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",...
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to resume trade talks, and the American leader said they resolved a dispute over rare earth exports that has been at the heart of tensions between the world's two largest economies. Trump acknowledged Thursday that trade relations with China had "gotten off track a little bit" but said now "we're in very good shape with China and a trade deal." He posted earlier on social media that "there should be no more questions about the complexity of the rare earths." "We're getting some points straight, mostly with the rare earth...
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose to 247,000 in the week ending June 1, 2025. The figure was higher than the 236K estimate and from the previous weekly revised figure of 239K, the Labor Department said on Thursday (6/5). Source : Newsmaker
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that abandoning uranium enrichment was "100%" against the country's interests, rejecting a central U.S. demand in talks to resolve a decades-long dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions. The U.S. proposal for a new nuclear deal was presented to Iran on Saturday by Oman, which has mediated talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff. After five rounds of talks, several hard-to-bridge issues remain, including Iran's insistence on maintaining uranium enrichment...
Industry executives are warning that U.S. President Donald Trump's recent 50% tariffs on aluminum imports may be too much for consumers to swallow and could destroy demand. "We're concerned about the potential demand destruction" of the levies, especially at current levels, Derek Prichett, senior vice president of global metals at Novelis Inc., said at the 17th Harbor Aluminum summit in Chicago. "Overall, it's a drag," Prichett said, adding that his company's Canadian-U.S. operations have been particularly affected by the tariffs. The Atlanta, Georgia-based company is the largest maker of...
President Donald Trump said Russian leader Vladimir Putin warned him that he would retaliate for a recent Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian airfield in a phone call Wednesday, signaling further complications in U.S. efforts to broker a cease-fire. "It was a good conversation, but not one that will lead to immediate Peace," Trump said of the call, which lasted more than an hour, in a social media post. "President Putin said, and very emphatically, that he must respond to the recent attack on the airfield." Trump said the pair also discussed ongoing nuclear talks with Iran and that 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...