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 Korea's Kospi climbed 0.83%, and the small-cap Kosdaq jumped 0.65%. Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 added 0.41%. Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 26,464, higher than its last close of 26,086.32. Equities in several parts of the world have been rallying as easing inflation pressures and expectations for U.S. rate cuts boost investor sentiment. "Momentum and the promise of...
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave an interview with Fox Business late Tuesday, touching on various policy topics both at home and abroad. According to Bessent, the US Supreme Court will be swayed on tariff rulings based on how much estimated government revenue they generate, that US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Xinping share a "good relationship", and that the Federal Reserve (Fed) should think about delivering a double interest rate cut on September 17. The Fed should think about a 50 basis point cut in interest rates in September.Fed could have cut in June if...
Increasing revenues flowing into U.S. government coffers from tariffs would make it difficult for the Supreme Court to rule against the Trump administration on the issue if a lower court case makes its way to country's top court, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday. The more money coming in, it gets harder and harder for SCOTUS to rule against us," Bessent said in an interview on Fox Business Network's "Kudlow." Bessent was responding to a question about a case currently in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., which challenges...
U.S. trade officials plan to meet with their Chinese counterparts within the next two or three months to discuss the future of economic relations between the two countries, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday. The announcement comes a day after the Trump administration extended a 90-day pause on implementing higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports. Speaking in an interview on Fox Business Network's "Kudlow," Bessent indicated that any potential reduction in tariffs on China would require substantial progress on addressing fentanyl flows. "The U.S. will need to see months, if not...
Core consumer prices in the US, which exclude food and energy, rose by 0.3% from the previous month in July of 2025, picking up from the 0.2% increase in the previous month for the sharpest increase since January. The result was in line with the median consensus from markets. Prices accelerated for transportation services (0.8% vs 0.2% in June), medical care services (0.8% vs 0.6%), and rebounded sharply for new vehicles (0.5% vs -0.7%). 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...
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...
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...