US President Donald Trump announced tariff cuts on fentanyl-related products from China, reducing them from 20% to 10%. This decision is part of an agreement reached at a summit in South Korea last October. This move aims to ease trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. Trump also announced a freeze on reciprocal tariffs imposed on Chinese goods. This freeze will remain in effect, providing some relief to companies engaged in international trade with China. This policy is expected to help ease trade tensions that have persisted for the past few years. This tariff cut will...
White House economic advisers on Sunday defended President Donald Trump's firing of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, dismissing criticism that Trump's actions could undermine confidence in official U.S. economic data. On Sunday, Trump again criticized BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, without providing evidence of wrongdoing, and said he would appoint a new BLS commissioner in the next three or four days. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CBS that Trump has "real concerns" about the BLS data, while Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said the...
The ISM Manufacturing PMI fell to 48 in July 2025 from 49 in June, missing expectations of a rise to 49.5. This figure marked the fifth consecutive month of contraction in the manufacturing sector and was the weakest since October of last year. The largest negative contributions came from declines in supplier deliveries (45.7 vs. 46.7) and employment (43.4 vs. 45.0). On the positive side, production increased (51.4 vs. 50.3), while declines in new orders (47.1 vs. 46.4) and backlogs (46.8 vs. 44.3) eased. Price pressures also eased, with the price index falling to 64.8 from 69.7. Source:...
US non-farm payrolls rose by 73,000 in July 2025, after being revised down by 14,000 in June and well below the 110,000 estimate. The upward trend in employment in the healthcare and social assistance sectors continued. The federal government continued to lose jobs. The June figure was also revised down sharply from 147,000 to 14,000, and the May figure was also revised down by 125,000. With these revisions, total employment in May and June was 258,000 lower than previously reported. (alg) Source: trading economics
President Donald Trump urged the Federal Reserve Board to "take control" if Chairman Jerome Powell doesn't cut interest rates, escalating his feud with the central bank's leadership. "Jerome Powell 'Late,' a stubborn, STUPID man, must lower interest rates substantially, now. if he continues to refuse, the board must take control, and do what everyone knows should do!" the president wrote on social media on Friday. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the president's remarks. Trump's post came after Fed officials left interest rates unchanged on...
The Fed may or may not actually cut interest rates in September. The deciding factor will be how robust macroeconomic data (namely, inflation and the labor market) looks at that time. That's why all eyes will likely be on today's US labor market report for July. Certainly, there are signs of weakness in some areas of the US labor market, particularly in cyclical sectors like manufacturing and business services. While the June report shows a fairly good figure (+147,000), a closer look reveals mixed results. However, there are no signs of a slowdown, notes Commerzbank FX analyst Antje...
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...
US President Donald Trump announced tariff cuts on fentanyl-related products from China, reducing them from 20% to 10%. This decision is part of an agreement reached at a summit in South Korea last...