2025-10-01 23:38

WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday described AI-manipulated videos that President Donald Trump posted on social media of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries as a joke, dismissing complaints from Democrats that the videos were racist. Trump is butting heads with Democratic leaders over a government shutdown , opens new tab that is in its first day. Sign up here. On Monday, he posted a clip on his Truth Social account featuring Jeffries speaking outside the White House with a superimposed handlebar mustache and a sombrero, while Mariachi music plays in the background. Jeffries is Black, with his mother tracing her roots to Cape Verde. After Jeffries condemned the original post as "disgusting" in an MSNBC interview, Trump posted a video of Jeffries from that interview, with a mustache and sombrero again added. The White House replayed the clip on large screens in the press briefing room on Wednesday. "I think it's funny. The president's joking and we're having a good time," Vance said at a White House press conference, when asked by a reporter how the images squared with the White House's assertions that it is willing to negotiate with Democratic leaders in good faith. "You can negotiate in good faith while also poking a little bit of fun at some of the absurdities of the Democrats' positions, and even, you know, poking some fun at the absurdity of the Democrats themselves." Jeffries and other high-ranking Democrats have called the images racist and bigoted. Trump himself has at times employed xenophobic, racist or sexist comments throughout his political career. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trumps-ai-videos-top-democrat-were-joke-not-racist-vance-says-2025-10-01/

2025-10-01 23:09

Malaysia's Khazanah to partner with Chinese firm, sources say China eyes Malaysian rare earths reserves, sources say Malaysia lacks technology to mine, process rare earths Australia's Lynas runs plant in Malaysian state of Pahang KUALA LUMPUR/BEIJING, Oct 2 (Reuters) - China and Malaysia are in early talks for a project to process rare earths, with sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional likely to partner with a Chinese state-owned firm to build a refinery in the Southeast Asian nation, people familiar with the matter said. If the joint venture takes shape, it would represent a significant policy departure for China, the world's top supplier and refiner of rare earths, which has banned export of its processing technology to protect its dominance of the industry. Sign up here. Beijing is ready to swap its technology for access to Malaysia's untapped rare earths reserves, seeking to limit competition from Australian rival Lynas Rare Earths (LYC.AX) , opens new tab, which has a processing plant in the central state of Pahang, said two sources in Malaysia with knowledge of the talks. All four sources who spoke to Reuters for this report sought anonymity because the matter is a sensitive one. Khazanah Nasional and Malaysia's natural resources and trade ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the talks. China’s State Council Information Office, which handles media queries on behalf of the government, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment due to the National Day holiday. ROADBLOCKS AHEAD, SAY SOURCES A Malaysian source said the plan faced several roadblocks, however, such as China's concern whether Malaysia would be able to supply enough raw material for the plant. Two of the sources said Malaysia was also concerned by the potential environmental impact and regulatory hurdles, since mining activities typically require approvals and licensing from both state and federal government authorities. Malaysia has said it did not support rare earths mining in sensitive locations such as permanent forest reserves and water catchment areas. Global manufacturers are scrambling to secure alternative supplies of rare earths, after Beijing's export curbs this year led to output delays for major automakers and magnet producers. Malaysia has some 16.1 million metric tons of rare earth deposits, the government estimates, but lacks the technology to mine and process them. It has banned companies from exporting raw rare earths to prevent loss of resources. The only exception was granted in 2022 to a pilot mining project aimed at helping to set national operating and licensing guidelines for extraction of the rare earths. Australia's Lynas, the world's largest rare earths producer outside China, signed a deal in May with Malaysia's eastern state of Kelantan for a future supply of mixed rare earths carbonate, seen as an effort to develop the local industry. REFINERY TO HANDLE BOTH TYPES The proposed refinery is expected to process both light and heavy rare earths, two Malaysian sources said. These elements are critical to the manufacture of products from cars and mobile phones to military equipment. Heavy rare earth metals, used widely in the development of clean technology, are less common, however, and some elements face shortages amid high demand. In August, Johari Abdul Ghani, Malaysia's minister for natural resources said China was prepared to provide technical and technological assistance in processing rare earths. However, President Xi Jinping had asked to restrict cooperation efforts to state-linked companies so as to protect trade secrets, Johari said, adding that discussions were still preliminary and no deal had been reached. A successful deal would make Malaysia one of the few countries with both Chinese and non-Chinese rare earths processing technology, Johari added. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-malaysia-talks-rare-earths-refinery-project-sources-say-2025-10-01/

