2025-09-12 21:46

Sept 12 (Reuters) - U.S. agrichemicals firm Corteva (CTVA.N) , opens new tab is exploring a breakup that would separate its seed and pesticide businesses into two separate companies, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Separating its crop-seed unit from its pesticide business could help shield its seeds from any potential future liabilities associated with its pest and weed-killing chemicals, the report said, adding that the company is expected to reveal plans soon, barring any last-minute snags. Sign up here. Corteva, spun off from chemical conglomerate DowDuPont in 2019, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Its shares rose 1.6% in extended trading and it had a market capitalization of nearly $50 billion as of Friday. "If Corteva decides to separate... it would give investors better choices as there would be a pure-play leading seeds company and pure-play leading crop protection firm," said Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein. Corteva's possible split underscores a growing wave of corporate separations in 2025, as major companies such as Honeywell (HON.O) , opens new tab, Kraft Heinz (KHC.O) , opens new tab and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) , opens new tab respond to investor calls for restructuring. Last year, DuPont (DD.N) , opens new tab had also planned to split into three publicly traded units to pursue focused growth, but later decided against selling its water and protection unit. The agrichemicals industry has been grappling with a potential fallout from shifting tariff policies, which are expected to lower demand and curb farmers' spending. Corteva is among the largest crop-protection product makers in the U.S., competing with Syngenta and German firms BASF (BASFn.DE) , opens new tab and Bayer (BAYGn.DE) , opens new tab. It raised adjusted profit and sales forecasts for the year in August, following strong performance in the first half. DowDuPont was formed in 2017 after the merger of DuPont and Dow Chemical. Two years later, it spun off its chemical business as Dow (DOW.N) , opens new tab and the agribusiness division into Corteva, with DuPont remaining on as the company it is today. https://www.reuters.com/business/agrichemicals-firm-corteva-explores-splitting-seed-pesticide-units-wsj-reports-2025-09-12/

2025-09-12 21:35

Sept 11 (Reuters) - Entergy's (ETR.N) , opens new tab Texas unit said on Thursday it had received approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas for its proposal to build two natural gas power plants amid rapidly increasing demand for electricity in the region. Power consumption in the United States is projected to hit record highs in 2025 and 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Sign up here. The proposed Legend and Lone Star power stations, expected to be in service by mid-2028, will add more than 1,200 megawatts of energy to the Southeast Texas power grid, the company said in a statement. Between 2019 and 2023, annual commercial sector power demand increased by 13 terawatt-hours (TWh) in Texas , opens new tab, driven by growth in data centers, figures from the EIA showed. "We've heard directly from our customers and communities about the need for more power to support our rapidly growing region, and these facilities will deliver just that," Entergy Texas CEO Eliecer Viamontes said. Entergy Texas serves nearly 524,000 electric customers across 27 counties within the state. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/entergys-texas-unit-receives-approval-build-natural-gas-power-plants-2025-09-11/

2025-09-12 21:29

OTTAWA, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The Group of Seven nations' finance ministers, in a meeting on Friday, discussed possibly imposing sanctions and trade measures such as tariffs on countries that they consider to be "enabling" Russia's war in Ukraine, according to a statement released by the Canadian finance ministry. The G7 finance ministers held the meeting to discuss further measures to increase pressure on Russia to end its war against Ukraine, according to the statement from Canada, the head of the rolling G7 presidency. Sign up here. They "discussed a wide range of possible economic measures to increase pressure on Russia, including further sanctions and trade measures, such as tariffs, on those enabling Russia’s war effort." https://www.reuters.com/world/china/g7-finance-ministers-discuss-possible-sanctions-tariffs-supporters-russias-war-2025-09-12/

