Gold Steadies Near Record High As Venezuela Tensions Persist

Breton was the former top tech regulator at the European Commission, the EU's executive arm

The US State Department on Tuesday said it would deny visas to former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton and four others in protest of European regulation of social media.

The measure comes amid increasing tensions between the US and the Europe, with President Donald Trump's adminstration accusing Brussels of cracking down on freedoms.

Besides Breton, the US visa ban targets:

Why is the US denying their visas?

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the five people targeted with visa bans "have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize and suppress American viewpoints they oppose."

He did not initially name those facing the visa ban, but Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers later identified them in a post on social media.

Rogers described Breton as the "mastermind" of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which imposes content moderation and other standards on major social media platforms operating in Europe.

The State Department said HateAid functions as a trusted flagger for enforcing the DSA.

What was the reaction?

Breton decried the ban as a "witch hunt."

"To our American friends: Censorship isn't where you think it is," he wrote in a post on X.

The GDI called the US action "immoral, unlawful, and un-American" and "an authoritarian attack on free speech and an egregious act of government

Source: DW

Global pharma giants Eli Lilly (LLY.N)and Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO)are scrambling to cement their lead in India's booming obesity drug market before cheaper generic versions hit shelves in March next year.

Novo's strategy emphasizes price cuts and accelerated launches, while Lilly's products benefitted from hitting the market early. Both companies focused on aggressive outreach to doctors, heavier advertising about obesity, tie-ups with clinics, patient incentives and distribution deals with local drugmakers, according to doctors, analysts, medical representatives, patients and distributors who spoke to Reuters.

Lilly has even teamed up in India with well-known Bollywood actors in a social media ad campaign about obesity.

India, projected to have the world's second-largest overweight or obese population by 2050 in absolute numbers, is becoming a key battleground for obesity drugs. Analysts expect the global market for such drugs to hit $150 billion a year by the end of this decade.

Although the U.S. remains the largest market for obesity drugs, early sales figures in India show rapid uptake, even though most patients in the world's most populous nation pay for the medication out-of-pocket.

"We believe that this market can be more than $1 billion within two years," said Shrikant Akolkar, vice president at research firm Nuvama Institutional Equities.

Data analytics firm Pharmarack said in July that the market was estimated to be worth 6.28 billion rupees ($70.23 million) at present, growing fivefold since 2021.

U.S. drugmaker Lilly's Mounjaro, approved for diabetes and weight loss in India, became the top-selling therapy by value in October, with sales doubling within months of its March launch, outpacing Danish drugmaker Novo's Wegovy, which entered the Indian market in June.

"We realized just after a couple of months that for accessibility, we had to take a price cut," said Vikrant Shrotriya, Novo Nordisk's managing director in India, referring to Wegovy's price cut in November. Shrotriya spoke earlier this month while launching Novo Nordisk's blockbuster diabetes drug, Ozempic, in the country.

Ozempic, a once-weekly injection approved by the U.S. drug regulator in 2017 for Type 2 diabetes, became a global bestseller and is widely used off-label for weight loss due to its appetite-suppressing effects.

More than 20 Indian drugmakers, including Dr Reddy's (REDY.NS), Cipla (CIPL.NS, Sun Pharma (SUN.NS), Zydus (ZYDU.NS)and Lupin (LUPN.NS),plan to launch cheaper versions of Novo's weight-loss drug in India once its patent on semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, expires in March 2026.

Analysts expect generic drugs to cost about 60% less, intensifying the fight - particularly for Novo - for dominance in India's price-sensitive market.

Shrotriya played down concerns over looming patent expiries, telling Reuters that Novo will focus on quality, trust and affordability rather than on patents or competition in India.

LILLY'S GAIN IS NOVO'S PAIN

Lilly's Mounjaro has quickly gained traction in India. A 2.5 mg Mounjaro KwikPen costs about 13,125 rupees ($146.79) for a month's usage, with the highest 15 mg dose going up to 25,781 rupees ($288.33).

In response, Novo cut the price of Wegovy in India by up to 37% in November, pricing its lowest dose of 0.25 mg at 10,850 rupees ($121.34) for a one-month pack. It launched Ozempic last week for a monthly price of 8,800 rupees ($98.42) for 0.25 mg.

While Wegovy is catching up, Mounjaro's early launch helped it penetrate the market, and the latter drug's claim of offering greater weight loss makes it a popular choice among patients, said five doctors who spoke with Reuters.

"Mounjaro clearly has first-strike advantage and continues to have strong demand, but price-sensitive patients are reassessing alternatives," said Dr. Anoop Misra, an endocrinologist and executive chairman of Fortis C-DOC Hospital.

Mounjaro also differentiates itself by targeting people with severe obesity, said Vishal Manchanda, analyst at Systematix Institutional Equities. He added that Lilly faces no immediate pressure to cut prices, given its strong position.

Even if Lilly lowers prices later, Mounjaro would still cost about 30% more than other branded weight-loss drugs, he said.

Lilly declined to comment on its Indian pricing strategy. It said, however, that early response to Mounjaro in India has been "highly encouraging."

Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro belong to a class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists, which mimic a hormone that slows digestion and helps people feel full longer.

Novo has sued Dr Reddy's and Sun Pharma in a local court to enforce semaglutide patents and attempted to block generics until March 2026.

Longer patent protection for Mounjaro's active ingredient, tirzepatide, which extends at least until the middle of the next decade, also gives Lilly an advantage, analysts said.

PARTNERING FOR REACH

The battle has expanded beyond pricing and patents.

