2025-09-25 22:48
Trump says Erdogan will probably be successful in buying US F-35s Erdogan looks for lifting of US sanctions Trump, Erdogan aligned on Syria - but not Israel Boeing aircraft among expected trade deals WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Thursday he believes Turkey will agree to his request to stop purchasing Russian oil and that he may lift U.S. sanctions on Ankara so it can buy advanced American F-35 jets. Trump told reporters after his two hours of talks with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan that their meeting was "very conclusive" on a variety of issues but offered no further details about an announcement he said would be made later. Sign up here. Trump has been pressing European nations to stop purchases of Russian oil in exchange for his agreement to impose tough sanctions on Moscow to try to dry up funding for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Frustrated by Russia's refusal to halt the fighting, Trump this week in a major shift said it was possible Ukraine could reclaim all the territory it has lost to Russia. Asked if Turkey will stop purchasing Russian oil, Trump sounded confident. "I believe he will stop it, yeah. You know why? Because he can buy it from a lot of other people," Trump said of Erdogan. Two other European nations, Hungary and Slovakia, also buy Russian oil. Trump seemed to give them a pass, saying they have limited ability to get energy elsewhere. ANKARA HOPING FOR CLOSER US TIES UNDER TRUMP Erdogan came to the White House for his first visit in about six years seeking Trump's approval to lift U.S. sanctions to allow for purchases of F-35 fighters. Seated side by side in the Oval Office, Trump called Erdogan a "very tough man" and said they remained friends while his predecessor Joe Biden was in office. Biden kept Turkey at arm's length partly over what he saw as the fellow NATO member's close ties with Russia. Ankara is keen to leverage the friendly personal relationship with Trump to further national interests and take advantage of a U.S. administration eager to make deals in return for big-ticket arms and trade agreements. When Trump and Erdogan took questions from reporters during their meeting, Trump sounded willing to make a deal to sell the F-35s. "I think he'll be successful in buying the things that he wants to buy," Trump said. Trump also said he could lift sanctions against Turkey "very soon," and that "if we have a good meeting, almost immediately." Trump and Erdogan - both seen as increasingly autocratic by their critics at home - had a checkered relationship during the Republican president's first term. But since Trump's return to the White House, their interests have aligned on Syria - the source of the biggest bilateral strain in the past - where the U.S. and Turkey now both strongly back the central government. US SANCTIONS BLOCK F-35 SALES A warming trend in ties has renewed Turkish hopes that Trump and Erdogan, who have exchanged mutual praise, can find a way around U.S. sanctions imposed by Trump himself in 2020 over Turkey's acquisition of Russian S-400 missile defenses. That, in turn, could pave the way for Ankara to buy Lockheed Martin's advanced (LMT.N) , opens new tab F-35 fighter jets, for which it was both a buyer and manufacturer until it was barred over the S-400s. Erdogan had said the defense industry, including the topic of F-35s and ongoing negotiations over 40 F-16 jets Ankara also wants, would be a focus of the meeting, along with regional wars, energy and trade. Turkey, NATO's second-largest army, wants to ramp up air power to counter what it sees as growing threats in the Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea, where it neighbours Russia and Ukraine. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/white-house-erdogan-seek-deal-with-trump-f-35s-2025-09-25/
2025-09-25 22:38
IAEA monitors observed 22 drones near plant, some within 500 meters Zaporizhzhia plant without power for over 48 hours, using emergency generators IAEA head Grossi meeting Russia's President Putin in Moscow Sept 25 (Reuters) - A drone was downed and detonated about 800 metres (875 yards) from the perimeter of Ukraine's South Ukraine nuclear power plant overnight, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement on Thursday. There were no reports of casualties, the IAEA said. Sign up here. The agency, in a statement issued by its Director General, Rafael Grossi, said its team of monitors at the site was informed that 22 drones were observed in the plant's monitoring zone late on Wednesday and early on Thursday. Some drones had flown as close as 500 metres. Grossi said monitors had heard gunfire and explosions at about 1 a.m. and later visited the site where the drone came down and observed a crater about four metres square. "Nearby metal structures had been hit by shrapnel and the windows of vehicles close to the impact area were shattered," Grossi wrote. A power line also came down, though it was not connected to the plant. "Once again, drones are flying far too close to nuclear power plants, putting nuclear safety at risk," he wrote. "Fortunately, last night's incident did not result in any damage to the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant itself. Next time we may not be so