European Midday Briefing: Stocks Held Back as -2-
European Midday Briefing: Stocks Held Back as -2- Possible U.S. Railroad Strike Could Fuel More Inflation Biden administration officials huddled Wednesday with union and freight-rail company representatives trying to avert a strike that threatens to shut down a crucial vein of the U.S. economy and put fresh pressure on prices when inflation is hovering near four-decade highs. As negotiations between the railroads and labor unions approach a Friday deadline, passenger-rail provider Amtrak said it would suspend all long-distance train services starting Thursday to avoid disruptions caused by a potential strike by freight workers. Crypto Investors Step Up Bets Against Ether as 'Merge' Looms Investors ramped up their bets against ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, on the eve of the Ethereum network's big software upgrade slated for early Thursday morning. So-called funding rates for ether perpetual futures, a kind of futures contract that doesn't have an expiry date, have been negative for more than a month, meaning that traders are paying a premium for pessimistic bets.
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China's central bank kept its key policy rate unchanged on Thursday, a move that could put benchmark lending rates this month on hold after a cut in August.
The People's Bank of China held the one-year interest rate of its medium-term lending facility at 2.75%, while injecting 400 billion yuan ($57.45 billion) of liquidity via the financial tool.
Possible U.S. Railroad Strike Could Fuel More Inflation
Biden administration officials huddled Wednesday with union and freight-rail company representatives trying to avert a strike that threatens to shut down a crucial vein of the U.S. economy and put fresh pressure on prices when inflation is hovering near four-decade highs.
As negotiations between the railroads and labor unions approach a Friday deadline, passenger-rail provider Amtrak said it would suspend all long-distance train services starting Thursday to avoid disruptions caused by a potential strike by freight workers. While the negotiations don't involve Amtrak workers, Amtrak's long-distance trains operate on freight lines, and the company said it wanted to avoid passenger disruptions in the event of a strike.
Crypto Investors Step Up Bets Against Ether as 'Merge' Looms
Investors ramped up their bets against ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, on the eve of the Ethereum network's big software upgrade slated for early Thursday morning.
The cost of holding a short position-a bet that ether's value will fall-in the perpetual futures market has risen ahead of the upgrade, a sign that investors are increasingly hedging their risk going into the network update. So-called funding rates for ether perpetual futures, a kind of futures contract that doesn't have an expiry date, have been negative for more than a month, meaning that traders are paying a premium for pessimistic bets.
U.S. to Withhold $130 Million in Security Aid to Egypt Over Human Rights Concerns
WASHINGTON-The Biden administration will withhold $130 million in foreign security assistance to Egypt for a second time, symbolically penalizing Cairo for its human rights record while also aiming to maintain diplomatic ties with this Middle Eastern ally.
The decision comes as some of President Biden's closest Democratic allies in Congress have called for tougher measures against the government of President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, including a full suspension of aid to Egypt.
U.S. Considers Sanctions on Iran-Linked Entities After Salman Rushdie Attack
The Biden administration is considering sanctions targeting entities linked to Iran for encouraging attacks on Salman Rushdie, people familiar with the matter say, after the acclaimed novelist was stabbed last month at a New York event.
The sanctions under consideration include restricting the access of these entities to the global financial system, according to these people. Some of them have offered rewards to kill Mr. Rushdie, which the U.S. believes motivates such attacks, these people said.
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
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