Initial jobless claims in the US surged by 27,000 from the previous week to 263,000 in the first week of September, the highest single-week figure since October 2021, and well above market consensus of 235,000 initial claims. This finding aligns with a series of downbeat labor market surveys released since the beginning of the month, adding to evidence of worsening employment conditions in the US. (alg) Source: Trading Economics
The very data that caused President Donald Trump to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because he did not like the July employment report, calling it "rigged," is being taken as serious evidence by Federal Reserve officials of a slowing economy and as a justification for the interest rate cuts Trump wants. "The latest employment report confirmed some of the signs of fragility and reduced dynamism in the labor market," Fed Governor Michelle Bowman, a Trump appointee, said in a Saturday speech that elaborated on how the latest jobs numbers and revisions to prior months' data...
US President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is nominating economist E.J. Antoni as the new commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10 days after firing the previous head following weak labor market results, accusing Antoni of manipulating the figures without evidence. Antoni currently serves as chief economist at the influential conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation. He has criticized the BLS, the Labor Department's statistical arm, whose monthly data on labor market conditions and inflation is consumed by a global audience of economists, investors, business...
On April 6, the Sunday after Donald Trump announced the "Liberation Day" tariffs, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined the president on his flight back to Washington from Mar-a-Lago. Bessent wanted to discuss damage control. At the time, photos of Trump in the Rose Garden waving a placard proclaiming tariffs as high as 49% had spooked investors worldwide, triggering the biggest two-day stock selloff since the pandemic. "We are in the process of destroying confidence in our country as a trading partner, as a place to do business, and as a market for capital investment," billionaire...
President Donald Trump on Monday delayed high U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods from snapping back into place for another 90 days, a White House official told CNBC. Those tariffs were set to resume Tuesday. But Trump signed an executive order hours beforehand that extends the deadline until mid-November, according to the official. The delay was the expected outcome from the latest round of talks between U.S. trade negotiators and their Chinese counterparts, which took place in Stockholm in late July. If the deadline were not extended, then U.S. duties on China would have shot back up to where...
Barrick Mining CEO Mark Bristow said on Monday that the gold industry is awaiting clarity from the White House regarding potential U.S. tariffs on gold bars, but added that, regardless of the outcome, the impact on miners would be minimal. According to a ruling published on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection service's website on Friday, Washington may place the most widely traded gold bullion bars in the U.S. under country-specific import tariffs. A White House official later told Reuters it would issue an executive order "clarifying misinformation". The ruling has disrupted global...
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.
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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...
Less than four months ago, President Donald Trump met with Qatar's leader, praised his magnificent palace, and signed a comprehensive defense agreement with the Gulf monarchy, a key ally that hosts...