2025-03-07 21:47

March 7 (Reuters) - Britain banned imports of cattle, pigs and other animal products from Hungary and Slovakia to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease after a confirmed case in Hungary, the government said in a statement on Friday. As of March 8, travelers would not be able to bring meat, meat products, milk, dairy products, and animal by-products of pigs and ruminants from the two countries, the statement added. "We will not hesitate to add additional countries to the list if the disease spreads", Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner said, adding that the country will continue to keep the situation under review and work closely with authorities. There are no current cases of the livestock disease in Britain. Foot-and-mouth disease poses no danger to humans but causes fever and mouth blisters in cloven-hoofed ruminants such as cattle, pigs, sheep and goats, and outbreaks often lead to trade restrictions. Hungary reported its first case of foot-and-mouth disease in more than 50 years, on a cattle farm in the northwest of the country near the border with Slovakia on Friday. The import ban is in addition to the one imposed by Britain on the imports of ham and other meat and dairy products from Germany following a confirmed case of foot-and-mouth disease there in January. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/uk-bans-import-cattle-pigs-sheep-deer-hungary-slovakia-2025-03-07/

2025-03-07 21:39

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. regulator overseeing national banks clarified Friday that banks can engage in some crypto activities, and removed expectations firms should receive advance permission from regulators before doing so. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said in a statement that national banks are permitted to engage in some crypto activities, such as crypto-asset custody, some stablecoin activities, and participation in distributed ledger networks. The OCC also rescinded prior guidance telling banks they should clear crypto activities with regulators beforehand, including showing they have adequate controls in place for that business. Rodney Hood, acting comptroller, said in a statement that the new guidance makes clear banks must have risk management in place regardless of technology. The announcement came on the same day the White House hosted a crypto summit, and hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a strategic reserve for bitcoin and a handful of other cryptocurrencies. “Today’s action will reduce the burden on banks to engage in crypto-related activities and ensure that these bank activities are treated consistently by the OCC, regardless of the underlying technology," Hood said in a statement. Specifically, the OCC on Friday rescinded guidance for banks issued under former President Joe Biden's administration, which effectively set additional guardrails for banks seeking to engage in some crypto activities. The rescinded letters told banks they should brief their supervisors on crypto activities beforehand, show how they would handle risks, and ensure the supervisor had no objection. The OCC also withdrew from joint statements previously issued by U.S. regulators effectively cautioning banks against engaging with crypto. One such statement, issued in 2023, did not prohibit banks from doing crypto business, but warned the sector is prone to "significant volatility" and said any bank activities would be closely scrutinized. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/us-bank-regulator-reaffirms-banks-can-engage-some-crypto-activities-2025-03-07/

2025-03-07 21:34

Committees advised agency on public health issues One committee was eliminated March 6, email shows Eliminations carried out under Trump order on reducing government bureaucracy CHICAGO/WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture has eliminated two committees that advise it on food safety, the agency said on Friday, raising concerns about government oversight of the food supply as the Trump administration seeks to downsize the federal bureaucracy and slash costs. The USDA eliminated the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods and the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection, a spokesperson said. The committees provided scientific advice to the USDA and other federal agencies on public-health issues related to food safety, said the non-profit consumer advocacy group Consumer Reports. Representatives of the group had served on both committees, according to USDA websites. The committees were terminated under an executive order aimed at reducing bureaucracy, the agency spokesperson said. Committee members were informed of the termination of the microbiological committee on March 6, according to an email from USDA received by committee members and seen by Reuters. The USDA spokesperson said the agency remained committed to food safety. "The termination of these two important advisory committees is very alarming," said Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports. Randy Worobo, a food science professor at Cornell University, sat on the microbiological committee and confirmed it was eliminated as of Thursday. Members were appointed and received no financial compensation, he said. "It was important because it gave unbiased microbiological criteria recommendations by the expert-appointed committee for many of the regulatory agencies," Worobo said. The panels had an annual combined budget of $300,000 for staff support and travel reimbursement for members, according to their websites. Representatives of the Meat Institute, an industry group for meat processors, sat on both committees, according to USDA websites. Major meat companies, including Cargill, Smithfield Foods (SFD.O) , opens new tab and OSI Group, were committee members too, the websites show. "We are disappointed in the decision to shut down the advisory councils, but it does not change the industry's dedication to improving food safety," said Sarah Little, spokesperson for the Meat Institute. Nonprofit group Stop Foodborne Illness, which served on the meat and poultry inspection committee, said it had not been informed of USDA's elimination of the panels. "Without the input of these committees, we have little confidence that the food safety policies at USDA and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) will, in fact, 'Make America Healthy Again,'" said CEO Sandra Eskin, a former USDA acting under secretary for food safety, referring to a slogan used by President Donald Trump and other administration officials. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/usda-eliminates-two-food-safety-advisory-committees-members-say-2025-03-07/

2025-03-07 21:30

CAIRO, March 7 (Reuters) - The leader of Yemen's Houthis said on Friday the group would resume its naval operations against Israel if Israel did not lift a blockage of aid into Gaza within four days, signaling a possible escalation from the Houthis after their assaults tailed off in January following a ceasefire in the enclave. The Iran-aligned movement launched more than 100 attacks targeting shipping from November 2023, saying they were in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza. During that period, it sank two vessels, seized another and killed at least four seafarers in an offensive that disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa. "We will give a deadline for four days. This deadline is for the (Gaza ceasefire) mediators for their efforts," al-Houthi said. "If the Israeli enemy after four days continues to prevent the humanitarian aid into Gaza and continues to completely close the crossings, we will resume our naval operations against the Israeli enemy." On March 2, Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza as a standoff over the truce escalated, with Hamas calling on Egyptian and Qatari mediators to intervene. Hamas welcomed the Houthis' announcement on Friday. "The brave decision ... is an extension of the positions of support and assistance that they (the Houthis) provided over the course of 15 months of war ... in Gaza", Hamas said. The Houthis, who control most of Yemen, also said in February that they will take military action if the U.S. and Israel try to displace Palestinians from Gaza forcibly. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/yemens-houthis-give-israel-four-day-deadline-lift-gaza-aid-blockage-2025-03-07/

