2025-08-01 12:22

WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday urged the Federal Reserve board to assume control if Fed Chair Jerome Powell continues to refuse to lower interest rates. "Jerome 'Too Late' Powell, a stubborn MORON, must substantially lower interest rates, NOW. IF HE CONTINUES TO REFUSE, THE BOARD SHOULD ASSUME CONTROL, AND DO WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS HAS TO BE DONE!" Trump said in a social media post, using his customary capitalization for emphasis. Sign up here. The U.S. central bank held interest rates steady on Wednesday and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's comments after the decision undercut confidence that borrowing costs would begin to fall in September, stoking the ire of Trump, who has demanded immediate and steep rate relief. The latest policy decision was made by a 9-2 vote, which passes for a split outcome at the consensus-driven central bank, with two Fed governors dissenting for the first time in more than 30 years. Trump referred to the dissent in a subsequent Truth Social post: "STRONG DISSENTS ON FED BOARD. IT WILL ONLY GET STRONGER! 'TOO LATE!'" The seven members of the Fed Board of Governors are nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-fed-board-should-assume-control-if-powell-wont-lower-interest-rates-2025-08-01/

2025-08-01 12:17

Shares rise in pre-market trading Second-quarter oil and gas output at highest in more than 25 years Low production costs cushion impact of price fall HOUSTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab, the United States' biggest oil producer, beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Friday as higher oil and gas output and low production costs offset the impact of lower crude prices. Oil and gas production was the highest for any second quarter since the merger of Exxon and Mobil formed the company more than 25 years ago, Exxon Mobil said. Sign up here. Adjusted earnings during the second quarter were $7.1 billion, or $1.64 per share, surpassing consensus analyst estimates of $1.56 per share, data compiled by LSEG showed. The energy sector has struggled with price volatility as the OPEC+ group increased its production, pushing global benchmark Brent crude prices down 11% in the quarter. Global tariffs levied by U.S. President Donald Trump added to price weakness because they raised the prospect of a weakening global economy with knock-on effects for oil demand. "The second quarter, once again, proved the value of our strategy and competitive advantages, which continue to deliver for our shareholders no matter the market conditions or geopolitical developments," Exxon CEO Darren Woods said in a statement. Shares of Exxon were slightly higher in pre-market trading. Exxon paid $4.3 billion in dividends and repurchased $5 billion worth of shares during the quarter. The buyback figure puts the company on track to meet its annual share repurchase goal of $20 billion. The company's main production areas include the Permian basin, the largest U.S. oilfield, as well as the prolific Stabroek Block off the coast of Guyana. The low cost of production in those fields allows them to stay profitable even during times of lower oil prices, Exxon has said previously. Global production totaled 4.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day during the quarter, up from 4.5 million boed in the previous three months. The start-up of Yellowtail, a fourth floating production, storage and offloading facility in Guyana, is anticipated next week, the company said. In a press briefing, Woods said he would assess opportunities for acquisitions, but with a high bar. "We're not interested in buying volume," he said. "We're very focused on creating value." Last month, Exxon lost a legal challenge against Hess, one of its partners in Guyana, which cleared the way for rival Chevron CVX.N to complete its acquisition of Hess. Exxon argued it had a contractual pre-emptive right to purchase Hess' 30% stake in the Stabroek Block. Woods said Exxon sought out legal opinions from neutral, third parties about the joint operating agreement that governed the partnership between Exxon, Hess and China's CNOOC in Guyana. "In every case, and I mean in literally every case, we were told that our rights were clear," Woods said. The arbitrators said that Exxon had a commercially reasonable argument but that it relied on a narrow textual interpretation, Woods said, adding that the company would take steps to strengthen future contracts as needed. Earnings from oil and gas production were $5.4 billion, down from $6.7 billion in the first quarter. Exxon said it expects lower scheduled maintenance in its refining business during the third quarter. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exxon-beats-profit-estimates-higher-output-counters-weaker-oil-prices-2025-08-01/

