* Miran advocates for aggressive rate cuts due to economic changes. * Fed officials divided on rate cuts amid inflation concerns. * Miran's stance contrasts with broader Fed policy approach. By Michael S. Derby.
The European stock markets closed mostly higher in Friday trading as the Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.49%, the FTSE 100 rose 0.67%, France's CAC increased 0.31%, the Swiss Market Index advanced 0.64%, while Germany's DAX was off 0.15%. The euro area economy grew for the fourth straight month as the HCOB Eurozone Composite PMI Output Index rose to 51.2 in August from 51.0 the previous month.
The U.S. Federal Reserve announced Friday it had approved the acquisition of Veritex Holdings, Inc., by Huntington Bancshares (HBAN), clearing the way for the $1.9 billion all-stock deal announced in July.
* Government shutdown delays key labor data release. * ISM data adds evidence of sluggish labor market. * Fed officials show diverse views on interest rate path. By Davide Barbuscia. U.S. Treasury yields were marginally higher in thin trading on Friday, as the postponement of key labor data because of the U.S. government shutdown left the market without much directional conviction.
Canada's main stock index hit a fresh record high on Friday, as technology shares climbed, while growing hopes of a near-term Federal Reserve rate cut overshadowed concerns over a U.S. government shutdown. Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.7% at 30,368.02 points, notching its sixth straight day of gains and eclipsing Thursday's record high.
AM Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating to A+ from A and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings to ?aa-? from ?a+? of the members of Northbridge Financial Corporation, which is composed of Federated Insurance Company of Canada, Northbridge General Insurance Corporation, Zenith Insurance Company and Verassure Insurance Company.
* Indexes: Dow up 0.59%, S&P 500 up 0.18%, Nasdaq down 0.03% * Applied Materials (AMAT) flags $600 mln revenue hit in 2026. * USA Rare Earth (USAR) rises after report of talks with White House. By Niket Nishant and Sukriti Gupta.
-Bank of America Global Research on Friday pulled forward its forecast for the next Federal Reserve interest rate cut to October from December, citing signs of a softening labor market.
National Bank of Canada Friday retained Open Text's (OTEX) outperform rating and US$45 price target. OpenText recently announced the divestiture of its eDOCS solution, part of the company's analytics portfolio, for $163 million to NetDocuments.
The Institute for Supply Management's US services index fell to a reading of 50.0 in September from 52.0 in August, compared with expectations for a smaller decrease to a reading of 51.7 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:45 am ET, indicating neither expansion nor contraction.
U.S. services sector activity stalled in September amid a sharp slowdown in new orders, while subdued employment added to mounting evidence of sluggish labor market conditions because of sagging demand and supply of workers. The survey from the Institute for Supply Management on Friday also showed a measure of prices paid by services businesses for inputs hovering near three-year highs last month.
* US services sector flatlines in September. * Services employment index contracts for fourth straight month. By Lucia Mutikani. U.S. services sector activity stalled in September amid a sharp slowdown in new orders, while subdued employment added to mounting evidence of sluggish labor market conditions because of waning demand and supply of workers.
-Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee on Friday said he was hesitant to commit to a series of interest rate cuts with inflation still running above the central bank's 2% target, echoing the concerns of several of his peers about the persistence of inflation for services.
* Goolsbee cautious on rate cuts amid persistent services inflation. * Fed cut rates last month, markets expect two more reductions. * Government shutdown halts key economic data reports. By Dan Burns.
Equity Insider?News Commentary Issued on behalf of GoldHaven Resource Corp.? VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Equity Insider News Commentary -- Gold shattered records in late September, with the precious metal's futures opening briefly near an unprecedented $3,900 on October 2[1]. Federal Reserve officials acknowledge inflation remains somewhat elevated despite rate adjustments[2],...
* Wall Street higher, European stocks enjoy best week since April. * U.S. shut down means no jobs report on Friday. * Gold set for seventh straight weekly gain. * Yen on pace for strongest week vs dollar since May. By Marc Jones.
Canada's services economy contracted at a steeper pace in September as businesses shed jobs and outstanding work sank to a five-year low, S&P Global's Canada services PMI data showed on Friday. The headline Business Activity Index fell to 46.3 last month from 48.6 in August, registering its lowest reading since June. It was the 10th straight month that the index was below the 50 threshold.
Canada's main stock index edged higher at the open on Friday, led by materials shares, as growing hopes of a near-term Federal Reserve rate cut overshadowed concerns over a U.S. government shutdown. At 9:30 a.m. ET, Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.15% at 30,205.05 points.
Wall Street's main indexes opened higher on Friday as optimism about an imminent interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve boosted sentiment in the final trading session of a week that saw volatility due to the U.S. government shutdown.
* Gold up over 3% so far this week. * UBS expects gold to rise to $4,200 over coming months. * US Senate to vote on dueling plans to end shutdown. By Noel John and John Biju. Gold prices firmed on Friday, poised for a seventh consecutive weekly gain, supported by growing concerns over the economic impact of a prolonged government shutdown and expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts.
Brazil's industrial production beat expectations in August, data from statistics agency IBGE showed on Friday, despite the continuous pressure of tight monetary policy. After four months of mostly negative results, output in Latin America's largest economy grew 0.8% in August from July, IBGE said, above the 0.3% expected by economists polled by Reuters.
* Futures up: Dow 0.15%, S&P 500 0.08%, Nasdaq 0.08% * Applied Materials (AMAT) flags $600 mln revenue hit in 2026. * USA Rare Earth (USAR) rises after report of talks with White House. By Niket Nishant and Sukriti Gupta.
Sweden's central bank said on Friday it had agreed with payment companies to establish a system by mid-2026 that allows Swedes to pay for essential goods with payment cards that work offline, in the event of a disruption to internet connections.
