The BRICS group of countries is increasingly being considered as an alternative for global diplomacy and cooperation amidst increasing tariff and protectionist policies from the United States. A number of developing countries view BRICS as a platform to strengthen trade, investment, and financial cooperation without over-reliance on a Western-dominated system. US tariff pressure is pushing many countries to seek a more balanced economic and political path. Through BRICS, member countries are seeking to expand the use of local currencies, strengthen supply chains, and enhance solidarity...
The ISM Services PMI fell sharply to 50.8 in March 2025 from 53.5 in February, well below forecasts of 53. The reading pointed to the softest expansion in the services sector since June last year. New orders (50.4 vs 52.2) and inventories (50.3 vs 50.6) slowed and employment contracted sharply (46.2 vs 53.9). Also, supplier deliveries eased (50.6 vs 53.4) and backlogs of orders indicated contraction for the seventh time in the last eight months (47.4 vs 51.7). Meanwhile, production rose faster (55.9 vs 54.4) and price pressures eased (60.9 vs 62.6). " There has been a significant increase...
Initial jobless claims in the United States decreased by 6,000 to 219,000 in the week ending March 29, below market expectations of 225,000, to remain at historically low levels. In the meantime, recurring claims rose by 56,000 to 1903,000 in the previous week, the highest since November 2021 and well above forecast. In the meantime, unemployment claims filed under programs for Federal government employees, which have been under close scrutiny due to firings by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), fell by 257 to 564. Despite the decrease, reports that many firings by DOGE were...
President Donald Trump said Wednesday the United States will impose reciprocal tariffs of at least 10% on all imported goods, with higher reciprocal rates for some nations that will be equivalent to "half" of the rate they levy on U.S. exports. "I will sign a historic executive order instituting reciprocal tariffs on countries throughout the world," the president said. "Reciprocal... that means they do it to us, and we do and to them." The 10% baseline tariff will go into effect on Apr. 5, while the higher tariffs will begin on Apr. 9. In calculating the tariff rate that other countries...
Private businesses in the US added 155K workers to their payrolls in March 2025, following an upwardly revised 84K in February and above expectations of 105K. Hiring was fairly broad based, with the services sector adding 132K jobs, namely professional and business services (57K) and financial activities (38K). Also, manufacturing contributed 21K and leisure and hospitality added 17K. In contrast, trade, transportation and utilities saw a loss of 6K jobs and natural resources and mining declined by 3K. "Despite policy uncertainty and downbeat consumers, the bottom line is this: The March...
The rollout of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs regime is dampening sentiment toward the dollar and prompting investors to look elsewhere for their foreign exchange (FX) trades, strategists told CNBC. The dollar index, which measures the value of the greenback against a basket of major rivals, was little changed on Wednesday morning. The U.S. currency began a steady rise in late 2024 that peaked in mid-January — however, the dollar index has steadily pared some of those gains in recent weeks. The dollar has historically been widely seen as a safe haven asset for investors, given its...
Asian stock markets fell in unison on Thursday, following Wall Street's decline. A brief rally in tech stocks led by Nvidia quickly faded, prompting investors to turn away from riskier assets like...
Pasangan mata uang EUR/USD mengawali pekan ini dengan nada sedikit melemah di sesi Asia, diperdagangkan di sekitar 1,1730, turun kurang dari 0,10% dalam sehari. Meski terkoreksi, euro masih berada...
US President Donald Trump said Washington is willing to provide security assistance to Ukraine as part of a deal to end the war with Russia. He emphasized that security support is a crucial factor...