2025-07-30 20:05

July 30 (Reuters) - More than 90 state and local governments have been targeted using the recently revealed vulnerability in Microsoft server software, according to a U.S. group devoted to helping local authorities collaborate against hacking threats. The nonprofit Center for Internet Security, which houses an information-sharing group for state, local, tribal, and territorial government entities, provided no further details about the targets, but said it did not have evidence that the hackers had broken through. Sign up here. "None have resulted in confirmed security incidents," Randy Rose, the center's vice president of security operations and intelligence, said in an email. A wave of hacks hit servers running vulnerable versions of Microsoft SharePoint this month, causing widespread concern. The campaign has claimed at least 400 victims, according to Netherlands-based cybersecurity firm Eye Security. Multiple federal government agencies are reportedly among the victims, and new ones are being identified every day. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for one of the U.S. Department of Energy's 17 national labs said it was among those hit. "Attackers did attempt to access Fermilab's SharePoint servers," the spokesperson said, referring to the U.S. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. "The attackers were quickly identified, and the impact was minimal, with no sensitive or classified data accessed." The Fermilab incident was first reported by Bloomberg. The U.S. Department of Energy has previously said the SharePoint security hack has affected "a very small number" of its systems https://www.reuters.com/technology/more-than-90-state-local-governments-targeted-using-microsoft-sharepoint-2025-07-29/

2025-07-30 19:32

Fed leaves rates unchanged, with two governors dissenting Euro on track for first monthly drop since December 2024 US GDP growth beat expectations Yen firms as investors await BOJ meeting Dollar rises against franc, yen and euro NEW YORK, July 30 (Reuters) - The dollar strengthened against major peers on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left U.S. interest rates unchanged, in line with market expectations but rebuffing pressure from President Donald Trump. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-2 to keep its benchmark overnight interest rate steady in the 4.25%-4.50% range for the fifth consecutive meeting. Sign up here. Both Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller, who were appointed by Trump, dissented, preferring to lower rates by 25 basis points. In his subsequent press briefing, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he is expecting a slow process when it comes to understanding how trade tariffs impact inflation. "The Fed's decision to hold rates steady came as no surprise, though markets took note of two dissenting votes in favor of a cut," said Uto Shinohara, senior investment strategist at Mesirow Currency Management in Chicago. "The dollar remained well-supported following this morning’s stronger data and the Fed announcement, with the market pricing the September meeting as a coin-flip," Shinohara added. Earlier in the session, data showed that U.S. economic growth rebounded more than expected in the second quarter, expanding by 3% compared with an estimate of 2.4% based on a Reuters poll of economists. The euro extended losses against the dollar following the Fed's decision and as Powell spoke. It was last down 1% to $1.141775, on track for the fifth straight session of losses and trading at its lowest level since June 11. The euro is also poised to record its first monthly drop in 2025, following a sharp reaction to a U.S.-European Union trade deal earlier this week. The dollar index added to its gains after the Fed. It was up 0.96% at 99.82, hitting its highest level since May 29 and on course to post its first month of gains this year. U.S. Treasury yields were mostly higher. The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Fed, rose 6.6 basis points to 3.941%. "I think people are reading too much into the GDP numbers; nobody in markets should think GDP was that weak in Q1 and that strong in Q2 even though the big drivers were inventories and net exports," said Steve Englander, head of global G10 FX Research at Standard Chartered in New York. "I will add the two quarters together and they averaged about 1.5% GDP growth per quarter, which is not a recession but qualifies as mediocre." Trade agreements struck with Japan last week and the EU over the weekend signalled a renewed U.S. commitment to global engagement, easing investor concerns. Investors' focus is now on negotiations between China and the U.S. after officials agreed to seek an extension of their 90-day tariff truce. But Trump upped the ante against India and Brazil on Wednesday. He announced that a 25% tariff on U.S. imports of Indian goods, starting on August 1 and signed an executive order implementing an additional 40% tariff on Brazil, bringing the total tariff amount to 50%. Data showed on Wednesday that the German economy contracted in the second quarter, while France's economy beat forecasts. The spotlight will be on comments from BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda as investors hope the trade deal between Japan and the U.S. paves the way for the central bank to raise rates on Thursday. The dollar was 0.55% firmer to 149.29 against the yen , after hitting its highest since April 2. Against the Swiss franc , the dollar strengthened 0.82% to 0.81265 francs, reaching its highest since June 23. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dollar-gains-against-peers-after-fed-leaves-rates-unchanged-2025-07-30/

