2025-10-01 00:32

US government funding expired at 0400 GMT on Wednesday Shutdown will delay key monthly jobs report Yen gets biggest boost US private sector jobs fall in September NEW YORK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar slid to two-week lows against the yen on Wednesday after data showed private-sector jobs in the world's largest economy contracted last month, boosting expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates two more times this year. Against the euro and sterling, the dollar fell to one-week troughs in the wake of the jobs data. Sign up here. Data showed that U.S. private employment shrank by 32,000 jobs last month after a downwardly revised 3,000 decline in August, according to the ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment increasing 50,000 following a previously reported 54,000 advance in August. "The job situation seems to just be getting a little bit worse, data point after data point," said Erik Bregar, director, FX & precious metals risk management at Silver Gold Bull in Toronto. "The ever-weakening U.S. jobs market is the big story. And with the official data sources on hold because of the shutdown, some people might like it actually because those data sources haven't been very reliable lately." U.S. rate futures have priced nearly 50 basis points of cuts this year following the ADP data, from about 43 bps of easing on Tuesday, with market-implied odds of around 99% for an October rate move, according to LSEG data. The jobs data followed a mixed reading for the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, on Tuesday. The report showed U.S. job openings increased marginally in August while hiring declined, consistent with a softening labor market. The ADP report, jointly developed with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, gained more attention from investors seeking fresh clues on the labor market as the Labor Department's more comprehensive and closely followed employment report for September will not be published on Friday. The private sector jobs report came amid a U.S. government shutdown, which commenced hours after the Senate rejected a short-term spending measure that would have kept government operations afloat through November 21. Senate Republican Leader John Thune said the chamber would vote again on the House-passed measure on Wednesday. "We are concerned with the government shutdown, which also does not bode well for the buck," said Juan Perez, director of trading at Monex USA in Washington. "The dollar has few reasons to remain a beacon of strength and reliability when the American government is closed and there is evidence presented that Americans are struggling to find jobs." In afternoon trading, the dollar fell 0.6% against the yen to 147.07 yen, after earlier falling to its weakest since September 17. The greenback was flat against the Swiss franc at 0.7967 franc . The greenback also fell to a one-week low against the euro, which was last up 0.1% at $1.1738 . Sterling also rose to a one-week high versus the dollar, and was last up 0.3% at $1.3487 . The dollar index , which tracks the U.S. currency against six major peers, fell to a one-week trough, and was last down 0.2% at 97.68. The broader markets bore a few hallmarks of safe-haven buying, giving low-yielding currencies such as the Japanese yen a bid, while U.S. Treasuries and gold held firm. U.S. President Donald Trump warned congressional Democrats on Tuesday that letting the federal government shut down would allow his administration to take "irreversible" actions including closing programs important to them. The U.S. Labor and Commerce departments said their statistics agencies would halt data releases in the event of a partial shutdown. That includes Friday's scheduled nonfarm payrolls release, considered key in determining whether a Fed rate cut is likely at the end of this month. The length of any shutdown may be key for markets, as the Fed's next policy decision on October 29 remains weeks away. In contrast, traders are placing a roughly 40% chance that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates this month. The central bank's quarterly "tankan" corporate sentiment survey on Wednesday showed confidence among big Japanese manufacturers improved for the second straight quarter and firms maintained their upbeat spending plans. BOJ officials have tilted more hawkish in recent days, including formerly dovish board member Asahi Noguchi, who said on Monday that the need for policy tightening was increasing more than ever. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dollar-defensive-us-government-shutdown-looms-2025-10-01/

