2025-11-07 18:48
LONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill said not too much should be read into a shift in language in November's Monetary Policy Report and that the central bank's rate decisions were finely balanced. On Thursday, the BoE's main summary of its monetary policy decision no longer included the words "and careful" alongside "gradual" when it said that its Bank Rate "is likely to continue on a gradual downward path". Sign up here. Asked about this at a briefing for businesses on Friday, Pill said: "I would caution a little against over-interpreting these linguistic changes." "Perhaps in some circles, 'gradual and careful' had become associated with a certain pace and magnitude of Bank Rate reduction and I think it's probably fair to say that the committee as a whole never really endorsed that," he added. Pill was part of the 5-4 majority that voted to keep Bank Rate unchanged at 4% on Thursday. Before Thursday's decision to keep rates on hold, the BoE had cut interest rates every three months since the start of its cutting cycle in August 2024. Previously, Pill had made the case for a slower or "cautious" approach to rate cuts. Pill said BoE policymakers were divided between one group, who viewed slower business activity and falling employment as likely to push inflation below target over the medium term, and another which was more concerned that inflation and wage growth had not yet slowed that much despite a weaker economy. "If you look at the vote which was a 5-4 vote on this occasion to hold Bank Rate, I think that says that the balancing of those to risks is quite finely balanced at the moment," he said. Financial markets price in a roughly 60% chance of a quarter-point rate cut on December 18 after the BoE's next meeting. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/boes-pill-downplays-shift-careful-policy-language-2025-11-07/
2025-11-07 18:46
ATLANTA, Nov 7 (Reuters) - An early taste of winter is expected for the eastern half of the U.S. beginning this weekend, as a fast-moving storm system sweeping down from Canada clears a path for frigid temperatures as far south as Florida, forecasters said. About 155 million people, from northern Great Plains to the deep South, will experience some freezing conditions through Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. Sign up here. "The big weather story is this major cool down," said Ashton Robinson Cook, a meteorologist with the service's Weather Prediction Center in College Park Maryland. The cold snap will bring the first snow of the season to the Great Lakes area, with Detroit, Buffalo and Chicago expected to get a dusting or an inch or two over this weekend, Cook said. As the cold air pushes south on Monday and Tuesday, Knoxville, Tennessee, and other spots could see a touch of snow on Monday, with temperatures of 26 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 3 degrees Celsius) forecast. By Tuesday, temperatures could match or break record lows in more than a dozen cities in the Southeast, including Savannah, Georgia, at 31 degrees, Mobile, Alabama, at 31 degrees, and Fort Myers, on Florida's Gulf Coast, at 45 degrees, forecasters said. Atlanta, which enjoyed highs in the mid-70s on Friday, will experience its first freeze of the season, with temperatures plunging into the mid-20s. Local officials warned residents to wrap exposed household water pipes to prevent bursting. Forecasters say Florida and other parts of the Southeast could have the coldest early November since 1993. In sub-tropical Palm Beach, the approaching cold raised concern about a potential hazard virtually unknown to other parts of the country: falling iguanas. Wildlife experts say temperatures below 50 F can stun the reptiles - an invasive species that thrives in South Florida - causing the cold-blooded creatures to plunge to the ground from their tree-top hangouts. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/first-blast-winter-weather-forecast-great-lakes-south-florida-2025-11-07/
2025-11-07 18:18
NEW YORK, Nov 7 (Reuters) - KKR (KKR.N) , opens new tab executives signaled optimism for investment returns and dealmaking on Friday and sought to allay concerns about slower private equity fundraising, deal volume and credit defaults saying there was no reason for alarm. KKR Chief Financial Officer Rob Lewin described the environment for monetizations, meaning selling or refinancing assets in its portfolio as "constructive" and said the U.S. private equity firm expects this to continue into 2026. Sign up here. "Things feel healthy both in performance and exits," Lewin told analysts on a conference call on Friday. The traditional private equity model of buying and selling companies has been hampered as higher interest rates made it harder to profit from selling companies that were bought when rates were lower, at prices that in some cases look expensive. KKR avoided some of that during the period of very low rates, having learned lessons from over-investing before the global financial crisis, Co-Chief Executive Scott Nuttall said. "We told the firm, do not confuse a bull market with brains," Nuttall said, adding that as a result KKR is now in a position of "not having too much exposure to 2021 and 2022". Market sentiment was currently "closer to the high anxiety end" on private equity fundraising and private credit risk, Nuttall said, adding that although public and private credit defaults had picked up, there was "nothing alarming going on". KKR executives said on the call that the firm had no exposure to auto parts supplier First Brands or car dealership Tricolor, whose bankruptcies have rattled debt markets. Rising inflows, particularly to its own credit businesses, supported KKR's quarterly earnings to beat Wall Street's expectations on Friday, although news of a charge on an Asia fund reversed early gains in the stock. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/kkr-executives-see-nothing-alarming-credit-default-rise-2025-11-07/
