2025-10-17 20:43

Trump says 100% tariffs on China not sustainable Eli Lilly falls after Trump vows weight-loss drug price cut Latest regional bank results ease credit worries S&P 500 +0.53%, Nasdaq +0.52%, Dow +0.52% Oct 17 (Reuters) - Wall Street ended higher on Friday as investors assessed U.S. President Donald Trump's latest remarks on China, while quarterly results from regional banks eased concerns about credit risks. Trump said his proposed 100% tariff on goods from China would not be sustainable, but blamed Beijing for the latest impasse in trade talks that began with Chinese authorities tightening control over rare earth exports. Trump unveiled the new tariffs a week ago, along with new export controls on "any and all critical software," to go into effect on November 1. Sign up here. "The market doesn't really know what to take when Donald Trump speaks," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth. "There's just a lot of back-and-forth comments with regards to China and trade tariffs and pretty much everything else." Regional bank stocks rebounded following a selloff on Thursday, when Zions Bancorporation (ZION.O) , opens new tab disclosed losses tied to two commercial and industrial loans and Western Alliance (WAL.N) , opens new tab revealed it had initiated a lawsuit alleging fraud by Cantor Group V, LLC. "There's a lot more bark than bite on the credit fears," said Jed Ellerbroek, a portfolio manager at Argent Capital. "Looking through all the big banks' results, credit is very good. Overall, there are very few pockets of weakness." Truist Financial (TFC.N) , opens new tab gained 3.7% after the bank reported higher third-quarter profit. Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB.O) , opens new tab rose 1.3%, Zions shares rebounded from losses the day before to close 5.8% higher, and Western Alliance advanced 3.1%. The S&P Composite 1500 Regional Banks index (.SPCOMBNKS) , opens new tab climbed 1.8% after tumbling almost 6% the day before. The S&P 500 financial sector index (.SPSY) , opens new tab, which includes the largest U.S. banks, rose 0.8%. Robust earnings from JPMorgan (JPM.N) , opens new tab and other big banks this week helped get the third-quarter earnings season off to an upbeat start. Analysts on average see S&P 500 earnings climbing 9.3% in the third quarter, an improvement from expectations of 8.8% at the start of October, according to LSEG I/B/E/S. Following a rally of nearly 14% in 2025, the S&P 500 is valued at 23 times expected earnings, its priciest level in five years. The S&P 500 climbed 0.53% to end the session at 6,664.01 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.52% to 22,679.98 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.52% to 46,190.61 points. Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by consumer staples (.SPLRCS) , opens new tab, up 1.23%. For the week, the S&P 500 gained 1.7%, the Nasdaq rose 2.1% and the Dow climbed 1.6%. The CBOE volatility index (.VIX) , opens new tab, investors' fear gauge, dropped to 21.5 points after hitting its highest level in nearly six months at 28.99 earlier in the day. Wall Street's most valuable companies were mixed, with Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab rising 2.5%, Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab adding almost 2% and Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab falling 0.7%. Eli Lilly (LLY.N) , opens new tab fell 2% after Trump said he would bring down prices of weight-loss drugs. State Street (STT.N) , opens new tab dropped 1.4% after the bank's third-quarter net interest income missed estimates. Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX) , opens new tab by a 2.6-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 7 new highs and 6 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 37 new highs and 114 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively light, with 19.6 billion shares traded, compared with an average of 20.7 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. https://www.reuters.com/business/wall-st-futures-tumble-bad-loans-by-regional-banks-make-investors-nervous-2025-10-17/

