Business
US-China soybean trade to resume: Beijing agrees to buy 25 mn tonnes for next 3 years; more nations will buy American soy, says Bessent – The Times of India
 
																								
												
												
											
Soybean trade between the US and China is set to resume after months of halted purchases. Beijing had refused to purchase American soybean after the two nations got embroiled in tariff tensions.Now, China has agreed to buy 12 million metric tonnes from the United States in the ongoing season till January. However, this is still significantly lower than the 22.5 million tonnes purchased in the previous season.US treasury secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the development on Thursday, saying China has also committed to purchasing 25 million tonnes annually over the next three years under a broader trade agreement. The commitment was reached following talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.The decline in Chinese purchases came as a hit for the US farmers who lost billions in sales. The deal would, hence, come as a return to normalcy with the top US soybean importer. Over the past five crop years, China’s annual purchases averaged 28.8 million tonnes from September to August, Reuters reported.“Our great soybean farmers, who the Chinese used as political pawns – that’s off the table, and they should prosper in the years to come,” Bessent said on Fox Business Network’s Mornings with Maria. He further added that the agreement negotiated in Malaysia over the weekend could be formally signed as early as next week.Alongside China’s commitments, Bessent said other Southeast Asian countries have agreed to buy an additional 19 million tonnes of US soybeans, though he did not specify the timeframe or which countries are involved. According to US Census Bureau data, other Asian importers typically purchase between 8 and 10 million tonnes annually.The commodity markets responded immediately. The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade erased earlier losses and finished 1.2% higher, settling at a 15-month peak of $11.07-3/4 per bushel. Export prices for US soybeans have surged by $20 to $30 per metric tonne this week, driven by expectations of renewed Chinese demand after the Trump–Xi meeting. Roughly 180,000 tonnes, three cargoes, were sold to state trader COFCO just before the summit.Relief among American farmersFarm groups have welcomed the breakthrough after the prolonged trade war slashed soy exports that were worth $24.5 billion last year. US farmers are nearing completion of what is expected to be the fifth-largest soybean harvest on record, but weak Chinese demand and rising costs for fertiliser, seed, labour and machinery have squeezed farm incomes.“This is a meaningful step forward to reestablishing a stable, long-term trading relationship that delivers results for farm families and future generations,” American Soybean Association President and Kentucky farmer Caleb Ragland told Reuters.The breakthrough comes after Trump secured agricultural trade understandings with other Asian economies. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said, “Expanding markets and restoring purchases by China will provide some certainty for farmers who are struggling just to hold on.”China diversifies soybean purchasesTrump announced on social media after the meeting with Xi that China had authorised purchases of “massive amounts” of soybeans, sorghum and other US farm products. US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins later praised Trump’s comment in a post on X.However, analysts say the arrangement largely resets the trade relationship to previous levels rather than marking an expansion. Even Rogers Pay, director at Beijing-based Trivium China, said the agreement “effectively constituted a return to business as usual”, adding, “It targets a level of trade that has been pretty consistent with the past few years.”Further details will determine whether private Chinese importers return to the US market. Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting, said commercial buyers are waiting to see if soybean tariffs will be lowered from 20% to 10%, or removed entirely.“If the tariff is not completely lifted, commercial buyers will have little incentive to purchase US soybeans,” he told Reuters.China, the world’s largest soybean importer, used its massive demand as leverage during the earlier Trump-era trade war. Facing tariffs of 23%, Chinese buyers shifted towards South American suppliers. Since then, China has intentionally diversified its import sources. Customs data shows that in 2024, only 20% of China’s soybean imports came from the United States, a steep drop from 41% in 2016.
Business
Disney pulls channels from YouTube TV over fee dispute
 
