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By Dominique Vidalon PARIS (Reuters) -French spirits maker Pernod Ricard said it still expected sales to improve in fiscal year 2026 after reporting a well-flagged 7.6% fall in first quarter sales, due to weak consumer demand and destocking in China and the United States. Pernod, the world's second-biggest Western spirits group behind Diageo, said it continued to expect the improving sales trends to be skewed towards the second half of the year. The owner of Martell cognac, Mumm champagne and Absolut vodka – reported sales of 2.384 billion euros ($2.78 billion) from July to September, marking a like-for-like decline of 7.6%, compared to a company-compiled analyst consensus for a decline of 7.1%. Pernod Ricard's fiscal year started on July 1. Pernod Ricard and its rivals have suffered amid falling sales and tariff uncertainty in the key markets of China and the United States. Tariff deals were reached in July. In the United States, where tariff uncertainty led distributors to boost inventory levels at the end of fiscal year 2025, adjustments continued in the quarter, with sales falling 16%. In China, sales fell 27% as consumer demand stayed soft over the summer and into the Mid-Autumn Festival. Cognac sales remained depressed but the group's premium brands continued to grow in the quarter, notably Jameson whiskey. Pernod Ricard said it remained cautious on demand in China ahead of the important Chinese New Year festive period that starts in mid-February. Pernod – which has launched a restructuring plan to cut costs – reiterated its guidance for between 3% and 6% annual organic sales growth for 2027-2029, along with annual organic margin expansion. ($1 = 0.8579 euros) (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)

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By Alexander Marrow (Reuters) -Nestle reported better-than-expected sales growth on Thursday thanks to pricing-led upticks in confectionery and coffee as the world's largest packaged food company reported results for the first time since Philipp Navratil became CEO. Navratil, the former head of Nespresso, replaced Laurent Freixe, who was fired in September as chief executive over an undisclosed relationship with a direct report. Nestle has endured an unprecedented period of managerial turmoil, with Chairman Paul Bulcke stepping down early to make way for former Inditex chief Pablo Isla two weeks later. A 1.5% rise in real internal growth (RIG) – a measure of sales volumes – in the third quarter, well above analysts' expectations of a 0.3% rise, may offer Navratil breathing space as he looks to make his mark following his sudden promotion. The Swiss maker of KitKat chocolate bars, Nespresso coffee and Maggi seasoning has been fighting to reignite stalling sales growth and arrest a steep share price slide as costs have risen and debt levels have climbed amid rising investor pressure. Navratil said driving RIG-led growth was Nestle's top priority and that it would reduce headcount as well as raise its costs savings target to 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.77 billion) from 2.5 billion francs by the end of 2027. "We are fostering a culture that embraces a performance mindset, that does not accept losing market share, and where winning is rewarded," Navratil said in a statement. "The world is changing, and Nestlé needs to change faster." Organic sales, which exclude the impact of currency movement and acquisitions, rose 4.3% in the quarter, Nestle said, above analysts' estimates for 3.7% growth. The firm maintained its 2025 outlook, underlining that organic sales growth should improve compared to 2024 and seeing underlying trading operating profit margin at, or above, 16%. ($1 = 0.7955 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Alexander MarrowEditing by Dave Graham)

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By Gilles Guillaume and Marie Mannes MUNICH/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -When French carmaker Renault and China's Geely carved out their combustion-engine operations in 2022, the venture looked like a footnote to an outdated technology. Now, Horse Powertrain has a new lease of life. The joint venture aims to become the world's top engine maker by 2035, betting that legacy carmakers pivoting to EVs will still need suppliers to make combustion engines for them as the energy transition stutters. U.S. President Donald Trump is rolling back EV-friendly policies, Europe's automakers are lobbying against the EU's 2035 ban on new fossil-fuel cars, and EV sales are crawling forward in emerging markets. Pitching itself as a one-stop shop for automakers, producing everything from hybrid engines to the small combustion units that extend range in plug-in EVs, Horse is targeting annual revenue of 15 billion euros ($17 billion) by 2029, up 80% from 2024, according to a Reuters analysis. "Automakers cannot do it all," CEO Matias Giannini told Reuters. "We've got to help them." Sceptics say that when the EV transition hits a tipping point, the switch will come quickly – a longer-term risk. "Betting big on legacy engine technology now is like Kodak backing film in the digital age," said Ginny Buckley, CEO of EV buying and advice website Electrifying.com. "It might work for a while, but the clock is ticking." 'THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE IS NOT DEAD' Figures from before the Horse JV was finalised at the end of 2024 are unavailable, but a Reuters analysis found the separate units had combined sales of 8.3 billion euros last year. Giannini says Horse is currently the world's No. 3 engine maker, with 17 engine and transmission factories previously run by Renault, Geely Holding and Geely-unit Volvo Cars, including eight in China. Horse's opportunity reflects the changed dynamics in the global auto sector. Carmakers including Porsche, Ferrari, Stellantis and Ford have slowed the shift to EVs, even while low-cost firms boom in China, meaning fossil-fuel cars will keep selling well into the 2040s. "The internal combustion engine is not dead," said Pierre Loret, vehicle powertrain analyst at S&P Global. AUTOMAKERS CAN'T MAKE 'TOO MANY BETS' EVs are still seen as the future: EVs and plug-in hybrids account for 47% of Chinese new car sales this year and EV sales are up 25% in Europe. That leaves automakers with a tough choice: invest in EVs, fossil-fuel models and hybrids at the same time, or outsource some of them. "If you bet on every number in roulette, you're going to win," said Bill Russo, CEO of Shanghai-based consultancy Automobility. "But you won't make any money because you've made too many bets." Horse can lean on European legacy expertise and Chinese scale to cut automakers' costs, Russo added. Horse's Giannini expects 50% of new cars to be EVs in 2040. Others predict more. But even then, tens of millions of new hybrid cars will still need engines. "Let automakers concentrate on their transition to EVs … while we support them with highly efficient hybrid engines and transmissions," Giannini said. Renault expects to save 2 billion euros in engine development by 2030 via outsourcing to Horse, and Giannini is pitching those savings to new customers. Horse currently produces over eight million engines and transmissions annually for more than 15 automakers including Renault, Dacia, Volvo Cars, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Mercedes-Benz. According to a source close to the matter, Horse is pursuing about 100 projects across all its products and markets – from cars to boats, construction equipment and drones. Horse, Geely and Renault declined to comment. Geely and Renault own 45% of Horse each. Oil producer Saudi Aramco owns the remaining 10%. Phil Dunne, a managing director at consultancy Grant Thornton Stax, said Horse would not work for automakers like Ferrari that need their own specialised engines. "But for mainstream solutions, it's ideal." A RISKY BET OR A WINNING ONE? Geely founder Li Shufu has poured billions into EVs at Lotus, Polestar and Volvo Cars, but they have mostly struggled, making Horse look like his best bet so far. "They (Geely) are willing to take risky bets but at the same time they do things like Horse," Automobility's Russo said. "When they don't work, they reconfigure." Horse itself is betting on new technologies, including plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). It has also launched a suitcase-sized combustion engine for extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) – which use a small engine to boost an EV's range. Sam Fiorani, vice president at research firm AutoForecast Solutions, said there are about 30 EREV models on sale in China, rising to about 45 in 2030. He also forecast a dozen U.S. models selling about 200,000 units in 2030 "from virtually zero today". But Lucien Mathieu, cars director at European environmental group Transport & Environment, said the focus should be on accelerating the switch to EVs. "It would be reckless… to embrace Horse as that would mean continuing to bet on outdated technologies while the world is going electric," Mathieu said. ($1 = 0.8608 euros) (Reporting by Gilles Guillaume in Munich, Marie Mannes in Stockholm. Editing by Nick Carey and Mark Potter)

