By Daniel Leussink

TOKYO (Reuters) -Toyota will introduce high-performance, solid-state batteries and other technologies to improve the driving range and cut costs of future electric vehicles (EVs), the automaker said on Tuesday, a strategic pivot that sent its shares higher.

The Japanese giant’s technology roadmap, covering aspects as varied as next-generation battery development and a radical redesign of factories, amounted to the automaker’s fullest disclosure of its plan to compete in the fast-growing market for EVs where it has lagged rivals led by Tesla.

The plan comes a day before an annual shareholders meeting where governance and strategy – including a slow pivot to battery EVs under former CEO Akio Toyoda – will be scrutinised.

Shares of the world’s best-selling automaker jumped 5% on the day to 2,173 yen, the highest since August.

Toyota said it aims to launch next-generation lithium-ion batteries from 2026 offering longer ranges and quicker charging.

It also trumpeted a “technological breakthrough” that addresses durability problems in solid-state batteries and said it is developing means to mass produce those batteries, targeting commercialisation over 2027-2028.

Solid-state batteries can hold more energy than current liquid electrolyte batteries. Automakers and analysts expect them to speed transition to EVs by addressing a major consumer concern: range.

Still, such batteries are expensive and likely to remain so for years. Toyota will hedge with better-performing lithium iron phosphate batteries, a cheaper alternative to lithium-ion batteries that have spurred EV adoption in China, the world’s largest vehicle market.

At the high end of the market, Toyota said it would produce an EV with a more efficient lithium-ion battery offering a range of 1,000 km (621 miles). By comparison, the long-range version of the lithium-ion-powered Tesla Model Y, the world’s best-selling EV, can drive for about 530 km based on U.S. standards.

An EV powered by a solid-state battery would have a range of 1,200 km and charging time of just 10 minutes, Toyota said. By comparison, the Tesla Supercharger network – the largest of its kind – offers the equivalent of 321 km of charge in 15 minutes.

Toyota did not detail expected costs or required investment for the plans.

Engineers at the automaker have been considering a reboot of its EV strategy since last year to better compete.

The roadmap detailed on Tuesday showed that under new CEO Koji Sato, Toyota has adopted much of the revamp that engineers and planners have been developing as options for months.

That includes use of electric-axle and other technology from suppliers such as Aisin and Denso.

“What we want to achieve is to change the future with BEVs,” Takero Kato, president of new Toyota EV unit BEV Factory, said in a video posted on the automaker’s YouTube channel on Tuesday.

NEW ASSEMBLY TECHNOLOGY

Toyota said it was developing a dedicated EV platform to reduce the cost of new models and a heavily automated assembly line that would do away with the conveyor belt system that has defined auto production since Henry Ford over 100 years ago.

In Toyota’s “self-propelling” assembly line, cars under production would drive themselves through the process.

It also said it would use Giga casting to cut production costs, adopting an innovation pioneered by Tesla using massive, aluminium casting machines to reduce vehicle complexity.

Koji Endo, senior analyst at SBI Securities, said he was surprised by Toyota’s move to counter Tesla’s lead in production efficiency. “I’m not sure yet Toyota can push back in a counter offensive, but it’s getting ready to try,” he said.

Toyota’s BEV Factory, established in May, aims to produce about 1.7 million vehicles by 2030, Kato said – about half of the 3.5 million EVs Toyota aims to sell annually by that year.

In April, the automaker sold 8,584 EVs worldwide, including under its Lexus brand, accounting for more than 1% of its global sales in a single month for the first time.

Toyota sold almost 10.5 million vehicles in 2022, and has a market value of about $254 billion. By contrast, Tesla sold one-eighth as many vehicles yet is valued at around $791 billion, a premium reflecting investor belief in Tesla’s growth potential.

Toyota has long said it wants to offer consumers a choice of new-energy vehicles, including petrol-electric hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells as well as battery EVs, as part of the industry’s transition from petrol-powered vehicles.

(Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Kevin Krolicki)

By David Shepardson

(Reuters) -General Motors and Samsung SDI will build a more than $3 billion EV battery cell plant in Indiana scheduled to begin operations in 2026, creating 1,700 jobs, the state’s governor said Tuesday.

The companies said in April they would invest more than $3 billion to build a joint venture EV battery manufacturing plant in the U.S. but did not name a location.

Reuters reported in January that GM had opted not to move forward with building a fourth U.S. battery plant with LG Energy Solution in Indiana, but said GM could still pick Indiana for a battery plant with another partner.

The joint GM and Samsung SDI plant near New Carlisle, Indiana aims to have an annual production capacity of 30 gigawatt hours (GWh). The plant will produce high-nickel prismatic and cylindrical battery cells.

Samsung SDI CEO Yoonho Choi said in a statement “Securing Indiana as a strong foothold together with GM, Samsung SDI will supply products featuring the highest level of safety and quality in a bid to help the U.S. move forward to an era of electric vehicles.”

The U.S. Energy Department finalized a $2.5 billion loan to the GM-LG Energy Ultium Cells LLC joint venture late last year. The companies are building a $2.6 billion plant in Michigan, set to open in 2024 after opening a plant in Ohio and are building another in Tennessee.

GM expects to build 400,000 electric vehicles (EVs) in North America from 2022 through mid-2024 and increase capacity to 1 million units annually in North America in 2025. Reuters reported in April GM is considering building at least two additional EV plants on the top of the first four to meet future EV demand.

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders in April blasted the GM LG Ohio JV for paying workers much less than assembly plant employees even though it benefits from hefty U.S. government tax credits.

The UAW has not yet endorsed President Joe Biden for a second term, citing concerns about EV policies.

Biden, during a visit to Samsung in South Korea last year, urged companies to “enter into partnerships” with “American union members”, saying JVs “that manufacture electric vehicle batteries would be made stronger by collective bargaining relationships” with U.S. unions.

(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Louise Heavens and David Evans)

By Chris Taylor

NEW YORK (Reuters) – For American kids, summer camps can conjure up some idyllic experiences: Canoeing on lakes, munching on s’mores by campfires.

For parents trying to get their kids into popular camps, the vibe can be a little different: More like “The Hunger Games.”

Just ask Ellen Sheng, a writer and editor whose local camp in Summit, New Jersey, is the “hottest ticket in town,” thanks to its reasonable price of $700 for eight weeks.

“Sign-ups start in January, and it’s sold out in hours,” Sheng says. “You had to stand in line hours before sign-ups start, in the cold, to secure a spot.

That particular camp has since shifted to a lottery system, to better handle the hordes of parents. But it is a common refrain around the U.S.: Top summer camps are the most popular they have been in years, requiring earlier planning and more money.

“I was just talking to a camp director who has over 500 kids on his waitlist,” says Tom Rosenberg, president and CEO of the American Camp Association (ACA), which helps serve a network of more than 15,000 camps and more than 26 million campers. “So demand is soaring – but there is limited capacity.”

The larger context, of course, is the COVID outbreak that began in 2020 when 82% of overnight camps did not even open that year, along with 40% of day camps, says Rosenberg.

But now, the rebound is apparent. YMCA of Greater New York, for instance, is reporting a 20% jump in camp enrollment over the same time last year and is expecting its largest numbers since the pre-COVID days of 2019.

“Summer camp is hot again,” Rosenberg says.

As enrollments soar, the main challenge for parents is the serious legwork that needs to be done early in the year. Here are a few enrollment tips.

THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM

Many day camps open registration in January, February and March, and overnight camps often start the previous fall.

“Start researching summer camps well in advance to understand their offerings, reputation and costs,” advises Anna Sergunina, a financial planner in Los Gatos, California, who has been going through this process with her four-year-old son. “Create a shortlist of camps that align with your child’s interests and your budget. Then note down important dates such as registration opening, scholarship application deadlines, and early discounts.”

Sergunina herself has preparation down cold, ever since she missed out on numerous sign-ups and scholarships last year. Now she uses the app Evernote to compile information, sets reminders in her calendar throughout the year, and signs up for newsletters from her top targets to stay on top of updates or deadlines.

