Economics

Lula Bans Online Betting in Brazil as Reelection Race Tightens: September 26, 2026

SAO PAULO — President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Friday announced a ban on online betting operations in Latin America’s largest economy and unveiled a new household debt-relief program, the latest measures ahead of next month’s election, Reuters reported.

The executive order takes immediate effect but must be approved by Congress within 120 days to remain in force. It comes less than two years after Brazil opened a legal framework for the industry. Finance Minister Dario Durigan called online betting “a public health issue,” saying app stores and network providers must block betting websites on October 6. Polls show Lula locked in a tight race with Senator Flavio Bolsonaro ahead of the October 4 first-round vote; Bolsonaro called the ban “populist, hypocritical and politically motivated.”

The Finance Ministry estimates Brazilian households spend about 60 billion reais ($11.6 billion) a year on online betting. Lula also said the government will hold a November auction to buy and restructure household debt, spending 15 billion reais to acquire up to 150 billion reais of delinquent loans at deep discounts.

Sources: Reuters

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Trump Sees No Urgency for Canada Trade Deal as Dispute Deepens: September 26, 2026

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration is comfortable maintaining its trade standoff with Canada even as new U.S. import bans on Canadian products take effect next week and Washington threatens 50% tariffs on Canadian autos, parts and steel from January, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Friday, Reuters reported.

“We’re comfortable with where we are. … There’s no urgency on our side,” Greer told CNBC, noting the United States is still receiving Canadian oil, gas and potash. The looming bans cover a broad range of Canadian goods including alcoholic beverages, motorcycles and dairy. Canada’s own retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods took effect earlier this month after the United States imposed 50% tariffs on some $20 billion of Canadian goods last month.

The breakdown has strained the longtime allies and cast doubt on the future of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Some experts say Washington may first seek a deal with Mexico to gain leverage with Ottawa. The Canadian Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment.

Sources: Reuters

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Australia’s Energy Minister to Visit Saudi Arabia Amid Supply Fears: September 15, 2026

SYDNEY — Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen said he would travel to Saudi Arabia next week to meet his counterpart, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, as escalation in the Middle East raises concerns over global energy supply disruptions, Reuters reported Tuesday.

Australia imported 84% of its petroleum product demand last year, official data show, leaving it exposed to shocks since the U.S.–Israeli war with Iran began in February. “What we are seeing in the Middle East is deeply concerning,” Bowen told ABC News late Monday, adding that Saudi Arabia’s approach would be key to fuel security in coming weeks and months.

Canberra currently holds 41 days’ worth of petrol reserves, Bowen said. He ruled out a new fuel tax cut after Labor halved the fuel excise for three months in March, saying the earlier relief was temporary and that the government would not respond to every daily oil-price move.

Oil settled about 1% higher Monday after Houthi attacks on a Saudi military facility and the postponement of Gulf talks with Iran. Last week’s strike on Saudi Arabia’s East–West pipeline, which bypasses the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, continues to threaten as much as 4% of global supply.

Sources: Reuters

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Milei Plans Bill to Toughen Sanctions on Falklands Oil Firms: September 15, 2026

BUENOS AIRES — Argentine President Javier Milei is preparing legislation this week to toughen sanctions against companies operating in the Falkland Islands, a move analysts say raises uncertainty over whether Buenos Aires may escalate commercial pressure on the disputed territory, Reuters reported.

The proposed bill would build on sanctions proceedings Argentina says it has opened against at least 60 companies and individuals linked to offshore oil exploration around the islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas. Congressional aide Marcelo Seghini said penalties could extend to affiliates and other activities affecting Argentina’s natural resources, and that fishing may also be targeted.

The push accelerated after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Washington could reconsider its traditionally neutral stance on the dispute. Oil majors SLB, Baker Hughes, and Halliburton have said they would not participate in activities on the islands. Developers of the Sea Lion project say they hold valid Falkland Islands licenses and do not expect Milei’s actions to derail work.

Analysts warn broader sanctions could chill investment in Argentina itself, including Vaca Muerta shale. Opposition lawmakers accuse Milei of political opportunism ahead of a likely 2027 reelection bid; his libertarian coalition lacks majorities in Congress.

Sources: Reuters

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Fed Expected to Raise Rates Wednesday, Defying Trump: September 15, 2026

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is widely expected to lift its short-term interest rate Wednesday for the first time in three years to fight stubbornly high inflation, a move that would put the central bank at odds with President Donald Trump’s support for a cut, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

A quarter-point increase from a rate currently about 3.6% is not guaranteed because Fed Chair Kevin Warsh has avoided the forward guidance his predecessors used. Still, most analysts expect a hike after Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech two weeks ago arguing the Fed had not yet put inflation in check. Futures markets priced roughly a 90% chance of a move after Friday’s inflation report showed core prices picking up in August.

The decision is due at 2 p.m. EDT Wednesday, followed by Warsh’s news conference. Trump has demanded cuts and said Sunday the United States “should be paying the lowest interest rate in the world.” White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Trump “100% respects the independence of Kevin Warsh,” while also suggesting the Fed should stay out of the way of midterm elections seven weeks away.

