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    Traders keep bets on 25 bps Fed rate cuts in Nov, Dec

    (Reuters) – The case for quarter-point U.S. interest-rate cuts at upcoming Federal Reserve policy meetings appeared intact on Friday after a report showed producer prices were unchanged last month compared to the prior month, suggesting inflation continues on track toward the Federal Reserve’s target. Futures contracts that settle to the Fed’s policy rate continued to imply only a 15% chance that the Fed will leave its target for short-term borrowing costs in the current 4.75%-5.00% range when it meets in early November, with the bulk of bets on reductions in each of the last two meetings of this year and for the each of the first several meetings of 2025, to be in the 3.50%-3.75% range by the middle of next year.  More

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    US producer prices unchanged in September

    The unchanged reading in the producer price index for final demand last month followed an unrevised 0.2% gain in August, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI edging up 0.1%.In the 12 months through September, the PPI increased 1.8% after climbing 1.9% in August. Government data on Thursday showed consumer prices rising slightly more than expected in September, lifted by higher food costs. Most economists did not view the uptick in inflation as a sign that price pressures were building up again. Housing inflation cooled considerably in September. Economists expected mild increases in September in the inflation measures tracked by the U.S. central bank for its 2% target.Traders anticipated a 25 basis points rate reduction at the Fed’s Nov. 6-7 policy meeting. They have abandoned expectations for a half-point rate reduction following a strong September employment report as well as other data that have offered a more upbeat picture of the economy than previously thought.The Fed last month cut its policy rate by 50 basis points to the 4.75%-5.00% range. It hiked rates by 525 basis points in 2022 and 2023. More

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    How Mizzou Football Is Benefiting From State N.I.L. Laws

    A state law allows high school athletes to earn endorsement money as long as they commit to attending a public university in Missouri. It’s having an effect.In his four-year career as Missouri’s starting quarterback, Brady Cook has thrown for 7,603 yards and 43 touchdowns. He led the Tigers to a victory in last year’s Cotton Bowl. And even after an upset loss over the weekend, his team is in a position to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff.Perhaps even more impressive is Cook’s real estate portfolio, which stretches from Missouri to Georgia to Texas and includes interests in a half dozen apartment complexes, a medical building and a retirement home. He chose his assets using the business acumen he developed at the University of Missouri, where he will receive a master’s degree in business administration in December. But the financing was thanks to his right arm.“I am not going to tell you what I make,” said Cook, whose name, image and likeness, or N.I.L., deals are estimated to be worth $1.2 million annually, according to several databases. “But I will say that I have learned more about the business of business in the last year than any other time in my life.”The University of Missouri’s Every True Tiger marketing agency distributes money to the school’s athletes.Christopher Smith for The New York TimesIt is the early days of the N.I.L. era, which allows college athletes to earn money from their athletic talents. But more than $1.7 billion is already flooding through this burgeoning economy — 80 percent of it via collectives, which funnel booster money to players.The University of Missouri has created one of the most transparent mechanisms to make sure its student-athletes get paid and paid well, with the help of the state Legislature. Most donor-funded collectives raise a majority of their dollars from boosters, but in Missouri, a state law has allowed the university to create and fund a marketing agency, called Every True Tiger, that distributes money to its athletes.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    UK economy returns to growth as Labour tees up all-important budget

    The U.K. economy returned to growth in August following two consecutive months of stagnation, providing a slight boost for the Labour government.
    The U.K. economy grew 0.2% in August on a month-on-month basis, flash figures published by the Office for National Statistics showed Friday.
    The reading comes as Finance Minister Rachel Reeves is set to deliver her Autumn Budget at the end of this month.

    Alexander Spatari | Moment | Getty Images

    LONDON — The U.K. economy returned to growth in August following two consecutive months of stagnation, providing a slight boost as the Labour government prepares to deliver its first budget later this month.
    The economy grew 0.2% on a month-on-month basis, flash figures published by the Office for National Statistics showed Friday, meeting expectations of economists polled by Reuters.

