Business

By Philip Blenkinsop and Laurie Chen

BRUSSELS/BEIJING (Reuters) -European Union leaders will use a summit with China next month to seek better access to Chinese rare earths and critical minerals, four sources familiar with the plans said, as the two sides tackle an array of tariff-related issues.

For years, China has had a near monopoly on rare earth production. It increased its export controls on the minerals, in demand from automakers, the defence industry and producers of renewable energy, following the tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on April 2.

China also has grievances with the EU as the bloc has sought to protect its auto-making sector from cheaper Chinese imports, while China has imposed measures on France’s brandy industry.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will travel to Beijing for the summit on July 24-25.

It marks 50 years of EU-Chinese relations and will also take place two weeks after a deadline set by the United States for most trade partners to agree deals to avert higher tariffs.

As automakers have said China’s export restrictions on rare earth alloys, mixtures and magnets could cause production delays, European leaders are expected to press their case with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in separate meetings, said an EU official, who declined to be identified.

Two EU sources said the EU mission to China is solely focused on rare earths until the summit.

China’s ministry of commerce in May said a “green channel” expediting rare earth licences for EU firms had been set up. However, one EU diplomat said that out of several hundred applications, no more than half had shown signs of being processed.

“The situation is improving, although the percentage of cleared licences does vary. Additionally, even once the licence is given, delays can still be seen in customs clearances,” Adam Dunnett, secretary general of the European Chamber of Commerce in China, said.

The quest to resolve the supply crunch is among a number of trade conflicts between Europe and China.

Brussels has imposed tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles alleging unfair state subsidies, prompting China to impose anti-dumping measures on EU brandy. Beijing has also initiated trade probes into EU pork and some dairy goods.

BEIJING NOT BRUSSELS

The lead-up to the summit, has not been smooth. It had been Brussels’ turn to be the host but after China indicated Xi would not travel to the Belgian capital, Beijing was chosen as the venue.

Some EU officials said they did not expect the summit to produce major deals, one commenting that China was “playing its cards very well”. The official said China had identified rare earths as a major vulnerability and was waiting until the last minute to make any concessions.

The EU wants China to grant rare earth licences for a longer period or to scrap them for exports to the bloc. In any case, it wants Beijing to clearly differentiate between the EU and the United States. China offered to prioritise civilian-use rare earth export licences for U.S. firms during talks in London earlier this month.

“If China wants the EU equidistant between itself and the Trump administration, China’s trade regimes cannot equate the U.S. and Europe either,” said Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, director of trade think tank ECIPE, who met senior Chinese officials last week.

Another EU official said the impending deadline to secure an agreement with the United States, which might press the EU to be hard on China in exchange for moderating U.S. tariffs, made it difficult for the EU to work on a deal with Beijing.

The official said it was always possible the July 9 deadline would be postponed or that details of any U.S. deal could emerge later, limiting the possibility of EU progress with China.

China wants the EU to replace its import tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles with minimum price commitments and other concessions after it delayed the imposition of duties on EU brandy. China has said talks are in the final stages, but EU officials say progress has been limited.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop and Laurie Chen; additional reporting by Jan Strupczewski and Julia Payne; editing by Richard Lough and Barbara Lewis)

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By Suban Abdulla and David Milliken

LONDON (Reuters) -The Bank of England held interest rates at 4.25% as expected on Thursday but said it was focused on risks from a weaker labour market and higher energy prices as conflict in the Middle East escalates.

The Monetary Policy Committee voted 6-3 to keep rates on hold. Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden joined Swati Dhingra and Alan Taylor to vote for a quarter-point reduction.

The three policymakers highlighted “a material loosening in labour market conditions” after official figures showed the highest unemployment rate since 2021 and weaker wage growth.

A Reuters poll of economists had forecast an 7-2 vote to keep rates on hold after the central bank cut borrowing costs last month for the fourth time since August 2024.

“Interest rates remain on a gradual downward path,” Governor Andrew Bailey said, although policymakers added that interest rates were not on a pre-set path.

“The world is highly unpredictable. In the UK we are seeing signs of softening in the labour market. We will be looking carefully at the extent to which those signs feed through to consumer price inflation,” Bailey added.