lucky." Ukraine has four nuclear power plants and has reported occasional incidents related to the 3-1/2 year war at its South Ukraine, Rivne and Khmelnitskyi stations. At the Zaporizhzhia station, seized by Russian troops in the first weeks of the war, Russia and Ukraine routinely accuse each other of attacks compromising nuclear safety. Grossi was attending a nuclear power forum in Moscow and, writing on the X social media platform, described his meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin as "timely and important". The meeting was devoted to "nuclear energy, non-proliferation, and nuclear safety and security challenges", he added. The governor of Russia's western Kursk region earlier in the day reported that a Ukrainian drone attempted to attack the Kursk-2 nuclear power plant, which is under construction in the town of Kurchatov. Alexander Khinshtein said the drone crashed into one of the buildings at the construction site, adding that there were no casualties and the station continues to operate normally. The IAEA's latest statement on the Ukrainian nuclear power plants said the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia station had been without power for more than 48 hours after external power lines supplying the plant came down for the 10th time in the conflict. The lines supply electricity vital to cooling its reactors' fuel and preventing a meltdown. Emergency diesel generators were in operation. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/iaea-says-drone-detonated-near-ukraines-south-ukraine-nuclear-plant-2025-09-25/
2025-09-25 22:07
AREQUIPA, Sept 25 (Reuters) - American Lithium (LI.V) , opens new tab has raised its planned investment for the Falchani lithium project in Peru by 22% to $847 million, an executive said on Thursday, as it relaunches the project following a favorable court ruling that ended a legal dispute over its concessions. Ulises Solis, general manager of the company's local unit, Macusani Yellowcake, told Reuters that the updated cost includes the construction of a refinery at the project site in the Andean region of Puno. Sign up here. Solis stated that the company is now targeting a 2027 start for construction, with production of battery-grade lithium carbonate expected to begin after 2028. The relaunch follows a late-August ruling where Peru's top court confirmed Macusani Yellowcake's ownership of 32 concessions, resolving a legal challenge initiated by Peruvian mining authorities in 2018. "Investors were afraid of the outcome of the lawsuit," Solis said at a mining forum. With the legal uncertainty resolved, Solis noted the company is now in talks with potential Peruvian and foreign investors, including some from Germany. He added that Peru's mining minister will meet with company shareholders on October 7 to help advance the development of Falchani, the only lithium project in the country. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/american-lithium-raises-peru-projects-investment-by-22-847-million-2025-09-25/
2025-09-25 21:52
NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday dismissed "all remaining claims" in a slew of antitrust litigation accusing large banks of conspiring to rig Libor, an interest rate benchmark that once underpinned hundreds of trillions of dollars of transactions, at investors' expense. In a 273-page decision, U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald said that despite 14 years of litigation, investors lacked sufficient evidence to prove they were defrauded in a "multi-year, sixteen-bank conspiracy" to suppress Libor and conceal that suppression. Sign up here. "The evidence they cite does not tend to exclude the possibility that the alleged conspirators acted independently," Buchwald wrote. Banks still involved in the cases included Bank of America (BAC.N) , opens new tab, Barclays (BARC.L) , opens new tab, Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) , opens new tab, HSBC (HSBA.L) , opens new tab, JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) , opens new tab, Lloyds (LLOY.L) , opens new tab, NatWest (NWG.L) , opens new tab, Portigon, Rabobank, Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) , opens new tab and UBS (UBSG.S) , opens new tab. According to the plaintiffs, emails, chatroom discussions, phone calls, deposition testimony and expert analysis showed the banks kept Libor "artificially low." This allegedly inflated earnings and made the banks appear healthier than they were, including during the 2008 global financial crisis, the plaintiffs said. The plaintiffs included Principal Financial Group (PFG.O) , opens new tab, the cities of Baltimore and Houston, many California counties, Yale University, Fannie Mae (FNMA.PK) , opens new tab, Freddie Mac (FMCC.PK) , opens new tab, and the FDIC in its role as a receiver for failed banks, among others. Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Bank of America, the first named defendant in most lawsuits covered by Buchwald's decision, declined to comment. Banks used Libor, or the London Interbank Offered Rate, to set interest rates on more than $300 trillion of financial products including credit cards, student loans and mortgages, and determine the cost of borrowing from each other. Libor was phased out in January 2022, after banks paid about $9 billion of fines to settle Libor-rigging probes worldwide. The case is In re Libor-Based Financial Instruments Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-02262. (This story has been corrected to identify Bank of America as a defendant, corresponding with the list of bank defendants, in paragraph 9) https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/big-banks-win-dismissal-libor-rigging-litigation-new-york-2025-09-25/
