Reuters Financial News

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By John Revill and Noele Illien

sugar output this crop year, hit by weak rains, is set to lag consumption for the first time in seven years, according to traders and a survey of farmers, and lower plantings may even force the world's No.2 producer to import in the following year. Driven by falling yields in two key producing states, Maharashtra and Karnataka, the sluggish outlook for the crop year that began in October reinforces expectations India will ban sugar exports in 2024. Sugar output could be even lower in the next crop year, which runs to September 2025. Low reservoir levels in Maharashtra and Karnataka, which together produce nearly half of India's sugar, are prompting many farmers to plant crops that need less water and mature faster than cane, such as sorghum and chickpeas, Reuters found in a survey of over 200 farmers. Reuters' calculations based on the survey showed output could fall this crop year and next, in line with traders' internal forecasts. Consumption is expected to rise over the same period. While the survey covers a small sample of farmers in key areas, it shows growing pressures that could force India, which supplies 12% of globally traded sugar, to become a net importer from as early as the first half of 2025, industry insiders told Reuters, in what would be a major reversal. The prospect of this year's crop falling short of forecasts and India being forced to import sugar for the first time since 2017 threatens to drive up global prices, which already hit multi-year highs last month.

(Reuters) — The Bank of Japan maintained ultra-loose monetary settings on Tuesday in a widely expected move, underscoring policymakers' preference to await more clues on whether wages will rise enough to keep inflation durably around its 2% target.

Federal Reserve could move. While a few Fed officials have pushed back against surging market expectations of rate cuts, markets are still pricing in about a 69% chance of a Fed rate cut in March, according to the CME FedWatch tool, Reuters reported.

Joe Biden, warning that European technology regulations are unfairly targeting US companies and not including many Chinese or EU firms, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Monday. Under the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), five major US tech companies — Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft — were designated «gatekeeper» service providers. From March 2024, these companies — as well as TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance — will be required to make their messaging apps work with rivals and let users choose which ones they want pre-installed on their devices.

By Leika Kihara

Here are top 10 updates on Israel-Hamas war, 1) Hamas released a short video on Monday showing three elderly Israeli hostages whom the Islamist group seized during its October 7 rampage. Israel denounced it as a “criminal, terrorist video", Reuters reported.

Catch Live Market Updates here Investors await the decision of Bank of Japan policy meeting wherein members are likely to debate whether economic conditions are falling into place for the bank to begin unwinding ultra-loose monetary settings. None of the economists polled by Reuters expect the central bank to end its negative interest rate policy on Tuesday with most projecting such an action to happen next year. Meanwhile, the domestic equity indices ended lower on Monday as investors seem to book profits after markets set a new high last week.

Investing.com-- The Bank of Japan is widely expected to maintain interest rates at negative levels later on Tuesday, amid continued signals from central bank officials that they are in no hurry to tighten policy.

By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed

By Martin Coulter

By Emma Farge

(Reuters) -The U.S. state of Tennessee has sued BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) alleging the world's largest asset manager breached consumer protection laws by making «misleading» statements about its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) investment strategies.

Security Council could vote as early as Monday on a proposal to demand that Israel and Hamas allow aid access to the Gaza Strip — via land, sea and air routes — and set up U.N. monitoring of the humanitarian assistance delivered. Diplomats said the fate of the draft Security Council resolution hinges on final negotiations between Israel ally and council veto power, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates, which has drafted the text.

Russia, the European Commission said in a statement on Monday, after Austria gave its final approval over the weekend. The package focuses on a Russian-origin diamond import ban as well as imposing additional import and export bans on Russia, combating sanctions circumvention and closing loopholes, it said.

(Reuters) -Consumer goods giant Unilever (LON:ULVR) on Monday said it would sell Elida Beauty, its non-core beauty and personal care division, to U.S. private equity firm Yellow (OTC:YELLQ) Wood Partners.

Meanwhile, China's consumer prices fell the fastest in three years in November while factory-gate deflation deepened, indicating rising deflationary pressures as weak domestic demand casts doubt over the economic recovery. Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said the data would be alarming for policymakers and cited three main factors behind it: falling global energy prices, the fading of the winter travel boom and a chronic supply glut. Early this month, rating agency Moody's downgraded the outlook for China's economy from 'stable' to 'negative' owing to persistently lower medium-term economic growth and the ongoing downsizing of the property sector in the country. China is struggling with grave portends for its economy which has been for long the toast of the world. China’s economy will slow next year, with annual growth falling to 4.5% from 5.2% this year despite a recent recovery spurred by investments in factories and construction and in demand for services, the World Bank said in a report last week. While it was briefly seen to be emerging strongly out of the Zero-Covid policies, the hope was short lived. The ongoing real estate crisis has dampened the consumer spirit, huge debt is weighing down the economy, foreign investors are losing confidence and unemployment and deflation are dogging the world's second-largest economy. Add to that President Xi Jinping's crackdown on private business. While China is not heading towards a collapse, its miracle growth is now a thing of the past.

By Nell Mackenzie and Wayne Cole

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The press is reporting that the Biden Administration is contemplating the use of military force in response to continuing attacks on commercial shipping by the Houthi militia in Yemen. It’s about time. The Houthi missile attacks pose the most significant threat to global shipping in decades, and they will continue unless a global coalition unites to stop them.