2025-09-09 14:38

NEW YORK, Sept 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. economy likely created 911,000 fewer jobs in the 12 months through March than previously estimated, the government said on Tuesday, suggesting job growth was already stalling before President Donald Trump's aggressive tariffs on imports. Economists had estimated that the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics could revise the level of employment from April 2024 through March 2025 down by between 400,000 and 1 million jobs. The level of employment for the 12 months through March 2024 was downgraded by 598,000 jobs. Sign up here. MARKET REACTION STOCKS: U.S. stocks were last down on the day. S&P slipped 0.1% (.SPX) , opens new tab. BONDS: U.S. Treasury 10-year yield briefly dropped after the report, but was last up 3.4 basis points at 4.078% FOREX: The dollar index extended gains, and last traded up 0.2% at 97.63. COMMENTS: PAUL NOLTE, SENIOR WEALTH ADVISOR AND MARKET STRATEGIST, MURPHY & SYLVEST, CHICAGO: "Certainly the Fed is already geared to cut rates based on weaker jobs, the job situation as a whole. This does nothing to dissuade the Fed from moving 25 basis points. It's a little bit more than expected. We don't know month by month and won't for a few more months yet, but it points out that labor is weak." "This is, though, in contrast to the weekly jobless claims numbers, which have pretty much been in line with periods of decent economic growth. And we still have consumer spending still in pretty good shape. So I think this is a piece of the puzzle. It's by no means a complete puzzle in an indication of how the economy is doing." MICHAEL JAMES, MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR EQUITY TRADING, ROSENBLATT SECURITIES, LOS ANGELES: "The job revision furthers the Fed rate cut narrative. We'll get a little more data Thursday morning from the (Consumer Price Index) CPI but meaningful reduction in labor growth, furthers the narrative for the Fed rate cut cycle to begin later this month. That's keeping a better bid for equity markets overall this morning." MICHAEL BROWN, SENIOR RESEARCH STRATEGIST, PEPPERSTONE, LONDON: "In all honesty, I don't think this really changes much in terms of the market or Fed policy outlook. Clearly a chunky downward revision, which leads you to believe that the labor market might well have been stalling, or at least losing momentum, for longer than we'd previously expected, but that's about all one can gleam from the data." "It's all rather stale so it won't move the needle for policymakers on the FOMC, who remain on track to cut 25 bps next Wednesday, nor for markets, with swaps having hardly budged across the curve since the figures crossed." "If it tells us anything, it's that the BLS really do need to improve their data collection methods ASAP, as that's now 2 chunky downward benchmark revisions in consecutive years, though President Trump clearly has his own ideas - possibly misplaced ones - about how they can do that." BRIAN JACOBSEN, CHIEF ECONOMIST, ANNEX WEALTH MANAGEMENT, MENOMONEE FALLS, WISCONSIN: "The preliminary benchmark revision was a lot bigger than expected. The final revisions won’t be released until February. Most likely, the BLS was over-guessing how many new businesses were being formed in 2024. The flipside is that the BLS could be underestimating how many new businesses are currently being formed." "The Fed's decision to deliver a super-sized cut in September 2024 is vindicated since payroll growth in August 2024 will likely be revised to a negative 5,000. If the Fed was justified in cutting 50 bps in September 2024, it could be justified in cutting 50 bps in September 2025. The more likely course is for the Fed to deliver an October and December cut rather than trying to deliver a catchup cut in September." https://www.reuters.com/business/view-us-payrolls-growth-through-march-revised-sharply-lower-2025-09-09/

2025-09-09 14:06

LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Hedge fund returns were buoyed in August as stock markets raced to fresh highs, particularly in the United States and Asia, and shares in health care and technology industries rallied, bank reports and sources familiar with the funds suggest. World stocks rose to record highs last month and climbed over 3.5% (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab. Sign up here. Hedge fund stock pickers returned over 2.2% in August and are up just over 10% for the year so far, a Goldman Sachs note to clients this week showed. Systematic hedge funds, which use algorithms to trade, returned almost 2.4% for the month and are now up 12.3% for the year to August-end, the note showed. Hedge fund leverage, an indication of how actively hedge funds trade, declined across all regions into September, suggesting hedge funds turned cautious despite the anticipated U.S. rate cut later in September, said the Goldman note. Trading flows declined, added a separate note by JPMorgan. Hedge funds sold stocks in all regions apart from China and to a lesser extent Taiwan, India and South Korea. Emerging markets Asia, which includes these countries, saw record hedge fund stock buying, Goldman said. British hedge fund Marshall Wace, which manages over $70 billion in assets, returned 0.41% in its Eureka Fund in August and 1.95% in its Market Neutral Tops fund. U.S. multi-strats also returned positive results with Citadel's Wellington fund up 0.9% for August and 4.8% higher for the year so far. Millennium Management returned 1.2% for August and was up 4.4% for the year to August-end. https://www.reuters.com/business/hedge-funds-ride-august-highs-keep-returns-positive-2025-09-09/

