व्यापार

By Suzanne McGee and Chris Prentice (Reuters) -The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission paved the way on Monday for an asset manager to add exchange-traded share classes to mutual funds, a move expected to kick-start approvals for dozens of applicants, spark more ETFs and make the products more accessible to retail investors.  The planned order, which is open for public response before the SEC moves ahead, is specific to Dimensional Fund Advisors and allows the asset management firm to launch the new share class. It has been long-awaited by the investment industry. Monday’s notice is expected to throw open the gates for others. The agency gave Vanguard permission to pioneer the dual-share class model more than two decades ago under a patent that expired in May 2023.  "This will be a key milestone for the industry," said Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at TMX VettaFi. "There is no turning back." Under the change, a mutual fund could offer investors the opportunity to participate in its investment portfolio in the form of an exchange-traded product, known as an ETF share class. Investors would be able to buy and sell the exchange-traded mutual fund shares throughout the day at the market price through their brokerage accounts, rather than waiting for a mutual fund order to settle at the day's closing price. It has the potential to open up access to a host of existing funds to investors who prefer owning ETFs because of their low cost, tax advantages or liquidity. "We see this as a win," Brian Daly, director of the SEC's Investment Management Division, said in an interview with Reuters. "We are increasing choice. We are reducing expenses. We are increasing tax efficiency, and we are making the innovation of the ETF – which is now decades old – more accessible to the average retail investor." Gerard O'Reilly, co-CEO at DFA, said in a blog post it puts the fund industry at the "forefront of a revolution." SEC staff plans to convene a conference call on Monday afternoon with other asset managers that also are hoping to win approval to offer ETF share classes, said Alex Morris, chief investment officer at F/m Investments and two other individuals who declined to be named. "They will give us guidance on next steps," Morris said. Offering different share classes of the same mutual fund is not new. Currently, these may target different investor groups or carry diverse fee structures. But the change will blur the line between exchange-traded funds and traditional mutual funds. A number of asset managers are likely to follow DFA and add ETF share classes to their top funds, ultimately triggering a surge in the number of new exchange-traded products vying for investor dollars. Currently, an asset manager that wants to offer an ETF has to do so from scratch. That has meant designing a new fund and filing with the SEC for permission to launch. A new fund could not cite the mutual fund's track record in marketing documents.  "This makes it much easier for mutual funds to compete head-to-head with ETFs, because they won't have to wait two or three years to acquire a track record and gather assets slowly over that time," said Brian Murphy, a partner in the investment management practice at Stradley Ronon, who worked on several of the share-class filings submitted to the SEC.  WAITING IN WINGS  The approval came faster than the industry had expected. In mid-March, then-acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda told an ICI meeting that he had directed the commission's staff to move swiftly, surprising many asset managers and their advisers who had not expected movement before 2026. There are now about 80 applications similar to Dimensional Fund Advisors' to launch an ETF share class for existing mutual funds, the SEC said. DFA, the first firm to file with the SEC after the expiry of Vanguard's patent in 2023, amended its application for a third time on Friday, containing final modifications sought by regulators. The SEC's order would include safeguards aimed at reducing conflicts of interest between the classes and ensuring proper disclosures to investors, said an SEC official. The first approval is "the biggest step and biggest lift,” said the official, who said the process is expected to move quickly for others.  (Reporting by Suzanne McGee and Chris Prentice; Editing by Megan Davies, Cynthia Osterman, Leslie Adler and Nick Zieminski)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -OpenAI on Monday introduced a feature that would allow users to make purchases through ChatGPT, in partnership with Etsy and Shopify. Merchants will have to pay a fee on completed purchases to OpenAI, but there will be no charges for users and it doesn't affect their prices. The move opens up a new source of revenue for OpenAI, taking advantage of the heavy user traffic on ChatGPT, in addition to its traditional subscription model. "Instant Checkout is now rolling out to U.S. ChatGPT Pro, Plus and Free logged-in users buying from U.S. Etsy sellers, with over 1 million Shopify merchants coming soon," OpenAI said on X. Shares of Etsy rose 7.3%, while U.S.-listed shares of Shopify popped 4.5% after the announcement. "Shopify merchants will be able to sell directly through ChatGPT conversations — no links or no redirects, just seamless commerce," the platform said on its website. The AI startup said it will open-source the agentic commerce protocol, built with payments firm Stripe, which powers the checkout. