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
Retail sales in the US increased 0.5% month-over-month in July 2025, in line with market expectations and following an upwardly revised 0.9% rise in June. The largest increases were seen in sales at motor vehicle & parts dealers (1.6%) and furniture & home furn. stores (1.4%). Other gains were seen in sales at sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, & book store (0.8%), nonstore retailers (0.8%), clothing & clothing accessories stores (0.7%) and gasoline stations (0.7%). Source: Trading Economics
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will measure success at their summit in Alaska very differently, even as both leaders are already looking toward a second meeting. The US president sees any kind of ceasefire in Ukraine as a key objective of the talks. For the Russian leader, getting face time with Trump on American soil without having made any concessions on the war is already a win. Those are the contrasting stakes as both leaders head to Anchorage for their first summit since 2018 in Helsinki. The imbalance points to the perils and opportunities for Trump, who has long cast...
The U.S. Census Bureau will release the country's Retail Sales report on Friday. Market analysts expect headline Retail Sales to grow 0.5% monthly in July, following a slightly higher increase in June, indicating that consumption remains strong. Consumers appear to have flocked to shopping malls, responding to summer sales and seeking to avoid further price increases resulting from higher trade tariffs. Consumer spending unexpectedly recovered in June after a 0.9% decline in May. Retail and food services grew 0.6%, totaling USD 720.1 billion in June, driven by the broad recovery. Excluding...
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin held talks in Alaska on Friday (August 15). The US president's hopes of reaching a ceasefire in Ukraine remain uncertain, but Putin's latest offer of a possible nuclear deal could help both sides save face. The meeting of the Russian and US leaders at a Cold War-era air force base in Alaska, their first face-to-face talks since Trump returned to the White House, comes amid concerns in Ukraine and Europe that Trump may betray Kyiv. Trump, who once said he would end Russia's war in Ukraine within 24 hours, said on Thursday that the three-and-a-half-year...
A jump in wholesale prices is likely to bolster concerns among Federal Reserve policymakers that rising inflation remains a risk, intensifying debate over the rationale for an interest rate cut next month and leaving the tension between the U.S. central bank and the White House unresolved. The Producer Price Index increased 0.9% in July on a month-over-month basis, well above economists' expectations, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday. Trade services inflation, a measure of retail and wholesale margins, rose 2%, the fastest pace in a couple of years 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...