2025-05-28 21:07
SAO PAULO, May 28 (Reuters) - Brazil's Tocantins state said on Wednesday the agriculture ministry has ruled out an outbreak of bird flu on a local commercial farm, citing conclusive test results received from the ministry. There are currently seven potential outbreaks of highly pathological avian influenza in Brazil under investigation, including one on a commercial farm in Rio Grande do Sul, according to the ministry's website. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/brazils-tocantins-state-says-agriculture-ministry-ruled-out-bird-flu-commercial-2025-05-28/
2025-05-28 20:50
Nvidia shares up 5% after hours; co reports quarterly results Dick's Sporting Goods end up after first-quarter results beat Indexes: Dow down 0.6%, S&P 500 down 0.6%, Nasdaq down 0.5% NEW YORK, May 28 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes closed lower on Wednesday as investors digested minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting and shares of chip designers fell in late trading. After the closing bell, shares of Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab rose 5% as the artificial intelligence leader reported quarterly sales that beat analyst expectations. However, the chipmaker forecast second-quarter revenue below estimates. Sign up here. Nvidia shares had ended the regular session down 0.5%. Late in regular trading, shares of Cadence Design Systems (CDNS.O) , opens new tab and Synopsys (SNPS.O) , opens new tab dropped after the Financial Times reported that President Donald Trump's administration has ordered U.S. firms that offer software used to design semiconductors to stop selling their services to Chinese groups. The FT report cited people familiar with the move. Cadence ended down 10.7%. According to the minutes of the Fed's May 6-7 session, U.S. central bank officials acknowledged they could face "difficult tradeoffs" in coming months in the form of rising inflation alongside rising unemployment. "The Fed minutes really didn't reveal anything new," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. "They basically indicate the Fed is in a wait-and-see mode and staying the line, trying to get more clarifications on trade." On Tuesday, stocks rose sharply after Trump backed down over the weekend from his threat of 50% tariffs on imports from the European Union. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 244.95 points, or 0.58%, to 42,098.70, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab lost 32.99 points, or 0.56%, to 5,888.55 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab lost 98.23 points, or 0.51%, to 19,100.94. Also rising after the bell were shares of Broadcom (AVGO.O) , opens new tab, up 3.2%, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) , opens new tab, up 1.5%. The S&P 500 is up 0.1% for the year to date but remains down from its record closing high, reached on February 19. It fell as much as 18.9% below that level in the wake of Trump's erratic tariff announcements that have whipsawed markets for much of his second term. A poll of strategists and analysts conducted by Reuters showed that many market participants expected the benchmark index to finish the year near current levels. Shares of sportswear retailer Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS.N) , opens new tab ended up 1.7% after its first-quarter results beat estimates. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.79-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 103 new highs and 34 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 1,448 stocks rose and 2,960 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.04-to-1 ratio. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 15.60 billion shares, compared with the 17.7 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-stock-futures-dip-after-sharp-rally-focus-nvidia-earnings-2025-05-28/
2025-05-28 20:29
Judge Liman criticizes the Transportation Department's tactics as coercive New York says its congestion pricing program reduces traffic by 8% to 13% Funds from the program will support $15 billion in transit improvements May 28 (Reuters) - A judge on Wednesday blocked the U.S. Transportation Department from withholding federal funding from New York as the Trump administration seeks to stop Manhattan's congestion pricing program. U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman, who a day earlier had issued a temporary restraining order, issued a preliminary injunction preventing the federal government from withholding approval of or funding for New York projects. Sign up here. Liman said in his 109-page opinion that the Transportation Department had "challenged Plaintiffs to a game of chicken," saying New York could either end the program or "else may brace for impact and prepare to suffer the effects" of government compliance measures. The program charges most passenger vehicles $9 during peak periods to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street. The Trump administration on February 19 rescinded federal approval of the program designed to reduce traffic and raise money to upgrade aging subway and bus systems. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in April told New York Governor Kathy Hochul that the U.S. Transportation Department may withhold environmental approvals or project funding starting on May 28 if the state did not end congestion pricing by last week, which it declined to do. "The federal government may not force states to comply with its dictates by threatening destructive retribution, only to turn around once compliance is secured and claim that it was merely bluffing," Liman wrote. Hochul said the program is working and Liman's decision vindicates "our right as a state to make decisions regarding what’s best for our streets." Duffy said the government would appeal. "You're taxing the average Joe out of driving the streets of New York," Duffy said in an interview with Larry Kudlow on the Fox Business Network. "No doubt it's working -- you can tax people out of their cars... and you'll get rid of congestion" but it is unfair to people who cannot afford to pay. Shortly after the Trump administration rescinded approval, New York City, New York state and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority sued to block the move. The judge expects to complete briefing on motions for summary judgment by early autumn, and he will issue a ruling on the merits of the lawsuit by the end of December. New York, which launched its first-in-the-nation congestion pricing program in January, says the program has dramatically cut congestion, with about 5.8 million fewer cars than expected in the congestion zone between January and March, or a reduction of 8% to 13%. Hochul has said that funds raised from the program would underpin $15 billion in debt financing for critical mass transit capital improvements. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-judge-bars-trump-killing-new-york-congestion-program-2025-05-28/
2025-05-28 20:21
