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Washington, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday said she was purchasing more buildings in Chicago for law enforcement and hardening existing buildings with additional security measures. "I was there a few days ago and looked at some facilities that we can deploy more law enforcement out of," she said at a White House Cabinet meeting. (Reporting by Jeff Mason, writing by Maiya Keidan)

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Oct 9 (Reuters) – The U.S. central bank should move cautiously on further interest rate cuts, Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr said on Thursday in a speech that leaned heavily into the risks of inflation, even as he acknowledged the potential vulnerabilities in a "roughly balanced" labor market. "The FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) should be cautious about adjusting policy so that we can gather further data, update our forecasts, and better assess the balance of risks," Barr said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Economic Club of Minnesota, his first on monetary policy since June. With both upside inflation risks and downside risks to the labor market, the Fed is in a "challenging position" with no risk-free path forward as it sets monetary policy, Barr said, explicitly borrowing the way Fed Chair Jerome Powell phrased the central bank's current quandary. Barr said he supported the Fed's quarter-of-a-percentage-point reduction to the policy rate last month, but he focused many of his comments on the risks that tariffs pose to inflation, suggesting he is not sold on the need for a series of rate cuts, as financial markets currently expect. Barr said he forecasts underlying inflation by the Fed's key measure, the core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, to rise to above 3% by the end of this year, and noted that Fed officials do not expect headline inflation to fall to the central bank's 2% goal until the end of 2027. That would be the longest period of PCE inflation above 2% since a seven-year stretch that ended in 1993, he said. "After the high inflation Americans have endured, two more years would be a long time to wait for a return to our target, and that possibility weighs on my judgment for appropriate monetary policy," he said. (Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Paul Simao)

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(Adds details about China entities being sanctioned, background) By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON, Oct 9 (Reuters) – The U.S. imposed sanctions on about 100 individuals, entities and vessels, including a Chinese independent refinery and terminal, that helped Iran's oil and petrochemicals trade, the administration of President Donald Trump said on Thursday. The Treasury Department sanctioned the Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical Group Co, which it said is an independent teapot refinery in Shandong Province that has purchased millions of barrels of Iranian oil since 2023. It also sanctioned China-based Rizhao Shihua Crude Oil Terminal Co, which operates a terminal at Lanshan Port. Treasury said it has accepted more than a dozen of Iran's so-called shadow fleet vessels that evade the sanctions. The tankers included Kongm, Big Mag, and Voy. Treasury said the tankers transported several million barrels of Iranian oil to Rizhao. The U.S. believes Iran's oil networks help Tehran fund its nuclear and missile programs and support militant proxies throughout the Middle East. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. The sanctions came even as Israel and Hamas signed a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, which if fully implemented, would bring the two sides closer than any previous effort to halt a war that had evolved into a regional conflict, drawing in countries such as Iran, Yemen and Lebanon. Treasury said it was the fourth round of sanctions in which the administration targeted China-based refineries that continue to purchase Iranian oil. "The Treasury Department is degrading Iran’s cash flow by dismantling key elements of Iran’s energy export machine,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The State Department said the U.S. also designated the first China-based terminal, Jiangyin Foreversun Chemical Logistics, for receiving Iranian-origin petrochemical products. The Chinese embassy in Washington and Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Bhargav Acharya, Katharine Jackson Editing by Marguerita Choy)

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U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY NOEM: PURCHASING MORE BUILDINGS IN CHICAGO TO OPERATE OUT OF

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Oct 9 (Reuters) – MetaTerra Holdings: * METATERRA ENTERS FORMAL DISCUSSIONS TO INTEGRATE MIRACLE PAY AT ROMANIA’S NEW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PROJECT

