2025-11-06 21:29

Cove Capital to control 70% of joint venture with Tau-Ken Samruk US Export-Import Bank to fund $900 million of $1.1 billion project Deal aims to prioritize US government and commercial tungsten needs WASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Mining investment firm Cove Capital will develop a large tungsten deposit in Kazakhstan with the state mining firm JSC Tau-Ken Samruk under a deal to be announced by the Trump administration on Thursday. The agreement is part of a suite of deals announced between Washington and Astana to tighten economic partnerships between the countries. Sign up here. Cove Capital will control 70% of a joint venture and sales of the metal, with Tau-Ken Samruk controlling the remaining 30%, according to a document seen by Reuters. Costs to develop the Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty projects - in the country's east - are estimated at $1.1 billion, while the U.S. Export-Import Bank has issued a letter of interest to fund $900 million. Tungsten, used to harden steel for a range of industries, is considered a critical mineral by the U.S. government. The U.S. has not mined the metal since 2015 and China is by far the world's largest producer. Supplies of the metal from the Kazakhstan projects will be used "to prioritize U.S. government and American commercial needs," according to the document. "This is a generational win for the U.S. and its critical minerals needs," Cove CEO Pini Althaus told Reuters. Althaus, who was previously the CEO of USA Rare Earth (USAR.O) , opens new tab, said U.S. President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick personally helped negotiate the deal to prevent Chinese companies from developing the asset. "This has just been a very under-explored part of the world, from a U.S. point of view, and vice versa," Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said at a C5+1 business conference event at the Kennedy Center on Thursday, which included Kazakhstan officials. Mine construction should start within two years and production should commence within 3-1/2 years, with refining also occurring inside Kazakhstan, Althaus said. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/cove-capital-mine-kazakhstan-tungsten-trump-announced-deal-2025-11-06/

2025-11-06 21:22

Quarterly loss widens to $41.8 million, or 24 cents per share No revenue from rare earths concentrate sales this quarter Plans to produce 200 metric tons of dysprosium and terbium annually by 2026 Nov 6 (Reuters) - U.S. rare earths company MP Materials (MP.N) , opens new tab said on Thursday its third-quarter loss widened as it stopped sales to Chinese customers as part of an agreement with the U.S. government, although the results surpassed Wall Street expectations. Shares fell 7.4% to $48.40 in after-hours trading. Sign up here. The results reflect the company's transition from dependence on foreign sales to a focus on being a major U.S. miner and processor of rare earths and manufacturer of the magnets made from them that are used widely across the automotive, electronics and defense industries. MP owns the only U.S. rare earths mine and is developing a magnet facility in Texas. Las Vegas-based MP posted a quarterly loss of $41.8 million, or 24 cents per share, compared to a loss of $11.2 million, or 16 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding one-time items, MP lost 10 cents per share. By that measure, analysts expected a loss of 18 cents per share, according to LSEG data. The company reported no revenue from sales of rare earths concentrate during the quarter. Those sales had formed the majority of its revenue for years, but a July investment agreement with the Pentagon precludes any future shipments. As part of that agreement, the Pentagon on October 1 began guaranteeing a floor price of $110 per kilogram for the two most-popular rare earths, neodymium and praseodymium, MP executives said on a conference call with investors. CEO SEES NEW COLD WAR Jim Litinsky, the miner's CEO, described what he sees as a "new Cold War" between Washington and Beijing requiring government investment in critical industries. "In the last Cold War, America prevailed through military strength, empowered by economic might," Litinsky said on the investor call. "In Cold War 2.0 the equation has reversed," he said. "Economic might itself, expressed through control of critical materials, advanced technologies and the supply chains that sustain them, has become the decisive measure of national power." Litinsky, also one of MP's largest shareholders, added he did not believe many of the company's peers could be competitive. "The vast majority of projects being promoted today simply will not work at virtually any price," Litinsky said. NEW FACILITY ONLINE SOON MP did record $21.9 million in sales during the quarter of magnetic precursor products, which are essentially the building blocks for magnets. MP said it expects commercial magnet production from its Texas site to begin by the end of the year. To make magnets, MP has had to build a facility to process so-called heavy rare earths. The company said it plans to commission that facility in mid-2026 using ore extracted from its California mine and purchased from third parties. The company aims to produce 200 metric tons per year of dysprosium and terbium - two key heavy rare earths used to make magnets - at that facility. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/mp-materials-quarterly-loss-widens-after-stopping-sales-chinese-customers-2025-11-06/

2025-11-06 21:19

Nov 6 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday ordered U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to fully fund food aid for 42 million low-income Americans in November by Friday, blocking its plan to only provide reduced benefits during the government shutdown. The ruling came at the end of a virtual hearing before U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island in a lawsuit brought by nonprofits and cities seeking to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture's suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, known as SNAP or food stamps. Sign up here. McConnell, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, said the administration's plan to provide enough money to partially fund benefits in November had failed to comply with an order he issued on Saturday requiring it to ensure Americans received full or partial benefits no later than Wednesday. He said the administration plowed ahead with a plan to make a partial payment without addressing a known problem as required, that in many states, it could take weeks or months to implement the unprecedented reduced benefits. "The evidence shows that people will go hungry, food pantries will be overburdened, and needless suffering will occur," McConnell said. "That's what irreparable harm here means." https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-administration-must-fully-fund-food-aid-benefits-by-friday-us-judge-rules-2025-11-06/

