2025-09-07 14:22

LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - London underground workers are to begin a week of rolling strikes on Sunday, action which is set to bring the network to a standstill and cause massive disruption for travellers in the British capital. Passengers are advised to complete their journeys by 6 p.m. on Sunday (1700 GMT) with almost no "Tube" trains expected to run between Monday and Thursday as staff stage a series of staggered walkouts. Sign up here. Additionally the Docklands Light Railway, which connects the financial centres of Canary Wharf and the City of London, will not be running on Tuesday and Thursday. The RMT union said the dispute centred on pay, fatigue management, shift patterns and a reduction in the working week. "They are not after a king's ransom, but fatigue and extreme shift rotations are serious issues impacting on our members health and wellbeing," RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said. Transport for London, which operates the capital's public transport network, said the union would only accept a deal which led to a reduction in the working week, with staff typically working 35 hours. It said it had been working hard to resolve the dispute and had offered staff a 3.4% pay rise. Although TfL said there would be severe disruption, some train services in the capital will be running during the strike. The Elizabeth Line, which operates trains to Heathrow Airport, and the overground rail network will operate as normal, but some stations will see disruption, and TfL said trains were likely to be extremely busy. As well as likely disruption for commuters and tourists, the strikes have prompted British rock band Coldplay to reschedule two concerts at Wembley Stadium this week, while U.S. singer Post Malone also postponed his two shows in London until later in the month. https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/london-underground-workers-set-start-week-strike-action-2025-09-07/

2025-09-07 14:00

MOSCOW, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Russia is fully compliant with its OPEC+ commitments, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Sunday. Eight OPEC+ members agreed to raise oil production by 137,000 bpd in October, the group said in a statement. Sign up here. The oil market is balanced, and the deal is being implemented on a very high level, Novak said, speaking on state TV after the group meeting. "We agreed that we would monitor the market situation. We will have opportunities in the future, also meeting monthly, to make decisions in one or another direction depending on the state of the market", he added. "As far as Russia is concerned, we are fulfilling our obligations in full. Both in terms of compensation and in terms of increasing volumes that were agreed in previous periods." https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-is-fully-compliant-with-opec-commitments-novak-says-2025-09-07/

