The unemployment rate in the United States went down to 4.1% in December of 2024 from 4.2% in the previous month, below market expectations of 4.2%. The number of unemployed individuals decreased by 235,000 to 6.886 million, while employment levels increased by 478,000 to 161.661 million. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate was unchanged at 62.5%, and the employment-population ratio went up to 60% from 59.8%. Source: Trading Economics
China's 10-year government bond yield rose to around 1.65%, as the People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced plans to sell 60 billion yuan worth of six-month bills in Hong Kong on January 15. This move was the largest sale since 2018, aimed to absorb liquidity from the market and reduce speculative bets against the yuan. This tightening of liquidity is expected to push up short-term interest rates, adding upward pressure on bond yields. The PBOC's actions reflect its continued efforts to stabilize the currency and manage volatility in the market. Last week, the PBOC unexpectedly paused bond...
Chinese officials are considering a potential sale of TikTok's U.S. operations to Elon Musk, if the social media giant is unable to duck a controversial ban being proposed by U.S. authorities, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The report said that while Chinese officials preferred that TikTok remained under parent ByteDance Ltd, they were already discussing potential contingencies, including the sale to Musk. ByteDance contested the ban in the U.S. Supreme Court. But recent discussions showed that U.S. judges were also likely to uphold any potential ban on the short video...
Factory gate prices in the US increased 0.2% month-over-month in December 2024, below 0.4% in November which was the biggest gain in five months, and compared to forecasts of 0.3%. Prices of goods went up 0.6%, the third consecutive advance, led by a 9.7% rise in gasoline prices. Prices for residential electric power, meats, motor vehicles, gas fuels, and fresh fruits and melons also increased. Meanwhile, prices of services were unchanged, as a 2.2% advance in prices for final demand transportation and warehousing services offset declines in the indexes for final demand services less...
South Korea's jobless rate jumped to the highest in 3-1/2 years in December, as economic uncertainty heightened and sentiment dampened amid political turmoil, official data showed on Wednesday.The unemployment rate rose in December to 3.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis, the highest since June 2021 and sharply up from 2.7% in November, according to Statistics Korea.The number of employed people fell by 52,000 over the 12 months to December, after a gain of 123,000 in November. It was the first fall since February 2021.(Cay) Newsmaker23 Source: investing.com