2025-11-06 21:19

Nov 6 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday ordered U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to fully fund food aid for 42 million low-income Americans in November by Friday, blocking its plan to only provide reduced benefits during the government shutdown. The ruling came at the end of a virtual hearing before U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island in a lawsuit brought by nonprofits and cities seeking to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture's suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, known as SNAP or food stamps. Sign up here. McConnell, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, said the administration's plan to provide enough money to partially fund benefits in November had failed to comply with an order he issued on Saturday requiring it to ensure Americans received full or partial benefits no later than Wednesday. He said the administration plowed ahead with a plan to make a partial payment without addressing a known problem as required, that in many states, it could take weeks or months to implement the unprecedented reduced benefits. "The evidence shows that people will go hungry, food pantries will be overburdened, and needless suffering will occur," McConnell said. "That's what irreparable harm here means." https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-administration-must-fully-fund-food-aid-benefits-by-friday-us-judge-rules-2025-11-06/

2025-11-06 21:00

Indexes down: Dow 0.84%, S&P 500 1.12%, Nasdaq 1.90% AI-related stocks show market's tech reliance Challenger reports 183.1% surge in layoffs, worst October in two decades DoorDash slides after quarterly revenue miss NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed in negative territory on Thursday, with a resumption of Tuesday's tech selloff as investors contended with mounting economic uncertainty and stretched valuations. All three major U.S. equity indexes lost ground as risk appetite was dampened by worries over inflated stock prices, particularly from artificial intelligence-related momentum shares. Sign up here. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index (.SOX) , opens new tab dropped 2.4%. AI-adjacent shares provided muscle to the rally in recent months that pushed the indexes to a series of record-setting highs, so weakness in the sector was a stark reminder of Wall Street's reliance on tech. "Valuations are still very much a concern longer term, but (the market is) still bullish," said Paul Nolte, senior wealth advisor & market strategist at Murphy & Sylvest in Elmhurst, Illinois. "Earlier this week, we got a draw down of 1% to 1.5%. What did we do the next day? We were up 80 basis points." "So that buy the dip mentality is still there," Nolte added. As the government shutdown persists, market participants must contend with a dearth of economic indicators while the data-reliant U.S. Federal Reserve is assessing the need for further near-term interest rate cuts. With government sources dark, alternative, private sector sources have stepped in. On Thursday, executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that corporations announced a 183.1% monthly surge in layoffs, the worst October in over two decades. Cost cutting and AI-related efforts were among the top reasons companies provided. Separately, workforce analytics company Revelio Labs showed the U.S. economy shed 9,100 jobs last month, with government accounting for the bulk of the decline. "The Challenger layoffs came in as disappointing, raising the prospect that the labor market is weakening faster and more than the Fed seems to be aware of," said Michael Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management in Philadelphia. "That’s led to some repricing of the December rate cut that Powell suggested was very much up for debate in this last speech." On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments over whether President Donald Trump's market-rattling tariffs represented an overreach of presidential power. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 397.35 points, or 0.84%, to 46,913.65, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab lost 75.91 points, or 1.12%, to 6,720.38 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab lost 445.80 points, or 1.90%, to 23,053.99. Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) , opens new tab was the biggest drag, sliding 2.5%. Energy (.SPNY) , opens new tab enjoyed the largest percentage increase. Third-quarter earnings season approached its home stretch, with 424 companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 83% have beaten Wall Street estimates, according to the most recent LSEG data. Analysts now expect year-on-year S&P 500 earnings growth of 16.8%, on aggregate, for the July-September period. That marks a significant improvement over the 8.0% annual growth analysts predicted at the beginning of the quarter, per LSEG. DoorDash (DASH.O) , opens new tab slumped 17.5% after the delivery firm reported third-quarter profit below Wall Street expectations on rising expenses. Cosmetics-maker Elf Beauty (ELF.N) , opens new tab forecast annual sales and profit below expectations, and its shares tumbled 35.0%. Snap (SNAP.N) , opens new tab jumped 9.7% after the social media firm beat third-quarter revenue estimates and announced a partnership with Perplexity AI. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.97-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 141 new highs and 206 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 1,264 stocks rose and 3,404 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.69-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and 22 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 78 new highs and 260 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 20.77 billion shares, compared with the 20.99 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. https://www.reuters.com/business/wall-st-futures-subdued-qualcomm-dips-focus-economic-data-2025-11-06/

2025-11-06 20:53

WASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - The Washington Post said it is among victims of a sweeping cyber breach tied to Oracle (ORCL.N) , opens new tab software. In a statement released on Thursday, the newspaper said it was one of those impacted "by the breach of the Oracle E-Business Suite platform." Sign up here. The paper did not provide further detail, but its statement comes after CL0P, the notorious ransomware group, said on its website that the Washington Post was among its victims. CL0P and Oracle did not immediately return messages seeking comment. Ransom-seeking hackers typically publicize their victims in an effort to shame them into making extortion payments, and CL0P are among the world's most prolific. The hacking squad is alleged to be at the center of a sweeping cybercriminal campaign targeting Oracle's E-Business Suite of applications, which Oracle clients use to manage customers, suppliers, manufacturing, logistics, and other business processes. Google said last month that there were likely to be more than 100 companies affected by the intrusions. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/washington-post-says-it-is-among-victims-cyber-breach-tied-oracle-software-2025-11-06/