2025-08-01 12:05

MADRID, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The European Court of Justice on Friday dealt a blow to environmental groups trying to stop wind farms from being built in Spain's northwestern Galicia region, in a ruling affecting billions of euros of investment. Companies developing wind farms in Galicia and regional authorities welcomed the decision, which is a setback to opponents' strategy of using the courts to block plans they say encroach on the environment and the lives of local people. Sign up here. The court rejected the environmentalists' argument that the public's rights to consultation had been violated. The decision affects dozens of planned wind projects that were approved by the regional government and then halted by the highest regional court after locals and environmental groups filed hundreds of lawsuits. Last year, the Galician court asked the European Court of Justice to rule on whether Galician and Spanish laws comply with EU access to information rules in the permitting process. Carmen Bouso from the regional government's environment department said the court's decision "clearly and emphatically supports" the procedures used to approve wind energy projects and the government's full respect of the public's rights to participate in the process. She urged regional judges to resume their consideration of lawsuits that they had put on hold pending the ruling of the European court. The AEE, a Spanish wind industry group, welcomed the ruling as "a key step toward restoring legal certainty" in the region. "Now it's time to act quickly and responsibly so that the projects that have been stalled until now can resume operations as soon as possible," AEE General Director Juan Virgilio Marquez said. There are 92 wind farms targeted by legal actions in Galicia, 86 of which have been halted before construction started, according to data provided by regional authorities. They involve an estimated investment of 3 billion euros ($3.42 billion) and have a total planned capacity of almost 2.5 gigawatts (GW). ($1 = 0.8762 euros) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/eu-court-rules-against-green-groups-trying-block-spanish-wind-farms-2025-08-01/

2025-08-01 11:56

Aug 1 (Reuters) - Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge (ENB.TO) , opens new tab, beat analysts' estimates for second-quarter profit on Friday, boosted by contributions from recently acquired U.S. gas utilities and strong earnings from its gas transmission business. The company said it sanctioned a 40 billion cubic feet expansion of the Aitken Creek gas storage facility in British Columbia, Canada to support growing west coast LNG export demand and a 160 million cubic feet per day expansion of Line 31 in the U.S. Southeast. Sign up here. Pipeline operators are benefiting from an increase in demand for natural gas, primarily driven by LNG exports, as well as rising electricity demand. "We are capitalizing on growing power demand and strong natural gas fundamentals," said CEO Greg Ebel. Calgary-based Enbridge last year bought three Dominion Energy (D.N) , opens new tab utilities — East Ohio Gas, Questar Gas and Public Service Co of North Carolina — in a $14 billion deal, including debt. This powered a jump in adjusted core earnings to C$840 million, from C$567 million last year, in its gas distribution and storage unit. Enbridge reported an adjusted core profit of C$1.38 billion ($995.02 million) from its gas transmission unit, up from C$1.08 billion a year earlier. The company is also building out its renewables portfolio and said last month that it had reached a final investment decision to invest $900 million on a 600-megawatt solar power project in Texas, backed by Meta (META.O) , opens new tab. Enbridge sanctioned roughly C$2 billion in new projects during the quarter. The company said it does not expect tariffs to have a material impact on its current operations or deployment of capital, though it will continue to monitor the developments. Enbridge posted an adjusted profit of 65 Canadian cents per share for the quarter ended June 30, beating analysts' average expectation of 57 Canadian cents, according to data complied by LSEG. ($1 = 1.3869 Canadian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/pipeline-operator-enbridge-beats-quarterly-profit-estimates-2025-08-01/

