TREASURIES-U.S. yields pare fall after jobs data in line with expectations

NEW YORK, Aug 2 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury yields trimmed their earlier decline on Friday as a government report showed domestic payrolls slowed last month in line with analyst forecasts but did not weaken enough to prompt the Federal Reserve to consider more rate cuts.

At 8:48 a.m. (1248 GMT), the yields on benchmark 10-year government notes were 2.30 basis points lower at 1.869%. They rose from 1.832% earlier Friday, which was the lowest since Nov. 9, 2016. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Trump to make EU trade announcement on Friday: White House

U.S. President Donald Trump will make a trade announcement about the European Union later on Friday, according to a notice from the White House issued late on Thursday night.

Trump's daily schedule said there was an announcement scheduled for 1:45 p.m. (1745 GMT) but gave no other details.

Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for the EU could not be immediately reached.

The Trump administration has been pursuing a host of new trade deals with Europe, China and others as part of the Republican president's"America First" agenda as he seeks a second term in office.

U.S. and European officials have sought to lay the groundwork for talks on a trade agreement, but earlier faced an impasse over agriculture. European officials last month said trade talks had produced mixed results.

The two sides are each other's largest trading partners.

European stock on Friday were battered by Trump's latest salvo in his ongoing trade dispute with China after the U.S. president vowed to impose further tariffs on Chinese imports.

American Axle Cuts FY19 Sales Outlook – Quick Facts

While reporting financial results for the second quarter, American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. or AAM (AXL) on Friday lowered its full-year 2019 guidance for sales.

The company said this is a result of lower metal market pass throughs and lower than projected global production volumes for certain programs it supports including in Asia, primarily China, and global engine and transmission products.

For fiscal 2019, the company lowered its guidance for sales to a range of $6.9 billion to $7.0 billion from the previous forecast range of $7.3 billion to $7.4 billion.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report sales of $7.27 billion for the year.

“As we look towards the second half of 2019, we are focused on efficiently operating our business and adapting to the changing market demand,” said AAM’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Dauch.

Trump levies more sanctions on Russia in spy poisoning case

President Donald Trump is imposing more sanctions on Russia in connection with the 2018 poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter.

A Russian lawmaker said Friday that Trump’s executive order issued late Thursday will make it less likely to establish normalized U.S.-Russian relations.

The order prohibits global financial institutions from making loans and providing other assistance to Russia and bans U.S. banks from making certain loans to the Russian government.

Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned with the military grade nerve agent Novichok in March 2018 in the British city of Salisbury. They survived, but at least three other people became ill, including a British woman, Dawn Sturgess, who died from her exposure.

Moscow has denied wrongdoing in the spy case.

U.S. Construction Spending Unexpectedly Plunges 1.3% In June

Partly reflecting a steep drop in spending on public construction, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday unexpectedly showing a sharp decline in total U.S. construction spending in the month of June.

The Commerce Department said construction spending plunged by 1.3 percent to an annual rate of $1.287 trillion in June after falling by 0.5 percent to a revised rate of $1.303 trillion in May.

Economists had expected construction spending to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.8 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.

Spending on public construction led the way lower, tumbling by 3.7 percent to an annual rate of $324.1 billion in June.

The report said spending on educational construction showed a 6.8 percent nosedive to a rate of $73.0 billion, while spending on highway construction plummeted by 6.4 percent to a rate of $101.9 billion.

The Commerce Department said spending on private construction also fell by 0.4 percent to a rate of $962.9 billion in June.

Spending on residential construction slid by 0.5 percent to a rate of $507.2 billion and spending on non-residential construction dipped by 0.3 percent to a rate of $455.7 billion.

Compared to the same month a year ago, construction spending in June was down by 2.1 percent, with a 4.6 percent slump in spending on private construction more than offsetting a 6.1 percent jump in spending on public construction.

Amazon is launching renewable energy projects in Virginia and Ireland

ROANOKE, Va. — Amazon has announced two new renewable energy projects, including a solar farm in a Virginia county and a new wind farm planned in Cork, Ireland

A news release posted on the company’s website on Thursday says the solar farm proposed for Pittsylvania County is projected to begin producing energy sometime in 2020. It says it will produce 45 megawatts of renewable energy capacity. The online shopping giant says the energy would be used to power the company’s Amazon Web Services datacenters.

The news release didn’t give the exact location of the solar farm.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam says the new solar farm will create jobs and economic development in rural Virginia.

Amazon says it now has 66 renewable energy projects.

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