The ISM Services PMI rose to 52.4 in October 2025 from 50 in September, beating forecasts of 50.8, pointing to the strongest expansion in the services sector since February. Both business activity (54.3 vs 49.9) and new orders (56.2 vs 50.4) rebounded while the continued contraction in employmet (48.2 vs 47.2) shows a lack of confidence in the continued strength of the economy. "There was no indication of widespread layoffs or reductions in force, but the federal government shutdown was mentioned several times as impacting business activity and generating concerns for future layoffs",...
The UK economy shrank in April following declines in both the services and production sectors, in a month marked by volatile US tariff announcements and higher local taxes. Britain's monthly gross domestic product fell 0.3% in April after rising 0.2% in March, according to data from the Office for National Statistics published Thursday. The latest figure is worse than the expected 0.1% decline, signaling the worst monthly drop in the UK GDP since October 2023. Annually, the British economy grew 0.9%, slowing from the previous 1.1% expansion. In the quarter to April, UK GDP increased 0.7%...
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said the Trump administration is prepared to "roll the date forward" with trading partners negotiating in good faith if the deadline marking the end of the 90-day pause on President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs is reached with no deal. "It is highly likely that those countries - or trading blocs as is the case with the EU - who are negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward to continue the good-faith negotiations," Bessent told the House Ways and Means Committee. "If someone is not negotiating, then we will...
In a post published on Truth Social on Wednesday (11/6), US President Donald Trump said that a trade deal with China is done and added that the deal is now waiting for final approval from himself and Chinese President Xi Jinping. "The complete magnets, and the rare earths that are needed, will be supplied, up front, by China. Likewise, we will provide what has been agreed to to China, including Chinese students who use our colleges and universities (which is always nice of me!)," Trump said, adding: "We get a total tariff of 55%, China gets 10%. Very good relationship! Thank you for your...
U.S. core inflation rose less than forecast in May for a fourth straight month, suggesting businesses are looking for ways to limit how much of their higher rates cost customers. The consumer price index, which excludes the often volatile food and energy categories, rose 0.1% from April, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Wednesday. It was up 2.8% from a year ago. (alg) Source: Bloomberg
The US and China ended two days of high-stakes trade talks with a plan to revive the flow of sensitive goods — a framework that now awaits the blessing of Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. After about 20 hours of negotiations in London, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the two sides had laid out a framework for implementing the Geneva consensus that lowered tariffs last month. "First of all, we have to get rid of the negatives," he said. "Now, we can move forward to try to have positive trade, to increase trade." While the more upbeat tone should reassure investors worried about the...
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...
American consumers struggling to access food assistance payments due to the government shutdown are unable to fill their shopping carts, and that's "hurtful," according to the company behind Stop...