UBS said it expects the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to deliver a 50bps cut at Wednesday's policy meeting after a significantly weaker-than-expected gross domestic prodcut print, more balanced inflation risks and only tentative signs of a recovery into 2026.
The US dollar was mixed against its major trading partners early Friday - up versus the yen and Canadian dollar, down versus the euro and pound -- as the US government shutdown extends into its third day. The Senate is expected to vote again Friday afternoon to end the shutdown, but that comes too late for the September nonfarm payrolls employment data, which will be postponed.
USD/CAD has come off its 1.36 lows lately, noted UBS. While much of the support was driven by the US dollar, the Canadian dollar also played a role, wrote the bank in a note to clients. Signs of weakness are now clearly visible in the Canadian economy, said UBS. As a consequence, the September Labour Force Survey data due next week bear watching, stated the bank.
-U.S. equity funds saw robust inflows in the week to October 1 on renewed bets of rate cuts, as an inflation report eased worries that a buildup in prices would push the Federal Reserve to delay policy support for a weakening labor market.
U.S. equity funds saw robust inflows in the week to October 1 on renewed bets of rate cuts, as an inflation report eased worries that a buildup in prices would push the Federal Reserve to delay policy support for a weakening labor market.
* Futures up: Dow 0.24%, S&P 500 0.22%, Nasdaq 0.24% * Applied Materials (AMAT) flags $600 mln revenue hit in 2026. * USA Rare Earth (USAR) rises after report firm in talks with White House. By Niket Nishant and Sukriti Gupta.
The pound firmed slightly against a broadly weaker dollar on Friday, with traders digesting news that business activity growth was slowing while they awaited remarks from Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey. They were also looking ahead to British finance minister Rachel Reeves' budget due in eight weeks.
There have been only modest foreign exchange moves so far on Friday, but amongst these modest moves, the yen is the underperformer, said MUFG. The slightly weaker yen is down to the comments from Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda. However, a strong signal from Ueda on Friday was never a likely prospect ahead of the LDP leadership election on Saturday, stated MUFG.
-Global equity funds witnessed robust demand in the week through October 1 as an inline U.S. inflation report and weaker-than-expected private payrolls data renewed hopes of Federal Reserve rate cuts. Investors bought a net $49.19 billion worth of global equity funds during the week, the most since November 13 last year, data from LSEG Lipper showed.
Global equity funds witnessed robust demand in the week through October 1 as an inline U.S. inflation report and weaker-than-expected private payrolls data renewed hopes of Federal Reserve rate cuts. Investors bought a net $49.19 billion worth of global equity funds during the week, the most since November 13 last year, data from LSEG Lipper showed.
Futures tied to Canada's main stock index edged higher on Friday, as growing hopes of a near-term Federal Reserve rate cut overshadowed concerns over a U.S. government shutdown. The S&P/TSX index futures contracts were up 0.42% at 1,784.60 points as of 06:07 a.m. ET.
-Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said Friday that unpredictable change is inevitable and central banks need to be aware of that and have strategies to operate in those environments. Williams' comments, which came in prepared remarks for an event in Amsterdam, did not address the outlook for U.S. monetary policy.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said Friday that unpredictable change is inevitable and central banks need to be aware of that and have strategies to operate in those environments. Williams' comments, which came in prepared remarks for an event in Amsterdam, did not address the outlook for U.S. monetary policy.
AUSTIN, Texas and TOKYO, Oct. 3, 2025 According to?DataM Intelligence, the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Market?Size reached US$ 238.7 Billion in 2024, up from US$ 224.7 Billion in 2023, and is projected to grow to US$ 428.5 Billion by 2033, recording a CAGR of 6.8% between 2025?2033.
* FTSE 100 up 0.6%, FTSE 250 rises 0.7% * Diploma shares rise after RBC rating upgrade. * JD Wetherspoon falls after flagging higher costs. * UK business activity grows at slowest pace in 5 months- PMI.
* European stock have best week since April U.S. shut down means no jobs report on Friday Gold set for seventh straight weekly gain. * Yen on pace for strongest week vs dollar since May. By Marc Jones.
* Dollar weakens slightly versus major peers. * BOJ's Ueda cautious on global economy, lowering imminent rate-hike bets. * FedWatch Tool shows 89% probability of December rate cut. * Dollar rebounds despite U.S. government shutdown. By Rocky Swift and Lucy Raitano.
British business activity grew at the slowest pace in five months in September as companies and consumers put big spending decisions on hold as they waited to see if they would be hit by tax rises in November's budget, a survey showed on Friday.
Growth in the euro zone services sector accelerated slightly in September to an eight-month high, although the expansion remained modest with hiring stalling amid a limited improvement in demand, a survey showed. The HCOB Eurozone Services PMI Business Activity Index rose to 51.3 in September from 50.5 in August, S&P Global reported.
* Gold up 2% so far this week. * Traders price in 25-bp Fed rate cut this month. * Government shutdown delaying jobs, other data. By Anmol Choubey and Anushree Mukherjee. Gold prices held steady on Friday, poised for a seventh consecutive weekly rise, as expectations of further U.S. interest rate cuts and concerns over the economic impact of a prolonged government shutdown lent support.
In general the bond market is volatile, and fixed income securities carry interest rate risk. (As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. This effect is usually more pronounced for longer-term securities.) Fixed income securities also carry inflation risk and credit and default risks for both issuers and counterparties. Unlike individual bonds, most bond funds do not have a maturity date, so avoiding losses caused by price volatility by holding them until maturity is not possible.
Lower-quality debt securities generally offer higher yields, but also involve greater risk of default or price changes due to potential changes in the credit quality of the issuer. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to loss.
Before investing, consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully.