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(Reuters) -Defense giant General Dynamics' information and technology unit had secured a $1.25 billion task order to support the U.S. Army in Europe and Africa, it said on Thursday, a week after announcing another $1.5 billion U.S. defense contract. The contract, awarded in September, covers a five-month base period for transition and seven option years, General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) said. Through the Enterprise Mission Information Technology Services 2 (EMITS 2) task order, GDIT will deliver enterprise IT, communications and mission command support services to U.S. Army's Europe and Africa's headquarters, subordinate organizations, NATO and other partners. The disclosure comes a week after GDIT said it secured an enterprise modernization contract worth $1.5 billion to help support the U.S. Strategic Command, or STRATCOM, to cut costs and increase efficiency — including by integrating artificial intelligence technologies. (Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)

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(Reuters) -Alphabet's Google and Comcast-owned NBCUniversal have reached a multi-year agreement to keep NBC shows such as "Sunday Night Football" and "America's Got Talent" on YouTube TV, wrapping up a difficult negotiation. YouTube TV, one of the biggest pay-TV distributors in the U.S., will carry NBCUniversal's full portfolio of networks such as NBC and CNBC under the deal, according to a statement from the companies on Thursday. YouTube, which is also a unit of Alphabet, will also offer NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service through its Primetime Channels, a marketplace where users can subscribe to third-party streaming services through the YouTube app. “This deal builds on our longstanding partnership with NBCU while addressing the evolving media landscape and recognizing the importance of making content available where and how viewers want to watch it,” said Justin Connolly, global head of media and sports at YouTube. The agreement includes a multi-year extension of Peacock's availability across Google's Android platforms, including Google Play and Google TV. YouTube now accounts for the largest share of TV viewing in the U.S., ahead of streaming rival Netflix and traditional media companies such as Disney, according to analytics firm Nielsen. Talks with NBCUniversal had stalled earlier over the rates that YouTube TV will pay to carry its shows. The two companies agreed to a short-term contract extension on Wednesday, averting a blackout and ensuring YouTube TV subscribers retained access to NBCUniversal programming while negotiations continued. YouTube TV ranks among the four largest U.S. pay-TV distributors, and Alphabet's deep pockets have recently given the video platform leverage over Paramount Skydance and Fox Corp in carriage talks, according to media firms and analysts. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City and Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by Alan Barona, Devika Syamnath and Bill Berkrot)

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(Reuters) -A group of Tesla shareholders including SOC Investment Group and several state officials urged investors to vote against Elon Musk's $1 trillion pay package at the company's November meeting, a regulatory filing showed on Thursday. In the letter to Tesla shareholders, the coalition – which also includes state treasurers of Nevada, New Mexico and Connecticut – called on investors to oppose the re-election of directors Ira Ehrenpreis, Joe Gebbia and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson. The group cited what it called the board's "relentless pursuit" of retaining Musk, saying it has delayed progress on key goals set at the last annual meeting, and pointed to declining operational and financial performance and a "failure to provide meaningful real-time oversight of management." Despite reporting record quarterly deliveries on Thursday, Tesla faces worries that the expiration of the U.S. EV tax credit could turn the buying rush into a trickle. Last month, Tesla's board proposed a $1 trillion compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk in what it described as the largest corporate pay package in history, setting ambitious performance targets and aiming to address his push for greater control over the company. Among the state officials opposing the package is New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a longtime critic of Tesla's board and its oversight of Elon Musk. Although the city's pension funds are not among top shareholders of Tesla and other large companies, Lander and his staff have often been involved in reform campaigns that focus debates at annual meetings. His term as Comptroller ends Jan. 1, 2026. In response to Thursday's letter, Tesla said in a post on X that the performance incentive plan aligns Musk's compensation with shareholder value creation "of trillions of dollars." "If Elon Musk doesn’t deliver results, he receives nothing," the company said. (Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

