Chevron and other U.S. energy companies are nearing deals to invest billions of dollars in Venezuela’s oil fields, positioning President Trump for a win after months of slow negotiations. The U.S. oil major is close to a deal to expand its longstanding operations in the Latin American country, potentially adding two heavy-oil fields to its portfolio in Venezuela, according to people familiar with the matter. It currently has three joint ventures with PdVSA and is the only big U.S. company active in the country. Halliburton, one of the largest U.S. oil-field-services firms, is also in talks to bring its suite of equipment to oil producers in Venezuela, some of the people said. Next week, executives from several oil-and-gas companies are set to sign production deals in Caracas, Venezuela, these people said. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is expected to travel to the Latin American country as well. Many of the fields Venezuela is offering are “greenfields,” which often lack infrastructure or electricity. Turning these into productive oil fields would take billions of dollars in investments. Chevron’s two closest rivals, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips COP, plan to remain on the sidelines for now, while discussions continue. The late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez nationalized Exxon and Conoco’s assets in 2007—and they are still seeking billions of dollars in restitution almost two decades later.

The Swiss market ended marginally up on Friday after staying above the flat line for almost the entire duration of the day's session. Despite geopolitical tensions and Fed Chair's hawkish tone during his speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium today, the mood in European markets remained positive. The Swiss benchmark SMI, which advanced to 14,460.05 in early trades, ended the day with a gain of 15.40 points or 0.11% at 14,399.77. Richemont climbed 1.8%. UBS Group moved up 1.7%, while Givaudan, Kuehne + Nagel, Straumann Holding and ABB gained 1%-1.5%. Logitech International, Swiss Re, Sika, Helvetia Baloise Holding, Julius Baer, Zurich Insurance, Swisscom and Swiss Life Holding also closed higher. Sandoz Group ended down 2.3%. Lindt & Spruengli drifted lower by 1.86%, while Roche and Sonova shed 1.46% and 1.01%, respectively. Alcon, Lonza Group, Novartis, Schindler Ps and VAT Group also ended weak. In economic news, a report from Swiss Economic Institute said the KOF Economic Barometer in Switzerland rose to 106.7 in August, up from a revised 104.2 in July and comfortably above market expectations of 103.3. It marked the strongest reading since November 2021.

Europe
European stocks closed higher on Friday as investors digested regional economic data and assessed Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.51%. The UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.29% and France's CAC 40 moved up 0.98%. Germany's DAX ended 0.77%, hitting a new closing high, while Switzerland's SMI edged up 0.11%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Türkiye closed on firm note. Ireland edged up marginally, while Iceland closed weak. In the UK market, SSE and Investec moved up 2.86% and 2.79%, respectively. HSBC Holdings, Severn Trent, Standard Chartered, Melrose Industries, Aviva, Vodafone Group, Informa, Burberry Group, Standard Life, Shell, Coca-Cola and Europacific Partners gained 1%-2%. Babcock International, BAE Systems, Airtel Africa, AutoTrader Group, Howden Joinery Group, Admiral Group, AstraZeneca and Halma ended down 1%-2.4%. In the German market, Auto stocks BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche Automobil Holding gained 2.9%-4.5%. RWE, Brenntag, BASF, Allianz, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Continental, E.ON, Deutsche Telekom, Symrise, Heidelberg Materials and Siemens gained 1%-2.3%. Rheinmetall shed nearly 2%. Scout24, Fresenius, Fresenius Medical Care, Vonovia and Qiagen also closed weak. In the French market, Renault rallied 3.7%. EssilorLuxottica gained about 2.5% after the eyewear manufacturer commenced a new program to repurchase up to 5 million shares.

United States
U.S. stocks edged lower after Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh indicated that the central bank's fight against inflation was not yet complete. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 9.45 points, or 0.02%, to 53559.99. The S&P 500 fell 19.23 points, or 0.25%, to 7711.76, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 138.93 points, or 0.52%, to 26402.42. In his address from Jackson Hole, Wyo., Warsh was more explicit about the central bank's plans than anticipated, noting that inflation was running above the central bank's 2% target and reiterating his commitment to fighting inflation down. The rate increase at the next meeting in mid-September surged on the Fed funds futures market, rising to roughly 58%. Artificial-intelligence leaders slid Friday after a disappointing earnings update from chip maker Marvell Technology. Shares of Marvell declined 10%, to $216.62, despite reporting brisk second-quarter profit and revenue growth. Investors honed in on the details of a Marvell deal with Alphabet's Google, suggesting to one veteran strategist that the bar was higher than ever for AI companies after their stock-market surge. Nvidia fell 4.6%, to $217.55. Investors weighed the AI bellwether's rosy long-term revenue outlook against concerns that the capital it is raising to build data centers could grow costlier as borrowing rates rise.

Asia
The hawkish tone of US Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh’s speech at the central bankers’ meeting in Jackson Hole has led to caution and a reluctance to buy on the stock markets in East Asia on Monday. The Topix in Tokyo is down 0.2 per cent, whilst the Kospi in Seoul is down 1.7 per cent.

Bonds
The yield on the policy-sensitive two-year U.S. Treasury shot up 0.118 percentage point, to 4.348%, the largest one-day gain since March. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 0.050 percentage point, to 4.721%. In a phenomenon known as "curve flattening," the gain on the 30-year bond yield was more modest, causing a convergence. It rose 0.016 percentage point, to 5.207%.

Analysis
UBS raises its target price for Accelleron to CHF 93 (92.50) – Buy
UBS raises its target price for Softwareone to CHF 10.75 (9.40) – Buy
UBS lowers its target price for Huber + Suhner to CHF 320 (325) – Buy

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