2025-08-27 23:18

Aug 27 (Reuters) - Mexico has recorded 5,086 cases of flesh-eating screwworm in animals as of August 17, a 53% jump from the number of cases reported in July, according to Mexican government data seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The updated numbers, which have not been previously reported to the public, showed 649 currently active cases. Sign up here. "That's absolutely concerning," said Neal Wilkins, CEO of conservation and cattle group East Foundation. "Having a 50% increase in month-over-month numbers, particularly in the extreme heat, means they haven't gotten it under control." The vast majority of cases were identified in cattle, though Mexican government data also showed infestations in dogs, horses and sheep. Screwworms are parasites that eat warm-blooded animals alive and can devastate cattle herds and local wildlife. Since an outbreak began in 2023, screwworms have advanced northward from Central America into Mexico and inched closer to the U.S. American ranchers and livestock industry players have closely monitored the fly's progress northward, fearing an infestation that would cost Texas, the biggest U.S. cattle-producing state, about $1.8 billion, according to U.S. estimates. Female screwworm flies lay hundreds of eggs in wounds on any warm-blooded animal. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae use their sharp, hooked mouths to burrow through living flesh — feeding, enlarging the wound and eventually killing their host if left untreated. On Sunday, Reuters reported the first human case in the United States of travel-associated New World screwworm from an outbreak-affected country. The case, investigated by the Maryland Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was confirmed by the CDC as New World screwworm on August 4, and involved a patient who returned from travel to El Salvador, HHS spokesman Andrew G. Nixon said in an email to Reuters. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is sending a team to Mexico in two weeks to verify that Mexico is following protocol to prevent screwworm's northern spread, Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden said on Tuesday. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/mexico-reports-53-increase-flesh-eating-screwworm-cases-since-july-2025-08-27/

2025-08-27 23:00

Fed's Williams open to rate cuts depending on data, report says J.M. Smucker falls after quarterly profit miss MongoDB soars after raising annual profit forecast S&P 500 +0.24%, Nasdaq +0.21%, Dow +0.32% Aug 27 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 notched a record high close on Wednesday ahead of quarterly results from Nvidia, Wall Street's most closely watched event this week, which will test the rally that has pushed valuations of AI-related companies to levels that some investors view as too high. Shares of Nvidia, the world's most valuable company and the leading supplier of cutting-edge AI processors, bounced between gains and losses before ending down 0.1% ahead of the report, due after the market closes. Sign up here. With Nvidia making up about 8% of the S&P 500, its financial results affect vast numbers of Americans who use index investment funds to save for retirement. "Nvidia is going to produce humongous revenue gains over the next nine months, on top of an already humongous revenue base," said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital. "Investors should prepare themselves for a world where Nvidia is a double-digit percentage of the S&P 500." Shares in tech and AI heavyweights were mixed, with Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab gaining nearly 1% and Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab dipping almost 1%. They, along with Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab and Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab, are among Nvidia's biggest customers. Enthusiasm for companies related to AI has fueled big gains in technology stocks. The S&P 500 now trades at over 22 times expected earnings, its highest price-to-earnings ratio in four years, according to LSEG. Concerns about the pace of the AI rally increased last week after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned of a potential AI bubble. Nvidia options implied a roughly 6% swing for the shares in either direction following the results. Investors will closely watch the impact of the Sino-U.S. trade war on Nvidia's China business earlier this year, along with the effect on forecasts from its recent revenue-sharing deal with the U.S. government. The S&P 500 climbed 0.24% to end the session at 6,481.40 points, exceeding its previous record high close on August 14. The Nasdaq gained 0.21% to 21,590.14 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.32% to 45,565.23 points. Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by energy (.SPNY) , opens new tab, up 1.15%, followed by a 0.48% gain in information technology (.SPLRCT) , opens new tab. Investors were also watching for developments related to U.S. President Donald Trump's attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, a move likely to face legal challenges. If Trump succeeds, he would nominate a replacement to the central bank's board who could be expected to back his policy preferences, challenging the central bank's independence. Investors are pricing in a 25-basis-point interest-rate cut in September, according to data compiled by LSEG, with most big brokerages also leaning in that direction. New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said on CNBC it is likely interest rates can fall at some point but policymakers need to see upcoming economic data to decide if a rate cut is appropriate at the Fed's September meeting. MongoDB (MDB.O) , opens new tab soared 38% after the software-maker raised its annual profit forecast. J.M. Smucker (SJM.N) , opens new tab fell 4.4% after the Jif peanut butter maker missed first-quarter profit estimates. Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX) , opens new tab by a 2.2-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 28 new highs and 1 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 127 new highs and 35 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively light, with 14.0 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 16.9 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. https://www.reuters.com/business/sp-500-notches-record-close-traders-turn-nvidia-results-2025-08-27/