2025-10-01 22:56

Indexes up: Dow 0.09%, S&P 500 0.34%, Nasdaq 0.42% Healthcare index extends rally after Tuesday's Pfizer/Trump deal AES rallies sharply to boost utilities sector September ADP jobs report softer than expected Oct 1 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main stock indexes closed higher on Wednesday, with the biggest boost from the healthcare sector, as investors looked past weaker-than-expected private payrolls data and uncertainty around the first day of the U.S. federal government shutdown. With the Labor Department's September jobs report expected to be postponed if the government has not reopened by Friday, investors were paying close attention to the ADP National Employment Report. Sign up here. ADP showed a decline in private payrolls of 32,000 and a downwardly revised 3,000 decline in August. These numbers were weaker than economist forecasts for growth of 50,000 in September and the prior report of a 54,000 advance in August. Elsewhere in economic data, the Institute for Supply Management showed U.S. manufacturing edged toward recovery in September. After opening lower, all three main U.S. indexes advanced. Among the S&P 500's 11 major industry sectors, the biggest gainer was S&P 500 healthcare (.SPXHC) , opens new tab, boosted by pharmaceutical companies. The healthcare rally started in earnest on Tuesday after Pfizer (PFE.N) , opens new tab and U.S. President Donald Trump said they had cut a deal. The drugmaker agreed to lower prescription drug prices in the Medicaid program - compared to its charges in other developed countries - in exchange for tariff relief. Trump said he expected more drug companies to follow suit. "Yesterday was the catalyst for healthcare," said Lara Castleton, U.S. head of portfolio construction and strategy at Janus Henderson Investors, adding that the sector was probably ripe for a rally after underperforming the rest of the market so far this year. "People have not necessarily been avoiding it, but they have not been as heavily allocated into healthcare as they have been in technology and all the AI hype," she said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 43.21 points, or 0.09%, to 46,441.10, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 22.74 points, or 0.34%, to 6,711.20 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 95.15 points, or 0.42%, to 22,755.16. The S&P 500 tech (.SPLRCT) , opens new tab sector provided the second biggest boost for the benchmark index, with Micron (MU.O) , opens new tab rallying 8.9% and the broader Philadelphia chip index (.SOX) , opens new tab adding 2%. The sector with the biggest percentage decline during the session was materials (.SPLRCM) , opens new tab, which ended the day down more than 1%. The healthcare sector's biggest gainers were Biogen (BIIB.O) , opens new tab , up 10.9% and Thermo Fisher (TMO.N) , opens new tab, up 9.4%. Castleton noted that equity investors appeared to be shrugging off uncertainties around the shutdown. Markets have historically been resilient during government closures. The S&P 500 rose during each of the last six shutdowns, according to a note from Deutsche Bank. During the last government closure between the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019, indexes were able to advance. In individual stocks, a 16.8% rally in shares of AES (AES.N) , opens new tab made it the biggest gainer in the benchmark index and a strong boost for the S&P 500 utilities sector (.SPLRCU) , opens new tab. This was after the Financial Times reported that BlackRock-owned (BLK.N) , opens new tab Global Infrastructure Partners was nearing a $38-billion deal to acquire the utility group. While the materials sector was broadly weaker, Lithium Americas Corp (LAC.TO) , opens new tab U.S. shares rallied 23.3% and rival Albemarle (ALB.N) , opens new tab closed up 4.2%. The U.S. Department of Energy has taken a 5% stake in Lithium Americas and a separate 5% stake in the company's joint venture with General Motors Corteva (CTVA.N) , opens new tab said it would separate its seed and pesticide businesses into separate publicly traded companies, sending its shares down 9%. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.92-to-1 ratio on the NYSE where there were 580 new highs and 99 new lows. On the Nasdaq, 2,707 stocks rose and 2,003 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.35-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 37 new 52-week highs and 7 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 111 new highs and 68 new lows. Volume wise, on U.S. exchanges 19.79 billion shares changed hands compared with the 20-day moving average of 18.62 billion. https://www.reuters.com/business/wall-street-futures-slip-government-shutdown-complicates-fed-rate-path-2025-10-01/

