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By Doyinsola Oladipo NEW YORK (Reuters) -Spirit Airlines on Thursday said it will furlough 365 pilots and downgrade the status of up to 170 pilots in the first quarter of 2026 as it makes larger cuts to its workforce as part of its restructuring efforts. After filing for bankruptcy in August for the second time in a year, the ultra-low-cost airline told the union representing its pilots that it wants to cut $100 million in annual spending on pilots to conserve cash. "As part of our ongoing restructuring, we are taking additional steps to align staffing across our organization with our previously announced capacity reduction and smaller operating fleet size," the company said in a statement.  With voluntary attrition, the estimated furloughs are likely to decrease over the next several weeks, Spirit COO John Bendoraitis told employees in a memo seen by Reuters. The company will open the bid at the end of November.    Spirit previously furloughed about 330 pilots and plans to furlough another 270 in November. It has also decided to furlough approximately 1,800 flight attendants, about one-third of its cabin crew, effective December 1. The Florida-based airline said there will also be reductions across its corporate teams and it plans to make volume-based staffing adjustments across its maintenance stations. The carrier will close its maintenance stations and warehouse operations in Baltimore and Chicago effective January 1, 2026. Spirit said in a filing that the furloughs are expected to save the company $211 million. Spirit estimated it would incur losses of $804 million in 2025. It said its transformation plan to return to profitability in 2027 requires it to reduce its network in 2026.  (Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York and Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago; editing by Diane Craft, Deepa Babington and David Gregorio)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the price of Novo Nordisk's best-selling weight-loss drug would be lowered and that negotiations over price changes would be swift. Trump made the comments during a White House event on fertility treatments and drug pricing. He was asked by reporters to identify the name of a drug that he earlier in the event said would be made less expensive. "I was referring to Ozempic, or – I was referring to – the fat loss drug?…. They'll be much lower," Trump said. Novo sells Ozempic for managing diabetes while Wegovy is approved for weight-loss. Both drugs contain the same active ingredient, semaglutide. Asked for comment, a Novo spokesperson said: "Novo Nordisk has engaged in discussions with the Administration regarding the Most Favored Nation executive order." The spokesperson said the company was focused on improving patient access and affordability, but did not comment directly on Trump's remarks. Trump earlier said that under his administration's plans, the price of the drug would be reduced to $150 from $1,300. Ozempic has a list price of about $1,000 for a month's supply but is sold directly by Novo to cash-pay customers for $499 per month. During the same White House event, Dr. Mehmet Oz, who runs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said that the agency had not yet finished negotiating the price for GLP-1 drugs, which are used to treat diabetes and obesity. Novo's Ozempic is one of the drugs that the agency has chosen for price negotiations. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt with additional reporting by Patrick Wingrove; Editing by Rami Ayyub and Caroline Humer)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the price of Novo Nordisk's best-selling weight-loss drug would be lowered and that negotiations over price changes would be swift. Trump made the comments during a White House event on fertility treatments and drug pricing. He was asked by reporters to identify the name of a drug that he earlier in the event said would be made less expensive. "I was referring to Ozempic, or – I was referring to – the fat loss drug?…. They'll be much lower," Trump said. Novo sells Ozempic for managing diabetes while Wegovy is approved for weight-loss. Both drugs contain the same active ingredient, semaglutide. The company was not immediately available for comment. Trump earlier said that under his administration's plans, the price of the drug would be reduced to $150 from $1,300. Ozempic has a list price of about $1,000 for a month's supply but is sold directly by Novo to cash-pay customers for $499 per month. During the same White House event, Dr. Mehmet Oz, who runs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said that the agency had not yet finished negotiating the price for GLP-1 drugs, which are used to treat diabetes and obesity. Novo's Ozempic is one of the drugs that the agency has chosen for price negotiations. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt with additional reporting by Patrick Wingrove; Editing by Rami Ayyub and Caroline Humer)

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(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce a policy proposal to make in vitro fertilization more accessible, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing several administration officials. In February, Trump signed an executive order directing the government to expand access to IVF and reduce the costs of the popular fertility treatment. Trump is expected to make the announcement from the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon, the newspaper said. The White House will issue guidance on what it is calling an employer benefit option to encourage employers to offer IVF and broader infertility coverage directly to workers, NYT reported, citing one White House official familiar with the matter. IVF involves combining eggs and sperm in a laboratory dish to create an embryo for couples having difficulty conceiving. Costs for IVF can range from $12,000 to $25,000 per cycle and multiple cycles may be needed to get pregnant. By offering infertility coverage separately from the major medical insurance package, the White House expected more small businesses to be able to provide the benefit, the report said, citing the official. The White House will not be providing any subsidies for employers that offer the coverage, and there will be no mandate that they participate, NYT added. Specific instructions for employers will be posted on the Labor Department's website immediately after the announcement, the report said. (Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)