2025-08-27 22:34

SAO PAULO, Aug 27 (Reuters) - An association representing soybean farmers nationwide asked Brazil's antitrust watchdog to formally complete a pending review of a case challenging the legality of "breeding incentives" offered by one biotechnology company to its commercial partners. According to a public complaint lodged in mid-August with competition watchdog CADE, Aprosoja Brasil specifically expressed concern regarding the timing for issuance of a final opinion by the agency's General Superintendent regarding the case. Sign up here. The latest significant development came in September 2023, when CADE's Economic Studies Department concluded "the granting of breeding incentives led to a decrease in the number of cultivars developed with alternative technology" to Bayer's (BAYGn.DE) , opens new tab Roundup Ready, according to public disclosures. Two months later, CADE's SG concluded additional studies that supported the department's findings. "The case is ripe," Amanda Oliveira, a lawyer representing Aprosoja before CADE, told Reuters. In Aprosoja's filing, it calls on the SG to issue its final recommendations, allowing the matter to be heard before CADE's tribunal. Oliveira said farmers fear delays triggering a "statute of limitations," which bars legal claims after a certain period of time of the alleged injury. CADE declined to comment. In a statement, Bayer defended its breeding incentives program targeted at breeders which develop germplasm, or genetic resources, adapted to the biotechnologies it creates. The contracts signed by Bayer that included breeding incentives were "submitted, scrutinized, adjusted, and approved by CADE in a series of merger proceedings between 2013 and 2016," it added. Bayer, which completed its acquisition of Monsanto in 2018, said its soy biotechnologies helped farmers boost yields in Brazil, the world's largest producer and exporter of the oilseed. "Farmers have a wide variety of seed options from other companies, and it is up to them to decide which soybean variety and technology best suits their needs," Bayer said. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/brazil-soy-farmers-bayer-clash-over-seed-breeding-incentives-2025-08-27/

2025-08-27 21:42

Dollar recovers slightly even as Fed independence worries linger US stocks end higher Nvidia shares down about 3% in after-market trading following results release NEW YORK, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Major stock indexes rose and the S&P 500 posted a record closing high on Wednesday ahead of quarterly results from artificial intelligence leader Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab, while the dollar recovered slightly from the previous session's drop despite ongoing concerns about the U.S. Federal Reserve's independence. A lawyer for Fed Governor Lisa Cook said she would file a lawsuit against U.S. President Donald Trump after he said he would fire her. Trump's statement left some investors worried about the independence of the U.S. central bank. Sign up here. Interest-rate sensitive two-year U.S. Treasury yields fell to an almost four-month low and the yield curve steepened as traders weighed the chance that Trump may be able to make more dovish appointments to the Fed. Even so, the dollar traded flat to slightly higher after it dropped in the previous session. The dollar index was last up 0.02% at 98.227, while the euro touched its weakest level since August 6 and was last down 0.09% at $1.1631 The three major U.S. stock indexes ended higher. After the closing bell, Nvidia's shares were down about 3% even as the company forecast third-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates. This year, strong gains for a number of technology-related stocks exposed to AI have helped power major equity indexes to record highs and the results were seen as a test of the AI optimism that has propelled markets. “My takeaway is that these (Nvidia) numbers are not unexpected, nor is this reaction," said Nick Frasse, product manager at Vaneck Associates in New York. "The market has begun to factor in that Nvidia can continue to beat most expectations in spite of headwinds and questions like what they will have to pay to continue selling to China," he added. The company recently agreed to pay the U.S. federal government 15% of the sales it made in China in exchange for undefined export licenses. Technology shares, including several AI leaders, with investors pointing to some signs of caution emerging in the sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 147.16 points, or 0.32%, to 45,565.23, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab added 15.46 points, or 0.24%, to 6,481.40 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 45.87 points, or 0.21%, to 21,590.14. European stocks rebounded slightly from the previous day's decline, with investors monitoring political risks in France. Concerns over a potential collapse of French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's government next month sparked a selloff of French assets on Tuesday. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab gained 0.32 points, or 0.03%, to 953.04. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) , opens new tab index rose 0.1%. Market watchers interpreted Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments at the Fed's annual Jackson Hole symposium last week as indicating interest rate cuts could be on the way. Fed funds futures traders are pricing in 84% odds of a cut in September, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. But the outlook for U.S. interest rates will still likely depend on labor market strength and inflation trends. The two-year note yield was last at 3.625%, down around 5 basis points on the day. The benchmark 10-year note yield fell to 4.236%, the lowest since August 14. The yield curve between two-year and 10-year notes was last at 61.3 basis points after reaching 63.5 basis points, the steepest since April 22. Oil gained on a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories. U.S. crude futures rose 90 cents to settle at $64.15 a barrel and Brent futures gained 83 cents to settle at $68.05. Spot gold rose 0.12% to $3,396.34 an ounce. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-6-2025-08-27/

