Finance, in brief

Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, said on Wednesday that the US and China will extend their trade truce by two months, to 10 January. [1][2]

The truce had been due to end on 10 November. [2] It was agreed in Busan, South Korea, last year, after tariffs between the two countries had topped 100%. [4]

Under it, the US holds back some tariffs and other limits on China's economy. [1] China, in return, keeps sending rare earths, minerals that factories need for cars, chips and planes. [1]

Bessent spoke after an unplanned meeting with He Lifeng, China's vice premier, their second in four days. [3][8] He said the extra time is to see whether a bigger deal is possible. [2]

Chinese officials had not confirmed the new date when Bessent announced it. [1] In a written statement, Xi said the two countries should be partners rather than rivals. [13]

Xi arrived the same evening for a three-day state visit, and Trump greeted him on the runway, which presidents rarely do. [11][2] The two leaders hold talks on Thursday. [2]

The summit could bring news on farm purchases and a plan for both sides to remove tariffs on about $30bn of goods that are not sensitive. [3][4]

Bessent said China is buying the 25 million tonnes of US soybeans it promised. [3] He said it is behind on a separate pledge of $17bn a year of other farm goods. [3]

China controls about 90% of the world's rare-earth magnets, according to the consultancy AlixPartners. [4] The European Chamber of Commerce in China said planned export limits would have hit industry hard without the extension. [6]

The same chamber said the extension does nothing about slow and unclear licences its members need to buy rare earths. [6]

China sold a record $1.2 trillion more to the world than it bought in 2025, even as its sales to the US fell. [10]

Iran and Taiwan hang over the talks. [5] The Wall Street Journal counted about 1,300 shipments of parts with military uses from China to Iran's defence ministry in the first half of this year. [12]

Trump has held back a $14bn arms package for Taiwan and called it a negotiating chip. [5] Before the summit, the US told Japan and South Korea its promises to defend them are ironclad. [9]

Why it matters. The next test is Thursday's talks between Trump and Xi: whether China confirms the new date, and whether the $30bn tariff cut or a firm order for Boeing planes is announced. [1][3][15]

A survey of US companies by S&P Global showed business activity at its highest since July 2021. [14] The prices firms pay for their own supplies rose to their highest in nearly four years. [14] Michael Barr, a governor of the US central bank, said more rate rises are likely needed to bring inflation down. [14] Traders now put a 57% chance on rises at both of the bank's remaining meetings this year, up from 38% a week earlier. [15]

Why it matters. Strong growth sounds good, but it gives the US central bank reason to keep raising rates. That is why shares fell on the news. [15]

Buyers showed weak demand at a US sale of five-year government bonds on Wednesday. [19] That pushed the five-year borrowing rate above 5% for the first time since 2007. [19] The ten-year rate settled at 5.11%, its highest since July 2007. [17] The US Treasury said it would buy back up to $6bn of its own 20-year and 30-year bonds on Thursday, to try to cool long-term rates. [18]

Why it matters. The ten-year rate affects borrowing costs across the US economy. [17] Mortgages and other long loans are tied to it. [30]

The dollar held at its highest level in two months on Thursday. [19] The euro fell to $1.1378 and the British pound sat near a three-month low of $1.3231. [19] Traders are betting on more US rate rises, and that pushes the dollar up. [19][20] Gold slipped to about $4,282 an ounce, as higher rates make a metal that pays no interest less attractive. [48]

Why it matters. A firmer dollar makes gold, which is priced in dollars, dearer for buyers using other money. [48] South Africa's rand fell 1.3% against it on Wednesday. [25]

The S&P 500, an index of 500 big US companies, fell nearly 1% on Wednesday, and the Nasdaq more than 1%. [15] Only energy and industrial firms rose. [15] Boeing gained more than 1.5% after the union for its engineers recommended its members accept a new contract before a 9 October deadline. [15] Stock markets in Europe were set to open lower on Thursday. [18]

Why it matters. A strike would have halted engineering work at the planemaker. [15] The 200 planes China promised in May are still not a firm order from any Chinese airline. [15]

An armed group shut a valve on the pipeline from Libya's El Sharara field, which pumps about a third of the country's oil. [23] Brent crude, the world benchmark, climbed about 4% on Wednesday [22] and passed $101 a barrel during the day. [23] It eased to $102.13 on Thursday after Iran said it was still open to talks to end its war with the US. [22] The Trump administration denied a report that it plans to ban diesel exports for 90 days. [22]

Why it matters. Diesel powers the lorries and machines that make and move goods, so dear oil spreads into many prices. [14] It is one reason South Africa's central bank raised rates this week. [25]

The South African Reserve Bank, the country's central bank, raised its main interest rate by a quarter point to 7.25% on Wednesday. [25] Its governor, Lesetja Kganyago, said inflation must go back to the bank's 3% target once fuel prices ease. [25] Figures the same day showed prices were 4.4% higher than a year earlier in August. [25] The rand fell about 1.3% against the dollar, and the country's top shares fell 1.7%. [25]

Why it matters. South Africa imports its fuel, so dearer oil and a weaker rand push up prices there quickly. [25] Higher rates make home loans and car loans cost more for South African households.

