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
Sales of new single-family homes in the United States eased by 0.6% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 652,000 units in July of 2025, trimming the revised 4.1% increase in the earlier period and above market expectations of a 630,000 sold homes. Regionally, sales fell sharply in the Mid-west (-6.6% to 85,000) and the South (-3.5% to 388,000), offsetting growth in the West (11.7% to 153,00). In turn, new home sales remained unchanged in the Northeast (at 26,000). In the meantime, the number of unsold homes on the market also fell by 0.6% to 499,000,...
Israeli strikes on Nasser hospital in Gaza on Monday killed at least 15 people, including four journalists, one of whom worked for Reuters, Palestinian health officials said. Cameraman Hussam al-Masri, a Reuters contractor, was killed in the first strike, according to the officials. Photographer Hatem Khaled, who was also a Reuters contractor, was wounded in a second strike on the hospital, they said. Witnesses said the second strike took place after rescue workers, journalists and other people had rushed to the site of the initial attack. The Reuters live video feed from the hospital,...
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed optimism about improving relations between Russia and the United States during a visit to a nuclear research center on Friday. Putin stated there was "light at the end of the tunnel" in Russia-U.S. relations following his recent summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska. "With the arrival of President Trump, I think that a light at the end of the tunnel has finally loomed. And now we had a very good, meaningful and frank meeting in Alaska," Putin said. The Russian president described last week's summit as productive and indicated that...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he has not been in contact with Russia regarding potential peace talks, although his dialogue with the US is ongoing. Speaking at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Kyiv on Friday, Zelenskiy said he did not want to set conditions for potential peace talks with Vladimir Putin because he could use them as an excuse to continue the war. There are "two layers" of security guarantees being discussed, Rutte said at the same event. The first involves strengthening Ukraine's military and the second involves guarantees...
The White House launched an official TikTok account on Tuesday, taking advantage of the short video app's more than 170 million U.S. users to spread the messages of President Donald Trump. Trump has a soft spot for the popular app, crediting it with helping him gain support among young voters when he defeated Democrat Kamala Harris in the November 2024 presidential election. Lawmakers in Washington worry, however, that its U.S. user data could fall into the hands of China's government. Trump has been working on a deal for U.S. investors to buy the app from TikTok's Chinese parent,...
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...