Source: CNBCTV18
Steve Davis, who served as Elon Musk’s de facto second-in-command at the Department of Government Efficiency, is following the billionaire adviser out of President Donald Trump’s signature cost-cutting effort, a person familiar with the move said Thursday.
Like Musk, Davis was serving as a special government employee, a designation that allowed him to keep his job as CEO of one of the billionaire entrepreneur’s companies, the Boring Co., even as he worked on the DOGE effort. SGEs are limited to 130 days of work for the government in any year.
Davis’s move was detailed on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel moves not yet made public. The Boring Co. is a tunnel construction and equipment company. Davis has also worked at other Musk enterprises, including SpaceX and Twitter, which Musk rebranded as X.
Recurring applications for US jobless benefits jumped to the highest level since November 2021, possibly presaging a rise in the unemployment rate this month.
Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, increased by 26,000 to 1.92 million in the week ended May 17. That exceeded the median forecast of 1.89 million in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
The period includes the reference week for the government’s employment report for the month of May, which is due June 6.
European natural gas declined amid persistent demand concerns, despite a US court decision to block President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs.
Benchmark futures slumped as much as 3.9%, erasing earlier gains, on the last trading day of the June contract.
Volatility continues to roil Europe’s gas market, with prices whipsawed by US trade policy, unplanned supply outages and fluctuating competition for liquefied natural gas. Yet consumption, including in top importer China, is sluggish.
Database technology startup ClickHouse Inc. has nearly tripled its valuation to $6.35 billion in a new funding round, according to a person familiar with the matter — underscoring investors’ enthusiasm for companies that will power the use of artificial intelligence.
Khosla Ventures led the $350 million financing, ClickHouse plans to announce Thursday. The startup’s data platform, which targets fast and cheap responses to queries, will help companies run and build AI tools, in addition to other day-to-day tasks.
Kazakhstan is considering building a natural gas refinery at the Karachaganak oil field by itself, after the cost of the development proposed by international oil companies ballooned to about $6 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
The companies, led by Eni SpA and Shell Plc, have delayed the planned completion of the facility to 2030 from the previously planned date of 2028, the people said. They have also asked the Kazakh state to help cover about $1 billion of the project’s budget in order to make it commercially viable, the people said.
In response, Kazakhstan’s government is weighing possibility for state-run KazMunayGas National Co. to build the refinery itself, the people said.
Stocks advanced on Thursday after a federal court knocked down President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs. A post-earnings rally from artificial intelligence heavyweight Nvidia also lifted the market.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.5%, putting it back in positive territory for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 46 points, or 0.1%.
The US Court of International Trade ruled on Wednesday night that Trump overstepped his authority when he imposed his “reciprocal” tariffs. The court ordered that the challenged tariff orders be vacated.
Two of Wall Street’s top investment banks cautioned that the impact of a court ruling striking down many of President Donald Trump’s tariff measures may prove limited, given that the administration has other avenues to impose import duties.
“The tariff levels that we had yesterday are probably going to be the tariff levels that we have tomorrow, because there are so many different authorities the administration can reach into to put it back together,” Michael Zezas, Morgan Stanley’s global head of fixed income and thematic research, said on Bloomberg TV Thursday.
The US economy shrank at the start of the year, restrained by weaker consumer spending and even more imports than initially reported.
Gross domestic product decreased at a 0.2% annualized pace in the first quarter, the second estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed Thursday. That compared with an initially reported 0.3% decline.
The economy’s primary growth engine — consumer spending — advanced 1.2%, compared with an initial estimate of 1.8%. Net exports subtracted 4.9 percentage points, slightly more than the first projection.
GDP figures are revised multiple times as more data become available, enabling the government to fine-tune its estimate. The first projection, released in late April, showed the economy contracted for the first time since 2022. The final estimate is due next month.
The US economy shrank at the start of the year, restrained by weaker consumer spending and even more imports than initially reported.
Gross domestic product decreased at a 0.2% annualized pace in the first quarter, the second estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed Thursday. That compared with an initially reported 0.3% decline.
The economy’s primary growth engine — consumer spending — advanced 1.2%, compared with an initial estimate of 1.8%. Net exports subtracted 4.9 percentage points, slightly more than the first projection.
GDP figures are revised multiple times as more data become available, enabling the government to fine-tune its estimate. The first projection, released in late April, showed the economy contracted for the first time since 2022. The final estimate is due next month.
The European Union is set to offer greater flexibility in July over achieving its emissions-reduction target for the next decade, as the bloc seeks to bolster flagging support for its ambitious climate plans.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, told member states it’s considering publishing a measure to set an interim climate goal for 2040 on July 2, according to diplomats with knowledge of the matter. Options under consideration include allowing some international carbon credits and giving up sub-targets for various sectors, the diplomats said, asking not be identified as the discussions are private.