2025-09-07 11:53

Ukraine's government building attacked first time in war Russia launches drones, missiles on Ukraine Zelenskiy appeals for stronger air defences Trump says he is ready for more sanctions against Russia KYIV, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Russia launched its largest air attack of the war on Ukraine overnight, setting the main government building on fire in central Kyiv and killing at least four people, including an infant, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the drone and missile barrage killed four people and caused damage across the north, south and east of the country, including the cities of Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and Odesa, as well as in the Sumy and Chernihiv regions. Sign up here. "Such killings now, when real diplomacy could have already begun long ago, are a deliberate crime and a prolongation of the war," Zelenskiy said in a post on X, issuing a fresh appeal to allies to strengthen Ukrainian air defences. Just after sunrise, thick smoke could be seen rising into the clear blue sky from the burning top floor of the main government building, located in the historic Pecherskyi district, Reuters witnesses said. Elsewhere in Kyiv, residential apartments were hit and damaged, with dozens of residents wrapped in blankets gathering on the streets outside to survey the damage to their homes as rescue workers fought to extinguish the flames. The attack underlined growing pessimism in Ukraine and among allies that the war can be ended any time soon, with Russian President Vladimir Putin resisting calls for a ceasefire and emboldened by strengthening relations with China. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he is ready to move to a second phase of sanctioning Russia, the closest he has come to suggesting he is on the verge of ramping up sanctions against Moscow or its oil buyers over the war in Ukraine. He did not elaborate. Until now, Trump, who met Putin last month, has resisted imposing tougher sanctions on Russia. U.S. Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg said on Sunday that the Russian attack looks like an escalation in the conflict. "The attack was not a signal that Russia wants to diplomatically end this war," Kellogg wrote on X. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that additional economic pressure by the United States and Europe could prompt Putin to enter peace talks with Ukraine. Zelenskiy said he spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, coordinating diplomatic efforts, next steps and contacts with partners. Kyiv's European allies have condemned the attack and vowed to stand by Ukraine politically and militarily, but concrete offers of assistance, including the possibility of troops on the ground, are still being discussed. WAR'S BIGGEST DRONE BARRAGE Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said it was the first time in the war that the main government building in Kyiv had been hit, a symbolic blow to a well-defended part of the city. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X that the Russian attack on Kyiv’s government showed "again that the continued delaying (of) a strong reaction against Putin and the attempts to appease him made no sense". Russia launched 805 drones against Ukraine overnight and 13 missiles, with Ukrainian air defence units downing 751 drones and four missiles, the air force said. That was the highest number of drones Russia has used to attack the country since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russia's defence ministry said it had carried out strikes on Ukraine's military-industrial complex and transport infrastructure, according to the TASS news agency. Both sides deny targeting civilians. Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said an infant's body was pulled from the rubble in the Darnytskyi district, where a four-storey apartment building was damaged. A young woman was also killed in the attack on the district, which lies to the east of the Dnipro River, he said. The interior ministry said more than 20 people were wounded in the capital. Air alerts lasted for more than 11 hours in Kyiv and the surrounding region. In Kyiv's Sviatoshynskyi district in the west, several floors of a nine-storey residential building were partially destroyed. Falling drone debris set off fires in a 16-storey apartment building and two more nine-storey buildings, officials said. UKRAINE TARGETS RUSSIAN ENERGY Svyrydenko posted a video from inside the damaged government floor, showing a damaged roof, soot-stained ceilings and rescue workers cleaning the rubble. "I urge the world to turn outrage over Russian crimes into concrete support for Ukraine," she said, standing on the damaged floor. Ukraine's defence ministry said that a new meeting of Kyiv's allies was planned for next week and air defences and supplies for Kyiv's deep strikes on Russia would be discussed. Ukraine's military said it attacked the Druzhba oil pipeline in Russia's Bryansk region, inflicting "comprehensive fire damage" during an overnight attack on Sunday. It is part of a strategy to target Russia's vast energy complex, which is the financial backbone of its economy and helps fund the war. Dozens of explosions also shook Ukraine's central city of Kremenchuk, cutting power to some residents and damaging a bridge across the Dnipro River, Mayor Vitalii Maletskyi said on Telegram. Russian strikes on Kryvyi Rih, also in central Ukraine, targeted transport and urban infrastructure, city officials said, but no injuries were reported. In the southern city of Odesa, civilian infrastructure and residential buildings were damaged, with fires breaking out in several apartment blocks, regional governor Oleh Kiper said. Three people were wounded, he said. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-hits-ukraine-with-biggest-air-attack-war-sets-government-building-ablaze-2025-09-07/