HOUSTON, May 28 (Reuters) - Natural gas flows to a Freeport liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Texas declined on Wednesday, likely leading to a reduction in LNG output, two sources said. Freeport is the third largest LNG export facility in the U.S. and has helped the country remain the world's largest exporter of the superchilled gas. Sign up here. It is one of the most closely watched LNG export plants in the world because the start and stop of its operations can often cause price swings in global gas markets. It has a capacity to consume 2.2 billion cubic feet of gas per day and can produce 16.3 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG. When flows to Freeport drop, gas prices in the U.S. usually decline due to lower demand from the plant for the fuel. Meanwhile, prices in Europe usually increase due to a drop in LNG supplies available to global markets from the plant. Freeport declined to comment. Last Friday, the company experienced a brief power outage to one of its plants, commonly called trains, and had to take the plant out of service to cool down before eventually restarting it, according to a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Freeport reported last Friday's trip was caused by the plant's compressor system, according to the TCEQ filing. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/natural-gas-flows-freeport-lng-export-plant-texas-drop-wednesday-sources-say-2025-05-28/
2025-05-28 20:20
May 28 (Reuters) - China's wariness of bitcoin should encourage the U.S. to embrace the world's largest cryptocurrency and build on its strategic advantage in the digital asset, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday. As the White House pushes for an overhaul of crypto policy, Vance said bitcoin will be a strategically important asset for the United States over the next decade. Sign up here. Speaking at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas, Vance applauded President Donald Trump's executive order in March that created a strategic bitcoin reserve with tokens already owned by the government. Crypto trading and mining has been banned in China since 2021. "The People's Republic of China doesn't like bitcoin. Well, we should be asking ourselves, why is that? Why is our biggest adversary such an opponent of bitcoin, and if the communist Republic of China is leaning away from bitcoin, then maybe the United States ought to be leaning into bitcoin," he said. Digital assets have enjoyed a resurgence under President Donald Trump, who courted cash from the crypto industry on the campaign trail by pledging to be a "crypto president." In his first week in office, Trump ordered the creation of a cryptocurrency working group to propose digital asset regulations. In March, he hosted a group of crypto executives at the White House. Congress is considering legislation to create a regulatory framework for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar. The crypto industry has lobbied lawmakers to pass legislation creating new rules for digital assets and spent more than $119 million backing pro-crypto congressional candidates in last year's elections. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/vance-says-us-should-use-bitcoin-an-advantage-rivalry-with-china-2025-05-28/
2025-05-28 19:58
Morning Standing Repo operations to enhance monetary policy effectiveness Stigma issues haunt Fed's lending operations Thus far, SRF has seen minimal usage even in times of stress May 28 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Wednesday that late next month it will add morning offerings for its liquidity providing Standing Repo Facility. The morning Standing Repo Facility, or SRF, operations will join with existing afternoon operations, and will be available starting June 26. "The additional daily morning SRF operations are intended to further enhance the effectiveness of the SRF in its ability to support the effective implementation of monetary policy and smooth market functioning," the bank said in a statement. Sign up here. The SRF was launched in 2021 in a bid to bolster the central bank's ability to provide liquidity to the financial system. It also helps the Fed keep the federal funds rate, its chief tool for influencing the course of the economy, in line with levels targeted by the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee. The SRF takes in Treasury and agency securities from eligible firms in exchange for fast cash loans, and essentially makes available on a constant basis liquidity once provided by discretionary Fed repo operations. The tool has essentially gone unused through its lifespan with the exception of modest usage at the end of the third quarter last year, when money markets navigated a short-lived period of stress. Roberto Perli, the New York Fed official responsible for implementing monetary policy for the central bank, had been noting that morning operations would join those offered in the afternoon. "This will be an important step in enhancing the efficacy of the facility," Perli said last Thursday, and a more effective SRF could also allow the Fed to shrink its holdings of bonds by more than would otherwise be the case. He also nudged reluctant financial firms to tap the SRF, saying "I encourage our counterparties to use the SRF when it makes economic sense." The morning SRF availability will kick off on June 26, with the cadence of afternoon operations remaining as they are now. In a statement, the New York Fed said that it will cap total daily SRF operations at $500 billion. The closing time for the morning operations will be 8:30 a.m. ET. Early SRF operations have already been deployed around year and quarter ends, and while they have gone unused, some believe their availability helped bolster market confidence around periods that can be volatile in money markets. The New York Fed's SRF announcement followed closely on the heels of the release of minutes from the Fed's meeting minutes covering its early May Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The minutes weighed in heavily on the unsettled financial conditions that abounded in the run up to that gathering, spurred on by President Donald Trump's global trade war. While stress was real and broad based during that period, the minutes noted that Fed staff as well as policy makers saw orderly trading amid the tumult. Fed officials also signaled some concern on valuation levels in markets. The minutes also touched on the SRF, and noted "market outreach indicated that dealers had a higher willingness to use the facility when early settlement was offered." The minutes also said some Fed officials believed that a move to central clearing for the SRF might bolster usage in times of trouble. The looming launch of early SRF operations may not change much for now, however. Gennadiy Goldberg, head of U.S. rates strategy at TD Securities in New York, said "usage of the regular afternoon SRF currently stands at zero and we don't expect SRF usage to increase simply because of the added operation." "During times of stress, conducting twice daily operations will be helpful in helping to backstop markets," Goldberg said, adding "there will probably still be some stigma in using the facility, which is something the Fed has been battling against in recent years, but the additional operation should eventually prove helpful." Stigma issues have dogged parts of the Fed's lending operations for some time, because many financial firms believe that tapping central bank cash, even when encouraged to do so by central bankers, signals weakness. Stigma issues have been most acute for the Fed's Discount Window lending facility for deposit taking banks, but some have said these concerns extend to the SRF as well. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/new-york-fed-start-morning-standing-repo-facility-operations-next-month-2025-05-28/