The central bank said rising tensions in the Middle East as it held its meeting over the past week had not been key to June’s decision to hold rates, but would be closely monitored.

“Energy prices had risen owing to an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. The committee would remain vigilant about these developments and their potential impact on the UK economy,” the BoE said.

Nearly all 60 economists polled by Reuters before the BoE’s June meeting had predicted it would keep Bank Rate on hold at 4.25%, with the next cut likely in August with a further reduction in the final three months of this year.

Sterling briefly fell by around a fifth of a cent against the U.S. dollar after Thursday’s decision, while investors continued to price in almost two more quarter-point rate cuts this year.

“We still expect two more rate cuts this year, but there is clearly a significant risk that the MPC chooses to ‘skip’ one of those cuts if energy prices keep rising,” Thomas Pugh, chief economist at accountants RSM UK, said.

The central bank kept its guidance, saying it would take a “gradual and careful” approach to further rate cuts.

But Bank staff analysis struck a less pessimistic tone about the potential impacts of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the global economy, saying it might be less severe than thought in May. Trade uncertainty would still continue to have an impact on the UK economy, the central bank added.

INFLATION RISING

The BoE left its forecast for inflation broadly unchanged for the second half of this year, seeing a peak rate of 3.7% in September, up from 3.4% in May, and an average of just under 3.5% for the rest of the year.

The economy is now expected to grow around 0.25% in the second quarter of this year, slightly stronger than in its May forecast, though it said the underlying pace was weak.

The central bank said it expected a significant slowing in pay growth over the remainder of the year.

Since the middle of last year, the BoE has cut interest rates by 1 percentage point, the same as the U.S. Federal Reserve – which on Wednesday held interest rates at the 4.25%-4.50% range – but only half as much as the European Central Bank, which has had less persistent inflation.

Markets see just under half a percentage point more easing by the Fed this year and a further quarter-point cut by the ECB.

The Fed on Wednesday cut its economic growth forecasts for 2025, raised its inflation projection and said the uncertainty hanging over the economy had diminished but remained elevated.

Earlier on Thursday, the Swiss National Bank cut rates by 25 basis points to zero as inflationary pressures decreased and it focused the risk of trade wars for inflation and the global economy.

(Writing by Suban Abdulla; graphics by Sumanta Sen; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Candy company Mars has not offered remedies to EU antitrust regulators reviewing its proposed $36-billion takeover of Pringles maker Kellanova, an update on the European Commission website showed on Thursday.

The deadline for Mars to offer remedies was June 18.

Mars and Kellanova did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that Mars was unlikely to offer remedies for now to address the EU competition enforcer’s concerns about its high market share in certain products in some European Union countries and its portfolio of strong brands.

People close to the matter said the EU antitrust watchdog will launch a full-scale investigation into the deal at the end of its preliminary review which finishes on June 25.

An EU investigation could force Mars to divest assets to allay competition concerns.

But the bar is high for regulators to prove anti-competitive harm caused by so-called portfolio effects, which refer to a combined portfolio of products boosting a company’s dominant position or creating market power.

It is also difficult to find remedies to address portfolio effects.

The deal, announced last August, is one of the biggest in a sector dealing with the impact of inflation-weary belt-tightening consumers and a shift to private label brands.

The transaction brings brands from M&Ms and Snickers to Pringles and Pop-Tarts under one roof.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee. Editing by Jane Merriman)

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By Stefanno Sulaiman, Yantoultra Ngui and Fanny Potkin

JAKARTA/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Singapore-based Grab’s plan to acquire Indonesia’s GoTo to create a dominant Southeast Asian ride hailing and food delivery company has run into regulatory hurdles, three sources said, casting a cloud over a potential deal.

Reuters reported in May Nasdaq-listed Grab was looking to strike a deal to buy smaller rival GoTo in the second quarter and had hired advisers to work on the proposed acquisition. A deal could value GoTo at around $7 billion.

The two companies now need more time to agree on a deal after the Indonesian government proposed some conditions for the plan to go through, said the three sources, who have knowledge of the deal discussions.

The Indonesian government is examining how the potential merger would impact job welfare and market competition in Southeast Asia’s biggest and most populated economy, said two of the sources.

