2025-09-10 09:52

Montenegro aims for EU, euro zone membership by 2028, says PM EU expansion push picked up after Russian invasion of Ukraine Montenegro growth, fiscal improvements bolster EU membership bid FRANKFURT, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Montenegro hopes to join the European Union and the euro zone in 2028, Prime Minister Milojko Spajic said on Tuesday, in what would mark some progress in the EU's stalled eastward expansion. Spajic told reporters the small Balkan nation, whose economy almost doubled in the last five years, was also looking to sell fresh government bonds to institutional or retail investors. Sign up here. The EU has been making a renewed push to bring in new members since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, saying the outbreak of war has highlighted the danger of having "grey zones" just outside the bloc that are not firmly part of the West. Spajic said he was aiming to meet the remaining criteria set by the European Commission -- mainly relating to building up institutions -- by the end of next year and to start accession talks in 2027. The 27 existing members of the EU, which began accession talks with Montenegro in 2012, would then need to approve the country's entry to the bloc. "If we have 27 hands supporting our candidacy, we are hoping to see ourselves in the EU in 2028," he said after meeting German businessmen and politicians. Spajic hoped Montenegro, which adopted the euro well before gaining full independence from Serbia in 2006, would also be admitted at the same time to the euro area, a club of 20 countries that have a seat at the European Central Bank. Under EU rules, this will require it to keep its inflation and long-term interest rates within a given spread of those of the euro area's best-performing members. Inflation in Montenegro, which imports more than it exports including energy and food, averaged 3.1% in the 12 months to July, above the euro area and EU averages. It was last 4.7%. Economic output, however, has grown to 7.8 billion euros last year from 4.2 billion in 2020, Spajic said. Net salaries doubled from 500 euros in early 2022 to 1,000 euros this year thanks to tax cuts, he added. But the Montenegrin central bank raised some questions about the government's revenue and debt projections last year. Spajic, a former Goldman Sachs credit analyst, defended his government's performance and the reciprocal independence of the executive branch and the central bank. "Our deficit is around 1% for the first eight months of the year," he said. He said his government was weighing new debt sales to institutional investors in London, Frankfurt or Tokyo, or a retail bond for the domestic audience. https://www.reuters.com/world/montenegro-hopes-join-eu-euro-zone-2028-eyes-bond-sales-2025-09-10/

2025-09-10 08:18

Regulating cryptocurrencies would grant them legitimacy, document shows A ban cannot tackle peer-to-peer trades, document says Use of stablecoins could hurt India's digital payments system, document says India maintains partial oversight; tax laws deter speculative crypto trading NEW DELHI, Sept 10 (Reuters) - India is leaning towards not creating legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies in the country and instead will maintain partial oversight, fearing that bringing the digital assets into its mainstream financial system could raise systemic risks, a government document shows. The document, seen by Reuters, cites the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) view that, in practice, containing the risks of cryptocurrencies through regulation would be difficult. Sign up here. Global acceptance of cryptocurrencies has improved since U.S. President Donald Trump took office and prices of bitcoin, the world's largest crypto-asset by market capitalisation, have hit record highs. The U.S. has also passed legislation permitting wider use of stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies backed by fiat currencies making them less vulnerable to wild swings. China continues to ban cryptocurrencies but is considering a Yuan-backed stablecoin, Reuters reported last month. Although, Japan and Australia are developing regulatory frameworks for such virtual assets, they maintain a cautious stance without actively promoting the sector. Regulating cryptocurrencies in India would grant them "legitimacy", and "may cause the sector to become systemic", the government document, prepared this month, said. In contrast, while an outright ban can tackle the "alarming" risks from largely speculative crypto assets, it would not be able to tackle peer-to-peer transfers or trades on decentralised exchanges, it added. The Indian government's formal views have not been previously reported. India's federal finance ministry and the RBI did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. In 2021, the government prepared a bill to ban private cryptocurrencies, but didn't go ahead with the legislation. During its G20 presidency in 2023, India had called for a global framework to regulate such assets. In 2024, the government planned to issue a discussion paper on its crypto stance but deferred it, saying it would review the issue after the U.S. formalised the use of cryptocurrencies. At present, global crypto exchanges can operate in India after registering locally with a government agency tasked with due diligence to check money laundering risks. Punitive taxes are imposed on gains from cryptocurrencies. But the central bank has repeatedly cautioned against the risks in dealing with them, leading to a near freeze in trading between the country's formal financial system and cryptocurrencies. Indians have investments worth $4.5 billion into various cryptocurrencies, and use of such assets is currently neither significant nor a systemic risk to financial stability, the document said. The current limited regulatory clarity has helped contain the risks of cryptocurrencies on the regulated financial system, it said. The present tax and other laws act as a deterrent towards speculative trading in cryptocurrencies, and penalise fraud and illegal activities, it added. As regulatory approach towards cryptocurrencies varies globally, "charting a clear way forward or identifying a uniform policy approach is not straightforward," the document said. STABLECOINS Trump on July 18 signed the GENIUS Act into law, setting federal rules and guidelines for cryptocurrency tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar known as stablecoins. The document said the adoption by the U.S. of dollar-backed stablecoins and promoting their use as payment instruments will impact both advanced and emerging economies. This would require "close examination" by the government as most stablecoins in circulation globally are pegged to the U.S. dollar, it said. Stablecoins target price stability but can fluctuate due to market shocks or liquidity constraints impacting financial markets, the document said. Widespread use of stablecoins could fragment national payment systems such as fast inter-bank transfers, and weaken the country's digital payments system, Unified Payment Interface (UPI), it said. ($1 = 88.1660 Indian rupees) https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-resists-full-crypto-framework-fears-systemic-risks-document-shows-2025-09-10/