2025-10-17 20:40

US Treasury chief says IMF should scrutinize China's imbalances World Bank should end support for projects in China, Bessent says IMF not 'a piggy bank' for creditors to debt-distressed countries, Bessent says IMF chief says she's got 'long list of homework' WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday gave specific marching orders for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to take tougher stances on China's state-driven economic practices as part of his push to get the global lenders to refocus on their core missions. In a statement to the IMF's steering committee, Bessent said the crisis lender should strengthen its country surveillance activities with "objectivity and evenhandedness." He also said the World Bank should end its support for China and shift resources to countries with greater needs. Sign up here. "The IMF should not shy away from asking difficult questions, more clearly highlighting internal and external imbalances, deepening its understanding of how industrial policies in large economies such as China contribute to those imbalances, explaining their potential harmful spillovers, and recommending appropriate corrective actions," Bessent said in the statement to the International Monetary and Financial Committee. Successive U.S. administrations, including that of President Donald Trump, have blamed China's state-led economic practices and export-led growth model for building up excess manufacturing capacity that is flooding the world with cheap goods and contributing to trade imbalances. China argues that its success in sectors such as electric vehicles is due to innovation, not government support. U.S. and Chinese officials are locked in a bitter dispute over China's new rare earths export restrictions, Trump's tariffs, and new U.S. port fees for Chinese-built, -owned and -flagged ships that could lead to additional 100% U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports on November 1. The U.S. Treasury chief, who manages the dominant U.S. shareholdings in the IMF and World Bank, first called in April for the two institutions to focus more scrutiny on China, but his latest statement goes into more detail. He ordered the IMF to embrace stronger surveillance of imbalances including China's in a forthcoming comprehensive review , opens new tab of its surveillance policies, last updated in 2021. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters after a meeting of the steering committee that the global lender was already working to sharpen its surveillance, "digging deeper" into the issue of global imbalances, and reviewing the conditionality for lending programs. "I came out of the meeting room with a sense of encouragement (of) our staff, but also with a long list of homework," she said. NO DEBT 'PIGGY BANK' Bessent also included veiled references to China in criticizing the IMF for letting "recalcitrant creditors off the hook too easily" in debt restructuring negotiations for debt-burdened developing countries. China, the world's largest bilateral lender, delayed the debt restructurings of Chad, Zambia and Sri Lanka by initially insisting that multilateral development banks also take losses. Without naming China directly, Bessent said these situations worsened liquidity and economic stress on debtor countries. "In these situations, IMF programs cannot be effective if there are creditor countries within the membership that are exacerbating the very liquidity stress that IMF programs seek to address," Bessent said. "Furthermore, IMF resources must not be considered as a piggy bank to repay creditor countries that made a bad bet but refuse to take the loss." The IMF's strategy chief, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, said on Wednesday that the U.S. and China, despite their trade differences, are both continuing to work on developing country debt issues through the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable. Georgieva said she agreed it was urgent to work on debt issues, adding that the IMF planned to use its "good offices" to ensure better coordination among creditors and debtors. WORLD BANK CHIDED ON CHINA, ENERGY POLICY Bessent said the World Bank should increase emphasis on its "graduation" policies to wean countries off its support and make them self-sufficient. "This must include ending support for China and shifting staff and administrative resources to countries where development needs are most acute," he said. The Treasury chief also took aim at China in the World Bank's project procurement activities, urging the bank to "curb anti-competitive procurement practices by state-owned enterprises" and ban those that "do not operate on a commercial basis." In line with the Trump administration's policies opposing green energy subsidies, Bessent also said the World Bank should eliminate a 2023 pledge to devote 45% of its annual financing to climate-related projects and called for an "all-of-the-above" energy financing approach for gas, oil and coal. The World Bank's board in June agreed to end a longstanding ban on funding nuclear energy projects in developing countries, but has not yet reached agreement on whether it should engage in funding the production of natural gas. Given China's stranglehold on supply chains for rare earths and other critical minerals, Bessent also called on the World Bank to boost financing in the sector. "We welcome the steps the Bank is taking to devise a critical minerals strategy, and expect it to emphasize investments and technical assistance to promote diversified and resilient supply chains." https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/bessent-urges-imf-world-bank-take-tougher-line-china-2025-10-17/