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By AJ Vicens and Raphael Satter (Reuters) -A breach at U.S.-based cybersecurity company F5 has been blamed on state-backed hackers from China, two people briefed on the investigation said Thursday. On Wednesday, U.S. government officials said federal networks are being targeted by an unidentified "nation-state cyber threat actor" that's trying to exploit vulnerabilities in products made by F5. The company and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), when contacted by Reuters, did not confirm whether the breach was carried out by Chinese state-backed hackers. "These same risks extend to any organization using this technology, potentially leading to a catastrophic compromise of critical information systems," CISA Acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala said in a statement, without specifying who was behind the hack. The two people briefed on the investigation said the hackers were inside F5's network for more than a year.  (Reporting by Raphael Satter and AJ Vicens. Devika Nair, Gnaneshwar Rajan, and Nilutpal Timsina provided additional reporting; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Rashmi Aich and Franklin Paul)

(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) -U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce a policy proposal to make in vitro fertilization more accessible, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing several administration officials. In February, Trump signed an executive order directing the government to expand access to IVF and reduce the costs of the popular fertility treatment. Trump is expected to make the announcement from the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon, the newspaper said. The White House will issue guidance on what it is calling an employer benefit option to encourage employers to offer IVF and broader infertility coverage directly to workers, NYT reported, citing one White House official familiar with the matter. IVF involves combining eggs and sperm in a laboratory dish to create an embryo for couples having difficulty conceiving. Costs for IVF can range from $12,000 to $25,000 per cycle and multiple cycles may be needed to get pregnant. By offering infertility coverage separately from the major medical insurance package, the White House expected more small businesses to be able to provide the benefit, the report said, citing the official. The White House will not be providing any subsidies for employers that offer the coverage, and there will be no mandate that they participate, NYT added. Specific instructions for employers will be posted on the Labor Department's website immediately after the announcement, the report said. (Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)

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By Chibuike Oguh and Stefano Rebaudo NEW YORK (Reuters) -The U.S. dollar fell, on track for a third consecutive session of losses against major currencies including the euro, yen and Swiss franc on Thursday, amid U.S.-China tensions and as markets assess remarks from Federal Reserve officials. China accused the U.S. of stoking panic over its rare earth controls, rejecting a White House call to roll back the curbs. "The dominant story line is still U.S.-China trade tensions," said Matt Weller, head of market research at StoneX. "It seems like China is ratcheting up the pressure ahead of the expected meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump at the end of the month. The key question is if that is just an attempt to get some negotiating leverage or China is ready to more meaningfully decouple." The dollar weakened 0.49% to 0.793 against the Swiss franc. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he is on board with another interest rate cut at the U.S. central bank's policy meeting later this month because of the mixed readings on the state of the job market. The Fed's newest governor, Stephen Miran, reiterated his support for a more aggressive rate cut path for 2025 than the one favored by some of his colleagues.  The Fed’s Beige Book offered little support to U.S. rates, pointing to emerging signs of economic weakness, including rising layoffs and reduced spending among middle and lower-income households. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six other currencies, fell 0.33% to 98.35. U.S. Treasury yields hovered near multi-week lows, with the benchmark 10-year just above 4%, pressuring the dollar as investors also weighed a prolonged U.S. government shutdown. "We are kind of in a holding pattern here especially with the U.S. government shutdown, which is predicted to last almost 40 days. The impacts to the economy tend to be exponential the longer shutdown lasts. That going on with the U.S.-China trade tensions, I think, has left traders in an awkward spot as they decide how those will play out," Weller said. FRENCH POLITICAL DRAMA French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in parliament, winning a temporary reprieve for his days-old government and the chance to deliver a budget for the euro zone's second-largest economy. Lecornu had earlier this week pledged to suspend President Emmanuel Macron's controversial pension reform. The euro touched a one-week high and was up 0.36% at $1.1688. The Bank of Japan must be careful when normalizing monetary policy due to uncertainty about how the economy would react to a new environment of positive interest rates, Seiichi Shimizu, the central bank's assistant governor, said on Thursday. The dollar extended losses against the yen following Shimizu's comment and was last down 0.46% at 151.35. The Australian dollar was down 0.48% at $0.6479 after data showed unemployment hit a near four-year high in September, adding to the case for interest rate cuts. [AUD/] The Aussie, often considered a proxy for risk appetite, remains hostage to China-related news and its good fundamentals could crumble in a major trade war.  Goldman Sachs analysts expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to deliver a final 25 basis-point cut at its November meeting in the wake of comments by Governor Michele Bullock, which signal the central bank sees an end to its rate-cutting cycle in the near term.  "Today’s employment data also pushes in that direction, though AUD/USD has retraced the initial move lower, and U.S.-China trade tensions will likely remain the key driver for the pair in the coming days," the Goldman analysts led by Stuart Jenkins said in an investor note. China's yuan firmed to a two-week high against the dollar after the central bank set its strongest daily midpoint in a year. The Chinese yuan was last up 0.09% against the greenback to 7.124 per dollar. New Zealand's kiwi was down 0.02% against the dollar to $0.5722. (Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York and Stefano Rebaudo; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Lisa Shumaker)

