2025-10-24 20:34

WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Trade Representative's office on Friday said it had launched a new tariff investigation into China's "apparent failure" to comply with the "Phase One" trade deal signed with President Donald Trump in 2020 to end his first-term U.S.-China trade war. The new unfair trade practices probe under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 gives Trump another potential tool to increase tariffs on Chinese imports. USTR's announcement comes a day before the start of a new round of U.S.-China talks over rare earths export controls in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. Sign up here. China said it firmly opposed what it said were Washington's "false accusations and related investigation measures," and accused the United States of escalating economic and other forms of pressure against China. "China has scrupulously fulfilled its obligations in the Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement," a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington said on X, adding that China's actions have benefited investors from all countries, including U.S. companies. The Phase One deal was meant to rebalance trade between China and the U.S. by committing Beijing to increase purchases of U.S. farm and manufactured goods, energy and services by $200 billion annually for at least two years. But Beijing never met the purchase targets, blaming the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that was spreading at the time of its signing in January 2020. A USTR Federal Register notice , opens new tab announcing the probe also said that China appeared to not have lived up to its commitments to change policies on intellectual property protections, forced technology transfer, agriculture and financial services - practices that were at the heart of Trump's first-term tariffs on Chinese imports. It said the investigation will initially focus on China's implementation of its commitments under the Phase One deal. The notice invites public comments on the matter from October 31 through December 1. USTR will convene a public hearing to collect further testimony on December 16. "The initiation of this investigation underscores the Trump Administration’s resolve to hold China to its Phase One Agreement commitments, protect American farmers, ranchers, workers, and innovators, and establish a more reciprocal trade relationship with China for the benefit of the American people," USTR Jamieson Greer said in a statement. The probe also could provide the Trump administration with additional legal backing to revive some tariffs on Chinese imports if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Trump's duties that were based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The court is due to hear arguments on a challenge to the IEEPA-based tariffs - currently at about 30% for Chinese goods - on November 5. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-launches-investigation-into-chinas-compliance-with-2020-trade-deal-2025-10-24/

2025-10-24 20:32

Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet among 'Magnificent 7' set to report Fed expected to cut rates on Wednesday by quarter-point US-China trade tensions, government shutdown also in focus NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. stock rally confronts a potentially consequential week to keep its momentum heading into year-end, including a flood of corporate results headlined by megacap companies and a likely interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve after its two-day policy meeting. U.S.-China trade tensions could come to a head in the coming days, while a persistent U.S. government shutdown further unsettles the backdrop for investors. Sign up here. Stocks have weathered increased volatility this month, with the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab posting an all-time closing high on Friday, after a 36% climb since its low for the year in April. The benchmark index is up over 15% year-to-date. Given that the market has rallied for several months without a particularly significant decline, equities could remain choppy in the days ahead, said Chris Fasciano, chief market strategist at Commonwealth Financial Network. "What we need to see is continued earnings beats and corporate America talking positively about the economy," Fasciano said. "When people start to get nervous, it's when they see consumer confidence coming down, or business confidence coming down." Third-quarter earnings season is off to a solid start overall, despite disappointments this week from companies such as streamer Netflix (NFLX.O) , opens new tab and chipmaker Texas Instruments (TXN.O) , opens new tab. Including results from 143 companies that have reported, S&P 500 profits are estimated to have increased 10.4% from a year ago, according to LSEG IBES data as of Friday. So far, 87% of companies have topped analysts' earnings estimates and 82% have beaten revenue estimates - both higher than historically typical rates. Next week is the busiest of the season, with over 170 companies expected to report. They include Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab, Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab, Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab, Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab and Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab, five of the "Magnificent Seven," a group of companies with huge market capitalizations whose shares dominate equity indexes and which overall have posted outsized profit growth over the past couple of years. Their profit edge over the rest of the index is narrowing, but the Magnificent Seven are still expected to post stronger results this period. Earnings for the group are expected to rise 16.6% against an 8.1% rise for the rest of the index, according to data this week from Tajinder Dhillon, senior research analyst at LSEG. A number of the megacap companies are also key players in the artificial intelligence industry, enthusiasm for which has been a main driver of stock market performance. "The factor that is probably going to have the most influence between now and the end of the year is going to be these big tech (reports)," said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial. "The hurdle rate is very high for these companies coming into next week's earnings." Other companies due to report results next week include drugmaker Eli Lilly (LLY.N) , opens new tab, oil majors Exxon (XOM.N) , opens new tab and Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab and payment firms Visa (V.N) , opens new tab and Mastercard (MA.N) , opens new tab. The Fed is widely expected to lower its current benchmark rate of 4%-4.25% by another quarter percentage point when it decides on policy on Wednesday, a view supported by tamer-than-estimated inflation data on Friday. With that rate move already factored into asset prices, markets are likely to be more sensitive to any forward-looking language from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, with the central bank expected to cut rates further at its next meeting in December. "The biggest impact would be if the Fed gave any signs that they will deviate from their rate-cutting path," said Dominic Pappalardo, chief multi-asset strategist for Morningstar Wealth. Possibly clouding the Fed's decision-making ability is the lack of data provided by the government since its shutdown began on October 1, including delays in employment releases at a time of simmering worries about the health of the labor market. An increasingly extended shutdown - which has already lasted longer than the average length of past shutdowns - also likely poses more risk to economic growth, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth. "The longer it drags on, the more the market will not be able to ignore it," Hogan said. Investors also largely had shrugged aside trade-related risks in recent months, but renewed U.S.-China rifts have brought tensions between the world's two largest economies back to the fore. U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month threatened significantly higher tariffs on China to take effect November 1, after Beijing imposed export controls on rare earths. Investors will be watching developments around an anticipated meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the coming week to see if the nations can calm tensions between them. "If tariffs rise to the levels that President Trump is threatening on China ... you would see a more volatile and probably a more negative reaction in the market, especially if (investors) anticipate that that's going to be lasting," Saglimbene said. https://www.reuters.com/business/wall-st-week-ahead-megacap-led-earnings-deluge-fed-meeting-headline-busy-us-2025-10-24/

