2025-09-18 12:48

Putin says tax hike on wealthy possible Finance Ministry unveils measure to ensure reserve replenishment Ministry says the measure will boost resilience to sanctions Draft budget to be submitted to parliament on September 29 MOSCOW, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin signalled on Thursday that he is open to raising certain taxes, especially on the wealthy, as the government struggles to make ends meet in the fourth year of the war in Ukraine. The draft budget is expected to be submitted to parliament on September 29. Sources told Reuters that the government was considering raising the rate of value-added tax to keep the budget deficit in check and maintain reserves. Sign up here. Meeting with leaders of parliamentary factions, Putin said that measures such as a luxury tax or a higher tax on stock dividends could be "reasonable" during the war, but he urged caution. He did not mention other taxes. "In the United States, I don’t want to politicize this, during the Vietnam War and the Korean War, that’s exactly what they did. They raised taxes specifically on people with high incomes," Putin said. Russia introduced a progressive income tax in 2021 and raised the rate for high earners this year. The Finance Ministry has previously said that increasing taxes on dividends would scare off stock investors. Putin pledged no major changes to the tax system before 2030 following the tax hikes introduced in 2025. He asked the government on September 5 to increase revenues through higher productivity, not taxes. Potential tax hikes may come with a new measure, announced also on Thursday, aimed at shielding the state budget from oil price fluctuations and Western sanctions targeting Russian energy exports. RUSSIA'S OIL AND GAS SALES ARE EXPECTED TO FALL SHARPLY Under the new initiative, set to be implemented next year, the government will lower the cut-off price for oil above which oil revenues go into the fiscal reserve fund to try to ensure that the fund is sufficiently replenished. "To make our finances more resilient, we are proposing a reduction in dependence on various constraints, whether price-related or volume-related, in the budget’s reliance on oil and gas revenues," Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at an annual financial forum. Russia's state oil and gas sales in September are set to fall , opens new tab by around 23% from a year earlier on lower prices and a stronger rouble, according to Reuters' calculations. Putin, who met key cabinet members this week to discuss the budget, expressed displeasure at the slow pace of economic growth, which is expected to slow to about 1% from 4.3% last year. Siluanov has been seeking to restore the oil price mechanism, known as the "budget rule", which was abandoned after the start of the war in Ukraine, although Russian media reported that he had pushed for a bigger reduction in the cut-off price. Under the rule, the taxes resulting from when the price exceeds the agreed cut-off price go to the fiscal reserve fund, while the rest of the income is used to cover budget expenses. When the price falls below the cut-off level, the reserves are used to cover the resulting shortfall. MEASURE WILL STRENGTHEN RUSSIA'S BUDGET, SAYS SILUANOV If the rule, first introduced by Siluanov's predecessor Alexei Kudrin in 2004, is not in place, the budget can become more vulnerable when the oil price falls. Siluanov said the new measure would help bring the share of energy revenues in the state budget down to 22% from about 25% in the first eight months of 2025, making the budget more "muscular". The fiscal reserves created under the budget rule carried Russia through several downturns and helped it withstand Western sanctions. Siluanov said the cut-off price would be lowered by $1 every year to bring it to $55 per barrel in 2030. The cut-off price is currently at $60 per barrel. The fiscal reserve fund, which can be used to cover the budget deficit, currently has about 4 trillion roubles ($48.25 billion) in it. The government this year plans to tap the fund for 447 billion roubles ($5.39 billion) to cover part of the budget deficit, which is expected to exceed 1.7% of GDP. The 2026 draft budget set the average price of Urals crude at $59 per barrel, Siluanov said, implying that the fiscal reserves would not be replenished at the same cut-off price. ($1 = 82.9000 roubles) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-announces-budget-changes-aimed-reducing-oil-revenue-dependency-2025-09-18/

2025-09-18 12:46

CAIRO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - A 3,000-year-old gold bracelet that disappeared from an Egyptian museum earlier this month was stolen and melted down, the country's Interior Ministry said on Thursday. The Antiquities and Tourism Ministry had earlier reported the loss of the bracelet, which belonged to King Amenemope of the Third Intermediate Period, who ruled Egypt around 1,000 BC. Sign up here. The piece, decorated with spherical lapis lazuli beads, vanished from a safe in a conservation laboratory on September 9. Following the theft, a special committee was set up to review artefacts in the laboratory, and images of the missing bracelet were circulated to antiquities units at Egypt's airports, seaports and land border crossings, fearing it would be smuggled abroad. Yet, the Interior Ministry tracked down the theft to a museum restoration specialist who took the artefact and sold it to a silver trader, who passed it on to a workshop owner in Cairo's historic jewellery district. The workshop owner then sold it to a gold smelter, who recast the metal with other items. The ministry said suspects were arrested and proceeds from the sale, valued at about 194,000 Egyptian pounds ($4,000), were seized. The incident comes weeks before the planned November opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum near the Giza Pyramids, a showcase of the country's ancient heritage that is a key draw for tourism, a vital source of foreign currency for Egypt. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/egypt-says-missing-pharaohs-bracelet-melted-down-gold-2025-09-18/

