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(Reuters) -Cboe Australia's application to operate as a listing market has been approved by the country's corporate regulator on Tuesday, enabling it to compete directly with the Australian Securities Exchange and other market operators. Cboe, launched in Australia in 2011 as a competitor to the ASX, can now list new companies, offering Australian investors increased access to investment options such as initial public offerings and dual-listed foreign entities. This decision aligns with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) goal of fostering a competitive and robust local listing market, it said. "Australia's capital markets are strong and resilient, but they must continue to adapt to evolving global market dynamics and meet the future needs of our economy," ASIC Chair Joe Longo said in a statement. "This move will provide more choice for companies to list in Australia, build more links to offshore markets and create more options for investors," Longo added. The move comes amid heightened competition in Australian equities markets, which has already led to reduced trading costs and broader access to products like exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Cboe Australia currently has 20% of Australia's equity market turnover, representing almost A$2 billion ($1.32 billion) of trades each day, ASIC said. ($1 = 1.5119 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

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By Mike Scarcella WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to halt key parts of a judge's order requiring Alphabet's Google to make major changes to its app store Play, as the company prepares to appeal a decision in a lawsuit brought by "Fortnite" maker Epic Games. The justices turned down Google's request to temporarily freeze parts of the injunction won by Epic in its lawsuit accusing the tech giant of monopolizing how consumers access apps on Android devices and pay for transactions within apps. A federal appeals court in July upheld the judge’s sweeping order against Google. The injunction issued last year by U.S. District Judge James Donato requires Google to allow users to download rival app stores within its Play store and make Play's app catalog available to competitors. Those provisions do not take effect until July 2026. The judge also said Google must allow developers to include external links in apps, enabling users to bypass Google's billing system. That part of the injunction is due to take effect later this month. Donato issued his order in a lawsuit that Epic filed in 2020 against Google, alleging its restrictive app store rules violated antitrust law. Epic won a jury trial in San Francisco in 2023. Google has denied any wrongdoing. Google has called Donato's order unprecedented, and said it would cause reputational harm, safety and security risks and put the company at a competitive disadvantage if allowed to take effect. Google in its Supreme Court filing said the changes would have enormous consequences for more than 100 million U.S. Android users and 500,000 developers. Google said it plans to file a full appeal to the Supreme Court by October 27, which could allow the justices to take up the case during their nine-month term that began on Monday. Epic has said Google is relying on what it called "flawed security claims" to justify its control over Android devices. Epic had urged the justices to allow Donato's injunction to take effect "so consumers and developers can benefit from competition, choices and lower prices." In July, a three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction, ruling that the record in Epic's lawsuit was "replete with evidence that Google's anticompetitive conduct entrenched its dominance." Google faces other lawsuits from government, consumer and commercial plaintiffs challenging its search and advertising business practices.  (Reporting by Mike Scarcella in Washington; Additional reporting by Andrew Chung in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham)

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By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand's business confidence in the third quarter worsened as inflation pressures ticked up, a private think tank said on Tuesday. A net 18% of firms surveyed expected general business conditions to improve compared with 22% optimism in the previous quarter, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research's (NZIER) quarterly survey of business opinion showed. Christina Leung, principal economist at NZIER, told a press conference that even though businesses are expecting better times for both their own businesses and the broader economy, they remain cautious when it comes to hiring, investment and overall cost and pricing. On a seasonally adjusted basis, 15% expected business conditions to improve versus 26% optimism recorded in the previous period. The survey's measure of capacity utilization fell to 89.1%, from the previous quarter's 89.4%. The survey noted that cost and pricing indicators suggest an intensifying of inflation pressures in the third quarter with a net 11% of firms reporting they had raised prices. In the previous quarter a net 1% of firms reported they had reduced prices. Leung added the survey suggests economic growth in the third quarter was unchanged, with the potential that there was a small contraction in growth. New Zealand’s economy contracted 0.9% in the second quarter and has shrunk in three of the last five quarters. Weakness in the economy will support the idea that the central bank will cut the cash rate further at its meeting on Wednesday. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has indicated it will cut the cash rate, currently at 3.0% by 50 basis points before the end of the year. A Reuters poll sees the central bank cutting the cash rate by 25 basis points when it meets on Wednesday, but several economists expect the bank to cut the cash rate by 50 basis points. Leung added NZIER’s core view is that the central bank will cut the cash rate by 25 basis points but if they were leaning towards a 50-basis-point cut, “I don’t think there is anything in here that would stop them.” (Reporting by Lucy Craymer in Wellington; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