2025-09-25 21:51
Citi to sound more investors in coming months Deal a positive step for Citi's divestment from Banamex Chico Pardo's stake a 'long-term' investment Banamex looking to boost loan book share MEXICO CITY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Citigroup (C.N) , opens new tab will look for more minority investors in its Mexican retail unit, Banamex, before launching a potential initial public offering, executives said on Thursday. Citi will sound out top Mexican investors in the coming months, though it will look to sell stakes much smaller than the 25% that billionaire Fernando Chico Pardo will buy, Ernesto Torres, Citi's head of international, told journalists. Sign up here. The lender announced on Wednesday that Chico Pardo, who chairs airport operator ASUR (ASURB.MX) , opens new tab, would purchase the sizeable stake in Banamex for $2.3 billion. STEP TOWARD BANAMEX EXIT The deal comes after Citi struggled for years to find a buyer for Banamex, with a deal with conglomerate Grupo Mexico, controlled by billionaire German Larrea, falling through. Analysts saw the announcement as a positive step toward Citigroup's complete divestment from Banamex. The price of the stake values the full unit at around $9.12 billion, effectively creating a "floor" for an IPO, they said. Citi bought Banamex in a $12.5 billion deal in 2001. "At least it gives clarity on how much a full divestiture could raise," said Mike Mayo, Wells Fargo's bank analyst, in a phone interview. When asked by Reuters, Torres declined to provide more detail on Citi's decision to accept an offer below book value. BANAMEX BACK IN MEXICAN HANDS Locally, Chico Pardo's purchase was cheered, with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum praising the bank's return to Mexican hands after decades of foreign control. Sheinbaum's predecessor and mentor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, put conditions on any Citi deal, such as requiring the firm be majority controlled by Mexicans and prohibiting layoffs. That interference led to Larrea scrapping his Banamex offer, sources told Reuters at the time. Sheinbaum, however, did not place any conditions, Chico Pardo said. The businessman said that his purchase was self-funded and he would not look to grow his stake beyond the 25%. "I consider this a very long-term investment, a transgenerational one. My children are going to have to carry this on," he said. Chico Pardo admitted that he had not participated in the first round of bidding for the unit, as he "didn't understand it," but began talks with Citi in the past several months. The businessman is married to the sister of Roberto Hernandez, the former owner and CEO of Banamex. NEXT FOR BANAMEX Chico Pardo and Manuel Romo, CEO of Banamex, said that Banamex is now looking to take back some of the market share it lost. The unit holds around 6% of total loans in Mexico, compared to its peak of 18% in 2009 when it was operating as Citibanamex, Goldman Sachs analysts said. Banamex plans to grow through expanding its online offerings and boosting its client service, executives said. "There are plenty of areas where we still haven't made headway, in terms of financial services," Chico Pardo said. While executives largely declined to speak about a potential IPO on Thursday, analysts estimated that the timeline could be mid- to late-2026 instead of at the beginning of the year as previously expected. The deal with Chico Pardo raises equity similar to the first share sale in an IPO, Bank of America analyst Ebrahim Poonawala noted, as Citi had estimated it would sell 15% to 20% in the first transaction. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/citi-turn-more-minority-investors-after-banamex-stake-sale-2025-09-25/
2025-09-25 21:43
WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States would give proceeds from tariff revenues to farmers. "We're going to take some of that tariff money and give it to our farmers," Trump said at the White House. Sign up here. The U.S. farm economy is slumping this year due to low crop prices and trade disputes. Republican lawmakers have warned that farmers are facing significant losses and have urged the administration to issue aid by the end of the year. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has said the administration is weighing an aid program , opens new tab modeled after the approach taken by the previous Trump administration, when farmers were given billions to offset losses from a trade war with China. Farmers are "for a little while going to be hurt, until it kicks in, the tariffs kick in to their benefit," Trump said. "Ultimately, the farmers are going to be making a fortune," he said. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-us-will-distribute-aid-farmers-until-tariffs-kick-their-benefit-2025-09-25/
