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By Leika Kihara OSAKA (Reuters) -Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said inflation was on track to durably hit the bank's target but warned of global uncertainties that could discourage firms from raising wages, leaving himself a free hand on whether to raise interest rates in October. Ueda reiterated the central bank's resolve to continue raising still-low interest rates if the economy and prices move in line with its forecasts. But he said there were various uncertainties surrounding Japan's economic outlook, such as growing signs of labour market weakness in the United States and the expected impact of higher U.S. tariffs on Japanese corporate profits. "If uncertainty regarding overseas economies and trade policies remains high, firms may place stronger emphasis on cost-cutting and may weaken their efforts to reflect price increases in wages," Ueda said in a speech to business leaders in the western Japan city of Osaka on Friday. "The future course of the U.S. economy and the conduct of monetary policy could significantly affect Japan's economy and prices," Ueda said. "We will therefore continue to closely monitor the situation," he added. The Japanese yen weakened 0.2% to 147.60 per U.S. dollar after Ueda's comments, as some market players interpreted them as reducing the likelihood of an October rate hike. "There wasn't any clear change in the BOJ's communication that would suggest it was trying to lay the groundwork for an October rate hike," said Shotaro Mori, senior economist at SBI Shinsei Bank. "If the tariff impact were to intensify from now on, what's important would be to look at hard data on Japan's third-quarter economic growth and corporate profits," he said, predicting that a hike in December was now more likely than October. The remarks came in the wake of a U.S. government shutdown that began on Wednesday, which could delay the release of a large chunk of economic data and complicate the BOJ's rate decision. Market players have been closely watching Ueda's comments for any clues on how soon the BOJ will resume a rate-hike cycle that has been paused due to uncertainty over the economic fallout from U.S. tariffs. A hawkish board split at the BOJ's September meeting and calls for a near-term rate hike by a dovish policymaker have led markets to price in over a 60% chance the bank will hike rates to 0.75% from 0.5% at its next policy meeting on October 29-30. Ueda said Japan's economy was weathering the hit from U.S. tariffs so far, with many companies armed with buffers from high profits accumulated in the past. He also said underlying inflation, or the broad price trend excluding one-off factors, will accelerate toward the BOJ's target – removing earlier reference it will briefly stall in a nod to recent mounting pressure from rising food costs. "Given intensifying labour shortages and rising medium- to long-term inflation expectations, underlying inflation is likely to accelerate in tandem with actual inflation," Ueda said. The remark compared with language in the BOJ's policy statement in September, which said underlying inflation "will be sluggish due to slowing growth, before increasing gradually." The BOJ has justified going slow on rate hikes on the view underlying inflation, or price rises driven by domestic demand as measured by various indicators, remains short of its 2% target. "Depending on firms' wage- and price-setting behaviour, it's possible that price rises will persist longer than expected," Ueda said. But he added that prolonged food price rises could also hurt consumption and push down inflation. "We will carefully examine the likelihood of our baseline scenario materialising, as well as both upside and downside risks" in deciding on monetary policy, Ueda said. The BOJ ended a massive, decade-long stimulus programme last year and raised rates to 0.5% in January, on the view that Japan was on the cusp of durably hitting its inflation target of 2%. While consumer inflation has exceeded 2% for more than three years, Ueda has stressed the need to tread cautiously in raising borrowing costs to ensure price rises are driven by wage gains and robust domestic demand. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Additional reporting by Kentaro Sugiyama and Makiko Yamazaki in Tokyo, Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Sam Holmes)