2025-10-24 20:32

SNAP benefits could lapse for 41 million people due to shutdown SNAP contingency funds will be reserved for other uses, agency says Mayors, House Democrats have urged USDA to fund November benefits WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture will not use agency contingency funds to pay for food aid benefits set to lapse in November during the federal government shutdown, according to a memo seen by Reuters. More than 41 million people are set to lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, also known as food stamps, at the end of this month as the shutdown keeps Congress from funding the program. Sign up here. Mayors and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have said the USDA should use $5 billion in contingency funds to partially fund November benefits. The memo said the agency will not draw on the funds because they are "not legally available" to cover the benefits and will reserve them for responding to natural disasters and other emergencies. "SNAP contingency funds are only available to supplement regular monthly benefits when amounts have been appropriated for, but are insufficient to cover, benefits. The contingency fund is not available to support FY 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists," said the memo. The memo also said the agency will not use other agency funds for SNAP or reimburse states that fund benefits themselves. Virginia on Thursday declared a state of emergency to free up funds for November benefits. The memo blamed Congressional Democrats for the shutdown. Democrats and Republicans have traded blame for the shutdown, with Democrats withholding votes on a spending bill to keep healthcare costs from spiking for many Americans. The USDA's shutdown plan had included the potential use of contingency funds for SNAP. That plan had been taken off the USDA's website Friday afternoon. The USDA did not immediately respond to questions about the plan. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/usda-memo-says-it-will-not-use-emergency-funds-november-food-benefits-2025-10-24/

2025-10-24 20:26

Indexes up: Dow 1.01%, S&P 500 0.79%, Nasdaq 1.15% Alphabet jumps on chip deal with Anthropic Ford surges after earnings beat September US consumer prices rise slightly less than expected Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple to report earnings next week NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Cooler-than-expected inflation data and upbeat corporate earnings lifted all three major U.S. stock indexes to all-time closing highs on Friday, setting the stage for next week's earnings reports and an expected interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq recorded their largest weekly percentage gains since August, while the blue-chip Dow logged its biggest Friday-to-Friday jump since June. Sign up here. The Labor Department's Consumer Price Index remained elevated in September but was a bit cooler than analysts had expected, calming fears of an outsized impact of tariffs on inflation and all but locking in a 25-basis-point rate cut at the conclusion of the Fed's monetary policy meeting next week. The CPI report provided a rare set of official U.S. data as releases have generally ground to a halt during the current government shutdown driven by a congressional budgetary impasse. "We got some good news on the inflation front as the benign CPI data opened the door for Fed rate cuts next week and likely in December," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group in Omaha. Third-quarter earnings season has shifted into overdrive, with 143 of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported, according to LSEG data. Analysts now expect third-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth of 10.4% year-on-year in aggregate. That marks a robust improvement over the 8.8% annual growth expectations as of October 1, per LSEG. "It's been a spectacular start to earnings season," Detrick added. "We've seen 87% of companies beat on earnings and 83% on revenue, justifying the rally we've seen this year and likely opening the door for a strong end-of-year rally as well." Next week's earnings roster is packed with high-profile results from Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab, Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab, Amazon.com (AMZN.O) , opens new tab and Apple - five of the "Magnificent Seven" group of megacap momentum stocks. Additional market movers include industrial firms Caterpillar (CAT.N) , opens new tab and Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 472.51 points, or 1.01%, to 47,207.12, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 53.25 points, or 0.79%, to 6,791.69 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 263.07 points, or 1.15%, to 23,204.87. Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab gained ground after Anthropic expanded its deal to use as many as one million of Google's artificial intelligence chips to train its Claude chatbot. Alphabet's shares advanced 2.7%. Coinbase Global (COIN.O) , opens new tab got a 9.8% boost after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "neutral." Deckers Outdoor (DECK.N) , opens new tab forecast full-year sales below Wall Street estimates, sending shares of the Hoka sneakers maker down 15.2%. Ford (F.N) , opens new tab jumped 12.2% after beating third-quarter profit expectations. General Dynamics (GD.N) , opens new tab also surpassed estimates, sending its shares up 2.7%. Alaska Air (ALK.N) , opens new tab slid 6.1% after the airline cut its annual forecast. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.18-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 540 new highs and 53 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 3,193 stocks rose and 1,450 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.2-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 34 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 124 new highs and 44 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 19.04 billion shares, compared with the 20.75 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. https://www.reuters.com/business/wall-st-futures-rise-intel-boost-ahead-inflation-test-2025-10-24/