2025-03-07 21:18

March 7 (Reuters) - Robinhood Markets (HOOD.O) , opens new tab, the online trading platform, agreed to pay $29.75 million to resolve several Financial Industry Regulatory Authority probes into its supervision and compliance practices, including failure to respond to "red flags" of potential misconduct. The brokerage regulator said on Friday that Robinhood will pay a $26 million civil fine and $3.75 million of restitution to customers. FINRA accused Robinhood of violating "numerous" rules, including a failure to implement reasonable anti-money laundering programs that caused it to miss suspicious or unauthorized trading and hackings of customer accounts. It also said Robinhood failed to properly supervise social media influencers who promoted the company, or respond to several warnings of delays in processing trades. FINRA said the latter turned into a "severe" problem in January 2021. Late that month, Robinhood restricted trading in "meme" stocks such as GameStop (GME.N) , opens new tab and AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC.N) , opens new tab. Restitution will go to customers who were not informed about Robinhood's practice of "collaring" market orders, which led to some trades being canceled and reentered at inferior prices. Robinhood did not admit or deny wrongdoing in agreeing to settle, and said it has remediated the problems, which date back to 2014. The Menlo Park, California-based company set aside money covering the settlement in 2023 and 2024. Erica Crosland, Robinhood's head of regulatory enforcement and investigations, said the company was pleased to settle. Robinhood agreed in January to pay $45 million in civil fines to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges over record keeping, trade reporting and other rule violations. Founded in 2013, Robinhood became known for commission-free trading and letting investors trade cryptocurrencies. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/robinhood-paying-2975-million-end-us-regulators-probes-2025-03-07/

2025-03-07 21:00

Hewlett Packard slumps after dour second-quarter forecasts Costco falls after retailer misses estimates Nonfarm payrolls increase by 151,000 in February NEW YORK, March 7 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks finished higher on Friday, rebounding from early declines after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the economy was "in a good place," but uncertainty about U.S. trade policy led to Wall Street's biggest weekly decline in months. Powell said the central bank will not be quick to cut interest rates and echoed concerns about President Donald Trump's policies. Markets have been roiled this week by uncertainty about Trump's tariff decisions on imported goods from Canada, Mexico and China. The benchmark S&P 500 finished with its biggest weekly loss since September. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also registered their third straight week of declines, the longest losing streak since mid-July and early August last year. Powell said the Fed will take a cautious approach to monetary policy easing, adding the economy currently "continues to be in a good place". "Powell is echoing what the rest of us feel: unease that while the adjustments made by the administration may well work and put the country on better financial footing, the speed and whipsaw-like nature of the change makes it difficult to predict and to plan around," said Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group in Richmond, Virginia. "So, the best action when that occurs is to sit and wait." Stocks fell in choppy early trade, but rebounded after Powell's comments. The three main indexes ended the week lower, with In the previous session, the Nasdaq confirmed a 10% drop from its December all-time high. Utilities (.SPLRCU) , opens new tab, energy (.SPNY) , opens new tab, technology (.SPLRCT) , opens new tab and industrials (.SPLRCI) , opens new tab were the biggest gainers among the S&P 500's 11 main sectors. Consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) , opens new tab, financials (.SPSY) , opens new tab and consumer staples (.SPLRCS) , opens new tab were the biggest drag. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 222.64 points, or 0.52%, to 42,801.72, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 31.68 points, or 0.55%, to 5,770.20 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 126.97 points, or 0.70%, to 18,196.22. For the week, the S&P 500 ended down 3.1%, the Nasdaq declined 3.45%, and the Dow fell 2.37%. The Russell 2000 Small Cap index (.RUT) , opens new tab fell 3.86%. Data early on Friday showed U.S. job growth picked up in February from the previous month. However, thousands of recent firings of federal workers were not reflected in the data. Unemployment ticked up to 4.1%, adding to worries about the economy's resilience. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have lowered their growth forecasts for the economy. "This is a growth scare," said Adam Hetts, portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors. "This is what it feels like to go from a no-landing to a soft-landing environment and it's unpleasant. It involves a spate of unpleasant economic data, and the primary driver being weaker consumer spending." On Thursday, Trump offered a four-week reprieve on tariffs he imposed on imports from Canada and Mexico that fall under a free-trade pact. The U.S. remains in a trade war with China. Reciprocal trade barriers and other duties are expected to take effect in the following weeks. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE.N) , opens new tab slumped 12% after saying its annual profit forecast would be hit by U.S. tariffs. Costco (COST.O) , opens new tab fell 6% after the retailer missed Wall Street estimates on quarterly earnings as merchandise costs increased. Broadcom (AVGO.O) , opens new tab gained 8.6% after the chipmaker assuaged investor worries about artificial intelligence infrastructure demand with a strong second-quarter forecast. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.35-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 92 new highs and 136 new lows on the NYSE. The S&P 500 posted 8 new 52-week highs and 13 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 28 new highs and 159 new lows. About 16.92 billion worth of shares were traded across U.S. exchanges, compared with the 20-day moving average of 16.23 billion shares. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-inch-up-with-payrolls-data-powells-remarks-tap-2025-03-07/