2025-07-24 21:05

Farm agency to move 2,600 staff out of Washington to five regional hubs Move will bring the USDA closer to its 'core constituency,' farm secretary says Employees warn of attrition and higher costs Senate, House farm committee leaders call for hearings WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture will relocate much of its Washington, D.C., workforce to five regional hubs and vacate several buildings in the area, including its flagship research center, the agency announced on Thursday. The plan is the latest effort by President Donald Trump's administration to reorganize and reduce the size and footprint of the federal government. More than 15,000 USDA employees, about 15% of its total workforce, have this year taken one of the agency's two financial incentive offers to leave. Sign up here. No more than 2,000 USDA employees will remain in the Washington area once the reorganization is complete, the agency said in a statement. The rest, about 2,600 people, will be relocated to hubs in Raleigh, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Indianapolis, Indiana; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Salt Lake City, Utah, the agency said. The agency is not conducting widespread staff reductions, though the relocation plan is part of the USDA's process of reducing its workforce, the release said. The USDA also said it will vacate several properties in the Washington area, including its flagship research site, the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Maryland, and one of its headquarters buildings on the National Mall. The phased plan to relocate workers was made to bring USDA staff closer to its "core constituents," Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a video to staff. Senators John Boozman and Amy Klobuchar, the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Representative Angie Craig, ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee, said in statements that they were not consulted on the plan and called for hearings on the reorganization. "The best way to serve our agriculture community is by working together, so it's disappointing USDA didn't share its plans in advance of this announcement," Boozman said. 'BAD FOR EMPLOYEES' When the USDA relocated two of its agencies - the Economic Research Service and National Institute for Food and Agriculture - from Washington in 2019, under the first Trump administration, it saw significant staff attrition. Laura Dodson, an economist with the ERS and vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403, who worked for the agency during its relocation, said moving staff is not efficient and results in less oversight and higher costs. "While this is bad for employees, it will be worse for the American public," she said. The agency may also struggle to replace workers who choose not to relocate in small, regional labor markets, said Gbenga Ajilore, chief economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and former USDA senior advisor for rural development. The USDA also plans to reduce or close some regional offices, including consolidating the National Agricultural Statistics Service, which releases agricultural market data, from twelve offices to five, according to an agency memo. The Forest Service will also close its nine regional offices over the next year in a plan that "will take into consideration the ongoing fire season," the memo said. At the Agricultural Research Service, staff have already struggled to keep up with their workload after the wave of voluntary resignations, said Ethan Roberts, an ARS employee and president of AFGE Local 3247. "Many will not take the (relocation) offer and we will lose even more administrative employees that are critical to the everyday functioning of the USDA and ARS," he said. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/usda-will-relocate-most-washington-area-staff-farm-secretary-says-2025-07-24/

