fourth week in a row for the first time since February, energy services firm Baker Hughes (BKR.O) , opens new tab said in its closely followed report on Friday. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by seven to 549 in the week to September 26, its highest since June. , , Sign up here. Despite this week's rig increase, Baker Hughes said the total count was still down 38 rigs, or 6% below this time last year. Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose by six to 424 this week, their highest since July, while gas rigs fell by one to 117, their lowest since July. In the Permian Basin in West Texas and eastern New Mexico, the biggest U.S. oil-producing shale formation, the rig count fell by one to 253, the lowest since September 2021. In the Utica in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, which along with the Marcellus makes up the Appalachia formation - the nation's biggest gas-producing shale basin - the rig count rose by one to 14, the highest since March 2023. In Ohio, meanwhile, the rig count also rose by one to 13, the highest since February 2024. The oil and gas rig count declined by about 5% in 2024 and 20% in 2023 as lower U.S. oil and gas prices over the past couple of years prompted energy firms to focus more on boosting shareholder returns and paying down debt rather than increasing output. The independent exploration and production (E&P) companies tracked by U.S. financial services firm TD Cowen said they planned to cut capital expenditures by around 4% in 2025 from levels seen in 2024. That compares with roughly flat year-over-year spending in 2024, increases of 27% in 2023, 40% in 2022, and 4% in 2021. Even though analysts forecast U.S. spot crude prices would decline for a third year in a row in 2025, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected crude output would rise from a record 13.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024 to around 13.4 million bpd in 2025. On the gas side, the EIA projected a 61% increase in spot gas prices in 2025 would prompt producers to boost drilling activity this year after a 14% price drop in 2024 caused several energy firms to cut output for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic reduced demand for the fuel in 2020. It projected gas output would rise to 106.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2025, up from 103.2 bcfd in 2024 and a record 103.6 bcfd in 2023. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-oil-gas-rig-counts-rises-highest-since-june-says-baker-hughes-2025-09-26/

2025-09-26 17:46

LONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Bank of England interest rate-setter Swati Dhingra said Britain's high inflation rate is likely to ease off and the central bank should move more quickly to cut borrowing costs. "The effects of the shocks driving the UK's current high inflation relative to Europe will fade, and thus, we should not be overly cautious about cutting interest rates," Dhingra wrote in a column published by The Times newspaper on Friday. Sign up here. She was one of two members of the nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee who this month sought to cut the BoE's benchmark Bank Rate by a quarter of a percentage point. The other seven decided to keep rates on hold at 4%. "The difference in inflation between the UK and our continental neighbours can be largely explained by administered prices and global commodity shocks. These should pass," Dhingra said in her newspaper column. "We can afford to cut rates further and not put additional strain on economic growth without threatening the inflation target," she wrote. Britain has the highest inflation rate among Group of Seven economies, at 3.8% in August, and the BoE thinks it will peak at 4% in September before falling back to the central bank's 2% target only in the spring of 2027. However, there are also signs that Britain's jobs market is stumbling as employers cut hiring. Dhingra has consistently been more in favour of rate cuts than the majority of the MPC's members. Her latest comments contrasted with those of fellow MPC member Megan Greene who on Wednesday warned that risks had grown that inflation in Britain will prove stronger than the BoE has forecast, meriting a cautious approach to further rate cuts. Governor Andrew Bailey, also on Wednesday, reiterated his view that borrowing costs are likely to fall further but when and by how much depended on the path of inflation. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/bank-englands-dhingra-calls-faster-interest-rate-cuts-2025-09-26/

2025-09-26 17:15

Merged firm would have controlled 60% of Brazil's market Brazil's government welcomes end of talks over competition concerns Azul is focused on Chapter 11 proceedings SAO PAULO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Airline group Abra has decided to terminate talks on a potential merger between Brazilian carrier Gol (GOLL54.SA) , opens new tab, which it controls, and rival Azul , a securities filing showed late on Thursday. The move ends prospects for the creation of a dominant airline in Latin America's largest economy, which would have held roughly 60% of the domestic market, surpassing the local unit of Chile-based LATAM Airlines (LTM.SN) , opens new tab. Sign up here. Abra Group - the majority investor in Gol and Colombia's Avianca - and Azul first signed a memorandum of understanding in January aimed at combining the two carriers, following months of talks and market speculation. However, Azul filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May, a move that analysts warned at the time would likely scupper the potential merger with Gol, which in June emerged from its own bankruptcy proceedings. Azul's shares were up 18% in early afternoon trading in Sao Paulo, while Gol's shares rose 5%. INDUSTRY STRUGGLES "The parties have not meaningfully discussed or progressed a possible business combination transaction for several months as a result of Azul's focus on its Chapter 11 proceeding," Abra told Azul in a letter, according to Gol's filing. Both companies sought bankruptcy protection as the industry grappled with debt burdens, a steep decline in traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic, and aircraft delivery delays. Abra noted that the January memorandum came "in another scenario and at another moment for the companies." Gol and Azul also terminated their 2024 codeshare deal for cross-selling tickets and integrating their loyalty programs, which had been under intense scrutiny from antitrust watchdog CADE. Abra, however, left the door open for future talks. "We continue to believe in the merits of a business combination of Azul and Gol and, as such, Abra is ready, willing and available to engage with the relevant stakeholders," it said. In a separate filing, Azul confirmed the talks had ended and reaffirmed its "commitment to strengthening its capital structure." Azul expects to exit bankruptcy in early 2026. COMPETITION CONCERNS The potential merger had raised competition concerns and criticism from LATAM, though some experts labeled it a "necessary evil" for a financially healthy sector in Brazil, where costs are high and air travel remains restricted. "We never considered a scenario in which such a merger would be approved without mitigation measures. No country in the world would do that," LATAM Brasil CEO Jerome Cadier told Reuters in an interview on Friday. He added that the development did not change LATAM's expectations for the local market. Brazil's government, which initially supported the deal to prevent either company from failing but later reversed its stance on competition worries, welcomed the end of the talks. "The outcome is the result of the strengthening of the airlines and the growth of aviation in Brazil," Ports and Airports Minister Silvio Costa Filho wrote on X. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazilian-airline-gols-controller-ends-talks-potential-merger-with-azul-2025-09-26/

2025-09-26 15:02

OTTAWA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Canada recorded a slightly higher C$7.79 billion ($5.59 billion) budget deficit for the first four months of the 2025/26 fiscal year as government expenditures grew faster than revenues, the finance ministry said on Friday. By comparison, the deficit in the same period a year earlier had been C$7.30 billion, it said in a statement. Sign up here. Program expenses rose 3.0% on increases across all major categories of spending. Public debt charges fell marginally by 0.7% largely because of lower interest rates, the ministry said. Year-to-date revenues grew by 1.6%, largely reflecting higher custom import duties due to retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. and corporate and personal income tax revenue. Custom import duties increased by 162.4% in the April to July period to C$4.66 billion. On a monthly basis, Canada posted a deficit of C$1.51 billion in July, compared to a C$4.41 billion deficit in July 2024. ($1 = 1.3933 Canadian dollars) ((Reuters Ottawa bureau; [email protected] , opens new tab)) Keywords: CANADA BUDGET/ https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-budget-deficit-over-first-four-months-202425-rises-c779-bln-2025-09-26/