2025-10-17 20:27

Queen Elizabeth's son has faced years of scandal Andrew says he has become a distraction for royal family Prince denies all allegations of wrongdoing LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Britain's Prince Andrew said on Friday he would give up using his title of Duke of York following years of criticism about his behaviour and connections to the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The reputation of Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles and second son of the late Queen Elizabeth, has taken a battering in recent years, most notably because of his links to Epstein. Sign up here. A court ruling last year also revealed that the British government believed one of his close business associates was a Chinese spy. Andrew at the time said he had stopped all contact with the businessman. ANDREW SAYS HE IS PUTTING COUNTRY FIRST In a statement on Friday, Andrew said "the continued accusations about me" distracted from the work of his elder brother King Charles and the wider work of the British royal family. "I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life," Andrew said. "With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use the title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me." His decision to give up his titles was taken following discussion with senior royals. The king was glad about the outcome, according to a royal source. Andrew, 65, the eighth-in-line to the throne, was once regarded as a dashing naval officer and served in the military during the Falklands War with Argentina in the early 1980s. But he was forced to step down from a roving UK trade ambassador role in 2011, before quitting all royal duties in 2019 and then was stripped of his military links and royal patronages in 2022 amid allegations of sexual misconduct which he has always denied. That year, he settled a lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, who died in April, which accused him of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager. Andrew has always denied her account, which has returned to prominence in the last week with the release of her memoir. In her book, she said "entitled" Andrew believed it was his birthright to have sex with her, according to extracts published by the Guardian newspaper. "Things are simply not going away," royal biographer Robert Hardman told BBC TV. "And I think the palace has decided, and Prince Andrew has agreed, that there really has to be a further separation. "He wants to look as if he's proactive and try and regain some dignity out of this." BRITONS SUPPORT STRIPPING ANDREW OF TITLES According to a recent poll by YouGov, 67% of Britons supported stripping Andrew of his remaining royal titles, with 13% opposing the move. A separate survey found only 5% of respondents had a favourable view of him. Andrew, who had already given up being called "His Royal Highness", still remains a prince and will continue to live in Royal Lodge, a large property on the estate surrounding Windsor Castle, a historic royal palace to the west of London. However, he will no longer attend the annual royal Christmas get-togethers at Sandringham, the royal home in eastern England. His daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will be unaffected, but his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson will also no longer be known as the Duchess of York. In September, several charities cut their links to her after she described Epstein as a "supreme friend" in an email three years after he had pleaded guilty in 2008 to a state prostitution charge in Florida and agreed to register as a sex offender. In addition to the ties to Epstein that dogged him, Andrew's business relations have also proved problematic. Last December, court documents revealed that a Chinese businessman who had been authorised to act on Andrew's behalf to seek investors in China had been banned from Britain on national security grounds. The documents revealed the businessman, who the British government believed to be a spy, had been invited to Andrew's birthday party. The British royal family has seen its working numbers diminish in the last few years, with the king's younger son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan having also stepped down from official duties. While Andrew's title will be inactive rather than taken away, historian Anthony Seldon told the BBC that the last time a senior royal was stripped of a dukedom was more than 100 years ago. "Looking historically, this is a very, very significant step," Seldon said. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britains-prince-andrew-gives-up-title-duke-york-2025-10-17/

2025-10-17 20:26

Federal judiciary to begin furloughs Monday Civil litigation delays mount, but Trump-related cases proceed Funding shortfall hits judiciary harder than during last government shutdown Oct 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. federal court system starting on Monday will begin curtailing non-essential functions and furloughing some employees after exhausting what funds the judiciary had left to sustain paid operations during the U.S. government shutdown. The announcement, detailed in a Thursday internal memo , opens new tab reviewed by Reuters, means the federal judiciary will for the first time in nearly three decades be forced to send some of its over 30,000 employees home and require others to work without a paycheck after Congress failed to pass legislation keeping the courts and the rest of the government funded. Sign up here. The shutdown has already caused widespread delays in civil lawsuits involving federal agencies, as many of their employees have been furloughed. However, judges overseeing numerous legal challenges to Republican President Donald Trump's policies have frequently denied government requests to pause those cases. Unlike executive branch agencies operating under Trump's purview, the judiciary had after the government shutdown that began on October 1 been able to sustain its paid operations for a few weeks by using fees and other funds not dependent on Congress authorizing new spending. But tight budgets in recent years meant the judiciary entered the shutdown with less cash available than it had during a 2019 shutdown in Trump's first term in office, during which the courts sustained paid operations for the full five weeks. Funding was, as a result, projected to be exhausted on Friday. Courts will remain open, and judges and Supreme Court justices will still get paid, thanks to a bar in the U.S. Constitution against a diminution in their pay. Officials in various district courts said they had been informed they could continue paying jurors, at least for now. JUDICIARY TO START SENDING FURLOUGH NOTICES MONDAY But Judge Robert Conrad, the director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, in Thursday's memo told judges and others that the courts had done what they could to maintain operations by deferring planned spending and would enter into a new phase of the shutdown starting at midnight on Monday. Furlough notices will be distributed that morning, and "orderly shutdown activities will commence," Conrad wrote. The last time such furloughs occurred within the judiciary was during government shutdowns that occurred during Democratic President Bill Clinton's tenure in 1995 to 1996. The U.S. Supreme Court will keep hearing arguments and issuing rulings during the shutdown. But while its building will remain open for official business, it will be closed to the public until further notice, Supreme Court spokesperson Patricia McCabe said in a statement. Exactly how many judicial employees will be furloughed is not clear. Officials in various trial courts said most if not all of their staff would be deemed exempt under the Antideficiency Act as they provide essential services that help them fulfill their core duties under the Constitution of resolving cases and facilitating criminal defendants' right to a speedy trial. But probation officers, judicial clerks and administrative staff still on the job are set to receive their last paychecks on October 24, a possibility that "is extremely stressful to our employees," said Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane of the Southern District of Texas, which covers Houston. Chief U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall of the Chicago-based Northern District of Illinois in a statement said she was "concerned that the lack of appropriation will create delays in the court’s ability to ensure timely justice." Federal public defenders, who represent indigent defendants who have a right to a lawyer, working in offices that are part of the judiciary likewise will not get paid, nor will private lawyers who do the same under the Criminal Justice Act. Those private lawyers' pay has already been delayed since July after funding for them ran out, a development the courts deem a "crisis." https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-courts-set-run-out-money-begin-furloughs-shutdown-lingers-2025-10-17/