2025-09-07 11:32

Sept 7 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Sunday he had decided to resign, ushering in a potentially lengthy period of policy paralysis at a shaky moment for the world's fourth-largest economy. Ishiba, 68, instructed his Liberal Democratic Party - which has governed Japan for almost all of the post-war era - to hold an emergency leadership race, adding he would continue his duties until a successor was elected. Sign up here. Here are comments from market analysts. MARCHEL ALEXANDROVICH, ECONOMIST, SALTMARSH ECONOMICS, LONDON: "The focus for the markets will be on what happens to bond yields. But it’s exactly what we are seeing in other parts of the world - uncertainty over fiscal policy and high levels of government debt are a toxic combination. As we continue to see in France, of course." MICHAEL BROWN, SENIOR RESEARCH STRATEGIST, PEPPERSTONE, LONDON: "I don't think we can say that the resignation is a complete surprise as it's been mooted for some time, but the timing of the announcement is certainly unexpected. As for the market reaction, this obviously introduces significant downside risks for the (yen) and for long-end (Japanese government bonds) when trade gets underway... "That selling pressure is likely to come first from the market now needing to price a greater degree of political risk, not only in terms of the LDP leadership contest but also the potential for a general election to be held if the new leader seeks a mandate of their own. "There's also the fiscal angle to consider, with candidates for the leadership all likely to propose looser fiscal stances than Ishiba, hence further pressuring the long end of the curve, where demand for JGBs had already been waning quite significantly. "For the (Bank of Japan), all this political uncertainty is likely to be a further delay to the tightening cycle. Policymakers had already been taking an incredibly cautious approach to rate hikes, an approach which they're now even more likely to maintain as political uncertainty ramps up." RONG REN GOH, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, EASTSPRING INVESTMENTS, SINGAPORE: "Ishiba's resignation was preceded by resignations of other senior members of his party, so it's not wholly unexpected in a way. "In terms of impact on JGBs and the yen, market participants appear more concerned about BOJ falling behind the curve, so are likely to focus on the coming two policy meetings in September and October to set the tone for JGBs and the yen. In my mind, the fiscal uncertainty is a secondary concern." KATSUTOSHI INADOME, SENIOR STRATEGIST, SUMITOMO MITSUI TRUST ASSET MANAGEMENT, TOKYO: "Yields on super-long bond yields will likely rise from Ishiba's resignation. He has strict fiscal discipline. There has been an upward pressure on super-long bond yields due to uncertainties about fiscal conditions, and the pressure will increase." TAKAMASA IKEDA, SENIOR PORTFOLIO MANAGER, GCI ASSET MANAGEMENT, TOKYO: "The market has already priced in his resignation, so the question is who is going to be the next. "If Sanae Takaichi is going to be the successor, that's positive for the stock market as she wants to boost government spending." SAKTIANDI SUPAAT, REGIONAL HEAD OF FX RESEARCH AND STRATEGY, GLOBAL MARKETS, MAYBANK, SINGAPORE: "Ishiba's resignation may trigger a knee-jerk safe-haven bid for the yen and some JGB volatility, but sustained direction in dollar/yen will hinge more on Fed–BoJ policy divergence than domestic politics. "If Ishiba's resignation escalates into broader LDP instability, markets could price in greater political risk premia, amplifying safe-haven flows into the yen and flattening pressure on JGB yields." https://www.reuters.com/business/analyst-views-japan-pm-ishibas-resignation-2025-09-07/

2025-09-07 11:19

Deal to raise output reached in principle, sources say Output to rise by 130,000-140,000 bpd in Oct, sources say Meeting starts at 1230 GMT on Sunday Talks focus on gradual unwinding of 1.65 mln bpd cut LONDON/MOSCOW/BAGHDAD, Sept 7 (Reuters) - OPEC+ is set to agree to further raise oil output on Sunday, while probably slowing the pace of increases from October compared with recent months because of weakening global demand, four OPEC+ sources said. OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and other allies, has reversed its strategy of output cuts from April and has already raised quotas by about 2.5 million barrels per day. Sign up here. That increase, which equates to about 2.4% of world demand, was intended to boost market share amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for lower oil prices. But those increases have failed to significantly dent oil prices, which are trading near $66 a barrel supported by Western sanctions on Russia and Iran, encouraging further oil production increases by rivals such as the United States. A deal on Sunday to boost output from October - to be discussed at an online meeting of the group's members due to start at 1230 GMT - would mean OPEC+ would begin to unwind a second tranche of cuts of about 1.65 million bpd by eight members more than a year ahead of schedule, after fully unwinding the first tranche since April. The group will likely agree to raise oil output from October by between 130,000 and 140,000 barrels per day, Iraq's OPEC delegate Mohammed al-Najjar told reporters on the sidelines of an energy conference in Baghdad. "So far the matter is still uncertain," Najjar added. Two sources familiar with the talks said that the group has reached an agreement in principle to raise output by at least 135,000 bpd from October. A third source said that an increase of about 135,000 bpd was looking likely. This would mean that the group would unwind the 1.65 million bpd cut over the course of one year, giving it the option to accelerate, pause or reverse hikes at future meetings. At their last meeting in August, OPEC+, which pumps about half of the world's oil, raised production by 547,000 bpd for September. Brent crude futures closed at $65.50 a barrel on Friday, down 2.2%, due to a weak U.S. jobs report and expectations of an OPEC+ output hike. This is still up from a 2025 low of near $58 seen in April. OPEC+'s hikes have fallen short of the pledged amounts because most members are pumping near capacity. As a result, only Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are able to add more barrels into the market, analysts have said and data have shown. OPEC+ still has in place two layers of cuts - the 1.65 million bpd cut by eight members, and another 2 million bpd cut by the whole group in place until the end of 2026. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/opec-set-raise-oil-output-further-october-sources-say-2025-09-07/

