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MILAN (Reuters) -Automakers have formed alliances to help them avoid hefty European Union fines on carbon emissions by purchasing credits from electric vehicle companies. Several legacy automakers face potential fines as the transition to EVs in Europe has proved slower than expected in recent years. Here are details about the regulation and alliances for 2025, as of Tuesday: FINES EU fines – which automakers have said could reach up to 15 billion euros ($17.5 billion) – were initially envisaged on 2025 carbon emission levels. In March, however, the European Commission yielded to pressure from automakers and allowed compliance based on their average emissions over 2025-2027. SCOPE All current alliance agreements, identified by the names of their 'pool managers', will expire at the end of this year. They are expected to be renewed in coming years. NISSAN Japan's Nissan in October pooled with Chinese EV giant BYD. KG MOBILITY Another pool was formed at the end of September by South Korea's KG Mobility and Chinese EV maker Xpeng. TESLA In January, Tesla formed a pool with Stellantis, Toyota, Ford, Chinese EV maker Leapmotor, Mazda and Subaru. Japan's Honda and Suzuki joined the pool in March. MERCEDES This pool was also formed in January to include Mercedes, Volvo Car, EV maker Polestar and Smart Automobile. Volvo Car and Polestar are both backed by China's Geely. Geely's Chairman Li Shufu holds a 9.69% stake in Mercedes, making him the group's second-largest shareholder after China's BAIC Group. Smart Automobile is a joint venture between Mercedes and Geely. EV FORECASTS EVs made up 12% of total European light vehicle sales last year, according to consultant AlixPartners, and are expected to reach 15% this year. Their market share is forecast to increase to 24% in 2027 and to 40% by the end of the decade, according to AlixPartners. ($1 = 0.8575 euros) (Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari and Alessandro Parodi. Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Mark Potter)

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By Harshita Mary Varghese (Reuters) -Warner Bros Discovery is considering an outright sale following unsolicited interest, the company said Tuesday, in what would be the latest shakeup across legacy media. Shares of the company rose 9.4% in morning trading. Netflix and Comcast are among the interested parties, CNBC reported Tuesday, citing sources, following earlier reports that Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison was also in talks to acquire the combined company. Warner Bros Discovery – home to CNN, HBO Max and the "Harry Potter" franchise – announced plans in June to split its Warner Bros and Discovery Global units by next year to separate its growing streaming business from its slower-growing legacy cable network unit.  A sale or a split would be one of the most consequential reshaping moments in the media industry, potentially prompting other legacy media houses to revisit their own structures. Streaming has fundamentally reshaped the media industry, leaving traditional broadcasters with mounting debt, higher content budgets and fragmented viewership. "This latest development potentially opens up further discussions with interested parties. For Hollywood and other traditional media giants, all roads lead to consolidation," PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore said. The company already rejected an initial bid from Paramount, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month, because the offer of around $20 per share was too low.  Reuters could not immediately verify the CNBC report. The company is also considering an alternative separation structure that would enable a merger of Warner Bros and a spin-off of Discovery Global. Skydance's advances soon after snapping up Paramount speak to the Ellison family's voracious appetite to dominate the global media landscape amid a favorable regulatory regime in the United States.  Analysts believe David Ellison's deep pockets – backed by his father, Oracle co-founder and the world's second-richest person Larry Ellison – give him the firepower to take the risk. The elder Ellison's close ties with U.S. President Donald Trump may also smooth regulatory hurdles and avoid the scrutiny that would usually come with such a merger, analysts say. The decline of legacy media, driven by linear TV cord-cutting, as well as the shift of audiences and advertisers to streaming platforms, has forced traditional media companies to rethink their business structures. (Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)

