2025-10-31 22:55

RIO CAUTO, Cuba, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Cuba worked on Friday to rescue residents still stranded by unprecedented floodwaters in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, including a flooded river that had cut off one of the country's most important east-west thoroughfares. The Rio Cauto overflowed its banks shortly after Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest storms on record to make landfall in the Caribbean, slammed into Cuba as a dangerous Category 3 hurricane, bringing upwards of 15 inches of rain to some areas of the eastern end of the island. Sign up here. Emergency workers on Friday waded waist deep in wetsuits and used boats and military vehicles to rescue residents from the still-rising waters of the country's longest river. The floodwaters had cut off a principal route connecting the capital Havana in western Cuba with the eastern cities of Santiago, Bayamo and Guantanamo, forcing motorists and rescue workers to seek alternate routes to the north. Rio Cauto resident Eduardo Verdecia, 83, said he and his family had expected the river to subside but continuing rains, plus runoff from nearby mountains and a fast-rising reservoir had surprised them. "When night fell we thought it would go down, but look at it now, and it's still raining," Verdecia said, indicating chocolate waters that had inundated his house to near roof level. "We've had floods before but nothing like this. My house had never flooded." Authorities said on local radio that upwards of 800 people had been evacuated from riverside towns and warned that the river could keep rising, but said the reservoir dam would not burst. Cuba has reported no deaths from Melissa, which had begun to dissipate in the Atlantic Ocean on Friday after sowing devastation across much of Jamaica, drenching Haiti and leaving at least 50 dead. Across eastern Cuba, authorities prior to the storm mobilized a massive evacuation effort, moving 735,000 people to shelters outside the hurricane's predicted path. Tourists along Cuba's northern keys were also relocated to inland hotels. Recovery from the severe flooding to infrastructure and crop damage will be complicated by a dire economic crisis that has already led to shortages of food, fuel, and medicine across the island. Officials said several countries including Venezuela and United Nations agencies had offered aid to the communist-run nation. The U.S. State Department said on Thursday it was also ready to offer to help those affected by Hurricane Melissa in Cuba - a close neighbor but long-time foe of the United States. Cuba's deputy director of U.S. affairs Johana Tablada said on Friday that the administration of President Donald Trump had not yet followed up with details. "The U.S. has not made any concrete offers, nor has it responded to the questions we raised regarding the announcement made by the secretary of state," Tablada told reporters in Havana. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/cuba-rescues-residents-stranded-by-floodwaters-wake-hurricane-melissa-2025-10-31/

2025-10-31 22:24

LUANDA, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Angola will not fund state-owned miner Endiama's proposed acquisition of a stake in De Beers through the national budget, Finance Minister Vera Daves de Sousa said on Friday. Endiama has bid for a majority stake in Anglo American (AAL.L) , opens new tab unit De Beers, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on October 24. Sign up here. The southwest African country had initially indicated interest in a minority stake in De Beers, which has been put up for sale as Anglo restructures its asset to focus mainly on clean energy metal copper. Asked how Angola plans to fund the proposed acquisition during a press briefing on the 2026 national budget, de Sousa said there was no provision for the share purchase in the spending plan for next year. "So, let us assume that the entity (Endiama) has the courage to take this decision, because the funding will not come out of the national budget. That is all I can say," she said. Anglo values De Beers at $4.9 billion after recording $3.5 billion in impairments over the past two years. Angola's ambitions for De Beers could potentially trigger a standoff with neighbouring Botswana, which is also seeking control of the diamond producer. Botswana - which currently owns 15% of De Beers and contributes 70% of its annual rough diamond production - considers the company a strategic national asset, despite a recent slump in prices that has badly hurt its economy. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/angola-says-national-budget-will-not-fund-endiamas-de-beers-bid-2025-10-31/

