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(Reuters) – SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Monday that the company will ask for an exemption from sanctions against Iran to provide the firm’s Starlink satellite broadband service in the country.

Musk made the statement on Twitter at a time of widespread protests in Iran over the death of a woman in police custody. Some people on Twitter asked Musk to provide the satellite-based internet stations.

Access to social media and some content is tightly restricted in Iran and internet monitoring group NetBlocks reported “near-total” disruption to internet connectivity in the capital of the Kurdish region on Monday, linking it to the protests. (https://bit.ly/3qR2OCE).

Iran’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology could not be immediately reached for comment. The foreign ministry, Iran’s mission to the United Nations and the United States Bureau of Industry and Security did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Musk did not specify from which country Starlink would seek exemptions, but Iran faces broad based sanctions.

SpaceX is aiming to rapidly expand Starlink, and it is racing rival satellite communications companies including OneWeb and Amazon.com Inc’s yet to launch Project Kuiper.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Shailesh Kuber)

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(Reuters) – Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields rose to their highest in over 11 years on Monday as investors braced for the Federal Reserve’s policy decision on Wednesday, where it is expected to deliver another large interest rate hike.

The 10-year yield, the most significant interest rate benchmark globally, rose as much as six basis points to 3.508%, the highest since April 2011.

The Fed meets on Wednesday. Money markets are pricing in around an 80% chance of a 75 basis-point move, and a 20% chance of a larger, 100 basis-point rate hike.

(Reporting by Yoruk Bahceli, editing by Alun John)

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BEIJING (Reuters) -China will speed up fund injections to expedite project construction and boost domestic consumption, China’s state planner said on Monday, even after the economy showed signs of renewed momentum last month.

The world’s second-biggest economy slowed sharply in the second quarter, dragged down by a deepening property crisis, and slowing exports and imports.

However, it showed surprising resilience in August, with faster-than-expected growth in factory output and retail sales, although the property crisis continues to hang over recovery prospects.

“The economy is at a critical juncture in its recovery, as the foundation of the domestic economic recovery is still weak despite main economic indicators showing positive changes,” said spokeswoman Meng Wei at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Shanghai, which lifted a two-month Covid lockdown in June, said it would hand out “consumption vouchers” worth around 100 million yuan ($14.3 million) to residents starting Tuesday, for use in a major shopping district.

The southern island province of Hainan on Monday also said it would issue vouchers, again totalling 100 million yuan, to make consumption the main driver of the recovery.

China’s cabinet has rolled out a raft of measures since late May to bolster an economy ravaged by disruptions caused by government restrictions and lockdowns.

“Stringent COVID restrictions amid the Omicron variant have led to frequent local lockdowns and weighed on China’s economic activity this year,” said Goldman Sachs in a research note.

“We estimate the current level of restrictions is suppressing the level of GDP in China by 4-5%.”

($1 = 7.0190 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Kim Coghill, Sam Holmes, Kirsten Donovan)

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By Wayne Cole and Alun John

SYDNEY/LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. benchmark 10-year yields hit their highest in over a decade on Monday, while shares slipped and the dollar firmed as investors prepared for a packed week of central bank meetings, with the chance of a super-sized hike in the United States.

Markets are fully priced for a rise in interest rates of 75 basis points from the Federal Reserve, with futures showing a 20% chance of a full percentage point increase.

They also indicate a real chance that rates could hit 4.5% as the Fed is forced to tip the economy into recession to subdue inflation.

Higher interest rates have caused government bonds to sell off, and the U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hit 3.508% soon after noon in London, its highest level since April 2011. The two-year yield climbed to a new 12-year high of 3.961%.

European government bond yields also rose. [GVD/EUR]

“Asset performance during this Fed tightening cycle is very different from the norm for other rate hike episodes,” said David Chao, a global market strategist at Invesco

“Usually, the Fed tightens when the economy is thriving and most assets do well. However, most assets have suffered this time, perhaps due to the surge in inflation and abrupt policy change.”

Trading was thinned on Monday as British markets were closed for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth.

Europe’s STOXX index slid as much as 1% to its lowest level in over 10 weeks, dragged down by rate-sensitive tech stocks and French shares which were hurt by the collapse of a planned merger between two TV companies.

S&P 500 futures lost 0.9%, and Nasdaq futures fell 1%. Earlier in the day Asian stocks also lost ground.

