Many people in China cheered the meeting Thursday between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, after months of escalating bilateral tensions. Every time the two leaders meet, it helps ease tensions and creates a "positive atmosphere," Alex Hongcai Xu, chair of Beijing Honglve Consulting, said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. "This atmosphere is beneficial for negotiations." "Each side lowering tariffs to below 10% would benefit capital flows and cooperation," Xu said. He noted that China can likely buy more U.S. soybeans and U.S.-made Boeing airplanes. Trump said Thursday...
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he will not remove Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman before his term ends in May 2026. Trump reiterated his belief that the US central bank will have to lower interest rates at some point. "Yes, he's going to have to. And at some point, he will. He'd rather not because he's not a fan of me. You know, he just doesn't like me because I think he's very rigid," Trump said. (Newsmaker23) Source: FXstreet
The U.S. economy added 177,000 jobs in April 2025, a slowdown from the downwardly revised 185,000 in March, but significantly surpassing market expectations of 130,000. This figure aligns closely with the average monthly gain of 152,000 over the past 12 months, despite growing uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump's aggressive tariff policies. Job growth was primarily seen in sectors such as health care (+51,000), transportation and warehousing (+29,000), financial activities (+14,000), and social assistance (+8,000), while federal government employment experienced a decline...
The United States (US) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is due to publish the high-impact Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for April on Friday at 12:30 GMT. The April employment report will be critical to affirm a Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate cut in June amid prospects of US trade deals with its major Asian trading partners and an unexpected US economic contraction in the first quarter of this year. The data could, therefore, have a strong bearing on the US Dollar (USD) performance in the near term. In a NewsNation Town Hall interview early Thursday, US President Donald Trump said that...
A possible de-escalation of trade tensions between Beijing and Washington provided a fillip for markets on Friday, boosting risk sentiment and lifting stocks globally just as earnings from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) delivered a reminder of the trade war's true cost. China's Commerce Ministry said that Beijing was "evaluating" an offer from Washington to hold talks over U.S. President Donald Trump's 145% tariffs and that Beijing's door was open for discussions. At the same time, however, China said Washington needed to show "sincerity" in negotiations and should be prepared to cancel its unilateral...
The S&P Global Indonesia Manufacturing PMI tumbled to 46.7 in April 2025 from 52.4 in March, marking the first drop in factory activity for six months and the steepest fall since August 2021. Output fell the most in near four years, and new orders shrank after four months of growth. Foreign demand also weakened, with exports shrinking for the second time in three months. Employment fell for the first time in five months as backlogs of work declined modestly, and purchasing activity was scaled back after consistent gains. On a positive note, easing pressure on capacity led to improved...
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 said Thursday that he had agreed with President Xi Jinping to cut tariffs on China in exchange for Beijing cracking down on illegal fentanyl trade, resuming purchases of...