2025-10-01 00:32

CHICAGO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Uber is not liable for the sexual assault of a woman who said she was attacked by her driver on a ride she ordered from the app, a California jury said on Tuesday, according to an attorney for the plaintiff. At the end of a three-week civil trial in San Francisco Superior Court, the jury rejected the woman’s argument that Uber was to blame for her assault. Sign up here. The case was the first to go to trial out of more than 500 lawsuits consolidated in California state court. There are also more than 2,500 lawsuits making similar claims that have been centralized in a federal court in California. The woman, who went by Jessica C. at trial, sued in 2021, claiming she was assaulted by an Uber driver in 2016. During the ride, her driver pulled off on a side street, restraining, groping and kissing her, according to her attorneys. Her lawsuit was chosen to serve as the first "bellwether" for the state court litigation. In litigation with many plaintiffs asserting similar claims, bellwether trials are used to test the claims and establish what they may be worth. Judges may use the outcome of the trial to manage the remaining cases, or lawyers can use them to inform settlement negotiations. The woman's attorneys had asked the jury for between $175,000 and $1.2 million in compensatory damages for each year of her life, suggesting larger figures for the years closest to the assault. They did not suggest a number for punitive damages. SAFETY PRACTICES IN THE SPOTLIGHT The lawsuits allege Uber was aware it had a problem with drivers assaulting riders, but kept data on how many assaults took place from the public and did not take action to address the issue. The plaintiffs have argued that Uber knew that things like assigning female riders to female drivers or requiring dash cams to record driver and passenger interactions would reduce assaults, but failed to broadly implement such programs. Uber has maintained it should not be liable for criminal conduct by the drivers it connects with passengers, and that its background checks and disclosures about assaults were sufficient. The litigation threatens to reopen wounds from Uber's early years, when the company was dogged by safety controversies, allegations of lax driver vetting, and a culture critics said prioritized growth over protecting passengers. With hundreds of millions of dollars potentially at stake, the outcome could weigh on Uber's balance sheet and complicate its relationships with regulators and investors who have closely tracked its safety record. The company has made safety a central talking point in recent years, publishing U.S. Safety Reports that detail reported sexual assaults, rolling out features such as in-app ride verification, video and audio recording of rides, anomaly detection, and partnering with survivor advocacy groups to reform driver training. Uber has also touted the formation of a Safety Advisory Board chaired by former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, and pledged $10 million through its “Driving Change” initiative to support organizations working to end gender-based violence. Despite these measures, Uber’s safety reputation has remained fragile. In its latest safety report published last year, covering the 2021–2022 period, Uber said reports of serious sexual assault on its platform have fallen by 44% since its first report in 2017–2018. But with thousands of cases still documented, critics say systemic risks remain. Prompted by an August New York Times report on the issue, a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee sent a letter last week to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi seeking information on the company’s protocols for responding to and preventing sexual assaults on its rides. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/uber-found-not-liable-first-us-trial-over-driver-sexual-assault-claims-2025-10-01/

2025-10-01 00:22

S. Korea, US agree to avoid currency manipulation Joint statement mirrors Japan's, does not include FX swaps Trade negotiations stalled due to FX concerns Seoul to provide intervention operations on monthly basis SEOUL, Oct 1 (Reuters) - The United States and South Korea agreed that foreign exchange interventions should be reserved for combating excessive volatility, without targeting exchange rates for competitive purposes, according to a joint statement released on Wednesday. The statement mirrors an agreement between the U.S. and Japan announced last month and does not include a bilateral currency swap line, requested by Seoul to address the foreign exchange implications of a $350 billion investment package included in a framework trade deal reached in July. Sign up here. "The United States and the Republic of Korea reconfirmed they have undertaken under the IMF Articles of Agreement to avoid manipulating exchange rates or the international monetary system to prevent effective balance of payments adjustment or to gain an unfair competitive advantage," the statement said, using South Korea's official name. The two countries agreed that "any macroprudential or capital flow measures will not target exchange rates for competitive purposes," according to the statement. Compared with Japan's, there was no mention that foreign exchange rates had to be "market determined". South Korea said there would be continued efforts to monitor currency market "stability", a point not included in Japan's agreement. "Government investment vehicles invest abroad for risk-adjusted return and diversification purposes, and not to target the exchange rate for competitive purposes," the statement also said. However, it did not explicitly mention South Korea's National Pension Service, the world's third-largest pension fund, which has emerged as a point of concern in talks with Washington. In the foreign exchange report released in June, in which South Korea was listed on a monitoring list, the U.S. Department of the Treasury noted increasing foreign assets of the NPS and its swap line with the Bank of Korea, raising concern among market participants that it might be seen as a tool for currency intervention. The two countries agreed in the joint statement that market intervention "should be reserved for combating excess volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates" and would be "considered equally appropriate for addressing excessively volatile or disorderly depreciation or appreciation." South Korea agreed in the statement to exchange with the U.S. its market intervention operations on a monthly basis. Public disclosures will continue to be on a quarterly basis, with a three-month delay, according to a South Korean official. Seoul will also disclose foreign exchange reserves data and forward positions on a monthly basis, as well as the currency composition of central bank reserves on an annual basis, which are already public. South Korea and the U.S. have consulted on currency policy via a channel between finance officials since it was put on the agenda at the opening round of trade talks in April. Their negotiations to formalise a July deal reducing U.S. tariffs on Korean imports, including automobiles, to 15% from 25%, in return for South Korea's investment of $350 billion in the U.S., have stalled due to Seoul's concerns over the foreign exchange implications. The won has weakened 3% so far in the second half of this year to trade around a psychological barrier of 1,400 per dollar, underperforming most emerging Asian currencies, on uncertainty over trade talks with the U.S. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-south-korea-agree-not-target-fx-rates-trade-advantage-2025-10-01/

