Stocks mixed as end to US shutdown appears closer
Global stocks turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday as a record-long US government shutdown took a step nearer to ending and tech stocks struggled.Wall Street opened mostly lower, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shedding percent.”The go-to explanation is that there is some consternation surrounding the AI trade,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.Japan’s SoftBank announced it sold $5.8 billion worth of shares in US chip giant Nvidia last month.Shares in Nvidia, whose processors are prized by companies training and operating AI models, fell 2.5 percent at the start of trading.The sale comes amid debate whether the inflated prices of AI stocks have become a bubble.Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, noted that Softbank didn’t address that question, but didn’t want to take any risks given the size of its holding.”For the wider investment community, when big investors cash out of their AI positions, they will take notice, and this is why the stock is declining today,” she said.More broadly, Brooks said tech stocks were no longer providing momentum to the markets.”Without momentum helping US indices move higher, volatility could take hold, so we are not expecting stocks to move in a straight line for now, and the market correction may not be over,” she said in a note to clients.Europe’s main stock markets climbed Tuesday.London’s top-tier FTSE 100 index reached a fresh record high as a weakening pound boosted multi-nationals earning in dollars.Paris won solid gains during a public holiday in France, which tends to exaggerate share price movements owing to low trading volumes.An Asian rally that began Monday ran out of steam.Equities generally started the week on the front foot after US lawmakers reached a deal to reopen the government after more than 40 days, adding to a revival of demand for tech giants despite growing fears of an AI-fuelled bubble.US senators passed the compromise budget measure on Monday after a group of Democrats broke with their party to side with Republicans on a bill to fund departments through January.It is hoped the bill will then pass the Republican-held House of Representatives and head to US President Donald Trump’s desk, with some suggesting the government could reopen Friday.Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that “we’ll be opening up our country very quickly”, adding that “the deal is very good”.Investors had grown increasingly concerned about the impact of severe disruptions of food benefits to low-income households, and of air travel heading into the Thanksgiving holiday.The shutdown has also meant key official data on a range of things, including inflation and jobs, has not been released, leaving traders to focus on private reports for an idea about the economy.The lack of crucial data has meant the Federal Reserve has been unable to gauge properly whether or not to cut interest rates at its next meeting in December, keeping investors guessing.Analysts increasingly expect the Bank of England to cut its main interest rate next month after official data Tuesday showed a bigger-than-expected rise to UK unemployment ahead of the Labour government’s annual budget later this month.The increase to five percent in the third quarter weighed on the pound.- Key figures at 1430 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 47,448.98 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,822.48New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 23,415.91 London – FTSE 100: UP 0.9 percent at 9,879.01 Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.1 percent at 8,143.82Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 24,043.73Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 50,842.93 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 26,696.41 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 4,002.76 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1605 from $1.1563 on MondayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3174 from $1.3182Dollar/yen: DOWN at 153.82 yen from 154.03 yenEuro/pound: UP at 88.06 pence from 88.00 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.1 percent at $64.76 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.1 percent at $60.80 per barrelburs-rl/cw
‘Sayyid says’: Influential Shiite cleric’s supporters boycott Iraq vote
When Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr gives an order, his supporters listen. On Tuesday, as many Iraqis lined up to cast their votes for a new parliament, that order was to skip the election entirely and spend the day with family instead.The effects of the influential preacher’s directive were on full display in his Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City, where residents said they were spending a pointedly normal day.Not far from a polling station, when asked what they were up to, a group of men exclaimed in unison: “We are boycotting on the orders of Sayyid”, a reference to the 52-year-old cleric, who has always shown a particular prowess for mobilising — or demobilising — loyalists.Sadr first announced the boycott months ago, and has since released several statements accusing the political class of corruption and resisting reforms.”Out of love and obedience, I am boycotting the election on Sayyid Moqtada Sadr’s orders,” said one of the men near the polling place, Hatem Kazem, 28, who closed his car accessories shop and took the day off.”We are boycotting to bring about change,” he added”We lack good hospitals or schools. We just want to be like other countries.”