05:19 PM EDT, 07/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equities finished higher Wednesday, propelling the Nasdaq Composite to a new high after President Donald Trump denied that he was planning to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell soon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 44,254.8, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.3% to 6,263.7. The Nasdaq advanced 0.3% to 20,730.5,...

HOUSTON, July 16 (Reuters) - Oil major Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) bought Mars crude for August delivery, two sources said on Wednesday, after briefly halting purchases of the flagship offshore grade due to a zinc contamination issue. The zinc contamination in the Mars crude oil stream had pushed Exxon to borrow up to 1 million barrels of crude oil...

* Brazil's Lula's approval rating rises after Trump's tariffs * Trump signs deal with Indonesia, agreeing to lower tariffs * Chile's markets closed for public holiday * MSCI Latam FX flat, stocks edge up 0.2% (Updates with afternoon trading levels) By Ragini Mathur, Purvi Agarwal and Shashwat Chauhan July 16 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies mostly gained on Wednesday as...

ORLANDO, Florida, July 16 (Reuters) - While almost no one thinks Donald Trump's verbal attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell are a positive development, they have electrified the debate about whether the U.S. president is right that interest rates are too high. Presidential tirades aside, there is a strong case to be made that the fed funds rate should...