The University of Michigan consumer sentiment for the US dropped to 55.4 in September 2025, down from 58 in August and well below market expectations of 58, according to preliminary estimates. This marked the second consecutive monthly decrease, pushing sentiment to its lowest level since May. The current conditions index deteriorated to 61.2 from 61.7 and the expectations gauge fell to 51.8 from 55.9. Meanwhile, year-ahead inflation expectations held steady at 4.8% while the five-year expectations moved up for the second straight month to 3.9% from 3.5%. Source : Trading Economics
President Donald Trump will decide in the next two weeks whether the U.S. will get involved in the Israel-Iran air war, the White House said on Thursday, raising pressure on Tehran to come to the negotiating table. Citing a message from Trump, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks." The Republican president has kept the world guessing on his plans, veering from...
Iran has been weighing its options in responding to its biggest security challenge since the 1979 revolution. A member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security Committee Presidium, Behnam Saeedi, told the semi-official Mehr news agency Iran could consider closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of daily global oil consumption passes. Tehran has in the past threatened to close the strait. Shipping sources said on Wednesday that commercial ships were avoiding Iran's waters nearby. Oil prices rose after Israel and Iran continued to exchange missile attacks overnight and Trump's...
Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran on Thursday and Iranian missiles hit an Israeli hospital overnight, as the week-old air war escalated with no sign yet of an off-ramp. Following the strike that damaged the Soroka medical centre in Israel's southern city of Beersheba, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tehran's "tyrants" would pay the "full price". Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had been instructed to intensify strikes on strategic-related targets in Tehran in order to eliminate the threat to Israel and destabilise the "Ayatollah regime". Israel's sweeping campaign...
Australia's Unemployment Rate was steady at 4.1% in May from 4.1% in April, official data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed on Thursday. The reading was in line with market consensus. Furthermore, Australia's Employment Change came in at -2.5K in May from 87.6K in April (revised from 89K), compared to consensus estimates of 25K. The participation rate in Australia eased to 67.0% in May, compared to 67.1% in April. Meanwhile, Full-Time Employment increased by 38.7K in the same period from 58.6K in the previous reading (revised from 59.5K). Part-Time Employment...
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept interest rates steady amid expectations of higher inflation and lower economic growth ahead, and still pointed to two reductions later this year. With markets expecting no chance of a central bank move this week, the Federal Open Market Committee kept its key borrowing rate targeted in a range between 4.25%-4.5%, where it has been since December. Along with the rate decision, the committee indicated, through its closely watched "dot plot," that two cuts by the end of 2025 are still on the table. However, it lopped off one reduction for both 2026 and...
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...
Poland rejected on Friday a suggestion by Donald Trump that Russian drone incursions into its airspace could have been a mistake, a rare contradiction of the U.S. president from one of Washington's...