In May, hundreds of ride-hailing drivers and riders joined protests in several cities across Indonesia over low wages and to oppose a Grab-GoTo merger, fearing the creation of a monopoly that would lead to job cuts and raise prices for consumers.

The government also wants the merged entity to guarantee more benefits, such as better fees and bonuses to riders and drivers, said one of the sources, who did not wish to be identified as the deal talks are confidential.

Grab said last week it stood by its previous statement that it was not involved in any discussions for a potential transaction with GoTo and has not entered into any definitive agreements.

Separately, Grab also raised $1.5 billion in a convertible notes offer, citing acquisitions among the capital’s intended uses.

GoTo, which is trading at a valuation of $4.4 billion, referred Reuters to its previous regulatory disclosures that there has been no agreement with any party about a potential transaction.

Indonesia’s transport ministry declined to comment.

OPTIMISING OPERATIONS

GoTo is 73.90%-owned by foreign investors, including SoftBank Group and Taobao China Holding, a unit of China’s Alibaba Group, with the rest owned by Indonesian investors, according to its 2024 annual report.

SoftBank’s SVF GT Subco (Singapore) Pte Ltd and Taobao are GoTo’s top two shareholders, holding 7.65% and 7.43% stakes, respectively, the report showed.

When asked to comment on a potential deal involving GoTo and Grab, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, the deputy speaker of the Indonesian parliament, told Reuters the government wants GoTo to be majority-owned by Indonesians.

Dasco, who is also a senior member of Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto’s ruling party, did not detail how GoTo can be majority-owned by Indonesians. He also did not comment on any conditions the government has set for the potential merger.

Deputy Indonesian manpower minister Immanuel Ebenezer, whose agency oversees employment, said he has no information on any conditions set for a Grab-GoTo merger.

A merger would enable the two companies, which, according to LSEG data, have been posting annual net losses since their IPOs, to cut costs by optimising operations.

Grab, with a current market value of about $19 billion, is currently worth about half the $40 billion when it merged with a blank-check company to list on the Nasdaq in December 2021.

($1 = 16,295.0000 rupiah)

(Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman in Jakarta; Fanny Potkin and Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore and Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares retreated Thursday as worries persisted about conflict in the Middle East.

Ratcheting up tensions, President Donald Trump warned of the possibility of getting directly involved in the conflict with Israel, while Iran’s supreme leader rejected U.S. calls for surrender.

Oil prices and U.S. futures declined.

In Asian trading, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 shed 0.7% to 38,619.17. Shares in Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. rose 0.8% after it announced that its acquisition of U.S. Steel, which met U.S. government opposition for more than a year, was finally completed.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 2% to 23,231.48 on heavy selling of tech-related shares, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.9% to 3,359.78.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed at 8,528.30 and in South Korea, the Kospi lost 0.4% to 2,960.81.

U.S. financial markets will be closed Thursday for the Juneteenth holiday.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish after the Federal Reserve indicated it may cut interest rates twice this year, though it’s far from certain about that.

The S&P 500 finished nearly unchanged at 5,980.87. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1% to 42,171.66, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1% to 19,546.27.

Treasury yields also wavered but ultimately held relatively steady after the Fed released projections showing the median official expects to cut the federal funds rate twice by the end of 2025. That’s the same number they were projecting three months ago, and it helped calm worries a bit that inflation caused by T rump’s higher tariffs could tie the Fed’s hands.

Cuts in rates would make mortgages, credit-card payments and other loans cheaper for U.S. households and businesses, which in turn could strengthen the overall economy. But they could likewise fan inflation higher.

So far, inflation has remained relatively tame, and it’s near the Fed’s target of 2%. But economists have been warning it may take months to feel the effects of tariffs. And inflation has been feeling upward pressure recently from a spurt in oil prices because of Israel’s fighting with Iran.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed on Wednesday that all the uncertainty surrounding tariffs means the median forecast for two cuts to interest rates this year could end up being far from reality. “Right now it’s just a forecast in a very foggy time,” he said

Fed officials are waiting to see how big Trump’s tariffs will ultimately be, what they will affect and whether they will drive a one-time increase to inflation or something more dangerous. There is also still deep uncertainty about how much tariffs will grind down on the economy’s growth.

