2025-10-24 20:32
SNAP benefits could lapse for 41 million people due to shutdown SNAP contingency funds will be reserved for other uses, agency says Mayors, House Democrats have urged USDA to fund November benefits WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture will not use agency contingency funds to pay for food aid benefits set to lapse in November during the federal government shutdown, according to a memo seen by Reuters. More than 41 million people are set to lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, also known as food stamps, at the end of this month as the shutdown keeps Congress from funding the program. Sign up here. Mayors and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have said the USDA should use $5 billion in contingency funds to partially fund November benefits. The memo said the agency will not draw on the funds because they are "not legally available" to cover the benefits and will reserve them for responding to natural disasters and other emergencies. "SNAP contingency funds are only available to supplement regular monthly benefits when amounts have been appropriated for, but are insufficient to cover, benefits. The contingency fund is not available to support FY 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists," said the memo. The memo also said the agency will not use other agency funds for SNAP or reimburse states that fund benefits themselves. Virginia on Thursday declared a state of emergency to free up funds for November benefits. The memo blamed Congressional Democrats for the shutdown. Democrats and Republicans have traded blame for the shutdown, with Democrats withholding votes on a spending bill to keep healthcare costs from spiking for many Americans. The USDA's shutdown plan had included the potential use of contingency funds for SNAP. That plan had been taken off the USDA's website Friday afternoon. The USDA did not immediately respond to questions about the plan. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/usda-memo-says-it-will-not-use-emergency-funds-november-food-benefits-2025-10-24/
2025-10-24 20:26
Indexes up: Dow 1.01%, S&P 500 0.79%, Nasdaq 1.15% Alphabet jumps on chip deal with Anthropic Ford surges after earnings beat September US consumer prices rise slightly less than expected Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple to report earnings next week NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Cooler-than-expected inflation data and upbeat corporate earnings lifted all three major U.S. stock indexes to all-time closing highs on Friday, setting the stage for next week's earnings reports and an expected interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq recorded their largest weekly percentage gains since August, while the blue-chip Dow logged its biggest Friday-to-Friday jump since June. Sign up here. The Labor Department's Consumer Price Index remained elevated in September but was a bit cooler than analysts had expected, calming fears of an outsized impact of tariffs on inflation and all but locking in a 25-basis-point rate cut at the conclusion of the Fed's monetary policy meeting next week. The CPI report provided a rare set of official U.S. data as releases have generally ground to a halt during the current government shutdown driven by a congressional budgetary impasse. "We got some good news on the inflation front as the benign CPI data opened the door for Fed rate cuts next week and likely in December," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group in Omaha. Third-quarter earnings season has shifted into overdrive, with 143 of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported, according to LSEG data. Analysts now expect third-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth of 10.4% year-on-year in aggregate. That marks a robust improvement over the 8.8% annual growth expectations as of October 1, per LSEG. "It's been a spectacular start to earnings season," Detrick added. "We've seen 87% of companies beat on earnings and 83% on revenue, justifying the rally we've seen this year and likely opening the door for a strong end-of-year rally as well." Next week's earnings roster is packed with high-profile results from Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab, Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab, Amazon.com (AMZN.O) , opens new tab and Apple - five of the "Magnificent Seven" group of megacap momentum stocks. Additional market movers include industrial firms Caterpillar (CAT.N) , opens new tab and Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 472.51 points, or 1.01%, to 47,207.12, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 53.25 points, or 0.79%, to 6,791.69 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 263.07 points, or 1.15%, to 23,204.87. Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab gained ground after Anthropic expanded its deal to use as many as one million of Google's artificial intelligence chips to train its Claude chatbot. Alphabet's shares advanced 2.7%. Coinbase Global (COIN.O) , opens new tab got a 9.8% boost after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "neutral." Deckers Outdoor (DECK.N) , opens new tab forecast full-year sales below Wall Street estimates, sending shares of the Hoka sneakers maker down 15.2%. Ford (F.N) , opens new tab jumped 12.2% after beating third-quarter profit expectations. General Dynamics (GD.N) , opens new tab also surpassed estimates, sending its shares up 2.7%. Alaska Air (ALK.N) , opens new tab slid 6.1% after the airline cut its annual forecast. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.18-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 540 new highs and 53 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 3,193 stocks rose and 1,450 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.2-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 34 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 124 new highs and 44 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 19.04 billion shares, compared with the 20.75 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. https://www.reuters.com/business/wall-st-futures-rise-intel-boost-ahead-inflation-test-2025-10-24/
2025-10-24 20:23
U.S. shale gas dealmaking has surged in 2025 Asian firms to drive acquisitions to secure feedstock for LNG purchases $28 billion worth of gas, LNG assets currently up for sale (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas dealmaking has surged in 2025 and is set to accelerate, analysts say, driven by record power demand from AI data centers, rising LNG exports and renewed Asian investment. The United States is poised to see a record surge in power demand this year, led by data centers' outsized energy needs, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) says. Sign up here. A steep pullback in benchmark gas prices last year from 2022's multi-decade highs after sanctions on Russia slowed talks, but a subsequent rebound, along with long-term LNG and domestic demand, has kept global buyers active. Already the world's top LNG exporter, the United States is set to lift nameplate capacity to 115 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) this year, EIA data show. The ramp-up has reignited mergers and acquisitions across key shale basins and the LNG value chain, with deal value climbing to about $30 billion in the first nine months of 2025 from $22.5 billion a year earlier, according to Rystad Energy. More than $28 billion in gas and LNG assets are currently up for sale, Rystad's Palash Ravi said, citing potential deals involving Ascent Resources, BP, GeoSouthern, Williams and NextDecade's Rio Grande project. In the Haynesville basin, Asian firms will outbid U.S. producers to secure feedstock for LNG imports, said Enverus analyst Andrew Dittmar. U.S. LNG shipments to Asia are set to hit 3.61 million tons in October, the second-highest on record, driven by regional growth, cleaner energy goals, and Taiwan’s recent closure of its last remaining nuclear reactor. "2025 is an inflection year," said EOG Resources CEO Ezra Yacob. "We expect U.S. gas demand to grow 4%-6% annually through 2030, driven by LNG and power." https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-natural-gas-sector-deals-surge-2025-ai-lng-demand-asia-2025-10-24/
2025-10-24 20:14
Air traffic absences accounted for 6.6% of delays Thursday Airlines are worried about serious problems over the weekend Union chief says some controllers work second jobs to pay bills PHILADELPHIA, Oct 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Friday said he expects more flights to be delayed, with air traffic controllers set to miss their first paycheck as a federal government shutdown enters its 24th day. Some 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must work without pay during the government shutdown. Controllers will miss their first full paycheck on Tuesday. Sign up here. "I think as we get closer to Tuesday and then after, I think you're going to see far more disruption," Duffy said on Fox News' "America Reports." The state of air safety has been closely watched for signs of worsening delays or cancellations, anything that shows the shutdown is making life harder for Americans, which in turn could pressure lawmakers to break the deadlock. Duffy said at a press conference at Philadelphia Airport that the Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic controller academy will run out of money within weeks to pay air traffic control students and that a few students had already decided to withdraw or not begin classes. Airlines are bracing for more disruptions. Republicans including Duffy blame Democrats for not reopening the government. Democrats say it is President Donald Trump and Republicans who refuse to negotiate over health care subsidies that expire at the end of the year. Democratic Representative Rick Larsen said Republicans should negotiate. "Controllers should never have to wonder where they will find money to pay their mortgage or put food on the table," Larsen said. National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Nick Daniels said at the press conference that controllers are under immense stress and some are taking second jobs to pay their bills. The shutdown "leads to an unnecessary distraction, and they cannot be 100% focused on their jobs, which