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By Raphael Satter and AJ Vicens WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Alphabet's Google said hackers are sending extortion emails to an unspecified number of executives from various companies, claiming to have stolen sensitive data from their Oracle business applications. In a statement, Google said a group claiming affiliation with the ransomware gang cl0p claimed to have stolen sensitive data from their Oracle E-Business Suite." Google described the email campaign as high volume but declined to share further details. Google cautioned that it "does not currently have sufficient evidence to definitively assess the veracity of these claims." Messages seeking comment from Oracle were not returned.  Cynthia Kaiser, the head of cybersecurity firm Halcyon's Ransomware Research Center, said her company had seen extortion demands ranging from millions to tens of millions of dollars, with the highest coming in at $50 million. Kaiser noted some dispute over the connection to cl0p but said there are early indications that the perpetrators are potentially connected to the group. "There's so much overlap amongst all these groups, and there are copycats across the ecosystem," Kaiser said. In an email to Reuters, cl0p said the hackers were "not prepared to discuss details at this time."  (Reporting by Raphael Satter in Washington and AJ Vicens in Detroit, Michigan.Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Diane Craft)

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By Rodrigo Campos and Libby George NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Argentina's international dollar bonds rose in a volatile session on Thursday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. is "not putting money into Argentina" shortly after saying that upcoming in-person discussions in Washington would "meaningfully advance" the country's pledge of financial support for President Javier Milei's government. The peso was little changed throughout the day at about 1,424 per dollar, hinting at intervention from the Argentine treasury. Local stocks rose 2.5%. Bonds, which rose roughly two cents after Bessent's initial comments, traded negative shortly after his "no money" statement, but crawled higher to end up over one cent on the day. Milei, a right-wing leader whose reforms have made him a darling of the Trump administration, had said Wednesday night that part of the negotiations with the U.S. included purchases of bonds in the secondary market and "profit-sharing." Bessent said last week the U.S. is in negotiations over a $20 billion swap line with Argentina's central bank and stands ready to do what is needed to support the South American country. The 2030 maturity was trading up over a cent by 2030 GMT, after rising more than 2 cents earlier and paring all its gains. Argentina's bonds are down 15% this year to Wednesday at the index level after having risen over 100% in 2024. The peso is down almost 30% to the dollar year-to-date, even as the government has stepped in to defend it in the spot market and retains some FX controls. Analysts consider it overvalued, and a Reuters poll this week shows it is expected to devalue further after the October 26 midterm election. The IMF, a big supporter of Milei's economic reform program, said Thursday Argentina needs to commit to a fiscal anchor and a consistent monetary policy and foreign exchange framework, and build "broad political support to secure the implementation of the authorities' ambitious reform agenda." MARKET IS TESTING TREASURY RESOLVE Argentina's financial markets, which rallied strongly after Bessent's initial support pledge last month, have fallen in recent days amid uncertainty over U.S. backing and concerns over the fate of Milei's reformist agenda after mid-term legislative elections later this month. The local peso, which last week strengthened close to 11% against the U.S. dollar, is down 6.7% so far this week. "The market is testing the U.S.'s resolve to help Argentina," said Aaron Gifford, senior emerging market sovereign analyst at T. Rowe Price, adding that the lack of details – and uncertainty caused by the U.S. government shutdown – were weighing on bond prices. The U.S. government shutdown, in its second day, added to worries over the country's plans for Argentina, while pushback from some U.S. Republicans also raised red flags. Last month, in an effort to secure foreign currency, Argentina's government temporarily suspended export taxes on grains, enabling $7 billion in sales in just a few days. The sales calmed markets temporarily, but also rankled some U.S. Republicans, such as powerful Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, who in a post on X questioned why the U.S. would "bail out" Argentina "while they take American soybean producers' biggest market." "Washington is highly polarized, and the last thing anybody wants to hear in the White House is someone saying that you're using U.S. taxpayer money to bail out that hedge funds the bought the Argentine debt," said Joydeep Mukherji, managing director of sovereign ratings for S&P Global. And while many thought the U.S. support would buy Milei time to make it to the election, markets have proven more fickle. "The short tax break on commodity exports – it worked for a few days, but not anymore," said Viktor Szabo, portfolio manager with Aberdeen. "Now the expectation is that they will have to devalue after the midterms, so everyone is frontrunning it." (Reporting by Libby George and Rodrigo Campos, additional reporting by Marc Jones in London; Editing by Amanda Cooper, Chizu Nomiyama, Marguerita Choy and Diane Craft)