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By Indradip Ghosh BENGALURU (Reuters) -The Federal Reserve will lower its key interest rate by 25 basis points next week and again in December, according to a Reuters poll of economists who remain deeply divided on where rates will be by the end of next year.  A month ago, economists had expected just one more cut this year. But the new forecast follows a recent shift in expectations by Fed policymakers toward additional reductions. Caught between the dual risks of already-elevated inflation climbing higher due to tariffs and a further weakening of the labor market, the Fed appears to have prioritized the latter, prompting it to cut rates by 25 basis points last month for the first time since December. All but two economists, 115 of 117, predicted the Fed would lower the interest rate again by a quarter point to 3.75%-4.00% on October 29. Two expected a 25 bps cut in October and a 50 bps cut in December. That majority falls to 71% for another cut in December. The poll was conducted on October 15-21. Financial market traders are more convinced, and have fully priced in two more reductions this year to interest rate futures contracts. Many Federal Open Market Committee members, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell, have suggested they will keep focusing on the job market. However, a government shutdown that so far has lasted three weeks has delayed key official data on employment as well as inflation, blurring the economic outlook. "It would be fair to say approximately half of the current FOMC is more focused on the labor market and the other half on inflation risks," said Ryan Wang, U.S. economist at HSBC. "The difficulty for the Fed is whether this job slowdown mainly reflects bigger labor demand versus labor supply. It's harder to be very precise about which factor is the bigger one, and that does have implications for how monetary policy should react to it." Recent private-sector data indicate both layoffs and hiring are modest, suggesting no major change to the job market. Poll medians predict the unemployment rate will average around the current 4.3% each year through 2027, largely unchanged from last month. Inflation, which the Fed targets at 2% on the personal consumption expenditures measure, was expected to average above 2% each year through 2027, according to the latest poll. Delayed official data due on October 24 are expected to show consumer inflation rose to 3.1% last month from 2.9% in August. Economists were split seven ways on where rates would be by the end of next year, ranging between 2.25%-2.50% and 3.75%-4.00%. The increased uncertainty is partly as a result of speculation on who will be the next Fed chair after Powell's term ends in May. A 76% majority of economists, 25 of 33, who answered a separate question said the bigger risk to Fed rate policy by the end of this cycle was that it would take rates too low.  President Donald Trump has been pressuring Powell to cut rates aggressively for months. "The risk is we have more rate cuts next year," said Brett Ryan, senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank. "The risk of the Fed losing its independence is elevated relative to any prior administration." (Other stories from the Reuters global economic poll) (Reporting by Indradip Ghosh; Polling by Jaiganesh Mahesh and Sarupya Ganguly; Editing by Ross Finley and Kim Coghill)

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PARIS (Reuters) -BNP ParibasPA> made no provisions for Sudan-related litigation in its upcoming third-quarter results, Chief Financial Officer Lars Machenil said on Tuesday as the bank sought to dispel concerns it could be exposed to further legal claims. The federal jury in Manhattan, on Friday, ordered the French bank to pay a combined $20.5 million to three Sudanese plaintiffs who testified about human rights abuses perpetrated under former President Omar al-Bashir's rule. The lender's shares tumbled sharply on Monday as investors and traders tried to assess the implications. Its stock was last down 2% on Tuesday, weaker than where it traded before the CFO spoke and weaker than the wider market.. Machenil said BNP had not set aside any funds to pay out such claims. "BNP Paribas did not book a provision in the third quarter 2025," Machenil said in a call with analysts. "We consider the verdict to be erroneous and likely to be overturned." The bank will release its third-quarter results on October 28. Machenil also downplayed the risks of class action, saying it was a "case by case" situation.  "This is neither a regulatory fine nor a criminal penalty, but a private legal dispute. The verdict concerns only three plaintiffs, and it does not set a precedent for similar cases," Machenil said.  He added that the judge had said any individual compensation claims related to the Sudan case would require separate trials, and that Swiss civil law – which applies since the transactions were carried out from Geneva – does not recognise the type of liability alleged. Lawyers for the three plaintiffs, who now reside in the United States, said on Friday the verdict opens the door for more than 20,000 Sudanese refugees in the U.S. to seek billions of dollars in damages from the French bank. (Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Additional reporting by Mateusz Rabiega and Jakob Van Calster in Gdansk; Editing by Dominique Vidalon and Tommy Reggiori Wilkes)