2025-10-17 20:19

California sues three plastic bag makers over false recycling claims Settlement reached with four companies, halting bag sales and $1.8M payment Investigation initiated by Bonta after commission's request to tackle plastic pollution Settlement includes halting sales of plastic bags in California WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - The state of California announced a lawsuit against three major plastic bag producers and reached a settlement with four other manufacturers on Friday after concluding an investigation into their false claims that these bags were recyclable. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a lawsuit against Novolex Holdings LLC, Inteplast Group Corp, and Mettler Packaging LLC alleging violations of California's Environmental Marketing Claims Act, False Advertising Law, and Unfair Competition Law. Sign up here. Bonta also announced a settlement with four plastic bag producers, Revolution Sustainable Solutions LLC (Revolution), Metro Poly Corp. (Metro Poly), PreZero US Packaging LLC (PreZero), and Advance Polybag, Inc. (API), resolving their alleged violations of those same laws. "The consequences of these violations are severe: Billions of plastic carryout bags end up in landfills, incinerators, and the environment instead of being recycled as the bags proclaim. Our legal actions today make it clear: No corporation is above the law,” Bonta said in a statement. The actions come nearly three years after Bonta launched an investigation into plastic bag producers in which he requested they substantiate claims that their bags are recyclable. That investigation came after the California Statewide Commission on Recycling Markets and Curbside Recycling had asked the attorney general and regulator CalRecycle to crack down on what it claimed was illegal labeling that was undermining the state's efforts to tackle plastic pollution. The sale of these thicker recycled plastic bags emerged from what critics said became a loophole in California's 2017 ban on single-use shopping bags that enabled retailers to sell reusable plastic bags for a minimum of 10 cents each if the bags can be recycled in California. As part of the settlement, the four companies agreed to halt plastic bag sales in California and pay a total of $1.8 million to the state. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/california-takes-action-against-plastic-bag-makers-over-recycling-claims-2025-10-17/

2025-10-17 20:16

1,400 furloughs start by Monday, 400 will remain Energy secretary says will affect weapons modernization program Workers on emergency services to remain Shutdown is on 17th day WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - The Trump administration by Monday will furlough about 1,400 workers at the agency that manages the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal due to the government shutdown, the Department of Energy said on Friday. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a post on X that the furloughs will affect National Nuclear Security Administration workers who are "critical to modernizing our nuclear arsenal." Sign up here. A spokesperson said nearly 400 workers would remain at the NNSA, a semi-autonomous branch of the Department of Energy that also works around the world to secure dangerous nuclear materials, including in Ukraine as the war with Russia continues. NNSA's federal staff oversees some 60,000 contractors maintaining and testing weapons at national laboratories and other locations across the U.S. Wright told USA Today that there could be tens of thousands of layoffs of contractors along with furloughs of staff workers due to the shutdown, now on its 17th day. A nuclear weapons control expert criticized the potential cuts. "If the Trump administration really thinks the NNSA’s functions are important — and many of them are essential for nuclear facility safety and security — I am sure they can find the funds to keep the workers on the job, or else they might want to rethink their position on the federal government shutdown," said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association. The agency will not furlough people working on emergency services, Wright told Bloomberg Surveillance on Friday. But he said the modernization of nuclear weapons program to replace older weapons could be affected. "We're just getting momentum there," he said about the program. "To have everybody unpaid and not coming to work, that will not be helpful." The costs of operating and modernizing America's nuclear forces through 2034 are projected to soar to $946 billion, 25% higher than a 2023 estimate, a report by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said in April. Nuclear weapons expenditures are divided between the Pentagon and the NNSA. The DOE said Wright would visit the National Nuclear Security Site in Nevada on Monday to discuss the impacts of the shutdown on the nuclear weapons arsenal. https://www.reuters.com/world/us-furlough-workers-nuclear-weapons-agency-due-shutdown-2025-10-17/