														
Subscribers to YouTube TV have lost access to ESPN, ABC and other Disney channels, as the two companies struggle to negotiate a licensing deal.
Disney said the online pay-TV platform, which is owned by the tech giant Google and available only in the US, had refused to pay fair rates for the content, which also include National Geographic and the Disney channel.
In its own statement, YouTube TV said that Disney’s proposed terms “disadvantage our members while benefiting Disney’s own live TV products”.
After tense negotiations, the channels vanished from YouTube TV just before midnight on Thursday – the deadline to reach a new deal. The blackout affects roughly 10 million subscribers.
If Disney channels remain suspended for an “extend period of time”, YouTube TV said it would offer subscribers a $20 credit.
YouTube and Disney-owned Hulu are among the biggest online TV platforms in the US.
Their stand-off follows similarly contentious talks this year between YouTube and other media companies, which had also threatened to limit the shows available to YouTube TV subscribers.
Google struck a deal at the last minute with Comcast-owned NBCUniversal earlier this month to keep shows like “Sunday Night Football” on YouTube TV. It has also reached agreements with Paramount and Fox in recent months.
In separate statements, both Google and Disney said they were working toward a resolution to restore Disney content to YouTube TV.
Still, the companies remain divided on fees.
“With a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement.
But YouTube said in a statement that Disney was proposing “costly economic terms” that would lead to higher prices for YouTube TV customers and limit their options for content, benefiting Disney’s own live TV offerings like Hulu+ Live TV.
Business
Security concerns over system at heart of digital ID
 
														
The government is facing questions over whether the system at the heart of its plans for digital ID can be trusted to keep people’s personal data secure.
Digital ID will be made available to all UK citizens and legal residents but will only be mandatory for employment, under the government’s proposals.
Full details of how the system will work have yet to be announced but Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has insisted it “will have security at its core”.
It will be based on two government-built systems – Gov.uk One Login and Gov.uk Wallet.
One Login is a single account for accessing public services online, which the government says more than 12 million people have already signed up to.
By this time next year that might be as many as 20 million, as people registering as company directors will have to verify their identity through One Login from 18 November.
Gov.UK Wallet has not yet been launched but it could eventually allow citizens to store their digital ID – including name, date of birth, nationality and residence status, and a photo – on their smartphones.
Users will need a Gov.UK One Login to access the wallet.
Last month, the government launched a digital identity card for military veterans to test the concept.
The government hopes to avoid security issues by keeping the personal details to be accessed through One Login in individual government departments rather than in a single, centralised database.
But veteran civil liberties campaigner and Conservative MP David Davis has raised concerns about potential flaws in the design and implementation of One Login that he says could leave it – and the new digital ID scheme – vulnerable to hackers.
Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate earlier this month, he said: “What will happen when this system comes into effect is that the entire population’s entire data will be open to malevolent actors – foreign nations, ransomware criminals, malevolent hackers and even their own personal or political enemies.
“As a result, this will be worse than the Horizon [Post Office] scandal.”
Davis has written to spending watchdog the National Audit Office calling for an “urgent” investigation into the cost of One Login, which he says is certain to rise above the £305m already earmarked for it.
In his letter, the MP highlights a 2022 incident, in which it was found that the One Login system was being developed on unsecured workstations by contractors without the required security clearance in Romania.
Davis also points out that One Login does not meet the government’s own requirements to be classified as a safe and trusted identity supplier.
The government has blamed a supplier for allowing its Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework certification to lapse earlier this year and says it is working towards it being restored, which will happen “imminently”.
Separately, Liberal Democrat technology spokesman Lord Clement-Jones has questioned whether One Login meets National Cyber Security Centre standards.
The peer says he has been speaking to a whistleblower, who claims that the government has missed the 2025 deadline set out in its national cyber security strategy for hardening “critical” systems against cyber attacks.
Ministers deny this but the Lib Dem peer said he had been told by an official that One Login would not pass the required security tests until March 2026.
The whistleblower also highlighted an incident from March this year, when a so-called “red team” tasked with simulating a real life cyber attack was reportedly able to gain privileged access to One Login systems.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) says it is unable to give details of the red team exercise for security reasons but says claims that its systems were penetrated without detection are false.
DSIT officials also assured Lord Clement-Jones that the subcontractors in Romania were “a handful of people” none of whom had access to production “and all code was checked”.
The department says all members of the team working on One Login use “corporately managed” devices which are monitored by a security team to detect any malicious activity.
But Lord Clement-Jones told the BBC he was not convinced by the department’s assurances.
He said the track record of successive governments of running One Login and other systems “should give us all no confidence at all that the new compulsory digital ID, which will be based on them, will ensure that our personal data is safe and will meet the highest cybersecurity standards”.
Last week, the prime minister handed overall control of the digital ID scheme to the Cabinet Office, which is headed by one of his most trusted and senior ministers Darren Jones, reflecting its importance to the government.
But the Government Digital Service, which is part of DSIT, will retain responsibility for design of the project.
A DSIT spokesperson said: “Gov.UK One Login continues to deliver for citizens across the UK.
“One Login is now home to more than 100 services and has been used by more than 12 million people – representing almost a sixth of the UK population.
“One Login follows the highest security standards used across government and the private sector and is fully compliant with UK data protection and privacy laws.
“The system undergoes regular security reviews and testing, including by independent third-parties, to ensure security remains strong and up to date.”
Business
Hurricane Melissa set to trigger $150 million Jamaica catastrophe bond to help rebuild
 