2025-08-27 21:22

Court officer must submit new recommendation of winner on Friday Gold Reserve says Elliott affiliate Amber's bid is contrary to court orders Siemens Energy joins Gold Reserve's motion to disqualify bid HOUSTON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Gold Reserve (GRZ.V) , opens new tab on Wednesday filed a motion to disqualify a rival bid from an affiliate of hedge fund Elliott Investment Management that a Delaware court this month selected as frontrunner in an auction for Citgo Petroleum's parent, a court document said. A court officer overseeing the auction of PDV Holding, parent of Venezuela-owned refiner Citgo, determined this month that a $5.86 billion offer from Elliott affiliate Amber Energy was the best bid received in the competition, even though he had in July recommended a $7.4 billion bid from a group led by Gold Reserve subsidiary Dalinar Energy. Sign up here. The officer must now submit a new recommendation on Friday, which will be evaluated by Judge Leonard Stark next month. The determination that Amber's bid price was superior "is contrary to this court's orders, discards the bidding procedures on which Gold Reserve and other parties relied, and threatens to short-change the attached judgment creditors by $1.5 billion relative to the Dalinar Energy's $7.382 billion bid," Gold Reserve said in the motion to strike. Canadian-listed Gold Reserve is a company focused primarily on managing and monetizing a collection of legal and arbitral claims after its mining assets were expropriated in Venezuela. It has participated in the court case as a bidder and creditor. Another creditor in the auction, Siemens Energy (SIEGn.DE) , opens new tab, joined Gold Reserve's motion to disqualify Amber's bid, a separate court filing showed on Wednesday. As part of its bid, Amber is offering a settlement with holders of a defaulted Venezuelan bond that would free a $2.86 billion claim. In August, after some aspects of Amber's bid first emerged, Gold Reserve's lawyers told the court that the company would move to invalidate it, arguing it failed to comply with some bidding terms. In a court-organized auction, a motion to strike is a request to invalidate or remove a bid to challenge a specific aspect of the sale process, not the entire auction itself. The complex auction being carried out to repay 15 creditors for debt defaults and expropriations by Venezuela and its state oil company PDVSA was relaunched in January. A year-long bidding process last year, which also included a bid from Amber, ended in shambles due to objections from creditors. https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/gold-reserve-moves-have-rival-elliott-bid-citgo-parent-disqualified-filing-says-2025-08-27/

