2025-08-06 21:38
Stock up 6% in extended trading Raises 2025 adjusted profit and net sales forecast Expects to repurchase about $1 billion of shares during 2025 Aug 6 (Reuters) - U.S. agrichemicals company Corteva (CTVA.N) , opens new tab raised its annual adjusted profit and sales forecast on Wednesday, following strong performance in the first half of the year, sending its shares 6% higher in extended trading. Reuters had reported in May that U.S. farmers have hit very few snags with corn planting this spring, and the foreseeable future is barrier-free. Sign up here. "While we continue to navigate a fluid macro environment, we are raising our full year guidance as a result of the strength of our global business and the setup for our Latin American business in the second half," said CEO Chuck Magro. The company expects full-year net sales to be in the range of $17.6 to $17.8 billion from $17.2 to $17.6 billion previously. It now forecasts 2025 adjusted earnings to be between $3.00 and $3.20 per share, from a prior view of $2.70 to $2.95 per share. "The improved crop protection results with higher volumes and profits show inventory destocking is behind Corteva. Going forward, we expect differentiated crop protection products will drive long-term profit growth in this business as well," said Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein. Corteva's net sales rose 5.6% to $6.46 billion during the second quarter, driven by higher sales in all its regions. Analysts, on average, estimated net sales of $6.27 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Quarterly net sales at its seeds segment rose 4.8% to $4.54 billion, while that at its crop protection segment rose 7.7% to $1.92 billion. On an adjusted basis, the Indianapolis-based company posted a profit of $2.20 per share for the three months ending June 30, beating analysts' estimates of $1.89 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. Corteva, among the largest crop-protection product makers in the United States, expects to repurchase about $1 billion of shares during 2025. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/corteva-raises-annual-profit-sales-forecast-after-strong-first-half-performance-2025-08-06/
2025-08-06 21:35
SAO PAULO, Aug 6 (Reuters) - SALIC International Investment Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company, told Brazilian competition authorities on Wednesday it is a passive minority shareholder in rival food producers BRF (BRFS3.SA) , opens new tab and Minerva (BEEF3.SA) , opens new tab. SIIC, which owns 11.03% of BRF and 24.49% of Minerva, said "it does not hold any political rights that would allow it to interfere with or influence the independence and normal course of business and management of BRF and Minerva." Sign up here. The Saudi investor's clarification comes after a formal information request made by Brazil's antitrust watchdog CADE regarding the proposed takeover of BRF by Marfrig (MRFG3.SA) , opens new tab. The deal was approved by the minority shareholders of both companies on Tuesday. The Saudi investor abstained from voting and did not participate in the merger discussions of BRF and Marfrig, according to CADE's disclosures. Separately, CADE cleared the proposed transaction in early June. But CADE's nod was later challenged by Minerva, which asked it to scrutinize the deal more closely. Minerva claimed the merger would involve the transfer of BRF's current shareholders, including SALIC, to Marfrig's shareholding structure through a share swap. Minerva said if the transaction went ahead, the Saudi investor would gain influence over the business decisions of three competitors: Minerva, Marfrig, and BRF. BRF and Marfrig did not comment. CADE responded to Minerva by agreeing with a more prolonged merger review, according to a public decision on Monday. "The alleged facts, if proven, may indicate a possible alignment of interests and exchange of sensitive information between ... competitors," CADE's general superintendent wrote. That decision must be confirmed by a virtual CADE panel on August 11. By law, CADE has a 240-day deadline to investigate complex mergers, extendable by 90 days. If approved, Marfrig and BRF will create another global Brazilian food processor, with factories across the Americas, the Middle East and Asia. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/brfs-saudi-investor-says-it-has-no-influence-management-2025-08-06/
2025-08-06 21:17
Apple to announce $100-billion pledge, says White House official S&P 500 earnings reports continue to be better than expected Indexes: Dow up 0.2%, S&P 500 up 0.7%, Nasdaq up 1.2% NEW YORK Aug 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday, led by a more than 1% gain in the Nasdaq, as Apple shares climbed after news of its plans to announce a domestic manufacturing pledge, and as some companies delivered upbeat earnings reports. Shares of Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab jumped 5.1% and provided the biggest boost to all three of the major indexes after a White House official said the company would announce a $100-billion domestic manufacturing pledge. Sign up here. In addition, shares of McDonald's (MCD.N) , opens new tab rose 3% after the fast-food restaurant's affordable menu drove global sales past expectations, while Arista Networks (ANET.N) , opens new tab shares jumped 17.5% after the cloud networking company projected current-quarter revenue above estimates. "Earnings continue to come in better than expected," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. He said while there is uncertainty surrounding tariffs, investors appear to be upbeat about the near term. Results are now in from about 400 of the S&P 500 companies for the second-quarter earnings season. About 80% of reports are beating analyst earnings expectations - above the 76% average of the last four quarters - and earnings growth for the quarter is estimated at 12.1%, up from 5.8% at the start of July, according to LSEG data. On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 81.38 points, or 0.18%, to 44,193.12, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 45.87 points, or 0.73%, to 6,345.06 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 252.87 points, or 1.21%, to 21,169.42. Also positive for stocks were increasing bets for a September interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve. Last week's jobs report showed slowing employment growth and downward revisions for previous months. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said on Wednesday the Fed may need to cut rates in the near term to account for a slowing economy. Market expectations for a September rate cut of at least 25 basis points from the Fed stood at 95.2%, up from 92.9% in the prior session and well above 46.7% from a week ago, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. Investors also awaited Trump's choice to fill a slot on the Fed's Board of Governors. Bucking the day's trend, shares of chip company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) , opens new tab and server maker Super Micro Computer (SMCI.O) , opens new tab fell sharply after the companies posted disappointing results in their data center segments. Advanced Micro was down 6.4% and Super Micro was down 18.3%. Walt Disney (DIS.N) , opens new tab delivered a strong quarter and lifted its full-year outlook, but its shares eased 2.7%. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.12-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 166 new highs and 76 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 2,195 stocks rose and 2,377 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.08-to-1 ratio. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 16.85 billion shares, compared with the 18.27-billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. https://www.reuters.com/business/wall-street-ends-higher-with-nasdaq-up-more-than-1-led-by-apple-2025-08-06/
2025-08-06 21:14
SAO PAULO, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Exports of fresh beef from Brazil reached a record 276,900 metric tons in July, according to trade data on Wednesday, showing a steep rise before a hefty U.S. tariff applied on sales from the world's biggest exporter. July shipments exceeded those of the same month last year by nearly 17%, surpassing the previous monthly record from October 2024, when 270,300 tons of beef were shipped, the data showed. Sign up here. Some 12% of Brazil's beef shipments go the United States, its second most important importer after China. Other key markets for Brazil include Mexico and the Middle East. Brazilian exporter Astra, which sells 5% of its production to the U.S. from Parana state, said the company sent cargo this week to avoid the new duty, which is valid from today. Astra ships beef to practically every port in the United States. "We don't know what will happen," Diogo Oliveira, Astra's export coordinator, said in an interview. "My U.S. volume, although small, was consistent. And from September onward, I don't know if we'll have more business." Brazil's beef sales have steadily grown this year, with strong demand from major importers. In the first half, Brazil sent 181,400 tons of beef to the U.S. alone, which faces a persistent cattle shortage, and another 631,800 tons to the Chinese market. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/eve-us-tariffs-brazilian-beef-exports-hit-record-high-july-2025-08-06/
2025-08-06 21:12
$1.5-billion project planned at Energy Department site General Matter plans to start enriching by 2030, needs US license US hopes to wean itself off Russian uranium Aug 5 (Reuters) - (This Aug 5 story has been corrected to change the project start date to the end of the decade, not 2034, in paragraph 3) General Matter, a U.S. startup hoping to enrich uranium for fueling nuclear reactors, signed a lease with the Department of Energy on Tuesday to build a facility at a former federal plant in Kentucky. Sign up here. The $1.5-billion project will be at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The U.S. built the site in the 1950s to produce enriched uranium, initially for nuclear weapons. The facility later produced enriched uranium for nuclear reactors, but closed in 2013. Construction is expected to begin in 2026, with enrichment operations planned to begin by the end of this decade, the DOE said. The plant is expected to create about 140 permanent jobs, the company said. General Matter CEO Scott Nolan said reactivating the site would "power a new era of American energy independence." General Matter held a ceremony in Paducah attended by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, U.S. senators and representatives, and DOE officials. The company did not say how much enriched uranium it will produce. While UK-based Urenco has the capacity to supply about a third of U.S. commercial reactor needs of enriched uranium from a plant in New Mexico that is expanding, the U.S. is heavily dependent on foreign suppliers, including Russia. Former President Joe Biden put a ban on Russian enriched uranium imports that allows waivers until 2028. General Matter is one of several companies that have received DOE grants to produce both low-enriched uranium, or LEU, and a special fuel called high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU. The companies need to get licenses from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. HALEU could be used in high-tech reactors that plan to start operating around 2030. General Matter did not