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By Gregor Stuart Hunter SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The U.S. dollar regained its footing in early Asian trading on Thursday after the U.S. Supreme Court said it would hear arguments in January over President Donald Trump's attempt to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, leaving her in the post for now. Market concern about the Fed's independence now "moves to the backburner for the next few months," said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG in Sydney. The dollar's broader index measure against a basket of key currencies edged up 0.1% to 97.80, retracing declines after four straight days of losses, as traders pondered the length of the U.S. government shutdown and its effect on economic data releases. "We're in a bit of a void," Sycamore added. "We're effectively done now, in terms of market-moving data, until October 13." The U.S. government shutdown has put the brakes on the flow of federal economic data at a moment of uncertainty and division among policymakers. The Trump administration on Wednesday froze $26 billion for Democratic-leaning states, following through on a threat to use the shutdown to target Democratic priorities. The betting website Polymarket indicates the highest likelihood that the standoff will last between one or two weeks, though there is currently a 34% probability of a longer shutdown, with just shy of $1 million wagered. U.S. private payrolls unexpectedly dropped by 32,000 last month after a downwardly revised 3,000 decline in August, according to data released by ADP on Wednesday. Investors have focused on this report for fresh clues on the health of the workforce, as the shutdown means the Labor Department's more comprehensive and closely followed employment report for September will not be published on Friday. U.S. manufacturing activity also edged up in September, though new orders and employment were subdued as factories grappled with the fallout from Trump's sweeping tariffs. The market is assuming that further policy easing at the Federal Reserve's October meeting is a lock, with Fed funds futures implying a 99.4% probability of a 25-basis-point cut, up from 96.2% a day earlier, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool. Gold, which has surged to record highs as investors back away from the U.S. dollar, slipped 0.2% in early trading to $3,857.09 per ounce. Against the yen, the dollar traded at 147.305 yen, up 0.2% from late U.S. levels. Against the offshore yuan, the dollar fetched 7.13 yuan, up 0.1% in early Asian trade. Chinese markets are closed for the Golden Week holiday. The euro stood at $1.1725, down 0.04% so far in Asia, after the Wall Street Journal reported the United States will provide Ukraine with intelligence for long-range missile strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure. Sterling was steady at $1.3474. The Australian dollar was 0.1% weaker at $0.6608, while the kiwi fetched $0.58145, little changed in early trading. (Reporting by Gregor Stuart Hunter)

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(Corrects headline to remove undefined comparison; no changes to story text) (Reuters) -OpenAI generated around $4.3 billion in revenue in the first half of 2025, about 16% more than it generated all of last year, The Information reported on Monday, citing financial disclosures to shareholders. OpenAI said it burned $2.5 billion, in large part due to its research and development costs for developing artificial intelligence and for running ChatGPT, the report added. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for a comment. Research and development cost the ChatGPT maker $6.7 billion in the first half, the report said, adding that it had about $17.5 billion in cash and securities at the end of the period. OpenAI looks to meet its full-year revenue target of $13 billion and a cash-burn target of $8.5 billion, the report added. In August, Reuters reported that OpenAI was in early-stage discussions about a stock sale that would allow employees to cash out and likely valuing the company at about $500 billion. Nvidia said last week it will invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI and supply data‑center chips. (Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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By David French (Reuters) -BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners is in advanced talks to buy utility group AES, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, a deal that could be one of the largest ever involving a U.S.-listed power company.  AES shares soared to close 16.8% higher at $15.37, their highest finish in 11 months, on the news that was first reported by the Financial Times. AES carries consolidated debt of around $29 billion, and after Wednesday's close, its market capitalization stood at $10.94 billion, implying any deal would likely value the company at more than $40 billion.  A transaction could be announced in the coming weeks, according to two of the sources, who cautioned there was no guarantee that an agreement will be reached and talks could still fall through. The two sources, plus two further sources, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential deliberations, confirmed that discussions have been ongoing between AES and GIP in recent months.  AES and GIP declined comment.  Power companies are drawing investor interest as artificial intelligence and data centers drive a surge in power demand, spurring a wave of dealmaking across the sector.  AES, which surpassed Wall Street estimates for its second-quarter profit in July, has experienced significant growth in its renewables unit over the past year. This expansion has been fueled by a global push for cleaner sources of power generation, coinciding with projections that U.S. power consumption will reach record levels.  BlackRock last year acquired GIP for $12.5 billion as part of its move to expand its footprint in infrastructure and private markets. GIP has a notable track record in the utility space, including teaming up with CPP Investments last year on a pending $6.2 billion take-private acquisition of U.S. utility Allete. Arlington, Virginia-based AES has power assets on four continents, generating more than 36,000 megawatts, according to its website.  (Reporting by David French in New York and Gnaneshwar Rajan and Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru, Additional reporting by Ateev Bhandari and Arunima Kumar; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri, Mark Porter, Nick Zieminski and Tom Hogue)

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