2025-10-01 22:28

Oct 1 (Reuters) - Fitch said on Wednesday it does not expect the ongoing U.S. government shutdown to affect the country's sovereign ratings in the near term, adding that any impact on economic growth would depend on its scope and duration. The U.S. government shut down much of its operations earlier in the day as deep partisan divisions prevented Congress and the White House from reaching a funding deal, setting off what could be a long, grueling standoff that could lead to the loss of thousands of federal jobs. Sign up here. "Fitch will continue to assess developments around the U.S. regulatory environment, rule of law, and institutional checks and balances as part of its sovereign credit analysis," the ratings agency said. It expects the general government deficit to narrow to 6.8% of GDP in 2025 from 7.7% in 2024, partly due to a surge in tariff revenues, which it now sees reaching $300 billion. "Despite increased uncertainty around U.S. policy and the possible erosion of institutional checks and balances, we expect the U.S. dollar's predominant reserve currency status — a material sovereign rating strength — to continue for the foreseeable future," Fitch added. S&P Global Ratings said, separately, that government shutdowns generally have only a marginal effect on the broader economy, and it does not consider them credit events for the U.S. sovereign rating. But secondary effects can build up over time, it warned, as furloughed workers cut spending and delays in key economic data add uncertainty for the Federal Reserve. S&P Global estimated the shutdown could trim GDP growth by 0.1% to 0.2% for every week the government is closed. A government shutdown can have broad implications, disrupting federal services, slowing economic activity, and increasing uncertainty for markets and businesses. The longest U.S. government shutdown, lasting 35 days in 2018-2019 during President Donald Trump's first term, partly ended after flight delays triggered by air traffic controllers calling in sick. It remains unclear how long the current government shutdown will continue. The main U.S. stock indexes bounced back from early lows on Wednesday. "Government shutdowns are inconvenient and messy, but there is little evidence that they have a significant impact on the economy," said Scott Helfstein, head of investment strategy at Global X. "Typically, the lost economic activity, if meaningful in the first place, is recovered in the following quarter." https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/us-government-shutdown-unlikely-affect-sovereign-ratings-near-term-fitch-says-2025-10-01/

2025-10-01 22:22

Ukraine's Zelenskiy says more than 20 Russian drones deployed near Chornobyl Says Russia doing nothing to fix Zaporizhzhia plant power line Kremlin says doing what it can to restore Zaporizhzhia power Oct 1 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday accused Russia of trying to create the risk of nuclear incidents, alleging Moscow had deliberately staged an attack that cut off power to the decommissioned Chornobyl nuclear power station. Zelenskiy also said Moscow was doing nothing to fix the cutoff of external power to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, now in its eighth day, and was taking advantage of the "weak" position of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its Director General, Rafael Grossi. Sign up here. Ukraine's energy ministry said earlier that Russian attacks had cut power to the Chornobyl station, including a containment unit erected to minimise contamination from the world's biggest nuclear accident in 1986. Energy officials said strikes also cut off power to 307,000 customers in the nearby Chernihiv region. Zelenskiy said more than 20 Russian drones had been deployed in the attack on the town of Slavutych that cut power to the nearby Chornobyl plant for three hours. "The Russians could not have been unaware that a strike on facilities in Slavutych would have such consequences for Chornobyl," he wrote on the Telegram messaging app, adding that large quantities of spent fuel remained there. "And this was a deliberate attack in which they used more than 20 drones, according to preliminary assessments, Russian-Iranian Shaheds." The IAEA, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, issued a statement acknowledging that the plant had experienced "fluctuations" after losing its external power connection, but that alternative lines were used initially and power was later restored. Russia has not yet commented on the incident. Ukraine's energy ministry statement made no mention of any possible increased risk of radioactive release as a result of the power cutoff to the defunct Chornobyl plant due to the Russian attacks on Slavutych. "As a result of power surges, the new safe confinement facility, which isolates the destroyed fourth power unit of the Chornobyl station and prevents the release of radioactive materials into the environment, was left without power supply," the ministry said. After the Chornobyl station's fourth reactor exploded in April 1986 and spread radioactivity throughout Europe, Soviet engineers hurriedly erected a "sarcophagus" around the reactor. This was replaced by a new confinement structure in 2016, while the plant's other three reactors were gradually taken out of service. The plant was briefly occupied by Russian forces at the beginning of Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. And a Russian drone pierced the confinement structure's roof in February. FIXING THE EXTERNAL POWER LINE AT ZAPORIZHZHIA Zelenskiy also again blamed Russia's military for the cutoff of the external power line last week at the Zaporizhzhia plant in southeastern Ukraine. "And the Russians are doing absolutely nothing to fix the situation or allow Ukrainian specialists to restore the external power supply to the plant," he said. Russia, he said, was "deliberately creating the risk of radiation incidents, exploiting, unfortunately, the weak position of the IAEA and its Director General, Rafael Grossi, as well as the dispersion of world attention." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia was doing everything to ensure the Zaporizhzhia plant's safety. He said it had come under repeated fire from Ukrainian forces. Russia seized the plant in the early weeks of the war and each side regularly accuses the other of endangering nuclear safety. Zelenskiy on Tuesday had said that the situation at the Zaporizhzhia plant was "critical". Grossi, head of the IAEA, responded by saying there was no immediate danger from the power cutoff as emergency diesel generators were in operation. But he added that the external lines needed to be fixed. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russian-shelling-cuts-power-decommissioned-chernobyl-nuclear-power-plant-2025-10-01/

2025-10-01 21:51

Trump says he will discuss soybeans in meeting with Xi Lack of Chinese buying hurts US soybean farmers China avoids US soy as part of negotiations, Trump says CHICAGO/WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that soybeans would be a major topic of discussion when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in four weeks. "The Soybean Farmers of our Country are being hurt because China is, for 'negotiating' reasons only, not buying," Trump wrote on Truth Social. Sign up here. Chinese importers have not yet bought soybeans from the autumn U.S. harvest during the trade war between Washington and Beijing, costing U.S. farmers billions of dollars in lost sales. Autumn is the prime marketing season for U.S. soybeans as farmers bring in fresh crops from their fields. However, China, the world's top soybean importer, has turned to South America for supplies instead, pressuring U.S. soybean prices. U.S. Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota, a Republican, said he did not think there was a specific timeline for China to resume purchases of U.S. soy following a briefing on Tuesday with U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue. "He didn't indicate to me sales are imminent," Hoeven said in an interview. "The discussion was more, we need to keep the pressure on until we get sales and in the meantime be supportive of our farmers." In his post, Trump repeated a promise , opens new tab to use proceeds from tariff revenues to help farmers. Last month, Trump said he and Xi agreed during a call to meet face-to-face in South Korea to discuss a trade conflict that has kept the countries bitterly at odds. The two leaders are set to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum during the last week of October in Gyeongju, South Korea. Trump also said he would visit China early next year and that Xi would come to the U.S. at a later date. Efforts by the countries to lower trade tensions have led to expectations that China could direct more agriculture purchases to the U.S. as part of a deal with Trump. "Right now, they're buying from South America and using that to try to put pressure on us in these trade negotiations," Hoeven said. In 2020, during Trump's first term in office, he signed a trade deal with China that included promises to buy tens of billions of dollars in U.S. agricultural products while expanding U.S. access to Chinese agriculture markets. China never met its agreed purchase targets under the deal, and it has sought to diversify its food sources. "The essence of China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutual benefit and win-win," said Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington. "As a matter of principle, we hope the U.S. side will work with China to implement the important common understandings reached by our heads of state in their phone call." https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-xi-meet-four-weeks-us-president-says-2025-10-01/