2025-09-11 23:38
NEW YORK, Sept 11 (Reuters) - U.S. consumer prices rose more than expected in August while the annual increase in inflation was the largest in seven months, although the numbers will not prevent an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve next week in the midst of a weakening labor market. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% last month after increasing 0.2% in July, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said on Thursday. In the 12 months through August, the CPI advanced 2.9%, the largest increase since January, after climbing 2.7% in July. Sign up here. MARKET REACTION STOCKS: U.S. stock futures gained after the data. S&P 500 E-minis were up 19 points, or 0.3%. BONDS: U.S. Treasury yields dipped, 10-year yield last down on the day at 4.022% . FOREX: The dollar index slipped, last down 0.2% at 97.61. COMMENTS: JAMES EGELHOF, CHIEF US ECONOMIST, BNP PARIBAS, NEW YORK: "CPI is consistent with what we were looking for in the headline, although a bit hotter than what the market was looking for. A lot of the strength in this CPI print is coming from an unexpected source, perhaps, which is strength in air fares and hotels, and that's something that was reasonably well telegraphed by the airlines, but perhaps not at this magnitude. It's consistent with a recovery in corporate demand for travel, as well as perhaps some improvements in consumer confidence and a willingness to spend on discretionary items. So that's encouraging to us about the outlook." "That said the evidence in this print of tariff pass through is soft, and so it shows continued business reticence to pass on tariff increases, perhaps due to lingering concerns about the strength of the consumer and their ability to pay higher prices." "We think that inflation at this point is unlikely to land at 2% anytime soon. We're very comfortable with an above consensus view on inflation and above 2% view on inflation next year. That reinforces our confidence that the economy will stay out of recession and that inflation will remain resurgent and remain modestly above the Fed's 2% target." OLIVER PURSCHE, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, ADVISOR, WEALTHSPIRE ADVISORS, WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT: "The slightly elevated CPI and core CPI being in line with expectations reinforces the notion that the Fed is going to cut rates next week. The higher unemployment filings suggest there's a possibility it could be 50 basis points as opposed to 25... although I think that's still only a remote possibility. But it certainly seems like 'bad news is good news' is back." BRIAN JACOBSEN, CHIEF ECONOMIST, ANNEX WEALTH MANAGEMENT, BROOKFIELD, WISCONSIN: (VIA EMAIL) "There's nothing to see here, at least to inform what the Fed might do next week. Shelter price inflation is still the big driver of services inflation and we know the Fed pretty much ignores that component. Goods price deflation turned to inflation, but it's a slow simmer higher instead of a raging fire." "Retirees are going to start caring about the inflation numbers because Social Security benefits are indexed to the change in prices during the third quarter. So far, that looks like a 2.7% cost of living adjustment for 2026. This illustrates why retirees should care a lot about the integrity of the BLS data. If there are political incentives to tilt the official readings lower, that has real dollars and cents consequences for many people. This also shows why the government would have a rough time trying to inflate its way out of its debt mess. More and more of government spending automatically increases with inflation." GARY SCHLOSSBERG, GLOBAL STRATEGIST, WELLS FARGO INVESTMENT INSTITUTE, SAN FRANCISCO: "Inflation is firming, not as much as we expected earlier this year when those broad tariffs were first announced by the President, but it is firming nonetheless ... in a way, that the market can digest it.""The market seems to be absorbing a number that all in all was pretty much in line with expectations.""We're still looking for a rate cut next week. We're not looking for a jumbo cut as some had expected after the big downward revision to the jobs numbers and then we were still looking for another one or two cuts before the end of the year." "(The data) may temper the market's enthusiasm for big multiple cuts, certainly for big cuts, but I don't think it really changes the trajectory at the margin." (This story has been refiled to add the analyst's name, firm and title to the first comment in paragraph 4) https://www.reuters.com/business/instant-view-us-consumer-prices-rise-more-than-expected-rate-cut-still-coming-2025-09-11/
2025-09-11 23:34
MEXICO CITY, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Margarita Perez, the head of the commercial arm of Mexican state energy company Pemex, has left her position and will be replaced by finance ministry official Adan Garcia, a spokesperson for the company said on Thursday. Reuters reported the news earlier based on information from four sources and one internal email. Sign up here. PMI Comercio Internacional, as the entity is known, is responsible for importing refined fuels into Mexico and exporting crude oil, mainly the country's flagship Maya. The Pemex spokesperson said that Garcia's appointment is set to be discussed on Friday at a meeting of the oil company's board of directors. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/mexicos-pemex-replaces-head-commercial-arm-2025-09-11/
2025-09-11 23:33