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By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) -A federal appeals court on Thursday said it will reconsider its recent holding that the U.S. Department of Transportation had authority to require airlines to fully disclose fees upfront when passengers book flights. In a brief order, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said its 17 active judges will sit "en banc" to review the January 28 decision by a three-judge panel. Several major airlines are challenging a consumer-friendly rule issued in April 2024 during the Biden administration, which required airlines and ticket agents to disclose "ancillary fees" such as baggage charges during the booking process. Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, United Airlines and three trade groups including Airlines for America objected, saying federal law gave the Transportation Department no power to issue such rules. The appeals court put the rule on hold in July 2024. In its January decision, the court said the Transportation Department had authority to write fee disclosure rules that address "unfair or deceptive practices" by airlines. It nonetheless said the agency should have let airlines comment on a study it used to assess the fee rule's potential impact. The appeals court returned the matter to the Transportation Department, instead of vacating the rule. In seeking en banc review, the airlines said adopting the rule would "upend the way airlines interact with their customers, at great cost, and with no demonstrated benefit." The Transportation Department opposed a rehearing, saying the appeals court "properly exercised its discretion" in remanding the rule. Lawyers for the airlines did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Airlines for America declined to comment. Neither the Transportation Department nor the U.S. Department of Justice immediately responded to requests for comment. The 5th Circuit is one of the most conservative federal appeals courts. It did not say when it will hear oral arguments. The case is Airlines for America et al v Department of Transportation, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 24-60231. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jamie Freed)

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By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) -A federal appeals court on Thursday said it will reconsider its recent holding that the U.S. Department of Transportation had authority to require airlines to fully disclose fees upfront when passengers book flights. In a brief order, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said its 17 active judges will sit "en banc" to review the January 28 decision by a three-judge panel. Several major airlines are challenging a consumer-friendly rule issued in April 2024 during the Biden administration, which required airlines and ticket agents to disclose "ancillary fees" such as baggage charges during the booking process. Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, United Airlines and three trade groups including Airlines for America objected, saying federal law gave the Transportation Department no power to issue such rules. The appeals court put the rule on hold in July 2024. In its January decision, the court said the Transportation Department had authority to write fee disclosure rules that address "unfair or deceptive practices" by airlines. It nonetheless said the agency should have let airlines comment on a study it used to assess the fee rule's potential impact. The appeals court returned the matter to the Transportation Department, instead of vacating the rule. In seeking en banc review, the airlines said adopting the rule would "upend the way airlines interact with their customers, at great cost, and with no demonstrated benefit." The Transportation Department opposed a rehearing, saying the appeals court "properly exercised its discretion" in remanding the rule. Lawyers for the airlines did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Airlines for America declined to comment. Neither the Transportation Department nor the U.S. Department of Justice immediately responded to requests for comment. The 5th Circuit is one of the most conservative federal appeals courts. It did not say when it will hear oral arguments. The case is Airlines for America et al v Department of Transportation, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 24-60231. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jamie Freed)

