2025-11-19 21:40
Powell's term as Fed chair ends in May Treasury's Bessent is leading search for replacement Trump could announce new Fed chair after Christmas, Bessent says WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday doubled down on his criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates more quickly, saying: "I'll be honest, I'd love to fire his ass." Trump, speaking at a Saudi Arabia-backed investment forum in Washington, urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to accelerate the hunt for a successor for Powell, whose term as Fed chair ends in May. His term as Fed governor ends in 2028. Sign up here. "You've got to work on him, Scott. The only thing Scott's blowing it on is the Fed," Trump said about Bessent, who was in the audience for the event at the Kennedy Center in Washington. "The rates are too high, Scott, and if you don't get it fixed fast, I'm going to fire your ass," Trump said, apparently in jest. The next chair is likely to be named to a 14-year Fed governor term that begins February 1. The term that expires then is now held by Stephen Miran, who is on unpaid leave from his role as head of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. SUCCESSOR SEARCH ACCELERATES Bessent, who is leading the search for a new Fed chair, on Tuesday told Fox News that Trump is slated to meet the three finalists for the job after Thanksgiving, November 27, with a new pick likely to be announced before Christmas. Trump has repeatedly praised Bessent's work, and has said the Treasury secretary would be his pick for the Fed chair job, although Bessent has told him he would rather remain at the helm of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service. Trump told reporters on Tuesday that his administration had some "great names" in mind for the top post at the Fed. Trump reiterated that Bessent did not want the job and continued to berate Powell, whom he nominated for the job during his first term. Trump has hammered Powell since before taking office in January about his leadership of the Fed, describing him as incompetent and questioning his handling of a Fed renovation project that he says is billions of dollars over budget. Powell rejects that claim, arguing that Trump is adding in the renovation cost for another central bank office that was completed five years ago. Bessent has named five finalists: White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, current Fed Governor Christopher Waller, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, and BlackRock executive Rick Rieder. https://www.reuters.com/business/trump-says-he-would-love-fire-fed-chair-powell-2025-11-19/
2025-11-19 21:36
Agriculture chief: payments will be for farmers facing losses Farmers saddled by low crop prices and trade disputes USDA to announce changes to SNAP food aid after Thanksgiving WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - The administration of President Donald Trump will soon announce details of payments to farmers hurt by low crop prices and trade disputes, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Wednesday. U.S. farmers have been saddled this year with record harvests and lost billions of dollars in soybean sales to China when the nation turned to South American suppliers this fall during stalled trade talks. Sign up here. The administration had been expected to announce a farm bailout totaling as much as $15 billion in October. Rollins previously said the 43-day federal government shutdown delayed the rollout. "There's no doubt that the farm economy for a lot of reasons is really, really struggling right now," Rollins said on NewsNation on Wednesday, adding that resumed soybean purchases from China and other agricultural trade deals have improved conditions. "We'll soon be announcing a potential bridge payment for those who are still facing losses," Rollins said. Stephen Vaden, the USDA's deputy secretary, told reporters in a call on Monday that the agency is in the process of calculating how recent trade deals with countries including Pakistan and Japan could affect the farmer payments. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that details of the payments will be announced in early December, citing an interview with Rollins. The USDA did not immediately respond to questions about the timing. During Trump's first term, he paid farmers more than $23 billion for trade-related losses. Farmers have predominantly supported Trump in elections. MORE FOOD STAMP CHANGES COMING Rollins also said on NewsNation that the USDA will be making an announcement about "structural changes" to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, the week after Thanksgiving. Rollins has said all SNAP recipients will need to reapply to the program to ensure the benefits are going to eligible recipients as part of an agency effort to address fraud in the program. The country's nearly 42 million SNAP recipients are already required by federal law to regularly recertify their eligibility with state agencies, typically every 6 to 12 months. During the shutdown, SNAP benefits lapsed for the first time ever, forcing recipients to make sacrifices like forgoing medication to afford groceries. A USDA spokesperson said that since February 2025, the agency has made 127 arrests for SNAP fraud, which resulted in 63 convictions and more than $16.5 million in fines and fees. The agency did not provide further details of the arrests or charges. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-will-soon-announce-details-farmer-payments-says-agriculture-secretary-2025-11-19/
2025-11-19 21:31
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Nutrien (NTR.TO) , opens new tab, the world's largest potash fertilizer producer, said on Wednesday it is hoping to build a new export terminal in Longview, Washington, to "meet rising demand for Saskatchewan-made potash." It expects to make a final investment decision on the idea in 2027. Previously Nutrien said it was considering Canadian locations as well. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/nutrien-selects-us-site-potash-terminal-2025-11-19/
2025-11-19 21:03
CAIRO, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund, Saudi information technology company SITE and Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the delivery of Microsoft’s sovereign-cloud services in the kingdom, the Saudi fund said in an X post on Wednesday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-pif-site-microsoft-sign-mou-explore-delivery-sovereign-cloud-services-2025-11-19/
2025-11-19 21:03
