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...
Inflation in the United States (US), as measured by the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), declined to 2.8% on a yearly basis in February from 3% in January, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Wednesday. This reading came in below the market expectation of 2.9%. On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.2% following the 0.5% increase recorded in January. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 3.1% on a yearly basis. This print followed the 3.3% increase in January and came in below analysts' estimate of 3.2%. On a monthly basis, the core CPI rose...
Canada will announce C$29.8 billion in retaliatory tariffs on the United States on Wednesday in response to US President Donald Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, a Canadian official said. The official declined to be identified. Trump's increased tariffs on steel and aluminum imports take effect on Wednesday as previous exemptions, duty-free quotas and product exclusions expire, and as his campaign to reshape global trade norms in favor of the US gains momentum. Canada is the largest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States. The escalation in the US-Canada trade war...
Many of Japan's biggest companies are expected to offer substantial wage hikes for a third consecutive year when they conclude talks with unions on Wednesday, seeking to help workers cope with inflation and retain staff amid labour shortages. Last year's "shunto" or "spring labour offensive" negotiations resulted in the sharpest increase in 33 years, enabling the central bank to exit its decade-long super-loose monetary policy. Record corporate profits, helped by a weak yen, also support the case for lifting pay and this year economists expect increases to be similar to last year's average...
U.S. job openings increased in January, but demand for labor is likely to soften in the months ahead amid concerns that uncertainty over import tariffs and aggressive government spending cuts could cause a sharp slowdown in economic activity. For now, the labor market is holding steady, with the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, from the Labor Department on Tuesday showing layoffs declining for a fourth straight month to the lowest level since last June. There were 1.13 job openings for every unemployed person, up from 1.09 in December. Hiring, however, remained...
President Donald Trump on Tuesday doubled his planned tariffs on all steel and aluminum products entering the United States from Canada, bringing the total to 50%, in response to the province of Ontario imposing, opens new tab 25% tariffs on electricity entering the U.S. Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he had instructed his commerce secretary to add an additional 25% tariff on the products that would take effect Wednesday morning. "Also, Canada must immediately reduce the Anti-American Farmer Tariffs of 250% to 390% on various U.S. dairy products, which have long been considered...
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...