If it just seems like the first Friday of the month wasn't the same without being able to pore through the Bureau of Labor Statistics' hotly watched monthly jobs report, don't worry. You probably didn't miss much. While the BLS has gone dark with the shutdown in Washington, other reports outside the government data suggest the labor market just plodded along in September. The Dow Jones consensus forecast was for growth of 51,000 in nonfarm payrolls with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.3%. High-frequency data that includes job postings, private payrolls and state-by-state figures...
The bond vigilantes were stalking global debt markets on Thursday, keeping the dollar and stocks subdued too, ahead of a crucial vote in the United States on President Donald Trump's "big beautiful" tax bill. Caution dominated in Europe after a lacklustre U.S. 20-year bond sale on Wednesday reinforced a "Sell America" narrative already nagging on investors' minds after Moody's last week cut its triple-A credit rating for the United States. Germany's long-term bond yields hit their highest in two-months as global yield curves steepened. Britain's government borrowed more than expected in...
The S&P Global UK Composite PMI rose to 49.4 in May of 2025 from 48.5 in April, aligned with market expectations of 49.3 to reflect the second consecutive contraction in private-sector activity, according to a flash estimate. Activity declined manufacturing (45.1 vs 45.4 in April), reflecting the sharpest drop in 19 months, and offsetting a marginal rebound for service providers (50.2 vs 49). New orders declined the most in two-and-a-half years, as clients cut back non-essential spending due to the increase in global economic uncertainty, stemmed by the threat of aggressive tariffs from...
The Eurozone manufacturing sector remained in contraction, while services sector also followed suit in May, according to data from the HCOB's latest Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) Survey, published on Thursday. The Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) improved to 49.4 in May from 49 in April, beating the market estimate of 49.3. The bloc's Services PMI fell to 48.9 May from 50.1 in April. The data came in below the expected 50.3 print and hit a 16-month low. The HCOB Eurozone PMI Composite contracted to 49.5 in May, following April's 50.4. The market forecast was...
China and the 10-member ASEAN bloc have concluded negotiations on an upgraded free-trade agreement, known as version 3.0, marking a key move to deepen Beijing's regional ties amid ongoing U.S. trade disputes. The deal, which updates a 15-year-old agreement, awaits ratification and could be signed within the year. "China stands ready to work with ASEAN to ensure the stability of global supply chains, advance shared development, and safeguard fairness and justice," said Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. He criticized U.S. trade policies, warning that "there are no winners in a tariff war or...
U.S. President Donald Trump's massive tax and spending bill cleared an important procedural hurdle in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Wednesday, when a gatekeeper committee approved the measure and set up a floor vote for passage to occur within hours. Republicans have been deeply divided over the bill, which would extend Trump's signature 2017 tax cuts, create new breaks for tipped income and auto loans, end many green-energy subsidies and boost spending on the military and immigration enforcement. It would pay for those changes by tightening eligibility for food 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...
The U.S. government shut down much of its operations on Wednesday as deep partisan divisions prevented Congress and the White House from reaching a funding deal, setting off what could be a long,...