CRAFT A FINANCIAL STRATEGY

Some camps can be very expensive, so if you are just winging it without any planning, you could find yourself with a big bill that you will have to put on plastic – at record-high interest rates.

Indeed, in 2022 the average day camp cost rose to $87 per day, and the average overnight camp to $172 a day, according to an ACA survey of participating camps.

That is why you need to be thoughtful about the financial hit beforehand.

“Explore financial aid options and scholarships offered by the camps or external organizations,” Sergunina says. “Investigate if your employer provides any summer camp assistance as part of their benefits package. And create a budget specifically for summer camp expenses.”

Early planning has multiple benefits because 93% of accredited camps offer some financial assistance to those in need, and you can also take advantage of early-bird discounts and extended payment plans, Rosenberg notes.

DO NOT GIVE UP

Even if you have left things until the last minute, that does not mean you are out of options. Various camps and regions of the country can have very different waitlists. Hunt for camps with openings via ACA’s ‘Find A Camp’ search tool:

Even if your desired camp is full, family plans change and cancellations occur, so it is always worth checking in with the camp directly. You are more likely to have last-minute luck with day camps. They have the ability to scale up quickly, while overnight camps are restricted to the number of beds and cabins they have ready, Rosenberg says.

Of course, if you really want to get a head start, think ahead to next year: Many camps offer in-person tours during the summer season, helping to refine your options for 2024.

Says Rosenberg: “Summer camp is hot again.”

(Editing by Lauren Young; Follow us @ReutersMoney)

By Ariba Shahid and Asif Shahzad

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan paid for its first government-to-government import of discounted Russian crude oil in Chinese currency, the South Asian country’s petroleum minister said on Monday, a significant shift in its U.S. dollar-dominated export payments policy.

Discounted crude offers a respite as Pakistan faces an economic crisis with an acute balance of payments problem, risking a default on its external debt. The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank are scarcely enough to cover a month of controlled imports.

The first cargo of discounted Russian crude oil arranged under a deal struck between Islamabad and Moscow earlier this year arrived in Karachi on Sunday. It is currently being offloaded at the port in the southern city of Karachi.

Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik, speaking to Reuters by telephone, did not disclose the commercial details of the deal, including pricing or the discount that Pakistan received, but said, the “payment (was) made in RMB)”.

He said the purchase, Pakistan’s first government-to-government (G2G) deal with Russia, consisted of 100,000 tonnes, of which 45,000 tonnes had docked at Karachi port and the rest was on its way. Pakistan made the purchase back in April.

About its grade, he said, it is Urals, adding this is one of the lighter crudes available.

Pakistan’s purchase gives Moscow a new outlet to add to growing sales to India and China, as it redirects oil from Western markets because of the Ukraine conflict.

China’s Foreign Ministry said: “This is normal trade cooperation between Pakistan and Russia and within the scope of their sovereignty,” in response to Reuters query.

“As a matter of principle, we are open to the settlement of crude oil trade in RMB,” the ministry said.

Despite being a long-standing Western ally and the arch-rival of neighbouring India, which historically is closer to Moscow, analysts say the crude deal also presents a new avenue for Pakistan at a time when its financing needs are great.

Islamabad earlier this month also outlined a process to open barter trade with Russia, Afghanistan and Iran, another sign of the South Asian economy seeking avenues to buy and sell commodities without trading in dollars, which analysts say could be a shift from West to East.

Pakistan’s Refinery Limited (PRL) will initially refine the Russian crude, the minister said. He had earlier referred to the purchase of the shipment as a trial run to judge financial and technical feasibility, but said on Monday that all the tests and trials had been done, which found that the Russian crude was fit to refine and market locally.

COMMERCIALLY VIABLE

He played down concerns around the financial viability and the ability of local refineries to process Russian crude given Pakistan’s historical importation of Middle Eastern petroleum products.

“We’ve run iterations of various product mixes, and in no scenario will the refining of this crude make a loss,” Malik said, adding: “We are very sure it will be commercially viable.”

