Will the U.S. run out of gas this winter?
The answer is almost certainly "no," but the rest of the world might not be so fortunate. Now that the U.S. has become a major liquefied natural gas exporter, it can play a big role in making sure other countries have enough. Or it can keep some of that gas at home if domestic natural gas prices, already at their highest since the 2014 polar vortex, spike further.
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Restaurants Want to Have It Their Way in Congressional Budget Deal
BUDGET PACKAGE TESTS RESTAURANT INDUSTRY, which is pressing to remove many of the legislation's labor provisions while also asking for more pandemic aid. The National Restaurant Association, the main industry group, has for months pressed Congress to include money to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which quickly exhausted its $29 billion funding earlier this year before tens of thousands of restaurants could receive aid.
In August, the NRA's top lobbyist, Sean Kennedy, said that Congress should include the aid in the budget reconciliation package, citing headwinds from the Covid-19 Delta variant and unfavorable tax changes included in the separate bipartisan infrastructure bill. A bipartisan group of lawmakers in June introduced companion bills in the Senate and the House that would have added roughly $60 billion to the restaurant program, but they haven't received floor votes.
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Democrats Delay Infrastructure Vote as Talks Fail to Reach Deal
WASHINGTON-House Democrats dropped plans to vote on a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure bill Thursday night, as they came up short on reaching agreement around a separate social policy and climate package they hope will unite the party's dueling factions.
Key lawmakers said they were making progress toward a framework mapping out the overall level of spending and central planks of the healthcare, education and climate package, but that the discussions required more time.
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Eurozone Manufacturing Growth Slowdown Continued in September, PMI Shows
While eurozone manufacturing expanded at a robust pace in September, growth has weakened markedly as producers report a growing toll from supply-chain problems, IHS Markit said Friday.
The eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 58.6 in September from 61.4 in August, posting the largest drop since April 2020, according to IHS Markit.
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Glynn's Take: Clamps to Cool Australia's Soaring House Prices Appear Imminent
With Australian house prices rising at their fastest pace in more than three decades, there is now broad agreement that regulators will soon step in to avoid a further increase in risk for the banks.
CoreLogic reported Friday that despite the pandemic and lockdowns for more than half of the country, house prices grew at their fastest pace since mid-1989 in the year to September. Home values rose another 1.5% in September, taking Australian housing values 17.6% higher over the first nine months of the year and 20.3% higher over the past 12 months.
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North Korea Tests Surface-to-Air Missile
SEOUL-North Korea said it had successfully tested a new antiaircraft missile, state media reported, as Pyongyang embarks on a long-term weapons strategy aimed at countering military threats from Washington and Seoul.
Kim Jong Un wasn't reported to have attended the Thursday launch, North Korea's fourth weapons test in recent weeks. But a day earlier, Mr. Kim, in a policy speech to his rubber-stamp legislature, had praised the country's weapons scientists for developing "ultramodern weapons" at "an extremely fast speed."
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Australia to End Travel Ban in Pivot to Living With Covid-19
SYDNEY-Australia plans to start reopening its international border in November, ending one of the world's strictest pandemic-era travel bans as authorities pivot from trying to suppress Covid-19 to living with it.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said travel restrictions would be dropped for fully vaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents, who would be able to leave and return to the country without seeking permission as is required now. They will also be allowed to quarantine at home for seven days, while current rules require returning travelers to pay thousands of dollars to quarantine at government-run hotels or camps for two weeks.
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Chinese Citizen Journalist Who Documented Covid-19 in Wuhan Resurfaces After 600 Days
SINGAPORE-A Chinese citizen journalist whose viral videos offered an unfiltered early glimpse of the Covid-19 outbreak as it consumed the city of Wuhan has resurfaced more than 600 days after he went missing.
Chen Qiushi, a lawyer and self-styled citizen journalist, disappeared in February 2020 after he had spent roughly two weeks at the epicenter of what would later become a pandemic, publishing videos that were often wrenching in their portrayal of the fear and confusion that gripped the locked-down city of 11 million. Mr. Chen's friends and family have said that they believe he was forcibly quarantined by state security officials, despite displaying no symptoms of illness.
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Deaths Raise Safety Concerns Around Gene Therapy
Safety scares, including deaths of several young study subjects, have set back efforts to bring more gene therapies to market, clouding one of biotech's most promising technologies and hottest sectors.