2025-09-12 21:25

Global stock index sticks close to Thursday's record Consumer sentiment dips to lowest since May Dollar rises with Treasury yields Gold trading near record highs NEW YORK/LONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - MSCI's global equities index edged higher on Friday, after registering a record close in the prior session, while U.S. Treasury yields rebounded after sliding the day before when expectations climbed for U.S. rate cuts. The University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers showed that U.S. consumer sentiment fell for a second straight month in September to its lowest point since May, as consumers saw rising risks to business conditions, the labor market and inflation. Sign up here. Consumer inflation expectations for the next year stayed at 4.8% but inflation expectations for the next five years rose to 3.9% from last month's 3.5%. "The University of Michigan sentiment study came in worse than expected and more importantly inflation expectations remained pretty high. That's sending yields a little higher," said Jack Ablin, founding partner and chief investment strategist at Cresset Capital. "Investors worry that expectations dictate reality and perhaps consumers will act accordingly if they expect inflation to be higher than usual ... and just perpetuate the inflation hamster wheel." Wall Street was a mixed bag after all three of its main indexes registered record closing highs on Thursday, when investors reacted bullishly to weaker-than-expected jobs data by ramping up bets that the Federal Reserve would make three rate cuts in a row, including a cut on September 17 after its next meeting. "The market feels a little stretched and toppy. And now investors in the market are going to focus on next Wednesday and exactly what Jay Powell says, how he says it. Does he sound more dovish? What lines did he delete? What lines did he add?," said Kenny Polcari, partner and chief market strategist at SlateStone Wealth in Jupiter, Florida, referring to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference and the Fed's written statement. "Rates are going lower for sure but I do think the market has gotten ahead of itself in terms of valuation." Thursday's U.S. consumer price report had been seen as the last major hurdle before the Fed meeting. But while prices showed a bigger-than-expected increase, market participants kept their focus on a separate report that showed a sharp rise in unemployment claims. On Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 273.78 points, or 0.59%, to 45,834.22 and the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab fell 3.18 points, or 0.05%, to 6,584.29. The Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab rose 98.03 points, or 0.45%, to 22,141.10 for another record closing high. For the week, the S&P 500 gained 1.59% while the Nasdaq rose 2.03% and the Dow climbed 0.95%. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab rose 0.70 points, or 0.07%, to 972.15 and the pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) , opens new tab index closed down 0.09%, after giving up earlier gains. In currencies, the U.S. dollar rose on Friday, a day after falling on a surge in U.S. jobless claims and modest inflation, as investors prepared for interest rate cuts after a roughly nine-month hiatus. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.05% to 97.60. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar strengthened 0.26% to 147.58. U.S. and Japanese finance ministers on Friday released a statement reaffirming that neither country would target currency levels in their policies. The euro was up 0.02% at $1.1735. On Thursday the European Central Bank kept rates unchanged and signalled that it was in a "good place" on policy. After the meeting, ECB sources told Reuters the December meeting would be the most realistic time frame to debate whether another cut was needed to buffer the economy. Britain's economy recorded zero monthly growth in July, in line with forecasts but showing a sharp drop in factory output, weighing on sterling , which weakened 0.09% to $1.356. In U.S. Treasuries, yields rose as investors looked ahead to the Fed's policy meeting. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 5.1 basis points to 4.062%, from 4.011% late on Thursday, while the 30-year bond yield rose 2.7 basis points to 4.6776%. The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, rose 2.9 basis points to 3.558%. In energy markets, oil prices settled higher after a Ukrainian drone attack suspended loadings from the largest port in western Russia, but gains were capped by concerns about U.S. demand. U.S. crude settled up 0.51% or 32 cents at $62.69 a barrel and Brent ended at $66.99 per barrel, up 0.93%, or 62 cents, on the day. In precious metals, gold was showing its fourth weekly gain in a row and trading near its Tuesday record high, as investors looked ahead to U.S. rate cuts. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $3,644.67 an ounce. It hit a record high of $3,673.95 on Tuesday. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-7-2025-09-12/

