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...
Private businesses in the US cut 32K jobs in November 2025, following an upwardly revised 47K gain in October, and compared to forecasts of a 10K rise. Hiring was particularly weak in manufacturing (-18K), professional and business services (-26K), information (-20K), construction (-9K) and financial activities (-9K). On the other hand, job gains occurred in education and health services (33K), leisure and hospitality (13K), natural resources and mining (8K) and trade, transportation and utilities (1K). Hiring has been choppy of late as employers weather cautious consumers and an uncertain...
Ekonom terkenal Scott Bessent memprediksi bahwa Amerika Serikat kemungkinan akan mengalami pertumbuhan ekonomi yang kuat namun inflasi tetap rendah pada 2026. Menurut Bessent, faktor seperti harga energi yang diperkirakan turun, kebijakan fiskal dan moneter yang bijaksana, serta pengaturan pasar yang stabil, bisa membantu menjaga inflasi tetap terkendali sambil mendorong ekonomi tumbuh. Prediksi ini tentu menjadi perhatian investor, karena inflasi adalah salah satu indikator utama bagi Federal Reserve (The Fed) dalam menentukan kebijakan suku bunga. Inflasi rendah biasanya membuat The Fed...
A five-hour meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, in the Kremlin, failed to produce a peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin confirmed that no compromise had been reached and much work remained. The talks lasted until midnight, and some of the US proposals were deemed inappropriate by Russia. Yuri Ushakov, Putin's top aide, said the meeting was constructive and opened up opportunities for US-Russia economic cooperation, although a direct meeting between Putin and Trump is not yet...
US President Donald Trump has hinted that Kevin Hassett, the current chairman of the National Economic Council, whom Donald Trump appointed to the position, is a likely choice from the shortlist of candidates for Fed Chair. Hassett's tenure in economic policy includes brief stints as a professor of economics and an economist in the Division of Research and Statistics of the Fed's Board of Governors. Neither position lasted more than five years. Hassett's most notable economic contributions were as a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, where he wrote a weekly opinion piece for the...
Vladimir Putin warned that Russia might consider attacking ships of countries supporting Ukraine if the surge in attacks on Moscow's tanker fleet continues, according to local media reports. There have been at least nine attacks on Russian commercial vessels, mostly tankers, in the past year. Most perpetrators have not claimed responsibility for the incidents, although a source familiar with the matter said Ukraine was behind two attacks last week. There has been a significant spike in the past week, with four similar incidents. "What the Ukrainian armed forces are doing now is piracy,"...