2025-09-15 20:02

France considers refusing crypto licence 'passports' France, Italy, Austria push for EU-level supervision Application of new crypto rules fragmented, regulator says PARIS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - France has warned it may try to block some crypto firms licenced in other EU countries from operating domestically as part of a push to get oversight transferred to the bloc’s central securities regulator, the head of its financial watchdog told Reuters. France's securities watchdog, the AMF, is concerned that under the EU's new regulatory regime, crypto companies are seeking out jurisdictions with more lenient licensing standards, its president, Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani, said. Sign up here. MiCA, a landmark set of digital asset rules which came into force this year, allows crypto companies to apply for licences from individual EU members, which they can use as a "passport" to operate throughout the 27-nation bloc. The legislation has already exposed inconsistencies in how national regulators apply the rules, raising questions about whether some licences are being granted too quickly and whether cross-border firms are being adequately supervised. OVERSIGHT GAPS RAISE ALARM At stake is oversight of the multi-trillion-dollar crypto industry, which regulators globally have long warned could destabilise markets and harm investors if not properly supervised. On Monday, France joined Italy and Austria in calling for the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), based in Paris, to take over supervision of major crypto firms, according to a position paper seen by Reuters. In its strongest warning yet, the AMF told Reuters that France would not rule out the possibility of using the "atomic weapon" of challenging the "passporting" of a license granted by a different member state. A hallmark of the EU's single market for financial services, "passporting" allows companies authorised by one member state to operate across the bloc. The AMF did not give details about which companies' licences it could consider challenging, or on what basis. "We do not exclude the possibility of refusing the EU passport," Barbat-Layani said. "It's very complex legally and not a very good signal for the single market - it's a bit like the 'atomic weapon' ... but it's still a possibility we hold in reserve." Crypto platforms "are doing their regulatory shopping all over Europe, trying to find a weak link that will give them a licence with fewer requirements than the others," she added, without providing specific examples. MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN REGULATORS In Monday's paper, France's AMF, Italy's Consob and Austria's FMA called on European lawmakers to introduce a mechanism to transfer powers to ESMA. "The first few months of the application of the Regulation have revealed major differences in how crypto-markets are being supervised by national authorities," the three regulators said. Direct European supervision would better protect investors, they said. A spokesperson for ESMA said the regulator would keep "working intensely" to ensure the authorisation and supervision of crypto companies was consistent across the EU. The spokesperson also referred to a paper ESMA published last year in which it encouraged lawmakers to consider pan-EU supervision for the sector. Malta's financial regulator faced scrutiny over its licence-granting process earlier this year. An ESMA review found that Malta did not do enough to assess the risk when granting a licence to one particular unnamed crypto company. Malta said it was proud of its role as an "early adopter" of digital asset regulation. The French, Italian and Austrian regulators did not give examples of where regulators had interpreted the rules differently. Crypto companies are in the process of applying for MiCA licences during a transition period. Luxembourg granted a licence to U.S.-listed exchange Coinbase (COIN.O) , opens new tab and Malta gave a licence to the Winklevoss-founded exchange Gemini. France, Italy and Austria also called for MiCA revisions, including stricter rules for crypto companies’ activities outside of the EU, better cybersecurity supervision, and a review of how authorities manage new crypto token offerings. France has long been pushing for ESMA to be given greater power. ESMA head Verena Ross has said she would welcome the move, but it faces resistance from some EU members. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/france-threatens-block-crypto-licence-passporting-eu-regulatory-fight-2025-09-15/

2025-09-15 19:45

MILAN, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Italiana Petroli's founding family has agreed to sell the oil refiner to State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) in a deal that will hand the group control of one of Italy's largest petrol station networks, two sources said. The deal was signed on Monday, the sources said, without disclosing the financial terms of the agreement. Sign up here. People close to the matter had previously told Reuters Italy's Brachetti-Peretti family was seeking an enterprise value of around 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) for their company, which holds some 500 million euros in cash. SOCAR and Italiana Petroli did not respond to requests for comment outside business hours. SOCAR is being advised by Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo IMI CIB with UniCredit advising the owner of IP. IP has a total refining capacity of around 200,000 barrels per day and operates a network of more than 4,500 fuel stations. It also owns important storage and transport assets in Italy, including for jet fuel. Last year it posted an adjusted core profit of nearly 500 million euros. The deal follows the sale by Italy's Moratti family of its controlling stake in oil refiner Saras to global commodity trading house Vitol last year. These transactions underscore a broader trend of private investors retreating from Europe's refining sector, which has become increasingly volatile. The acquisition would boost SOCAR's presence in the Mediterranean fuel market. The company already owns the 200,000 bpd STAR refinery in Turkey. IP currently owns a refinery in Ancona in eastern Italy, as well as the SARPOM refinery in Trecate in the north. It also has a tolling contract for the Alma refinery in Ravenna. IP increased its refining and fuel storage capacity in 2023 when it finalised the acquisition of Exxon Mobil's (XOM.N) , opens new tab Italian assets. ($1 = 0.8524 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/socar-agrees-buy-oil-refiner-italiana-petroli-sources-say-2025-09-15/

