2025-10-29 00:47

SEOUL, Oct 29 (Reuters) - SK Hynix (000660.KS) , opens new tab on Wednesday said it expects the global memory chip market to experience a prolonged "super cycle", and that supply growth is likely to be limited just as demand for AI applications expands. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/sk-hynix-sees-memory-chip-super-cycle-be-prolonged-2025-10-29/

2025-10-29 00:18

LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Pay awards granted by British employers are likely to hold at their current 3% level over the next 12 months as caution dominates and the impact of high inflation fades, data firm Brightmine said on Wednesday. With the Bank of England watching for weaker inflation pressure before resuming its interest rate cuts, Brightmine said only 23% of employers it surveyed expected to raise pay awards, with 45% seeing no change and 32% predicting lower settlements. Sign up here. In 2023, pay awards were running at an average of 6% - double their current rate - after a spike in inflation to more than 11% in October 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The expected award of 3% is below the most recent reading of headline inflation which stood at 3.8% in September. Affordability concerns and the impact of finance minister Rachel Reeves' decision to raise employers' social security contributions in her 2024 budget were capping pay awards, Brightmine said. "The next year will test organisations' ability to remain competitive while managing tight budgets," Sheila Attwood, Brightmine senior content manager, said, noting a growing focus on benefits, recognition and skills-based pay. Brightmine said pay awards held at 3% in the three months to the end of September, extending the pattern seen in 2025. Its forecasts for the next 12 months was based on research conducted in August and September, covering 213 organisations with a total of 600,000 employees. Official pay data has shown a slowing of overall earnings growth which BoE Governor Andrew Bailey has said backed his view that inflation pressures in the economy were easing. A survey published by the Confederation of British Industry on Wednesday showed firms expected activity to fall over the next three months, extending a run that began in late 2024, with uncertainty over Reeves' November 26 budget a cause for concern. https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/wary-uk-employers-set-hold-pay-awards-3-brightmine-says-2025-10-29/

2025-10-28 23:54

Facility to separate up to 5,000 tonnes per annum of heavy rare-earth feedstock Lynas in talks with partners for product offtake deals Shares down more than 1% Oct 29 (Reuters) - Australia's Lynas Rare Earths (LYC.AX) , opens new tab indicated rising demand for heavy rare earth oxides sourced outside China as it announced a new separation facility in Malaysia on Wednesday. Lynas, the world's largest rare-earth producer outside China, said the project would cost about A$180 million ($116.96 million) and will have the capacity to separate up to 5,000 tonnes per annum of heavy rare-earth feedstock. Sign up here. "Market demand for heavy rare earths is high and Lynas can be selective in where, and at what price, we sell heavy rare earth oxides," said CEO Amanda Lacaze. Feedstock will be supplied from Lynas' Mt Weld operations in Western Australia as well as other developing sources. The timeline for the project's construction is subject to regulatory approvals, the company said. Lynas said it is currently in discussions with various offtake partners to secure deals for the expanded range of products at fair prices. Shares of the company extended declines for the fourth consecutive session, slipping more than 1% to A$15.63 as of 2345 GMT after reports of a possible delay in Chinese rare earths curbs. ($1 = 1.5389 Australian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australias-lynas-plans-build-new-rare-earth-facility-malaysia-2025-10-28/

2025-10-28 23:07

Oct 28 (Reuters) - Walmart's Mexico and Central America unit (WALMEX.MX) , opens new tab reported on Tuesday a 9% drop in third-quarter net profit, mainly due to higher financial costs and a one-off accounting adjustment, despite growth in sales and operational efficiencies. Net profit for Mexico's largest retailer was 11.75 billion pesos ($641.41 million) in the three months through September, below the 13.7 billion-peso forecast of analysts polled by LSEG. Sign up here. Revenues for Walmex, as the company is known, rose 5% year-on-year to 241.52 billion pesos - slightly below analysts' estimate of 244.8 billion pesos. However, financial expenses rose by 65.7% compared to the same period in 2024, reaching 2.7 billion pesos, while a non-recurrent item impacted the consolidated net income margin. Walmex, which operates Walmart and Sam's Club stores as well as low-cost supermarket chain Bodega Aurrera, is one of Mexico's largest private employers. The quarterly results are Walmex's first under new Chief Executive Cristian Barrientos, who was named acting CEO on August 1 and confirmed as CEO and chair on October 7, replacing Ignacio Caride, who stepped down after fewer than two years in the role. In a presentation on Tuesday, Barrientos celebrated the company's "solid business fundamentals" while noting a volatile economic backdrop. "Given the ongoing uncertainty around tariffs, the coming USMCA (U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement) renegotiation, and volatile consumption, we are encouraged by our team's ability to execute the priorities we have defined," Barrientos said, highlighting the company's "three non-negotiable pillars" of price leadership, product availability and the acceleration of e-commerce. The company reported a 3.9% rise in same-store sales in Mexico and 0.6% growth in Central America. It added 23 stores in Mexico and three in Central America. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, CFO Paulo Garcia said Walmex was well positioned to navigate the economic environment and that the company is expecting performance in line with the two previous quarters, with "similar top-line growth levels and accelerated market share gains" as well as profit improvement. ($1 = 18.3147 Mexican pesos at end-September) https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/walmarts-mexico-unit-posts-9-drop-q3-profit-below-forecasts-2025-10-28/