    It follows an economic flatlining in June and July after the U.K. recorded modest but steady expansion in almost every month this year. Britain emerged from a shallow recession at the start of the year.
    Over the three months to August, Britain’s economic growth also expanded 0.2%, compared with the 0.5% recorded in the three months to July.
    “The UK economy had a remarkable run through the first few months of 2024, at least if the monthly GDP figures are to be believed. But those same figures now show that this strength was short-lived,” ING’s Developed Markets Economist James Smith said in a note shortly after the release.
    “The bottom line is that the economy still seems to be growing at a reasonable pace, but the 0.6/0.7% quarterly GDP readings we became accustomed to in the first two quarters of the year are not going to be repeated in the second half of the year. We’re looking for 0.2% growth in the third quarter overall.”
    Sterling rose slightly against the U.S. dollar following the release, trading up 0.05% at $1.3067 by 8:56 a.m. London time. U.K. government bond yields, meanwhile, ticked lower, with the 10-year trading around 4.211%, having climbed sharply over recent days.

    The U.K.’s dominant services sector showed slight growth of 0.1% in the month to August, while production and construction output rose by 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.
    Finance Minister Rachel Reeves welcomed the data, saying returning the economy to growth is the government’s “number one priority.”
    “While change will not happen overnight, we are not wasting any time on delivering on the promise of change,” she said in a statement. The new Labour administration was voted into power in July during snap elections.

    All eyes on the budget

    The reading comes as Reeves is set to deliver her Autumn Budget at the end of this month, with tax hikes and spending cuts expected as she tries to overcome an estimated £22 billion ($29 billion) black hole in the public finances. The Conservative opposition party, which led the country until snap elections earlier this year, deny the gap.
    ING’s Smith said that if the U.K. Treasury was hoping the strong growth in the first half of the year would unlock some “extra fiscal headroom” in the budget, “it is likely to be left disappointed.”
    “Remember the key here is what the Office for Budget Responsibility projects for the UK economy. And like the BoE, they are unlikely to take much inference from the GDP figures so far this year. Indeed, if anything the OBR forecasts already sit at the more optimistic end of the spectrum,” he added.
    The government is pitching its vision for an era of “national renewal,” as it attempts to inject some optimism into the public psyche after painting a gloomy picture of the state of the economy.
    Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter Investors, said Reeves faces a “tricky balancing” to ensure her decisions don’t stifle further economic growth.
    “With interest rates beginning to fall, the responsibility has shifted from the Bank of England to Rachel Reeves, who must now make critical fiscal decisions. She and the Prime Minister have indicated that ‘pain’ is necessary for future prosperity, but there is a real risk of overcorrection at the expense of economic growth,” she said. More

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    UK economy grew 0.2% in August

    Save over 65%$99 for your first yearFT newspaper delivered Monday-Saturday, plus FT Digital Edition delivered to your device Monday-Saturday.What’s included Weekday Print EditionFT WeekendFT Digital EditionGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresExclusive FT analysis More

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    Disinflation takes time

    Save over 65%$99 for your first yearFT newspaper delivered Monday-Saturday, plus FT Digital Edition delivered to your device Monday-Saturday.What’s included Weekday Print EditionFT WeekendFT Digital EditionGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresExclusive FT analysis More

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    South Korea’s central bank cuts policy rate, as expected

    The Bank of Korea (BOK) lowered its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 3.25% at its monetary policy review, an outcome expected by 34 of 37 economists polled by Reuters.Governor Rhee Chang-yong holds a news conference at around 0210 GMT, which will be livestreamed via YouTube. More

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    Citadel’s Griffin says he has not supported Donald Trump for president

    NEW YORK (Reuters) – Citadel CEO Ken Griffin said on Thursday that he has not supported Donald Trump for president in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.”I have not supported Donald Trump,” the republican billionaire told journalists at an event in New York. “I’m so torn on this one… I know who I’m going to vote for, but it’s not with a smile on my face.” More