President Trump pressed Russia and Ukraine to agree to halt strikes on each other's energy infrastructure, as he faced broad pushback to his decision to allow Russia to export diesel to the U.S., The Wall Street Journal's Marcus Walker and Robbie Gramer write.
The president said Sunday on Truth Social that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to an energy ceasefire. Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far rebuffed proposals for such a ceasefire. The Kremlin didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated that he was open to stopping airstrikes against Russian refineries if Moscow stops bombing Ukraine's energy grid, but has rebuffed Trump's pressure to unilaterally cease its strikes.
A bipartisan group of senators called Trump's export plan illegal and contrary to a 2022 law that banned Russian energy imports. They said the administration failed to consult with Congress or submit the justification required under the 2022 law barring Russian energy imports to the U.S.
Extra Russian diesel is unlikely to relieve the stress in global fuel markets, analysts said, with the Iran war's disruption to the Strait of Hormuz throttling Middle East shipments.
-- A Houthi missile attack on Saudi Arabia's King Khalid International Airport killed at least 12 people and injured more than 300 on Saturday. (WSJ)
Quotable
"Typically we would see a softening toward the end of this month following China's weeklong national holiday...but this year looks a little bit different, with an active typhoon season impacting normal vessel scheduling and a lot of cargo still sitting on the docks."Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka
Retail
Companies from Macy's to Levi Strauss have said they will spend some of the multimillion-dollar tariff refunds they received on boosting marketing spending as the holiday shopping season approaches, the Journal's Patrick Coffee writes.
Billions of dollars have begun making their way to some of the importers that qualified for refunds the Supreme Court struck down Trump's global tariffs in February. As of Oct. 2, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has received approximately $136 billion in refund requests and sent $126 billion to the Treasury Department for payment, an agency spokesperson said. More than 286,000 importers requested refunds, according to a September court filing.
Much subsequent conversation has focused on whether companies that receive tariff refunds would cut prices, but some recipients have told investors that portions will go toward promotions and brand investments.
Number of the Day
$7,624
Average spot rate to ship a 40-foot container from Shanghai to Los Angeles in the week ended Oct. 8, down 3% from the week before, according to Drewry's World Container Index
Automakers
Chinese automaker Geely said it plans to start selling vehicles to Canadian customers next year, the Journal's Ryan Felton writes. One of the largest carmakers in the world by sales, Geely has begun establishing a retail and service network in the country.
The company didn't disclose which models it would sell in Canada or release pricing details. Earlier this year, Canada opened the door to Chinese automakers. Canada significantly lowered its tariff rate on up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles.
The U.S. has effectively kept out China's popular EVs through high tariff rates and a ban on some internet-connected software. Congress has been debating legislation aimed at prohibiting China's car companies from selling or even manufacturing vehicles in America.
-- The European Union will cap hybrid-vehicle imports from China at 350,000 units annually, under plans seeking to curb Chinese hybrid and plug-in hybrid imports over the next four years, an official said. (WSJ)
-- China's retail sales of passenger cars fell 28.0% in September from a year earlier to 1.62 million units. (WSJ)
-- United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and his allies claimed a decisive victory in the union's election on Friday. (WSJ)
In Other News
-- U.S. Consumers' mood has darkened in October, according to the University of Michigan's monthly survey, with the headline index falling to 46.3 in its preliminary reading, versus 48.1 last month. (WSJ)
-- Canadian employers cut 68,300 jobs in September, pushing the unemployment rate up 0.1 percentage point to 6.5%. (WSJ)
-- More than 50,000 California ride-share drivers recently signed cards to join the newly formed California Gig Workers Union. (WSJ)
-- Amazon is in advanced talks to acquire AI startup Decart in a deal that could be valued at around $7 billion. (WSJ)
-- Thieves stole thousands of bottles of wine worth around $5.6 million from a vineyard in Tuscany in one of the largest, most audacious wine heists in recent history. (WSJ)
-- Shipping operations at the Panama Canal weren't affected by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck the country on Friday. (Splash247)
-- Walmart opened an over-900,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Stockton, Calif., to handle West Coast online orders. (SupplyChain24/7)
-- Afghanistan's Taliban government opened a road on the northeastern edge of its territory for a direct trade route with China. (Nikkei Asia)
-- Oracle has been trucking natural gas to several data centers as it awaits the building of pipelines. (Bloomberg)