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
The U.S. Federal Reserve's seemingly locked-in path to a soft landing, already roiled by the arrival of the Trump administration, may be growing even more complicated as evidence of consumer caution about spending starts to align with new inflation risks and another jump in inflation expectations. Consumer spending and inflation data for February accentuated the point, with spending near zero once adjusted for inflation and a key measure of inflation itself increasing. "No matter how you want to slice it, it's shaping up to be a very weak quarter for real spending, and it may end up being...
The US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index increased by 0.3% month-over-month in February 2025, maintaining the same pace as the previous two months, and in line with expectations. Prices for goods rose 0.2%, below 0.5% in January and prices for services increased 0.4%, above 0.2% in the previous month. Meanwhile, the core PCE index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased 0.4%, the most since January 2024, above 0.3% in the previous month and forecasts of 0.3%. Food prices steadied (vs 0.3% in January) while prices for energy goods and services were up...
Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said Thursday the current level of monetary policy is in a "good place," in a further sign the central bank is leaning toward keeping rates steady at a time of rising tariff-induced uncertainty. "We are waiting for the fog to clear," Barkin said in prepared remarks for an economics lecture at Washington and Lee University. "With the labor market still solid and inflation still above target, our moderately restrictive stance is a good place to be." The Richmond Fed president did say, however, that if "conditions start to shift, we are well...
Initial jobless claims in the United States decreased by 1,000 to 224,000 in the week ending March 22, marginally below market expectations of 225,000, to remain at historically low levels. In the meantime, recurring claims fell by 25,000 in the second week of the month. The results continued to indicate that the US hosts a robust labor market despite the prolonged period of restrictive monetary policy and the pessimistic batch of soft data released during the first quarter of the year. In the meantime, unemployment claims filed under programs for Federal government employees, which have...
President Trump said he would impose a 25% tariff on global auto imports into the U.S., making good on his pledge to sanction foreign car and truck manufacturers. "What we're going to do is we're going to put a 25% tariff on all cars that are not made in the U.S.," Trump said Wednesday in the Oval Office, appearing to rule out possible exemptions for countries such as Canada and Mexico, which have free-trade agreements with the U.S. The U.S. will begin imposing auto tariffs on April 3, Trump said, a day after he announced a broader set of trade actions. The so-called reciprocal tariffs,...
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...