The European Central Bank (ECB) announced on Thursday (October 30th) that it kept its key interest rates unchanged after its October policy meeting, as expected. This decision leaves the main refinancing operations rate, the marginal lending facility rate, and the deposit facility rate at 2.15%, 2.4%, and 2%, respectively. The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to maintain the main refinancing operations rate, the marginal lending facility rate, and the deposit facility rate at 2.15%, 2.4%, and 2%, respectively. The decision will be announced on Thursday at 13:15 GMT. The rate...
In a recent report, the Services PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index), a key indicator of economic health in the private sector, was recorded at 49.7. This figure, published monthly by Markit Economics, is significantly lower than the forecasted 53.0, indicating a potential slowdown in the economy. The PMI index is based on surveys of over 400 executives in private sector service companies, including sectors such as transport and communication, financial intermediaries, business and personal services, computing & IT, hotels and restaurants. An index level of 50 denotes no change since the...
The S&P Global UK Composite PMI was at 50.5 in February of 2025, inching lower from 50.6 in the previous month and in line with the market consensus to mark the 16th consecutive period of expansion in the British private sector activity. Economic growth was solely driven by the services sector (51.1 vs 50.8 in January), which offset a sharper decline in manufacturing (46.4 vs 48.3), in line with the similar trend in other major European economies. The latest survey indicated the sharpest contraction in new business received by firms in one-and-a-half years, with firms citing cuts to...
The HCOB Flash Eurozone Manufacturing PMI increased to 47.3 in February 2025 from 46.6 in January, beating forecasts of 47, preliminary estimates showed. The reading pointed to the weakest downturn in the manufacturing sector in nine months, as production continued to fall although the pace of contraction was the weakest since May 2024. New business continued to fall and there was a marked reduction in manufacturing workforce numbers. Eurozone manufacturers continued to lower their purchasing activity, in response to weak customer demand. The latest reduction was marked, despite being the...
Federal Reserve officials are taking note of what they see as rising inflation risks and the uncertain impact of President Donald Trump's trade, immigration and other policies. On Thursday, several signaled they still feel that cooling U.S. inflation will in time allow the U.S. central bank to deliver further interest rate cuts; one said that current conditions call for holding rates steady, and gave no indication of when, or whether, she felt cuts would be needed. "Going forward, I consider it is appropriate to hold the federal funds rate in place for some time, given the balance of risks...
Applications for US unemployment benefits were little changed last week, indicating solid demand for workers. Initial claims increased by 5,000 to 219,000 in the week ended Feb. 15, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 215,000 applications.Source: Bloomberg
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...