2025-08-27 21:02

ORLANDO, Florida, Aug 27 (Reuters) - TRADING DAY Making sense of the forces driving global markets Sign up here. By Jamie McGeever, Markets Columnist The S&P 500 hit a record high on Wednesday, as Wall Street rose broadly on expectations the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates next month and on investor confidence that tech giant Nvidia's results would deliver another resounding 'beat'. More on that below. In my column today, I look at examples of where the overt politicization of monetary policy has had severe economic and market consequences. And contrary to perceived wisdom, these have not just been in emerging markets. 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: * Wings of a dove Investors remain confident that the Fed will cut interest rates next month as the controversy around President Donald Trump's attempts to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook persists. Traders are putting a near-90% probability on a move next month, and the 2-year Treasury yield fell to its lowest since May. New York Fed President John Williams said rates are probably headed lower, but officials need to see more economic data before deciding if a cut next month is appropriate. * Stock rotation The S&P 500 clocked a new high on Wednesday, led by the energy and healthcare sectors. As August draws to a close, the rotation into small cap and value stocks from tech and growth stocks shows no sign of reversing. The Russell 2000 index has lagged all year but on Wednesday notched a new 2025 high, again outperforming Wall Street's big three indices. Will this continue next month? Much will depend on the impact of Nvidia's Q2 results, and expectations of what the Fed will do on September 17. * China takes stock Chinese stocks have been on a tear, roaring to decade highs earlier this week. But the AI-driven rally sputtered on Wednesday, and the Shanghai Composite slid nearly 2% for its biggest fall since the tariff turmoil of early April. It may just be natural profit-taking as month-end looms. But maybe the rally is stretched - Hong Kong's tech index is up 10% in August and up 60% from the April low, and China's economy is still not out of its funk: China's economic surprises index last week fell to its lowest level this year. Danger ahead! Five examples of risky central bank politicization There is legitimate debate about the actual independence of modern-day central banks, but almost everyone agrees that overt politicization of monetary policy – as we appear to be seeing in the United States – is dangerous. Why is that? Central banks are essentially arms of government, and many worked in close conjunction with national Treasuries in response to the Global Financial Crisis and pandemic, so absolute independence is a bit of a myth. But what U.S. President Donald Trump is currently doing goes well beyond that. By threatening to fire Chair Jerome Powell, actively trying to sack Governor Lisa Cook, and attempting to fill the Board of Governors with appointees sympathetic to his calls for lower interest rates, he is shattering the Fed's veneer of operational independence. Examples of the naked politicization of monetary policy down the years show that it can, to put it mildly, deliver sub-optimal results - loss of credibility, currency weakness, spiking inflation, rising debt, elevated risk premia, and, potentially, much higher borrowing costs. These are certainly far from guaranteed outcomes in the U.S., but they show where excessive political interference in monetary policy can lead. TURKEY "Erdoganomics", the unorthodox economic theories and policies of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been President of Turkey since 2014, are a prime example of politicized monetary policy. Erdogan, an avowed "enemy" of interest rates, is on record as saying high interest rates cause inflation and that the way to reduce inflation is therefore to lower borrowing costs. He fired or replaced five central bank governors between 2019 and 2024, some for hiking interest rates or refusing to cut them. With inflation and interest rates hovering around 20% in late 2021, the central bank succumbed to Erdogan's pressure and slashed borrowing costs. The result? The currency collapsed and inflation soared above 85%. ARGENTINA Few central banks in the modern era have so clearly been de facto arms of government as Argentina's Banco Central de la Republica Argentina. Successive governments have leaned heavily on the BCRA to print money to fund their spending, with predictable results. The country has been in and out of economic crises, and battling high or even hyper-inflation for decades. The tenure of a BCRA president tends to be short: there have been 13 BCRA heads this century. And there were seven in the first seven years of Carlos Menem's Presidency between 1989 and 1996. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner also notoriously fired BCRA chief Martin Redrado in 2010 because he opposed her plan to use $6.6 billion in FX reserves to pay down debt. INDIA Pressure on the Reserve Bank of India has intensified under the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In December 2018 RBI Governor Urjit Patel resigned abruptly after just over two years in the job following months of government pressure to ease lending conditions and allow the government more access to reserves to boost spending ahead of national elections. In the months before Patel's departure, Modi also removed RBI board members and appointed his supporters in their place, unnerving investors. This helped push the rupee to a then-record low against the dollar that October, and annual inflation more than trebled over the following year to nearly 8%. JAPAN The situation here is a bit different – given that Japanese leaders have often been actively seeking a weaker currency and higher inflation – but the cozy relationship between the government and the Bank of Japan has still arguably had a negative impact on the country's long-term economic health. The Japanese government and central bank have worked almost as one while completing several FX interventions over the years. The ties deepened with the roll out of "Abenomics" in 2012, the economic reforms introduced by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, that included the 'three arrows' of fiscal policy, monetary policy, and structural reform. At the heart of Abenomics was unprecedentedly loose monetary policy, even by BOJ standards. The central bank expanded its balance sheet massively - it's still around six times larger than the Fed's as a share of GDP - and deployed negative interest rates for years. Did it work? Many critics argue not, as growth remained sluggish, inequality rose, and Japan is now hamstrung by the world's largest public debt load. UNITED STATES Last is, perhaps surprisingly, the U.S. itself. In the early 1970s, President Richard Nixon pressured then-Fed Chair Arthur Burns to keep monetary policy loose ahead of the 1972 election even though inflationary pressures were building. Nixon also reportedly told Burns , opens new tab in 1969, just after he nominated him, that previous Fed chair Bill Martin was always six months "too late" doing anything. "I'm counting on you, Arthur, to keep us out of a recession," adding: "I know there's the myth of the autonomous Fed..." Burns served as Fed chair for eight years through 1978, during which time inflation exploded and didn't fully come down until the early 1980s. Many observers consider him to be one of the least successful chairs in the Fed's history. It barely needs saying that the U.S. is unlike any other country. Its economy and capital markets dwarf all others, the dollar is the world's reserve currency, and its rates and bond markets are the benchmarks for global borrowing costs. That means that the magnitude of any market or economic impact from Trump's political interference could very well be smaller than the ructions of the past. But America's global heft also means that the worldwide impact of these moves could be much greater. 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/business/global-markets-trading-day-graphic-2025-08-27/