2025-11-06 21:00

Indexes down: Dow 0.84%, S&P 500 1.12%, Nasdaq 1.90% AI-related stocks show market's tech reliance Challenger reports 183.1% surge in layoffs, worst October in two decades DoorDash slides after quarterly revenue miss NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed in negative territory on Thursday, with a resumption of Tuesday's tech selloff as investors contended with mounting economic uncertainty and stretched valuations. All three major U.S. equity indexes lost ground as risk appetite was dampened by worries over inflated stock prices, particularly from artificial intelligence-related momentum shares. Sign up here. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index (.SOX) , opens new tab dropped 2.4%. AI-adjacent shares provided muscle to the rally in recent months that pushed the indexes to a series of record-setting highs, so weakness in the sector was a stark reminder of Wall Street's reliance on tech. "Valuations are still very much a concern longer term, but (the market is) still bullish," said Paul Nolte, senior wealth advisor & market strategist at Murphy & Sylvest in Elmhurst, Illinois. "Earlier this week, we got a draw down of 1% to 1.5%. What did we do the next day? We were up 80 basis points." "So that buy the dip mentality is still there," Nolte added. As the government shutdown persists, market participants must contend with a dearth of economic indicators while the data-reliant U.S. Federal Reserve is assessing the need for further near-term interest rate cuts. With government sources dark, alternative, private sector sources have stepped in. On Thursday, executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that corporations announced a 183.1% monthly surge in layoffs, the worst October in over two decades. Cost cutting and AI-related efforts were among the top reasons companies provided. Separately, workforce analytics company Revelio Labs showed the U.S. economy shed 9,100 jobs last month, with government accounting for the bulk of the decline. "The Challenger layoffs came in as disappointing, raising the prospect that the labor market is weakening faster and more than the Fed seems to be aware of," said Michael Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management in Philadelphia. "That’s led to some repricing of the December rate cut that Powell suggested was very much up for debate in this last speech." On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments over whether President Donald Trump's market-rattling tariffs represented an overreach of presidential power. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 397.35 points, or 0.84%, to 46,913.65, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab lost 75.91 points, or 1.12%, to 6,720.38 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab lost 445.80 points, or 1.90%, to 23,053.99. Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) , opens new tab was the biggest drag, sliding 2.5%. Energy (.SPNY) , opens new tab enjoyed the largest percentage increase. Third-quarter earnings season approached its home stretch, with 424 companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 83% have beaten Wall Street estimates, according to the most recent LSEG data. Analysts now expect year-on-year S&P 500 earnings growth of 16.8%, on aggregate, for the July-September period. That marks a significant improvement over the 8.0% annual growth analysts predicted at the beginning of the quarter, per LSEG. DoorDash (DASH.O) , opens new tab slumped 17.5% after the delivery firm reported third-quarter profit below Wall Street expectations on rising expenses. Cosmetics-maker Elf Beauty (ELF.N) , opens new tab forecast annual sales and profit below expectations, and its shares tumbled 35.0%. Snap (SNAP.N) , opens new tab jumped 9.7% after the social media firm beat third-quarter revenue estimates and announced a partnership with Perplexity AI. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.97-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 141 new highs and 206 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 1,264 stocks rose and 3,404 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.69-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and 22 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 78 new highs and 260 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 20.77 billion shares, compared with the 20.99 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. https://www.reuters.com/business/wall-st-futures-subdued-qualcomm-dips-focus-economic-data-2025-11-06/

2025-11-06 20:53

WASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - The Washington Post said it is among victims of a sweeping cyber breach tied to Oracle (ORCL.N) , opens new tab software. In a statement released on Thursday, the newspaper said it was one of those impacted "by the breach of the Oracle E-Business Suite platform." Sign up here. The paper did not provide further detail, but its statement comes after CL0P, the notorious ransomware group, said on its website that the Washington Post was among its victims. CL0P and Oracle did not immediately return messages seeking comment. Ransom-seeking hackers typically publicize their victims in an effort to shame them into making extortion payments, and CL0P are among the world's most prolific. The hacking squad is alleged to be at the center of a sweeping cybercriminal campaign targeting Oracle's E-Business Suite of applications, which Oracle clients use to manage customers, suppliers, manufacturing, logistics, and other business processes. Google said last month that there were likely to be more than 100 companies affected by the intrusions. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/washington-post-says-it-is-among-victims-cyber-breach-tied-oracle-software-2025-11-06/

2025-11-06 20:35

WASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - New York Attorney General Letitia James said on Thursday that she was asking a court to require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to release complete Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for November. President Donald Trump's administration said on Monday it was going to partially fund November food benefits for millions of Americans after a judge ordered it last week to use emergency money to at least partially fund the SNAP benefits. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/new-york-attorney-general-says-shes-asking-court-require-usda-release-complete-2025-11-06/