- ‘Family day’ -Sadr, whose photo is displayed on walls all across the district that bears his family’s name, retains a devoted following of millions among Iraq’s majority Shiite population.At his call, his supporters fill the streets, and disperse within minutes when he tells them to withdraw.In the days leading up to the vote, he issued almost daily messages addressed to supporters and rivals alike, such as: “May those already tested not be tested again,” and “God, do not make me one of the corrupt.” On Monday, a close associate quoted him as advising his supporters to only leave home on election day out of “absolute necessity”.”Let your day be a family day,” he told them.Many heeded the call and responded on social media, where videos circulated showing men cooking or cleaning the dishes.Taxi driver Dia Hassib, 45, said he was boycotting not only because Sadr said so, but also because there has been no improvement in the country, which suffers from poor infrastructure and failing public services.”The same poverty and no jobs,” he said, adding that Sadr’s “path is correct — we are boycotting because nothing is changing”.In 2021, Sadr’s bloc emerged from elections as the biggest parliamentary faction. But soon after, he withdrew from parliament over a dispute with rival Shiite parties that culminated in deadly fighting in Baghdad.- ‘If he says die, we die’ -Sadr, who once led a militia against American and Iraqi government forces, has made several reversals over the years, and he has announced on several occasions that he is withdrawing from politics.His family history has made him beloved among many Iraqis. He is the son of Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadek Sadr, whom former dictator Saddam Hussein had assassinated in 1999.Despite opposing various governments and their backers, Sadr has always had allies at the highest levels of ministries and other institutions.To his followers, meanwhile, he is a champion of the fight against corruption.Abbas Ali, a 21-year-old tuk-tuk driver, said “our country is wealthy but corruption is rampant and young people can’t find jobs”.”I burned my voting card,” he added, saying he was answering Sadr’s call. “Whatever the Sayyid says, we do. If he says die, we die. If he says live, we live.”
En Israël, Hadar Goldin inhumé 11 ans après avoir été tué à Gaza
“Ne vous haïssez pas les uns les autres”, a lancé mardi le père de Hadar Goldin à une foule d’Israéliens venue rendre un dernier hommage au jeune officier dont la dépouille avait été retenue pendant plus d’une décennie à Gaza.Des centaines d’Israéliens se sont rassemblés à Kfar Saba, dans le centre du pays, pour assister …
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Au large d’îles taïwanaises, les garde-côtes à l’affût des intrusions chinoises
Près des îles taïwanaises de Kinmen, le capitaine Huang Heng-chun dirige son navire de patrouille dans des eaux agitées, depuis lesquelles on remarque très clairement les gratte-ciels de la ville chinoise de Xiamen.A son point le plus proche, ce petit archipel contrôlé par Taipei se trouve à deux kilomètres des côtes chinoises, tandis que l’île …
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Philippines: le typhon Fung-wong fait 25 morts, Taïwan en alerte
Des secouristes philippins équipés de pelleteuses et de tronçonneuses ont commencé mardi à nettoyer les zones dévastées par le typhon Fung-wong, profitant de la décrue dans les villages inondés, où le bilan s’élève à 25 morts.Fung-wong, qui a entraîné l’évacuation de 1,4 million de personnes, a été rétrogradé en tempête tropicale alors que ses pluies …
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“Le sang coulait encore”: le calvaire des réfugiés d’El-Facher arrivés au Tchad
Après 11 jours de trajet, Mounir Abderahmane atteint enfin le camp de Tiné, dans la province du Wadi Fira au Tchad, après avoir fui El-Facher, au Soudan, le 25 octobre. Lorsque des paramilitaires des Forces de soutien rapide (FSR) ont envahi la ville, il veillait son père, militaire dans l’armée régulière blessé quelques jours plus tôt, à l’hôpital …
“Le sang coulait encore”: le calvaire des réfugiés d’El-Facher arrivés au Tchad Read More »
Birmanie: démolition partielle d’un centre d’arnaques après des raids de la junte, selon des images satellites
Des images satellite analysées par l’AFP montrent une destruction partielle d’un vaste centre d’arnaques en ligne en Birmanie après l’annonce d’une opération militaire, mais une grande partie des bâtiments se dressent toutefois encore.La junte birmane avait annoncé la démolition de bâtiments de ce complexe près de la Thaïlande, appelé KK Park, le journal officiel Global …
Birmanie: démolition partielle d’un centre d’arnaques après des raids de la junte, selon des images satellites
Des images satellite analysées par l’AFP montrent une destruction partielle d’un vaste centre d’arnaques en ligne en Birmanie après l’annonce d’une opération militaire, mais une grande partie des bâtiments se dressent toutefois encore.La junte birmane avait annoncé la démolition de bâtiments de ce complexe près de la Thaïlande, appelé KK Park, le journal officiel Global …