2025-07-24 21:03

ORLANDO, Florida, July 24 (Reuters) - TRADING DAY Making sense of the forces driving global markets Sign up here. By Jamie McGeever, Markets Columnist Key U.S. and global stock markets clocked fresh highs on Thursday as Alphabet's earnings lifted tech, while investors digested the European Central Bank's interest rate decision and the latest signals from the European Union on trade talks with the U.S. More on that below. In my column today I ask if the stock market euphoria around the incoming U.S. trade deals is warranted. Remember, tariffs will be the highest since the 1930s and are set to raise inflation and lower growth. If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today. Today's Key Market Moves AI drives new highs In the absence of major economic data surprises, monetary policy changes or trade deal news on Thursday, world markets took their cue from corporate earnings, which continue to point to strength in artificial intelligence-related activity. Google's parent company Alphabet grabbed the spotlight, its second-quarter results highlighting that the heavy investment in AI is paying off. Indeed, a trend may be emerging from the earnings season that shows businesses focused on AI are massively outperforming companies like airlines, restaurants and food manufacturers that cater more to actual people. This isn't just a U.S. thing, it's global. Of course, this isn't a blanket rule but it will be worth keeping an eye on as the earnings season progresses. So far at least, investors are accentuating the positive and major indices are making new highs on a near daily basis. On the policy front, the ECB kept its deposit rate on hold at 2.0% as expected, biding its time while Brussels and Washington try to negotiate a trade deal that could ease tariff uncertainty. It appears that the bar to resume the easing cycle in September is a high one, and the euro closed the day little-changed around $1.1765. The U.S. economic data on Thursday were relatively upbeat, showing an acceleration in service sector activity and the lowest jobless claims figures in three months. With numbers like that, the S&P 500 at a record high and wider financial conditions loose, the Fed may not be in such a hurry to cut rates. And on that score, investors will be paying close attention to the readout from U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to the Fed late on Thursday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to be present during the visit. It will be an awkward meeting - Trump has repeatedly demanded that the Fed slash interest rates and has frequently raised the possibility of firing him. On Tuesday, he called Powell a "numbskull." Markets' trade deal euphoria ignores tariff reality The optimism sweeping world stock markets following news of emerging and expected U.S. trade deals is undeniable and understandable. But it is also puzzling. The S&P 500, Britain's FTSE 100 and the MSCI All Country index have powered to new highs this week, and other global benchmarks are not far behind. Analysts at Goldman Sachs and other big banks have recently been raising their year-end S&P 500 forecasts by as much as 10%. The catalyst is clear: baseline tariffs on imported goods into the U.S. will be much lower than the duties President Donald Trump had threatened previously. It emerged this week that the levy on Japanese goods will be 15%, not 25%, and indications are that a deal with the European Union will land on 15% too. That's half the rate Trump had threatened to impose. Suddenly, the picture is nowhere near as bleak as it looked a few months ago. Economists reckon that the final aggregate U.S. tariff rate will settle around 15-20% once deals with Brussels and Beijing are reached, a level markets are betting won't tip the economy into recession. This suggests that Trump's seemingly chaotic strategy – threaten mutually assured economic destruction, extract concessions and then pull back to limit the market damage – is paying off. But will it? SOMEONE MUST PAY Despite the market euphoria, the fact remains that on December 31 last year, the average aggregate U.S. tariff on imported goods was around 2.5%. So even if that ends up in the anticipated 15-20% range, it will still be at least six times what it was only a few months ago, and comfortably the highest it has been since the 1930s. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent estimates that tariff revenues this year could reach $300 billion, which is the equivalent to around 1% of GDP. Extrapolating last year's goods imports of $3.3 trillion to next year, a 15% levy could raise close to $500 billion, or just over 1.5% of GDP. So who will pick up that tab? Is it the U.S. consumer, importers or the overseas exporters? Or a mixture of all three? The likelihood is it will mostly be split between U.S. consumers and companies, squeezing household spending and corporate profits. Either way, it's hard to see how this would not be detrimental to growth. We may not know for some time, as it will take months for the affected goods to come onshore and get onto U.S. shelves and for the tariff revenues to be collected. "We've got a ways to go before we can really say the U.S. economy is feeling the full effect of the tariff policies being announced," Bob Elliott, a former Bridgewater executive and founder of Unlimited, told CNBC on Wednesday. But in the meantime, equity investors appear to be ignoring all of this. SIGNS OF FROTH The market's short-term momentum is clear. The S&P 500 has closed above its 200-day moving average for 62 days in a row, the longest streak since 1997, according to Carson Group's Ryan Detrick. And the 'meme stock' craze is back too, another sign that risk appetite may be decoupling from fundamentals. Indeed, markets are priced for something approaching perfection. The consensus S&P 500 earnings growth for next year is 14%, according to LSEG I/B/E/S, barely changed from 14.5% on April 1, just before Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff salvo. Even the 2025 consensus of around 9% isn't that much lower than 10.5% on April 1. A Reuters poll late last year showed a 2025 year-end consensus estimate for the S&P 500 of 6,500. The index is nearly there already, and is trading at roughly the same multiple as it was on December 31, a 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio of 22. Can these lofty expectations be supported by an economy whose growth rate next year is expected to be 2% or less? Possibly. But it will be a challenge for most firms, with the exception of the 'Magnificent Seven' tech giants whose size might better shield them from tariffs or slowing growth. Ultimately, this is all a huge experiment pitting protectionist trade policy and Depression-era tariffs against the economic orthodoxy of the past 40 years. And it's yet another example of equity investors' ability to find the silver lining in almost anything. As Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, says: "'It could have been worse' is not a good foundation for a market rally". What could move markets tomorrow? Want to receive Trading Day in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for my newsletter here. Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles , opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-trading-day-2025-07-24/