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By John Revill ZURICH (Reuters) -ABB is seeing a "robust" situation with so far little impact on customer demand from the uncertainties caused by U.S. tariffs, the Swiss engineering company said on Thursday, as it reported its third quarter results. ABB, which makes motors and drives used in factory production lines, reported operating earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation increasing by 12% to $1.74 billion for the three months to the end of September. The figure was slightly above forecasts for $1.70 billion in a company-gathered consensus of analysts. Revenue at the company, which also makes electrification systems used in data centres, rose 11% to $9.08 billion, beating forecasts for $8.88 billion, while orders rose 12%. Chief Executive Morten Wierod said he was seeing a "robust overall market situation" with customers still spending on electrical power and automation. Although risks surrounding U.S. tariffs remained, they had not yet affected customers, Wierod said. "U.S. tariff-related market uncertainties remain, but so far we have not seen any material impact on demand or profitability," he said. The results were ABB's first since it announced the sale of its robotics business last week. Also on Thursday, ABB announced that Chief Financial Officer Timo Ihamuotila would will leave the company in 2026. He will be replaced by Christian Nilsson, who is currently CFO at the company's electrification business. (Reporting by John RevillEditing by Ludwig Burger and Lincoln Feast.)

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By Gilles Guillaume and Marie Mannes MUNICH/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -When French carmaker Renault and China's Geely carved out their combustion-engine operations in 2022, the venture looked like a footnote to an outdated technology. Now, Horse Powertrain has a new lease of life. The joint venture aims to become the world's top engine maker by 2035, betting that legacy carmakers pivoting to EVs will still need suppliers to make combustion engines for them as the energy transition stutters. U.S. President Donald Trump is rolling back EV-friendly policies, Europe's automakers are lobbying against the EU's 2035 ban on new fossil-fuel cars, and EV sales are crawling forward in emerging markets. Pitching itself as a one-stop shop for automakers, producing everything from hybrid engines to the small combustion units that extend range in plug-in EVs, Horse is targeting annual revenue of 15 billion euros ($17 billion) by 2029, up 80% from 2024, according to a Reuters analysis. "Automakers cannot do it all," CEO Matias Giannini told Reuters. "We've got to help them." Sceptics say that when the EV transition hits a tipping point, the switch will come quickly – a longer-term risk. "Betting big on legacy engine technology now is like Kodak backing film in the digital age," said Ginny Buckley, CEO of EV buying and advice website Electrifying.com. "It might work for a while, but the clock is ticking." 'THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE IS NOT DEAD' Figures from before the Horse JV was finalised at the end of 2024 are unavailable, but a Reuters analysis found the separate units had combined sales of 8.3 billion euros last year. Giannini says Horse is currently the world's No. 3 engine maker, with 17 engine and transmission factories previously run by Renault, Geely Holding and Geely-unit Volvo Cars, including eight in China. Horse's opportunity reflects the changed dynamics in the global auto sector. Carmakers including Porsche, Ferrari, Stellantis and Ford have slowed the shift to EVs, even while low-cost firms boom in China, meaning fossil-fuel cars will keep selling well into the 2040s. "The internal combustion engine is not dead," said Pierre Loret, vehicle powertrain analyst at S&P Global. AUTOMAKERS CAN'T MAKE 'TOO MANY BETS' EVs are still seen as the future: EVs and plug-in hybrids account for 47% of Chinese new car sales this year and EV sales are up 25% in Europe. That leaves automakers with a tough choice: invest in EVs, fossil-fuel models and hybrids at the same time, or outsource some of them. "If you bet on every number in roulette, you're going to win," said Bill Russo, CEO of Shanghai-based consultancy Automobility. "But you won't make any money because you've made too many bets." Horse can lean on European legacy expertise and Chinese scale to cut automakers' costs, Russo added. Horse's Giannini expects 50% of new cars to be EVs in 2040. Others predict more. But even then, tens of millions of new hybrid cars will still need engines. "Let automakers concentrate on their transition to EVs … while we support them with highly efficient hybrid engines and transmissions," Giannini said. Renault expects to save 2 billion euros in engine development by 2030 via outsourcing to Horse, and Giannini is pitching those savings to new customers. Horse currently produces over eight million engines and transmissions annually for more than 15 automakers including Renault, Dacia, Volvo Cars, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Mercedes-Benz. According to a source close to the matter, Horse is pursuing about 100 projects across all its products and markets – from cars to boats, construction equipment and drones. Horse, Geely and Renault declined