2025-09-22 18:57

Sept 22 (Reuters) - Como will donate all proceeds from Wednesday's Coppa Italia match versus Sassuolo to support the local community after the city suffered flood damage following torrential rain in Northern Italy overnight, manager Cesc Fabregas said on Monday. The centre of Como was badly hit after Lake Como flooded following intense rainfall, with water flowing through the city's streets, partially submerging cars and causing damage to homes and businesses. Sign up here. "The club will donate all the proceeds from the Italian Cup match against Sassuolo ... to support the local community during this difficult time," Fabregas said in an Instagram post referring to the second-round tie between the two Serie A teams. "My thoughts are with everyone in Como today. Seeing our beautiful lake flood and the damage it has brought is heartbreaking," he added. "Como is more than just a city to me, it is home, it is family, it is community. "To all the people, families, and businesses affected, please know you are not alone," Fabregas said. The former Spain midfielder ended his playing career at Como in 2023, with the club competing in Serie B, and began his managerial career there, helping them gain promotion as assistant coach and taking over as manager last season. https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/como-donate-italian-cup-tie-proceeds-flood-damage-relief-says-fabregas-2025-09-22/

2025-09-22 18:50

Capital hike to alleviate Cosan's debt Cosan shares drop 21% after announcement Analysts see potential benefits despite shareholder dilution SAO PAULO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Brazilian conglomerate Cosan's (CSAN3.SA) , opens new tab plan to raise up to 10 billion reais ($1.9 billion) through public offerings will go towards alleviating the company's debt, an executive said on Monday, adding none of the funds would go to helping Raizen, its embattled joint venture with oil major Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab. Although analysts welcomed the move, Cosan's shares plunged 21%, on track for their worst day ever. The losses wiped off around 3 billion reais from its market cap. Raizen's shares slipped 9%. Sign up here. "The capital will be used exclusively to de-leverage Cosan," CFO Rodrigo Araujo said during an investor call following the announcement of the capital hike. Cosan reported a net debt of 17.5 billion at the end of June, stable from the end of the first quarter. Raizen (RAIZ4.SA) , opens new tab produces sugar and ethanol and is one of the biggest energy companies in Brazil, Latin America's largest economy. Low sugarcane yields have however hit its bottom line, debt and stock performance. Shell declined to comment on Cosan's deal. In addition to Raizen, Cosan's portfolio includes logistics firm Rumo (RAIL3.SA) , opens new tab, lubricants company Moove, natural gas firm Compass and agricultural property manager Radar. Its capital increase plan includes a 4.5 billion-real investment from BTG Pactual Holding, which has billionaire Andre Esteves among its partners, and an additional 2 billion reais from Perfin Infra Fund. Cosan's founder, Rubens Ometto, is set to contribute with 750 million reais through his family office, and a follow-up offering of up to 2.75 billion reais is also planned. Cosan executives said the move was not the "only step" in Cosan's deleveraging process, as the company will continue pursuing asset sales. It can now, however, wait for more favorable market conditions. MIXED REACTION Citi analysts said the deal implies a 40-50% dilution to current shareholders but should be positive as Cosan would enter "a new phase, which should be marked by deleveraging in the holding company." Ometto's holding firm Aguassanta, BTG and Perfin will control Cosan through a 20-year shareholders' agreement. The new board will be comprised of five members nominated by Cosan and four jointly appointed by BTG and Perfin. The financial restructuring also sets the stage for leadership succession at Cosan, the company said. Ometto, or a successor appointed by him, is expected to remain chairman for the next six years. UBS analysts said they saw Cosan emerging much healthier after the process. ($1 = 5.3378 reais) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/brazils-cosan-says-10-billion-capital-hike-relieve-debt-not-fund-raizen-2025-09-22/

2025-09-22 17:59

Hammack emphasizes caution due to persistent inflation above 2% target Fed's recent rate cut reflects internal divisions on future interest rate path Hammack sees job market near maximum employment despite signs of fragility Sept 22 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve needs to be "very cautious" in removing restrictive monetary policy with inflation still above the central bank's 2% target and remaining persistent, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said on Monday. "I think we are only a short distance to neutral, and it worries me that if we remove that restriction from the economy, things can start overheating again," Hammack said in remarks that showed the divisions inside the Fed over whether interest rates will keep falling. Sign up here. Hammack's comments at an event at the Cleveland Fed headquarters followed last week's decision by the Federal Open Market Committee - the Fed's interest-rate-setting panel - to lower the central bank's benchmark rate by a quarter-percentage point to a range of 4.00%-to-4.25%. Hammack, among the most hawkish Fed policymakers, is not a voter on policy this year and did not say whether she supported the reduction. But in her remarks she emphasized that inflation remains a significant concern for her, while she sees the job market as remaining closer to the Fed's "maximum employment" mandate, even if there are emerging signs of fragility. The latest unemployment rate at 4.3% "is right around a maximum employment number," Hammack said, and while it may edge up this year it is expected to fall again before long. "On the inflation side, we are missing by a more meaningful number, by a full percentage point. And we have been missing for four-and-a-half years, and I anticipate missing for the next couple of years." "I think we should be very cautious in removing monetary policy restriction because I think it's important that we stay restrictive to bring inflation back down to target," Hammack said. Along with their decision on interest rates, Fed officials last week updated their quarterly economic and policy projections. The median expectation among the 19 officials showed an expectation for rates to drop by another half a percentage point this year, but nearly half of them did not see that as appropriate. Six of them saw the current level as appropriate through this year, and two others saw only one more quarter-point reduction this year as appropriate. Another official felt the level of rates prior to last week's reduction was the appropriate level. Part of the judgment in rate decisions involves policymakers estimating how far current policy is from the so-called neutral rate of interest that neither stimulates nor restricts economic activity. "I have one of the higher estimates on the committee, and I think we're only very mildly restrictive after last week's move" Hammack said. "So I think we are a very short distance to neutral." https://www.reuters.com/business/feds-hammack-still-focused-inflation-calls-caution-easing-policy-2025-09-22/

