2025-08-26 19:34

Trump fires Governor Cook amid push for more influence at Fed Cook's removal highlights worries over Fed independence EUR, GBP gain against U.S. dollar French bonds tumble as government faces collapse NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuters) - The dollar fell against major currencies on Tuesday as President Donald Trump's unprecedented move to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook renewed concerns over the central bank's independence. The euro rose 0.22% against the dollar to $1.1647 while sterling was last up 0.2% at $1.3481. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar fell 0.27% to 147.36 yen, and it slipped 0.28% against the Swiss franc to 0.8032. Sign up here. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was down 0.28% at 98.19. Trump said he was removing Cook over alleged improprieties in obtaining mortgage loans, a step that could test the boundaries of presidential power over the Fed. In response, Cook said Trump has no authority to fire her from the central bank, and she will not resign. Trump's announcement surprised markets but the reaction was relatively muted with investors caught between concerns over the politicization of policy and the move's potential payoffs for markets. "(I)nvestor movement remained relatively muted as attention stayed focused on the repercussions of Jackson Hole and overnight news highlighting an elevated threat to Fed Governor Cook and, more broadly, to Fed independence," said Uto Shinohara, senior investment strategist at Mesirow Currency Management. The unpredictable actions of the Trump administration and the prospect of a more dovish Fed have kept the dollar in check, he added. The market was also little changed after data showed U.S.-manufactured capital goods rose more than expected last month, while consumer confidence slipped slightly in August. The U.S. president has repeatedly berated Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates, although he has stopped issuing threats to fire him ahead of the end of his term in a little under nine months. Traders are currently pricing in an 85% probability of a rate cut at the Fed's September meeting, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. Morgan Stanley on Tuesday became the latest brokerage to forecast a cut in interest rates in September, joining global peers after Powell hinted at policy-easing next month in a speech last week. "Monetary easing expectations are holding firm across the front end of the curve after the Conference Board's latest measure of consumer confidence showed households becoming more concerned about employment and income prospects even as they turned slightly more optimistic on the business environment," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay in Toronto. "With the Fed's reaction function shifting away from inflation and toward an emphasis on labor market conditions, these numbers should help ratify market pricing for at least two rate cuts this year, and add to the factors weighing on the dollar." While investors may be inclined to sell the dollar, lingering economic and fiscal worries in Europe also narrow the available currencies for bets on a decline in the U.S. currency, said Kenneth Broux, head of corporate FX and rates research at Societe Generale. France's government bonds fell on Tuesday as the country's minority government looked increasingly likely to be ousted next month. The 10-year government bond yield rose to a peak of 3.53%, its highest since March and adding to Monday's 7 basis point climb. Bond yields move inversely to prices. Worries over renewed political instability in France added to jitters in global bond markets about the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which contributed to selling in government bonds from the U.S., Britain and Japan. US/GB/JP/ In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin rose 1.03% to $110,796.68, attempting to break a three-day losing streak, while ether climbed 4.37% to $4,548.71. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dollar-trades-lower-trumps-move-fire-fed-governor-spooks-investors-2025-08-26/