2025-07-24 20:47

July 24 (Reuters) - Newmont (NEM.N) , opens new tab surpassed Wall Street expectations for second-quarter profit as the world's top gold miner benefited from a rally in bullion prices, sending its shares 4% higher in extended trading on Thursday. Prices of the precious metal have consistently set record highs over the past few quarters, as uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff plans and geopolitical concerns boosted gold's safe-haven appeal. Sign up here. In the second quarter, gold prices averaged at $3,220.58 per ounce, nearly 40% above levels seen a year earlier. Newmont's average realized price for gold was at $3,320 per ounce, compared with $2,347 a year ago. The bullion rally helped Newmont cushion an 8% fall in gold production to 1.48 million ounces in the second quarter. Meanwhile, all-in-sustaining costs for gold, an industry metric reflecting total expenses, rose nearly 2% to $1,593 per ounce. The decrease in output comes after Newmont began divesting non-core assets last year to reduce debt in the months following the completion of its $17.14 billion deal for Australian miner Newcrest. Since November 2024, Newmont has divested its Eleonore mine in Canada for about $795 million, the Musselwhite Gold Mine in Ontario in an $850 million deal, and its stake in Porcupine Operations in Ontario for $425 million. The firm left its annual outlook unchanged on Thursday but announced a new $3 billion share repurchase program, which J.P.Morgan analyst Al Harvey said would lend support to Newmont's earnings per share. On an adjusted basis, the miner posted a profit of $1.43 per share for the three months ended June 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.18 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. Earlier this week, the company said three workers were trapped underground at a western Canadian mine operated by Newmont, adding that operations had been temporarily suspended at the mine. It has deployed specialized drones to assess the geotechnical conditions underground and is focused on re-establishing communication with the trapped workers. https://www.reuters.com/business/gold-miner-newmonts-quarterly-profit-beats-estimates-bullion-rallies-2025-07-24/

2025-07-24 20:29

Trump to visit Federal Reserve headquarters UnitedHealth says it is cooperating with DOJ probe S&P 500 +0.07%, Nasdaq +0.18%, Dow -0.70% July 24 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched record high closes on Thursday as robust results from Google parent Alphabet fueled optimism about other heavyweight artificial intelligence stocks, while Tesla slumped after the electric vehicle maker's results disappointed investors. Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab rose 1% as the search giant's results boosted confidence that heavy investment in a race to dominate AI technology is paying off. Sign up here. Shares of Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab, Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab and Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab each climbed 1% or more. The U.S.-Japan trade deal and recent signs of progress in talks with the European Union also fueled Wall Street's gains. "Investors are feeling optimistic about trade negotiations, about the economy, the trend in inflation, as well as the better-than-expected Q2 earnings reports," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab tumbled 8.2% after CEO Elon Musk warned of a "few rough quarters" as the U.S. government cuts support for electric vehicle makers. The stock has fallen around 25% so far in 2025. UnitedHealth fell 4.8% after the insurer revealed it was cooperating with a Department of Justice probe into its Medicare practices, following reports of both criminal and civil investigations. IBM dropped almost 8% after its second-quarter results fell flat with investors, hampered by disappointing sales in its core software division. Honeywell fell 6.2% despite topping Wall Street's expectations and raising its annual outlook. The S&P 500 crept up 0.07% to end the session at 6,363.35 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.18% to 21,057.96 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.70% to 44,693.91 points. Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively heavy, with 19.9 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 17.8 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes declined, led lower by consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) , opens new tab, down 1.23%, followed by a 0.75% loss in materials (.SPLRCM) , opens new tab. American Airlines (AAL.O) , opens new tab tumbled nearly 10% after the carrier forecast a big third-quarter loss, hurt by sluggish domestic travel demand. U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade war has created the biggest uncertainty for the airline industry since the COVID-19 pandemic. Markets were also monitoring Trump's planned visit to the Federal Reserve's headquarters on Thursday, following months of the president criticizing Fed Chair Jerome Powell for interest rates that Trump views as too high. With the Fed widely expected to hold rates steady at next week's meeting, traders see a 60% chance of a September rate cut, according to CME's FedWatch tool. A U.S. Labor Department report showed jobless claims last week fell to 217,000 - well below estimates - signaling continued resilience in the job market. U.S. business activity gained momentum in July, but companies hiked prices on goods and services, fueling economists’ predictions of faster inflation in the months ahead, largely driven by rising import tariffs. Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX) , opens new tab by a 1.3-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 46 new highs and 6 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 81 new highs and 44 new lows. https://www.reuters.com/business/sp-500-nasdaq-notch-record-closes-lifted-by-alphabet-2025-07-24/