“Because the economy is still solid, we can take the time to actually see what’s going to happen,” Powell said.

“We’ll make smarter and better decisions if we just wait a couple months or however long it takes to get a sense of really what is going to be the passthrough of inflation and what are going to be the effects on spending and hiring and all those things.”

A report released Wednesday said fewer workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, possibly indicating fewer layoffs. But another said homebuilders broke ground on fewer homes last month than economists expected. That suggests higher mortgage rates may be casting a chill on the industry.

In other dealings early Thursday, benchmark U.S. crude declined 10 cents to $73.40. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 24 cents to $76.46 a barrel.

Oil prices have been yo-yoing as fears rise and ebb that the conflict between Israel and Iran could disrupt the global flow of crude. Iran is a major producer of oil and also sits on the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world’s crude passes.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 145.05 Japanese yen from 145.13 yen. The euro cost $1.1468, down from $1.1484.

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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.

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By Colleen Howe

BEIJING (Reuters) -Oil prices slipped on Thursday as investors hesitated to take new positions after U.S. President Donald Trump gave mixed signals on the country’s potential involvement in the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict.

Brent crude futures fell 37 cents, or 0.48%, to $76.33 a barrel by 0110 GMT after gaining 0.3% in the previous session marked by high volatility, with prices falling as much as 2.7%.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for July fell 28 cents, or 0.37% to $74.86 a barrel, after settling up 0.4% in the previous despite dropping by as much as 2.4%.

The July contract expires on Friday and the more active August contract was down 21 cents, or 0.29%, to $73.29 a barrel.

There is still a “healthy risk premium baked into the price as traders await to see whether the next stage of the Israel-Iran conflict is a U.S. strike or peace talks”, Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG, said in a note.

The former could lead prices to rise by $5 while peace talks could lead to a drop of around the same magnitude, Sycamore said.

Trump on Wednesday told reporters that he may or may not decide for the U.S. to join Israel in its missile attacks on Iran. The conflict stretched into its seventh day on Thursday.

Direct U.S. involvement would widen the conflict, putting energy infrastructure in the region at higher risk of attack, analysts say.

Iran is OPEC’s third-largest producer, extracting about 3.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil. But more crucially, about 19 million bpd of oil and oil products move through the key Strait of Hormuz waterway and there is widespread concern the fighting could disrupt trade flows there.

The U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady on Wednesday but pencilled in two rate cuts by the end of the year. Chair Jerome Powell however cautioned the rate cuts would be “data-dependent” and that more consumer inflation is expected from President Trump’s planned import tariffs.

Lower interest rates would stimulate the economy, and as a result demand for oil, but that could exacerbate inflation.

(Reporting by Colleen Howe; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

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By Davide Barbuscia and Lewis Krauskopf

NEW YORK (Reuters) -A cautious Federal Reserve has put a damper on hopes for interest rate cuts, leaving investors on edge as they navigate a murky mix of geopolitical tensions, inflation risks, and looming growth drag from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The Fed on Wednesday kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged, as expected. While policymakers reaffirmed that they expected some reduction in borrowing costs this year, they dialed back the anticipated pace of future cuts because of the potential for higher inflation amid uncertainty over the Trump administration’s proposed tariff plans.

“The calm that the Fed has should be comforting to investors, but it also on the other hand reflects the incredible uncertainty that we have over all the data that is rolling forward,” said Bob Savage, head markets strategist at BNY.

Investors on Wednesday clung to expectations for two quarter-point rate cuts this year, in line with the median expectation of rate-setting Fed officials. Rates futures traders were largely betting on a cut between September and October, and a second one in December.

The market remains on edge after the Fed slightly marked up the outlook for inflation this year. Fed officials revised inflation expectations to 3% this year from a previous forecast of 2.7%, June’s summary of economic projections by the Fed showed. Economic growth forecasts for 2025 were revised to 1.4% from a March forecast of 1.7%.

Compounding the Fed’s more muted economic expectations, a deepening crisis in the Middle East and its potential to push energy prices higher overshadowed a soft core inflation reading for May that had offered some relief to the market.

