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",...
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that trade deals with South Korea and Japan could take significantly more time to complete than the framework agreement President Donald Trump announced Thursday with the UK, in a signal that some Asian partners may have to wait for tariff relief. "You've got to spend an enormous amount of time with Japan, South Korea. These are not going to be fast deals," Lutnick said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. Lutnick added that India has been "leaning in really hard" and the country was "certainly" a possibility to be among the...
U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday announced a limited bilateral trade agreement that leaves in place Trump's 10% tariffs on British exports, modestly expands agricultural access for both countries and lowers prohibitive U.S. duties on British car exports. The preliminary deal is the first of dozens of tariff-lowering deals that Trump expects to land in coming weeks after upending the global trading system with steep new import taxes aimed at shrinking a $1.2 trillion U.S. goods trade deficit. Trump hailed the deal in the Oval Office with...
Initial jobless claims fell by 13,000 to 228,000 in the week ended May 3, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's a return to recent trends. Despite uncertainty over trade policy, companies are not moving to cut cuts through layoffs. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had estimated new claims would fall by 11,000 to 230,000. This is breaking news. Check back for updates here. BX:TMUBMUSD10Y SPX -Greg Robb This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street...
Pakistan shot down 12 drones from India that violated its airspace, the military said on Thursday, a day after Indian strikes on multiple targets in the country fanned fears of a larger military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours. India sent Israeli Harop drones to multiple locations, including the two largest cities of Karachi and Lahore, and their debris is being collected, Pakistan military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said. "Indian drones continue to be sent into Pakistan airspace...(India) will continue to pay dearly for this naked aggression," he said. India's...
Quoting the Chinese Embassy in the United States (US), the highly influential Chinese media Global Times said early Thursday (08/05) that Beijing is unlikely to lower tariffs before talks in Switzerland begin. Key quote "When asked to comment on the US statement that the US will not lower tariffs before negotiations begin and implying that the talks were not initiated by the US side, following China's recent announcement of upcoming talks with the US side, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy." "Second, China consistently resolutely opposes the abuse of tariffs by the US. China will...
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...