Gene therapy, which replaces defective genes, promises to deliver one-time treatment for inherited diseases. Two treatments are approved for use, while dozens are in development.
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School Boards Ask for Federal Help as Tensions Rise Over Covid-19 Policies
An organization representing school boards across the U.S. is asking the federal government to help manage an influx of threats as tensions over Covid-19 safety protocols mount during the third academic year of the pandemic.
In a letter to President Biden Thursday, the National School Boards Association pointed to more than 20 instances of threats, harassment and acts of intimidation toward school board members, students, and district staff and leaders. The upheaval stems largely from opposition to Covid-19 rules such as mask-wearing and to critical race theory, according to association leaders.
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Write to paul.larkins@wsj.com
TODAY IN CANADA
Earnings:
None scheduled
Economic Indicators (ET):
0830 Jul GDP
0930 Sep Manufacturing PMI
Stocks to Watch:
Kolibri Global Energy: Indirect Wholly Owned Subsidiary BNK Petroleum (US) Receives an Extension of Maturity Date on Its Credit Facility With BOK; BNK US Will Make Principal Reduction Payments Totalling $1.55M, to Reduce the Outstanding Principal to $16M, by April
Expected Major Events for Friday
00:30/JPN: Sep Japan Manufacturing PMI
05:00/JPN: Sep Auto sales
05:00/JPN: Sep Consumer Confidence Survey
06:00/GER: Aug Retail Trade
06:00/RUS: Sep Russian Manufacturing PMI
07:45/ITA: Sep Italy Manufacturing PMI
07:50/FRA: Sep France Manufacturing PMI
07:55/GER: Sep Germany Manufacturing PMI
08:30/UK: 1Q Postcode Lending statistics
08:30/UK: Sep CIPS / Markit Manufacturing PMI
12:30/CAN: Jul GDP
12:30/US: Aug Personal Income & Outlays
13:30/CAN: Sep Canada Manufacturing PMI
13:45/US: Sep US Manufacturing PMI
14:00/US: Sep ISM Report On Business Manufacturing PMI
14:00/US: Aug Construction Spending - Construction Put in Place
14:00/US: Sep University of Michigan Survey of Consumers - final
14:00/US: 2Q GDP by State
15:00/US: Sep Global Manufacturing PMI
20:00/US: Sep Domestic Auto Industry Sales
All times in GMT. Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Friday
ASA Gold & Precious Metals Ltd (ASA) is expected to report for 2Q.
HNI Corporation (HNI) is expected to report $0.45 for 3Q.
PFSweb (PFSW) is expected to report $0.01 for 2Q.
Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.
ANALYST RATINGS ACTIONS
Acceleron Pharma Cut to Neutral From Buy by HC Wainwright & Co.
Acceleron Pharma Cut to Neutral From Overweight by Piper Sandler
Ameris Bancorp Cut to Equal-Weight From Overweight by Stephens & Co.
Amicus Therapeutics Raised to Overweight From Neutral by JP Morgan
Asbury Automotive Raised to Buy From Hold by Truist Securities
Black Knight Raised to Outperform From Market Perform by Raymond James
Cabot Oil & Gas Raised to Outperform From Peer Perform by Wolfe Research
Compass Minerals Raised to Buy From Neutral by Monness, Crespi, Hardt
FactSet Research Raised to Neutral From Sell by UBS
Fox Corp. Raised to Buy From Neutral by Rosenblatt
G1 Therapeutics Cut to Neutral From Overweight by JP Morgan
Healthcare Tr of America Cut to Hold From Buy by Truist Securities
Jabil Raised to Buy From Hold by Stifel
Kohl's Cut to Underperform From Buy by B of A Securities
Kraton Raised to Neutral From Sell by UBS
Pactiv Evergreen Raised to Outperform From Market Perform by BMO Capital
PS Business Parks Raised to Equal-Weight From Underweight by Wells Fargo
Public Service Enterprise Raised to Buy From Hold by Vertical Research
Sabra Healthcare REIT Raised to Buy From Hold by Truist Securities
Snowflake Raised to Buy From Neutral by BTIG
Starbucks Cut to Neutral From Overweight by Atlantic Equities
This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-01-21 0554ET