2025-07-30 19:29

Trump's report urges Congress to enhance crypto legislation Regulators encouraged to create exemptions for digital assets Trump courted cash from crypto industry on campaign trail July 30 (Reuters) - A cryptocurrency working group formed by President Donald Trumpon Wednesday outlined the administration's stances on market-defining crypto legislation and called on the U.S. securities regulator to create new rules specific to digital assets. In a factsheet ahead of a landmark report, the White House urged Congress to move forward with legislation that would create a formal crypto regulatory regime, but implored lawmakers to include additional provisions in the bill. Those include allowing trading platforms to also custody crypto and providing a tailored disclosure regime for issuers of crypto securities. Sign up here. The White House also encouraged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to use their existing authorities to "immediately enable the trading of digital assets at the federal level." Shortly after taking office in January, Trump ordered the creation of a crypto working group tasked with proposing new regulations, making good on his campaign promise to overhaul U.S. crypto policy. Wednesday's report is a culmination of the task force's work so far and its first public findings. In line with Trump's January executive order, it will lay out several new policies from tax provisions to capital markets rules that it says should be enacted to advance the policy goals of the pro-crypto White House. The working group led by Trump official Bo Hines includes several administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, SEC Chair Paul Atkins, and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought. On the campaign trail last year, Trump courted crypto cash by pledging to be a "crypto president" and promote the adoption of digital assets. That is in stark contrast to former President Joe Biden's regulators, who, in a bid to protect Americans from fraud and money laundering, cracked down on the industry. The Biden administration sued exchanges Coinbase COIN.O, Binance, and dozens more, alleging they were flouting U.S. laws. Trump's SEC has since dropped those cases. MARKET STRUCTURE, TOKENIZATION, SEC Wednesday's report comes just two weeks after the House of Representatives passed a bill called the Clarity Act that would create a broad regulatory guidelines for crypto, and the U.S. Senate is considering its own version of the measure. Earlier this month, Trump signed into law a bill to create federal rules for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar. That move was hailed as a major win for the digital asset industry, but the White House has said it wants Congress to pass market structure legislation like the Clarity Act next, which would have far wider repercussions for the industry. The report will ask lawmakers to consider several additional measures in the final version of the bill, which could influence ongoing discussions on Capitol Hill. The White House said that Congress should provide the CFTC with the authority to oversee crypto spot markets, and should recognize the potential of decentralized finance technology, referring to blockchain-based platforms that allow users to transact without intermediaries. The report will also offer several recommendations for the SEC and the CFTC, encouraging the regulators to use safe harbors and regulatory sandboxes to allow "innovative financial products to reach consumers without bureaucratic delays." That could include tokenization, which is the process of turning financial assets - such as bank deposits, stocks, bond funds and even real estate - into crypto assets. Crypto firms and others have been increasingly discussing the prospect of tokenization. Coinbase recently told Reuters it was seeking a green light from the SEC to offer blockchain-based stocks. The SEC has yet to weigh in publicly on that request. The crypto sector has for years argued that existing U.S. regulations are inappropriate for cryptocurrencies and has called for Congress and regulators to write new ones that clarify when a crypto token is a security, commodity, or falls into another category, such as stablecoins. The president's support for the crypto industry has sparked conflict-of-interest concerns, which at times have threatened to derail congressional crypto legislation. Trump's family has launched cryptocurrency meme coins, and the president also holds a stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform. The White House has denied that any conflicts of interest are present. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/white-house-crypto-policy-report-calls-sec-action-new-legislation-2025-07-30/