2025-09-18 12:34

Cross-border issuance raises operational and liquidity risks BOI says legal clarity would be 'timely and valuable' Multi-issuance creating tensions between ECB, EU Commission ROME, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The European Union should clarify rules for identical stablecoins issued across borders, a senior Bank of Italy official said on Thursday, urging uniform standards to protect users. Stablecoins - crypto assets pegged to traditional currencies or commodities - have created friction between the European Commission and the European Central Bank. They are also known as electronic money tokens (EMTs). Sign up here. The Commission has been asked to clarify whether EU rules allow EMTs issued by a licensed EU firm to be treated as interchangeable with the tokens issued by non-EU entities of the same company, under a so-called multi-issuance model. Sources told Reuters in June the Commission believes interchangeability is allowed under EU rules. The ECB, however, has warned of financial stability risks. In a speech delivered at an international central bank conference on payments, Bank of Italy Deputy Governor Chiara Scotti said "clarity at the legislative or standard-setting level would be both timely and valuable". Under a multi-issuance model, EU stablecoin issuers may face redemption requests from holders outside the bloc, with the third-country entity expected to transfer assets to cover any shortfall in reserves, said Scotti, who spent two decades at the Federal Reserve System before joining the Bank of Italy. "Although this architecture could enhance global liquidity and scalability, it poses significant legal, operational, liquidity and financial stability risks at EU level," especially if one issuer is outside the EU, she said. "Holders, whether resident or non-resident, view all tokens as interchangeable. This can lead to a mismatch between obligations and available reserves." The EU in 2023 adopted an extensive set of crypto asset rules, known as MiCAR. "In a multi-issuance model, third-country issuers are not necessarily subject to the same consumer protection, transparency, and disclosure requirements as those set out in MiCAR," Scotti said. "To mitigate these risks and avoid regulatory blind spots, issuance should be limited to jurisdictions that uphold equivalent regulatory standards, ensure redemption at par, and enforce cross-jurisdiction crisis protocols." https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/bank-italy-urges-clarity-rules-multi-issuance-stablecoins-2025-09-18/

2025-09-18 12:31

MOSCOW, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry said on Thursday that Japan's new sanctions against Russia were unfriendly and would not go unanswered. Japan last week expanded its sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, targeting additional individuals and entities and lowering the price cap on Russian oil. Sign up here. "Japan's latest unfriendly actions will not go unanswered," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters. "But our response will be well thought out and based on national interests. We will continue to take appropriate countermeasures, including those of an asymmetric nature," Zakharova said. https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-says-it-will-answer-japans-new-sanctions-2025-09-18/