reveal the technology it plans to use to enrich uranium, nor the funding of the project. It said this year it was "incubated within" Founders Fund, a venture capital fund, in which Nolan is a partner. The DOE said the lease provides General Matter with at least 7,600 cylinders of uranium hexafluoride to supply fuel that can be enriched into reactor fuel. The process will save Americans about $800 million in avoided disposal costs, the DOE said. Global Laser Enrichment, a company owned by Silex Systems (SLX.AX) , opens new tab and Cameco (CCO.TO) , opens new tab that is one of six that won initial U.S. contracts to produce domestic uranium fuel, also plans to enrich uranium in Paducah. It plans to use lasers to enrich rather than centrifuges. "From a standpoint of technology readiness, from the regulatory timeline, no one's going to get an NRC license quicker than us," Nima Ashkeboussi, GLE vice president of government relations, said in an interview. GLE plans to enrich tailings, or waste byproducts left over from the DOE's enrichment programs. General Matter said the "vast majority" of the uranium it will enrich will be from domestic sources. The DOE is reserving tailings for it to enrich in the event of supply shortages, it said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/general-matter-signs-lease-with-us-energy-department-enrich-uranium-2025-08-05/
2025-08-06 21:07
Trump statements raise questions over Russia sanctions Euro gains against dollar Trump orders additional tariffs on goods from India NEW YORK/LONDON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Wall Street indexes gained on Wednesday on largely upbeat corporate earnings, and U.S. yields also rose, while European shares closed flat and broke a two-day winning streak. U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on goods from India, saying the country has imported Russian oil. Sign up here. Oil prices seesawed and finished down, as Trump's remarks about progress in talks with Moscow created uncertainty on whether the U.S. would impose new sanctions on Russia. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab rose 0.65% to 933.23. On Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab led gains, rising 1.21% to 21,169.42 as Apple shares climbed after news of its plans to announce a domestic manufacturing pledge. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 0.18% to 44,193.12 and the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab rose 0.73% to 6,345.06. "Earnings are seeing a mixed reaction. Particularly for a few of the AI names, expectations were just extremely high, but by and large, the earnings in aggregate have been good enough to keep a floor under the market," said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird. Europe's broad STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) , opens new tab closed 0.06% lower, dragged down by healthcare stocks after Trump announced a tariff plan for the pharmaceutical sector. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) , opens new tab closed lower by 0.08% to 654.33, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) , opens new tab rose 0.60% to 40,794.86. The health of the U.S. economy is a major focus for markets, and Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday after data showed services sector activity unexpectedly flatlined in July. That reinforced the message from Friday's soft jobs data, which caused markets to significantly increase bets on the Federal Reserve cutting rates in September. "There's this tug-of-war going on between the more concrete signs that we have seen that the U.S. economy is slowing and the fact that rate cuts are coming, which removes some of the pressure on valuations," said Samy Chaar, chief economist at Lombard Odier. Traders have been focused on tariff impacts. "The market is more focused on the fact that we're not getting maximalist tariffs, but I wonder if it isn't focusing enough on the fact that we are still getting something moderate, and more could be coming, pharmaceuticals for example," Chaar said. Trump on Tuesday said he would announce tariffs on semiconductors and chips in the next week or so, while the U.S. would initially impose a "small tariff" on pharmaceutical imports before increasing it substantially in a year or two. He said the U.S. was close to a trade deal with China, and he would meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping before the end of the year if an agreement was struck. Brazil's government has filed a consultation request at the World Trade Organization over U.S. tariffs. In the government bond market, Treasury yields gained ground. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 3.4 basis points to 4.23%, from 4.196% late on Tuesday. The yield on the benchmark German 10-year Bunds rose 0.2 basis points to 2.644%, from 2.642% late on Wednesday. Fed funds futures imply a 94% chance of a rate cut next month, with at least two cuts priced in for this year, according to the CME's FedWatch. Investors are waiting for Trump's pick to fill a coming vacancy on the Fed board of governors. Trump said the decision will be made soon, while ruling out Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as a contender to replace current chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May 2026. The euro was up 0.68% at $1.1653. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.5% to 98.24. Brent crude futures fell 75 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $66.89 a barrel, while U.S. crude dropped 81 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $64.35. Spot gold fell 0.36% to $3,368.65 an ounce. U.S. gold futures settled flat at $3,433.4. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-7-graphics-2025-08-06/