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By Juveria Tabassum and Jessica DiNapoli (Reuters) -Coca-Cola's third-quarter results exceeded Wall Street's expectations on resilient demand for its zero-sugar drinks and Fairlife in the U.S., and its sodas in some international markets despite cautious spending worldwide. The company also maintained its annual sales and profit targets even though CEO James Quincey flagged a challenging overall environment, sending its shares up 3% on Tuesday. "Affordability and value are really important and we understand that and know that it's important that we find the right packages at the right price point to keep that consumer in our base," CFO John Murphy told Reuters in an interview. Coca-Cola, which is set to launch its cane sugar trademark soda in the U.S. in the fall season, is planning to offer mini 7.5-ounce single-serve cans, priced at less than $2 in U.S. convenience stores to target lower-income consumers. To draw well-off consumers, it has invested in zero-sugar beverages and pricier energy drinks such as Powerade, while increasing production capacity for Fairlife milk in the U.S. Company executives said in a post-earnings call that growing local competition in markets such as India and China was posing challenges. "Actually there's a big overall shift to a little more localness, not just from a competitive point of view… I don't think it's just about affordability," CEO Quincey said. Unit volumes grew in the Europe, Middle East and Africa segment, but were flat in Latin America and North America, and down about 1% in the Asia Pacific region in the third quarter.  Growing demand for lower-calorie products was one of the factors impacting sales of its trademark coke, CFO Murphy said.  U.S. consumers have become more health-conscious—a phenomenon that has taken off in the backdrop of a rise in weight-loss medication use, as well as the Make America Healthy Again movement under President Donald Trump's administration. "RECOVERING FROM BOYCOTT"       Murphy said the demand for its trademark coke is also recovering from a "significant impact" from a boycott after a viral video of the company laying off Latino staff and reporting them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  Reuters in February found no public evidence that the company had reported its migrant employees to ICE.  "This year has been tougher than certainly we expected, and I think perhaps the Hispanic community in general would have expected," Murphy said. The world's largest beverage company's third-quarter revenue of $12.46 billion topped estimates of $12.39 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.  Like its rival PepsiCo, Coca-Cola also expects its revenue and profit to benefit from a weaker dollar. Earlier this month, PepsiCo topped quarterly estimates on growth in international markets and demand for healthier drinks, as it doubles down on offering affordable pack sizes for its salty snacks.  In the third quarter, Coca-Cola reported volume growth of 1% compared to a 1% drop in the prior quarter, while prices grew 6%. Excluding items, the company earned 82 cents per share, beating expectations of 78 cents, as higher prices boosted margins. (Reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru and Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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By Rashika Singh (Reuters) -Shares of construction firm Fluor Corp rose 2.7% on Tuesday after activist investor Starboard Value took a nearly 5% stake, aiming to unlock value from its 40% holding in NuScale Power, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Starboard founder Jeff Smith is expected to outline the firm's investment thesis at the 13D Monitor Active-Passive Investment Summit in New York later in the day, where he will also discuss plans for TripAdvisor, another recent target. Shares of NuScale Power fell 7% in early trading. Analysts at Citigroup said Starboard's stake backs their view that Fluor's shares have room to gain, citing value in the NuScale holding and potential improvement in the company's core operations. They added Fluor's stake in NuScale still represents more than 60% of its market cap and could sell more of its remaining 111 million shares in the nuclear reactor developer over time. Fluor's stock is down ~3% so far this year. Meanwhile, NuScale shares have soared over 145% so far this year, buoyed by rising demand for clean energy solutions to power AI-driven data centers and defense infrastructure. Both Starboard and Fluor did not immediately respond when contacted by Reuters. Fluor's core business, which includes infrastructure and energy projects, has come under pressure, with the company posting a 6% drop in second-quarter revenue to $4 billion, missing analyst estimates. Starboard argues the segment is undervalued compared to Fluor's NuScale stake and is pushing for strategic options. The activist push comes as Fluor is positioned to benefit from infrastructure policies under President Donald Trump, which could boost investment in energy and construction. (Reporting by Rashika Singh; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

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(Reuters) -Warner Bros Discovery is considering a possible outright sale of itself due to interest from several potential buyers, even as it moves forward with its previously announced split into two companies, it said Tuesday. Shares of the company rose about 8% in premarket trading. There is no deadline or definitive timetable set for completion of the strategic alternatives review process, the company said. Media reports indicate that Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison is in talks to acquire the combined company before its planned separation into Warner Bros and Discovery Global. Streaming has fundamentally reshaped the media industry, leaving traditional broadcasters with mounting debt, higher content budgets and fragmented viewership. The decline of legacy media, driven by linear TV cord-cutting, as well as the shift of audiences and advertisers to streaming platforms, has forced traditional media companies to rethink their business structures. Warner Bros Discovery – home to CNN, HBO Max and the "Harry Potter" franchise – has been trimming jobs and plans to split its cable and streaming units by next year to unlock asset value. (Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)