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By Leika Kihara OSAKA (Reuters) -Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said inflation was on track to durably hit the bank's target but warned of global uncertainties that could discourage firms from raising wages, leaving himself a free hand on whether to raise interest rates in October. Ueda reiterated the central bank's resolve to continue raising still-low interest rates if the economy and prices move in line with its forecasts. But he said there were various uncertainties surrounding Japan's economic outlook, such as growing signs of labour market weakness in the United States and the expected impact of higher U.S. tariffs on Japanese corporate profits. "If uncertainty regarding overseas economies and trade policies remains high, firms may place stronger emphasis on cost-cutting and may weaken their efforts to reflect price increases in wages," Ueda said in a speech to business leaders in the western Japan city of Osaka on Friday. "The future course of the U.S. economy and the conduct of monetary policy could significantly affect Japan's economy and prices," Ueda said. "We will therefore continue to closely monitor the situation," he added. The Japanese yen weakened 0.2% to 147.60 per U.S. dollar after Ueda's comments, as some market players interpreted them as reducing the likelihood of a near-term rate hike. Market players have been closely watching his comments for any clues on how soon the BOJ will resume a rate-hike cycle that has been paused due to uncertainty over the economic fallout from U.S. tariffs. A hawkish board split at the BOJ's September meeting and calls for a near-term rate hike by a dovish policymaker have led markets to price in over a 60% chance the bank will hike rates to 0.75% from 0.5% at its next policy meeting on October 29-30. Ueda said Japan's economy was weathering the hit from U.S. tariffs so far, with many companies armed with buffers from high profits accumulated in the past. He also said underlying inflation, or the broad price trend excluding one-off factors, will accelerate toward the BOJ's target – removing earlier reference it will briefly stall in a nod to recent mounting pressure from rising food costs. "Depending on firms' wage- and price-setting behaviour, it's possible that price rises will persist longer than expected," Ueda said. But he added that prolonged food price rises could also hurt consumption and push down inflation. "We will carefully examine the likelihood of our baseline scenario materialising, as well as both upside and downside risks" in deciding on monetary policy, Ueda said. The remarks came in the wake of Wednesday's tankan quarterly survey that showed confidence among big Japanese manufacturers improved for the second straight quarter. The BOJ ended a massive, decade-long stimulus programme last year and raised rates to 0.5% in January, on the view that Japan was on the cusp of durably hitting its inflation target of 2%. While inflation has exceeded 2% for more than three years, Ueda has stressed the need to tread cautiously in raising borrowing costs to ensure price rises are driven by wage gains and robust domestic demand. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Sam Holmes)

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(Reuters) -BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners is in advanced talks to acquire Macquarie-backed Aligned Data Centers in a deal valuing the technology infrastructure company at $40 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. The companies have yet to finalize a deal, but an agreement could be announced within days, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the matter. Mubadala, an investor in Aligned and a backer of MGX, an Abu Dhabi AI investment firm, is also involved in the talks and would invest independently as part of the transaction, the report said. Blackrock declined to comment on the report. GIP, Aligned, Macquarie, and Mubadala did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The enormous uptake of AI, both in business and personal use, has prompted a host of companies to invest in AI data centers. McKinsey estimates those investments to reach $6.7 trillion by 2030 to meet computing power demand. Texas-based Aligned, which specializes in AI-related infrastructure, raised more than $12 billion in January. (Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham and Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

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(Reuters) -BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners is in advanced talks to acquire Macquarie-backed Aligned Data Centers in a deal valuing Aligned at $40 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. (Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham and Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru)

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By Leika Kihara OSAKA (Reuters) -Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said inflation was on track to durably hit the bank's target but warned of global uncertainties that could discourage firms from raising wages, leaving himself a free hand on whether to raise interest rates in October. Ueda reiterated the central bank's resolve to continue raising still-low interest rates if the economy and prices move in line with its forecasts. But he said there were various uncertainties surrounding Japan's economic outlook, such as growing signs of labour market weakness in the United States and the expected impact of higher U.S. tariffs on Japanese corporate profits. "If uncertainty regarding overseas economies and trade policies remains high, firms may place stronger emphasis on cost-cutting and may weaken their efforts to reflect price increases in wages," Ueda said in a speech to business leaders in the western Japan city of Osaka on Friday. "The future course of the U.S. economy and the conduct of monetary policy could significantly affect Japan's economy and prices," Ueda said. "We will therefore continue to closely monitor the situation," he added. The Japanese yen weakened 0.2% to 147.60 per U.S. dollar after Ueda's comments, as some market players interpreted them as reducing the likelihood of a near-term rate hike. Market players have been closely watching his comments for any clues on how soon the BOJ will resume a rate-hike cycle that has been paused due to uncertainty over the economic fallout from U.S. tariffs. A hawkish board split at the BOJ's September meeting and calls for a near-term rate hike by a dovish policymaker have led markets to price in over a 60% chance the bank will hike rates to 0.75% from 0.5% at its next policy meeting on October 29-30. Ueda said Japan's economy was weathering the hit from U.S. tariffs so far, with many companies armed with buffers from high profits accumulated in the past. He also said underlying inflation, or the broad price trend excluding one-off factors, will accelerate toward the BOJ's target – removing earlier reference it will briefly stall in a nod to recent mounting pressure from rising food costs. "Depending on firms' wage- and price-setting behaviour, it's possible that price rises will persist longer than expected," Ueda said. But he added that prolonged food price rises could also hurt consumption and push down inflation. "We will carefully examine the likelihood of our baseline scenario materialising, as well as both upside and downside risks" in deciding on monetary policy, Ueda said. The remarks came in the wake of Wednesday's tankan quarterly survey that showed confidence among big Japanese manufacturers improved for the second straight quarter. The BOJ ended a massive, decade-long stimulus programme last year and raised rates to 0.5% in January, on the view that Japan was on the cusp of durably hitting its inflation target of 2%. While inflation has exceeded 2% for more than three years, Ueda has stressed the need to tread cautiously in raising borrowing costs to ensure price rises are driven by wage gains and robust domestic demand. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Sam Holmes)