“There’s not a lot of things out there that say inflation is going to crash to zero or negative, and so the skew is to the upside, and the Fed recognizes that,” said Brad Long, chief investment officer at Fiducient Advisors.

U.S. Treasury yields edged higher after Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned in Wednesday’s press conference that goods inflation could pick up this summer as tariffs begin hitting consumers. The S&P 500 ended nearly flat on Wednesday, giving back earlier gains after Powell’s remarks.

Policymakers still anticipate cutting rates by half a percentage point this year, as they projected in March and December, but they slightly slowed the pace from there to a single quarter-percentage-point cut in each of 2026 and 2027, in a protracted fight to return inflation to their 2% target.

The number of officials projecting no rate cuts this year increased compared to March, according to the widely followed “dot plot” included in the summary.

Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist at PGIM Fixed Income, said the outcome was hawkish.

“This Fed is laser-focused on inflation,” he said.

“They’re willing to tolerate some weakness in growth.”

HOT SUMMER

Trump has repeatedly pushed for lower interest rates, but on Wednesday Powell cautioned that a new wave of cost pressures may be on the horizon, as businesses across the supply chain wrestle with how to absorb tariffs.

“Every outside forecaster and the Fed is saying … that we expect a meaningful amount of inflation to arrive in coming months, and we have to take that into account,” he said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Trump said last week he would be willing to extend a July 8 deadline for completing trade talks with countries before higher U.S. tariffs take effect.

Blake Gwinn, head of U.S. rates strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said the July tariff deadline remained key for markets.

“If I’m thinking of risk events, that is one that looms pretty large from here,” he said.

For investors, the inflation data in the coming months will be critical, said Michael Reynolds, vice president of investment strategy at Glenmede.    “The aggregate picture that they tell… is really going to be informing investors whether you see more of a risk-on rally on the back of rate cuts and expectations of rate cuts, or if we are still in this uncertainty holding pattern.”

While the inflation outlook is cloudy, economic indicators are painting a picture of slowing momentum in the U.S. economy.

Employment growth has been losing steam in recent months and the housing sector is showing fresh signs of strain. Data out Wednesday revealed that housing starts plunged nearly 10% in May, marking their lowest level since the early days of the pandemic in 2020.

Stephen Dover, chief market strategist and head of the Franklin Templeton Institute, said he saw opportunities outside of the United States due to political uncertainty and concerns around inflation.

In the bond market, he was more positive on short-dated debt because tariffs complicated predictions over the long-term trajectory of bonds.

“It’s a fool’s errand to try to really predict what’s going to happen with tariffs,” he said.

(Reporting by Davide Barbuscia; Editing by Alden Bentley and Diane Craft)

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested upward of 80 people unlawfully in the country during a raid at a southwest Louisiana racetrack, the agency announced Tuesday.

ICE said it raided the Delta Downs Racetrack, Hotel and Casino in Calcasieu Parish on Monday alongside other state and federal agencies, including the FBI and the U.S. Border Patrol. The raid angered one racehorse industry group and comes at a time when the Trump administration is pursuing more arrests.

Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and the main architect of Trump’s immigration policies, has pushed ICE to aim for at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from about 650 a day during the first five months of Trump’s second term.

ICE said authorities had “received intelligence” that businesses operating at the racetrack’s stables employed “unauthorized workers” who were then targeted in the raid.

Of the dozens of workers detained during the raid, “at least two” had prior criminal records, according to the agency.

“These enforcement operations aim to disrupt illegal employment networks that threaten the integrity of our labor systems, put American jobs at risk and create pathways for exploitation within critical sectors of our economy,” said Steven Stavinoha, U.S. Customs and Border Protection director of field operations in New Orleans, in a written statement.

But some racing industry leaders were livid.

“To come in and take that many workers away and leave the horse racing operation stranded and without workers is unacceptable,” said Peter Ecabert, general counsel for the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, which represents 29,000 thoroughbred racehorse owners and trainers, including at Delta Downs.

“If they (ICE) were willing to come in and try and work with us, we are willing to make sure things are done in an orderly way,” Ecabert added. “But what they have done here leaves everyone in a bad situation.”