makes this system less safe," Daniels said. "We didn't start a shutdown. We don't end the shutdown -- our elected officials do. And our message is simple -- end the shutdown today." About 6.6% of flights delayed Thursday were due to air traffic controller absences -- slightly above the normal 5% -- but much lower than the 53% seen on prior days during the shutdown, the Transportation Department said. On Thursday, the FAA said air traffic control staffing issues forced it to delay travel at airports in New York, Washington, Newark and Houston. In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, the number of absences by controllers and TSA officers rose as workers missed paychecks, extending wait times at some airport check points. Authorities were forced to slow air traffic in New York and Washington. The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels and many had been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-warns-further-flight-delays-if-shutdown-persists-2025-10-24/
2025-10-24 19:53
MEXICO CITY, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex has paid down half of its debts to suppliers since Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum took office in October 2024, the company's chief executive said on Friday. Chief Executive Victor Rodriguez said in a presentation to Congress that the company had paid 300 billion pesos ($16.33 billion) to suppliers as of September and had used a recently created financial vehicle to pay off supplier debts. "We have paid off the financial debt we inherited on time and properly; the amounts owed to suppliers have been cut in half," Rodriguez said in an appearance before Congress. Sign up here. About 26 billion pesos in payments were made to suppliers last week and the company will pay another 116 billion pesos in December, the CEO added. Pemex, one of the world's most heavily indebted energy companies, owes nearly $100 billion in financial debt. Rodriguez said a recent $12 billion bond buyback will reduce that to around $85 billion. PRODUCTION GOALS The Pemex chief said the company aims to maintain crude oil output between 1.6 million and 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) despite battling a monthly decline of about 30,000 bpd due to depleted fields and a lack of major discoveries. The company plans to reduce exports and process about 1.4 million bpd domestically across seven refineries, Rodriguez said. The new Olmeca refinery in southern Mexico is processing 230,000 bpd, with plans to reach 320,000 bpd, the CEO said, adding that its refinery in Deer Park, Texas, is under major maintenance and expected to increase output to 310,000 bpd from 270,000-280,000 bpd. Since the previous administration, the government has bolstered Pemex with multibillion-dollar capital injections and debt reductions. ($1 = 18.3694 Mexican pesos) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/mexicos-pemex-says-supplier-debt-down-50-under-current-government-2025-10-24/
2025-10-24 18:39
WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright this week directed federal energy regulators to consider a rule aimed at speeding up the connection of power-hungry data centers to electric grids. Wright sent the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission a rule on Thursday that allows customers to file joint, co-located load and generation interconnection requests. The energy department said the rule would reduce study times and costs for improving the grid, while reducing the time needed for additional power to come online. The rule also pushes FERC to mull whether reviews for grid projects, which sometimes take years, can be done in 60 days. Sign up here. As U.S. power demand spikes for the first time in two decades on artificial intelligence, President Donald Trump's administration is trying to boost power capacity, mainly from fossil fuel and nuclear plants, and grid access for the data center industry. Energy secretaries can direct FERC, an independent panel of the Energy Department set to have a 3-2 Republican majority, to consider rules, but cannot force it to adopt them. Edison Electric Institute, which represents publicly-traded electric utilities, said it supported Wright's effort, saying it would strengthen the grid and drive down costs for customers. An environmentalist slammed the move. "Pushing FERC to rubber-stamp connections in just 60 days while the government's shut down and Trump builds a $300 million White House ballroom shows (how) out of touch his administration is from everyday Americans," said Camden Weber of environmental group Center for Biological Diversity. Wright also urged FERC to consider a rule to remove burdens for preliminary hydroelectric permits. Malcolm Woolf, president and CEO of the National Hydropower Association, praised Wright's move. "It is incumbent upon FERC, the Trump Administration, and Congress to ensure that third parties, such as Federal resource agencies, do not unduly inhibit hydropower development and instead foster its necessary growth to meet current challenges." https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-pushes-regulators-connecting-data-centers-grid-2025-10-24/