														
Drone view of damage to coastal homes after Hurricane Melissa made landfall, in Alligator Pond, Jamaica, Oct. 29, 2025.
Maria Alejandra Cardona | Reuters
Hurricane Melissa, the most powerful Atlantic hurricane of the year, made landfall this week as a Category 5 storm in Jamaica. The strength of the storm means it will likely trigger a full payout from a catastrophe bond designed to provide funds to the island in the event of catastrophic weather events.
The $150 million catastrophe bond, structured by Aon, is intended to help the island’s people rebuild after natural disasters by providing Jamaica parametric coverage against losses from named storms. The policy took effect this year and lasts through 2027.
The government of Jamaica is the first government in the Caribbean region, and the first of any small island state, to independently sponsor a cat bond, according to Aon. Its likely payout demonstrates the value of a unique type of backstop funded by the private markets.
In order to trigger the full payment, the storm has to meet a particular strength criteria. The central pressure of the storm must be at or below 900 millibars as its makes landfall and crosses the island nation.
Early data from the National Hurricane Center shows Hurricane Melissa’s pressure stayed below 900 millibars in several areas. Those readings are in the process of being verified by an independent calculation agent.
“While the final numbers are still being verified, the early signs suggest the transaction is doing what it was designed to do: getting critical funds to the country quickly after a major disaster,” Chris Lefferdink, Aon’s head of insurance-linked securities for North America, said in a statement.
The review process typically takes 2 to 3 weeks, and the earliest possible payout to Jamaica could come in approximately 1 month, according to a spokesperson from Aon.
A drone view shows an affected area after Hurricane Melissa made landfall, in Crane Road, Black River, Jamaica, October 30, 2025.
Maria Alejandra Cardona | Reuters
Previous parametric transactions payouts have taken 3 months or more, but for this event Aon used an innovative data source to enable faster payments.
The catastrophe bond was placed using the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s “capital at risk” program, which is used to transfer the risks associated with natural catastrophes to the capital markets, allowing the country to access funds quickly after a major event.
“What you have is a capital provider putting funds in the pool, an insurer putting the coupon for those funds in the pool [and] if the storm hits that criteria, they get the money in a much quicker fashion,” Aon CFO Edmund Reese told CNBC’s Contessa Brewer in an interview.
Damaged furniture and debris after Hurricane Melissa made landfall, in Black River, Jamaica, Oct. 30, 2025.
Octavio Jones | Reuters
Catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities were created in the mid 1990s in the wake of Hurricane Andrew’s destruction. They’ve since grown in popularity, with the cat bond market growing by over 50% since the end of 2022 to nearly $55 billion.
“Public-private partnerships like Jamaica’s continue to highlight how parametric insurance can deliver rapid, transparent relief in the wake of severe storms,” Lefferdink said.
Jamaica very narrowly missed the requirements necessary to receive a payout from a separate cat bond when Hurricane Beryl battered the island in 2024, resulting in $995 million in damages to homes, crops and infrastructure, according to the National Hurricane Center.
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