2025-10-28 21:42

Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff to probe the potential harms of offshore wind farms, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The move is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to scrutinize offshore wind development, which Trump himself has repeatedly criticized. Sign up here. In late summer, the Department of Health and Human Services, headed by Kennedy, instructed CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, to prepare research about wind farms' impact on fishing businesses, the report said. Kennedy has met NIOSH director John Howard about the issue and listed particular experts for Howard's team to contact, Bloomberg reported. "Work on this report has been halted solely due to the Democrat-led government shutdown," an HHS spokesperson told Reuters. The report added that the office of the U.S. surgeon general has also been involved in the initiative, which the HHS, prior to the ongoing government shutdown, aimed to have completed within a couple of months. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/rfk-jr-directs-cdc-study-alleged-harms-offshore-wind-farms-bloomberg-news-2025-10-28/

2025-10-28 21:18

HOUSTON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Gold Reserve (GRZ.V) , opens new tab has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to stay all further proceedings of the auction of Citgo Petroleum's parent until the company's motion to disqualify the judge, a court officer and two advising firms overseeing the auction is resolved, according to a petition filed on Tuesday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/gold-reserve-asks-us-court-appeals-stay-citgo-parent-auction-proceedings-2025-10-28/

2025-10-28 21:06

ORLANDO, Florida, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Another wave of U.S. tech euphoria lifted Wall Street to new highs on Tuesday, this time in the shape of a deal between Microsoft and OpenAI, a day ahead of a clutch of U.S. Big Tech earnings and the Federal Reserve's policy decision. In my column today, I look at the U.S. stock markets' record concentration and the iron grip 'Big Tech' has on Wall Street. By global standards, however, the U.S. isn't actually that top-heavy at all. Sign up here. 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 Today's Talking Points * Tech venture mania Another strand was added to the tangled U.S. tech and artificial intelligence ecosystem on Tuesday as Microsoft and OpenAI reached a deal to allow the ChatGPT maker to restructure itself into a public benefit corporation, valuing OpenAI at $500 billion. Many Big Tech firms have commitments, joint ventures, or tie-ups worth hundreds of billions of dollars with one another. OpenAI and Nvidia are two of the most involved. Skeptics argue not all will play out as flagged and concentration risk is only increasing, but for now, they are enough to keep the AI-fueled market juggernaut going. * U.S. job losses mount Amazon and UPS on Tuesday announced combined job losses of at least 62,000, among the biggest round of publicly confirmed job cuts in a year that has seen a slow, steady drumbeat of firms shedding workers. How much this gets on Fed officials' radar remains to be seen. But at the very least, and with no economic data being released due to the government shutdown, it is a sign that the labor market is weakening, perhaps even more than they have bargained for. * Fed to deliver The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates again on Wednesday by a quarter of a percentage point, and according to rates futures markets, repeat the move in December and at least twice more next year. Let's see what signals Chair Jerome Powell gives about that. There may also be some big changes around the Fed's balance sheet and the plumbing of the U.S. banking system, with the Fed perhaps announcing it will end QT soon. Indeed, this could open up the possibility of the Fed buying bonds or bills in the near future. US stock market concentration is less extreme than you think With Wall Street scaling fresh peaks and five of the "Magnificent Seven" U.S. tech giants reporting earnings this week, investors' focus is once again zeroing in on record-high stock market concentration and the risks associated with it. But this concern may be overblown. This is not a new debate, but it has raged in the last two years, particularly with the explosion in Nvidia's share price. The chipmaker's market cap has quadrupled since 2023 to $4.5 trillion, lifting the Mag 7's share of the S&P 500 above the 30% mark. However, surprising as it may be to many market-watchers, concentration on Wall Street is not that extreme by global standards. In fact, the U.S. lags well behind many developed economies when it comes to equity market concentration, and even further behind some key emerging economies. AMERICAN UNEXCEPTIONALISM When looking at a dozen of the world's largest stock markets, the U.S. is actually the fifth-least concentrated, according to Michael J. Mauboussin and Dan Callahan at Morgan Stanley. The top 10 U.S. stocks accounted for 33.8% of total market cap at the end of September this year. Only India, Japan, China and Canada were less concentrated, while concentration was most extreme in France, Taiwan and Switzerland. It should be noted, however, that Taiwan is an outlier, heavily skewed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's biggest producer of advanced chips. On its own, TSMC accounts for over 40% of the country's entire stock market cap. Meanwhile, equity market concentration appears to be intensifying in key emerging economies, primarily driven by tech. That was the conclusion of research published this year by Morningstar's Lena Tsymbaluk and Michael Born. They analyzed China, Brazil, South Korea, Taiwan and India, five countries that account for 80% of the Morningstar Emerging Markets Target Market Exposure Index. Morningstar's Target Market Exposure indices include a country's or region's 75% most liquid stocks in terms of trading volume and turnover. Based on these criteria, the top five stocks at the end of last year represented 27% of India's market compared with 35% in China, 46% in South Korea, 47% in Brazil, and 72% in Taiwan. For comparison, the equivalent shares in Morningstar's U.S., UK and global TME indexes were 26%, 17.5%, and 33%, respectively. For all the fretting that Wall Street's eggs are all in the one Big Tech basket, concentration risk is more extreme in other countries - something that U.S.-based investors seeking to diversify their portfolios by going into overseas markets should perhaps bear in mind. DOES IT MATTER? This all raises the inevitable question of whether market concentration really matters. To be sure, it is hard to "beat the market" when mega-cap stocks make outsize gains. That is often the case during periods of high concentration, as returns tend to be driven by the handful of stocks at the top rather than all the individual names underneath. Look no further than the U.S. for evidence of this. Only 8% of surviving active funds in the U.S. large-cap blend category beat the passive alternative over the decade ending June 2024, according to Morningstar. The Mag 7's footprint in U.S. earnings and performance is simply too large. There are also concerns that high concentration increases risk, given that one is essentially betting on the performance of a handful of companies. In the U.S., many worry that the tech bubble – or, more specifically, the artificial intelligence bubble – will burst. With valuations so high, Cassandras fear that this top-heavy market will simply keel over. But obviously none of those outcomes has come to pass. Of course, there may be a day of reckoning, but it may not be for some time. And it is certainly not inevitable, given the strength of these tech giants' earnings and how entrenched investors' "buy the dip" mentality has become. It is ultimately a classic risk-reward dilemma. If you want a more balanced portfolio, diversify more because a sharp reversal in tech could trigger an outsized downturn. If you want to keep enjoying the returns generated by the biggest names, there is no need to rock the boat. Currently, the bigger risk may be betting on a reversal too soon. As the market maxim goes, being too early is the same as being wrong. 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-graphic-2025-10-28/