2025-08-01 11:52

US announces new tariff rates ahead of trade talks deadline Asian, European shares head for worst week since April Dollar set for biggest weekly gain in nearly three years US jobs data pivotal for September rate cut hopes LONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Global shares tumbled on Friday after the U.S. slapped dozens of trading partners with steep tariffs, while investors anxiously awaited U.S. jobs data that could make or break the case for a Federal Reserve rate cut next month. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) , opens new tab fell 1.3%, taking its weekly fall to almost 2%, which would be its biggest weekly drop since U.S. President Donald Trump announced so-called reciprocal tariffs on April 2. Sign up here. Both Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures were down around 1%. Late on Thursday, Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on U.S. imports from foreign countries and territories. Rates were set at 25% for India's U.S.-bound exports, 20% for Taiwan's, 19% for Thailand's and 15% for South Korea's. He also increased duties on Canadian goods to 35% from 25% for all products not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, but gave Mexico a 90-day reprieve from higher tariffs to negotiate a broader trade deal. "The August 1 announcement on reciprocal tariffs is somewhat worse than expected," said Wei Yao, research head and chief economist in Asia at Société Générale. Market reaction was not as volatile as April's global asset declines, she added. "We are all getting much more used to the idea of 15-20% tariffs being manageable and acceptable, thanks to the worse threats earlier." MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) , opens new tab fell 1.5%, bringing the total loss this week to roughly 2.7%. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) , opens new tab closed 0.7% lower, Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) , opens new tab ended 0.5% down and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index (.HIS) , opens new tab lost more than 1%. On Thursday, Wall Street failed to hold onto an earlier rally. Data showed U.S. inflation picked up in June, with new tariffs pushing prices higher and stoking expectations that price pressures could intensify, while weekly jobless claims signalled the labour market remained on a stable footing. Fed funds futures imply just a 45% chance of a rate cut in September, compared with 65% before the Federal Reserve held rates steady on Wednesday, according to LSEG data. Much now will depend on the U.S. jobs data due later in the day, and any upside surprise could price out the chance for a cut next month. Forecasts are centred on a rise of 110,000 in nonfarm payrolls in July. "Fed Chair Jay Powell has placed greater emphasis on the unemployment rate, which is expected to rise marginally from 4.1% to 4.2%," said ING FX strategist Francesco Pesole. "Hardly enough to sound the alarm on the jobs market." The greenback found support from fading prospects of imminent U.S. rate cuts, with the dollar index up 1.5% this week against its peers to 100, in the biggest weekly rise since September 2022. The yen weakened past 150 per dollar for the first time since April. The Bank of Japan held interest rates steady on Thursday and revised up its near-term inflation expectations, but Governor Kazuo Ueda sounded a little dovish in the press conference. Two-year Treasury yields fell one basis point to 3.9449%, while benchmark 10-year yields rose 3 basis points to 4.388%, after slipping 2 bps the day before. In commodity markets, oil prices continued to fall after a 1% plunge on Thursday. Brent fell 1% to $70.97 per barrel, while U.S. crude fell 1% to $68.53 per barrel. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $3,298 an ounce. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-5-2025-08-01/

2025-08-01 11:51

Adjusted earnings for quarter $1.77 per share versus $1.70 consensus Global production totaled record 3.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day Capital expenditure declined 7.5% HOUSTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab beat analyst estimates for second-quarter profit on Friday as record oil and gas production and lower capital expenditure helped to offset the impact of lower crude prices. The No. 2 U.S. oil major last month headed off a legal challenge from the biggest U.S. producer Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab enabling it to close its $55 billion acquisition of Hess. Sign up here. The deal includes a stake in the Stabroek Block oilfield, offshore Guyana, that Exxon operates, and should provide Chevron with a source of long-term growth to help to fund dividends into the 2030s and make Chevron's earnings more resilient to oil price volatility. International crude prices declined by 11% during the quarter as OPEC+, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied producers, increased output. Exxon Mobil also beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Friday. "We had strong execution, record production and exceptional cash generation," said Chevron Chief Financial Officer Eimear Bonner in an interview. "The financial performance was really underpinned by the stellar operational performance from across the company." Adjusted earnings for the quarter ended June 30 were $3.1 billion, or $1.77 per share, beating consensus analyst estimates of $1.70 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. Global production totaled 3.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from 3.3 million boed in the same period last year. Production from the Permian Basin, the biggest U.S. oilfield, reached 1 million boed during the quarter. Third-quarter production is expected to be lower by 60,000 boed due to maintenance. "Following the clouds of uncertainty being lifted around the Hess deal, Chevron has hit the ground running with a strong set of results and beat versus market expectations," said Biraj Borkhataria, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, in a research note. Capital expenditure declined 7.5% from the same period last year, as the company spent less on its downstream operations. Chevron raised its free cash flow guidance for 2026 to $12.5 billion. The company paid $2.9 billion in dividends and repurchased $2.6 billion worth of shares during the quarter. Although Chevron has said the Hess acquisition will allow it to increase dividends and repurchases over the long term, at least for this year, CFO Bonner said it did not expect to change its guidance of between $10 billion and $20 billion in full-year share repurchases. "We're still in the range and we've got a strong program, and we wouldn't see a change unless we saw a sustained and significant shift in where the commodity prices are today," she said. Earnings from oil and gas production, which make up the bulk of Chevron's profit, were $2.7 billion, down from $4.5 billion in the year-ago quarter. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chevron-beats-wall-street-profit-estimates-with-record-output-2025-08-01/