to comment. Geely and Renault own 45% of Horse each. Oil producer Saudi Aramco owns the remaining 10%. Phil Dunne, a managing director at consultancy Grant Thornton Stax, said Horse would not work for automakers like Ferrari that need their own specialised engines. "But for mainstream solutions, it's ideal." A RISKY BET OR A WINNING ONE? Geely founder Li Shufu has poured billions into EVs at Lotus, Polestar and Volvo Cars, but they have mostly struggled, making Horse look like his best bet so far. "They (Geely) are willing to take risky bets but at the same time they do things like Horse," Automobility's Russo said. "When they don't work, they reconfigure." Horse itself is betting on new technologies, including plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). It has also launched a suitcase-sized combustion engine for extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) – which use a small engine to boost an EV's range. Sam Fiorani, vice president at research firm AutoForecast Solutions, said there are about 30 EREV models on sale in China, rising to about 45 in 2030. He also forecast a dozen U.S. models selling about 200,000 units in 2030 "from virtually zero today". But Lucien Mathieu, cars director at European environmental group Transport & Environment, said the focus should be on accelerating the switch to EVs. "It would be reckless… to embrace Horse as that would mean continuing to bet on outdated technologies while the world is going electric," Mathieu said. ($1 = 0.8608 euros) (Reporting by Gilles Guillaume in Munich, Marie Mannes in Stockholm. Editing by Nick Carey and Mark Potter)

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A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Kevin Buckland With this much newsflow, it's hard for investors to know where to look. As a result, investors are gazing in several directions at once – and it's creating a quite clean split between asset classes. Stock markets are rallying around Asia on Thursday, with bourses from Taipei to Seoul and Sydney climbing to fresh all-time peaks. In tech-heavy North Asian markets, that's due in large part to the persistent AI euphoria that also drove the Philadelphia SE semiconductor index – or SOX – up 3% overnight. The latest bullish signal came from Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML, with third-quarter bookings beating market forecasts on Wednesday. That's stoked expectations for strong results from Taiwan's TSMC, a major ASML customer, later today. Moreover, the big banks have kicked off U.S. earnings season with robust results that paint a broader picture of a resilient U.S. economy. And those figures are garnering more attention than usual in the absence of official macro data due to the government shutdown. At the same time, however, gold has been soaring to ever-greater record heights, and the dollar is spiralling lower, particularly against traditional safe havens the yen and Swiss franc. That's because, outside of equities, traders are antsy about a flare-up in trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. President Donald Trump declared they are "in a trade war" late on Wednesday, even as his Treasury and trade chiefs offered some hopes for de-escalation. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, for example, hinted at an extension to tariff reprieves, and said Trump still expects to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea this month, although without offering a date. Market tug-of-wars like this create an intrinsic tension, and raise the risk of something – or several things – snapping back. European stock futures are currently pointing lower, so a rebalancing could already be under way. Key developments that could influence markets on Thursday: -UK GDP estimate, services, industrial output, manufacturing output (all August) -Italy CPI (September) -Euro area trade balance (August) (By Kevin Buckland; Editing by Jamie Freed)

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By Katya Golubkova and Sam Li TOKYO (Reuters) -Oil prices rose around 1% on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pledged his country would stop buying oil from Russia, a move that could drain supply elsewhere. Brent crude futures rose 54 cents, or 0.87%, to $62.45 a barrel by 0430 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures climbed 57 cents, or 0.98%, to $58.84. Both contracts touched their lowest since early May in the previous session on U.S.