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
Initial jobless claims in the US fell by 5,000 from the previous week to 227,000 on the first period of July, below market expectations of a 2,000 increase to 235,000. It was the fourth consecutive decline in initial claims to the lowest count in seven weeks, consolidating the view that the US labor market remains relatively robust to high interest rates and economic uncertainty. Still, outstanding unemployment claims rose by 10,000 to 1,965,000, the most since 2021, to solidify concerns that hiring is slowing. Initial claims filed by federal government employees, which have been under...
The impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff agenda is likely to be seen in the upcoming second-quarter corporate earnings season, according to analysts at Capital Economics. Despite having largely delayed the implementation of his punishing "reciprocal" levies first unveiled in April, Trump has left a baseline 10% tariff in place, as well as heightened duties on items like steel, aluminum and autos. The effective U.S. tariff has in turn increased compared to its level at the beginning of Trump's second term earlier this year, analysts have suggested. This week, Trump has...
US President Donald Trump has threatened Latin America's largest economy, Brazil, with a 50% tariff on exports to the US. He also ordered an investigation into alleged unfair trade practices, which could lead to even higher duties. Trump set the August 1 tariff rate, far higher than the 10% duty imposed on Brazil on April 2. Brazil is the United States' 15th-largest trading partner, with total two-way trade amounting to USD 92 billion in 2024, and a rare US trade surplus of USD 7.4 billion. Brazil was one of eight countries mentioned in letters Trump posted on Wednesday, which outlined...
The minutes of the United States Federal Reserve's (Fed) monetary policy meeting on June 17-18 will be released on Wednesday at 6:00 PM GMT. Policymakers decided to keep the benchmark interest rate in the 4.25%-4.5% range, but the revised Summary of Projections (SEP) shows that policymakers project two 25 basis point (bps) rate cuts in 2025. Jerome Powell and co. decided to leave the policy setting unchanged after the June meeting. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at its June meeting. In its policy statement, the US central bank...
US President Donald Trump announced a new round of tariff demand letters on Wednesday (July 9), with levies set to take effect in August on imports from partners that failed to reach agreements with the US. Trump said he would impose 30% tariffs on Algeria, Libya, and Iraq, with 25% duties on products from Brunei and Moldova, and 20% tariffs on goods from the Philippines. These levies are largely in line with the tariffs Trump initially announced in April, although the Iraqi tariff was reduced from 39%, while the Philippines' was increased from 17%. Trump began notifying trading partners...
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...