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Alan Barona)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) -A federal appeals court revived a lawsuit on Monday accusing Hain Celestial Group of defrauding shareholders by concealing an alleged "channel stuffing" scheme to inflate revenue and its stock price. Reversing a trial judge's dismissal, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said shareholders plausibly alleged that the organic and natural foods company and four executives intended to deceive them about its financial results and compliance with accounting principles. Hain products include Terra and Garden of Eatin' chips, Earth's Best baby food and Celestial Seasonings tea. The Hoboken, New Jersey-based company and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lawyers for the shareholders did not immediately respond to similar requests. Channel stuffing is a practice where a company arranges for more goods to be shipped to distributors than consumers will likely buy. This boosts present sales, but cannibalizes revenue from future quarters. Some companies use channel stuffing to avoid missing Wall Street financial forecasts. Shareholders accused Hain of inflating fiscal 2014 to 2016 results by concealing its growing reliance on cash, discounts, easy product returns and other side deals to induce distributors such as United Natural Foods and Walmart to accept more inventory, and make its own revenue "look pretty." Hain restated some results in 2017, and settled a related U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil probe in 2018. The SEC found books and records violations but did not fine Hain. COURT SAYS CHANNEL STUFFING WAS A PRIORITY AT HAIN Circuit Judge Robert Sack found sufficient allegations that Hain publicly used misleading "half-truths" that factors such as "strong worldwide demand" aided results, while concealing how executives told employees to keep quiet about channel stuffing. "Pushing product at the end of quarters through various channel-stuffing tactics was a top-down priority," Sack wrote in a 65-page opinion. "Put simply," he added, "it would strain credulity to conclude that the individual defendants were unaware of channel stuffing and its potentially insidious implications for investors." Hain argued it had no intent to defraud, and the SEC decision to impose no fine and charge no one with securities fraud supported a dismissal. The appeals court returned the nine-year-old case to U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert in Central Islip, New York, who dismissed it in September 2023. The case is Gimpel et al v Hain Celestial Group Inc et al, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-07612. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Amanda Cooper and Koh Gui Qing NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Global stocks rose on Monday while the dollar retreated as investors prepared for a possible shutdown of the U.S. government, which could delay publication of the September payrolls report and a raft of other key data due this week. Gold roared to another high, powered by the dip in the dollar and by investor concerns about the possible ramifications of a U.S. government shutdown. President Donald Trump will meet with top Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress later on Monday to discuss extending government funding. Without a deal, a shutdown would begin from Wednesday, the same day when new U.S. tariffs go into effect on heavy trucks, patented drugs and other items. Perhaps owing to memories of the shallow declines in equity markets during the last U.S. government shutdown, the S&P 500 added 0.3%, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.6%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat. That helped the MSCI All-World index to gain 0.4%, while in Europe, the STOXX 600 rose 0.2%, heading for a gain of 1.1% in September, marking its third straight month of increases. "Over the last 30 years, the government has shut down only five times due to funding issues, the longest (34 days) was under Trump's first administration. In that event, the S&P 500 initially fell by 2.1% and then recovered," said Nicole Inui, head of equity strategy, Americas, and Alastair Pinder, head of emerging markets and global equity strategist at HSBC Global Investment Research. A protracted closure, however, could leave the Federal Reserve flying blind on the economy when it meets on October 29. "If the shutdown lasts beyond the Fed meeting, the Fed will rely on private data for its policy decisions," analysts at BofA wrote in a note. "On the margin, we think this may lower the likelihood of an October cut, but only marginally." Markets imply a 90% chance of a Fed cut in October, with around a 65% probability of another in December. The BofA analysts estimated a shutdown would subtract only 0.1 percentage point from economic growth for every week it lasted, while noting the impact on financial markets had been minimal in the past.  