-China trade tensions and after the International Energy Agency warned of a big surplus next year as OPEC+ producers and rivals lift output amid weak demand. Trump said on Wednesday that India – which taps its top supplier Russia for about one-third of its oil imports – would halt oil purchases from Russia, and the U.S. would next try to get China to do the same as Washington intensifies efforts to cut off Moscow's energy revenues and pressure it to negotiate a peace deal in Ukraine. The Indian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to emailed questions about whether Modi had made such a commitment to Trump. Some Indian refiners are preparing to cut Russian oil imports, with expectations of a gradual reduction, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said on Wednesday that he told Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato that the Trump administration expects Japan to stop importing Russian energy. India and China are the two top buyers of Russian seaborne crude exports, which are sanctioned by the U.S. and European Union. For months, Modi resisted U.S. pressure to stop buying Russian oil, with Indian officials defending the purchases as vital to national energy security. "At the margin, this is a positive development for the crude oil price as it would remove a big buyer (India) of Russian oil," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG. The UK government also announced new sanctions on Wednesday, directly targeting Russia's Rosneft and Lukoil – two of the world's biggest energy companies. The sanctioned entities include four oil terminals, the private refiner Shandong Yulong Petrochemical in China, 44 tankers in the "shadow fleet" transporting Russian oil, and Nayara Energy Limited, a Russian-owned refinery in India. Later on Thursday, investors will be watching for the weekly U.S. inventory statistics release from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) after mixed data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) trade group. U.S. crude and gasoline stocks rose while distillate inventories fell last week, market sources said, citing API figures on Wednesday. Crude stocks rose by 7.36 million barrels in the week ended October 10 and gasoline inventories increased by 2.99 million barrels, while distillate inventories fell by 4.79 million barrels from a week earlier, the sources said. While lower distillate inventories point to stronger demand for diesel, a buildup in crude oil and gasoline stocks suggests demand in the U.S., the world's top oil consumer, remains sluggish. Analysts forecast that U.S. crude stockpiles rose by about 0.3 million barrels last week. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova in Tokyo and Sam Li in Beijing; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Jamie Freed and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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By Andrea Shalal and Karin Strohecker WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Top U.S. and Chinese officials joined a meeting on Wednesday of the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable, where a key topic was the lack of transparency about commercial bank loans that have complicated developing countries' debt restructuring efforts. The International Monetary Fund, World Bank and current G20 president South Africa issued a progress report after the meeting, calling for continued efforts to address elevated debt vulnerabilities, particularly in low-income countries. It said debt levels in low-income countries and emerging economies had generally stabilized, but remained higher than during the pre-COVID-19 era, with a few being particularly vulnerable. Many also faced elevated debt-service challenges, crowding out spending on education, health and infrastructure. "Recent shifts in global policies and cuts in foreign aid add to the challenges," the report said, underscoring the need for domestic reforms by debtor countries to boost growth, with specific attention to rising domestic debt vulnerabilities. Participants agreed to keep working to improve debt restructuring processes, including looking for ways to accelerate the restructuring of non-bonded commercial debt, accelerating support to countries with sustainable debt but high debt-service challenges, and strengthening transparency. IMF strategy chief Ceyla Pazarbasioglu said the continued participation of the U.S. and China in the roundtable, despite a fierce trade war dividing the world's two largest economies, showed their commitment to keep addressing the high debt levels hurting developing countries. The roundtable, which met during the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Washington, had led to progress in shortening the timelines of official debt restructurings and reworking bonded debt, but there was more work to do on non-bonded debt, Pazarbasioglu told reporters before the meeting. "These discussions have been important to get everyone on the same page," she said. "The fact that tomorrow we will have the U.S. Treasury Secretary (Scott Bessent) there, China will be there, and others will be there, is a sign that they are still committed to this discussion." CALL FOR TRANSPARENCY OVER DEBT The progress report showed that transparency