The ISM Services PMI rose to 52.4 in October 2025 from 50 in September, beating forecasts of 50.8, pointing to the strongest expansion in the services sector since February. Both business activity (54.3 vs 49.9) and new orders (56.2 vs 50.4) rebounded while the continued contraction in employmet (48.2 vs 47.2) shows a lack of confidence in the continued strength of the economy. "There was no indication of widespread layoffs or reductions in force, but the federal government shutdown was mentioned several times as impacting business activity and generating concerns for future layoffs",...
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...
US job openings rose in January, indicating steady demand for workers as the Trump administration takes office. Available job openings rose to 7.74 million from a revised 7.51 million in December, according to monthly data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Tuesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for 7.6 million openings. (Newsmaker23) Source: Bloomberg
The U.S. economy is set for weaker growth and higher inflation as the tariff impact is likely to be greater than previously feared, economists at Goldman Sachs said in a recent. "Larger tariffs are also likely to hit GDP harder. We have reduced our 2025 Q4/Q4 GDP growth forecast to 1.7%, from 2.2% previously," Goldman Sachs economists said. Goldman Sachs updated its economic forecasts to reflect a new assumption of larger tariffs that raise the effective tariff rate by 10%, compared with a prior assumption of 4.3% . The White House raised tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico but then...
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...
American consumers struggling to access food assistance payments due to the government shutdown are unable to fill their shopping carts, and that's "hurtful," according to the company behind Stop...