Switzerland's upper house of parliament voted 29 to 16 for the stricter of two plans: UBS must back its foreign businesses with capital that is 90% shareholders' money, the safest kind. [24] The Swiss government had wanted 100%. [24] UBS's balance sheet is larger than the Swiss economy. [24] The bank says the whole overhaul means about $18bn of extra capital. [24] The lower house votes next, and a final decision is not expected before the end of the year. [24]

Why it matters. The rules follow the 2023 collapse of Credit Suisse. [24] The finance minister, Karin Keller-Sutter, said Switzerland could not cope if UBS collapsed, and UBS's chairman has said the bank could rethink its Swiss base. [24]

Bank Indonesia kept its main interest rate at 5.75% on Wednesday, as 29 of 32 economists polled by Reuters expected. [26] It was the first meeting under Destry Damayanti, the first woman to lead Bank Indonesia. [26] She said rate rises of one percentage point in May and June had been enough. [26] She also cut the cost for foreign investors to protect themselves against a fall in the rupiah, Indonesia's currency. [26]

Why it matters. The rupiah hit record lows against the dollar this year. [26] Investors have also worried about political pressure on the bank, after President Prabowo Subianto's nephew was given a senior job there. [26]

Donald Trump criticised the US central bank's rate rise last week and again called for a 1% interest rate. [29] The bank's range is now 3.75% to 4%. [14] One investment researcher, J. Benson Durham, told Reuters that a cut that deep would push long-term borrowing costs up and make the dollar plunge. [29] Grover Norquist, an outside adviser to Trump, said the rise was not the US central bank's fault. [29]

Why it matters. Mortgage rates are near 7% before November's elections for Congress. [29] Trump is also trying to remove a central bank governor, Lisa Cook. [29]

Americans owe about $1.26 trillion on credit cards, according to the New York branch of the US central bank. [30] About 60% of card users carry a balance from month to month, at more than 23% a year on average. [30] The personal finance site WalletHub estimates last week's quarter-point rise will add $2bn in card interest over the next 12 months. [30]

Why it matters. Rate rises hit younger and lower-income households hardest, because they borrow more. [30] Older savers with more income earn more on their savings from the same rise. [30]

China's central bank said it will put up to 1 trillion yuan, about $149bn, a day into its banks from 28 September to 8 October. [27] Banks need more cash than usual before holidays, and the Golden Week holiday closes China's bond markets from 1 to 7 October. [27] The stock markets reopen on 8 October. [27]

Why it matters. Cash running short before a holiday pushes up what banks charge each other to borrow overnight. China's central bank did not say what it will charge for this money. [27]

Singapore's core inflation, which leaves out car and housing costs, rose to 2.2% in August, above forecasts. [28] It was the highest in nearly two years. [28] Overall prices were 2.3% higher than a year earlier. [28] The official forecast for growth this year was raised to between 4.5% and 5.5%. [28]

Why it matters. Singapore's central bank expects prices to stay high into next year. [28]

Shareholders of Caesars Entertainment, which runs casinos such as Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, voted to be bought by Fertitta Gaming. [31] About 133 million votes were for the deal and 4 million against. [31] Tilman Fertitta is paying $5.7bn and taking on close to $12bn of Caesars' debt. [31] The deal still needs approval from US competition regulators. [31]

Why it matters. If it closes, Caesars stops trading on the stock market and its shareholders get $31 a share in cash. [31]

WSP Global, a Canadian engineering company, withdrew its proposal to buy Arcadis, a Dutch engineering firm, for 4.435 billion euros, about $5.08bn. [32] Arcadis shares fell about 6% to 40.78 euros, the biggest fall in Europe's Stoxx 600 index that day. [32] They are still up about 15% this year. [32]

Why it matters. Arcadis stays an independent company for now, and its shareholders will not be bought out by WSP. [32]

Ashtead Technology, a British company that supplies equipment for undersea work, received a new proposal from Ember Infrastructure Management. [33] Ember offered 615 pence a share, which values the firm at about 498 million pounds. [33] The board rejected Ember's first two approaches. [33] Under UK takeover rules, Ember has until 21 October to make a firm offer or walk away. [33]

Why it matters. The offer is 12.8% above what the shares last sold for. [33] The board, which turned down two earlier approaches, is weighing it with its advisers. [33]