Bitcoin, which also moves in line with investors’ risk appetite, hit a three-month low of $18,271.

TIGHTENING TIME

It is not just in the United States that interest rate rises are expected. Most of the central banks meeting this week – from Switzerland to South Africa – are expected to hike, with markets split on whether the Bank of England will move by 50 or 75 basis points.

China’s central bank went its own way though, and cut a repo rate by 10 basis points to support its ailing economy. Chinese blue chips still finished 0.1% lower.

The other exception is the Bank of Japan, also due to meet this week and which has shown no sign of abandoning its uber-easy yield curve policy despite the drastic slide in the yen.

The dollar rose 0.43% to 143.56 yen on Monday, having backed away from the recent 24-year peak of 144.99 in the face of increasingly strident intervention warnings from Japanese policymakers.

The euro was 0.22% lower at $0.9993, and sterling slipped 0.34% to $1.1383 just off Friday’s 37-year lows, with traders keeping an eye on new British finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng’s emergency mini-budget, expected Friday.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against six counterparts, was 0.3% stronger at 109.97.

“We expect the USD to keep trending higher this week to a new cyclical high above 110.8pts because of the deteriorating outlook for the world economy,” said CBA analysts in a note.

The ascent of the dollar and yields has been a drag for gold, which was down 0.78% at $1,662 an ounce after hitting lows not seen since April 2020 last week. [GOL/]

Oil prices also tumbled, pressured by the stronger dollar, and subdued growth outlook. Brent crude fell 2.6% to $89. U.S. crude dropped 2.8%, to $82.7. [O/R]

(Reporting by Wayne Cole in Sydney and Alun John in London; Editing by Sam Holmes, Christian Schmollinger, Ed Osmond and Catherine Evans)

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HANNOVER, Germany (Reuters) – Daimler Truck’s deliveries could have been higher by a “five-digit figure” in 2021 and 2022 if it had not faced supply chain problems, its chief executive Martin Daum told Reuters.

Daum said in an interview on the sidelines of the IAA Transportation conference in Hannover on Monday that he did not see any signs of demand dipping in the truck market and that order books were filling up the moment they were opened.

This demand meant the truck and bus maker was still able to pass on its higher costs, enabling margins to recover from a hit during the pandemic to the target range of 7-9%.

The company sold 120,961 units in the second quarter of 2022, up 4% from the same period last year.

Daimler Truck aims for up to 60% of its sales to be electric or hydrogen-fuelled vehicles by 2030, Daum said after the firm introduced its first heavy electric truck, fuelled by LFP batteries to reach a range of up to 500 kilometres.

Daum said Europe, and Germany in particular, was lagging on building battery production, with most still coming from Asia.

“Germany has a clear competitive disadvantage when it comes to energy prices,” Daum said, referring to record high energy prices in the German market caused in part by a standoff on gas deliveries between Germany and Russia.

This could hold back the country’s ambitions to build batteries, a highly energy-intensive process, Daum said.

(This story refiles to correct to say output could have been higher by a five-digit figure, headline and paragraph 1)

(Reporting by Christina Amann, Writing by Victoria Waldersee, Editing by Rachel More and Alexander Smith)

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By Steven Scheer

TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Teva Pharmaceutical Industries expects to finalise an opioid settlement in the United States by year-end and start paying in 2023, its chief executive said on Sunday.

After years of negotiations, Israel-based Teva in July proposed a $4.35 billion nationwide settlement – mostly cash and partly medicines that will amount to $300 million to $400 million over 13 years – to resolve its opioid lawsuits.

U.S. states, cities and counties filed more than 3,000 lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies, accusing them of playing down their addiction risk and failing to stop pills from being diverted for illegal use.

CEO Kare Schultz said the company was working on legal wording that should be wrapped up by the end of September. It then needs approval from states and subdivisions within states.

“When they opt in, once that is all done … then it goes into force and that means the first payments happen next year and go on for 13 years,” Schultz told a news conference. “So, by the end of the year, you should have this clarification that it all comes together and we will start paying next year.”

Teva has denied wrongdoing, saying it sold legal medication that was approved for treatment of pain.

The U.S. opioid crisis has caused more than 500,000 overdose deaths over the past two decades, including more than 80,000 in 2021 alone, according to government data.