2025-09-09 12:37

NEW YORK, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Stablecoin issuer Figure Technologies is increasing the size and upping the price of its initial public offering as retail investors bid up crypto-related stocks, a person familiar with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The company is considering a new IPO price range of $20 - $22 a share – from $18 - $20 a share – and raising the number of shares to 31.5 million from around 26 million, this person said, asking not to be identified because the information isn't public yet. Sign up here. The new pricing will raise roughly $693 million, up from $526 million. The exact amounts were still in flux late Monday night and could be adjusted again before its IPO on Thursday, this person said, cautioning that the decision to revise the IPO plan wasn't yet final. Figure didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The blockchain firm, which initially targeted a valuation of $4.1 billion, is scheduled to start trading on the NASDAQ on Thursday under the symbol FIGR. The Trump administration's embrace of the crypto industry has prompted investors to pour money into digital assets, especially following the successful debuts of crypto exchange Bullish (BLSH.N) , opens new tab, and stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL.N) , opens new tab in recent weeks. Co-founded in 2018 by technology entrepreneur Mike Cagney, Figure operates a blockchain-native platform for lending, trading and investing in consumer credit and digital assets. The company says it funds home equity loans in just 10 days, compared to the industry average of 42 days. It swung to a profit of $29 million for the six months ended June 30, compared with a loss of $13 million in the same period a year earlier. https://www.reuters.com/business/stablecoin-issuer-figure-technologies-set-upsize-ipo-demand-crypto-related-2025-09-09/

2025-09-09 12:29

NextDecade to announce FID on new Rio Grande LNG train -Total CEO Total to continue investing in US energy US LNG exports hit all-time record high last month LNG market could face glut if all planned projects built, Total CEO says PARIS/MILAN, Sept 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. is building too many liquefied natural gas plants, TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab CEO Patrick Pouyanne said on Tuesday, warning it could lead to a long-lasting glut in the market if all planned projects come online. Pouyanne earlier said that a final investment decision on additional units at the Rio Grande LNG project in Texas, in which Total has a stake, would be announced later on Tuesday. Sign up here. The French oil major is the world's largest buyer of U.S. LNG, with gas surpassing oil in the company's sales mix for the first time last year, as a transition to cleaner fuels boosts global gas demand in a trend expected to last decades. The United States is the world's top LNG exporter, with total annual capacity expected to reach 115 million tons this year and more projects on the way, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. "We are building too much," Pouyanne said during a panel on LNG at the GasTech conference in Milan. "We are facing many U.S. projects. We will face oversupply ... for some years if all these projects come onstream." However, Pouyanne earlier told CNBC in an interview that the U.S. presented "plenty of energy" investment opportunities for Total. "We continue to explore gas and LNG, and we will announce a new train for Rio Grande LNG; the FID (final investment decision) will be announced today," he said. Pouyanne will meet with the U.S. energy and interior secretaries later on Tuesday. NextDecade (NEXT.O) , opens new tab, which is developing Rio Grande, did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of U.S. business hours. The Houston-based LNG producer has previously said it was targeting mid-September for the final investment decision on a fourth and fifth train, or liquefaction unit, at Rio Grande. TotalEnergies has a 17.5% stake in NextDecade and a 16.7% interest in Phase 1 of the Rio Grande project, which includes the first three trains. In April, it signed a 20-year deal to purchase 1.5 million tons per year from Train 4, although Reuters reported last month that Total had declined its option to invest in Train 5. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/totalenergies-ceo-says-us-lng-drive-may-cause-global-oversupply-flags-new-rio-2025-09-09/