2025-07-24 20:29

U.S. stocks mixed amid corporate earnings and tariff talks EU and U.S. nearing trade agreement, boosting market optimism Treasury yields rise as trade prospects improve MSCI world stocks index up for seventh session ECB pauses rate cutting cycle NEW YORK, July 24 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained ground on Thursday, and gold prices eased as investors digested a mixed batch of corporate earnings along with signs of progress in tariff negotiations between the U.S. and trading partners. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq reached all-time closing highs, while the blue-chip Dow closed in negative territory. Benchmark Treasury yields built on Wednesday's gains and crude prices gained ground over economic optimism and tightening supply. Sign up here. Second-quarter reporting season has hit full stride, with nearly one-third of the companies in the S&P 500 having posted results. Of those, 80% have reported better-than-expected earnings, according to LSEG data. "Companies are beating expectations and there was some risk that they would not," said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Seattle. "They are starting to provide some guidance and moving past the uncertainty of tariffs. Investors are taking it constructively." The European Union said that a negotiated trade agreement with the United States was within reach, with a view toward reaching a deal before President Trump's 30% tariffs scheduled to take effect on August 1. This follows a similar agreement with Japan. "The deals in Asia and hopes for a deal with Europe are taking risk off the table in world markets and here, domestically," Haworth added. "What we’re seeing is better performance out of Japan and Europe, as the news is 'less worse' than expected and the terms are not as onerous as people feared." U.S. President Donald Trump, a relentless critic of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, is due to pay a visit to the central bank on Thursday. This comes amid tensions between the administration and the Fed, which is expected to convene for its two-day monetary policy meeting next week, likely culminating in a decision to let key interest rates stand. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 316.20 points, or 0.70%, to 44,694.09, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab rose 4.48 points, or 0.07%, to 6,363.39 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab rose 37.94 points, or 0.18%, to 21,057.96. European shares advanced and world stocks touched record highs amid reports that the European Union and Washington were close to clinching a tariff agreement, close on the heels of a similar deal with Japan. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab rose 1.67 points, or 0.18%, to 941.01. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) , opens new tab index rose 0.24%, while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index (.FTEU3) , opens new tab rose 3.92 points, or 0.18%. Emerging market stocks (.MSCIEF) , opens new tab rose 1.19 points, or 0.09%, to 1,266.35. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) , opens new tab closed higher by 0.13%, to 666.69, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) , opens new tab rose 655.02 points, or 1.59%, to 41,826.34. U.S. Treasury yields climbed as brightening prospects for trade agreements reduced investor anxieties. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 2 basis points to 4.408%, from 4.388% late on Wednesday. The 30-year bond yield rose 0.3 basis points to 4.9522% from 4.949% late on Wednesday. The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, rose 3.4 basis points to 3.918%, from 3.884% late on Wednesday. The dollar traded sideways against the euro after the ECB let interest rates stand, but was mixed against the yen following the U.S.-Japan trade agreement and the result of Sunday's upper house election. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.24% to 97.43, with the euro down 0.11% at $1.1757. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar strengthened 0.29% to 146.92. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin gained 0.90% to $119,063.64. Ethereum rose 4.66% to $3,737.09. Oil prices rebounded, buoyed by expected cuts in Russian gasoline supply, optimism over trade talks, and a sharper-than-expected drop in U.S. inventories. U.S. crude rose 1.20% to settle at $66.03 a barrel, while Brent settled at $69.18 per barrel, up 0.98% on the day. Gold prices extended their losses as trade deal optimism continued to dampen demand for the safe-haven metal. Spot gold fell 0.51% to $3,370.26 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.8% to $3,367.00 an ounce. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-update-7-graphic-2025-07-24/

2025-07-24 20:24

HOUSTON, July 24 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose 1% on Thursday as U.S. crude draws and expected cuts to Russian gasoline exports overwhelmed news that oil major Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab will gain U.S. approval to renew production in Venezuela. Brent crude futures settled at $69.18 a barrel, up 67 cents or 0.98%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures finished at $66.03 a barrel, up 78 cents, or 1.20%. Sign up here. Crude fell in early afternoon trade on news that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration was preparing to allow limited oil operations in sanctioned OPEC nation Venezuela. Earlier in the session, WTI had been up more than a dollar and Brent crude came near that level. "The news about Chevron being able to go back into Venezuela and get oil going again just took the knees out of the market," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC. Even so, Kilduff said the market did not expect the Trump administration would open up Venezuela to other U.S. oil companies. "This is a unique one-off," he added. Oil rebounded late in the session on news Russia was planning to cut gasoline exports to all but a few allies and nations like Mongolia, with which it has supply agreements. "Russia looking to cut off gasoline exports gave the market a boost," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group. "The market was looking for a reason to go higher." Also lifting futures was the previous day's report of a U.S. crude inventory draw and hopes for a trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union that would lower tariffs. U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed crude inventories fell last week by 3.2 million barrels to 419 million barrels, far exceeding analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6 million-barrel draw. "The U.S. crude inventory draw and the trade efforts are adding some support to prices," said Janiv Shah, an analyst at Rystad. On Wednesday, two European diplomats said the EU and the U.S. were moving toward a trade deal that could include a 15% U.S. baseline tariff on EU imports and possible exemptions. That could pave the way for another major trade agreement following a deal with Japan. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/crude-finishes-with-1-gain-supply-concerns-us-crude-draws-2025-07-24/