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By Nick Carey and Christina Amann LONDON/BERLIN (Reuters) -Global automakers are scouring the globe for crucial rare earths ahead of looming Chinese export controls, with executives worried they could lead to parts shortages and plant closures. Rare earth magnets power motors in car parts such as side mirrors, speakers, oil pumps, windshield wipers and fuel leakage and braking sensors. They play an even bigger role in EVs. While a U.S.-China deal diverted a supply threat, stockpiles were depleted by similar restrictions earlier this year, while Beijing has also made it harder to get export licenses. China has since dramatically expanded export curbs, with companies facing global supply shortages. Consultancy AlixPartners estimates China controls up to 70% of global rare-earths mining, 85% of refining capacity and about 90% of rare-earths metal alloy and magnet production.  The new Chinese export control list includes elements like ytterbium, holmium and europium, also used in making cars. "The situation is very tense," said Nadine Rajner, CEO of German metal-powder supplier NMD, adding customers want to source rare earths from anywhere but China. As part of efforts to counter Chinese dominance, on Monday President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony signed a critical minerals agreement that includes U.S. investments in rare earth mining projects in Australia. NMD's Rajner said that while there are plenty of rare earths available in countries like Sweden, they do not have the mines or refining capacity to make them usable. And for heavy rare earths, China controls 99.8% of global refining capacity, making alternative sources negligible. "We are pretty much sold out and have limited stocks," Rajner said.  Rare earths can be recycled from old cars, but that industry is in its infancy. Neutral, a Renault-backed company, currently recycles rare earths from 400,000 cars a year in France and has contracts with 15 brands in Europe. But "the challenge is scaling up these activities," said Neutral CEO Jean-Philippe Bahuaud.     'ALREADY BEEN DEPLETED' Even if Chinese suppliers can fulfil fresh orders before the November 8 export controls take effect, the journey by sea to Europe can take 45 days and the threat of a rare earth bottleneck is among several headaches facing the auto industry. China has also placed export restrictions on lithium-ion batteries and battery materials, triggering concerns over parts supplies for electric vehicles. And last week, an intellectual-property dispute between China and the Netherlands involving little-known Dutch chip-maker Nexperia, sparked fears of factory closures because it supplies a large amount of chips car parts and components. Automakers also face the challenge of U.S. tariffs and are expected to detail the costs in their third-quarter earnings.  But China's hold over the industry through its control of rare earths ranks among the thorniest problems. "They can shut us down in two months, the entire auto industry," said Ryan Grimm, Toyota Motor's North America group vice president of purchasing supplier development. Bruno Gahery, president for France, Benelux, West and South Europe at supplier Bosch, said he expected the autos industry to "overstock rare earths" ahead of the deadline. But an executive at a magnet supplier for Hyundai said that while it built inventories earlier this year, "most have already been depleted" and supplies are tight. Some Chinese rare earths exporters received a rush of orders from overseas clients immediately after new export controls were announced on October 9, three industry sources told Reuters. RARE EARTH FREE MOTORS  Automakers are taking steps to reduce their reliance. Some such as General Motors and major suppliers such as ZF and BorgWarner are developing EV motors with low-to-zero rare-earth content, while BMW and Renault have produced rare earth-free motors.  Monumo has used AI and deep-tech simulation to help clients cut rare earth content in motors already in production, which CEO Dominic Vergine said has led to an average reduction of 24% among the UK firm's customers, which include several of the world's top 10 carmakers, he said.  Automakers are also pushing hard to improve rare earth-free motors for the next generation of EVs. Yet most of those motors are years away, as are efforts to develop new rare earth mines and processing plants outside China, which Beijing can undermine by keeping prices low, industry experts say.  Experts say the U.S government is taking the threat far more seriously than Europe. Andy Leyland, co-founder of supply chain specialist SC Insights, said Beijing has focused on beating others on price and will continue to do so. "The Chinese can always undercut them," he said of efforts to develop rare-earth free motors, adding that faced with cheaper motors with rare earth magnets automakers may find it hard to justify more expensive components.  "So it's a really risky investment."  Meanwhile, China is expected to keep exerting its power over supplies of rare earths. "This is not the end of export controls," said Jan Giese, a senior manager at rare-earth trader Tradium.  (Reporting by Nick Carey and Christina Amann; additional reporting by Gilles Guillaume in Paris, Heekyong Yang in Seoul and Beijing Newsroom; editing by Mike Colias and Alexander Smith)