Accelerant, which runs a marketplace for specialist insurance, had 40 days to look for a better offer than the one it accepted from the investment firm Thoma Bravo. [35] That window, called a go-shop, ended on 22 September without a single rival proposal. [35] Thoma Bravo agreed in August to buy the company in a deal valuing it at more than $4bn. [35]

Why it matters. With no rival, the sale is expected to close in the first half of 2027, after a shareholder vote and regulators' approval. [35]

Shareholders of Bio-Techne, a US maker of tools and chemicals for life-science labs, voted to approve its sale to Merck KGaA, a German drug and chemicals group. [34] The US waiting period for a competition review ended on 18 September. [34] Bio-Techne expects the deal to close in late 2026 or early 2027. [34]

Why it matters. Approvals from other regulators are the last thing the deal needs before it closes. [34]

Afya, one of Brazil's biggest medical school groups, agreed to merge into Yduqs, a large Brazilian university group. [36] The combined company would trade only on B3, Brazil's stock exchange, and Afya would leave the Nasdaq in New York. [36] The deal needs approval from both sets of shareholders and from Brazil's competition regulator. [36]

Why it matters. Afya's investors, who now own shares traded in New York, would end up with shares traded only in Brazil. [36]

MoonPay, which lets people change ordinary money into cryptocurrency, bought North Capital, a Utah firm that runs back-office services for share trading. [37] A person familiar with the deal told Fortune the price was over $60m, paid in shares. [37] North Capital holds US licences to run a trading system and act as a broker. [37]

Why it matters. The licences let MoonPay offer shares recorded on a blockchain, a shared digital record, which Robinhood and Kraken already sell. [37]

Marc Rowan, head of the investment firm Apollo, said it manages $1.15 trillion and is moving from traditional funds towards products that are easier to buy and sell. [38] Apollo now prices its credit products every day and has given them codes so they can be traded. [38] Rowan said the firm wants to sell them to individual savers and retirement plans. [38]

Why it matters. If the plan works, more of ordinary savers' retirement money would sit in loans that are not traded on public stock or bond markets. [38]

Cintas, which rents uniforms and supplies workplace safety gear, raised its revenue and profit forecasts for the year. [39] Quarterly sales rose 10.9% to $3.01bn, its first quarter above $3bn. [40] The company said hiring in healthcare, education and government kept demand steady. [39] It now expects its $5.5bn purchase of its rival UniFirst to close before the end of 2026. [39]

Why it matters. Uniform rentals follow how many people are at work, so steady orders say something about jobs. [39] The shares still slipped before the market opened. [40]

Paychex, which runs payroll for small and mid-sized companies, earned $1.34 a share last quarter, slightly above forecasts. [41] Revenue of $1.63bn matched expectations. [41] Its shares still fell 6.8% before the market opened. [41] Growth in its main payroll software business came in a little below expectations. [41]

Why it matters. Investing.com said the fall may reflect worry that the shares were already expensive for how fast the company is growing. [41]

Cracker Barrel, a US chain of country-style restaurants with gift shops, earned 99 cents a share last quarter against forecasts of 10 cents. [42] Revenue was $849.3m. [42] Its shares rose 6.6% before the market opened. [42] Customer visits fell 6.1%, but higher prices lifted what each customer spent by 4.2%. [42]

Why it matters. The chain expects its restaurant sales to grow 3% to 5% next year, after a year of falling visits. [42]

Renishaw, a British maker of precision measuring machines, reported record yearly profit. [43] Adjusted operating profit rose 36% to 152.9 million pounds. [43] Revenue in its last quarter was 28% higher than a year earlier. [43] The company said orders for equipment used to make computer chips drove the growth, and it paid a special dividend of 70 pence a share. [43]

Why it matters. Renishaw's orders rise and fall with spending on the machines that make computer chips. [43]

Elixirr, a London-listed consulting firm, said revenue for the first half rose 25% to 89 million pounds, a record. [44] Its revenue from artificial intelligence work rose 185% to 8 million pounds. [44] Selling more work to clients it already had brought in 19 million pounds, up 27%. [44] Its shares rose about 3.9%. [44]

Why it matters. AI work is 8 million of Elixirr's 89 million pounds, under a tenth, but it is the part growing fastest. [44]

Micron, which makes the memory chips that AI computers use, slipped 0.3% before trading on Wednesday after a four-day rise of about 14%. [45] Michael Burry, an investor known for betting against US housing before 2008, disclosed bigger bets on a fall in Micron's shares. [45] Wells Fargo cut its price target to $1,400, while UBS kept its $1,625 target. [47][46] Micron reports results on 30 September. [45]

Why it matters. A price target is one firm's guess, not a fact. [47] Micron's shares are up about 560% in a year, and Wall Street expects about $50bn of revenue for the quarter. [46][45]