2025-09-12 21:10

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS US joins allies in statement of concern about incursion Poland hopes US will take action to show solidarity NATO is still assessing the intent behind the drone attack, Secretary General Mark Rutte says NATO's top commander says 'Eastern Sentry' will bolster defences along the entire eastern flank BRUSSELS/WARSAW/UNITED NATIONS, Sept 12 (Reuters) - NATO announced plans to beef up the defence of Europe's eastern flank on Friday, two days after Poland shot down drones that had violated its airspace in the first known action of its kind by a member of the Western alliance during Russia's war in Ukraine. At the United Nations, the United States called the airspace violations "alarming" and vowed to "defend every inch of NATO territory," remarks that appeared aimed at assuaging Washington's NATO allies after President Donald Trump said Russia's drone incursion could have been a mistake. Sign up here. Warsaw has portrayed the drone incursions as an attempt by Russia to test the capabilities of Poland and NATO to respond. On Friday, Poland rejected Trump's suggestion that the incursions could have been a mistake, a rare contradiction of the U.S. president from one of Washington's closest European allies. Its foreign minister told Reuters Poland hoped Washington will take action to show solidarity with Warsaw. Later on Friday, the U.S. joined Western allies in a statement to express concern about the drone incursion and to accuse Moscow of violating international law and the founding U.N. Charter. Russia said its forces had been attacking Ukraine at the time of the drone incursions and that it had not intended to hit targets in Poland. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the maximum range of the drones used did not exceed 700 km "which makes it physically impossible for them to have reached Polish territory." NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called the incursions "reckless and unacceptable." "We can't have Russian drones entering allied airspace," he told a press conference announcing operation "Eastern Sentry." , opens new tab NUMBER OF ALLIES TO JOIN MISSION NATO's top military official, Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich, a U.S. Air Force general, said it was a flexible operation to bolster defences along NATO's entire eastern flank, which stretches from the Baltic states in the north to Romania and Bulgaria in the south. Grynkewich said "Poland and citizens from across the alliance should be assured by our rapid response earlier this week and our significant announcement here today." The mission, which begins on Friday evening, will involve a range of assets integrating air and ground bases. NATO already has substantial forces in eastern Europe, including thousands of troops. It did not specify how many additional troops would be involved in the new operation. Rutte said allies, including Denmark, France, Britain, and Germany, have committed to the mission with others set to join. He said NATO was still assessing the possible intent behind the Russian incursion. NATO's announcement detailed a modest number of additional military assets - including two F-16 fighter jets and a frigate from Denmark, three Rafale fighter jets from France, and four Eurofighter jets from Germany. Spain said it would provide air assets and Britain said it would detail its contribution soon. Trump told Fox News on Friday that his patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin was "sort of running out and running out fast," but stopped short of threatening new sanctions over the war. Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Moscow to agree to a ceasefire or face new sanctions, only to row back. Germany said it had extended air policing over Poland and it and France summoned the Russian ambassadors to their countries over the drone incident. QUESTIONS ABOUT EUROPEAN DEFENCES For Polish leaders to directly contradict Trump is almost unheard of and a sign of Europe's alarm at the U.S. president's willingness to give weight to Moscow's account. This week's incident has raised questions about NATO's ability to respond to the sort of mass drone attacks - often involving hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles - that have been a feature of the war in Ukraine following Russia's 2022 invasion. A subsidiary of Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom said on Friday that a Ukrainian drone attacked one of the buildings of the Smolensk nuclear power station , opens new tab, but it was downed and no damage or casualties were reported. European leaders say the incident in Poland again shows Moscow has no interest in a peace deal in Ukraine, weeks after Trump hosted Putin in Alaska and dropped a demand that Russia accept an immediate ceasefire. European officials have been in Washington this week, hoping to coordinate sanctions on Russia. Announcing such sanctions in tandem was previously standard practice, but has not taken place since Trump returned to office. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday peace negotiations were on pause and that "the Europeans are hindering this" peace process. Ukrainian officials said U.S. special envoy Keith Kellogg and national security advisers from Britain, Germany, France and Italy were in Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said many details on security guarantees for Ukraine were already on paper, and that foreign troops on the ground would signal political support for Kyiv. Russia and its close ally Belarus began a long-planned joint military exercise on Friday involving drills in both countries and in the Baltic and Barents seas. Dismissing concerns abroad about the exercise, Peskov said Western European countries were suffering "emotional overload" and that Russia did not pose a threat to them. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/nato-beef-up-defence-europes-eastern-flank-after-poland-shot-down-drones-2025-09-12/

2025-09-12 20:56

TSX ends down 0.4% at 29,283.82 Industrials lose 1%, tech ends 0.8% lower For the week, the index advances 0.8% Sept 12 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock gave back some of its weekly gain on Friday, with declines for technology and industrial shares, as investors braced for interest rate decisions next week by the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve. The S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended down 124.07 points, or 0.4%, at 29,283.82, pulling back from a record closing high on Thursday. Sign up here. For the week, the index advanced 0.8%, its sixth straight weekly gain as gold's record-setting run bolstered metal mining shares. "It's still a momentum-driven market," said Michael Dehal, a senior portfolio manager at Dehal Investment Partners at Raymond James. "We could see some volatility next week ... If we do correct for the next couple of weeks after the Fed announcement, the BoC announcement, I do think investors will probably snap up those equities going into Q4." Both the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve are expected to resume their easing campaigns next Wednesday. The Canadian central bank has been on hold since lowering its benchmark rate to 2.75% in March. Technology (.GSPTTMT) , opens new tab fell 0.8%, industrials (.GSPTTIN) , opens new tab lost 1% and heavily weighted financials ended 0.5% lower. Three of 10 major sectors avoided declines, with energy (.SPTTEN) , opens new tab barely changed as the price of oil settled 0.5% higher at $62.59 a barrel. Canada's government is in discussions with energy companies and the oil-producing province Alberta about eliminating a federal cap on emissions from the country's oil and gas sector if the industry and province reduce their carbon footprint in other ways, three sources with knowledge of the talks said on Thursday. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/tsx-posts-sixth-straight-weekly-gain-ahead-expected-central-bank-rate-cuts-2025-09-12/