They cautioned that should the government use the closure to lay off workers permanently, then it could have a more meaningful impact on payrolls and consumer confidence. There is also much uncertainty about what might happen at a meeting of U.S. generals and admirals in Quantico, Virginia, on Tuesday, called by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which Trump will reportedly attend. Q4 USUALLY GOOD FOR STOCKS Otherwise, analysts expected equities to be supported by buying for the new quarter, which historically tends to be a positive one for stocks. In bond markets, 10-year Treasury yields dipped, falling 4.6 basis points to 4.1406%, having been pressured last week by a run of upbeat U.S. economic data that led investors to pare back expectations for how low Fed rates might ultimately go. A host of central bank speakers are on the diary this week, with at least five from the Fed and the European Central Bank appearing on Monday alone. The dollar index slipped 0.22% to 97.91, having benefited last week from the batch of better economic news. "Our forecast for the U.S. dollar to weaken further heading into year-end is built on the assumption the Fed will deliver two further 25-basis-point cuts by the end of this year as the labour market remains weak," MUFG strategist Lee Hardman said. The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1729 but was still in the lower half of its recent $1.1646 to $1.1918 range. The dollar fell 0.6% to 148.6 yen, after rallying just over 1% last week and pulling away from the September low around 145.50. In commodity markets, gold shot up by as much as 1.8% to an all-time high at $3,831.19 an ounce. Oil prices fell as crude started to flow through a pipeline from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq to Turkey for the first time in 2-1/2 years.  Reuters reported OPEC+ will likely approve another oil production increase of at least 137,000 barrels per day at its meeting next Sunday. Brent dropped 3.3% to $67.83 a barrel, while U.S. crude fell 3.7% to $63.32 per barrel. (Additional reporting by Wayne Cole in Sydney; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Jamie Freed and Edmund Klamann)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The chief executives of low-cost carriers Allegiant Airlines and Frontier Airlines will testify before a U.S. Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee on Tuesday on air carrier competition, congressional aides said. Allegiant Airlines CEO Greg Anderson and Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle are among the witnesses that will testify, as will Sharon Pinkerton, a senior vice president at Airlines for America, which represents United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and others. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AND LOW-COST AIRLINES IN FOCUS Airlines for America said it looks forward "to highlighting how robust competition has led to historically low fares, a wide availability of options and quality customer service which has resulted in record high demand." The group added "the largest threat to having a healthy, competitive airline industry is our nation’s antiquated, understaffed air traffic control system." Frontier confirmed it would take part in the hearing. Allegiant did not respond to requests for comment. United's CEO Scott Kirby, who has been a vocal critic of the business model of no-frills airlines, earlier this month expressed doubts whether bankrupt low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines' could stay in the industry. Kirby called the ultra-low-cost airline business model "an interesting experiment," which has "failed" and added: "And it seems unlikely to me that Spirit can keep flying because their customers dislike the airline and don't want to fly. Spirit said its customers love low fares and its premium product offerings. "Maybe that's why United executives can't stop yapping about us," the airline said. Spirit filed for bankruptcy protection last month for the second time in a year after a previous reorganization failed to put it on firmer financial footing. Also testifying are Vanderbilt University law professor Ganesh Sitaraman and Bill McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project. (Reporting by David Shepardson. Editing by Mark Porter and Mark Potter)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Trump administration will expand coal mine leasing on federal lands and provide hundreds of millions of dollars to support more coal-fired power generation, officials said on Monday. The plan is part of a broader effort by the administration to reverse the decline of coal use in the U.S., a fossil fuel that has been hard hit by environmental regulation and competition from natural gas in recent years. At a press conference in Washington, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said his department would open 13.1 million acres (5.3 million hectares) of federal land for coal leasing. The area opened up, in North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming, was more than triple the area in President Donald Trump'smassive funding law. President Joe Biden put a pause on coal leasing on federal lands and the last auction of leasing rights occurred in January 2021, just before he took office. The Department of Energy, meanwhile, said it would provide $625 million in funds to expand power generation fueled by coal. Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said his agency would give coal plants more time to comply with regulations on coal ash, which contains contaminants including mercury, cadmium and arsenic and must be carefully disposed of. ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP SOUNDS WARNING Coal-burning plants generated about 15% of U.S. electricity in 2024, a fall from 50% in 2000, according to the Energy Information Administration, as fracking and other drilling methods have hiked natural gas output. Solar and wind power growth has also cut coal use. The Sierra Club environmental group blasted the effort. "If this dangerous agenda continues to advance, years from now we will look around at failing health outcomes, skyrocketing bills, and a decaying environment," it warned. The coal workforce has declined to about 40,000 from 70,000 a decade ago. Trump had signed executive orders in April to increase coal output, in one of his many actions that run counter to global efforts to cut carbon emissions.  