Many people in China cheered the meeting Thursday between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, after months of escalating bilateral tensions. Every time the two leaders meet, it helps ease tensions and creates a "positive atmosphere," Alex Hongcai Xu, chair of Beijing Honglve Consulting, said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. "This atmosphere is beneficial for negotiations." "Each side lowering tariffs to below 10% would benefit capital flows and cooperation," Xu said. He noted that China can likely buy more U.S. soybeans and U.S.-made Boeing airplanes. Trump said Thursday...
US citizens filing new applications for unemployment insurance rose to 217K for the week ending January 10, as reported by the US Department of Labor (DoL) on Thursday. This print missed initial estimates and was higher than the previous week's tally of 203K (revised from 201K). Source: Fxstreet
US retail sales increased at a slower than anticipated month-on-month rate in December, in the latest data point that could paint a picture of the state of the American economy heading into the new year. Retail sales grew by 0.4% last month, down from an upwardly revised pace of 0.8% in November. Economists had called for a reading of 0.6%. Source: Investing.com
Inflation in the US, as measured by the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose 2.9% on a yearly basis in December from 2.7% in November, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Wednesday. This reading came in line with market expectations. On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.4%, following the 0.3% increase recorded in the previous month. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 3.2% on a yearly basis—below November's gain and analysts' estimates for a 3.3% increase. The monthly core CPI rose 0.2% in the last month of 2024. Souce: FXstreet
South Korea's jobless rate jumped to the highest in 3-1/2 years in December, as economic uncertainty heightened and sentiment dampened amid political turmoil, official data showed on Wednesday.The unemployment rate rose in December to 3.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis, the highest since June 2021 and sharply up from 2.7% in November, according to Statistics Korea.The number of employed people fell by 52,000 over the 12 months to December, after a gain of 123,000 in November. It was the first fall since February 2021.(Cay) Newsmaker23 Source: investing.com
Factory gate prices in the US increased 0.2% month-over-month in December 2024, below 0.4% in November which was the biggest gain in five months, and compared to forecasts of 0.3%. Prices of goods went up 0.6%, the third consecutive advance, led by a 9.7% rise in gasoline prices. Prices for residential electric power, meats, motor vehicles, gas fuels, and fresh fruits and melons also increased. Meanwhile, prices of services were unchanged, as a 2.2% advance in prices for final demand transportation and warehousing services offset declines in the indexes for final demand services less...
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...
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he had agreed with President Xi Jinping to cut tariffs on China in exchange for Beijing cracking down on illegal fentanyl trade, resuming purchases of...