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",...
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said concerns about private-sector hiring have fueled his call for the central bank to cut interest rates this month. "The private sector is not performing as well as everyone thought," Waller said Friday in an interview on Bloomberg Television. The monthly employment report for June, released on July 3, showed a sharp slowdown in private-sector job growth and a slowdown in wage growth, even as the unemployment rate declined slightly. His comments followed a speech he delivered Thursday in New York in which he argued that with limited inflation...
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, in a letter on Thursday, rebutted criticism leveled at the central bank by a top White House official regarding the $2.5 billion renovation project. "We take seriously our responsibility to be good stewards of public resources as we fulfill the duties assigned by Congress on behalf of the American people," Powell wrote in the letter addressed to Russ Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Powell's letter, which largely repeats information available on the Fed's new "Frequently Asked Questions" page about the construction...
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday responded to a Trump administration official's demands for information about cost overruns for a renovation project at the central bank's Washington headquarters campus, saying the project was large in scope and involved a number of safety upgrades and hazardous materials removals. "As explained on the Board's public website, we take seriously the responsibility to be good stewards of public resources as we fulfill the duties given to us by Congress on behalf of the American people," Powell wrote in his letter to Office of Management and...
The United States Commerce Department is set to impose preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5% on graphite imported from China after concluding the materials, which are a key component for batteries, had been unfairly subsidized. According to early reporting, the United States (US) could be poised to introduce a new steep import tariff on Chinese goods, this time centered around battery technology, specifically battery-grade graphite. Source: Investing.com
U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to ramp up arms shipments to Ukraine is a signal to Kyiv to abandon peace efforts, Russia said on Thursday, vowing it would not accept the "blackmail" of Washington's new sanctions ultimatum. Trump announced a toughened stance on Russia's war in Ukraine on Monday, setting a 50-day deadline for Moscow to reach a ceasefire or face sanctions. The U.S. also promised more missiles and other weaponry for Kyiv. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, condemned the move. "It is obvious that the Kyiv regime consistently perceives such...
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...