2025-09-18 12:22

Fed, Bank of Canada cut rates Bank of England leaves rates on hold Markets see lower chance of further ECB rate cuts LONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve has delivered its first rate cut since December, diverging from most other major central banks that have kept interest rates unchanged. The Bank of England kept rates steady on Thursday and the Bank of Japan is expected to follow on Friday, while expectations for further euro zone rate cuts are fading. Sign up here. Here's where 10 major central banks stand: 1/ SWITZERLAND The Swiss National Bank cut its key rate to 0% in June. Investors have pondered whether a return to negative territory is likely, but markets now expect the SNB to hold rates when it meets next Thursday. Chairman Martin Schlegel reiterated that the bar is high for a return to negative rates, but does not rule out such a move. Inflation holding above the bottom of the SNB's 0-2% target band in August means traders do not anticipate negative rates soon. 2/ CANADA The Bank of Canada reduced its key rate to a three-year low of 2.5% on Wednesday, the first cut in six months, citing a weak jobs market and less concern about underlying price pressures. It paused its easing campaign in March after reducing rates by a total of 225 basis points in nine months, starting in June last year. Markets price in a roughly 40% chance of another cut when the central bank meets again next month. 3/ SWEDEN Sweden's Riksbank has also cut rates substantially, despite sticky core inflation, but looks set to remain on hold when it meets next week. It says that August inflation data were supportive of the Riksbank's view that price pressures are likely to be temporary. 4/ NEW ZEALAND Domestic and global growth headwinds could pave the way for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to cut rates at its October 8 meeting and probably once more by the year's end, a Reuters poll of economists shows. The RBNZ cut its policy rate by 25 bps to a three-year low of 3% last month. 5/ EURO ZONE Euro zone rate setters last week kept their key rate on hold at 2% for a second straight meeting, with ECB chief Christine Lagarde reiterating that the bank remains in a "good place" and said risks to the economy had become more balanced than before. Markets sense the ECB cycle is at or near an end and price in roughly 12 bps of cuts by next July. 6/ UNITED STATES Moving in the opposite direction, the Federal Reserve reduced rates on Wednesday and indicated more cuts would follow in October and December to support the jobs market. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the softening job market was now key for policymakers. U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is trying to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook. New Fed Governor Stephen Miran, sworn in on Tuesday, cast the only dissenting vote - he opted for a bigger 50 bps rate cut. In total, around 50 bps of Fed cuts are priced in by year-end. 7/ BRITAIN The Bank of England kept rates unchanged on Thursday. Policymakers voted 7-2 to slow the annual pace at which it unloads the gilts purchased from 2009 and 2021 to 70 billion pounds from 100 billion pounds, broadly in line with analyst expectations. The BoE last cut rates in August and markets price in a roughly 40% chance of a quarter point move by year-end. Some analysts think a cut is likely in November as growth slows. 8/ AUSTRALIA The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut rates by 75 bps since February, though strong second-quarter GDP data means markets have pared back bets on more easing. Traders price in one more 25 bps cut this year, and nearly another two by June 2026 . The next meeting is on Sept. 30. 9/ NORWAY Norway's central bank cut rates by 25 bps to 4.0% on Thursday, its second reduction of borrowing costs in three months, as expected by analysts. It added that it would not cut future rates as much as it had thought in June due to an increase in underlying inflation and slower-than-expected growth in the first half. Markets expect Norges Bank to keep rates on hold for the rest of the year. 10/ JAPAN The Bank of Japan is almost certain to hold rates at its meeting on Friday amid political uncertainty following Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's resignation. However, for the sole central bank in tightening mode, a December hike still looks possible. It last raised interest rates in January to their highest level since the 2008 global financial crisis. Also watch on Friday whether the BOJ reduces its purchases of super-long-dated government bonds. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/global-markets-cenbank-graphic-2025-09-18/

2025-09-18 12:15

MOSCOW, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Russia has increased its planned oil loadings from the Baltic port of Ust-Luga and the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk for September, following disruptions at its main western outlet, Primorsk, two sources familiar with the schedule told Reuters. The diversion of oil flows to less affected western ports may help Russia keep overall exports relatively stable despite infrastructure damage. Moscow is making an effort to maintain high oil sales, which remain the backbone of its budget revenue. Sign up here. The increase in seaborne exports also comes amid unplanned shutdowns at several Russian refineries, which were targeted by drone attacks. Ukraine has intensified its drone attacks on Russia's oil and gas infrastructure since early August amid frustration over the direction of peace talks which the Kremlin says have now been effectively paused. The outages have left more crude oil available for export, the sources said. Ust-Luga is now expected to load at least 500,000 barrels per day (bpd), or 2 million tonnes, up from an initial plan of 1.5 million tonnes, the sources said. The port continues to operate below full capacity as repairs after the Unecha pumping station was damaged by Ukrainian drone strikes in August. Unecha is critical for flows to Ust-Luga and the Druzhba pipeline. Novorossiisk is set to load approximately 750,000 bpd, or 3.1 million tonnes, an increase of 350,000 tons from the original plan. This marks the highest export level from the terminal in months, the sources added. Meanwhile, loadings at Primorsk, which had been expected to handle 900,000 bpd in September, are facing delays and may be reduced. Crude and diesel exports from the port resumed partially on Saturday after drone attacks disrupted operations, but repairs are ongoing and the timeline for full recovery remains uncertain. As of Thursday, two Aframax tankers — Kusto and Cai Yun — hit during the strikes remained anchored near Primorsk, according to LSEG shipping data. One of the sources noted that diverting volumes from Primorsk to Novorossiisk is complicated due to limited tanker availability. "It is not easy to fix a new tanker for Russian oil loadings or to change a vessel’s destination at short notice," the source said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-revises-up-oil-export-plans-ust-luga-novorossiisk-primorsk-faces-delays-2025-09-18/