2025-09-07 11:04

Election takes place on September 7-8 Left-wing parties hold narrow lead in polls Geopolitical concerns weigh on voters Small parties could sway election outcome OSLO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Norwegians went to the polls on Sunday for the first of two days of voting in a close race between a left-wing bloc led by the incumbent Labour Party and a right-wing bloc headed by the populist Progress Party and the Conservatives. At least nine political parties are expected to win seats in the parliamentary election which ends on Monday evening, but only the leaders of the three major parties are candidates for prime minister. Sign up here. Key issues in the campaign have included the cost of living, taxation and public services, and the outcome could have an impact on energy and power supplies to Europe as well as the management of Norway's $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund. Geopolitics have loomed large with voters, and analysts said this could benefit Labour and its leader, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, a former foreign minister who presents himself as a safe pair of hands. Labour and four smaller parties are seen winning 88 seats in Norway's parliament, three more than the minimum needed to secure a majority and down from a combined 100 seats for the left in 2021, according to an average of recent opinion polls. The Progress Party and the Conservative Party, along with two smaller groups, are on course to win the remaining 81 seats, but the difference in opinion polls between the left and the right blocs remains well within the margin of error. TUTTI FRUTTI COALITION Since 2021, Stoere has needed the backing of the agrarian Centre Party and the Socialist Left to support his agenda, but polls show he may need to widen the scope to include the Communist party and the Greens. "The most likely scenario is that Stoere gets re-elected, but this will be a 'tutti frutti' coalition, which will be going in very different directions," said Jonas Stein, an associate professor in political science at the university of Tromsoe. Demands from Greens and Communists may include tougher restrictions on oil and gas exploration, more tax on the wealthy and high earners, and more overall spending from Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest. The return to power of U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's war in Ukraine have been particular sources of anxiety in Norway, a nation of 5.6 million people with an export-oriented economy and a shared border with Russia in the Arctic. Labour is seen winning some 27% of the vote, this month's pollofpolls.no average showed, which would make it the biggest party. Kristin Tellefsen, 50, a high school teacher speaking to Reuters in Oslo on Saturday, said equality and integration were her top priorities, adding she considered that the prime minister was doing a great job. "Stoere is a huge resource for this country," Tellefsen said. In the right-wing camp, former prime minister Erna Solberg's Conservatives have campaigned for public sector reform and scrapping Norway's wealth tax, which they say unfairly targets business ownership. But as in other Western countries, voters are increasingly turning to more populist right-wing options. Sylvi Listhaug's anti-immigration Progress Party is currently polling around 21% of the vote, comfortably ahead of the Conservatives on 14%. Solberg and Listhaug have openly disagreed on who should be the next prime minister in the case of a right-wing victory, leaving some voters wary of backing either of the two. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/norwegians-begin-voting-tightly-fought-parliamentary-election-2025-09-07/