The University of Michigan consumer sentiment for the US dropped to 55.4 in September 2025, down from 58 in August and well below market expectations of 58, according to preliminary estimates. This marked the second consecutive monthly decrease, pushing sentiment to its lowest level since May. The current conditions index deteriorated to 61.2 from 61.7 and the expectations gauge fell to 51.8 from 55.9. Meanwhile, year-ahead inflation expectations held steady at 4.8% while the five-year expectations moved up for the second straight month to 3.9% from 3.5%. Source : Trading Economics
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a proclamation raising his tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50% from 25%, making good on his earlier threat of higher levies on the two commodities. Trump said that the move was aimed at bolstering U.S. national security, which he claimed was compromised by the country's heavy dependence on steel and aluminum imports. The higher duties will be effective from Wednesday. "I have determined that it is necessary to increase the previously described steel and aluminum tariffs to adjust the imports of steel and aluminum articles and their derivative...
U.S. President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Tuesday making official his vow to double tariffs on steel and aluminum, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters in a briefing. Trump on Friday announced that he would increase tariffs on the two metals from 25% to 50%. On Monday, U.S. steel and aluminum prices jumped while shares of foreign steelmakers fell. Source : Reuters
President Donald Trump attacked fiscal conservative Rand Paul as "crazy" on Tuesday morning as he urged reluctant Republican senators to move quickly on his massive tax and spending package. The Kentucky senator had previously said on CNBC that he would not vote for the bill signed by the president because it would raise the legal U.S. debt limit. "I disagree with that. It's not conservative," said Paul, who has also argued that the tax measure would add too much to the national debt. Trump quickly responded with a series of social media posts, saying the senator "never has a practical or...
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Beijing has a choice to be a reliable partner with the rest of the world or not, reiterating that China needs to shift to a more consumption-oriented economy to help ease global imbalances. "They want to be a reliable partner with the rest of the world, or they don't," Bessent said via video link to the American Swiss Foundation Leadership Summit in Zurich on Tuesday. "They're in the middle of a big real estate — I'm not going to be fearmongering and say crisis — but a big real estate development and the way for them to stabilize their economy is not...
Job openings in the United States rose by 191,000 to 7.391 million in April 2025, above market expectations of 7.10 million. The number of job openings increased in arts, entertainment, and recreation (+43,000) and in mining and logging (+10,000). On the other hand, The number of job openings decreased in accommodation and food services (-135,000) and in state and local government, education (-51,000). Regarding regional distribution, job openings rose in the Northeast (116K), the South (127K), and in the West (33K), but fell in the Midwest (-85K). Meanwhile, both hires and total...
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...
Poland rejected on Friday a suggestion by Donald Trump that Russian drone incursions into its airspace could have been a mistake, a rare contradiction of the U.S. president from one of Washington's...