was a shared concern, especially regarding non-bonded debt. "Non-bonded debt is the laggard at this point," Pazarbasioglu said, noting some countries had moved through a restructuring but still faced bank exposures or other loans that prevented credit ratings agencies from removing their default status and raising ratings. "This is a critical step to make sure that countries are able to access lower cost financing. So that's what we are really focusing on now," she said. A recent IMF paper detailed the challenges faced by such countries – including Ghana, Sri Lanka, Zambia and Suriname. The report cited broad support for earlier and more comprehensive publication by official creditor committees of the key terms of restructurings – including the net present value reduction – once an agreement was reached, though full consensus had not yet been reached. Participants also broadly supported extending to all G20 creditors the World Bank's "Debt Data Sharing Exercise," which ensures the data of debtors and creditors are reconciled. Many of them expressed strong interest in the World Bank's proposal for a digital platform to automate loan data reconciliation, building on a pilot program launched with Indonesia, it said. Negotiators continue to work on a declaration on debt issues that the Group of 20 major economies, which launched the Common Framework for debt restructurings during the COVID-19 pandemic, hopes to issue on Thursday, participants said. GLOBAL DEBT AT RECORD LEVELS Global debt is at record levels, but many emerging markets have actually reduced their debt-to-GDP ratios, although they still face crushing debt service payments and have been crowded out of the capital market by advanced economies. Liquidity is a bigger concern now than solvency, Pazarbasioglu said. Debt experts say high borrowing costs on international capital markets have effectively shut out many riskier borrowers, pushing governments to opt for loans where terms and conditions are rarely published. Jose Vinals, former group chairman of Standard Chartered, one of the two private-sector creditors together with BlackRock that are part of the global sovereign debt roundtable, said more transparency was clearly needed. "This is something that complicates enormously the restructuring processes and I think one of the things where progress needs to be made," he said during an event hosted by the Bretton Woods Committee late on Tuesday. Loans lack mechanisms such as collective action clauses often written into bonds that help to streamline sovereign debt restructurings by allowing a majority of bondholders to bind the minority to a new deal and prevent "holdout" creditors. He also pointed to working groups such as the London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign Debt, launched in June by the British government to help make contracts clearer and more transparent, as improving the way loan terms address natural disasters, and addressing problems with group lending practices. Almost all international bond and loan contracts across emerging markets use England and New York as jurisdictions. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Karin Strohecker; Editing by Frances Kerry and Paul Simao)

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By Christine Chen SYDNEY (Reuters) -Treasury Wine Estates shareholders grilled Chairman John Mullen over the Australian winemaker's poor performance, stock slump as well as his heavy workload, but he was re-elected by a wide margin at its annual general meeting on Thursday. Earlier this week, Treasury – one of the world's top five winemakers by volume – pulled earnings guidance for 2026 and suspended plans for a share buyback, citing weak sales of its flagship Penfolds wines in China and U.S. distribution challenges. The stock has slumped more than 40% since the start of the year. Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services and the Australian Shareholders' Association had recommended that investors vote against Mullen's re-election, noting he also chaired Qantas and logistics firm Brambles and served on other private boards. "Can John point to any other person in recent history who has simultaneously chaired three ASX 100 companies?" one shareholder asked at the meeting. Mullen hit back at the criticism, saying it was ill-timed given the current leadership vacuum at the company, adding that his commitment to the company was "absolute" and he was devoting "adequate" time. Treasury is facing an extremely difficult period with troubles in its key markets and has no current chief executive, he said. Former CEO Tim Ford departed on September 30 and Sam Fischer will not start until October 27. “At a time when the company is going through everything that it's going through that they would think it's in shareholders' interest not to have a chair … that makes me scratch my head,” he said. Shareholders appeared to agree with him and he was re-elected with only 14.55% of votes not in favour. (Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