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By Rocky Swift TOKYO (Reuters) -The yen edged lower on Friday, trimming its sharpest weekly gain in more than four months, as traders considered the impact of potential rate increases by the Bank of Japan and a leadership election this weekend. BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda reiterated that the central bank would continue raising interest rates if the economy and prices move in line with its forecast. Markets are also focused on a Liberal Democratic Party election on Saturday that will determine Japan's next prime minister. The dollar rebounded overnight despite a closure of the U.S. government that has halted the publication of key economic data, including the closely watched monthly jobs report for September that was due to be released on Friday. Canada's currency held near a four-month low on a slide in oil prices. "The government shutdown has not had a major short-term impact, but if anything, underlying pressure remains toward a weaker dollar," said Hirofumi Suzuki, the chief currency strategist at SMBC. "That said, with yen-depreciation pressure likely to linger ahead of this weekend's LDP leadership election, the pair is likely to hover around current levels," he added. The yen slid 0.2% to 147.52 per dollar, still on track for a 1.3% advance this week that would be the biggest since mid-May. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of key currencies, tacked on 0.1% to 97.895. The euro was little changed at $1.1721. Markets were keeping a close eye on speeches by BOJ officials this week after the central bank's tankan survey on Wednesday showed confidence among big manufacturers improved for the second straight quarter. Governor Ueda said the central bank expects the global economy to resume a moderate recovery path but much will depend on the U.S. economic outlook. Deputy governor Shinichi Uchida said on Thursday that the business mood is improving and corporate profits remain high even as U.S. tariffs weigh on exports.  Ueda's comments "could be used to guide the market further towards a rate hike at the BOJ's next meeting on October 30th," IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore wrote in a note. In the U.S. overnight, a Chicago Fed report that combines private and available public data estimated the September jobless rate was 4.3%, the same as in August and evidence that a feared rapid rise in unemployment had not yet begun. But details of the report, along with other data, pointed to sluggishness in the labor market. The ADP National Employment report on Wednesday showed private payrolls decreased by 32,000 in September, boosting expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates two more times this year. Traders see a 25-basis-point cut at the Fed's October meeting as almost certain and are pricing in a 90% probability of an additional cut in December, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan on Thursday said the central bank appropriately cut rates last month to guard against the risk of a sharp deterioration in the job market, but said that so far the cooling has been gradual and signalled she is not eager to cut rates further. The Canadian dollar weakened to a four-month low against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as the price of oil fell more than 2% and investors worried about negotiations to renew a U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. The Canadian currency traded little changed at 1.3962 per U.S. dollar after touching 1.3986 on Thursday, its weakest intraday level since May 16. (Reporting by Rocky SwiftEditing by Shri Navaratnam)