2025-08-26 19:19

Aug 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation Department said on Tuesday it is cancelling $175 million for four projects that are part of California's high-speed rail project, following cancellation of $4 billion in federal grants for the state's ambitious but much-delayed high-speed rail project in July. The Trump administration said Tuesday it will withdraw funding for grade separation, overcrossing, design work and to build a high-speed rail station in Madera. California in July sued to challenge the withdrawal of funding, calling the decision illegal. Sign up here. President Donald Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom have repeatedly clashed and earlier on Tuesday USDOT threatened to cancel $33 million in safety funding for the state after the department said California was not enforcing federal rules requiring truck drivers to be able to speak English. The funding cuts are another hurdle to the 16-year effort to link Los Angeles and San Francisco by a three-hour train ride, a project that would deliver the fastest passenger rail service in the United States. The California High-Speed Rail Authority said Tuesday the announcement "is a continuation of the Trump Administration’s illegal, politically motivated, and baseless attack on California High-Speed Rail and Central Valley communities... While opponents are recycling tired political attacks, California is building the future of American transportation.” The rail system, whose first $10 billion bond issue was approved by California voters in 2008, has built more than 50 major railway structures, including bridges, overpasses, under-crossings and viaducts, and completed 70 miles (113 km) of guideway. The funding cancellation marked the latest confrontation between the Republican president and a Democratic governor widely viewed as a leading contender for his party’s 2028 White House nomination. The two men have clashed over issues from transgender athletes and electric car rules to the use of National Guard troops during Los Angeles protests and even egg prices. The San Francisco-to-Los Angeles route was initially supposed to be completed by 2020 for $33 billion. But the projected cost has since risen to $89 billion to $128 billion, and the start of service is expected by 2033. A previous move by Trump during his first term in 2019 to revoke $929 million in federal grants was challenged by the state, leading to a settlement in June 2021 under Democratic President Joe Biden restoring the full amount. https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-cancelling-another-175-million-california-high-speed-rail-projects-2025-08-26/

2025-08-26 18:47

BELGRADE, Aug 26 (Reuters) - The United States has for the sixth time postponed sanctions on Serbia's Russian-owned oil company NIS (NIIS.BEL) , opens new tab, which operates the only oil refinery in the Balkan country, Serbia's energy minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on Wednesday. The waiver would apply until September 26, she said in a statement. Sign up here. "The goal is the removal of NIS from the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list," the statement said. On Tuesday, a Serbian official told Reuters Serbia has secured the sanctions waiver from Washington. Washington initially placed sanctions on Russia's oil sector on January 10, and gave Gazprom Neft 45 days to exit ownership of NIS. U.S. Treasury Department officials did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. NIS - in which Gazprom Neft (SIBN.MM) , opens new tab owns a 44.9% stake, Gazprom (GAZP.MM) , opens new tab 11.3% and the Serbian government 29.9% - operates Serbia's sole refinery, in the town of Pancevo, just outside of Belgrade. Gazprom Neft transferred a stake of around 5.15% in NIS to Gazprom on February 26 in an attempt to ward off sanctions. The Pancevo facility has an annual capacity of 4.8 million tons and covers most of the Balkan country's needs, and sanctions could jeopardise its supply of crude via Croatia's Janaf (JANF.ZA) , opens new tab. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-extends-waiver-sanctions-serbias-russian-owned-nis-oil-company-2025-08-26/

