The White House is tightening its pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the U.S. government shutdown enters its second week, saying it will give them another chance to agree on a spending bill before beginning mass layoffs of federal employees. With the Senate scheduled to vote Monday night for the fifth time on a stopgap bill to keep the government operating until November 21, Kevin Hassett, President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, argued that it's time for Democrats to be "reasonable." Trump has said he will use the government shutdown to lay off thousands more federal employees, who...
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday continued to take aim at the European Union for what he claims is an unequal trade relationship. "From the standpoint of America, the EU treats us very, very unfairly, very badly," Trump said in a virtual address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. After his inauguration on Monday, Trump's second term has been a key topic of conversation at Davos this year — particularly given his threats of trade tariffs on the EU, China, Mexico, Canada and beyond. Echoing previous comments, Trump said in his Davos address: "They make it very...
Both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 held near the flatline on Thursday, ending a seven-session winning streak that had pushed the former to a 2,000 high and the latter to a record. Traders took a breather as they closely monitored developments in U.S. policy under President Trump. Technology stocks led the decline after rallying in the previous session, boosted by Trump's announcement of a $500 billion investment in U.S. AI infrastructure. Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum in Davos remained in focus, with Trump scheduled to address attendees via video call. In the corporate sector, ASML...
The Hang Seng fell 78 points, or 0.4%, to close at 19,700 on Thursday, reversing its morning gains amid looming tariff risks and concerns over China's sluggish economic momentum. Meanwhile, U.S. index futures fell after Wall Street's S&P 500 neared an all-time high on Wednesday following President Trump's move to boost spending on AI. Most sectors ended up losing ground, especially technology, consumer discretionary and property. In contrast, financials rose after China's securities regulator encouraged local insurers and mutual funds to boost their equity holdings. Earlier this month,...
The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.2% to around 39,730, while the broader Topix index gained 0.05% to 2,738 on Thursday, marking the fourth straight session of gains for Japanese stocks. However, caution prevailed as the Bank of Japan began its two-day policy meeting. The central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates and revise its inflation forecast higher on Friday, following hawkish remarks from senior BOJ officials. Meanwhile, data showed that Japan's exports beat expectations in December, while imports also showed positive growth. Notable gains were seen in major stocks, including...
China stocks rose on Thursday, with the Shanghai Composite up 1.4% to around 3,260 and the Shenzhen Component up 0.6% to 10,290, recouping losses from earlier in the week as Beijing stepped up support for the struggling stock market. On Wednesday, China unveiled a new plan led by its top financial regulator, urging state-owned insurers to increase their investments in Chinese A-shares and equity funds, while also encouraging mutual funds to raise capital for stock investments. Wu Qing, head of the CSRC, said the plan would inject hundreds of billions of yuan in new capital each year. Earlier...
Asia-Pacific markets traded higher, tracking Wall Street gains overnight.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.41% after hitting a fresh record high on Thursday, while the Topix added 0.61%. South...
Both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 hovered around the flatline on Friday, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of further developments in trade talks between US President Trump and Chinese...
Hamas officials were in Egypt on Monday (October 6th) ahead of talks with Israel that the US hopes will lead to an end to the war in Gaza and the release of hostages, despite contentious issues such...