Renewed tensions between the United States and Russia have resurfaced following an incident involving an oil tanker, sparking market concerns about potential disruptions to global energy supplies. Washington's move, associated with tightening oversight and enforcement of sanctions on Russian oil shipments, is viewed by Moscow as provocative and could worsen relations between the two countries. Russia views these actions as an attempt by the United States to suppress Russian energy exports and strengthen its dominance in the global oil market. Meanwhile, Washington argues that these measures...
President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday unveiled a plan for a dramatic expansion of oil and gas drilling rights auctions in U.S. waters, including in California, where state officials strongly oppose energy development along its world-famous coastline. The Interior Department proposal is aligned with Trump's energy-dominance agenda to supercharge domestic fossil fuel production. It immediately set off a fresh conflict with California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is among the president's harshest critics. The plan contemplates 21 sales off the coast of Alaska starting...
Asian stock markets fell in unison on Thursday, following Wall Street's decline. A brief rally in tech stocks led by Nvidia quickly faded, prompting investors to turn away from riskier assets like crypto. Concerns that AI-based stocks are overvalued and that massive infrastructure spending hasn't kept pace with revenues have further fueled market jitters. Meanwhile, market fear indicators such as the volatility index (VIX) surged above levels that typically alert traders, while Bitcoin fell below its lowest level since April. As risk appetite weakened, US government bonds strengthened and...
President Donald Trump's tariff increases on imports from foreign countries will reduce U.S. deficits by $3 trillion if they are maintained through 2035, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated on Thursday, instead of the $4 trillion the agency projected in August. The CBO based its latest estimate on tariffs imposed by Trump between January 6 and November 15. It said that primary deficits would be reduced by $2.5 trillion over 11 years, with government borrowing costs falling by around $500 billion as a result. The August estimate was $3.3 trillion and $700 billion,...
US job growth accelerated in September and the unemployment rate rose slightly, suggesting the labor market was showing signs of stabilization before the government shutdown. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 119,000 after declining the previous month, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Thursday. The unemployment rate rose to 4.4%. Hourly earnings rose 0.2% from the previous month. The September jobs report, originally scheduled for October 3, was the first important data point missed during the government shutdown. However, because the BLS had completed data collection by...
U.S. President Donald Trump is considering an executive order that would seek to preempt state laws on artificial intelligence through lawsuits and by withholding federal funding, according to a draft of the order seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The move, which is likely to face pushback from states, shows how far Trump is willing to go to help AI companies overcome a patchwork of laws they say stifle innovation. A White House official told Reuters that until officially announced, discussion of potential executive orders was speculation. The order would task Attorney General Pam Bondi with...
Asian stock markets fell in unison on Thursday, following Wall Street's decline. A brief rally in tech stocks led by Nvidia quickly faded, prompting investors to turn away from riskier assets like...
European stock indices closed marginally lower on Wednesday as equities took a breather from their recent strong momentum, while investors continued to assess the outlook for the ECB's policy this...
The upcoming Supreme Court ruling on the legality of President Donald Trump's massive tariffs, which rocked markets in April, is one of the next major tests for US stocks and bonds.
Equity markets...