Schultz said Teva intended to continue to cut costs by closing some of its sites. Since 2017 it has reduced the number of manufacturing plants to 53 from 80 and it plans to close another 10 in the next few years.

At the same time, Schultz said Teva would continue paying down its high debt level that has dropped to $20 billion from $34 billion and indicated that the company would likely not be impacted by rising interest rates.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Alison Williams)

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BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s executive branch recommended Sunday that the bloc suspend around 7.5 billion euros ($7.5 billion) in funding to Hungary over concerns about democratic backsliding and the possible mismanagement of EU money.

EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn said that despite measures Hungary has proposed to address the deficiencies, the European Commission is recommending the suspension of funds “amounting to an estimated amount of 7.5 billion euros.”

The money would come from “cohesion funds” granted to Hungary. This envelope of money, one of the biggest slices of the bloc’s budget, helps countries to bring their economies and infrastructure up to EU standards.

Hahn said that Hungary has until Nov. 19 to address the concerns. Any action to suspend the funds must be approved by EU’s 27 member countries, and this requires a “qualified majority,” which amounts to 55% of the 27 members representing at least 65% of the total EU population.

The European Commission has for nearly a decade accused Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban of dismantling democratic institutions, taking control of the media and infringing on minority rights. Orban, who has been in office since 2010, denies the accusations.

Speaking after a meeting of EU commissioners in Brussels, which unanimously endorsed the move, Hahn welcomed Hungary’s offer to fix the problem, saying that its proposed remedial action goes “in the right direction.”

He said the measures could address some of the commission’s concerns if they are followed up, and properly acted upon. But he said that “a risk for the budget at this stage remains, therefore we cannot conclude that the EU budget is sufficiently protected.”

Hungarian media has reported that Orban’s nationalist government is set to announce new legislation as soon as Monday. EU lawmakers expressed concern last week that this may just be a ploy to gain time.

In a resolution on Thursday, the lawmakers said that Hungary’s nationalist government is deliberately trying to undermine the bloc’s democratic values.

They said that the government in Budapest — which Orban characterizes as an “illiberal democracy” — has become “a hybrid regime of electoral autocracy.” In part, they blame EU member countries for this, for turning a blind eye to possible abuses.

The French Greens parliamentarian who chaperoned the resolution through the assembly, Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, said that “for the first time, an EU institution is stating the sad truth, that Hungary is no longer a democracy.”

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian shelling hit cities and towns across a wide stretch of Ukraine during the night, officials said Sunday, and the British Defense Ministry warned that Russia is likely to increase its attacks on civilian targets as it suffers battlefield defeats.

“In the last seven days, Russia has increased its targeting of civilian infrastructure even where it probably perceives no immediate military effect,” the ministry said in an online briefing. “As it faces setbacks on the front lines, Russia has likely extended the locations it is prepared to strike in an attempt to directly undermine the morale of the Ukrainian people and government.”

Overnight shelling hit a hospital in the city of Mykolaiv, a significant Black Sea port, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said. He also said shelling hit other parts of the region, wounding two people.

Three people were wounded in nighttime shelling of the city of Nikopol, which is across the river from Europe’s largest nuclear power station, regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said.

The six-reactor Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was captured by Russian forces in March, but is operated by Ukrainian engineers. Its last reactor was switched off Sunday after repeated power failures because shelling put crucial safety systems at risk.

In the Kharkiv region, where a Ukrainian counteroffensive forced Russian troops into a massive pullback from much of the region, three people were killed by rocket attacks over the past day, including an 11-year-old girl, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.

Five people died over the past day in Russian attacks in the Donetsk region, one of two Ukraian regions that Russia recognizes as sovereign states, governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

A Washington-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, said Russian forces in Donetsk continue to conduct “meaningless operations” on villages as opposed to reinforcing the front line.

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Follow AP;s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union recommends suspending around 7.5 billion euros in aid to Hungary over concerns about mismanaging funds.

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FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Tesla is planning to double vehicle sales in Germany in 2022, German weekly Automobilwoche reported, citing a local executive.

“Our goal is to double sales each year, which translates into around 80,000 units in 2022,” the executive was quoted as saying.

In 2021, Tesla sold 39,714 vehicles in Germany, where the carmaker has built its first European gigafactory in Gruenheide near Berlin.

Tesla was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz, Editing by William Maclean)

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