2025-09-19 06:47

CEO Gallagher says key shareholders want him to stay New production in Australia, Alaska set to boost cash flow Santos is open to takeover offers, asset sales and selling down assets, CEO says SYDNEY, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Santos (STO.AX) , opens new tab CEO Kevin Gallagher said on Friday he has no plans to retire and expects a sharp jump in cash flow in the next few years to boost the Australian gas producer's shares, after its third suitor in seven years did not proceed with a takeover bid. An $18.7 billion bid for Santos by a consortium led by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) collapsed on Wednesday over disagreements on commercial terms, which sparked analyst speculation that Gallagher, in the job since 2016, may face pressure to quit. Sign up here. Gallagher said cash flow improvements as two new projects in Australia and Alaska start producing should help Santos' share price, which has significantly underperformed the market in the past three years. "The last three or four years have been tough for Santos. We got smashed in COVID and then of course with the heavy investment period from 2022 through to today and that has suppressed our share price. That's a fact of life," he said. "But I'm looking forward now to a lower capital expenditure intensity over the next two years, higher cash flows from new production from Barossa and Pikka, supplementing the strong portfolio." The $4.5 billion Barossa gas project off northwestern Australia and the $3.1 billion Pikka oil project in Alaska are due to start producing within the next six months. Investment bank Jarden estimates Santos' free cash flow will jump from $293 million in 2025 to $2.45 billion in 2027. Gallagher said while Santos would evaluate any takeover approach, including asset sales or sell-downs, the company did not need to find a buyer. "We're not running a sales process for the company. The reason people are looking at Santos is because we've got a good portfolio," Gallagher told reporters on a conference call. "There's a lot of future value that we want to develop in a disciplined way for our shareholders," he said, highlighting that its assets have development potential close to existing infrastructure. "That's a to-die-for scenario in an industry these days," Gallagher said. He said as long as shareholders and the board wanted him in the job, "I'm happy to stay here," adding that key shareholders were asking him to remain focused on the business. Santos shares closed 0.45% higher on Friday at A$6.77 after falling by more than 13% on Thursday in the first trading session since ADNOC's overseas unit XRG said it was walking away from its proposed takeover offer. XRG baulked after it was revealed capital gains tax payments were due soon on Santos' assets in Papua New Guinea, according to a person familiar with the matter. After the market closed on Friday, Santos announced it had signed a non-binding agreement to supply the Narrabri council with 3.2 petajoules of gas per year for up to 10 years from the company's Narrabri gas project. Santos has yet to make a final investment decision on the A$3.6 billion ($2.37 billion) project in Australia's New South Wales state. ($1 = 1.5170 Australian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/santos-always-prepared-consider-any-takeover-offers-ceo-says-2025-09-19/

2025-09-19 06:42

MUMBAI, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Weakness in Asian currencies persisted on Friday, sparked by a post-Fed rise in the dollar and U.S. yields, leaving the Indian rupee exposed to further losses and a potential record low. The rupee dropped to an intraday low of 88.32 to the U.S. dollar, close to the all-time low of 88.4550 hit last week. The currency was last quoting at 88.30. Sign up here. The rupee is caught "in a whippy down move" and surprisingly is back under pressure after it looked like it was "poised for good days," a currency trader at a private sector bank said. The rupee climbed past 88 on Wednesday, prompting a section of interbank traders to consider that the worst might be over and the currency could enjoy a brief respite. That optimism proved short-lived, however, with weakness in Asian peers after the Fed decision rekindling the downtrend. The Korean won and the Indonesian rupiah were down 0.5% each. While the Fed cut rates and projected more reductions ahead, the reaction in the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields suggested that when combined with Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference, the outcome was on balance more hawkish than initially expected, analysts said. The dollar index , which hit a low of 96.22 on Wednesday’s Fed decision day, has recovered to 97.46. The 2-year Treasury yield is trading more than 10 basis points above Wednesday’s intraday low. The move higher in the dollar and yields was supported by Thursday’s U.S. jobless claims data, which showed a drop in new applications for unemployment benefits last week, reversing the prior week’s increase. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/asia-fx-slide-extends-making-rupee-vulnerable-all-time-lows-2025-09-19/