2025-09-22 16:44

NEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Top U.S. asset manager Vanguard is bullish on corporate bonds despite high valuations, and while it expects tariffs will continue to be a risk for the U.S. economic and inflation outlook, those headwinds could be offset by further Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. Investment-grade credit spreads - or the premium over U.S. Treasuries paid by high-rated companies to issue bonds in the U.S. market - declined to 74 basis points last week, their lowest since 1998, as investors pile into the asset class to grab higher yields than U.S. Treasuries, and as a Fed in rate-cutting mode is expected to encourage economic activity by lowering borrowing costs for U.S. firms. Sign up here. "Credit spreads are near historical lows, but healthy fundamentals, attractive all-in yields, robust investor demand, a proactive Fed, and low recession risk support current valuations," Sara Devereux, global head of fixed income at Vanguard, said in a note to clients on Monday, seen by Reuters. She added the firm has been adding credit risk across its portfolios. "Credit valuations are stretched but justified," she said. Vanguard, which manages $11 trillion, estimated that about a third of the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs has already passed through the economy, with half expected by year end and the rest in 2026. "A slow pace of implementation has helped the economy digest the changes and companies mitigate the impact, but risks to growth and inflation persist," Devereux said. The Fed lowered interest rates by 25 basis points last week to a 4%-4.25% range, and traders are betting additional rate cuts this and next year will bring interest rates to about 3% by the end of 2026. Further rate adjustments, as well as Trump's policies that include tax cuts and deregulation, will likely offset the impact of tariffs on U.S. growth, said Devereux, adding she expects moderate growth over the next year. However, she warned, the Fed is unlikely to cut rates by as much as the market is expecting, unless the economy enters a recession. https://www.reuters.com/business/vanguard-bullish-us-credit-despite-tariff-risks-still-horizon-2025-09-22/

2025-09-22 16:16

FRANKFURT, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The euro cannot replace the dollar as the world's dominant currency, but needs to strengthen its global role, partly to protect the bloc in case of a sustained loss of confidence in the dollar, Germany's central bank chief said. The dollar has fallen this year in response to erratic U.S. policies, boosting calls across Europe to beef up the euro's global role to provide investors with an alternative safe haven. Sign up here. Analysts and central bankers have voiced concern that tariffs make trade policy unpredictable, that large tax cuts, promised by U.S. President Donald Trump, make U.S. debt unsustainable and his attacks on the U.S. Federal Reserve's independence have damaged the dollar's safe haven reputation. "The U.S. dollar is no longer fully perceived as a safe haven," Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said. "While it seems neither realistic nor desirable for the euro to replace the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency in the foreseeable future, a greater international significance of the euro would certainly be possible and desirable," Nagel added. For the euro to gain international weight, the bloc needs a stability-oriented fiscal stance, predictable policies, military assertiveness, deep, liquid, and open capital markets, and a wide range of high-quality, safe investments, Nagel said. "The high savings of European households should be better channelled to increase innovation, productivity, and competitiveness," Nagel said. "Our savings are urgently needed to finance Europe's green and digital transition, as well as defence spending." Although reduced confidence in the dollar has increased the euro's value, Nagel said he was not concerned about its current valuation, especially since the gain was much smaller when based on trade-weighted numbers. The euro also needs to be able to ward off the stability threat from the growing role of stablecoins in the financial world, Nagel said. Stablecoins are designed to maintain their value, but without regulation, pose a risk to financial stability since a loss of confidence in them could lead to a fire sale of reserve assets, especially U.S. government bonds. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/euro-needs-enhanced-global-role-cannot-overtake-dollar-bundesbank-says-2025-09-22/

2025-09-22 12:14

This is a breaking news story. Full coverage will be available soon. Japanese pm contender and chief cabinet secretary hayashi: boj is conducting monetary policy in way that does not deviate much from govt thinking Sign up here. Hayashi: size of spending package must take into account japan's 'quite small' output gap, avoid issuance of deficit-covering debt Hayashi: if chosen as premier, will compile economic package to cushion blow from rising living costs, spending for disaster relief https://www.reuters.com/business/japanese-pm-contender-chief-cabinet-secretary-hayashi-boj-is-conducting-monetary-2025-09-22/