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Mint
3 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
New US plan to pause Gaza war draws Hamas criticism
The U.S. has presented Israel and Hamas with a new proposal to pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip, though the militant group has already criticized it for not requiring an end to the 20-month conflict. The agreement calls for Hamas to release 10 of the roughly 20 hostages Israel believes are still alive and the bodies of another 19 within the first week of the deal in exchange for a 60-day cease-fire and the release of Palestinians held by Israel, according to a draft reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The draft says President Trump would announce the deal if an agreement is reached, and envoy Steve Witkoff would preside over the talks. The U.S. said Israel has signed off on the proposal. Hamas has said it is studying it, but Hamas officials have criticized its lack of a commitment to halt the fighting or clarify the withdrawal of Israeli forces. The proposal is an attempt to stop further escalation of the fighting that erupted after the previous cease-fire collapsed two months ago, pushing the toll in Gaza to more than 54,000 dead, according to Palestinian health authorities, who don't say how many were combatants. Israel at the time failed to begin talks on a permanent end to the conflict, and Hamas stopped releasing hostages it held in Gaza, a breakdown that was followed by resumed Israeli airstrikes and a broader deployment of ground troops. Negotiators have since tried various formulas, including a shorter-term pause in the fighting and longer-term halts that wouldn't require Israel to commit to a permanent end to the war. The fighting was sparked by Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel that left around 1,200 dead and 251 people taken hostage. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he won't stop the war until Hamas is destroyed in Gaza. The U.S.-designated terrorist group has been battered by the months of war, and most of its leadership has been killed. But it continues to recruit and still holds sway in the Gaza Strip, where there is no clear alternative to its authority. Write to Summer Said at
Wall Street Journal
22-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Treasury Yields Ease as U.S. Labor Market Remains Resilient
0901 ET – A Treasurys selloff fueled by the passage of Trump's tax bill in the House loses some steam—and yields ease—following a decline in jobless claims. The weekly report, a proxy for layoffs, comes in at 227,000, down from 229,000. WSJ consensus was 230,000. The resilience of the U.S. labor market gives the Fed more room to keep rates on hold as it waits to see how Trump policies impact inflation. Meanwhile, Washington faces a widening budget gap that could become more expensive to finance. The 30-year yield is at 5.109%, the 10-year at 4.593% and the two-year at 3.993%. ( @ptrevisani) 0825 ET – The selloff on longer-term Treasurys gains momentum, sending yields higher, as the House approves a budget bill that could widen an already worrisome deficit. Yields have been climbing amid rising concerns about the U.S. fiscal situation. The bill approved this morning is still subject to changes, but investors worry that spending would remain on an upward path, leading to higher bond issuance in coming years. Yesterday's lukewarm 20-year Treasury auction indicated that foreigners are demanding higher payout to finance U.S. spending. The 30-year yield reaches 5.145%, a level not seen since 2007. The 10-year is at 4.617%. The two year is at 3.990%, after settling yesterday above 4%. ( @ptrevisani)
Wall Street Journal
21-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
European Gas Price Rises on Supply Worries
0959 GMT – European natural gas prices climb in midday trading amid renewed concerns over supplies and stalled efforts to end the war in Ukraine. The benchmark Dutch TTF contract rises 1.5% to 37.55 euros a megawatt hour and is up 7.1% on the week. Prices were buoyed by an outage of uncertain duration at a gas field in Norway, a key source of supplies for Europe. Adding to pressure, LNG send-outs–the volume of gas that is regasified and sent into the pipeline network for distribution–fell to their lowest level since February, according to analysts at ING. 'Asian LNG prices have been trading mostly at a premium to European gas prices in recent months,' they say. 'This helps explain the lower LNG send-outs.' (
Wall Street Journal
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Wall Street Journal
XPeng Narrows Loss as Revenue Surges, Sees Another Strong Quarter Ahead
Chinese EV maker XPeng XPEV -1.45%decrease; red down pointing triangle posted a sharply narrowed net loss and a significant rise in revenue for the first quarter, and expects another strong quarter to follow as it edges closer to profit. The Guangzhou-based carmaker said Wednesday that its net loss was 664.0 million yuan, equivalent to $92 million, in the first quarter compared with 1.37 billion yuan a year earlier. Total revenue more than doubled to 15.81 billion yuan from 6.55 billion yuan during the period, driven by strong sales, the company said. Its gross margin rose to 15.6% from 12.9% a year earlier and from 14.4% in the prior quarter. XPeng said it expects deliveries to rise sharply to 102,000-108,000 vehicles in the second quarter, and revenue to rise to between 17.5 billion yuan to 18.7 billion yuan. The company has stood out in China's competitive EV space thanks to its leading autonomous-driving technology and robust sales. High sales volumes have supported margins, bringing XPeng closer to profitability. The company has yet to post a profit since it was founded in 2014, but market consensus is that it will likely become profitable in the fourth quarter this year, analysts say. Write to Jiahui Huang at
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Home Depot Plans to Keep Prices Steady Despite Tariffs
Home Depot said it plans to hold the line on prices. The retailer has been pushing to shift production out of China. It is also working with suppliers to keep prices steady despite tariffs, Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail said in an interview. Migrant Labor Force Withstands Mass-Deportation Push America's Fiscal Situation Threatens the Good Mood on Wall Street Will Anyone Take the Factory Jobs Trump Wants to Bring Back to America? Jamie Dimon Says Tariffs Might Inflict More Economic Pain Than Investors Realize The Big Offshore Wind Project in New York Is Back On Last week, Walmart announced that it would raise prices because of tariffs, prompting President Trump to criticize the company. Walmart and Home Depot kept their financial forecasts for fiscal 2025 unchanged, contrasting with a flurry of companies that have scaled back or suspended their forecasts in response to on-again, off-again tariffs. Suppliers say that Walmart, Home Depot and other retailers have been pushing them to make price concessions or shift production out of China. Some of the haggling has prompted Home Depot suppliers to shift their sourcing outside of China. 'We anticipate that 12 months from now, no single country outside the United States will represent more than 10% of our purchases,' said McPhail. Home Depot's comparable sales in the U.S. ticked up by 0.2%. McPhail said poor weather hurt February sales, but that strong employment levels and home appreciation mean that Home Depot customers—mostly homeowners—continue to have money to spend on home improvement projects. Write to Denny Jacob at Howard Lutnick Transfers Ownership of Cantor Fitzgerald to His Children Crypto Billionaire Accused of Defrauding Creditors, Propelling Industry's 2022 Collapse CBS News Chief to Leave as Tension Persists Over Paramount's Trump Fight Porsche Tried to Be Both Ferrari and Mercedes. With the Trade War, It Struggles to Be Either. 'Sesame Street' Finds a New Home on Netflix
