2025-07-24 22:38
July 24 (Reuters) - U.S. timber company Weyerhaeuser (WY.N) , opens new tab reported a 50% drop in second-quarter profit on Thursday, hurt by continued weakness in commodity wood product pricing and softer demand across key end markets. Sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell by the most in nearly three years in May as high mortgage rates and rising economic uncertainty sapped demand, pushing the supply of unsold houses on the market to its highest level since late 2007. Sign up here. The company owns or controls about 10.5 million acres of timberlands primarily in the West, the South and the Northeast regions. The Seattle-based company's net sales fell 3% to $1.88 billion, but exceeded analysts' average estimate of $1.84 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Weyerhaeuser said its adjusted profit in the third quarter would be about $60 million lower than the second quarter. The company reported an adjusted profit of $87 million in the second quarter. The results come as the lumber industry braces for the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada. If imposed, total levies on Canadian lumber could reach as high as 40%, potentially driving up prices for domestic products. In March, Weyerhaeuser had said U.S. import tariffs could raise its costs for products and raw materials. The warnings were disclosed under the "risk factors" segment of the company's regulatory filing. The company also said there had been a slight pullback in lumber demand as tariff-related uncertainty weighed on homebuilder sentiment. The Seattle based company reported a profit of $87 million, or 12 cents per share in the quarter ended June 30, compared with $173 million, or 24 cents per share a year earlier. However, the firm narrowly beat analysts' expectations of a profit of 11 cents per share. Its shares were up marginally in aftermarket trading. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/weyerhaeuser-reports-50-drop-second-quarter-profit-weak-lumber-demand-2025-07-24/
2025-07-24 22:36
RIO DE JANEIRO, July 24 (Reuters) - Brazil's oil regulator ANP approved on Thursday new rules to set the reference price for oil produced in the country, a step that could increase the collection of royalties from oil firms. The reference price serves as a basis for calculating taxes on oil sales within the country and for collecting royalties, and new rules to set it have been under discussion since 2022. Sign up here. ANP's resolution will come into effect on September 1, impacting distribution of royalties in November. Last month, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, said the change, if approved by the end of July, should yield 1 billion reais ($181.30 million) in extra revenue to the government in 2025. The request was unpopular among oil companies but received wide support from Refina Brasil, an association for private refining firms, because the lack of an update to the rules had made it more advantageous for companies to export oil than to sell it to Brazilian refiners. ($1 = 5.5158 reais) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/brazils-anp-updates-oil-reference-price-rule-step-that-may-raise-royalty-2025-07-24/
2025-07-24 21:22
WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on China said on Thursday it sent subpoenas addressed to JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) , opens new tab CEO Jamie Dimon and Bank of America (BAC.N) , opens new tab CEO Brian Moynihan over their banks' roles in underwriting the initial public offering of Chinese battery manufacturer CATL (300750.SZ) , opens new tab. The U.S. government has alleged that CATL, the world's largest electric vehicle battery maker, works with China's military. In January, Washington added CATL to a list of companies that it alleged aided Beijing's military. CATL says it was "not engaged in any military-related activities." Sign up here. The congressional panel asked the banks' executives to comply by August 8. The committee said it requested information from the banks in April. Bank of America produced 10 documents, nine of them public, while JPMorgan produced one public document, the House panel said, adding it has not received all of the requested details. "We've had constructive engagement with the committee and will continue to engage," a Bank of America spokesperson said. JPMorgan declined to comment. Earlier this year, Republican U.S. Representative John Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, urged the U.S. banks to pull out of underwriting the Hong Kong IPO of the Chinese firm. Washington and Beijing have had tensions for years spanning issues such as trade tariffs, technology, cybersecurity and geopolitics. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/us-house-panel-subpoenas-jpmorgan-bank-america-ceos-over-ipo-chinas-catl-2025-07-24/
2025-07-24 21:09
ALBERTVILLE, France, July 24 (Reuters) - Friday's Stage 19 of the Tour de France has been shortened after an outbreak of contagious nodular dermatitis in cattle near the Col des Saisies forced authorities to cull livestock and restrict access to the area, race organisers said on Thursday. The 129.9-km stage from Albertville to La Plagne was due to include the ascent of the Col des Saisies, but the climb has now been scrapped to avoid the affected zone, ASO said in a statement. Sign up here. "In light of the distress experienced by the affected farmers and in order to preserve the smooth running of the race, it has been decided, in agreement with the relevant authorities, to modify the route," ASO said. The ceremonial start will take place as planned in Albertville, followed by a 7-km neutralised section before the official start an hour later than planned. Riders will rejoin the original course shortly before Beaufort, at the 52.4-km mark of the initial route. As a result, the stage will now be reduced to 95 km. The shortened stage still finishes in La Plagne and comes just two days before the Tour concludes in Paris on Sunday. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/tour-de-france-shortens-stage-19-after-cattle-disease-outbreak-forces-route-2025-07-24/
