Finance
ISM Services Index Reads 54.9% in September; Prices Gauge Rises to 74.0, Highest Since July 2022
The Institute for Supply Management's survey shows U.S. service businesses still growing but more slowly, hiring roughly flat after two months of decline, and reporting the broadest input-price increases in more than four years.
Brent Trades Near $101 After Kpler Reports Gulf Crude Exports Back at Pre-War Levels; G7's 100 Million-Barrel Reserve Release Was Agreed Oct. 2
The Kpler recovery figure counts Gulf crude exports outside Iran, including pipelines that skip the Strait of Hormuz, while fuel shipments through the strait stay far below normal and Houthi strike claims and Iran's conditions for reopening keep traders cautious.
Stocks Rose Friday After U.S. Added 29,000 Jobs in September; ISM Services, Fed Minutes Lead the Week of Oct. 5
Short-term Treasury yields fell after the weak jobs report, but the 10-year yield closed slightly higher. ISM services data is due Monday, minutes of the Fed's September rate-hike meeting come out Wednesday, and earnings season starts Thursday with PepsiCo.
Accenture Stock Closes Up 15.6% After Quarterly Earnings of $3.29 a Share Top Analyst Forecasts
The consulting giant's fiscal fourth-quarter profit and revenue beat Wall Street estimates, and it forecast 3% to 6% revenue growth for fiscal 2027. The results came after a year in which investors had marked its shares down on fears that AI would shrink demand for consultants.
Yen Ends Week Near 158 per Dollar as Tokyo and Washington Repeat Warnings and Bank of Japan Weighs Its Next Hike
The dollar bought 157.66 yen on Oct. 2. That is weaker for the yen than in early September, but stronger than the near-164 level that set off this summer's joint U.S.-Japan intervention. Policymakers in Tokyo are split on how fast to keep raising rates.
U.S. Employers Added 29,000 Jobs in September as Unemployment Rate Rose to 4.2%, Labor Department Says
Hiring came in well below forecasts and earlier months were revised down. Traders cut their bets on another Federal Reserve rate hike at its October meeting, while the White House and Democrats drew opposite lessons from the last jobs report before the midterms.
Corteva Completes Seed Spin-Off as Vylor Starts NYSE Trading; 15 States and Guam Sue Over PFAS Liabilities
Corteva shareholders got one Vylor share for each Corteva share on Oct. 1. The same day, a bipartisan group of state attorneys general sued, saying the split moves the company's most valuable assets away from future 'forever chemical' claims, which Corteva calls speculative.
Onsemi and Synaptics Switch to a $123-a-Share All-Cash Deal After Rival Bid; Stated Value Is $5.7 Billion, vs. $7 Billion in June
The amended merger replaces a fixed stock swap with cash, and the two headline values measure different things, so whether Synaptics shareholders now get more or less depends on how the old deal is valued.
U.S. Stocks End Oct. 1 Slightly Higher After Morning Drop as 10-Year Treasury Yield Touches Highest Level Since 2002
The S&P 500 closed up 0.19% after an early swing lower, as a global bond selloff peaked and then eased. Contrary to some framing, data that day showed jobless claims at their lowest since July and manufacturing still growing.
Trump Says South Korea Will Put $54 Billion Into Alaska LNG Project; Seoul Says It Has Not Decided Whether to Invest
The Alaska pipeline is the largest piece of a $200 billion package that the White House tied to the 2025 U.S.-South Korea trade deal, and South Korea's government says it will invest only if the project proves commercially viable.
Baldwin Group Agrees to $32.50-a-Share Cash Buyout Led by Sequence Holdings and Michael Dell's Family Office in Deal Valued at $7.7 Billion
The Sept. 14 agreement is 88% above Baldwin's June 17 share price, set before any deal talk was reported, but only about 10% above the stock's last close before the announcement; law firms are now looking into whether the price is fair.
Micron Reports $54.2 Billion in Quarterly Revenue, Beating Estimates, and Forecasts $61.5 Billion for Next Quarter
Micron's fiscal fourth-quarter sales rose 379% from a year earlier on AI-driven memory demand. The company expects its gross margin to dip slightly next quarter and plans to raise factory spending sharply.