Oil near $100 a barrel from Middle East conflict and AI-related investment have kept inflation above the Fed’s 2% target. Economists say a hike would be Warsh’s first major credibility test since taking the chair in May; traders already price further increases in December and March.

Sources: Associated Press via WTOP, Reuters

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Bougainville Presses Panguna Mine Restart After Camp Attack: September 14, 2026

WELLINGTON — Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama condemned an attack on a mining camp at Panguna and said his government would press ahead with plans to reopen the long-shuttered copper mine despite opposition from some groups, Reuters reported.

Personnel were assaulted and equipment destroyed at the camp, Toroama’s office said late Sunday, without detailing injuries or identifying those responsible. AFP reported that saboteurs torched heavy machinery belonging to Indian company Lloyds Metals and Energy, which is leading restart efforts.

Panguna, once among the world’s biggest open-pit copper operations, has been closed for nearly three decades after conflict devastated the autonomous Papua New Guinea region. Reopening is central to Bougainville’s push for economic strength as it pursues independence.

“The government and people of Bougainville will not be intimidated by individuals or factions seeking to undermine our efforts to redevelop the Panguna Mine,” Toroama said. Landowner consent, environmental safeguards, and benefit-sharing remain contested.

Sources: Reuters, AFP via France 24

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Oman Postpones Hormuz Talks After Iranian Cargo Ship Strike: September 14, 2026

DUBAI — Oman postponed a planned Monday meeting between Iran and other Persian Gulf powers on managing Strait of Hormuz shipping after an Iranian cargo vessel was struck near Qeshm Island, killing one person and wounding four, France 24 reported, citing AP and Iranian state media.

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said late Sunday the regional meeting was delayed “in the interests of consensus.” An Iranian foreign ministry official said Tehran and Muscat postponed talks at the request of some regional countries and would set a new date.

Iran’s IRNA quoted the Qeshm governor blaming a “terrorist enemy” for the Sunday strike. Asked whether the United States hit the vessel, President Donald Trump said, “I don’t want to say.” Commercial traffic through Hormuz remains low amid the U.S.–Iran war.

Saudi Arabia has submitted amendments to an Iran–Oman shipping arrangement, citing concern about lasting implications for other Gulf Cooperation Council states, a Gulf official told AP. Bahrain said it would not attend the meeting, citing a lack of diplomatic ties with Tehran.

Sources: France 24 (AP)

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Carney Pitches Canada to Global Investors Amid U.S. Trade War: September 14, 2026

TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is welcoming dozens of global investors to Toronto this week to pitch more than 160 mining, energy, technology, and infrastructure projects he says are key to weathering a trade war with the United States, Reuters reported Monday.

Confirmed attendees include BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Blackstone President Jon Gray, Temasek CEO Dilhan Pillay, and APG Groep CEO Annette Mosman, a source familiar with the event said. Carney has pledged to attract C$1 trillion ($721 billion) in investment over five years by cutting red tape.

“The world’s largest investors, managing over C$120 trillion dollars of assets, will come to ‘peer into our shop window’ because the world is looking at Canada differently,” Carney said at a welcome reception Sunday. A government source said major deals could take 12 to 18 months to materialize.

The summit aims to match about 100 investors with Canadian CEOs and officials. The prospectus seen by Reuters lists data centers, a photonic quantum computer project, the Crawford Nickel Project, and financing for a proposed Calgary–Edmonton high-speed transportation pod.

Sources: Reuters

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Kremlin Welcomes Trump Call for Ukraine to Halt Diesel Strikes: September 14, 2026

MOSCOW — The Kremlin on Monday welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for Ukraine to halt strikes on Russia’s diesel-producing facilities, while saying upheaval in global energy markets stemmed mainly from conflict in the Gulf, Reuters reported.

Trump on Sunday urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to stop targeting Russian diesel infrastructure, saying the attacks were causing a fuel shortage that is “hurting the world.” A wave of long-distance Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries in recent months has cut Russian fuel output and triggered gasoline shortages across Russia.

“Any call on the Kyiv regime to stop attacks on civilian economic infrastructure can only be welcomed,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Ukraine says striking Russian refineries raises the cost to Moscow of continuing its invasion.

Peskov said global energy markets were worsening mainly because of “instability and new rounds of escalation in the Persian Gulf region,” and that a Russian diesel export ban should help the domestic market ahead of parliamentary elections set for September 18–20.

Sources: Reuters

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South Korea Aims to Finalise U.S. Investment Plan Details This Week: September 13, 2026

SEOUL — South Korea will hold further talks with the United States early this week to finalise details of Seoul’s proposed $350 billion investment commitment to the U.S., Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said Sunday, Reuters reported.

Speaking after returning from the United States, Kim said a $200 billion ceiling for strategic investments — part of the broader $350 billion package — including a $20 billion annual cap, had already been agreed and would not change.

Kim said the two sides were close on many issues but that several matters remained unresolved. This week’s talks will be by videoconference. He declined to name specific projects before negotiations are finished.

Kim travelled to the United States last week for talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other officials on the scale and conditions of the proposed package, tied to last year’s tariff agreement that lowered reciprocal U.S. rates from 25% to 15% in exchange for the investment pledge.

Sources: Reuters, Yonhap

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