Burgum, surrounded by more than a dozen coal miners wearing hard hats, said that the effort to support coal will strengthen the U.S. economy and create jobs. Chris Wright, the U.S. energy secretary, told Reuters last week he expects most of the nation's coal-fired power plants to delay retirement to help deliver electricity needed to fuel artificial intelligence. Last month, Wright extended his emergency order to keep a Michigan coal plant running, even though the plant's operator had been planning to shut permanently for economic reasons. Tom Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, predicted that 38 coal plants scheduled to close through 2028 would remain open, either on Trump orders or voluntarily. Analysts, however, have been skeptical about a long-term U.S. boost in the use of coal as the economics have shifted in favor of less carbon-intensive fuel. "Coal may see a temporary boost from regulatory relief, and some investors may profit in the short term," Frank Holmes, CEO and chief investment officer of U.S. Global Investors, wrote after Trump's orders. "But in the long run, I think the writing is on the wall."  (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Additional reporting by Nichola Groom, Leah Douglas and Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Barbara Lewis, Marguerita Choy and Bill Berkrot)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Arasu Kannagi Basil (Reuters) -Alliance Laundry is targeting a valuation of up to $4.34 billion in its U.S. initial public offering, the commercial laundry equipment maker said on Monday, as the frenzy around first-time share sales rages on. The Ripon, Wisconsin-based company and its backer, BDT Capital Partners, are aiming to raise up to $751.2 million by offering 34.1 million shares priced between $19 and $22 apiece. Private equity-backed IPOs have also picked up pace in recent months as sponsors look to seize on a window of opportunity to take their portfolio companies public. Blackstone-backed engineering and maintenance services provider Legence went public in New York earlier this month. "The recent broadening out of the profile of U.S. IPO deal flow to include PE-backed firms should help to steer investors towards the deal," IPOX CEO Josef Schuster told Reuters. Founded in 1908, Alliance Laundry manufactures commercial washing machines, dryers and ironers with load capacities of up to 400 pounds under five brands – Speed Queen, UniMac, Huebsch, Primus and IPSO. The stock market flotation comes after the company's owner, BDT & MSD Partners, previously explored a sale of the business that could have valued it at nearly $5 billion, including debt, Reuters had reported. In 2015, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan sold its majority stake in Alliance Laundry to BDT Capital Partners. Cornerstone investors Capital International and Kayne Anderson Rudnick have indicated interest in buying up to $100 million of Alliance Laundry's shares. "The interest from cornerstone investors to take up a significant portion of the deal underlines the attractiveness of the IPO for medium- to long-run focused investors," Schuster said. BofA Securities and J.P. Morgan are the lead underwriters for the offering. Alliance Laundry will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ALH." BDT Capital Partners, an affiliate of merchant bank BDT & MSD Partners, will own 76% of Alliance Laundry's shares following the offering. (Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) -President Donald Trump frequently describes a booming U.S. auto industry, fueled by new factories from Canada, Mexico and Europe that he says will soon be producing American-made vehicles for global markets – from Tokyo to Paris. “We have so many car company factories under construction or being designed right now. And they're coming from China. They're coming from Mexico,” Trump said at a White House event earlier this month. A few days later, he lamented the loss of U.S. car production over the years, and proclaimed: "Car factories are coming back."  But there is little evidence of a construction binge of new U.S. car factories. Instead, auto companies are making tactical moves at existing plants as they adapt to the two pillars of Trump’s second-term business agenda: tariffs, and policies hostile toward electric vehicles. To sidestep tariffs, some automakers are retooling existing, idle factory space in the U.S. to build vehicles that they have been importing, and which now face levies.  For example, Nissan has said it plans to make more Rogue SUVs and other vehicles at its plants in Tennessee and Mississippi, while reducing imports from Japan. Japanese vehicles face levies of 15% under a tentative deal with the Trump administration.  “We’re seeing underutilized plants being filled with products that were previously imported. There is no boom in new builds,” said Sam Fiorani, vice president at research firm AutoForecast Solutions. PIVOT BACK TO GAS CARS SPURS INVESTMENT Meanwhile, many car companies are pulling back from EV commitments they made earlier in the decade, and leaning in to production of gasoline-powered vehicles. Much of the capital investment touted by companies in recent months amounts to an unwinding of EV projects that they had trumpeted during the administration of former President Joe Biden.  