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...
According to a report from the US Department of Labor (DOL) released on Thursday, the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment insurance rose to 208,000 for the week ending January 3. This latest figure was lower than the initial estimate (210,000) and higher than the previous week's figure of 200,000 (revised from 199,000). Furthermore, the 4-week moving average decreased by 7.25,000, bringing the total to 211.75,000 from the previous week's revised average. The report showed a seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate of 1.2%, with Continuing Jobless Claims...
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 have extended their rally into the new year, pushing the S&P 500 Index to a new record high. This rally, which has seen the benchmark index rise about 40% above its April low, has been fueled by the boom in artificial intelligence and Trump's decision to roll back some of his most stringent tariffs. Treasury bond yields have also fallen from their mid-2025 peaks as traders bet that the Federal...
The US seized two Venezuela-linked oil tankers in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday, one of which was sailing under a Russian flag, as part of President Donald Trump's aggressive efforts to regulate oil flows in the Americas and force Venezuela's socialist government to become allies. After arresting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a military raid Saturday in Caracas, the US stepped up its blockade of sanctioned vessels sailing to and from the South American nation, a member of the OPEC oil producing group. The White House also said it plans to lift some sanctions Trump imposed on...
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 year. The Eurozone's STOXX 50 and the pan-European STOXX 600 both inched down by 0.1% from their respective record highs in the previous session. The Eurozone's inflation rate slowed to 2% in December, as expected, and the core rate unexpectedly fell to maintain soft expectations that the ECB may still lower borrowing costs this year. The financial sector led the losses, with ING and BBVA losing...
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...