Demand for weight-loss treatments in India is spreading beyond urban elites as interest grows among middle-class families, office workers, women nearing menopause and people with obesity-related complications in smaller towns.

Lilly has partnered with India's third-largest drugmaker by revenue, Cipla (CIPL.NS), to launch a second tirzepatide brand, Yurpeak, targeting smaller towns, and teamed up with Apollo Hospitals (APLH.NS) to raise awareness of obesity and diabetes. It is also investing more than $1 billion to expand contract manufacturing in India.

Cipla said it would help market Lilly's weight-loss medication in deeper markets in India.

Meanwhile, Novo has tied up with Emcure Pharmaceuticals (EMCU.NS),and launched a second semaglutide brand, Poviztra, to widen distribution beyond India's major cities. It has teamed with startup Healthify to offer patients health coaching and with Apollo to raise awareness of obesity.

In India, where prescription drug ads are prohibited, Novo launched a "WeGoWithYou" obesity awareness campaign that connects people to doctors to learn more about the disease and its management. Lilly has a similar initiative known as "WeKnowNow" that talks about obesity management.

Both drugmakers are pushing to frame obesity as a disease, utilizing newspaper ads, billboards, airport displays and pamphlets at wellness clinics.

Neither company disclosed its spending on marketing in India.

($1 = 89.4160 Indian rupees)

Source: Reuters

Bank of Japan policymakers debated the need to continue raising interest rates to levels deemed neutral to the economy with some arguing doing so will help achieve long-term, stable growth, the minutes of their October meeting showed on Wednesday.

A few in the nine-member board also said recent yen declines could lead to an overshoot in inflation by pushing up import costs, the minutes showed.

At the October 29-30 meeting, the BOJ kept interest rates steady at 0.5% but Governor Kazuo Ueda sent a strong signal on the chance of a near-term rate hike. At the subsequent meeting in December, the central bank raised rates to 0.75%.

Source: Reuters

Platinum soared to an all-time high, trading above $2,300 an ounce for the first time on tight supplies and historically elevated borrowing costs.

The metal rose for a 10th straight session — its longest winning streak since 2017 — and has advanced more than 150% this year, the biggest annual gain since Bloomberg began compiling data in 1987. The recent surge has come as the London market shows signs of tightening, with banks parking metal in the US to insure against the risk of tariffs.

Used in the automotive and jewelry sectors, platinum has been caught up in the wave of investment that poured into precious metals this year. Gold and silver have also risen to records.

More than 600,000 ounces of platinum are sitting in US warehouses — an amount much higher than usual — as traders await the outcome of Washington's Section 232 probe, which could lead to tariffs or trade restrictions on the metal.

Meanwhile, shipments to China have been robust this year, and demand optimism has been bolstered as contracts recently began trading on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange. Prices in Guangzhou have risen well above other international benchmarks.

Platinum is on course for a third annual deficit this year, due to supply disruptions in major producer South Africa. High borrowing costs have also been an issue for manufacturers that use the metal to produce goods ranging from chemicals to glass to laboratory equipment. Industrial users often choose the less capital-intensive option of leasing, rather than buying the commodity outright.

Platinum rose as much as 3.1% to a record $2,361.23 as of 8:19 a.m. in Singapore. Sister metal palladium gained as much as 2.5%.

Source: Bloomberg

TRUMP'S VENEZUELA BLOCKADE

RUSSIAN SUPPLY DISRUPTED

Source: Reuters

The United States told the United Nations on Tuesday it will impose and enforce sanctions "to the maximum extent" to deprive Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of resources as Russia warned other Latin American countries could be next.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has for months waged a campaign of against suspected drug trafficking boats off the Venezuelan coast and the Pacific coast of Latin America. He has threatened strikes on Venezuelan land.

"The single most serious threat to this hemisphere, our very own neighborhood and the United States, is from transnational terrorist and criminal groups," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz told the U.N. Security Council.

The U.S. has ramped up its military presence in the region and Trump announced a blockade of all vessels subject to U.S. sanctions. So far this month, the U.S. Coast Guard has intercepted two tankers in the Caribbean Sea, both fully loaded with Venezuelan crude. The Coast Guard is also pursuing a third empty vessel that was approaching the OPEC country's shore.

"The reality of the situation is that sanctioned oil tankers operate as the primary economic lifeline for Maduro and his illegitimate regime. The sanctioned tankers also fund the narco-terrorist group Cartel de Los Soles," Waltz said.

Washington designated Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, as a foreign terrorist organization late last month for the group's alleged role in importing illegal drugs into the U.S. It accuses Maduro of leading Cartel de los Soles. Venezuela's government rejected what it called a "ridiculous" move to designate the "non-existent" group.

"This intervention which is unfolding can become a template for future acts of force against Latin American states," Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council, citing a recent strategy document from Trump that said the U.S. will reassert its dominance in the Western Hemisphere.

Waltz spoke after Nebenzia and did not directly respond to his remark.

China urged the United States to "immediately halt relevant actions and avoid further escalation of tensions," China's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Sun Lei told the council.

Venezuela, backed by Russia and China, requested Tuesday's meeting, the second held on the escalating tensions. The Security Council first met in October, when the United States justified its actions as consistent with Article 51 of the founding U.N. Charter, which requires the Security Council to be immediately informed of any action states take in self-defense against armed attack.

"Let it be clear once and for all that there is no war in the Caribbean, there is no international armed conflict, nor is there a non-international one, which is why it is absurd for the U.S. government to seek to justify its actions by applying the rules of war," Venezuela's U.N. Ambassador Samuel Moncada told the council.

"The threat is not Venezuela The threat is the U.S. government," he said.

Source: Reuters