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* France's Michelin slides on softer Q3 sales forecasts * Portugal's EDP Renovaveis up after Jefferies upgrade * Ferrari shares stumble spoils electric vehicle tech launch (Updates with closing levels) By Shashwat Chauhan and Amir Orusov Oct 9 (Reuters) – European stocks fell on Thursday, dragged lower by steep losses in HSBC and Ferrari, knocking the STOXX off its record perch as investors kept a wary eye on France's deepening political turmoil. The pan-European STOXX 600 closed 0.4% lower, coming off its record high hit in the last session. Ferrari shares skidded to their worst single-day drop on record, closing at their lowest since April, as underwhelming long-term financial targets dulled investor enthusiasm and stole the spotlight from the luxury Italian carmaker's electric debut. Auto stocks logged their worst daily performance since March, with Michelin also adding to the blow. The French tire maker was off 3.8% after saying its third-quarter sales volumes would decline compared to the previous year. Shares of HSBC dropped 5.4%, the biggest drag on the STOXX, after the British lender said it plans to buy out minority shareholders in its Hang Seng Bank subsidiary in a deal worth around $13.6 billion. "There are obviously concerns about the timing and the variation of the deal," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at Swissquote Bank. Lloyds Banking Group shed 3.3% after the lender said it would likely need to set aside more cash to cover the cost of compensating motor finance customers in a probe. EYES ON FRANCE Investors kept a close watch on France as President Emmanuel Macron hunted for his sixth prime minister in less than two years, hoping the next pick could navigate a budget through a crisis-hit legislature. French assets were rattled earlier this week after Sebastien Lecornu, France's fifth prime minister in two years, tendered his and his government's resignation just hours after announcing the cabinet line-up. The regional blue-chip index gave up early gains to close 0.2% lower. Still, the benchmark remains one of the laggards in 2025, up about 9.2% compared to double-digit percent gains in other top nations. On the macro front, European Central Bank policymakers concluded last month that their toolkit remains strong enough to handle shifts in the euro zone's inflation outlook, allowing them to hold steady until the picture clears, minutes from the September 10–11 meeting showed. The central bank kept rates unchanged and struck a cautiously optimistic tone on the economy, signaling that any further easing would require a high bar – even as U.S. tariffs continue to cloud the horizon. Back to stocks, Germany's Gerresheimer slumped 18.2% after the packaging and medical equipment maker cut its annual outlook. EDP Renovaveis gained 1.4% after Jefferies upgraded its rating on the Portuguese wind energy producer to "buy" from "hold". (Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru and Amir Orusov in Gdansk; editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Mark Heinrich)

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Oct 9 (Reuters) – Phoenix Education Partners' shares rose 18.8% in their New York Stock Exchange debut on Thursday, valuing the University of Phoenix-owner at $1.35 billion. (Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)

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(Updates with mid-day trading, changes byline, dateline, previous LONDON) * Israel and Hamas agree to Gaza ceasefire, return of hostages * US oil product supplied highest since December 2022, EIA says * Stalled peace talks in Ukraine underpin prices By Arathy Somasekhar HOUSTON, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Oil prices edged slightly lower on Thursday after Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas signed an agreement to cease fire in Gaza. Brent crude futures were down 36 cents, or 0.6%, at $65.88 a barrel at 11:42 a.m. ET (1542 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 30 cents, or 0.5%, at $62.25. Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas signed an agreement on Thursday to cease fire and free Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, in the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump's initiative to end the war in Gaza. Under the ceasefire deal, fighting will cease, Israel will partially withdraw from Gaza, and Hamas will free all remaining hostages it captured in the attack that precipitated the war, in exchange for hundreds of prisoners held by Israel. "Crude futures are in a corrective phase as the Israel/Hamas conflict looks to be ending," said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial. 'WIDE-RANGING' IMPLICATIONS FOR OIL MARKETS "The peace agreement is a major breakthrough in recent Middle Eastern history – its implications for oil markets could be wide-ranging, from the possibility of a decrease in the Houthis' attacks in the Red Sea to an increase in the likelihood of a nuclear deal with Iran…" Rystad Energy's Chief Economist Claudio Galimberti said in a note. The OPEC+ group, made up of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, agreed on Sunday to a November output hike that was smaller than market expectations, easing oversupply concerns. Prices had gained around 1% on Wednesday to reach a one-week high after investors viewed stalled progress on a Ukraine peace deal as a sign that sanctions against Russia, the world's second-largest oil exporter, would continue for some time. Meanwhile, total weekly U.S. petroleum products supplied, a proxy for U.S. oil consumption, rose last week to 21.99 million barrels per day, the most since December 2022, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday. (Reporting by Stephanie Kelly in London, Florence Tan in Singapore and Georgina McCartney in Houston. Editing by Mark Potter, Jane Merriman, Nick Zieminski, William Maclean)

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TRUMP: THINK WILL BE LASTING PEACE

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(Adds context throughout) MEXICO CITY, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Citigroup on Thursday rejected Mexican mining and transport conglomerate Grupo Mexico's bid for its retail unit in the country, known as Banamex, opting instead to push forward with a previously agreed-upon deal. Grupo Mexico surprised last week when it made an unsolicited $9.3 billion offer for Banamex, more than two years after it had backed away from negotiations. The news rocked local markets, wiping off billions in the firm's market capitalization. Shares in Grupo Mexico climbed more than 4.5% on Citi's statement Thursday that it rejected the bid. Citi last month announced that it would sell a 25% stake in Banamex to Mexican billionaire Fernando Chico Pardo, chairman of airport operator ASUR, for around $2.3 billion. The lender then planned to hold a public offering for the rest of the unit, it said at the time, while also gauging the interest of other local magnates. Citi on Thursday said that it believed that deal was the best option to divest from Banamex responsibly and maximize value for shareholders. (Reporting by Raul Cortes and Kylie Madry; editing by Cassandra Garrison)

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