The new target will also include so-called removals — activities that remove or prevent carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere.
The US plans to start “aggressively” revoking visas for Chinese students, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, escalating the Trump administration’s push for greater scrutiny of foreigners attending American universities.
Rubio said in a statement that students affected would include “those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.” The US will also enhance scrutiny “of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong,” he added.
China had the second most students in the US of any country in 2024, behind India.
Kohl’s Corp. reported better-than-expected comparable sales, signaling that the retailer’s turnaround plan may be beginning to take hold.
Comparable sales fell 3.9% in the three months ended May 3, slightly better than what analysts were expecting. The company said earlier this month it expected comparable sales to fall 4% to 4.3%. The company reported revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, roughly in line with analysts’ expectations.
The company also affirmed their full-year outlook. The stock rose 3.5% at 7:11 a.m in premarket trading in New York. Kohl’s shares have fallen 42% this year through Wednesday’s close.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said China has stopped selling drones to Kyiv and other European nations while continuing shipments to Russia.
“Chinese Mavic is open for Russians but is closed for Ukrainians,” Zelenskiy told a group of reporters on Tuesday. “There are production lines on Russian territory where there are Chinese representatives,” he added.
The Mavic is a popular civilian quadcopter, normally used for aerial photography, which can be adapted to carry explosives. On the battlefield, Mavics can be used both for surveillance and to attack enemy targets.
Drones have become central to the war in Ukraine, dramatically reshaping the tactics both sides employ on the frontline because of their ability to limit offensive maneuvers. They’ve also been increasingly used for long-range strikes far behind the frontlines.
Royal Bank of Canada missed estimates after setting aside more money than expected to cover possible loan losses amid a faltering economy, even as income rose across most business lines.
Canada’s No. 1 lender earned C$3.12 per share on an adjusted basis in its fiscal second quarter, according to a statement Thursday, falling short of the C$3.18 average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Provisions for credit losses totaled C$1.42 billion ($1.03 billion) for the three months through April, more than the C$1.26 billion analysts had forecast.
As the Canadian economy weakens in the face of US tariff uncertainty, the country’s big banks are preparing by putting aside more money for loans that are still in good standing. Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal, National Bank of Canada and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce which have reported results over the past week, all increased their provisions for performing loans compared with the first quarter.
US Treasury yields rose slightly on Thursday after a federal trade court struck down President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. The ruling, issued by the US Court of International Trade, found the duties exceeded presidential authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and ordered a permanent halt.
The 30-year yield climbed nearly 5 basis points to 5%, while the 10-year hit 4.537% and the 2-year rose to 4.037%. The Trump administration has appealed the decision.
Markets are now turning attention to upcoming US GDP figures and Friday’s release of the personal consumption expenditures index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure.
“If the court ruling holds and tariffs are blocked, brace for a global risk rally across major indices, the US dollar and commodities on improved global growth expectations,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst at Swissquote Bank.
“The AI story is still very much at the frontier of all global productivity for the next decade or two if not longer, so you still want to get exposure when you can,” Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, told Bloomberg TV.
Trading activity in United Arab Emirates’ flagship crude has surged this month to the highest on record, as OPEC+ raises supply quotas.
Aggregate open interest across the full curve in Murban futures on ICE Futures Abu Dhabi rose to 81,000 lots earlier this month, the highest since the contract was introduced in March 2021, exchange data show.
The OPEC+ cartel has been boosting output at a rapid clip this year, bolstering group-wide production even at the expense of lower prices, which touched a four-year low. About two-thirds of the 34 cargo deliveries so far this month in a key Middle Eastern pricing window run by S&P Global Commodity Insights were Murban. That compares with only about half of the 32 trades in April.
After languishing for months, Microsoft Corp. shares are back within striking distance of a record high amid signs that performance in its Azure cloud-computing business is back on track.
The software giant’s shares are about 2% shy of the record reached last July, with their 16% advance in May putting them on track for the best month in more than three years. The rally has been fueled by the broader rebound in US equities, as well as better-than-expected results from Azure, which investors are betting will continue as artificial intelligence drives more business.
“AI is becoming a bigger and bigger component of those revenues,” said Nancy Tengler, chief executive officer at Laffer Tengler Investments. “I do think it’s a sustainer.”
LVMH’s deputy chief executive officer said Chinese customers have been pulling back on travel and consumer spending, indicating that a slump in demand for luxury goods may still have some way to run.