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MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Australia said on Tuesday it expected gold to become its second most valuable resource export after iron ore this financial year, dislodging liquefied natural gas, as concerns over geopolitical instability fuel demand for the safe-haven metal. Australia's gold exports are expected to rise by A$12 billion ($7.9 billion) to A$60 billion in the current financial year ending in June 2026, as the country exports more gold at higher prices, the department of industry said in its September quarterly report. That would eclipse Australia's export earnings for LNG, which are expected to fall to A$54 billion this financial year, and to A$48 billion the following year, tracking lower oil prices. A lower interest rate environment in the United States is also expected to support gold prices above $3,200 a troy ounce over the next two years, the report said. Gold prices hit a record high on Monday and are trading close to $4,000 an ounce. Gold is bucking the trend seen across most of Australia's resources export earnings which have dropped as energy prices normalise following the spike at the onset of the war in Ukraine that drove earnings to a record above A$460 billion in 2022-2023. Total Australian resource and energy export earnings are forecast to drop by 5% to A$369 billion in the current financial year, and to fall further to A$354 billion in the following year. "Commodity markets are anticipating slower world growth as a result of rising trade barriers and monetary conditions that are still on the restrictive side of neutral in the US," the report said. Iron ore remains the cornerstone of Australia's resource export earnings, accounting for more than 25% of all resource and energy commodities earnings over the next two years. The report lifted its iron ore price forecast by 10% to average $87 a metric ton this financial year from a June forecast, as steel demand is supported by a proposed new hydro dam in Tibet and China's aim to curtail overcapacity in its steel industry. Overall, Australia still sees a downward trend in iron ore earnings, which it expects will fall by A$3.9 billion to A$113 billion in 2025–26 and then to A$103 billion in 2026–27. ($1 = 1.5147 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Jamie Freed)

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(Reuters) -Rio Tinto said on Tuesday it will invest $733 million, alongside joint venture partners Mitsui Iron Ore and Nippon Steel, to develop new iron ore deposits at the West Angelas hub in Western Australia's Pilbara region. Rio Tinto, which holds a $389 million share of the investment, said the West Angelas Sustaining project will maintain the hub's annual production capacity at 35 million tonnes, extending mining operations for several years. The construction will create about 600 jobs, while around 950 full-time roles will be sustained once the project becomes operational. The company expects to mine its first ore in 2027. Mining major Rio added the project forms part of a suite of replacement iron ore developments across Pilbara, supporting a total capacity of around 130 million tonnes per annum. (Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

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By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) -Major stock indexes mostly rose on Monday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting record closing highs after news of AMD's artificial intelligence chip-supply deal with OpenAI, while the yen and euro weakened against the dollar after Japan's ruling party elected a new leader and France's new government quit. Bitcoin hit a record high as investors increasingly sought alternative assets and uncertainty prevailed with the U.S. government shutdown. The world's largest cryptocurrency was last up 2.05% at $125,295.33.  The euro was last down 0.26% at $1.171 . New French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu resigned on Monday, barely 14 hours after appointing his cabinet. The yen weakened after Japan's ruling party picked conservative Sanae Takaichi, putting her on course to become the nation's first female prime minister. She is an advocate of late premier Shinzo Abe's "Abenomics" strategy to boost the economy with aggressive spending and easy monetary policy. The yen was down 1.93% against the greenback. AI-related dealmaking boosted sentiment in equities, with AMD shares jumping 23.7% and other chip companies' stocks also rising. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained 2.9%. Crypto-related firms such as Coinbase also rose. But Wall Street indexes ended mixed, with the Dow slightly lower as the U.S. federal government shutdown dragged on for a sixth day. The shutdown has postponed the release of key economic indicators. "The market is extending its momentum bias. It's shrugging off the (U.S.) government shutdown and, because of that, there's a belief that perhaps the Fed is going to be more generous than the market previously expected," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates again by 25 basis points at its October 28-29 meeting, following data that shows a weakening labor market. Moreover, Cardillo said, "We're not far away from third-quarter earnings, and it looks as though it'll be another good earnings season." Earnings season for S&P 500 companies unofficially kicks off next week with reports from some big U.S. banks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 63.31 points, or 0.14%, to 46,694.97, the S&P 500 rose 24.49 points, or 0.36%, to 6,740.28 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 161.16 points, or 0.71%, to 22,941.67. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe rose 2.85 points, or 0.29%, to 996.06.The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.04%. French political instability has ramped up since Emmanuel Macron's re-election in 2022, with no party or grouping holding a parliamentary majority. In Japan, Takaichi beat the more moderate Shinjiro Koizumi in the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership vote. Short-dated Japanese government bond yields slid to a two-week low as traders pared bets on when the Bank of Japan will resume raising interest rates. "There's a little bit more focus on the back end of the curve now, just given that Takaichi is generally seen as a follower of Abenomics. The market expects a little bit more fiscal stimulus there," said Sarah Ying, head of FX strategy, FICC Strategy at CIBC Capital Markets in Toronto. Gold surged to an all-time high above $3,900 per ounce, helped in part by the economic and political uncertainty in the U.S., France and Japan. Spot gold was up 1.85% at $3,957.78 an ounce. Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields edged higher as the shutdown left investors without key economic data. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note was last up 4.7 basis points to 4.166% Oil prices also rose after OPEC+'s planned production increase for November was more modest than expected. U.S. crude gained 81 cents to settle at $61.69 a barrel, while Brent climbed 94 cents to settle at $65.47. (Additional reporting by Karen Brettell in New York, Kevin Buckland in Tokyo and Lucy Raitano in London; editing by Alison Williams, Nick Zieminski, Richard Chang and Cynthia Osterman)