2025-10-01 00:09

MELBOURNE, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday he was concerned about a report that China's state iron ore buyer had taken steps to pause purchases of iron ore cargoes from miner BHP (BHP.AX) , opens new tab. Bloomberg News, citing people familiar with the matter, reported on Tuesday that state-owned China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG) had asked the country's steelmakers and traders to pause purchases of BHP's dollar-denominated seaborne iron ore cargoes during annual price negotiations. Sign up here. "I am concerned about that and what we want to make sure is that markets operate properly," Albanese told reporters. "We have seen those issues in the past. I want to see Australian iron ore to be able to be exported to China without hindrance." CMRG has not responded to an emailed request for comment. A BHP spokesperson said on Tuesday the company does not comment on commercial negotiations. Albanese said he hoped the issue would be resolved quickly and acknowledged differences could happen during price negotiations. Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he would set up a meeting with BHP CEO Mike Henry. Iron ore is Australia's most valuable export product, though a government report in June said earnings from that could fall to A$105 billion ($69.39 billion) for the financial year ending in June 2026, from A$116 billion the prior year as global supplies increase. China, the world's largest iron ore consumer, buys about 75% of global seaborne iron ore and set up CMRG three years ago to buy ore on behalf of its steelmakers to gain more leverage as a large, single buyer. BHP is the world's largest listed miner and China's third-biggest iron ore supplier behind Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) , opens new tab, (RIO.L) , opens new tab and Vale (VALE3.SA) , opens new tab. ($1 = 1.5131 Australian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/world/china/australia-pm-concerned-about-chinas-reported-pause-bhp-iron-ore-purchases-2025-10-01/