Target drops after missing quarterly comparable sales estimates Indexes briefly pare gains after Fed minutes September US jobs report due on Thursday Indexes: Dow up 0.1%, S&P 500 up 0.4%, Nasdaq up 0.6% NEW YORK, Nov 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended a choppy session higher on Wednesday, bouncing off recent losses as technology stocks rose ahead of Nvidia's quarterly results. Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab shares gained more than 5% after ending the regular session up 2.8% as the artificial intelligence leader forecast fourth-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) , opens new tab rose 2.8% after the bell, while Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab was up 1.6% and Palantir Technologies (PLTR.O) , opens new tab was up 4%. Sign up here. "The market is breathing a big, collective sigh of relief because Nvidia is confirming that AI demand is strong," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments in New York. "If it sticks and stays by tomorrow's close ... this little pullback in the market could end." The S&P 500 is still down more than 3% from its October highs. Indexes briefly pared gains during the regular session after minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting showed policymakers cautioned that lower borrowing costs could undermine the fight against inflation. The Fed cut rates by a quarter of a percentage point at each of its meetings in September and October. Worries about a cooling labor market persisted ahead of Thursday's release of the September U.S. jobs report following the record-long U.S. government shutdown. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said it will not publish the October employment report, but will instead combine nonfarm payrolls for that month with November's report. Nvidia's results have been seen as a test for the AI-driven rally that has powered the market to record highs this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 47.03 points, or 0.10%, to 46,138.77, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 24.84 points, or 0.38%, to 6,642.16 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab advanced 131.38 points, or 0.59%, to 22,564.23. Investors have worried about how companies will be able to make money from their huge investments in AI. Among decliners, Target (TGT.N) , opens new tab shares fell 2.8% after the retailer reported a bigger-than-expected drop in quarterly sales as cash-strapped U.S. consumers cut back on discretionary spending. Shares of Walmart (WMT.N) , opens new tab, which is due to report earnings on Thursday before the bell, ended 0.8% lower. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.59-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, where there were 55 new highs and 211 new lows. On the Nasdaq, 1,846 stocks rose and 2,851 fell, as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.54-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and 22 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 48 new highs and 305 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 17.46 billion shares, compared with the roughly 20.2 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-stock-futures-steady-lead-up-nvidia-test-2025-11-19/
2025-11-19 20:52
Cuba's oil imports from Mexico are down 73% to some 5,000 bpd Imports from Venezuela fall almost 15% to some 27,000 bpd Power capacity to cover nearly a third of demand shut down Power cuts topping nine hours in Havana, some provinces seeing just two hours of electricity a day HAVANA, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Cuba's imports of crude and fuel in the first 10 months of the year fell more than a third compared with the same period of 2024 as key allies Mexico and Venezuela slashed supplies, according to shipping data and documents seen by Reuters, preventing the Caribbean country from easing daily power cuts. The Communist-run island relies on imported refined products to meet demand, including fuel oil and diesel for power generation, and jet fuel and gasoline for transportation. U.S. sanctions and a deep economic crisis have for years made it impossible for the government to buy enough fuel, forcing a growing dependence on allies. Sign up here. Between January and October, Cuba's oil imports from Mexico - which emerged as a reliable provider in 2023 after regularizing shipments of light crude - declined to some 5,000 barrels per day, a 73% fall from the 18,800 bpd received in the same period of 2024, according to the shipping data. Imports of crude and fuel from Venezuela, Cuba's most important political ally, fell almost 15% over the same period to 27,400 bpd, with the reduction particularly hitting supplies of fuel oil for power generation, internal documents from Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA showed. In total, Cuba's imports of crude, liquefied petroleum gas and residual and motor fuels from all origins fell 35% to some 45,400 bpd in January to October, from 69,400 bpd in the same period last year. Mexico and Venezuela are both dealing with output limitations and do not have much spare capacity to offer Cuba. Their lower availability of light crude and fuel oil for export, coupled with Cuba's struggles to pay for purchases on the spot market, have put a ceiling on fuel imports. Russia, a supplier that has helped Cuba in past crises, has only sent a couple cargoes of Urals crude this year, in line with last year's supply, the data also showed. PDVSA, Mexico's state oil company Pemex, and the information ministries of Cuba and Venezuela did not reply to requests for comment. LONG CUTS REACH HAVANA Cuba's government blames the fuel shortages, decrepit infrastructure and damage from Hurricane Melissa for worsening power outages, which are increasingly hitting the capital Havana, the country's economic engine. Almost 900 megawatts of power generation, nearly a third of daily demand, was shut down on Wednesday due to lack of fuel and lubricants, the country's electrical union said. In Havana, unplanned power cuts sometimes top nine hours daily. Many outlying provinces see just two to four hours of electricity a day, vastly reducing productivity and complicating daily life. "The situation with the blackouts is awful, to say the least," said 18-year-old university student Daniela Castillo. "We arrive home exhausted, there's no electricity, and many times we have to wait for it to come back on - if it comes back on at all - so that we can eat, so we can study...?" LESS SPARE CAPACITY A traditional heavy oil producer, Mexico's output of the Olmeca light sweet crude that fits the Cuban refineries' diet is typically reserved for well-paying international customers, especially amid Pemex's reduction of overall crude exports. Pemex's oil output fell almost 9% to 1.63 million bpd in January to September, from some 1.79 million bpd in the same period of 2024, while crude exports suffered a 23% cut in that period to 604,000 bpd, official data showed. Venezuela faces a similar situation. Numerous changes in U.S. sanctions policies towards the OPEC producer have forced PDVSA to supply more crude and feedstock to its own refineries, limiting the volume and types of products PDVSA can export to Cuba. PDVSA has reduced output of the residual fuel oil Cuba demands for power generation, internal company documents showed. Flows are also being disrupted by a long-standing lack of sufficient vessels to move oil supplies from Venezuela and Mexico to Cuba, the data showed. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/cuba-struggles-ease-power-cuts-amid-reduced-fuel-supplies-venezuela-mexico-2025-11-19/