2025-10-31 21:54

AI reshapes industries, boosts productivity across sectors Nvidia surpasses $5 trillion market value, leading AI boom AI's reach extends beyond tech to power and industrial sectors Investors shift focus to infrastructure beyond core tech names Oct 31 (Reuters) - A momentous week in the technology sector made it clear there is no sign the boom in building artificial intelligence infrastructure is slowing — despite the bubble talk. Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab, whose processors are the AI revolution's backbone, became the first company to surpass $5 trillion in market value. Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab and OpenAI inked a deal enhancing the ChatGPT maker's fundraising ability and OpenAI promptly started laying groundwork for an initial public offering that could value the company at $1 trillion. Sign up here. Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab said it would cut 14,000 corporate jobs, just days before its cloud unit posted its strongest growth in nearly three years. These developments, along with numerous earnings calls and interviews with executives, make clear that AI has cemented itself as the single biggest catalyst for global corporate investment and the engine of the market rally, even as some question the sustainability of both. SPENDING WITHOUT ENDING Soaring revenue at Microsoft, Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab and other technology giants was expected. But more than 100 non-tech global companies noted data centers on quarterly calls this week, including Honeywell , turbine maker GE Vernova (GEV.N) , opens new tab, and heavy equipment maker Caterpillar (CAT.N) , opens new tab. Sales in Caterpillar's division that supplies data centers jumped 31% in its most recent quarter. "We're definitely really excited about the prime power opportunity with data centers," CEO Joseph Creed said this week. “The AI supply chain now spans power, industrials and cooling technology, and investors are looking at the entire ecosystem rather than just core tech," said Ayako Yoshioka, portfolio manager at Wealth Enhancement Group. Goldman Sachs estimates global AI-related infrastructure spending could reach $3 trillion to $4 trillion by 2030. Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Alphabet are expected to spend roughly $350 billion combined this year. AI investment is propping up global trade, with about 60% of U.S. data-center capex spent on imported IT equipment, according to Oxford Economics, much of it semiconductors from Taiwan, South Korea and Vietnam. At least two dozen companies representing more than $21 trillion in combined market value reported quarterly earnings or spoke with Reuters about AI in recent days. Many, including Procter & Gamble (PG.N) , opens new tab and Boliden (BOL.ST) , opens new tab, noted that the hoped-for productivity gains, though uneven, are beginning to show. "We strongly believe the future contribution of artificial intelligence within R&D, within developing innovation, will steadily increase," Schindler (SCHP.S) , opens new tab CEO Paolo Compagna told Reuters, though he said AI's impact is yet to be seen. The Swiss lift and escalator maker raised its annual margin forecast last week. Year-over-year revenue growth in the U.S. tech sector is up more than 15%, outpacing all other sectors, according to LSEG data. Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab said it was significantly increasing AI investment and Amazon projected capital spending of $125 billion in 2025. WORRIES ABOUT OVERVALUATION Since ChatGPT’s debut in 2022, global equity values have climbed 46%, or $46 trillion. One-third of that gain has come from AI-linked companies, according to Bespoke Investment Group. Analysts warn of a quickening replacement cycle for servers, accelerators and chips as each new generation delivers exponential performance gains. The useful life of AI chips is shrinking to five years or less, forcing companies to “write down assets faster and replace them sooner," said UBS semiconductor analyst Tim Arcuri. The surge in AI-related spending has widened the gap between investment and returns, with a Reuters analysis showing that sales-to-capex ratios at major tech firms have fallen sharply as outlays on chips and data centers grow faster than revenue. Capital expenditures represent a larger chunk of cash generated by operating activities for some companies, causing some investor concern. “If progress hasn’t been made toward monetization within three years, the market will start asking hard questions," said Sumali Sanyal, senior portfolio manager at investment firm Xponance. Microsoft reported a record $35 billion in capex in its most recent quarter and projected higher spending, prompting Bernstein analyst Mark Moerdler to ask whether the company was spending into a bubble. Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood responded that AI-related demand still outpaces Microsoft's spending. "I thought we were going to catch up. We are not," she said. Some companies are financing AI projects with debt. Oracle’s $18 billion bond sale last month was one of the largest ever for a tech company, and it looks set to be surpassed by an up to $30 billion bond sale from Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab. News of its largest ever bond sale knocked Meta's shares down 11% on Thursday. Still, many economists say the AI cycle is far from exhausted. Goldman estimates AI investment is currently less than 1% of U.S. GDP, far below peaks of 2% to 5% seen during the electricity and dot-com booms. “We are in the early innings ... and the pace of AI innovation is the fastest we have seen in decades,” said Nick Evans, portfolio manager at Polar Capital Technology Trust. https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/great-ai-buildout-shows-no-sign-slowing-2025-10-31/

