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...
US-based employers announced 47,999 job cuts in June 2025, the lowest so far this year, compared to 93,816 in May and 48,786 a year earlier. "The bulk of companies cited economic conditions last month. We saw some DOGE activity and have tracked over 2,000 jobs directly attributed to tariffs this year, but for the most part it was a quiet June," said Andrew Challenger, Senior VP for Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The consumer products sector cut the most jobs (9,500), followed by services (4,463), financial (4,164), health care (4,068), retail (4,063) and government (3,801). Considering...
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expects the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by September, and that President Donald Trump's trade tariffs were unlikely to stoke inflation as feared by the central bank. Speaking on Fox News' Ingraham Angle, Bessent said it was "bewildering" to him that the Fed had not cut interest rates in the face of President Donald Trump's trade tariffs, especially given that the central bank lowered its growth forecast. "I think that the criteria is that tariffs were not inflationary. If they're going to follow that criteria, I think that they could do it...
Donald Trump's $3.3 trillion tax-cutting and spending bill passed the Senate on Tuesday after Republican leaders worked hard to persuade opponents to support the legislation and hand the president a political victory. Senators voted 51-50 to pass the bill. Vice President J.D. Vance cast the tie-breaking vote. The package, which now goes to the House, combines $4.5 trillion in tax cuts with $1.2 trillion in spending cuts. The package — informally known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill" — encompasses the president's entire legislative agenda in one package. Trump has personally lobbied...
The ISM Manufacturing PMI edged up to 49 in June 2025 from 48.5 in May, compared to forecasts of 48.8, signalling economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted for the fourth consecutive month. However, the rate of contraction slowed, amid a rebound in production (50.3 vs 45.4) and improvements in inventories (49.2 vs 46.7). On the other hand, new orders (46.4 vs 47.6), employment (45 vs 46.8) and backlog of orders (44.3 vs 47.1) contracted at a faster pace. Also, inflationary pressures increased slightly (69.7 vs 69.4) and tariffs-induced prices growth accelerated. Meanwhile, the...
Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the number of job openings in May rose sharply to 7.77 million, well above the market estimate of 7.3 million. This indicates that the US labor market is still quite strong. The job opening rate rose to 4.6% from 4.4% previously. Meanwhile, the number of people who resigned from their jobs also increased to 3.29 million, indicating workers' confidence in new opportunities. On the other hand, the number of layoffs actually decreased to 1.6 million, indicating that the layoff rate is getting lower. This data could reduce pressure on the...
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...