2025-09-19 06:36

UK borrowing in August 18 bln pounds OBR had expected 21.5 bln pound shortfall Year-to-date borrowing shoots past official forecasts Bigger-than-forecast gap deepens budget challenge for Reeves Sterling falls as tax hike talk grows LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Britain's borrowing has shot past the official forecasts that underpin the government's tax and spending plans, compounding the already big challenge facing finance minister Rachel Reeves in her November budget. Public sector borrowing totalled 83.8 billion pounds ($113.39 billion) between April and August, 11.4 billion pounds more than projected by Britain's fiscal watchdog, official data published on Friday showed. Sign up here. The borrowing was the highest for the first five months of a financial year since 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic forced the government into huge spending to prop up the economy. Even before Friday's figures, Reeves had been expected to announce new tax increases in her November 26 budget to stay on track to meet her fiscal rules and avoid fresh upheaval in financial markets. Higher taxes are likely to slow Britain's already stumbling economic growth, which Reeves and Prime Minister Keir Starmer have promised they will speed up. STERLING FALLS ON NEWS Nabil Taleb, a PwC UK economist, said the government faced a combination of higher debt costs, hot inflation, opposition to spending cuts and the risk of an OBR downgrade to its growth forecasts, which would make Reeves' rules harder to meet. "The chancellor faces tough choices, and the test will be whether she can make them palatable to voters and markets," Taleb said. Sterling fell by half a cent against the U.S. dollar and government borrowing costs rose after the borrowing figures were released along with separate data that showed a stronger-than-expected increase in retail sales volumes in August. In August alone, the government borrowed almost 18 billion pounds, much higher than the estimate of a 12.5 billion-pound overshoot predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility and above all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists. "Although overall tax and National Insurance receipts were noticeably up on last year, these increases were outstripped by higher spending on public services, benefits and debt interest," Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the Office for National Statistics, said. The ONS revised up its estimates for borrowing in recent months by almost 6 billion pounds after tax office data showed value-added tax receipts were lower than initially thought. Updated figures from local and devolved administrations also contributed to the worsening of the deficit. Prior to Friday's data release, public sector borrowing had been tracking close to the OBR's forecasts. Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said Reeves would probably have to announce fiscal measures, mostly tax increases, worth 28 billion pounds in her budget, approaching the 40 billion pounds of tax hikes in her first budget last year and which she has vowed not to repeat. Earlier on Friday, the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank said Reeves risked "a major fiscal issue" if she misses her ambitious plans to make public services more efficient, highlighting another risk to her ability to meet her targets. Reeves has said she will balance day-to-day public spending with tax revenues by the end of the decade. Friday's data showed that measure of the public finances was in deficit by 62 billion pounds in the April-August period, more than 15 billion pounds above the OBR's estimate. Reeves and Starmer promised voters before last year's election they would not raise rates of income and value-added tax or social security contributions paid by employees. Employers have expressed concern that they might again bear the brunt of tax hikes in November, having been hit with higher social security bills in Reeves' first budget last year. James Murray, a deputy finance minister, said the government's focus was on economic stability, fiscal responsibility and speeding up growth. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-borrows-1796-billion-pounds-august-ons-says-2025-09-19/

2025-09-19 06:35

SINGAPORE/BEIJING/CANBERRA, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Chinese state trading firm COFCO has bought up to nine 60,000-metric-ton cargoes of Australian canola, three trade sources told Reuters, after Beijing last month imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties on imports of the oilseed from traditional supplier Canada. The purchases amount to around 540,000 tons, equivalent to about 8% of China's total canola imports last year. Sign up here. Beijing is conducting an anti-dumping probe into Canadian canola, and in August imposed preliminary duties of 75.8%, bringing shipments to a virtual standstill amid a larger diplomatic and trade dispute between the two nations. Canada had been China's main supplier for the past several years, and the cargoes demonstrate China can find alternate sources of the oilseed as trade talks between Ottawa and Beijing drag on. Australia is a smaller producer than Canada, however, and may struggle to match the Canadian volumes. All shipments are scheduled to load between November and January, said an Australia-based broker for agricultural products with direct knowledge of the deals. The nine cargoes include one that was reported by Reuters last month. "It has been a typical buying operation by a Chinese company," said the Australia-based broker. "They just went in quietly and bought nine cargoes from several major trading companies in Australia." COFCO did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Australia had been frozen out of the Chinese market by biosecurity rules to prevent the spread of a fungal plant disease since 2020, but Reuters reported in July that Canberra was close to an agreement with Beijing that would allow for five trial cargoes. Canola, or rapeseed, is crushed to produce cooking oil and other products. The meal left behind in the crushing process is used as livestock feed. China is the world's biggest canola importer, taking in 6.4 million tons worth $3.4 billion last year, almost all of it from Canada, according to Chinese customs data. Canada is the world's biggest exporter of canola and Australia is the second-biggest. Earlier this month, China extended its investigation into Canadian canola imports to March 9, 2026, buying six more months for negotiations. A final ruling could maintain the duty rate, change it or remove it. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-snaps-up-australian-canola-after-trade-spat-with-canada-sources-say-2025-09-19/