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By Ankur Banerjee SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Asian stocks were poised for solid weekly gains on Friday as rising odds of the Federal Reserve cutting rates in the near-term helped cushion jitters around a U.S. government shutdown that have pushed gold to record highs and weighed on the dollar. Investors have mostly shrugged off the government shutdown, the 15th since 1981, even as it resulted in suspension of scientific research, financial oversight and delayed crucial economic data, including the jobs report on Friday. Part of the reason for the lack of market reaction is because historically shutdowns have had limited impact on economic growth and market performance. Weiheng Chen, global investment strategist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, said investors appear willing to give Washington time to resolve its disagreements, though a prolonged shutdown may start to move markets. "For now, investors remain more focused on the potential impacts of the Fed’s rate-cutting cycle, trade and immigration policy, economic data, and corporate earnings," Chen said. MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares was up 0.14%, just shy of the record high it touched on Thursday. The index was set for an over 2% gain for the week and has risen 23% so far this year. With China and parts of Asia closed for a long holiday, volumes are likely to be thin in the region. Japan's Nikkei was up 0.75% in early trading, not far from the record high it touched last month ahead of the crucial weekend vote that will determine the next prime minister and set the tone for fiscal and monetary policy outlook. Asian markets were taking cues from Wall Street, where all three major indexes closed at record highs buoyed by technology stocks as investor enthusiasm for all things AI remains unchallenged. NO OFFICIAL DATA With no government reports on the labour market to take cues from, investors have turned to alternative data from public and private sources and so far they point to a sluggish U.S. labour market. Blerina Uruci, chief U.S. economist at T. Rowe Price, said the potential delay of critical economic data is a problem for a data-dependent Fed, leaving the central bank reliant on less comprehensive indicators like ADP and jobless claims. "The lack of clarity could fuel short-term volatility and make it harder for markets to position with confidence," Uruci said, noting some investors are already looking to reduce risk as the outlook becomes harder to navigate. Still, markets are becoming more confident of the Fed sticking to its rate cutting path and are almost fully pricing in a 25 basis point rate cut in October. Traders are pricing in 114 bps of easing by the end of 2026. That has left the U.S. dollar under pressure. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six other units, was steady on the day but on course for a 0.35% weekly decline, the biggest drop since early August. The Japanese yen has been the biggest beneficiary of the dollar weakness this week and is set to clock a 1.5% gain, its biggest weekly gain since mid-May. It was last little changed at 147.34 per U.S. dollar. In commodities, gold was steady at $3,857 a ounce, stuck near the record high it touched on Thursday. The yellow metal is on course for a 2.6% weekly gain, its seventh straight week of gains. Gold, viewed as a safe-haven asset during times of uncertainty, thrives in a low-interest-rate environment. It has risen 47% so far this year.[GOL/] Oil prices, on the other hand, were on track for their steepest weekly decline since late June due to market expectations that the OPEC+ group could hike output further despite oversupply concerns. [O/R] (Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Sam Holmes)

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(Reuters) -A multibillion-dollar deal to send Nvidia's artificial-intelligence chips to the United Arab Emirates is stuck in neutral nearly five months after it was signed, frustrating CEO Jensen Huang and some senior administration officials, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. (Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)