2025-10-28 20:50

Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas producer Expand Energy (EXE.O) , opens new tab reported a profit for the third quarter on Tuesday, compared with a year-ago loss, driven by increased output and stronger commodity prices. Average U.S. natural gas prices jumped more than 26% year-on-year during the quarter, driven by strong liquefied natural gas exports and growing demand fueled by the rapid expansion of AI-focused data centers. Sign up here. Expand Energy was formed after Chesapeake Energy's acquisition of Southwestern Energy last year, creating the biggest independent natural gas producer in the U.S. The company's total production averaged 7.33 billion cubic feet equivalent per day (bcfed) during the quarter, up from 2.65 bcfed a year earlier. Average realized price of natural gas was $2.81 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf), compared with $2.51 Mcf a year earlier. Expand Energy also signed a 15-year agreement with Lake Charles Methanol to be the sole supplier of natural gas to the clean-energy project, beginning 2030. Piper Sandler analyst Mark Lear said the Lake Charles supply agreement highlights Expand's geographic advantage and premium pricing opportunity. The company also expanded its footprint in the Western Haynesville and Southwest Appalachia, located in the Marcellus shale and rich in natural gas deposits, during the second half of the year by acquiring roughly 82,500 acres. Expand Energy expects net production to be 7.15 bcfed for the current year, higher than the midpoint of its previous forecast of 7 bcfed to 7.2 bcfed. It aims to produce 7.5 bcfed in 2026. The company also reduced its full-year capital investment expectations by roughly $75 million to $2.85 billion. Expand Energy reported a profit of $547 million, or $2.28 per share, for the quarter ended September 30, compared with a net loss of $114 million, or 85 cents per share, a year earlier. Its shares rose 3.3% in trading after the bell. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/natgas-producer-expand-energy-posts-profit-third-quarter-2025-10-28/

2025-10-28 20:48

Oct 28 (Reuters) - Mondelez International (MDLZ.O) , opens new tab forecast a steeper decline in annual profit on Tuesday, as consumers scaled back on purchases of its pricey chocolates and snacks in North America, while higher cost of key ingredient cocoa added further pressure. Consumers in the U.S. have been seeking healthier snacking options as they turn more conscious of their protein and sugar intakes, forcing packaged food companies to rethink their portfolios. Sign up here. "Although we anticipate challenging conditions to continue in some markets, we are encouraged by recent moderation in cocoa prices, as well as promising signs for a strong cocoa crop this fall," Mondelez CEO Dirk Van de Put said in a statement. The company hedges against a rise in cocoa prices. The commodity saw a steep rise in costs last year due to supply disruptions in West Africa, impacting chocolate makers such as Mondelez and Hershey (HSY.N) , opens new tab. Cadbury maker Mondelez's shares were down 4% in extended trading. They have risen about 3% so far this year. The company has taken a few rounds of price hikes to counter the effect of higher cocoa prices in key markets such as Europe and the U.S. However, inflation and economic volatility have turned consumers more price conscious, weakening demand for Mondelez's products. Overall volumes fell 4.6 percentage points in the third quarter, while prices rose 8 pp. That compared with a 1.5 pp drop in volume and a 7.1 pp increase in price in the second quarter. The company expects 2025 adjusted earnings per share to decline about 15%, compared with its prior target of a 10% fall. Mondelez's quarterly net sales of $9.74 billion edged past analysts' average estimate of $9.71 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Its adjusted earnings per share of 73 cents also beat estimates by 2 cents. Mondelez also tempered its expectation for annual organic net revenue growth to 4% plus, from about 5% it forecast in July. https://www.reuters.com/business/mondelez-international-forecasts-bigger-decline-annual-profit-2025-10-28/

2025-10-28 20:44

MEXICO CITY, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Grupo Carso is reviewing the feasibility of the Lakach deepwater natural gas project in collaboration with state energy company Pemex and conducting new analyses to determine how to proceed, a company official said Tuesday. The company signed an agreement last year to partner with Pemex to develop the project in the Gulf of Mexico, aiming to revive a venture that the state-owned company had twice before abandoned. Sign up here. "What is being reviewed is the feasibility in terms of cost versus benefit, because gas prices do not match the investment required," Arturo Spinola, Grupo Carso's Chief Financial Officer, said during a call on the company's third-quarter results. Pemex and companies that form part of the empire of Mexican billionaire investor Carlos Slim have been in talks over at least two of the country's most promising fields, Reuters revealed , opens new tab earlier this year. In February, Slim described the Lakach project as "complicated," noting that the depth of the resource offshore adds to the difficulty. The field, located about 90 kilometers from the port of Veracruz, holds an estimated 900 billion cubic feet of gas, according to available data. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/carlos-slims-grupo-carso-is-reviewing-feasibility-deepwater-gas-field-project-2025-10-28/