2025-08-26 18:29

Trump says he is firing Fed governor Lisa Cook President's move fans concerns over Fed independence French markets hit by political turmoil NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Shorter-dated U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar fell on Tuesday, with President Donald Trump's attempt to fire a Federal Reserve governor raising concerns about the U.S. central bank's independence, while Wall Street stocks edged higher. Trump said on Monday he was firing Fed Governor Lisa Cook over claims of mortgage borrowing impropriety. Cook said Trump has no authority to fire her, and that she would not resign. Her term was due to end in 2038. Sign up here. The unprecedented move by Trump could lead to a protracted legal battle that risks resetting norms for the central bank's independence and a president's involvement in monetary policy. Cook's exit from the Fed could speed up Trump's efforts to reshape the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets interest rate policy. Trump has been pushing the Fed to cut rates to stimulate growth and reduce borrowing costs. Expectations of a potentially more dovish Fed helped to send shorter-dated U.S. yields lower. But a politically influenced Fed that keeps rates lower than they otherwise might could increase inflation concerns and reduce foreign demand for the debt on credibility fears. Those factors will weigh on longer-dated debt. "President Trump is undertaking a risky and possibly ineffective battle against the Fed. To get a majority of the FOMC to toe the Trump line would take seven voters, not just two or even four," Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, wrote. Trump has regularly threatened to dismiss Fed Chair Jerome Powell, and this month he fired a top Labor Department official after accusing her, without evidence, of manipulating jobs data that had disappointed him. Trump has backed away from that threat as Powell gets closer to the expiration of his term next May. INFLATION REPORT The dollar fell against major currencies on the Cook news, and a global stock index was lower as European shares dropped, led by losses in France as political uncertainty deepened in the country. France's CAC 40 .FCHI , opens new tab fell 1.7% as the country's minority government looked increasingly likely to be ousted next month. U.S. stocks edged higher, with investors awaiting Nvidia's NVDA.O , opens new tab results on Wednesday and a key inflation report later this week. "The market is very much focused on inflation, the labor market, consumer spending and corporate earnings. That - pun intended - trumps everything," said Oliver Pursche, senior vice president and adviser for Wealthspire Advisors in Westport, Connecticut. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 3.22 points to 45,285.69, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab climbed 5.71 points, or 0.09%, to 6,445.03 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab advanced 30.17 points, or 0.14%, to 21,479.47. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab fell 2.37 points, or 0.25%, to 950.59. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) , opens new tab index ended 0.83% lower. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.29% to 98.19, with the euro up 0.27% at $1.1649. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar weakened 0.31% to 147.31. The 2-year note US2YT=RR , opens new tab yield typically moves in step with interest rate expectations. It was last down 4.3 basis points to 3.687%, from 3.73% late on Monday. The benchmark U.S. 10-year note yield fell 1.7 basis points to 4.258%. Investors anxiously await Friday's U.S. personal consumption prices reading, considered the Fed's preferred inflation gauge. Morgan Stanley on Tuesday became the to forecast a U.S. interest rate cut in September, joining global peers after Powell hinted at policy-easing next month in a speech last week. Oil prices fell more than 2%, while gold rose. U.S. crude fell 2.31% to $63.29 a barrel and Brent fell to $67.23 per barrel, down 2.28% on the day. Spot gold rose 0.57% to $3,385.53 an ounce. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-4-graphic-2025-08-26/

2025-08-26 18:10

Aug 26 (Reuters) - Polymarket said on Tuesday it secured an investment from Donald Trump Jr-backed venture capital firm 1789 Capital, as prediction markets gain traction in the United States. The Trump brothers, Eric and Donald, have announced a series of new business ventures over the past year, serving as advisers on corporate boards. They have also expanded their investments in a financial firm, golf courses, hotels, telecom and crypto miners - ventures they say reflect U.S. President Donald Trump's policies and agendas. Sign up here. Polymarket did not disclose the terms of the investment by 1789 Capital, but a source familiar with the matter told Reuters it was in the double-digit millions of dollars. Trump Jr is also set to join Polymarket as a strategic adviser. America-first investing as a strategy has broadly gained traction under the Trump administration, with fund managers rolling out products that emphasize U.S.-based assets and operations. 1789 Capital, launched in 2022 by Omeed Malik and Chris Buskirk, carries the tagline "funding the next chapter of American exceptionalism" on its website. It counts the eldest son of the U.S. president among its partners. The Palm Beach, Florida-based firm has backed ventures aligned with conservative values and brands itself as an anti-ESG investor. Malik, a former Bank of America (BAC.N) , opens new tab executive, was a prominent donor to U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign. BURGEONING POPULARITY Event derivatives trading involves buying and selling contracts tied to specific outcomes and has surged in popularity since the 2024 U.S. presidential election. While traditional media polls ahead of the election showed Democrat Kamala Harris having a narrow lead, prediction markets consistently priced in a greater probability of a Trump victory. Proponents of prediction markets say event derivatives provide a more accurate gauge of real-world outcomes by harnessing the collective intelligence of traders with money riding on their predictions. "Polymarket cuts through media spin and so-called 'expert' opinion by letting people bet on what they actually believe will happen in the world," Trump Jr said in a statement. Some trending markets currently on its platform include "Fed decision in September?" and "Will Trump try to fire Powell in 2025?" Critics, on the other hand, say prediction markets are little more than gambling, raising concerns about speculation on sensitive topics such as elections and public policy. Platforms such as Polymarket, once seen as experimental, now draw a wide mix of retail traders and institutional interest, signaling the sector has outgrown its nascent phase. Last month, the company agreed to buy Commodity Futures Trading Commission-licensed derivatives exchange and clearinghouse QCEX for $112 million. Its platform has seen trades worth about $6 billion in the first half of the year, Polymarket said. "Prediction markets have completely changed the way people follow the news," Trump Jr said in a post on social media platform X. He also serves as a strategic adviser to rival prediction market Kalshi. https://www.reuters.com/business/polymarket-secures-investment-trump-jr-backed-1789-capital-2025-08-26/

