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",...
Initial jobless claims in the US rose by 7,000 from the previous week to 226,000 in the last week of July, firmly above market expectations of a softer increase to 221,000. In turn, outstanding jobless claims soared by 38,000 to 1,974,000 on the previous week, well above market expectations of 1,950,000 to mark the highest level of unemployment since November 2021. The results consolidated the view of a sharp slowdown in hiring and a softening labor market. Source: Trading Economics
Switzerland's government will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday to decide its next move after its president returned home empty-handed from an 11th-hour trip to Washington aimed at averting a crippling 39% U.S. import tariff on Swiss goods. An urgent meeting of the seven-member Federal Council - Switzerland's governing cabinet - will take place in Bern in the early afternoon, the government said a post on X. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter left Washington on Wednesday without a new deal and did not meet with U.S. President Donald Trump or any of his top trade officials, two sources...
A worst-case scenario for India on U.S. tariffs is now the base case. New Delhi called Donald Trump's decision on Wednesday to double the levy on the South Asian nation's goods to 50% because of its Russian oil purchases "extremely unfortunate". That's an understatement. Negotiating down this high rate before it goes into effect in three weeks is now an urgent priority for Narendra Modi - and will require a major compromise from the Indian leader. The new rate can inflict serious pain on the $4 trillion economy. New Delhi failed to lower the initial 25% tariff unveiled by the U.S. president...
Donald Trump said he would impose a 100% tariff on semiconductor imports, though it would exempt companies that move production back to the United States, as Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook and the president announced a $100 billion new investment plan from the Oval Office. "We're going to have a very large tariff on chips and semiconductors, but the good news for companies like Apple is, if you're building in the United States, or have committed to building, without question, committed to building in the United States, there will be no cost," Trump told reporters. "So in other words, we're going...
The United States will impose a tariff of about 100% on semiconductor chips imported into the country, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the new tariff rate would apply to "all chips and semiconductors coming into the United States," but would not apply to companies that had made a commitment to manufacture in the United States. "So 100% tariff on all chips and semiconductors coming into the United States. But if you've made a commitment to build (in the U.S.), or if you're in the process of building (in the U.S.), as many are, there is...
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...