For example, General Motors in June said it would retool a factory in suburban Detroit to build gas-powered pickup trucks and the Cadillac Escalade SUV. The move partially reverses a multibillion-dollar plan announced in 2022 to make the factory GM's hub of EV-truck production.  The industry’s huge collective bet on EVs that began late this past decade drove a sharp increase in factory spending during the Biden administration, figures compiled by consultancy AlixPartners show. The company tracked capital investments in the U.S. by the traditional Detroit car companies – GM, Ford, and Chrysler-parent Stellantis – as well as EV-only players Tesla, Rivian and Lucid. On average, those companies spent about $21 billion annually from 2017 through 2020 – the same period as Trump’s first term. During the next four years, with Biden in office, their spending averaged about $38 billion per year, most of it related to EV and battery production, AlixPartners said. Automakers already had been walking back EV plans even before Trump won the 2024 election, citing weaker-than-expected demand. Car executives expect the Trump administration’s policies to further cool interest in battery-powered cars. ADMINISTRATION SEES BOOM IN VEHICLE OUTPUT, EXPORTS Trump has made the economy the cornerstone of his political brand, including tariffs, deregulation and promises of industrial revitalization. A White House spokesman said his trade and energy policies have already fueled historic investments in U.S. automaking and shaved off billions in regulatory costs. “As these policies and President Trump’s unprecedented trade deals with the EU, Japan, and others take effect, cars will soon roll off Detroit assembly lines to showrooms in Tokyo, Frankfurt and Paris,” spokesman Kush Desai said. The White House notes that imports of automotive vehicles, engines and parts have fallen by about 10% from the first quarter of this year, to $421.4 billion.  So far, U.S. vehicle production has ticked higher by about 4% this year, but recent figures are tracking below the average of the past decade, Federal Reserve data shows. David Adams, president of Global Automakers of Canada, disputed Trump’s claims that automakers are leaving Canada for U.S. plants, and said jobs are holding steady. “The notion that everybody is vacating Canada to produce in the U.S. doesn’t jibe with reality on the ground,” he said.  Adams said Trump’s aggressive tariffs could eventually reshape North American auto production, but added, “We’re not there yet.” (Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in Philadelphia; Editing by Mike Colias and Matthew Lewis)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The chief executives of low-cost carriers Allegiant Airlines and Frontier Airlines will testify before a U.S. Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee on Tuesday on air carrier competition, congressional aides said. Allegiant Airlines CEO Greg Anderson and Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle are among the witnesses that will testify, as will Sharon Pinkerton, a senior vice president at Airlines for America, which represents United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and others. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Porter)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Neil J Kanatt (Reuters) -Carnival Corp raised its annual profit forecast on Monday, leaning on strong demand and higher ticket prices for its cruise vacations to offset mounting costs. The cruise operator has been investing heavily to offer more unique and private experiences by expanding its portfolio to meet strong demand for exclusive destinations. These included a $600 million investment in Celebration Key, an ambitious private resort destination on Grand Bahama, to help maintain its competitive edge. Bundled packages, perks such as drinks, Wi-Fi, and excursions have encouraged guests to spend more onboard, further boosting the company's revenue. However, cruise operators are grappling with higher fuel costs and expenses related to dry docking of ships for maintenance. "We are expecting to do more work during our 2026 dry docks. The additional expenses will impact our overall year over year assumptions by up to 1 percentage point," CFO David Bernstein said on a post earnings call. There is also a risk of consumers pulling back on discretionary spending, as inflation and tariff-driven uncertainty weigh on travel budgets. Shares of the company were down about 5% on Monday as Carnival also expects cruise costs for the year, excluding fuel, to rise 3.3%. The stock has risen about 23% so far this year. There are heavy investments in 2026, with the destination portfolio and drydocks, and this will weigh on earnings growth, Morningstar analyst Jaime Katz said on what could be pulling shares lower. Still, for fiscal 2025, the company forecast adjusted earnings per share of about $2.14, up from its prior expectations of about $1.97.   The cruise operator reported adjusted profit per share of $1.43 for the quarter ended August 31, beating analysts' estimates of $1.32, according to data compiled by LSEG.   The company also logged quarterly sales of $8.15 billion, compared with analysts' estimates of $8.10 billion. (Reporting by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Leroy Leo)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)