“For the past three months, Chinese tourists have been traveling less and buying less,” when out of the country, Stephane Bianchi told French lawmakers in a hearing on Wednesday.
The comments come after Bloomberg reported last week that the luxury leader has been warning of softening demand. In the first quarter, LVMH’s revenue in the region that includes China fell 11% on an organic basis. The company recorded a similar drop for all of 2024.
Stocks are moving higher in Europe as investors react to the US Court of International Trade blocking President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was last seen trading 0.4% higher, with most sectors in positive territory.
Tariff-sensitive tech, mining and autos stocks led gains, up 1.8%, 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively.
– Chinese foreign minister said that China and US have maintained communication since the Geneva meeing
– China has lodged a complaint with the US over student visa curbs
– China has complained multiple times on US chip controls
– China has urged the US to stop discriminative measures
Saudi Arabia aims to increase potential public offerings as it seeks to diversify its economy away from oil and develop its financial sector.
“We are doing almost 30% from last year,” said Mohammed Al-Rumaih, chief executive officer of the Saudi stock exchange in an interview with Bloomberg Television, referring to the increase in numbers.
Asked about the pipeline for initial public offerings in the kingdom, Al-Rumaih said that like last year they were from different industries.
Toyota Motor Corp.’s sales hit a record for the second month in a row as a strong showing in the US and Japan was boosted by customers making last-minute purchases before President Donald Trump’s tariffs took effect.
The automaker’s global sales, including from subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd., reached 936,718 units in April, a 12% increase from a year earlier year and a record for the month, the company said Thursday. Production came in at 902,425 units worldwide.
Toyota and Lexus brand sales jumped 10% in the US last month thanks to steady demand and an influx in orders as duties on imported cars and parts kicked in.
A court ruling that seeks to block President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs represents only a temporary setback to his trade agenda and can be offset by other taxes, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
The judgment by the US Court of International Trade halts 6.7 percentage points of levies announced this year and the White House could use other tariff tools to make up for that, the bank’s economists said in a note to clients Thursday.
“This ruling represents a setback for the administration’s tariff plans and increases uncertainty but might not change the final outcome for most major US trading partners,” chief US political economist Alec Phillips wrote. “For now, we expect the Trump administration will find other ways to impose tariffs.”
The Trump administration is moving to restrict the sale of chip design software to China, people familiar with the matter said, as the US government evaluates a broader policy announcement on the issue.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security sent letters to some of the leading providers of electronic design automation, or EDA, last Friday telling them to halt shipments to Chinese customers, said the people, asking not to be identified because the policy isn’t yet public. Top makers of the technology include Cadence Design Systems Inc., Synopsys Inc. and Germany’s Siemens AG.
“The Commerce Department is reviewing exports of strategic significance to China,” an agency spokesperson said. “In some cases, Commerce has suspended existing export licenses or imposed additional license requirements while the review is pending.”
Futures on Wall Street are holding on to gains after a US trade court termed the imposition of reciprocal tariffs on 60 countries by the Trump administration as ‘illegal.’
The Dow futures are currently trading with gains of 550 points, while those on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are trading 100 and 410 points higher respectively.
DeepSeek said it has upgraded the R1 artificial intelligence model that helped propel the Chinese startup to global prominence at the start of this year.
The company completed what it described as a “minor trial upgrade” and is allowing users to start testing it, it said in an official WeChat group on Wednesday. Details of the upgrade weren’t provided and the company didn’t respond to an email seeking further comment.
The Hangzhou-based startup stunned the global tech industry in January when it unveiled the original R1, a reasoning AI model that outperformed Western players on several standardized metrics, purportedly at a cost of just several million dollars. It triggered a reconsideration of heavy investments in acquiring AI computational resources and a flurry of new model introductions from Chinese players from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to Zhipu AI.
“This might be considered a body blow, but it’s not the final rendering,” Timothy Moe, the chief Asia Pacific equity strategist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a Bloomberg TV interview.
“Specifically, there are number of other substitute acts that Trump administration could employ to maintain tariffs.”
(From Bloomberg.)
US health officials are terminating a contract with Moderna Inc. worth up to $766 million to develop vaccines for bird flu, a major setback for the company as it faces additional government scrutiny over immunizations.
Moderna said in a statement Wednesday that the vaccine was shown to be safe and well-tolerated in early clinical studies. It had planned to move the vaccine into later-stage trials with funding from the Department of Health and Human Services, but was notified that the agency is canceling its award.
“Today Moderna received notice that HHS will terminate the award for the late-stage development and right to purchase pre-pandemic influenza vaccines,” the company said. Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Bancel said Moderna will continue to explore other paths forward for the program.
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