Groomers and other stable workers are essential and allow horses to receive round-the-clock skilled care, Ecabert said, noting that the work is grueling and it can be very difficult to find people willing to do the job.

David Strow, a spokesperson for the racetrack’s owner, Boyd Gaming Corporation, said that the company “complies fully” with federal labor laws and that “no Delta Downs team members were involved.”

“We will cooperate with law enforcement as requested,” he added in an emailed statement.

In the past few weeks, ICE has engaged in other large-scale raids across Louisiana. On May 27, the agency raided a federally funded flood-reduction project in New Orleans and reported arresting 15 Central American workers. And the agency said it arrested 10 Chinese nationals working at massage parlors in Baton Rouge during a June 11 raid.

Rachel Taber, an organizer with the Louisiana-based immigrant rights group Unión Migrante, criticized the raids as harmful and hypocritical.

“Our economy runs on immigrants,” Taber said. “And when we let ourselves be divided by racial hatred, our economy for everyone suffers.”

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Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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By Clara Denina and Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Rio Tinto agreed to pay $138.75 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the Anglo-Australian mining giant of defrauding investors by concealing problems with its $7 billion underground expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia.

A preliminary settlement of the proposed class action was filed late on Wednesday with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and requires a judge’s approval.

The lawsuit sought damages on behalf of shareholders of Montreal-based Turquoise Hill Resources between July 2018 and July 2019, when that company was majority-owned by Rio Tinto.

Shareholders were led by funds advised by Chicago-based Pentwater Capital Management.

The settlement also resolved claims against former Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques, who stepped down in March 2021.

All defendants denied wrongdoing, but settled to eliminate the uncertainty, burden and cost of litigation, court papers show.

Rio Tinto and Pentwater declined to comment.

Turquoise Hill had been a single-asset company owning 66% of the Oyu Tolgoi mine, with Mongolia’s government owning 34%.

Pentwater accused Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill of fraudulently assuring that the Oyu Tolgoi mine was “on plan” and “on budget,” even as it was falling up to 2-1/2 years behind schedule and running as much as $1.9 billion over budget.

In 2022, Rio Tinto bought the 49% of Turquoise Hill it didn’t already own for $3.3 billion, fully integrating the mine into its copper portfolio.

The lawsuit stemmed partly from allegations by whistleblower Richard Bowley, who worked at the mine and claimed Rio Tinto knew about problems with the expansion before it publicly disclosed them.

Rio announced the possible $1.9 billion overrun in 2019, and projected total capital expenditures of $6.5 billion to $7.2 billion.

Lawyers for the shareholders plan to seek legal fees of up to 13% of the settlement amount, or about $18 million excluding interest, plus up to $2.6 million for expenses, court papers show.

The case is In re Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 20-08585.

(Reporting by Clara Denina in London and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler and Sonali Paul)

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By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Futures on the federal funds rate, which measure the cost of unsecured overnight loans between banks, raised the odds the Federal Reserve would resume cutting interest rates at the September meeting, with a roughly 64% probability.

Prior to the Fed’s decision on Wednesday to keep rates unchanged in the 4.25%-4.50% target range, the probability of a rate cut stood at 58%. Traders also increased the chances for another cut at the October meeting.

In its statement, Fed policymakers signaled borrowing costs are still likely to decline this year, but the Fed slowed the overall pace of expected easing amid the Trump administration’s tariff plans.

U.S. rate futures also implied 50 basis points in rate cuts in 2025, from 46 bps before the Fed statement. That was in line with the Fed’s forecast released on Wednesday of half a percentage point of rate reduction this year, unchanged from the U.S. central bank’s March and December projections.

The Fed also slightly slowed the pace from 2025 to a single quarter-percentage-point cut in 2026 and in 2027.

“Much like the tariff talk, the Fed has pivoted to a more of a kick the can down the road narrative as uncertainty may have diminished, but it’s still elevated according to their terms,” wrote Jay Woods, chief global strategist, at Freedom Capital Markets, in emailed comments.

“Overall, the Fed’s dual mandate is still in question. While nothing in the data has changed significantly, the inflation outlook rising with growth slowing does not bode well for any cuts in the foreseeable future.”

(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Chris Reese and Diane Craft)

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