U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with BlackRock Inc executive Rick Rieder in New York on Friday, as the Trump administration continued its search for a new chair for the Federal Reserve, a source familiar with the matter said. Bessent has now spoken with four of the 11 candidates on the administration's list of candidates to replace Fed chair Jerome Powell, whose term expires in May, the source said. Bloomberg first reported Bessent's meeting with Rieder, BlackRock's CIO of fixed income, and called him a rising contender for the post. The two met for two hours and discussed...
Initial jobless claims in the United States inched lower by 2,000 from the previous week to 227,000 on the period ending May 17th, the lowest in four weeks, and below market expectations of an increase to 230,000. The result extended the period of relative strength in the US labor market, despite the prolonged period of elevated interest rates and business pessimism highlighted by key leading economic indicators due to the heightened period of policy uncertainty. In turn, outstanding unemployment claims rose by 36,000 to 1,903,000 on the previous week, above expectations of 1,890,000, to...
The bond vigilantes were stalking global debt markets on Thursday, keeping the dollar and stocks subdued too, ahead of a crucial vote in the United States on President Donald Trump's "big beautiful" tax bill. Caution dominated in Europe after a lacklustre U.S. 20-year bond sale on Wednesday reinforced a "Sell America" narrative already nagging on investors' minds after Moody's last week cut its triple-A credit rating for the United States. Germany's long-term bond yields hit their highest in two-months as global yield curves steepened. Britain's government borrowed more than expected in...
The S&P Global UK Composite PMI rose to 49.4 in May of 2025 from 48.5 in April, aligned with market expectations of 49.3 to reflect the second consecutive contraction in private-sector activity, according to a flash estimate. Activity declined manufacturing (45.1 vs 45.4 in April), reflecting the sharpest drop in 19 months, and offsetting a marginal rebound for service providers (50.2 vs 49). New orders declined the most in two-and-a-half years, as clients cut back non-essential spending due to the increase in global economic uncertainty, stemmed by the threat of aggressive tariffs from...
The Eurozone manufacturing sector remained in contraction, while services sector also followed suit in May, according to data from the HCOB's latest Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) Survey, published on Thursday. The Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) improved to 49.4 in May from 49 in April, beating the market estimate of 49.3. The bloc's Services PMI fell to 48.9 May from 50.1 in April. The data came in below the expected 50.3 print and hit a 16-month low. The HCOB Eurozone PMI Composite contracted to 49.5 in May, following April's 50.4. The market forecast was...
China and the 10-member ASEAN bloc have concluded negotiations on an upgraded free-trade agreement, known as version 3.0, marking a key move to deepen Beijing's regional ties amid ongoing U.S. trade disputes. The deal, which updates a 15-year-old agreement, awaits ratification and could be signed within the year. "China stands ready to work with ASEAN to ensure the stability of global supply chains, advance shared development, and safeguard fairness and justice," said Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. He criticized U.S. trade policies, warning that "there are no winners in a tariff war or...
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...
Poland rejected on Friday a suggestion by Donald Trump that Russian drone incursions into its airspace could have been a mistake, a rare contradiction of the U.S. president from one of Washington's...