2025-08-26 17:41

Trump Media strikes deal with Yorkville SPAC to form new crypto venture Trump Media's CRO strategy mirrors Strategy's bitcoin approach Trump Media's CRO venture follows recent SPAC crypto deals NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT.O) , opens new tab and Crypto.com on Tuesday agreed to a deal with a blank-check acquisition company to launch a new venture that will pursue a treasury-style strategy to accumulate the cryptocurrency platform's native token CRO, deepening the ties of U.S. President Donald Trump to the industry. The two companies are the latest to seek to incorporate the playbook of Michael Saylor's Strategy (MSTR.O) , opens new tab, formerly known as MicroStrategy, a software company that began accumulating bitcoin in 2020. The company's bitcoin holdings are now worth about $100 billion, based on current prices. Its shares soared fivefold alongside bitcoin's price in 2024. Sign up here. Trump Media shares were up 6.6% at $18.36 on Tuesday afternoon. The new company, Trump Media Group CRO Strategy, will go public via a merger with blank-check firm Yorkville Acquisition Corp (YORK.O) , opens new tab and be listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol MCGA. Following the announcement, the CRO token shot up 29.6% to 20 cents, according to CoinGecko. Yorkville's shares were down 2.2% at $10.42. Cronos has a market value of $6.8 billion, a fraction of the $3.9 trillion global crypto market cap, according to CoinGecko. Trump Media, which runs Donald Trump's Truth Social streaming and social media platform, said earlier this year it was partnering with Crypto.com to launch exchange-traded funds and products through its Truth.Fi brand. "By anchoring Truth Social’s rewards economy and corporate reserves in CRO, Trump Media is effectively institutionalizing the token. At the same time, it marks another example of a corporate entity treating a native token as part of its treasury strategy," said Alice Liu, head of research at crypto data provider CoinMarketCap. BITCOIN TREASURY BOOM The latest move from Trump Media comes weeks after holders of digital tokens issued by World Liberty Financial, one of the crypto ventures of the Trump family, voted to make them tradable, paving the way for their wide sale and purchase - a deal that potentially boosted the value of the president's holdings. The crypto industry has lately been booming in the U.S., buoyed in part by friendly regulations under the Trump administration. On Tuesday, digital asset manager Canary Capital filed to list an exchange-traded fund tracking the price of the $TRUMP meme coin, the crypto token whose fortunes are tied to Trump. Deals similar to Trump Media's CRO venture have also been occurring in recent months by a handful of other companies with sizable reserves of bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Most companies have followed a similar strategy of seeking listings on U.S. exchanges through deals with Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, or SPACs, as markets have valued bitcoin at a premium. In April, a blank-check firm backed by Cantor Fitzgerald teamed up with Tether and Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank Group (9984.T) , opens new tab to create a $3.6 billion company focused on accumulating bitcoin. Funding , opens new tab for the Trump Media crypto venture will consist of $1 billion in Cronos tokens, $200 million in cash, $220 million in warrants, and an additional $5 billion equity line of credit from a Yorkville affiliate. Trump Media also agreed to buy $105 million in Cronos for its balance sheet, while Crypto.com said it would purchase $50 million of Trump Media's common stock. Separately on Tuesday, investment firm 1789 Capital, which was launched by former Bank of America executive Omeed Malik and counts Donald Trump Jr. as a partner, agreed to invest in predictions market platform Polymarket. As part of the deal, Trump Jr. is joining Polymarket's advisory board. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-media-cryptocom-launch-new-crypto-treasury-firm-via-spac-deal-2025-08-26/