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By Noel Randewich (Reuters) -Wall Street closed lower on Thursday, with signs of weakness in regional banks spooking investors already on edge over U.S.-China trade tensions. Shares of Zions Bancorporation tumbled 13% after the regional bank disclosed an unexpected loss on two loans in its California division, adding to growing investor unease about hidden credit stress as lenders navigate economic uncertainty with interest rates still relatively high. Western Alliance slumped 10.8% after it said it initiated a fraud lawsuit against one of its borrowers. Jitters about commercial lending emerged following the September collapses of U.S. auto parts supplier First Brands and car dealership Tricolor. "I think that there's some level of minimal nervousness associated with the credit markets," said Ron Albahary, chief investment officer at LNW in Philadelphia. "If you've been doing this long enough, you don't ignore anything that might be a yellow flag in the credit markets."  With the S&P 500 recently at record highs, investors were also watching for developments between Washington and Beijing after their trade war escalated last week. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened 100% tariffs on China starting November 1, as well as other new trade measures against the world's second-largest economy following Chinese curbs on exports of rare earth minerals. "With the added uncertainty of U.S. and China trade and increased rhetoric and what that could mean for the economy and for the markets, I think that's adding to market instability," said Tom Hainlin, an investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis.  TSMC, the world's largest manufacturer of advanced semiconductors, gave a bullish outlook for spending on artificial intelligence. Still, heavyweight AI-related stocks dipped, with Palantir and Meta Platforms both off 0.8%, and Tesla losing 1.5% . Salesforce jumped 4% after the business software seller forecast revenue of more than $60 billion for 2030, above Wall Street estimates. Optimism about AI and expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts have lifted Wall Street to record highs this year. The S&P 500 has gained 12% so far in 2025, and it is valued at an elevated 23 times expected earnings, a five-year high, according to LSEG.  Robust earnings from major U.S. banks this week offered fresh signs of economic resilience at a time when official macroeconomic reports remain delayed due to an ongoing government shutdown.  Analysts on average see S&P 500 aggregate earnings up 9.2% in the third quarter, versus expectations of an 8.8% increase two weeks ago, according to LSEG I/B/E/S. The S&P 500 insurance index dropped after industry bellwether Travelers Companies posted quarterly revenue below estimates, with its stock falling nearly 3%. Insurer Marsh & McLennan reported flat operating margins and slowing growth in its risk and insurance business, and its stock dropped 8.5%. The S&P 500 declined 0.63% to end the session at 6,629.07 points.     The Nasdaq declined 0.47% to 22,562.54 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.65% to 45,952.24 points. Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes declined, led lower by financials, down 2.75%, followed by a 1.12% loss in energy. Data showed the Philadelphia Fed Business Index for October declined 12.8 points, compared with a rise of 8.5 estimated by the economists polled by Reuters. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he supported an additional interest rate cut in October due to mixed readings on the state of the job market. Hewlett Packard Enterprise slumped 10% after the technology company forecast annual profit and revenue below Wall Street expectations. J.B. Hunt shares jumped 22% after the trucking firm reported third-quarter profits. Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 by a 2.7-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 29 new highs and 16 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 113 new highs and 109 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively heavy, with 22.4 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 20.5 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. (Reporting by Sukriti Gupta and Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru, and by Noel Randewich in San Francisco. Editing by Maju Samuel and David Gregorio)

