European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she will travel to Scotland this weekend to meet with US President Donald Trump, as both sides aim to reach a trade deal before the August 1 deadline when 30% tariffs on the bloc's exports are due to take effect. After months of negotiations and back-and-forth diplomacy between Brussels and Washington, D.C., the two sides have zeroed in on a deal last week that will see the EU face 15% tariffs on most of its trade. Limited exceptions are expected to apply to aviation, some medical devices and generic drugs, some alcoholic beverages,...
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...
China's official NBS Manufacturing PMI increased to 49.7 in June 2025 from May's 49.5, matching market expectations while marking the third consecutive month of contraction in factory activity.
It...
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...
President Donald Trump locked horns with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during a rare presidential visit to the U.S. central bank on Thursday, criticizing the cost of renovating two historical...