2025-07-24 21:05
Farm agency to move 2,600 staff out of Washington to five regional hubs Move will bring the USDA closer to its 'core constituency,' farm secretary says Employees warn of attrition and higher costs Senate, House farm committee leaders call for hearings WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture will relocate much of its Washington, D.C., workforce to five regional hubs and vacate several buildings in the area, including its flagship research center, the agency announced on Thursday. The plan is the latest effort by President Donald Trump's administration to reorganize and reduce the size and footprint of the federal government. More than 15,000 USDA employees, about 15% of its total workforce, have this year taken one of the agency's two financial incentive offers to leave. Sign up here. No more than 2,000 USDA employees will remain in the Washington area once the reorganization is complete, the agency said in a statement. The rest, about 2,600 people, will be relocated to hubs in Raleigh, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Indianapolis, Indiana; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Salt Lake City, Utah, the agency said. The agency is not conducting widespread staff reductions, though the relocation plan is part of the USDA's process of reducing its workforce, the release said. The USDA also said it will vacate several properties in the Washington area, including its flagship research site, the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Maryland, and one of its headquarters buildings on the National Mall. The phased plan to relocate workers was made to bring USDA staff closer to its "core constituents," Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a video to staff. Senators John Boozman and Amy Klobuchar, the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Representative Angie Craig, ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee, said in statements that they were not consulted on the plan and called for hearings on the reorganization. "The best way to serve our agriculture community is by working together, so it's disappointing USDA didn't share its plans in advance of this announcement," Boozman said. 'BAD FOR EMPLOYEES' When the USDA relocated two of its agencies - the Economic Research Service and National Institute for Food and Agriculture - from Washington in 2019, under the first Trump administration, it saw significant staff attrition. Laura Dodson, an economist with the ERS and vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403, who worked for the agency during its relocation, said moving staff is not efficient and results in less oversight and higher costs. "While this is bad for employees, it will be worse for the American public," she said. The agency may also struggle to replace workers who choose not to relocate in small, regional labor markets, said Gbenga Ajilore, chief economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and former USDA senior advisor for rural development. The USDA also plans to reduce or close some regional offices, including consolidating the National Agricultural Statistics Service, which releases agricultural market data, from twelve offices to five, according to an agency memo. The Forest Service will also close its nine regional offices over the next year in a plan that "will take into consideration the ongoing fire season," the memo said. At the Agricultural Research Service, staff have already struggled to keep up with their workload after the wave of voluntary resignations, said Ethan Roberts, an ARS employee and president of AFGE Local 3247. "Many will not take the (relocation) offer and we will lose even more administrative employees that are critical to the everyday functioning of the USDA and ARS," he said. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/usda-will-relocate-most-washington-area-staff-farm-secretary-says-2025-07-24/
2025-07-24 21:03
ORLANDO, Florida, July 24 (Reuters) - TRADING DAY Making sense of the forces driving global markets Sign up here. By Jamie McGeever, Markets Columnist Key U.S. and global stock markets clocked fresh highs on Thursday as Alphabet's earnings lifted tech, while investors digested the European Central Bank's interest rate decision and the latest signals from the European Union on trade talks with the U.S. More on that below. In my column today I ask if the stock market euphoria around the incoming U.S. trade deals is warranted. Remember, tariffs will be the highest since the 1930s and are set to raise inflation and lower growth. 