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By Tanay Dhumal (Reuters) -Halliburton beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday, supported by steady North American oilfield activity and equipment demand, and said its cost-cutting measures are expected to save $400 million annually. The company's shares rose 5.4% in premarket trading, also aided by a partnership with VoltaGrid to provide distributed power solutions for data centers globally, starting in the Middle East. CEO Jeff Miller said Halliburton had "reset" its 2026 capital plan, idled underperforming equipment, and implemented cost-control measures that are expected to save $100 million per quarter. Last month, Reuters reported that Halliburton has been cutting jobs, as it navigates rising costs and a period of lower prices and volatility. Quarterly revenue from its North America segment was $2.4 billion, flat from a year earlier, but above analysts' average estimate of $2.17 billion. Halliburton said the results were supported by increased stimulation activity in U.S. land and Canada, and higher completion tool sales and increased wireline activity in the Gulf of America. While North American activity remains stable, international spending, long viewed as the next growth engine, is showing signs of uneven recovery, particularly in the Middle East. Halliburton reported an 8% drop in third-quarter revenue year-over-year in Middle East/Asia. Last week, peer SLB also beat expectations on stable North America demand, but flagged that it does not expect to see a significant pickup in the region's drilling activity. In July, the company said its international revenue in 2025 is expected to contract by mid-single digits from a year earlier, primarily due to less activity in Saudi Arabia and Mexico. Halliburton reported an adjusted profit of 58 cents per share for the quarter ended September 30, beating analysts' estimate of 50 cents, according to LSEG data. (Reporting by Tanay Dhumal in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Sriraj Kalluvila)

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By Anmol Choubey (Reuters) -Goldman Sachs flagged mounting risks to global supply chains of rare earths and other critical minerals, emphasising China's dominance in mining and refining, and outlining challenges for nations seeking to build independent supply chains. China expanded export curbs on rare earths on October 9, adding five new elements and extra scrutiny for semiconductor users ahead of an expected summit of leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. CHINA'S SUPPLY CHAIN LEVERAGE In a note on Monday, Goldman Sachs said China controls 69% of global rare earth mining, 92% of refining, and 98% of magnet manufacturing. Rare earth elements (REEs) have become a flashpoint in geopolitics, as they are critical to high-tech industries and essential in uses from batteries to computer chips, artificial intelligence, and defence equipment. While the rare earth market was valued at $6 billion last year, just a fraction the size of the copper market, which is 33 times bigger, the bank warned that a disruption of 10% in industries reliant on REEs could result in $150 billion in lost economic output, besides inflationary pressures fed by the shortages. MINERALS COULD FACE EXPORT CURBS Goldman Sachs flagged samarium, graphite, lutetium, and terbium as particularly vulnerable to export curbs. Samarium, used in heat-resistant samarium-cobalt magnets, is key for aerospace and defense. Disruptions in supply of widely-used lutetium and terbium also pose risks of GDP losses. The bank highlighted light rare earths, such as cerium and lanthanum, as future targets for curbs, since China has a dominant role in refining and mining. Western producers like Lynas Rare Earths and Solvay could ease shortages, it added, but reliance on China remains substantial. CHALLENGES TO INDEPENDENT SUPPLY CHAINS Countries are scrambling to build independent REE and magnet supply chains, but Goldman Sachs saw barriers from geological scarcity to technological complexity and environmental challenges. It said heavy rare earth elements were particularly scarce outside China and Myanmar, with most known deposits being small, lower-grade, or radioactive, while developing new mines requires eight to 10 years. Refining REEs requires advanced expertise and infrastructure, with builds typically taking five years, the bank said. Additionally, magnet production outside China, though expanding in the U.S., Japan, and Germany, faces constraints because of China's control of critical inputs such as samarium. INVESTMENT AND COMMODITY RISKS Goldman Sachs suggested equities as a way for investors to manage rare earth disruption risks, citing Iluka Resources, Lynas Rare Earths, and MP Materials Corp as key players. The bank forecast a deficit in supplies of Neodymium-Praseodymium Oxide (NdPrO), critical for making magnets, Beyond rare earths, Goldman Sachs warned that commodities such as cobalt, oil, and natural gas faced rising risks of supply disruptions due to geopolitical tension. (Reporting by Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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