2025-10-24 20:23

U.S. shale gas dealmaking has surged in 2025 Asian firms to drive acquisitions to secure feedstock for LNG purchases $28 billion worth of gas, LNG assets currently up for sale (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas dealmaking has surged in 2025 and is set to accelerate, analysts say, driven by record power demand from AI data centers, rising LNG exports and renewed Asian investment. The United States is poised to see a record surge in power demand this year, led by data centers' outsized energy needs, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) says. Sign up here. A steep pullback in benchmark gas prices last year from 2022's multi-decade highs after sanctions on Russia slowed talks, but a subsequent rebound, along with long-term LNG and domestic demand, has kept global buyers active. Already the world's top LNG exporter, the United States is set to lift nameplate capacity to 115 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) this year, EIA data show. The ramp-up has reignited mergers and acquisitions across key shale basins and the LNG value chain, with deal value climbing to about $30 billion in the first nine months of 2025 from $22.5 billion a year earlier, according to Rystad Energy. More than $28 billion in gas and LNG assets are currently up for sale, Rystad's Palash Ravi said, citing potential deals involving Ascent Resources, BP, GeoSouthern, Williams and NextDecade's Rio Grande project. In the Haynesville basin, Asian firms will outbid U.S. producers to secure feedstock for LNG imports, said Enverus analyst Andrew Dittmar. U.S. LNG shipments to Asia are set to hit 3.61 million tons in October, the second-highest on record, driven by regional growth, cleaner energy goals, and Taiwan’s recent closure of its last remaining nuclear reactor. "2025 is an inflection year," said EOG Resources CEO Ezra Yacob. "We expect U.S. gas demand to grow 4%-6% annually through 2030, driven by LNG and power." https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-natural-gas-sector-deals-surge-2025-ai-lng-demand-asia-2025-10-24/

2025-10-24 20:14

Air traffic absences accounted for 6.6% of delays Thursday Airlines are worried about serious problems over the weekend Union chief says some controllers work second jobs to pay bills PHILADELPHIA, Oct 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Friday said he expects more flights to be delayed, with air traffic controllers set to miss their first paycheck as a federal government shutdown enters its 24th day. Some 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must work without pay during the government shutdown. Controllers will miss their first full paycheck on Tuesday. Sign up here. "I think as we get closer to Tuesday and then after, I think you're going to see far more disruption," Duffy said on Fox News' "America Reports." The state of air safety has been closely watched for signs of worsening delays or cancellations, anything that shows the shutdown is making life harder for Americans, which in turn could pressure lawmakers to break the deadlock. Duffy said at a press conference at Philadelphia Airport that the Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic controller academy will run out of money within weeks to pay air traffic control students and that a few students had already decided to withdraw or not begin classes. Airlines are bracing for more disruptions. Republicans including Duffy blame Democrats for not reopening the government. Democrats say it is President Donald Trump and Republicans who refuse to negotiate over health care subsidies that expire at the end of the year. Democratic Representative Rick Larsen said Republicans should negotiate. "Controllers should never have to wonder where they will find money to pay their mortgage or put food on the table," Larsen said. National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Nick Daniels said at the press conference that controllers are under immense stress and some are taking second jobs to pay their bills. The shutdown "leads to an unnecessary distraction, and they cannot be 100% focused on their jobs, which makes this system less safe," Daniels said. "We didn't start a shutdown. We don't end the shutdown -- our elected officials do. And our message is simple -- end the shutdown today." About 6.6% of flights delayed Thursday were due to air traffic controller absences -- slightly above the normal 5% -- but much lower than the 53% seen on prior days during the shutdown, the Transportation Department said. On Thursday, the FAA said air traffic control staffing issues forced it to delay travel at airports in New York, Washington, Newark and Houston. In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, the number of absences by controllers and TSA officers rose as workers missed paychecks, extending wait times at some airport check points. Authorities were forced to slow air traffic in New York and Washington. The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels and many had been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-warns-further-flight-delays-if-shutdown-persists-2025-10-24/