2025-11-07 18:06
ZURICH, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin said on Friday he had a "very constructive" conversation with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, as the country seeks to reduce tariffs of 39% imposed on its exports to the U.S. by President Donald Trump. "Great dynamic in our bilateral relations," Parmelin wrote on X, following the conversation on Friday afternoon, with trade and investment among the topics covered. Sign up here. The Economic Affairs Department declined to give further details. The Swiss government is turning on the charm to win some respite from the tariffs, which threaten Swiss access to one of its biggest export markets. Also on Friday Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said she had spoken with new U.S. Ambassador Callista Gingrich. Swiss companies have also been working to persuade Trump to reduce the tariffs, with a delegation of business leaders meeting Trump in the White House on Tuesday. That initiative has been welcomed by the Swiss government, which said diplomatic and political exchanges were ongoing with the goal of reducing the U.S. import duties. https://www.reuters.com/business/swiss-economy-minister-has-very-constructive-conversation-with-us-trade-2025-11-07/
2025-11-07 17:34
LONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Hedge funds including stock traders have returned more than 13% in 2025 to the end of October, just ahead of many of the biggest multi-strategy hedge funds, according to a Goldman Sachs report and sources familiar with each of the funds. In October, hedge fund stock pickers returned 1.75%, underperforming a 2.3% rise in the S&P 500 index (.SPX) , opens new tab. Sign up here. Crowded trades, investments with a focus on healthcare and technology stocks, and volatility added to the positive returns, Goldman Sachs (GS.N) , opens new tab said in a November 3 client note. Hedge funds bought into global equities for a second straight month, as they continued to be bullish on single stocks on a long-term basis, the report added. Technology was the best-performing sector in October, with tech, media and telecom (TMT)-focused funds up 2.1% during the month, while healthcare-focused funds posted positive returns for the fifth straight month and jumped 8.4% in October. Since then, however, tech stocks have come under pressure and tech-heavy stock markets were on Friday heading for their biggest weekly fall in seven months. October proved to be a challenging month for systematic funds and quant funds, partly due to exposure to short bets. Macro funds including those trading with systematic strategies broadly generated better returns last month, according to an executive at one of Wall Street's top three prime brokerages, who requested anonymity to discuss confidential client returns. Trades wagered at a bigger size, and bets made in the U.S. and China resulted in losses for both stock pickers and systematic funds, Goldman said. Some of the biggest multi-strategy hedge funds including Citadel, Millennium Management and Balyasny Asset Management also posted gains in October, according to people familiar with the matter. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/how-hedge-funds-performed-october-2025-11-07/
2025-11-07 15:33
Nov 7 (Reuters) - Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT.O) , opens new tab reported a bigger third-quarter loss and a decline in revenue on Friday, squeezed by a surge in expenses, highlighting the Truth Social parent's steep financial hurdles. Shares of the company, a volatile favorite of retail investors, fell more than 3% in morning trading. Sign up here. Trump Media, which has consistently posted losses since its inception, faces the challenge of converting the high-profile presence of President Donald Trump on its Truth Social platform into a viable revenue stream. The company's revenue is primarily generated from advertising on the platform. The company's fortunes are inextricably linked to engagement on Truth Social, which serves as the main communication channel for Trump. The company reported total revenue $972,900 for the third quarter ended September, down 3.8% from a year earlier. In August, Trump Media and Crypto.com agreed to a deal with a blank-check acquisition company to launch a new venture that would pursue a treasury-style strategy to accumulate the cryptocurrency platform's native token CRO, deepening Trump's ties to the crypto industry. Trump Media reported a net loss of $54.8 million, wider than the $19.2 million reported in the same period last year. It saw $20.3 million in legal expenses in the quarter. Trump Media & Technology Group went public in March 2024 through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company. The stock has been subject to high levels of volatility since its debut, often trading on political news and momentum from retail investors. Unlike most publicly traded social media companies, Trump Media does not regularly disclose key performance indicators such as monthly or daily active users. The company is led by CEO Devin Nunes, a former Republican congressman. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trump-medias-quarterly-loss-widens-costs-soar-2025-11-07/