2025-09-30 23:24

Curtailments jumped to 2.3% of green power generation in year to August, data shows Japan has restarted 14 of 33 commercially available nuclear reactors since Fukushima disaster Trend could threaten future investments in Japan's renewables energy sector SINGAPORE, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Curtailment of wind and solar power generation in Japan is set to rise to record levels this year due to increased nuclear power use, a Reuters review of industry data showed, exacerbating pain for a sector seeing an exodus of players. In the years since the 2011 Fukushima disaster prompted a nationwide nuclear shutdown, the world's fifth-largest power producer has gradually restarted some nuclear plants. Sign up here. Fourteen of 33 commercially available reactors have been restarted, including two that came back online last year. Another received preliminary approval this year for a restart that may not come until 2027. That has helped cut Japan's fuel costs, particularly expensive fossil fuel imports, and meet rising power demand from chipmakers and data centres. But since nuclear power cannot be easily ramped up and down, grid flexibility has suffered. Curtailments refer to the amount of wind or solar power that could have been produced but was pre-emptively rejected because a grid hit its limits. Across nine of Japan's ten grid regions, curtailments jumped 38.2% to 1.77 terawatt-hours (TWh) or 2.3% of total green power generation in the eight months through August, according to a Reuters analysis of data from the Renewable Energy Institute (REI). That compares with 1.28 TWh or 1.8% of renewable output in the same period last year, and the previous annual record of 1.9% in 2023. "Nuclear units are prioritised in Japan's electricity dispatch, meaning wind and solar are forced to curtail," said Michiyo Miyamoto, Japan energy finance specialist at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). She cited increased output from the Shimane No.2 reactor in the western region of Chugoku, which was restarted in December, as one such example. DISTANT GOALS Japan wants renewables to account for as much as 50% of its annual power output by 2040 and for nuclear to make up 20%. That compares with levels of 23% and 8.5% in fiscal 2023 respectively. But the loss of revenue from curtailments has only added to tougher times for the renewable energy sector in Japan. A record 52 renewable energy developers exited Japan in the fiscal year ended March - including eight bankruptcies, IEEFA said in an August report. August also saw groups led by trading house giant Mitsubishi (8058.T) , opens new tab walk away from three offshore wind projects due to soaring costs, stirring concerns about the viability of other offshore wind projects. New wind and solar installations in Japan grew just 3.3% in 2024, the slowest pace since 2009, data from the International Renewable Energy Agency shows. "If curtailments rise beyond expectations, this will make it harder for renewable projects to recover their costs, which may discourage new investments," said Kenichi Onishi, researcher at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan. The Japan Community Power Association, the Japan Council for Renewable Energy and the Japan Wind Energy Association did not respond to requests for comment. Transmission shortages and maintenance outages have also led to increased curtailment. During the first five months of the current fiscal year ended August, the island of Kyushu had curtailments of 7.6% while the northern region of Tohoku saw the biggest climb, from 2.1% to 5.8%, REI data showed. "The main issue is insufficient grid transfer capacity from high-renewables regions. Kyushu's photovoltaics build-out outpaced local demand and export capability," said Uran-Ulizi Batyabar, Tokyo-based analyst at Rystad Energy. Japan is working to reduce curtailments by building inter-regional transmission lines, promoting battery storage, and encouraging demand during periods of high power generation, said Minoru Shioda, an official at the industry ministry's energy efficiency and renewable energy department. Shioda said higher hydropower generation due to heavier-than-expected snowfall led to curtailments in Tohoku this spring. Analysts also cited the restart of an Onagawa nuclear unit in Tohoku last October as a key reason for the curbs. "Unless regulatory reform prioritises renewables over incumbents, Japan risks falling further behind global trends (of surging renewables growth)," said Tetsunari Iida, chairperson of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies. ($1 = 148.56 yen) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/japans-renewable-curtailments-track-hit-record-nuclear-generation-rises-2025-09-30/

2025-09-30 23:00

Sept 30 (Reuters) - Trinidad and Tobago has received U.S. support to develop the Dragon gas field in Venezuela, and it could include a license from the U.S. Treasury Department, both the U.S. government and Trinidad said on Tuesday. The announcement followed a meeting between Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington. Sign up here. Trinidad and Tobago has wanted to develop gas resources in U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela near the two countries' maritime border but was paused earlier this year after the initial U.S. licenses were suspended , opens new tab. The U.S. in April revoked a license that permitted Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab and Trinidad's National Gas Company to develop the Dragon gas field off of Venezuela, despite sanctions targeting the government led by President Nicolas Maduro. The U.S. supports the Trinidad government’s Dragon gas proposal and steps to ensure it will not provide significant benefit to the Maduro regime, Rubio said in a statement on Tuesday. Shell's activities relating to Venezuela are conducted in strict adherence to all applicable laws, regulations and trade controls, including those of the U.S., the company told Reuters in response to the U.S and Trinidad and Tobago statements. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/trinidad-receives-us-support-cross-border-energy-projects-2025-09-30/