The Hang Seng Index reversed its downward trend in Hong Kong on Thursday (February 12th), weakening by around 0.9% to around 27,000 after a strong session earlier. This decline halted the momentum of the short term rally, as investors began to reduce risk in large cap stocks. Among the index's contributors, Tencent was a major drag, with its shares falling by around 2.3%, putting pressure on the technology sector, which has recently been a driving force behind market gains. Weakness in large cap companies like this typically quickly impacts sentiment due to their significant weighting in...
British inflation slowed as expected in May, pulled down by air fares which leapt in April and the correction of a tax data error, although food prices shot up at the fastest rate in more than a year. Consumer prices rose in annual terms by 3.4% in May, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday, just as a Reuters poll of economists and the Bank of England had predicted. Services price inflation - a crucial metric for the BoE - cooled to 4.7% from 5.4% in April, matching the BoE's forecast for May. The Reuters poll had pointed to a reading of 4.8%. Earlier this month the ONS...
The UK's (UK) annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 3.4% in May after rising 3.5% in April, data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Wednesday. Markets had expected a 3.4% growth in the reported period. The reading was still short of the Bank of England's (BoE) target of 2%. Core CPI (excluding volatile food and energy) rose 3.5% year-on-year (YoY) in the same period, compared with a 3.8% acceleration in April, but missed the anticipated 3.6%.(alg) Source: FXstreet
US President Donald Trump claimed the US now has total and complete control of the skies over Iran via his social media platform, Truth Social. We now have total and complete control of the skies over Iran. Iran has great sky trackers and other defense equipment, and many, but nothing compares to the American-made, designed, and manufactured "stuff." Nobody does it better than the good ol' USA. We know exactly where the so-called "Supreme Leader" is hiding. He's an easy target, but safe there – We're not going to take him out (kill him!), at least not right now. But we don't want missiles...
Federal Reserve officials get to voice their outlook this week on the future path of interest rates along with the impact that tariffs and Middle East turmoil will have on the economy. While any immediate movement on interest rates seems improbable, the policy meeting, which concludes Wednesday, will feature important signals that still could move markets. Among the biggest things to watch will be whether Federal Open Market Committee members stick with their previous forecast of two rate cuts this year, how they see inflation trending, and any reaction from Chair Jerome Powell to what has...
President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned Iran's leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that he is an "easy target" and "our patience is wearing thin" before demanding Tehran surrender in its escalating conflict with Israel. "We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader' is hiding," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now," he wrote after declaring "total control" over Iran's airspace. "But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin." Trump in a...