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By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. again purchased Argentine pesos in the open market on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters, adding that the department was working with banks and investment funds to create a $20 billion facility to invest in the South American country's sovereign debt. Bessent said during a press conference that the facility would sit alongside a new $20 billion U.S. currency swap line for Argentina, providing a total of $40 billion in support for Latin America's third-largest economy. Bessent did not provide details of the peso operation, which follows an initial U.S. purchase on October 9. The action contributed to recovery in Argentine stocks after U.S. President Donald Trump's comment on Tuesday that appeared to call U.S. support for Argentina into question. Local stocks ended up 1.7% after rising more than 4% earlier, while international dollar bonds ticked up after selling off on Tuesday. But the peso weakened after Bessent's announcement, declining 1.7% to 1,378 per dollar. Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. would not "waste our time" with Argentina if President Javier Milei's party loses in parliamentary elections on October 26. But Bessent clarified that the U.S. would continue to support Argentina financially as long as Milei's government pursues "good policies," regardless of the election outcome. Bessent said the Trump administration's support for Argentina "is not election-specific," but a win for Milei's La Libertad Avanza party would ensure that the right-wing Argentine president has a sufficient majority to veto policies aimed at ending his libertarian fiscal austerity agenda and free-market overhaul of the country's crisis-prone economy. "It is policy-specific. So as long as Argentina continues enacting good policy, they will have U.S. support," Bessent said. Asked if the peso operation would be accompanied by U.S. purchases of Argentine debt, Bessent said, "We could," without elaborating. Work on the private-sector debt investment facility has been underway for weeks, but Bessent did not provide a timeline for any debt purchases. "So it is a private-sector solution to Argentina's upcoming debt payments," Bessent said. "Many banks are interested in it, and many sovereign funds have expressed interest in being part of it." ARGENTINA PROMISES POLICY CONTINUITY In Buenos Aires, Argentina's Economy Minister Luis Caputo said on Wednesday that he hopes "very soon" to execute the terms of the $20 billion U.S. currency swap, ideally before the October 26 vote. Despite Trump's support for ideological ally Milei, a key local election in Buenos Aires recently handed a resounding victory to his socially focused opposition. Caputo said that regardless of the outcome of the vote, the policies of the Milei administration would remain the same. He added that the Argentine administration was working on additional financial options it could not yet disclose, and that some U.S. businesses had informally pledged billions of dollars in investment during recent meetings. The Trump administration has disclosed few details about the swap line arrangement, aimed at improving Argentina's market liquidity. Bessent confirmed it would be backed by International Monetary Fund Special Drawing Rights assets that are held in the Treasury's Exchange Stabilization Fund and would be converted to dollars. Asked whether the U.S. would assume a preferred creditor status ahead of the IMF or private-sector lenders, Bessent said: "No, that's what China does, we don't do that." Milei said the government is in talks with the U.S. over a potential agreement that would grant the South American country trade advantages. "There is an issue of trade advantages that the United States would be giving us; the U.S. has strongly favored Argentina," Milei said in a television interview. ECONOMIC 'MONROE DOCTRINE' Bessent said the Trump administration was motivated not by any systemic risk emanating from Argentina, but views the country as the centerpiece of an "Economic Monroe Doctrine," a reference to the 1823 U.S. foreign policy doctrine aimed at ensuring U.S. influence over the Americas. China has gained influence in Latin America in recent years, and maintains its own $18 billion swap line with Argentina. Bessent said Milei's government is a "beacon" for resisting past socialist policies and its success could help shift other governments in the region to the right. (Reporting by David Lawder; Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos and Sarah Morland; Editing by Paul Simao and Andrea Ricci)

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