It will be blended with around 60-70% Arabian light crude for refining, he said, adding, “No adjustments (were) needed at the refinery to refine the Russian crude.”

Malik would not say how much difference the crude will have at the gas station price in the local market, saying, “It will surely make a difference.”

Energy imports make up the majority of Pakistan’s external payments. Islamabad imported 154,000 bpd of oil in 2022, around the same as the previous year, data from analytics firm Kpler showed.

“We’re looking to target one-third of our total oil imports at the Russian crude,” the minister said.

Crude was predominantly supplied by the world’s top exporter Saudi Arabia followed by the United Arab Emirates.

(Reporting by Ariba Shahid and Asif Shahzad; Additional reporting by Joe Cash in Beijing, Writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar and Gibran Peshimam; Editing by Toby Chopra, David Evans and Jacqueline Wong)

By Helen Reid

LONDON (Reuters) – IKEA is training call centre workers to become interior design advisers as the Swedish furniture giant aims to offer more home improvement services and hand run-of-the-mill customer queries to an artificial intelligence bot called Billie.

In April, IKEA expanded its interior design services to the UK and United States, after previous launches in parts of Europe, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere. In the UK, customers pay 25 pounds ($31.44) for a 45-60 minute interior design advice video call and suggested product list, and can pay 125 pounds for three workspace design consultations, a floorplan and 3D visuals.

Ingka says it has trained 8,500 call centre workers as interior design advisers since 2021, while Billie – launched the same year with a name inspired by IKEA’s Billy bookcase range – has handled 47% of customers’ queries to call centres over the past two years.

“We’re committed to strengthening co-workers’ employability in Ingka, through lifelong learning and development and reskilling, and to accelerate the creation of new jobs,” said Ulrika Biesert, global people and culture manager at Ingka Group.

Asked if the increased use of AI was likely to lead to a reduction in headcount at the company, Biesert said: “That’s not what we’re seeing right now.”

Sales by phone or video of products and services through Ingka’s remote interior design channel accounted for 1.3 billion euros ($1.40 billion) of revenue in Ingka’s 2022 financial year – 3.3% of the total. Ingka Group told Reuters it aims to grow that share to 10% by 2028 as part of a push to appeal to future Gen Z customers.

In comparison, online sales of products via IKEA’s website, which is owned by Ingka, amounted to around 9.9 billion euros, or 25% of total sales in Ingka’s financial year ending Aug. 31, 2022.

The investment in digital services, as IKEA embarks on a 2 billion euro expansion in the United States, is in keeping with rival Wayfair, which last month launched a ‘Digital Design Studio’ – an in-store kiosk where shoppers can experiment with furniture styles and layout in a digital rendering of a room.

“It’s not surprising that IKEA are now focusing on virtual sales channels – if anything the surprise is that it’s later than it could have been,” said Jocelyn Paulley, a technology lawyer and co-head of the retail sector team at Gowling WLG in London.

These virtual services require significant investment, she said, to ensure items’ colours, textures and sizes are accurately reflected and to minimise returns.

($1 = 0.7952 pounds)

($1 = 0.9278 euros)

(Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Susan Fenton)

By Judy Hua and Kevin Yao

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s new bank loans picked up in May from the previous month, as the central bank kept policy accommodative to support the economy, but signs of slowing momentum have raised expectations that more stimulus may be needed to sustain the recovery.

The weaker-than-expected credit data could strengthen the case for policymakers to roll out more support steps, including a cut in the benchmark lending rate this month, analysts said, amid deflationary risks and mounting local government debt.

New bank lending rose to 1.36 trillion yuan ($190.18 billion) in May, data from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) showed on Tuesday, up from April but missed analysts’ estimates.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected new yuan loans would jump to 1.6 trillion yuan last month, versus 718.8 billion yuan in April and against 1.89 trillion yuan a year earlier.

“The credit growth is weak, which is not surprising as other economic indicators such as PMI and exports also sent consistent signals,” Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said in a note.

“This explains why the PBOC cut the reverse repo rate this morning. It is a small step in the right direction. I expect more policy actions to follow in coming weeks.”

