The economic activity in the United States' (US) manufacturing sector continued to contract in October, with the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropping to 48.7 from 49.1 in September. This reading came in weaker than the market expectation of 49.5. Other details of the PMI report showed that the Employment Index edged higher to 46 from 45.3 in this period, while the New Orders Index improved to 49.4 from 48.9. Finally, the Prices Pair Index, the input inflation component of the survey, declined to 58 from 61.9. Source: FXstreet
Retail sales in the US contracted 0.9% month-over-month in January 2025, much worse than forecasts of a 0.1% drop, and following an upwardly revised 0.7% gain in December. It is the biggest decline in retail sales since March 2023, with severe weather and LA fires weighing on consumer spending. Sales at sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, & book stores (-4.6%) recorded the biggest decline, followed by motor vehicles and part dealers (-2.8%); nonstore retailers (-1.9%); furniture (-1.7%); building material & garden equipment (-1.3%); clothing (-1.2%); health and personal care...
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday took what could become his most consequential action involving international trade early in his second administration. Trump, who signed a memorandum calling for reciprocal tariffs, told a group of reporters in the Oval Office that "if you build your product in the United States, there are no tariffs." The goal is to bring down America's budget deficit, estimated to be approaching $2 trillion. The president added that the action "is fair to all. No other country can complain." Trump ordered Howard Lutnick and Jamieson Greer, his picks for commerce...
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a presidential memorandum outlining his plan to impose "reciprocal tariffs" on foreign countries. "They put a tax or a tariff on us and we put a tariff on them," Trump said at a news conference in the Oval Office. The president said that under the plan, the U.S. would treat other countries' non-tariff policies as unfair trade practices that require tariffs in response. That includes value-added taxes, or VATs, and other practices deemed by the U.S. Trade Representative's office to be unfair restrictions on trade. Trump said that foreign countries...
Core producer prices in the United States, which exclude food and energy costs, rose by 0.3% over a month in January 2025, following an upwardly revised 0.4% increase in December, in line with market forecasts. On a yearly basis, core producer inflation was 3.6% in January, down slightly from an upwardly revised 3.7% in December but well above market estimates of 3.3%.Source: Trading Economics
US citizens filing new applications for unemployment insurance rose to 213K for the week ending February 8, as reported by the US Department of Labor (DoL) on Thursday. This print missed initial estimates and was lower than the previous week's revised tally of 220K (from 219K). The report also highlighted a seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate of 1.2%, while the four-week moving average dropped to 216.00K, marking a decrease of 1K from the prior week's revised average.Source: FXStreet
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...
As the U.S. government shutdown disrupts federal employee paychecks across the country, it also exacerbates the financial hardship of attorneys who represent the poorest members of society when they...