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By Mike Scarcella WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to halt key parts of a judge's order requiring Alphabet's Google to make major changes to its app store Play, as the company prepares to appeal a decision in a lawsuit brought by "Fortnite" maker Epic Games. The justices turned down Google's request to temporarily freeze parts of the injunction won by Epic in its lawsuit accusing the tech giant of monopolizing how consumers access apps on Android devices and pay for transactions within apps. A federal appeals court in July upheld the judge’s sweeping order against Google. The injunction issued last year by U.S. District Judge James Donato requires Google to allow users to download rival app stores within its Play store and make Play's app catalog available to competitors. Those provisions do not take effect until July 2026. The judge also said Google must allow developers to include external links in apps, enabling users to bypass Google's billing system. That part of the injunction is due to take effect later this month. Donato issued his order in a lawsuit that Epic filed in 2020 against Google, alleging its restrictive app store rules violated antitrust law. Epic won a jury trial in San Francisco in 2023. Google has denied any wrongdoing. Google has called Donato's order unprecedented, and said it would cause reputational harm, safety and security risks and put the company at a competitive disadvantage if allowed to take effect. Google in its Supreme Court filing said the changes would have enormous consequences for more than 100 million U.S. Android users and 500,000 developers. Google said it plans to file a full appeal to the Supreme Court by October 27, which could allow the justices to take up the case during their nine-month term that began on Monday. Epic has said Google is relying on what it called "flawed security claims" to justify its control over Android devices. Epic had urged the justices to allow Donato's injunction to take effect "so consumers and developers can benefit from competition, choices and lower prices." In July, a three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction, ruling that the record in Epic's lawsuit was "replete with evidence that Google's anticompetitive conduct entrenched its dominance." Google faces other lawsuits from government, consumer and commercial plaintiffs challenging its search and advertising business practices.  (Reporting by Mike Scarcella in Washington; Additional reporting by Andrew Chung in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to halt key parts of a judge's order requiring Alphabet's Google to make major changes to its app store Play, as the company prepares to appeal a decision in a lawsuit brought by "Fortnite" maker Epic Games. The justices turned down Google's request to temporarily freeze parts of the injunction won by Epic in its lawsuit accusing the tech giant of monopolizing how consumers access apps on Android devices and pay for transactions within apps. A federal appeals court in July upheld the lower judge’s sweeping order against Google. (Reporting by Mike Scarcella in Washington; Additional reporting by Andrew Chung in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham)

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By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Communications Commission will vote this month to tighten restrictions on telecommunications equipment made by Chinese companies deemed national security risks, the latest in a series of U.S. actions targeting Beijing. The U.S. telecom regulator previously named companies including Huawei Technologies, ZTE, Hangzhou Hikvision, China Mobile and China Telecom to the so-called "Covered List," which bars the FCC from authorizing for import or sale new equipment from those companies. FCC Chair Brendan Carr said the agency will vote on October 28 to prohibit authorization of devices containing component parts that are on the Covered List and authorize the agency to prohibit sale of previously authorized Covered List equipment in specific cases. "We will also tee up a number of questions about how to further improve the process and keep bad gear out of our networks," Carr said in a statement. In March, the FCC said it was investigating nine Chinese companies on the Covered List including Huawei, ZTE as well as Hytera Communications, Dahua Technology Company, Pacifica Networks/ComNet and China Unicom (Americas). The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment. The FCC previously barred some Chinese companies from providing telecommunications services in the United States, citing national security concerns. Carr said earlier the FCC has reason to believe some or all of the Chinese firms on the list "are trying to make an end run around those FCC prohibitions by continuing to do business in America on a private or ‘unregulated’ basis." Last month, the FCC began proceedings to withdraw recognition from seven test labs owned or controlled by the Chinese government, citing U.S. national security concerns. The U.S. telecom agency in May voted to finalize rules barring such labs from testing electronic devices such as smartphones, cameras and computers for use in the United States. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