China’s central bank cut short-term borrowing costs on Tuesday to help restore confidence, signalling possible easing for longer-term rates.

Capital Economics analysts said a sharp slowdown in credit growth is particularly worrying. Outstanding yuan loans in May grew 11.4% on year compared with 11.8% growth the previous month. Analysts had forecast 11.6% growth.

“This is concerning given that credit growth is one of the most reliable leading indicators of China’s economic cycle. Unless the slowdown in lending is arrested soon, it risks derailing the reopening recovery,” they said in a note.

The world’s second-largest economy grew at a faster-than-expected clip in the first quarter, rebounding from three years of pandemic restrictions, but the recovery has been patchy with the services sector outperforming manufacturing and exports.

Household loans including mortgages were up 367.2 billion yuan in May, versus a contraction of 241.1 billion yuan in April. Corporate loans rose to 855.8 billion yuan in May from 683.9 billion yuan in April, central bank data showed.

Recent data has shown China’s recovery is stalling as global demand falters, raising expectations that the authorities need to spur growth and keep a lid on unemployment.

MODEST EASING STEPS SEEN IN PIPELINE

The PBOC will enhance “counter-cyclical” policy adjustments to fully support the real economy and policy tools will be used to lower funding costs, central bank governor Yi Gang said in a meeting in Shanghai last week, according to a statement.

“We believe these comments suggest that Beijing has now become seriously concerned over the potential for a double dip, and the PBOC may respond by stepping up stimulus measures in the near term,” analysts at Nomura said in a note.

Some analysts expect the PBOC to cut the benchmark lending rate, or loan prime rate (LPR), this month, citing recent deposit rate cuts by Chinese banks and an expected pause in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate hikes.

The central bank, which cut banks’ reserve requirement ratio – the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves – in March, has kept the LPR unchanged since September.

China’s top economic planner released on Tuesday a raft of steps to lower business costs, including exempting and reducing value-added tax for small firms and lowering lending rates.

Broad M2 money supply in May grew 11.6% on year, below 12.1% forecast in a Reuters poll. M2 grew 12.4% in April.

Growth of outstanding total social financing (TSF), a broad measure of credit and liquidity in the economy, slowed to 9.5% in May from 10% in April.

TSF includes off-balance sheet forms of financing that exist outside the conventional bank lending system, such as initial public offerings, loans from trust companies and bond sales.

In May, TSF rose to 1.56 trillion yuan from 1.22 trillion yuan in April. Analysts had forecast TSF of 2 trillion yuan.

(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li, Judy Hua and Kevin Yao; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

BERLIN (Reuters) -A modest improvement in investor morale in June fuelled hopes on Tuesday that Germany’s current recession could be a mild one, but economists were quick to warn that there was no considerable turnaround on the horizon.

The ZEW economic research institute’s economic sentiment index remained in negative territory at -8.5 points in June, up from -10.7 points in May. A Reuters poll had forecast a decline to -13.1.

“Experts do not anticipate an improvement in the economic situation during the second half of the year,” ZEW president Achim Wambach said, warning of persistent headwinds as export-focused sectors struggled with a weak global economy.

The improvement came after three consecutive months of decline, and as Germany struggles with more persistent economic challenges after initially fending off a much-feared energy crunch in the winter of 2022/23.

Europe’s largest economy slipped into recession in the first quarter of this year, as spending by inflation-hit consumers failed to offset other headwinds, including the abrupt end to Russian energy imports following the Ukraine invasion.

Recent economic data added to the cloudy outlook, with an unexpected drop in industrial orders and weaker-than-forecast retail sales in April.

However, Wambach said the current recession was “generally not considered particularly alarming”.

The economic sentiment index offered a “glimmer of hope”, said Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at VP Bank.

“Possibly the worst is behind us,” he said.

But even somewhat improved expectations were no guarantee of a turnaround, said Alexander Krueger, chief economist at the Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe bank, pointing to the dip in investors’ assessment of the current situation.

The ZEW’s current conditions index fell to -56.5 points in June from -34.8 the previous month.