2025-09-15 19:38

Series of central bank meetings on deck, focus on Fed Fed expected to cut by 25 bps; BOJ, BOE tipped to hold steady Euro largely unmoved by Fitch's downgrade of France's credit rating NEW YORK, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The dollar weakened across the board on Monday as investors wait for the Federal Reserve to resume interest rate cuts at this week's meeting and as President Donald Trump renewed calls for faster monetary policy easing. Trump on Monday called for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to enact a "bigger" cut , opens new tab to benchmark interest rates and pointed to the housing market in a social media post ahead of the U.S. central bank's meeting this week. Sign up here. Traders are fully pricing in a 25 basis point cut at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on September 16 and 17, and about a 5% chance of a 50 basis point cut, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. "What we see is just a broad-based lack of conviction, with traders relatively happy to sit on the sidelines and wait until the outcome of Wednesday's FOMC meeting is known," Michael Brown, market analyst at online broker Pepperstone in London, said. "In the meantime, it's likely just positions being squared up to drive things for the next day or so," Brown said. The dollar index (.DXY) , opens new tab, which measures the currency's strength against a basket of six peers, slipped 0.4% to a nearly one-week low of 97.273. Against the Japanese currency, the dollar was 0.2% lower at 147.335 yen, while the euro advanced 0.3% to $1.1771. The U.S. dollar has steadied since a record slide earlier this year, but many currency market players still view the greenback as locked in a bearish trend. Investors will parse Fed members' "dot plot" projections for rates and guidance from Fed Chair Jerome Powell to gauge the extent and pace of further easing. "The economic projections and press conference are likely to emphasize that this is an 'insurance' cut, with the pace of easing remaining gradual," Nomura analysts said in a note on Monday. Investors are also monitoring rate decisions this week in Japan, Britain, Canada and Norway. Both the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan are expected to keep rates unchanged, with analysts focusing on the BoE's plans to slow its reduction of government bond holdings and on BOJ commentary that might indicate the likelihood of a rate hike over the remainder of the year. On Monday, the euro was little swayed by Fitch Ratings' late-Friday downgrade of France's sovereign credit score due to concerns over the government's rising debt burden. The move stripped the euro zone's second-largest economy of its AA- status. The downgrade was largely priced in by the markets in advance, said Nick Rees, head of macro research at Monex Europe. Analysts say that, while fiscal worries in France could limit the euro's gains in the near term, they are unlikely to spur a meaningful decline in the currency. Data shows that speculative net long positions in the euro against the U.S. dollar continue to hold strong, ticking up to $18.4 billion as of the week ended September 8, near a two-year peak. The euro's resilience is underpinned by expectations of Federal Reserve policy easing alongside diminishing prospects for further European Central Bank rate cuts. Sterling was 0.4% higher at $1.3606 on Monday, its strongest since early July. Cryptocurrency bitcoin was down 0.5% at $115,323, slipping for a third straight session. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dollar-slips-traders-await-fed-interest-rate-decision-2025-09-15/