2025-07-30 16:18

LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar's share of global currency reserves reported to the International Monetary Fund nudged lower to 57.7% in the first quarter of 2025 while the share of euro-denominated reserves gained, International Monetary Fund data showed. Shares of global currency reserves held in the greenback stood at 57.8% at the end of 2024, while the share of euros gained from 19.8% to 20.1% - their highest since late 2022, according to the IMF's Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER) data released on Wednesday. Sign up here. Foreign currency markets have seen some dramatic swings since the start of the year. The dollar lost nearly 4% in the first quarter of the year as some big policy swings from the administration under U.S. President Donald Trump, especially on trade, security and the economy, roiled market confidence in the world's foremost reserve currency. The decline accelerated dramatically in the second quarter, when the dollar dropped more than 7% in the wake of Trump's introduction of sweeping tariffs on "Liberation Day" in early April - though some of those measures have been put on hold. While currency swings do not equate to reserve managers' willingness to hold them, the latest events have fuelled a debate on whether the U.S. dollar could be in danger of losing its status as the world's reserve currency of choice and the center point of the global monetary system. While some point to nascent signs of de-dollarisation, there is broad agreement that any such shift would be very slow. Looking at levels in claims, U.S. dollar claims did rise 1.4% quarter-on-quarter to $6.72 trillion, though that gain was outpaced by the euro's 2.6% rise to claims of $2.3 trillion, IMF data showed. https://www.reuters.com/business/dollar-cedes-ground-euro-global-reserves-imf-data-shows-2025-07-09/

2025-07-30 15:53

July 30 (Reuters) - KKR (KKR.N) , opens new tab and Capital Group will launch a fund that will give investors exposure to both private and public equity, the investment firms said on Wednesday, as appetite rises for diversification beyond traditional assets. The fund, called Capital Group KKR U.S. Equity+, will be launched in early 2026 in the United States, pending approval from regulators. Sign up here. It will invest 60% of its assets in publicly traded stocks and the rest in private shares. It is structured as an interval fund, which allows investors to exit only during set windows, and will have low minimum investment thresholds. With high-profile companies remaining private for longer, investment firms are seeking new ways to meet rising demand for exposure to private markets. The potential for massive returns from privately held companies has drawn interest from retail investors. These assets are also less sensitive to the economic swings that impact public markets, making them useful for diversification. "Private market investments can enhance returns and add diversification within a portfolio, yet have historically been out of reach for everyday investors given accreditation requirements and higher investment minimums," said Holly Framsted, head of product group at Capital. The new fund will deepen the partnership between KKR and Capital, which in April launched two funds focused on a mix of public and private credit. "We see KKR as outsized beneficiary in alternatives democratization," TD Cowen analysts wrote in a note. Alternatives refer to assets that fall outside the traditional categories of stocks, bonds and cash. The funds launched in April have pulled in $100 million in flows in the first three months, the companies said. https://www.reuters.com/business/kkr-partners-with-capital-group-launch-fund-blending-public-private-equity-2025-07-30/

2025-07-30 15:51

JPMorgan, Coinbase open crypto access for credit card holders Move highlights growing mainstream traction for digital assets Crypto exchange's shares rise 3% July 30 (Reuters) - U.S. banking giant JPMorgan (JPM.N) , opens new tab partnered with Coinbase (COIN.O) , opens new tab on Wednesday to allow customers to fund their wallets using its Chase credit cards and buy cryptocurrency on the exchange starting in fall 2025. Once viewed warily by traditional financial institutions, the digital assets industry has gained enough traction among consumers and investors that large banks are now entering the space. Sign up here. From custody services to card-linked purchases, financial heavyweights are increasingly offering crypto-related products and mulling new use cases for the tokens, signaling how far the once-nascent market has matured. The cryptocurrency market recently touched a $4 trillion valuation and is expected to grow further as regulatory clarity in major markets such as the United States drives broader adoption. Starting in 2026, Chase customers will be able to redeem credit card reward points for USDC, a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, and directly link their bank accounts to Coinbase to fund crypto purchases. Coinbase shares rose 3% in morning trading, after the partnership was announced. Stablecoins are a type of token designed to shield users from price volatility and are widely used as a bridge between traditional finance and digital assets. With rising demand for low-cost, instant transactions, stablecoins are poised for rapid growth as adoption spreads across payments, trading and emerging financial platforms. "Crypto adoption is set to accelerate following the passage of the GENIUS Act," BCA Research said in a note. "Companies across the crypto ecosystem are well-positioned to benefit from digital asset growth and price appreciation." Earlier this month, PNC (PNC.N) , opens new tab said it was working with Coinbase to offer crypto trading to the bank's customers. Coinbase shares have surged around 50% so far this year, giving the crypto exchange a market value of about $95 billion, through previous close. The company recently secured a spot in the benchmark S&P 500 index, in a milestone for the industry. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/jpmorgan-enable-crypto-purchases-via-credit-cards-coinbase-tie-up-2025-07-30/