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By Iain Withers and Koh Gui Qing NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Global stocks gained and gold traded near record highs on Thursday as investors took in their stride the potential ramifications of a U.S. government shutdown, while a weak private U.S. labor market report bolstered bets for Federal Reserve rate cuts. Investors have been largely sanguine about the shutdown's impact on the markets and economy, helped by data of past shutdowns that showed limited fallouts. Morgan Stanley, for example, said U.S. share prices have risen an average 4.4% while real U.S. economic growth has expanded 2.2% during shutdowns in the past. Instead, investors are focused on how much the Federal Reserve might lower interest rates this year, and whether the roaring U.S. stock market is due for a short-term pullback in the near future. Nicholas Colas and Jessica Rabe, co-founders of DataTrek Research, said sector sub-indices for the S&P 500 index are showing a marked correlation with downside risks. "Every other time they have done so since 2023, the S&P has declined by 5-18% in the following weeks," Colas and Rabe said. "This is not an outright 'sell' signal, but history says to be selective here."  The S&P 500, which has risen 14% so far this year, was flat after briefly touching a record high of 6,731.94 points. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4% after also hitting an all-time high of 22,900.60 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%. A protracted U.S. government shutdown could mean that the release of key official data on employment and inflation is delayed or disrupted, clouding the picture on the health of the world's biggest economy and the path for interest rates. A monthly payrolls report seems unlikely now to be released on Friday, putting an ADP employment report that showed the economy unexpectedly shed jobs in September into sharper focus. Traders are now pricing in two quarter-point Fed rate cuts by the end of the year as almost a done deal. "I hope they sort this out rapidly," said Kevin Thozet, investment committee member at asset manager Carmignac, referring to the government shutdown, adding that inflation data was also due ahead of the Fed's next meeting. "It's like a blind man walking with a blind dog," he said. SHUTDOWN ANGST HURTS DOLLAR, BOOSTS GOLD The MSCI's broadest index of global stocks was up about 0.2% on Thursday, after European stocks hit another record high, up about 0.5%. Tech shares in Asia had earlier rallied, helping drive up the region's stock indexes, partly lifted by news that South Korean chip heavyweights Samsung and SK Hynix inked partnerships to supply OpenAI data centres.  Gold , which have been buoyed by a combination of Fed easing bets and some shutdown angst, took a breather and slipped 0.2% after reaching another all-time high of $3,895.09 overnight. The two-year Treasury yield sank to a two-week low of 3.531% overnight, and was last at 3.5408%. "As is often the case, fresh highs are likely to beget yet more fresh highs here, with momentum still firmly with the bulls, and the fundamental case for further upside in PMs (precious metals) a solid one too," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the currency against six major peers, languished near a one-week low of 97.459 reached overnight. It last stood at 97.856, up 0.1% from Wednesday's closing level. The dollar rose 0.1% against the yen at 147.22 yen, after Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida signalled confidence that conditions for another interest rate hike were falling into place in remarks at an industry event. The euro was flat at $1.1720, while sterling fell 0.3% at $1.3444. Oil prices edged lower on Thursday, extending a run of declines into a fourth day due to concerns about oversupply in the market. [O/R] Brent crude futures fell 1.5% to $64.38 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude also dipped 1.6% to $60.77 a barrel.   (Reporting by Iain Withers in London and Kevin Buckland in TokyoEditing by Deepa Babington and Nick Zieminski)