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By Lucia Mutikani and Ann Saphir (Reuters) -Alternate data from public and private sources, a substitute for official statistics delayed by a government shutdown, showed the U.S. job market likely remained stalled in September with sluggish hiring but no change in an unemployment rate economists see as influenced by falling numbers of foreign-born workers. The federal government's 15th shutdown since 1981, with some 750,000 workers furloughed, has delayed publication of key reports including the September unemployment and jobs data due on Friday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a key reference point for Federal Reserve policymakers who meet in a little under four weeks to decide whether to cut interest rates again.  Also delayed so far are the weekly jobless claims report and factory orders and construction spending data for August. While the data could still be available for the Fed's October 28-29 meeting depending on the length of the shutdown, alternative data, such as a new "real-time" estimate of the unemployment rate issued on Thursday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, is likely to attract more attention from Fed officials, economists and analysts trying to understand the economy while the government is idle. The Chicago Fed report, which combines private and available public data, estimated the September jobless rate was 4.3%, the same as in August and evidence that a feared rapid rise in unemployment had not yet begun. But details of the report, along with other data, pointed to ongoing sluggishness in the labor market that is likely to keep the Fed poised to cut the benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point. The Fed's rate cut discussion now leans heavily on policymakers' views of whether the labor market is holding up, with the 4.3% jobless rate considered around full employment, or is at risk of a sharp rupture. The Fed last month cut its policy rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a range of 4% to 4.25% after job gains slowed sharply and the unemployment rate ticked up in August.  "We're going to go off of the data we have," Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said on Fox News' America Reports on Thursday, adding that to him the bank's new unemployment number "indicates some steadiness in the labor market." The Chicago Fed's new data series, updated twice monthly, showed the hiring rate for unemployed workers dipping slightly and the rate of layoffs and other job separations up a bit.  That put "limited upward pressure" on the unemployment rate, the bank said.  LABOR MARKET IS STAGNATING Earlier this week, data from payroll processor ADP indicated private payrolls fell 32,000 in September. The ADP data may also take on added weight in the absence of Bureau of Labor Statistics updates, and was cited by Fed Governor Christopher Waller in August as helping ground internal Fed staff estimates that showed "continued deterioration" in the job market beginning in May. New data issued Thursday by technology firm Intuit, based on a sample of roughly 400,000 of small businesses from its QuickBooks platform, showed firms with from one to nine employees shed more than 48,000 jobs in September, a decline of around 0.37%. Firms of that size have seen a steady drop in employment since early 2024, with average monthly employment for the latest quarter down about 400,000 from a peak of 13.1 million. U.S. employers meanwhile announced fewer layoffs in September, but hiring plans this year were the lowest since 2009, according to the latest report from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas that provided further signs of a labor market at a standstill as the demand and supply of workers fall because of tougher immigration policy and technological advances. The firm said planned job cuts dropped 37% month-on-month to 54,064 in September. Employers have so far this year announced 946,426 job cuts, the highest year-to-date total since 2020.  Hiring plans so far this year have totaled 204,939, the lowest year-to-date since 2009 when the economy was just emerging from the Great Recession.  "Right now, we're dealing with a stagnating labor market, cost increases and a transformative new technology," said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president at Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "With rate cuts on the way, we may see some stabilizing in the fourth quarter, but other factors could keep employers planning layoffs or holding off hiring." But there are conflicting signals, and a puzzle over whether weak job growth is due to a slowing economy or a lack of workers, or both. Nonfarm payroll gains averaged only 29,000 jobs per month in the three months to August compared to 82,000 during the same period last year, yet the jobless rate has been fairly stable. Economists say lingering uncertainty from President Donald Trump's trade policy and the rise of artificial intelligence have reduced demand for workers. But the administration's immigration crackdown may also be limiting the availability of labor. In its latest survey, the National Federation of Independent Business reported that 58% of independent business owners planned to hire, more than in August, but that nearly 90% of that group "reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill," up seven percentage points from the month before.  Should the shutdown persist into next week, reports due later this month, including consumer price, retail sales, housing starts and producer inflation data for September, will probably not be published, impacting decision-making by households, investors and policymakers.   (Reporting by Ann Saphir; Additional reporting by Howard Schneider and Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Jamie Freed and Andrea Ricci)

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By Andre Romani SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian planemaker Embraer said on Thursday it delivered 62 aircraft in the third quarter of 2025, about 5% higher than the 59 deliveries in the same period last year. The world's third-largest planemaker delivered 20 commercial aircraft in the quarter, a 25% increase year-on-year, and 41 executive jets, in line with a year earlier, Embraer said in a securities filing. The Phenom 300 represented nearly half of all the executive jets delivered by Embraer in the quarter through the end of September, according to the company. Embraer also delivered one defense aircraft in the period, a KC-390 Millennium, compared with two deliveries in the defense segment a year ago. "Deliveries are on track to reach bottom end of guidance," Citi analysts including Andre Mazini wrote in a note to clients, adding the figures are "likely to be taken as lukewarm by the market." Embraer forecasts deliveries in 2025 of between 77 and 85 commercial, and 145 to 155 executive jets. In the year through the third quarter, Embraer delivered 46 commercial jets and 102 executive jets. Sao Paulo-traded shares of Embraer declined 5.8% on Thursday ahead of the data, one of the largest losers in the Brazilian equities benchmark index Bovespa, which fell 1.1%. The company is set to release its third-quarter financial results on November 4, according to its website. (Reporting by Andre Romani; Editing by Kylie Madry and Cynthia Osterman)

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