2025-09-15 19:32

SOFR rises above IORB, suggests high demand for secured funding Liquidity pressure seen as temporary, analysts say Repo rates rise amid Treasury auction settlements Money market funds shift from repo to T-bills in August NEW YORK, Sept 15 (Reuters) - U.S. banks borrowed $1.5 billion from the Federal Reserve's Standing Repo Facility on Monday, the deadline for quarterly corporate tax payments and Treasury debt settlements, Fed data showed, suggesting some tightness in meeting funding obligations. The SRF serves as a backstop for any potential funding shortage. Launched in July 2021 in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Fed's SRF offers daily overnight cash twice a day in exchange for eligible collateral like Treasuries. Sign up here. The corporate tax date coincides with a large Treasury security settlement for recently issued debt, analysts said. Data from money market research firm Wrightson ICAP showed roughly $78 billion in payments to the Treasury due on Monday as well. Those settlements along with corporate taxes should push the U.S. Treasury's cash balance to more than $870 billion. U.S. financial institutions borrowed $1.5 billion in cash in the morning. There were no borrowings in the afternoon. On June 30, financial institutions borrowed about $11.1 billion from the SRF, backed mostly by Treasuries as collateral, the largest such borrowing since its launch four years ago. "Small utilization of the SRF today is in line with our expectations and speaks to elevated repo levels potentially giving some banks or dealers an opening to make a return by sourcing funds from the Fed and lending them out," said Steven Zeng, U.S. rates strategist at Deutsche Bank. "Cash is tight today because money market funds have had less excess to lend, as they've been allocating more to T-bills and also losing or holding back cash for redemptions ahead of today's corporate tax date." Ahead of these payments, rates in the repurchase (repo) such as the Secured Overnight Financing Rate have risen above the interest paid on bank reserves. SOFR, the cost of borrowing cash overnight collateralized by Treasuries, rose to 4.42% last Friday, matching the level hit on September 5, which was the highest in two months. The Interest on Reserve Balances, on the other hand, is currently 4.40%. SOFR should trade at or below IORB because banks can always park money risk-free at the Fed and earn IORB. But if SOFR rises above IORB, it suggests there is exceptional demand for secured funding against Treasuries, which typically happens around Treasury auction settlements. Teresa Ho, managing director and head of short duration strategy at JPMorgan in New York, said in a recent research note that while firmer SOFR levels are to be expected, "the magnitude somewhat caught us off guard." She noted that while markets have largely absorbed the additional Treasury bill supply with ease, the reallocation from repo to T-bills accelerated in August as money market funds aggressively extended their weighted average maturities, pricing in potential Fed rate cuts. Analysts said Monday's liquidity pressure should be temporary. "Funding conditions will only show the kind of incremental pressure that would typically be associated with a major Treasury coupon settlement date and a quarterly tax deadline rather than a disruptive funding squeeze," wrote Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/us-banks-borrow-15-bln-feds-repo-facility-sign-mild-funding-pressure-2025-09-15/

2025-09-15 17:57

US Fed two-day policy meeting begins on Tuesday Fed seen cutting rates for first time since December US dollar at a one-week low Sept 15 (Reuters) - Gold rose to an all-time high on Monday, underpinned by a softer dollar and lower Treasury yields, as investors positioned ahead of a pivotal Federal Reserve meeting this week that could set the tone for the rest of the year. Spot gold was up 1.1% at $3,680.80 per ounce as of 01:44 p.m. EDT (1744 GMT), after hitting a record high of $3,685.39 earlier in the session. Bullion climbed about 1.6% last week. Sign up here. U.S. gold futures for December delivery settled 0.8% higher at $3,719.00. The dollar index (.DXY) , opens new tab fell 0.3% to a one-week low, making gold more attractive for other currency holders, while the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield edged lower. Markets are all but certain the Fed will deliver a 25-basis-point rate cut on Wednesday, the first since December, with some still holding out for a larger 50 bps move, according to CME's FedWatch tool , opens new tab. "Expectations of a 25-basis-point rate cut are largely baked into the cake at this point," said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals, adding that there could be one or two more rate cuts before the year-end. Gold's next upside targets are $3,700, followed by $3,730 and $3,743 in the short term, Grant said. Non-yielding bullion, often considered a safe-haven asset during broader uncertainty, tends to perform well in a low interest rate environment. The Fed meets under unusual pressure, with a leadership dispute and President Donald Trump pushing for greater sway over policy. The Senate has also left the door open for Trump's economic adviser Stephen Miran to join the rate-setting committee in time to vote on Wednesday. Weekend reports that China may ease gold import and export rules spurred strong buying, with both official and private demand seen as key drivers of bullion's rally, said Tai Wong, an independent metals trader. Data last week showed U.S. consumer prices rose at their fastest pace in seven months in August, while recent jobs figures have pointed to a weakening labor market, keeping the Fed on track to cut rates. USDIRPR/ Elsewhere, spot silver was up 1.1% at $42.62 per ounce, platinum gained 0.7% to $1,400.77 and palladium lost 0.3% to $1,193.21. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/gold-hits-record-high-dollar-yields-ease-spotlight-fed-meeting-2025-09-15/

2025-09-15 15:48

MOSCOW, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin told a government meeting on Monday that measures to reduce inflation were working, but questioned whether more needed to be done to boost growth. Recent data showed that inflation fell to 8.1% in August from 8.8% in July. On September 12, the central bank cut its key rate by one percentage point instead of an expected two percentage points, saying that inflation remained high. Sign up here. "Efforts to reduce inflation are yielding results. It is very important that the moderate price environment has a positive effect on business investment activity and enables more dynamic, sustainable growth," Putin said. Putin questioned whether more needed to be done to boost economic growth, which slowed to 1.1% in the first half of this year from 4.3% in the whole of 2024. "The question is, is that enough? Is this what we wanted? Are we managing to solve the task we set for ourselves?" Putin asked. "Or do we need other measures and higher growth rates, naturally while ensuring macroeconomic and inflationary stability given the central bank’s prudent policy?" https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/russias-putin-says-measures-reduce-inflation-are-working-growth-needs-work-2025-09-15/