2025-10-31 21:41

Oct 31 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy on Friday announced that it would make $100 million available to refurbish and modernize existing coal-fired power plants. The move is part of the Trump administration's effort to reverse the decline of coal use in the United States. The Energy Department said last month it would provide $625 million to expand power generation fueled by coal. Sign up here. The number of coal-fired power plants has shrunk in recent years due to concerns about the fossil fuel's impact on public health and the environment and because of competition from cheap natural gas. The administration of President Donald Trump has said coal can help deliver the large amounts of electricity needed to power U.S. data centers and dominate the market for artificial intelligence. “For years, the Biden and Obama administrations relentlessly targeted America’s coal industry and workers, resulting in the closure of reliable power plants and higher electricity costs," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “Thankfully, President Trump has ended the war on American coal and is restoring common sense energy policies that put Americans first. These projects will help keep America's coal plants operating and ensure the United States has the reliable and affordable power it needs to keep the lights on and power our future." Environmentalists say Trump's push to prop up coal runs counter to global efforts to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. The Energy Department said the funds would be allocated to three strategic areas: advanced wastewater management, fuel switching between coal and natural gas and coal-natural gas co-firing systems. https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/trump-administration-announces-100-mln-funding-coal-plants-2025-10-31/

2025-10-31 21:15

LUANDA, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Angola plans to spend almost half of its 2026 budget on debt payments, underscoring how rising servicing costs are squeezing fiscal space across Africa and forcing governments to rely more on domestic markets for funding. The finance ministry's draft budget released on Friday showed that 32.9% of total expenditure, equivalent to 10.9 trillion kwanzas ($11.95 billion), will be directed toward loan repayments, while 13%, or 4.3 trillion kwanzas, will cover interest payments. Sign up here. Together, debt servicing will absorb about 45.9% of total expenditure. Angola anticipates net borrowing of 7.1 trillion kwanzas from local sources compared to 1.7 trillion kwanzas from external creditors in 2026, reflecting a broader trend among frontier markets to rely on domestic financing as access to foreign currency is often more pricey and risky. Luanda's budget deficit is seen at 2.8% of gross domestic product, down from an estimated 3.3% in 2025. Sub-Saharan Africa's second-biggest crude oil producer, which seeks to contain costs due to volatile oil prices, said it would cut total expenditure by 4.7% to 33 trillion kwanzas. Its draft budget assumes a crude oil price of $61 per barrel, while Brent crude futures were trading near $65 on Friday. Economic growth is expected to accelerate to 4.2% in 2026, up from 3% in 2025. The government also raised concerns over the sharp rise in tax exemptions and incentives — termed "fiscal waivers" — which surged from 184 billion kwanzas in 2018 to nearly 3 trillion kwanzas in 2024. The exemptions, predominantly granted to non-oil sectors, are under scrutiny for their impact on revenue and Angola's fiscal stability. ($1 = 911.9780 kwanzas) https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/angola-turns-local-markets-debt-costs-swallow-nearly-half-2026-budget-2025-10-31/

2025-10-31 20:57

TSX ends up 0.3%, at 30,260.74 For the month, the index adds 0.8% Technology rises 1.1% Magna gains 6% after earnings beat TORONTO, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index added to its monthly gain on Friday as technology shares rose and investors looked ahead to a seasonally strong year-end period for the market. The S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended up 81.76 points, or 0.3%, at 30,260.74. For the month, it was up 0.8%, marking the sixth straight monthly advance, the longest such streak since 2021. Sign up here. "We've had a good month. ... I did expect more volatility in October," said Michael Dehal, a senior portfolio manager at Dehal Investment Partners at Raymond James. "We are entering a seasonally strong period for the market ... so we could see some readjustments to portfolios today." November and December have historically been among the best performing months of the year for stocks. Investors shrugged off disappointing domestic data. GDP contracted 0.3% in August against a consensus estimate of flat growth but an advance estimate suggested the economy might escape a recession in the third quarter. The technology sector (.SPTTTK) , opens new tab rose 1.1%, tracking gains for U.S. tech shares. Energy was up 0.5% as the price of oil settled 0.7% higher at $60.98 a barrel. Heavily weighted financials and consumer discretionary both added 0.6%. Shares of auto parts supplier Magna International Inc (MG.TO) , opens new tab were up 6% after the company lifted its sales forecast. The materials group, which includes metal mining shares, was the only one of 10 major sectors to lose ground, falling 0.7%. The price of gold was down 0.7%, dipping below the $4,000 an ounce threshold. https://www.reuters.com/business/tsx-futures-flat-upbeat-us-tech-earnings-offset-by-commodity-dip-2025-10-31/