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By Noel Randewich (Reuters) -Wall Street closed lower on Thursday, with signs of weakness in regional banks spooking investors already on edge over U.S.-China trade tensions. Shares of Zions Bancorporation tumbled 13% after the regional bank disclosed an unexpected loss on two loans in its California division, adding to growing investor unease about hidden credit stress as lenders navigate economic uncertainty with interest rates still relatively high. Western Alliance slumped 10.8% after it said it initiated a fraud lawsuit against one of its borrowers. Jitters about commercial lending emerged following the September collapses of U.S. auto parts supplier First Brands and car dealership Tricolor. "I think that there's some level of minimal nervousness associated with the credit markets," said Ron Albahary, chief investment officer at LNW in Philadelphia. "If you've been doing this long enough, you don't ignore anything that might be a yellow flag in the credit markets."  With the S&P 500 recently at record highs, investors were also watching for developments between Washington and Beijing after their trade war escalated last week. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened 100% tariffs on China starting November 1, as well as other new trade measures against the world's second-largest economy following Chinese curbs on exports of rare earth minerals. "With the added uncertainty of U.S. and China trade and increased rhetoric and what that could mean for the economy and for the markets, I think that's adding to market instability," said Tom Hainlin, an investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis.  TSMC, the world's largest manufacturer of advanced semiconductors, gave a bullish outlook for spending on artificial intelligence. Still, heavyweight AI-related stocks dipped, with Palantir and Meta Platforms both off 0.8%, and Tesla losing 1.5% . Salesforce jumped 4% after the business software seller forecast revenue of more than $60 billion for 2030, above Wall Street estimates. Optimism about AI and expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts have lifted Wall Street to record highs this year. The S&P 500 has gained 12% so far in 2025, and it is valued at an elevated 23 times expected earnings, a five-year high, according to LSEG.  Robust earnings from major U.S. banks this week offered fresh signs of economic resilience at a time when official macroeconomic reports remain delayed due to an ongoing government shutdown.  Analysts on average see S&P 500 aggregate earnings up 9.2% in the third quarter, versus expectations of an 8.8% increase two weeks ago, according to LSEG I/B/E/S. The S&P 500 insurance index dropped after industry bellwether Travelers Companies posted quarterly revenue below estimates, with its stock falling nearly 3%. Insurer Marsh & McLennan reported flat operating margins and slowing growth in its risk and insurance business, and its stock dropped 8.5%. The S&P 500 declined 0.63% to end the session at 6,629.07 points.     The Nasdaq declined 0.47% to 22,562.54 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.65% to 45,952.24 points. Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes declined, led lower by financials, down 2.75%, followed by a 1.12% loss in energy. Data showed the Philadelphia Fed Business Index for October declined 12.8 points, compared with a rise of 8.5 estimated by the economists polled by Reuters. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he supported an additional interest rate cut in October due to mixed readings on the state of the job market. Hewlett Packard Enterprise slumped 10% after the technology company forecast annual profit and revenue below Wall Street expectations. J.B. Hunt shares jumped 22% after the trucking firm reported third-quarter profits. Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 by a 2.7-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 29 new highs and 16 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 113 new highs and 109 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively heavy, with 22.4 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 20.5 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. (Reporting by Sukriti Gupta and Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru, and by Noel Randewich in San Francisco. Editing by Maju Samuel and David Gregorio)

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By Patrick Wingrove (Reuters) -Roche on Thursday launched direct-to-consumer U.S. sales of its influenza antiviral pill Xofluza at a discounted cash price of $50, following similar moves by rivals as they scramble to address pressure from the Trump administration to lower prescription drug prices paid by Americans. The Xofluza cash price, offered by Roche's U.S. biotech unit Genentech at 70% below list price, will be available to insured and uninsured patients through same-day delivery from Alto Pharmacy, Amazon Pharmacy, and Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company. Major U.S. pharmacy chains like CVS will not be involved, Roche confirmed. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has said it plans to launch, likely early next year, a website called TrumpRx that aims to help consumers buy some medicines directly from the manufacturers. Roche said its new program will not be accessible through TrumpRx, but that it will continue to evaluate its options. Few people in the U.S. pay cash for prescription medications. Most have insurance – either commercial or federal plans like Medicare – that charge them a fixed co-pay or percentage of a drug cost. Insurers typically receive confidential discounts or rebates directly from drug manufacturers, bringing their costs well below list prices. The Swiss drugmaker already offers a coupon for Xofluza that brings the out-of-pocket cost down to $35 for some insured and uninsured patients. Xofluza is used to treat flu in patients aged 12 years and older who have had symptoms for no more than two days. Trump, in an effort to lower drug costs for U.S. patients who pay far more than in other wealthy nations, has so far struck deals with Pfizer and AstraZeneca to lower their prescription drug prices in the Medicaid program for lower-income Americans in exchange for tariff relief. Roche said its new program supports that goal and is similar to one from rival Amgen, which launched discounts for cash-paying patients this year. Analysts expect Xofluza to generate $340 million in sales this year. Roche, via Genentech, was one of 17 major drug companies to receive a letter from Trump in July demanding they charge U.S. patients the same price as people pay in other high-income countries, create direct-to-consumer channels and increase investment in the U.S. Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on branded drugs to those companies that failed to comply. (Reporting by Patrick WingroveEditing by Bill Berkrot)

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