2025-09-09 12:09

Stocks get lift from Fed easing expectations Traders await payrolls benchmark revision Markets unrattled by France political upheaval Investors weigh 50bp cut, look to U.S. CPI, PPI releases for clues Political turmoil in many countries complicates outlook for FX bond markets SINGAPORE/LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Global stocks and the dollar steadied on Tuesday ahead of a key revision to U.S. payrolls numbers that could help shape investor thinking about the likely course of Federal Reserve policy, while gold hit a new record high. Elsewhere, European markets brushed off French political uncertainty after the government's collapse on Monday. Sign up here. S&P futures (.EScv1) , opens new tab ticked 0.1% higher and Nasdaq futures (.NQcv1) , opens new tab rose 0.2%, which would see the tech-focused index surpass a record high scaled in the previous session. Europe's STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) , opens new tab was up 0.1% after Asian shares (.MIAPJ0000PUS) , opens new tab earlier added 1%. French blue chips (.FCHI) , opens new tab were up 0.2% and earlier rose as much as 0.7% while the country's government bonds were steady. Breathing new life into the equities rally were expectations that the Fed will cut rates when it meets next week, following Friday's weak U.S. jobs report. While consumer and producer price inflation data are due in the week ahead, investors are betting that a 25-basis-point cut this month is a done deal, with focus now on whether the Fed could deliver a larger 50-bp move. The U.S. Labor Department will report a preliminary revision estimate to the employment level for the 12 months through March later in the day. "They are likely to cut anywhere between half a million and 750,000 jobs off the payrolls count for the 12 months to March, if you get a figure like that it's only going to spur that dovish repricing a little bit further," said Pepperstone's Brown. Markets are now pricing in an over 11% chance the Fed could lower rates by 50bp this month, compared to zero a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Spot gold earlier touched a fresh record high of $3,659.1 an ounce, buoyed by expectations of imminent Fed cuts. POLITICAL TURMOIL Renewed uncertainty over the political landscape across various economies has rattled currency and bond markets in the past few sessions. French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking his fifth prime minister in less than two years after opposition parties united to kick out centre-right Prime Minister Francois Bayrou over his unpopular plans for budget tightening. Bayrou, handed a 364-194 defeat in a parliamentary confidence vote on Monday, will officially offer his resignation to Macron on Tuesday. The government's collapse was already largely priced in, and Macron has so far ruled out calls for a snap parliamentary or presidential election, which the far-right National Rally has called for. "If we were to avoid elections, clearly that would be more of a market positive than the alternative, though it doesn't do much to alter the rather perilous fiscal trajectory that France remains on," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone. "It does remove a little bit of risk in the short-term, which is why markets are by and large shrugging all of that off this morning." French 10-year bonds came under modest pressure, pushing yields up around 1.2 basis points to 3.4845%, broadly in line with the rest of the government debt market. "The tail risk is having a new presidential election before 2027 and a prime minister whose policies are not well received by financial markets," said Kevin Thozet, investment committee member at Carmignac. "Markets are saying the probability of this happening is very low, so no reason to panic." The euro hit a more than six-week high of $1.1756 and was last 0.1% lower on the day. Along with upheaval in France, investors are also mulling Ishiba's resignation in Japan, a heavy election defeat for Argentina President Javier Milei's ruling party in local elections and the abrupt replacement of Indonesia's finance minister. Still, losses across currencies were capped by a broadly weaker dollar, while most bond markets have since largely held steady. The yen was last 0.6% stronger at 146.6 per dollar, clawing back its losses from the previous session. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield , which typically reflects near-term rate expectations, rose 1.8 bps to 3.513%. The benchmark 10-year yield rose 2 bps but was still near a five-month trough, last at 4.0684%. In commodities, oil prices gained on Tuesday after OPEC+ decided to increase production by less than what market participants had anticipated. Brent crude futures were up 0.9% at $66.58 per barrel. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-4-2025-09-09/

2025-09-09 12:07

Baker Hughes to collaborate on 500-megawatt project Geothermal energy gains interest from Big Tech for AI power needs CTR's Hell's Kitchen project spans 4,500 acres near Salton Sea Baker Hughes to help raise capital for Hell's Kitchen project NEW YORK, Sept 9 (Reuters) - U.S. oilfield services firm Baker Hughes (BKR.O) , opens new tab is collaborating with Controlled Thermal Resources in California to develop one of the world's largest single geothermal power projects, with plans to market the electricity to data centers, the companies said on Tuesday. Energy-intensive data centers, which are used to produce the next wave of artificial intelligence technologies, are driving U.S. power demand to record highs and propelling the advancement of electricity sources that had been in decline or sparsely used. Sign up here. CTR has been working on the development of its "Hell's Kitchen" geothermal power and critical minerals project for roughly 13 years. The privately-held company has about 4,500 acres (18.2 square kilometers) in and around the Salton Sea in Imperial County, California for development. Baker Hughes has signed onto the second phase of Hell's Kitchen, which involves producing 500 megawatts of power, or enough to power about 375,000 homes, with the possibility of expanding from there, CTR told Reuters. Baker will deploy high-temperature drilling technologies, power systems, and services historically used for oil and gas field production to help streamline and lower project costs, CTR CEO Rod Colwell told Reuters. "That kind of expertise is very powerful," Colwell said. Baker will also assist in raising capital for the project. While geothermal energy has been used in the U.S. for decades, it remains less than 0.5% of the country's electricity supplies due partially to high upfront costs. Recently, however, geothermal power producers have found new customers in Big Tech as the Silicon Valley companies scour for the vast amounts of electricity needed for their AI expansion plans. Meta, in June, said that it had signed power purchase agreements for advanced geothermal in New Mexico for its data centers. Google reached an agreement last year for geothermal power in Nevada. Conventional geothermal energy production involves drilling wells deep into the earth to release extremely hot salty brine, which produces steam that can be used to propel power turbines. Geothermal power plants, according to the Energy Information Administration, emit about 99% less carbon dioxide than fossil fuel power plants. CTR declined to provide details on the total project costs. CTR is nearing a final investment decision on the first phase of Hell's Kitchen, which involves producing 50 MW of electricity that has been committed to the local electric utility. Commercial operations for that phase are supposed to begin in 2027. The timeline for the start of operations of the second-phase power plants is likely to be in the late 2020s. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/baker-hughes-joins-giant-california-geothermal-power-project-2025-09-09/