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 AI drives new highs In the absence of major economic data surprises, monetary policy changes or trade deal news on Thursday, world markets took their cue from corporate earnings, which continue to point to strength in artificial intelligence-related activity. Google's parent company Alphabet grabbed the spotlight, its second-quarter results highlighting that the heavy investment in AI is paying off. Indeed, a trend may be emerging from the earnings season that shows businesses focused on AI are massively outperforming companies like airlines, restaurants and food manufacturers that cater more to actual people. This isn't just a U.S. thing, it's global. Of course, this isn't a blanket rule but it will be worth keeping an eye on as the earnings season progresses. So far at least, investors are accentuating the positive and major indices are making new highs on a near daily basis. On the policy front, the ECB kept its deposit rate on hold at 2.0% as expected, biding its time while Brussels and Washington try to negotiate a trade deal that could ease tariff uncertainty. It appears that the bar to resume the easing cycle in September is a high one, and the euro closed the day little-changed around $1.1765. The U.S. economic data on Thursday were relatively upbeat, showing an acceleration in service sector activity and the lowest jobless claims figures in three months. With numbers like that, the S&P 500 at a record high and wider financial conditions loose, the Fed may not be in such a hurry to cut rates. And on that score, investors will be paying close attention to the readout from U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to the Fed late on Thursday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to be present during the visit. It will be an awkward meeting - Trump has repeatedly demanded that the Fed slash interest rates and has frequently raised the possibility of firing him. On Tuesday, he called Powell a "numbskull." Markets' trade deal euphoria ignores tariff reality The optimism sweeping world stock markets following news of emerging and expected U.S. trade deals is undeniable and understandable. But it is also puzzling. The S&P 500, Britain's FTSE 100 and the MSCI All Country index have powered to new highs this week, and other global benchmarks are not far behind. Analysts at Goldman Sachs and other big banks have recently been raising their year-end S&P 500 forecasts by as much as 10%. The catalyst is clear: baseline tariffs on imported goods into the U.S. will be much lower than the duties President Donald Trump had threatened previously. It emerged this week that the levy on Japanese goods will be 15%, not 25%, and indications are that a deal with the European Union will land on 15% too. That's half the rate Trump had threatened to impose. Suddenly, the picture is nowhere near as bleak as it looked a few months ago. Economists reckon that the final aggregate U.S. tariff rate will settle around 15-20% once deals with Brussels and Beijing are reached, a level markets are betting won't tip the economy into recession. This suggests that Trump's seemingly chaotic strategy – threaten mutually assured economic destruction, extract concessions and then pull back to limit the market damage – is paying off. But will it? SOMEONE MUST PAY Despite the market euphoria, the fact remains that on December 31 last year, the average aggregate U.S. tariff on imported goods was around 2.5%. So even if that ends up in the anticipated 15-20% range, it will still be at least six times what it was only a few months ago, and comfortably the highest it has been since the 1930s. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent estimates that tariff revenues this year could reach $300 billion, which is the equivalent to around 1% of GDP. Extrapolating last year's goods imports of $3.3 trillion to next year, a 15% levy could raise close to $500 billion, or just over 1.5% of GDP. So who will pick up that tab? Is it the U.S. consumer, importers or the overseas exporters? Or a mixture of all three? The likelihood is it will mostly be split between U.S. consumers and companies, squeezing household spending and corporate profits. Either way, it's hard to see how this would not be detrimental to growth. We may not know for some time, as it will take months for the affected goods to come onshore and get onto U.S. shelves and for the tariff revenues to be collected. "We've got a ways to go before we can really say the U.S. economy is feeling the full effect of the tariff policies being announced," Bob Elliott, a former Bridgewater executive and founder of Unlimited, told CNBC on Wednesday. But in the meantime, equity investors appear to be ignoring all of this. SIGNS OF FROTH The market's short-term momentum is clear. The S&P 500 has closed above its 200-day moving average for 62 days in a row, the longest streak since 1997, according to Carson Group's Ryan Detrick. And the 'meme stock' craze is back too, another sign that risk appetite may be decoupling from fundamentals. Indeed, markets are priced for something approaching perfection. The consensus S&P 500 earnings growth for next year is 14%, according to LSEG I/B/E/S, barely changed from 14.5% on April 1, just before Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff salvo. Even the 2025 consensus of around 9% isn't that much lower than 10.5% on April 1. A Reuters poll late last year showed a 2025 year-end consensus estimate for the S&P 500 of 6,500. The index is nearly there already, and is trading at roughly the same multiple as it was on December 31, a 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio of 22. Can these lofty expectations be supported by an economy whose growth rate next year is expected to be 2% or less? Possibly. But it will be a challenge for most firms, with the exception of the 'Magnificent Seven' tech giants whose size might better shield them from tariffs or slowing growth. Ultimately, this is all a huge experiment pitting protectionist trade policy and Depression-era tariffs against the economic orthodoxy of the past 40 years. And it's yet another example of equity investors' ability to find the silver lining in almost anything. As Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, says: "'It could have been worse' is not a good foundation for a market rally". 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/world/china/global-markets-trading-day-2025-07-24/