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By Manya Saini, Saeed Azhar and Nupur Anand (Reuters) -Fifth Third on Monday agreed to buy regional lender Comerica in an all-stock deal valued at $10.9 billion, striking the biggest U.S. bank deal of the year that would create the nation's ninth-largest lender. Dealmaking has gained momentum under a Trump administration that has pledged to streamline the process for approving mergers. Comerica CEO Curtis Farmer said that the administration's pro-business stance was one of the factors behind the deal timing. "The shifting regulatory environment has gotten more conducive to M&A, and we saw windows starting to open where there might be a chance for us to consider partnering with another institution," Farmer told Reuters in an interview. The talks took "just a few weeks," he said. While the deal still requires approval from regulators and some additional due diligence, the parties are confident the transaction will get the green light from officials. "We would not be moving forward if we did not feel like we had regulatory support," he added. Regional lenders are also looking to diversify their revenue, strengthen balance sheets and expand in growing markets as they seek to compete with larger rivals. Comerica warmed to a deal because it saw the need to grow at a time when some competitors had already expanded through acquisitions, Farmer added. "We have always been focused primarily on organic growth," he said. "What changed in the last two years was living through the situation with the regional bank crisis as a $78 billion bank and not having a large retail presence — that was hard for us during the 2023 bank crisis," he said. The regional bank index was up over 1%. "I expect we will see more combinations amongst regional banks because we are in an environment where bank M&A of equals or near equals makes a lot of sense," said Michael Ashley Schulman, partner and CIO at Running Point Capital Advisors. The latest transaction could usher in more combinations, especially for banks with assets of up to $100 billion, two investment banking sources said.  Two large regional lenders that have long been discussed as M&A candidates have done deals in the last two months.  Comerica has long been seen as a target, while PNC announced the purchase of FirstBank last month. Other banks that have been floated as deal candidates include Zions Bancorp, Flagstar, First Horizon, East West, Popular, Western Alliance and Webster Financial, one of the sources said. Shares of First Horizon were up 3.6% and Flagstar was up almost 2%. "That group is going to outperform from a price point of view because there is a bid for them," said a banker who advises financial institutions, who said the companies' shares had been supported by deal speculation. The banker declined to be identified discussing specific companies.  LIGHTER REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT   Analysts have said consolidation is crucial for smaller lenders to compete with the nation's banking giants, with regional banks looking to take advantage of a potentially lighter regulation under the Trump administration. Comerica shareholders will receive 1.8663 Fifth Third shares for each Comerica share, valuing the deal at $82.88 per share based on Fifth Third's closing price on October 3. "Following the acquisition, Fifth Third will rank among the top five banks in every major Midwest MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area)," TD Cowen analysts said.     The deal, adding to Fifth Third's large presence in the Midwest, will create a bank with $224 billion in deposits and $174 billion in loans. Shares in Comerica jumped nearly 14%, while Fifth Third fell about 1.4%.  "Record bank stock prices have also allowed for a greater currency to do deals," said Stephen Biggar, analyst at Argus Research. The S&P 500 Banks Index has surged nearly 21% this year, outpacing the benchmark S&P 500's roughly 14% rise, through the previous close.  The deal comes months after activist investor HoldCo Asset Management revealed it had built a stake in Comerica and urged the lender to pursue a sale.  Farmer did not comment on the pressure from the activist shareholder, but said that it was not a determining factor behind the deal. CROWN JEWEL FRANCHISE  Mergers and acquisitions are seen as crucial for regional lenders seeking to become more competitive in the U.S., which has more than 4,400 banks. "This is a crown jewel middle market banking franchise," a Fifth Third executive said on a conference call, adding his optimism about building its consumer network. The deal, which would create a lender with $288 billion in combined assets, expands Fifth Third's reach to 17 of the 20 fastest-growing U.S. markets, including Texas, California and parts of the southeast.  By 2030, more than half of the combined company's branches are expected to be located in these regions.  "This combination marks a pivotal moment for Fifth Third as we accelerate our strategy to build density in high-growth markets and deepen our commercial capabilities," Fifth Third CEO Tim Spence said. Many lenders are looking to build more diverse businesses with steadier revenue from fees collected in wealth management, payments or treasury services, to reduce the reliance on revenue from interest payments.  "This deal will accelerate FITB's expansion into high growth markets, and we believe FITB's consumer banking strength has the potential to improve growth in legacy CMA," Baird analysts said in a note.  Farmer will assume the role of vice chair in the combined company, while Peter Sefzik, its chief banking officer, will lead Fifth Third's wealth and asset management business. The deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2026, after which three board members of Comerica will join Fifth Third's board.  Fifth Third shareholders will own about 73% of the combined company.  Goldman Sachs was the exclusive financial advisor to Fifth Third, while JPMorgan Securities and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods advised Comerica, with JPMorgan acting as lead advisor. (Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil and Tatiana Bautzer in New York; Editing by Nick ZieminskiEditing by Arun Koyyur and Lananh Nguyen)

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