2025-11-06 20:35

WASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - New York Attorney General Letitia James said on Thursday that she was asking a court to require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to release complete Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for November. President Donald Trump's administration said on Monday it was going to partially fund November food benefits for millions of Americans after a judge ordered it last week to use emergency money to at least partially fund the SNAP benefits. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/new-york-attorney-general-says-shes-asking-court-require-usda-release-complete-2025-11-06/

2025-11-06 20:35

List a blueprint for US push to secure supplies Copper vital for electric vehicles, power grids, data centers Met coal aligns with Trump's fossil fuel support List includes uranium for reactors and fertilizer minerals Nov 6 (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Thursday added 10 minerals to a list it deems essential for the U.S. economy and national security, including copper, vital to electric vehicles, power grids, and data centers, and metallurgical coal, used to make coke fuel for steel production. The Interior Department's critical minerals list guides federal investments and permitting decisions and helps shape the government's broader minerals strategy. Sign up here. The administration is expanding the list amid efforts to boost domestic mining and cut reliance on imports, particularly from economic rival China. LIST GUIDES FEDERAL INCENTIVES The list serves as a blueprint for Washington's push to secure supplies of materials needed for defense, manufacturing, and clean energy technologies. It determines which projects qualify for federal incentives, informs national stockpiling and research priorities, and signals to private investors where the government sees long-term strategic value. Officials and industry leaders say strengthening domestic production could help insulate the U.S. from potential supply shocks or export restrictions imposed by competitors like China, which dominates global refining of many critical minerals. Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, said the expanded list "provides a clear, data-driven road map to reduce our dependence on foreign adversaries, expand domestic production and unleash American innovation." The new list also includes uranium, which is enriched to fuel nuclear reactors, boron, lead, phosphate, potash, rhenium, silicon, and silver. Environmentalists slammed the move. Cameron Walkup, of Earthjustice Action, said the administration was ignoring economics, violating the law and opening the door for agencies to rubber-stamp projects with insufficient protections for communities from pollution. "Instead of prioritizing corporate profits, we should focus on real solutions to meet our mineral supply chain needs by rapidly scaling up reuse and responsible recycling of critical minerals and updating our mining laws." Potash and phosphate are used as fertilizers to grow crops around the world. "These are two minerals where stable supplies are absolutely necessary to fill our plates and feed our communities," said Corey Rosenbusch, CEO of The Fertilizer Institute. Potash was on an original 2018 list, but neither phosphate nor potash was included when it was updated in 2022, the institute said. U.S. COPPER OUTPUT LESS PROFITABLE Copper is used widely across the global economy in power generation, electronics and construction. Freeport-McMoRan (FCX.N) , opens new tab, the largest U.S. copper producer with seven mines and controls of one of the country's two smelters, said this year it could generate more than $500 million annually in tax credits tied to the 2022 U.S. Inflation Reduction Act if the red metal were declared critical. The Phoenix-based company was not immediately available to comment on Thursday. The average grade, or percentage of copper in rock deposits, in Freeport's U.S. mines is lower than elsewhere, boosting costs and making the U.S. the company's least profitable region. That fact largely explains why Freeport pushed for the designation. "We're not looking for handouts, but if the government is trying to incentivize domestic (copper) production, it's important to recognize that the U.S. doesn't have the same grades that we have internationally," Freeport CEO Kathleen Quirk told Reuters in March. Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) , opens new tab, which operates the other U.S. copper smelter, send the new list "sends a clear signal that America is committed to building resilient supply chains for the technologies that will define our future." Putting met coal on the list aligns with President Donald Trump's support of fossil fuels. Some U.S. met coal mines have shut in recent months amid ample supply and a reduction in exports to China, which put an additional 15% tariff on imports of U.S. coal this year. Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the National Mining Association, said it will continue to seek the expansion of the list to "ensure that the U.S. has the abundant domestic resources it needs, when it needs them." https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/trump-expands-us-critical-minerals-list-include-copper-metallurgical-coal-2025-11-06/

2025-11-06 20:34

Nov 6 (Reuters) - United Airlines (UAL.O) , opens new tab and Delta Air Lines both started cancelling Friday flights after the Federal Aviation Administration directed reductions at 40 high-traffic U.S. airports to address air traffic control safety concerns, the carriers said Thursday. United said on Thursday it plans to cut 4% of its flights Friday through Sunday. Delta said it was cancelling around 170 flights on Friday and fewer on Saturday because it is a lighter travel day. Sign up here. The FAA said it planned to impose 10% cuts starting on Friday, but then told airlines it would begin with 4% cuts and ramp up to 10% next week. United operates around 4,500 flights a day, and the cuts will result in less than 200 daily cancellations, the carrier confirmed. https://www.reuters.com/business/united-airlines-cut-4-flights-friday-through-sunday-2025-11-06/