2025-09-19 06:00

BANGKOK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Thailand's central bank has intervened to slow the Thai currency's movement, an assistant governor said on Friday after the baht rose to its strongest levels in four years, threatening the country's struggling economy. "The central bank is closely monitoring and managing the movements of the baht during this period, as evidenced by the increase in foreign reserves," Chayawadee Chai-anant told reporters. Sign up here. "Our approach remains the same, ensuring the baht does not fluctuate or move too fast." The baht stood at around 31.87 per dollar on Friday, and is up about 8% this year, the second-largest gain amongst Asian currencies, behind only the Taiwan dollar. The currency's strength relative to regional peers is seen as a threat to exports and tourism, both key drivers of Southeast Asia's second-largest economy. The baht's recent surge has been driven by a weaker dollar, a current account surplus, gold trading and political clarity, Chayawadee added. Recently appointed Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's new cabinet has now received royal approval. However, the Bank of Thailand so far has no plans to introduce a gold tax as it needs to be discussed further, Chayawadee said. "We have been in discussions with market participants due to the growing correlation between gold prices and the strengthening baht," Chayawadee said. "But implementing a gold tax is not an immediate plan, as it needs thorough discussions with market participants and consultation with the new finance minister. It's a policy matter," she said. Taxation is "just one measure", and the central bank is also looking at other potential collaborative efforts with market participants, including the promotion of gold transactions using U.S. dollars, she added. Chayawadee also said there has been no unusual speculative trading in the currency via capital inflows. The Thai government will work with the central bank to manage the baht, and also monitor capital inflows and gold trading for any irregularities, new Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said on Thursday. In the January to July period, Thailand's gold shipments surged 82% year-on-year to $7.6 billion, with unusually large exports worth $2.1 billion to Cambodia alone. Chayawadee said the central bank is working with the relevant agencies to investigate gold shipments to Cambodia. https://www.reuters.com/en/thai-central-bank-says-it-has-acted-ensure-baht-doesnt-move-too-fast-2025-09-19/

2025-09-19 05:41

Wall Street stocks advance in choppy trading Fed rate cut keeps investors upbeat European shares finish week slightly lower Gold prices rise, crude oil falls NEW YORK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Global stocks rose in choppy trading on Friday, on track for a weekly gain, driven by positive sentiment on Wall Street following key central bank decisions. The Federal Reserve cut U.S. interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, the first easing since December, while Norway and Canada also cut rates. Sign up here. On Wall Street, all three indexes closed at record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 0.37% to 46,315.27, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab advanced 0.49% to 6,664.36, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab firmed 0.72% to 22,631.48. All three also hit record highs the day before. European shares (.STOXX) , opens new tab finished down 0.16%, and for the week were down 0.13%. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) , opens new tab fell 0.57% after the Bank of Japan decided to start selling its holdings of risky assets. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab hit a fresh record high of 982.29, adding nearly 1% for the week. Investors are betting that central bank rate cuts will boost stocks further. "The market for the past several weeks has all been focused on and relying on the Fed meeting and the Fed's decision, and there was enough in the decision to leave everyone just slightly disappointed though basically satisfied," said Michael Farr, chief executive of investment advisory firm Farr, Miller & Washington in Washington. The Fed stopped short of endorsing market expectations for a clear string of rate cuts, emphasizing a meeting-by-meeting, data-dependent approach. The Fed's tone, along with the wide range of views within the U.S. central bank, disappointed some investors, who had hoped the stock market would be boosted by a rapid shift to lower rates, analysts said. "Markets have done exceptionally well and now markets are looking for the next driver or the next bit of news," Farr said. "I think as we probably get into earnings season in October, those reports will be more important than ever because we need to see and the Fed needs to see if tariffs are indeed making their way into bottom-line profits." The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 2.5 basis points to 4.129%. The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Fed, rose 0.6 basis points to 3.574%. "The short-term momentum is clearly higher and we are playing the market to the upside because that's what the short-term momentum is telling you," said Bill Strazzullo, partner and chief market strategist at Bell Curve Trading in Boston. "But I think it's a lot more complicated now because the Fed clearly has chosen to err on the side of the weaker labor market so that's talking about more rate cuts." Following their first call in three months, U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping made progress on a TikTok agreement and would meet face-to-face in six weeks in South Korea to discuss trade, illicit drugs and Russia's war in Ukraine. A stopgap spending bill that would avert an October 1 government shutdown fell short in the U.S. Senate on Friday. The bill had been passed by the House of Representatives. The U.S. dollar index rose for a third straight session, up 0.33% to 97.67, but was still set to notch a third straight week of losses. The dollar strengthened 0.4% to 0.795 against the Swiss franc , but was down 0.03% to 147.97 against the Japanese yen . The euro fell 0.35% against the dollar to $1.1745. The British pound fell 0.64% to $1.3467 . The Bank of England kept rates on hold on Thursday, but slowed the pace at which it is unloading the government bonds it purchased in previous crises. Oil prices settled lower as traders' worries about fuel demand outweighed the typical boost from a U.S. rate cut. Brent crude futures fell 1.1% to settle at $66.68 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures lost 1.4%, to $62.68. Gold was up 1.04% at $3,681.79, notching its fifth straight week of gains. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-1-2025-09-19/