U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with BlackRock Inc executive Rick Rieder in New York on Friday, as the Trump administration continued its search for a new chair for the Federal Reserve, a source familiar with the matter said. Bessent has now spoken with four of the 11 candidates on the administration's list of candidates to replace Fed chair Jerome Powell, whose term expires in May, the source said. Bloomberg first reported Bessent's meeting with Rieder, BlackRock's CIO of fixed income, and called him a rising contender for the post. The two met for two hours and discussed...
Initial jobless claims in the United States rose by 6,000 from the previous week to 222,000 on the third week of April, in line with market expectations to remain relatively close to the two-month low from the prior period. In the meantime, outstanding jobless claims fell by 37,000 to 1,841,000 on the second week of April, a two-month low, and well below market expectations that they would rise to 1,880,000. The result continued to reflect a historically tight labor market in the US to extend the momentum from the latest jobs report. Initial unemployment claims filed under programs for...
China has said that there have been no talks with the U.S. on elevated tariffs, even as recent remarks from the White House have raised hopes for a softening in trade tensions between the world's two largest economies, according to CNBC. A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce said "at present there are absolutely no negotiations on the economy and trade between China and the U.S.," CNBC reported on Thursday. The spokesperson noted that "all sayings" with respect to potential progress on the discussions should be dismissed, the business news channel said. Beijing also called on the...
The National Development and Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China (NDRC) has trimmed the number of items on its negative list from 117 to 106. China's Negative List is a government-issued list that identifies areas and industries in which foreign investment is restricted or forbidden. It's an important part of China's effort to manage and gradually liberalize its foreign investment policy. The Chinese authorities partially liberalize eight national measures, including telecommunications services, TV production, pharmaceuticals, internet information services for drugs and...
Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato told G7 countries on Thursday that "US tariffs are highly disappointing.US tariffs, countermeasures are creating uncertainties in financial market.Stressed that free trade regime promotion important.Constructive policy discussion important.No comment on Bessent's foreign exchange remarks.Many countries make reference to US tariffs.Forex rate should be determined by market.Excessive forex move negatively affect economy.In meeting with Bessent tomorrow, hope to hold talks on the basis of past understanding on the need for the two countries to coordinate...
Sales of new single-family homes in the United States surged by 7.4% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 724,000, extending the 1.8% increase in the earlier period to the highest in six months, and firmly above market expectations of 680,000 homes. The sales were in line with the growth in mortgage applications in the period as benchmark borrowing costs fell. Source: Trading Economics
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...