2025-10-28 23:04

Microsoft advances after OpenAI restructuring deal Key results from megacap names due this week Nvidia will build AI supercomputers for US energy department Indexes: Dow up 0.3%, S&P 500 up 0.2%; Nasdaq up 0.8% NEW YORK, Oct 28 (Reuters) - All three major U.S. stock indexes posted record closing highs again on Tuesday as Nvidia shares gained following news it will build artificial intelligence supercomputers for the U.S. energy department, and as investors were optimistic about corporate earnings ahead of key results from megacaps this week. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company will build seven supercomputers for the U.S. Department of Energy, and said the company has $500 billion in bookings for its AI chips. Sign up here. Nvidia's stock closed up 5%, adding over $230 billion in market value and putting the company on the verge of becoming the first worth $5 trillion. Also boosting the market, Microsoft's shares (MSFT.O) , opens new tab gained 2% after the company reached a deal that allows OpenAI to restructure into a public benefit corporation while giving Microsoft a stake of 27% in the ChatGPT maker. Quarterly results are expected this week from Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab, Microsoft, Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab, Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab, and Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab. Investors are anxious for details from the companies on AI spending. Shares of Apple ended up just 0.1%, with the company earlier crossing $4 trillion in market value for the first time. "Momentum and earnings are pushing the market higher," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. "Earnings have been good," he said. "Of course, we're waiting for the big tech stocks." Investors were also digesting trade-related news. The Wall Street Journal said U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will discuss a trade framework to reduce U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for Beijing’s commitment to curb exports of fentanyl precursor chemicals. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 161.78 points, or 0.34%, to 47,706.37, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 15.73 points, or 0.23%, to 6,890.89, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 190.04 points, or 0.8%, to 23,827.49. Trump lavished praise on Japan's first female leader, Sanae Takaichi, in Tokyo on Tuesday. They signed a deal to bolster supplies of critical minerals and rare earths, as their nations seek to reduce China's dominance of some areas of key electronic components. QUARTERLY EARNINGS UP With results in from 180 of the S&P 500 companies, third-quarter earnings are estimated to have increased 10.5% from the year-ago period, up from earlier estimates for the quarter, according to LSEG data. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to announce a 25-basis-point interest rate cut. Investors will be keen to get any details on the rate outlook, especially given that the U.S. government has been shut down for nearly a month, delaying crucial economic data and forcing traders to rely on private releases and corporate announcements. A preliminary estimate of an ADP National Employment Report , opens new tab showed the U.S. economy added an average of 14,250 jobs in the four weeks ending October 11. Even though the ADP data seemed to be positive, it was tempered by layoff announcements by big companies such as Amazon and others, analysts said. Shares of United Parcel Service (UPS.N) , opens new tab jumped 8% after the company posted better-than-expected in a sign its overhaul is making headway. UPS has been shuttering hundreds of facilities, slashing thousands of jobs and offering buyouts to its union drivers as part of its largest-ever overhaul, which aims to reduce costs by $3.5 billion in 2025. After the closing bell, shares of Visa (V.N) , opens new tab edged higher after the company reported a rise in quarterly adjusted profit amid strong transaction volumes. Visa's stock ended the regular session down 0.3%. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.35-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 613 new highs and 102 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 1,868 stocks rose and 2,862 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.53-to-1 ratio. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 20.5 billion shares, compared with the 20.96 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-stock-futures-steady-after-recent-rally-focus-big-corporate-earnings-2025-10-28/

2025-10-28 23:02

LIMA, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Southern Copper, one of Peru's largest copper producers, said on Tuesday that its $1.8 billion Tia Maria mine project is 23% complete, and maintained its 2027 target start date for production. The project is expected to produce 120,000 metric tonnes of copper cathodes per year, the company said in its third-quarter results report. Sign up here. Southern Copper is also working on other mainly copper projects in Peru at exploration or basic engineering stages, with planned investments exceeding $10.3 billion over the next decade, including the Los Chancas and Michiquillay copper projects. "With the support and assistance of the Peruvian authorities, the company is moving forward to secure the required administrative permits and licenses prior to investment," Southern Copper said. Southern Copper, which is controlled by Grupo Mexico, operates the Toquepala and Cuajone copper mines and the Ilo refinery in southern Peru. In Mexico, it operates the Caridad and Buenaventura mines and is developing the El Arco and Pilar copper projects. https://www.reuters.com/business/southern-copper-says-its-tia-maria-project-peru-is-23-complete-2025-10-28/