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By Sinéad Carew and Niket Nishant (Reuters) -Wall Street's three major indexes marked record closing highs with modest gains on Thursday, largely thanks to support from the technology sector, while investors cautiously monitored private labor market data on the second day of a U.S. government shutdown.  The benchmark index rose very slightly, with its valuation already at its highest level since 2020, while the Nasdaq, up 0.4%,  was the biggest gainer on the day, with help from heavyweight technology companies including AI chip leader Nvidia, Apple and Broadcom.   With no official government data available because of the shutdown, investors were monitoring information from other sources. A report from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said U.S. employers announced fewer layoffs in September but that hiring plans so far this year were the lowest since 2009. This followed the previous day's weaker-than-expected ADP National Employment Report. "The market is looking at all of that against the backdrop of what was already weak job data in recent months to try to gauge the real path forward for the labor market from here," said Jim Baird, chief investment officer with Plante Moran Financial Advisors. The lackluster jobs data so far has led traders to bet widely that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates two more times this year, including a cut at the end of October. However, the Labor Department had to delay its September nonfarm payroll report because of the government shutdown.   While the shutdown was not a shock and investors have been soothed by the knowledge that such closures have typically not hurt the market in the past, Baird noted that it still caused worries. "Given how polarized the two (political) parties are right now, and both seem to be staking out their respective positions, it wouldn't be surprising if this one drags out a little bit longer," he said.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 78.62 points, or 0.17%, to 46,519.72. The S&P 500 gained 4.15 points, or 0.06%, to 6,715.35 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 88.89 points, or 0.39%, to 22,844.05.  The gains marked two closing highs in a row for the S&P 500 and the Dow, while the Nasdaq narrowly missed a record close on Wednesday.  Earlier in the session, the S&P and the Nasdaq indexes had hit intraday record highs. The S&P 500's forward price-to-earnings ratio has climbed to 23.1. The tech sector finished up 0.5% and  was the biggest boost to the S&P 500 with a lot of help from chip stocks. The broader semiconductor index closed up 1.9% and also registered a record closing high. Materials was the biggest percentage gainer among the benchmark's 11 major industry sectors, adding 1%. Energy was the biggest percentage loser of the group, falling 1%.  Consumer discretionary, while not the biggest percentage loser, was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 due largely to a selloff in shares of Tesla, which ended down 5% for its biggest one-day percentage loss since late July. The electric vehicle maker gave up early gains after a strong quarterly deliveries report, because some analysts flagged risks to sales in the upcoming quarters due to the withdrawal of the $7,500 federal tax credit. Shares of credit bureaus Equifax and TransUnion fell 8.5% and 10.6%, respectively, after FICO launched a program that could allow mortgage lenders to gain access to credit scores without relying on the bureaus. FICO shares surged almost 18% after the news. Occidental Petroleum said it would sell its petrochemical division to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway for $9.7 billion, sending shares of the oil and gas producer down 7.3%.  Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.16-to-1 ratio on the NYSE where there were 530 new highs and 93 new lows. On the Nasdaq, 2,706 stocks rose and 1,971 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.37-to-1 ratio.  The S&P 500 posted 37 new 52-week highs and 11 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 140 new highs and 67 new lows. On U.S. exchanges, 18.77 billion shares changed hands compared with the 18.83 billion 20-day moving average.  (Reporting by Sinéad Carew and Caroline Valetkevitch in New York and Niket Nishant and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Matthew Lewis)

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By Dan Catchpole (Reuters) -Boeing is expanding plans to replace striking St. Louis-area workers who assemble fighter jets and munitions with new hires through year's end, management announced on Thursday in an internal memo shared with Reuters.   Roughly 3,200 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 837 have been on strike since August 4.  The first group of replacement workers for munitions production and assembly mechanics will begin training on Friday, according to the memo from Boeing Vice President Dan Gillian.  Boeing is also evaluating moving some work to third parties, Gillian said. Boeing declined to comment  on the memo or say how many replacement workers would start training. Union officials and members said the move was largely a bluff, noting their jobs require weeks to several months of training, and getting a security clearance needed for many of the defense jobs can take up to six months. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders urged Boeing in a letter sent on Wednesday to end the eight-week-long strike.  "Do the right thing," Sanders said in his letter to Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg. "Sign a fair contract."  Boeing management has said the company will not significantly increase its offer, which workers rejected.  Sanders, an independent from Vermont who often votes with Democrats, along with Democratic Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, used a Senate committee hearing on Wednesday to slam Boeing's stance in labor talks.  The committee was reviewing President Donald Trump's nominations to key labor positions, including Boeing's chief labor counsel Scott Mayer to the National Labor Relations Board.  "The concept of fairness is an elusive one," Mayer said when asked by Hawley what would be a fair resolution to the strike. Mayer said he was not speaking for the company. Hawley and Sanders criticized Boeing for giving recent CEOs substantial compensation packages, but holding out against the IAM's proposals. "Fairness may be elusive, but that doesn't look like fairness to me," Hawley said. Boeing's board approved $22 million in compensation for Ortberg in 2025. The IAM estimates its proposal would cost Boeing $40 million a year on average. (Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle, Editing by Alistair Bell and Nia Williams)

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