“Growth forecasts have further downward potential, also because China is already weakening again. Germany will continue to lag behind other euro countries for a long time,” Krueger said.

The European Central Bank is all but certain to raise rates again on Thursday and another increase in July is also likely, a further brake on economic growth that could keep the euro zone’s expansion below its potential for years to come.

(Reporting by Rachel More, additional reporting by Balazs Koranyi;Editing by Miranda Murray, Simon Cameron-Moore and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Medha Singh

(Reuters) – It’s a rough time to be an altcoin. Insecurity reigns.

A slew of altcoins – a catch-all for most cryptocurrencies except bitcoin and ether – have been harpooned in lawsuits filed by U.S. regulators against exchanges Binance and Coinbase last week, hammering the prices of the tokens.

It’s big. Over 50 cryptocurrencies worth over $100 billion in total and making up about 10% of the overall market, are now viewed by the SEC watchdog as securities, according to CCData.

Among major players, for example, solana, polygon and cardano have sunk between 23% and 32%.

“Security classifications would affect all U.S. crypto exchanges, leading to a forced closing of various altcoin pairs,” said Vetle Lunde, senior analyst at K33 Research.

Whether U.S. courts accept the SEC’s classification remains to be seen, but the impacts are already being felt – Robinhood Markets has already said it will remove solana, cardano and polygon from its platform. Market participants say other exchanges may follow suit.

That would make it more expensive both for individual tokens to operate and for crypto exchanges to list them.

“Securities can only be traded by brokers, and only on regulated exchanges, and only with clearing houses and transfer agents and physical certificates,” Ryan Rasmussen, analyst at Bitwise Asset Management told the Reuters Global Markets Forum. “It would certainly be a hurdle for exchanges to implement.”

The SEC’s classification is likely to hit investment interest for the blockchains underlying tokens like solana and cardano, both notable chains for developing decentralized finance and other applications, market players say.

“It could fundamentally hinder their ability to gain funding from the U.S,” said Lucas Kiely, chief investment officer of digital investment platform Yield App, adding this would likely impact the onboarding of developers and users.

The Cardano Foundation and Solana Foundation told Reuters they disagreed with the SEC’s classification of their tokens as a security under U.S. law but looked forward to working with regulators to gain further clarity. Polygon Labs declined to comment.

QUIET ON THE BITCOIN FRONT

Crypto’s big guns were surprisingly resilient.

Bitcoin and ether weren’t named in the SEC’s lawsuit, nor were stablecoins such as tether and USC Coin.

Bitcoin and ether are still down about 4.5% and 8% respectively since the first SEC lawsuit was filed a week ago, though, indicating investors are still jittery about crypto.

“The SEC has not said that BTC, ETH, or stablecoins generally are unregistered securities, and those assets account for at least 75% of crypto’s total market cap,” said Alex Thorn, Head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy Digital.

Many investors also tend to turn to bitcoin in times of uncertainty, considering it a relatively safe haven among crypto assets, and this time is no different. Bitcoin’s share of the cryptocurrency market rising to 47.6% from 45% prior to the lawsuits, according to data tracker CoinMarketCap.com.

Crypto-focused economist Noelle Acheson said market data was indicating long-term bitcoin holders were in sitting tight.

Among bitcoin traders, those that have held the coin for under five months were most active in last week’s trading, accounting for 76.4% of deposit volume, according to analytics firm Glassnode. By contrast, bitcoin investors who have held their coins for more than five months appeared relatively calm and accounted for just 1.9% of deposit volume.

And it may not be all doom and gloom for beleaguered altcoins, according to some market watchers who say their price declines could be attracting investors hunting value.

Investment products tracking altcoins have seen positive – albeit small – net inflows this year, in contrast to bitcoin and ether, Coinshares data showed on Monday.

“Altcoins … represent assets who remain in the much earlier stages of development compared to bitcoin, with investors willing to give them the benefit of doubt, holding on their investment, hoping they will come to fruition,” said CoinShares analyst James Butterfield.

(Reporting by Lisa Mattackal and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Pravin Char)