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",...
Job openings in the United States fell by 288,000 to 7.192 million in March 2025, the lowest in six months and well below market expectations of 7.48 million. The drop was broad-based, with the largest decreases reported for transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-59K), accommodation and food services (-42K), construction (-38K), federal governemnt (-36K), real estate and rental and leasing (-39K), and health care and social assistance (-37K). On the other hand job openings increased in finance and insurance (25K), other services (20K), state and local education (17K), wholesale trade...
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that he did not know whether President Donald Trump had spoken to Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, and that he was unaware of whether trade negotiations were taking place. Speaking during an interview with ABC News' This Week, Bessent said U.S. and Chinese officials had spoken during International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington last week, and that he had also then interacted with his Chinese counterpart. "I had interactions with my Chinese counterpart, but it was more on traditional things like financial stability, global economic...
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole. It's been a blessedly quiet start to the week, with President Trump more engrossed on his disappointment with Russia, than his trade war. In this case, silence is golden, as the White House's communication on trade has been a lot more noise than signal. Thus, Agriculture Secretary Rollins tells TV they are speaking with China every day, likely news to Beijing. Then Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says he has not discussed tariffs with Chinese officials and doesn't know if Trump talked to Xi, as he claimed. Apparently...
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said that his sweeping trade tariffs could help him cut income taxes for people making less than $200,000 a year, amid heightened anxiety over his economic agenda. Trump repeated his past claims that revenue from trade tariffs could help the U.S. government reduce income taxes, although he has not elaborated on these claims. "When Tariffs cut in, many people's Income Taxes will be substantially reduced, maybe even completely eliminated. Focus will be on people making less than $200,000 a year," Trump said in a post on Truth.Social. Trump's comments...
China exempted some US imports from its high tariffs on Friday in a sign that the trade war between the two countries may be easing, though China quickly dismissed US President Donald Trump's assertion that negotiations were underway. Business groups said China had allowed some US-made pharmaceutical drugs into the country without paying the 125% tariffs that Beijing imposed earlier this month in response to Trump's 145% tariffs on US imports. In addition, a list of 131 product categories that were said to be under consideration for exemptions has been circulating among some business 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...
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...