The economic activity in the United States' (US) manufacturing sector continued to contract in October, with the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropping to 48.7 from 49.1 in September. This reading came in weaker than the market expectation of 49.5. Other details of the PMI report showed that the Employment Index edged higher to 46 from 45.3 in this period, while the New Orders Index improved to 49.4 from 48.9. Finally, the Prices Pair Index, the input inflation component of the survey, declined to 58 from 61.9. Source: FXstreet
Global investors were stunned on Tuesday (August 26th) after US President Donald Trump renewed his attacks on the Federal Reserve's independence, caught between concerns over the politicization of policy and market benefits. Trump's announcement that he was firing Fed Chair Lisa Cook caught markets by surprise, even though he had made it clear last week that Cook was a target and had been attacking Chairman Jerome Powell for months as part of his campaign to push the Fed to cut interest rates. "This is another rift in the fabric of the United States and its investability," said Kyle Rodda,...
President Donald Trump said the US has more leverage over China on trade than the other way around, citing airplane parts as a key item Washington has to counter Beijing's restrictions on rare earths. "We have much bigger and better cards than they do," he said Monday. "If I played those cards, that would destroy China. I'm not going to play those cards." China halted most shipments of rare-earth magnets to the US in April, weaponizing the nation's 90% grip on global production to squeeze American factories. Beijing agreed to normalize flows as part of a trade truce...
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday evening that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook was to be removed from her post, effective immediately, alleging that she made false statements in two mortgage applications. Trump, in a letter released to social media, said that there is "sufficient cause" for Cooke's removal. "There is sufficient reason to believe (Cook) may have made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements," Trump said in a letter, alleging that Cook declared two separate properties as her primary residences in two separate mortgage agreements signed within weeks of...
U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his desire to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this year. Speaking to reporters on Monday before a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the White House, Trump highlighted his relationship with the North Korean leader. "I have a very good relationship. I understand them. I spent a lot of free time with them, talking about things that we probably aren't supposed to talk about. And you know, I just, I get along with him really well. I think he has a country of great potential, tremendous potential," Trump said. When asked...
United States (US) President Donald Trump swung for the fences on Monday, touching on a broad range of subjects during a joint press conference with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. In between delivering remarks on the Korean peninsula, Donald Trump fashioned himself as the ultimate peace broker for multiple countries, and mused about having South Korea voluntarily give up sovereign land to the US. President Trump also touched on international trade, insisting that US Crude Oil products are critical to South Korea, which overwhelmingly has its energy demands met by trade with China 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...
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...