2025-09-10 07:47

BEIJING, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Natural disasters in China caused direct economic loss of 19.6 billion yuan ($2.75 billion) in August, the Ministry of Emergency Management said on Wednesday. Across the country, more than 10 million people were affected by floods, droughts and other disasters last month, while 122 people were killed or went missing, the ministry said. Sign up here. ($1 = 7.1210 Chinese yuan renminbi) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/natural-disasters-cost-china-28-billion-august-2025-09-10/

2025-09-10 07:38

BERLIN, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Germany is increasing purchases of Chinese goods in several price-sensitive categories as U.S. tariff moves roil global trade flows, according to a study by the Institute for Employment Research IAB seen by Reuters on Tuesday. During the October to June period, price- and calendar-adjusted figures show notable increases year-on-year in German imports from China, led by copper (+91%), apparel (+24%) and toys, games and sporting goods (+12%), according to IAB's analysis based on data from the German statistics office. Sign up here. "We have not yet been flooded with Chinese goods across the board," said Enzo Weber, head of the IAB research unit forecasts and macroeconomic analyses. "However, there are some product groups where noticeable effects can be seen." In the first seven months of 2025, imports from China rose by 10.5% to 97.6 billion euros, growing at more than twice the pace of total imports, which increased by 4.9% from January to July to around 796.6 billion euros. The import tilt toward China could intensify price competition in Germany and squeeze margins, especially in sectors where Chinese producers enjoy a structural cost advantage, economists warn in the study. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinese-goods-redirected-germany-because-us-tariffs-researchers-say-2025-09-10/

2025-09-10 07:34

JAKARTA, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Floods on Indonesia's holiday island of Bali have killed at least six people this week and blocked off major roads in the capital, officials said on Wednesday, disrupting a busy travel destination. Continuous heavy rains between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning brought down two buildings in Bali's capital Denpasar, killing four people, said I Nyoman Sidakarya, the head of the island's search and rescue agency. Sign up here. Two more people have died and 85 have been evacuated in the region of Jembrana, Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency said on Wednesday. Flooding continued to hit Bali as of Wednesday, the agency chief Suharyanto told reporters. Access to the island's international airport near Denpasar was limited as only trucks could use the roads, Nyoman said. Videos on social media, which Reuters could not authenticate, show floods on major roads leading to complete gridlock. About 200 rescuers have been dispatched, Nyoman said. Heavy rain also led to flooding in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara where four people have been killed, the disaster mitigation agency said. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/floods-indonesias-bali-kill-least-six-officials-say-2025-09-10/

2025-09-10 07:27

Sept 10 (Reuters) - ANZ Group on Wednesday raised its year-end gold price forecast to $3,800 per ounce and said prices could peak near $4,000 by June next year, citing robust investment demand for bullion. Spot gold hit a record high of $3,673.95 on Tuesday and gold is up 38% year-to-date, driven by a weaker dollar, strong central bank purchases, dovish monetary policies, and rising global uncertainty. Sign up here. Greenback-priced bullion, which yields no interest and is often considered as a safe-haven asset during periods of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, typically performs well in a low-interest-rate environment. The following is a list of the latest forecasts for 2025 and 2026 gold prices (in $ per ounce): *end-of-period forecasts https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/anz-raises-year-end-gold-forecast-3800-per-ounce-2025-04-03/