World markets kicked off November in an upbeat mood, riffing off buoyant company earnings and calmer trade relations while batting away OPEC's planned end to output hikes and this week's Supreme Court hearing on President Donald Trump's tariffs. Following last week's meeting between Trump and China's President Xi Jinping in South Korea, the White House announced Saturday that China would lift export controls on rare earths and end probes into U.S. chip firms. But Trump said AI giant Nvidia's most advanced chips would be reserved for U.S. companies and kept out of China and other...
Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled on Thursday that he is open to raising certain taxes, especially on the wealthy, as the government struggles to make ends meet in the fourth year of the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported. The draft budget is expected to be submitted to parliament on September 29. Sources told Reuters that the government is considering raising the value-added tax rate to keep the budget deficit in check and maintain reserves. Meeting with leaders of parliamentary factions, Putin said that measures such as a luxury tax or a higher tax on stock dividends could be...
President Donald Trump has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow him to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook while he fights Trump's attempt to oust her. This has drawn the justices into a high-profile legal battle that has major implications for the independence of the U.S. central bank. The Justice Department asked the court on Thursday to at least temporarily delay a Washington federal judge's ruling allowing Cook to remain in office for the time being. The emergency request comes after the Fed held its final meeting earlier this week, which Cook attended. Last month, Trump said he...
According to a report from the US Department of Labour (DOL) released on Thursday, the number of US citizens submitting new applications for unemployment insurance went down to 231K for the week ending September 13. The latest print came in short of initial estimates (240K) and was lower than the previous week's 264K (revised from 263K). Additionally, the 4-week moving average decreased by 750, bringing it to 240K from the revised average of the previous week. The report indicated a seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate of 1.3%, with Continuing Jobless Claims shrinking by 7K to...
Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 4.2% in August 2025, unchanged from the previous month and in line with market expectations. The number of unemployed people fell by 900, bringing the total to 647,400. Among them, those seeking part-time jobs declined by 3,600 to 204,400, while those looking for full-time jobs increased by 3,000 to 443,000. Meanwhile, employment unexpectedly declined by 5,400 to 14.63 million, missing forecasts of a 22,000 increase, following an upwardly revised gain of 26,500 in July. Full-time employment decreased by 40,900 to 10.08 million,...
The United States Federal Reserve (Fed) will announce its monetary policy decision and publish its revised Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), known as the dot plot, after its September policy meeting on Wednesday. Market participants widely anticipate the US central bank will cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time since last December, lowering it to a range of 4%-4.25%. The CME FedWatch Tool shows that investors see only about a 6% chance of a larger rate cut, while pricing in about an 80% chance of a 75 basis point (bps) cut for the remainder of the year. This means the...
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...
As the U.S. government shutdown disrupts federal employee paychecks across the country, it also exacerbates the financial hardship of attorneys who represent the poorest members of society when they...