HOUSTON, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N) , opens new tab is overhauling the gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) at its 180,000 barrel-per-day Memphis, Tennessee refinery, people familiar with plant operations said on Thursday. A Valero spokesperson was not immediately available to discuss refinery operations on Thursday. Sign up here. The 65,000-bpd FCCU was shut over the weekend along with the 12,000-bpd alkylation unit for the overhaul, the sources said. The overhaul is scheduled to finish by November 1, the sources said. The refinery’s flare gas recovery unit was also shut for work and a hydrotreater was taken out of production for a catalyst change, according to the sources. The FCCU uses a fine silica powder catalyst to convert gas oil into unfinished gasoline. Alkylation units convert refining byproducts into octane-boosting liquids that are added to unfinished gasoline. The flare gas recovery unit recovers gases that would otherwise be burned in the refinery’s safety flare system for use as fuel in boilers. Hydrotreaters use catalysts in the presence of hydrogen to remove sulfur from motor fuels in compliance with U.S. environmental rules. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/valero-overhauling-fccu-tennessee-refinery-sources-say-2025-09-11/
2025-09-11 23:32
Sept 11 (Reuters) - Lundin Gold (LUG.TO) , opens new tab said on Thursday Ron Hochstein would step down as CEO after a decade, and be succeeded by Jamie Beck. Beck was the former CEO of copper miner Filo Corp, where he steered exploration and development initiatives. His new appointment would be effective November 7, the Vancouver-based company said. Sign up here. Hochstein, who has been with Lundin Gold since 2014, oversaw the development of the company's flagship Fruta del Norte gold mine in Ecuador, the company said. He would remain with the broader Lundin Group. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/lundin-gold-ceo-ron-hochstein-step-down-2025-09-11/
2025-09-11 23:27
Sept 11 (Reuters) - Gemini Space Station raised $425 million in an initial public offering, pricing its stock above a marketed range, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. The cryptocurrency firm led by the billionaire Winklevoss twins sold about 15.2 million shares for $28 each after marketing them for $24 to $26, the source said, requesting anonymity ahead of an official announcement. Sign up here. The IPO values Gemini at $3.33 billion on a non-diluted basis, according to a Reuters calculation. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The price range was lifted earlier this week from $17 to $19, underscoring robust investor demand. New York City-based Gemini had capped IPO proceeds at $425 million, in a rare move, even as the offering drew orders more than 20 times the shares available, Reuters reported earlier in the day. Record high prices for digital assets and regulatory wins have transformed the once beleaguered sector into an anchor for the IPO market, which have resumed a long-awaited recovery this fall after U.S. tariffs delayed listing plans in April. Nasdaq (NDAQ.O) , opens new tab had committed to a $50 million investment in a private placement at the time of the IPO. Reuters was the first to report on the investment. Gemini will begin trading on Nasdaq on Friday under the ticker "GEMI". Crypto listings are gathering momentum. Stablecoin issuer Figure Technology raised $787.5 million in an upsized U.S. IPO on Wednesday. Earlier this year, CoinDesk owner Bullish (BLSH.N) , opens new tab, and stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL.N) , opens new tab both enlarged their offerings. The Securities and Exchange Commission under President Donald Trump has eased oversight of the crypto sector, which has frequently seen ventures from entities connected to him and his family. Gemini has benefited as well, with the billionaire Winklevoss twins moving closer in April to resolving an SEC lawsuit claiming they failed to register a cryptocurrency asset lending program before offering it to retail investors. The case has not been resolved. A status report from both sides is due by September 15. In another display of the sector's proximity to Washington, Trump's Commodity Futures Trading Commission nominee accused crypto entrepreneur Tyler Winklevoss on Wednesday of lobbying the White House to stall his nomination after a text exchange. Bloomberg News was the first to report the pricing details on Thursday. https://www.reuters.com/business/crypto-exchange-gemini-prices-ipo-above-range-raise-425-million-source-says-2025-09-11/
2025-09-11 23:08
Sept 11 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump has withdrawn the nomination of Landon Heid, a China hawk, for a key post in the U.S.-China tech battle, raising questions about whether the move signals a more dovish approach to Beijing. Trump withdrew Heid's nomination on Wednesday for assistant secretary for export administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce, according to the Congress.gov website. The president had selected him in February for the post overseeing export controls for national security. Sign up here. Chris McGuire, an expert on technology and national security who served at the U.S. Department of State until this summer, called the withdrawal "very concerning" on Thursday. "Hopefully this does not signal that the Administration plans to further weaken U.S. restrictions on sales of our most advanced technologies to China, but I fear that it does," McGuire, who also previously served at the White House National Security Council, wrote in a social media post on X. Heid, who now serves on the NSC, did not respond to a request for comment. "Landon Heid is a valued voice within the administration and will continue executing the President's America First Asia policy at the NSC," Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement. She did not say why the nomination was withdrawn but added that an outside voice like McGuire's should not be used to speculate. Heid was previously on the staff of the House of Representatives' Select Committee on China, which supported global restrictions on AI chips introduced by the administration of former President Joe Biden and U.S. restrictions on business with Chinese biotech firms. The Trump administration has said it plans to rescind the global chip curb regulation and in July reversed an April decision to restrict the sale of AI chips including Nvidia's H20 to China. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-withdraws-nomination-china-hawk-key-post-us-sino-tech-battle-2025-09-11/
