Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is due in London to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, to take stock ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's key talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Zelenskiy, who was in Germany on Wednesday, has been working with European leaders to press Trump not to allow Putin to carve up Ukraine's territory at the Alaska summit. He is due to meet Starmer at 9.30 a.m. local time (0830 GMT) at the British premier's official residence, 10 Downing Street. On Wednesday, Trump joined a Germany-hosted virtual meeting...
Applications for US unemployment benefits edged lower last week, suggesting employers remain reluctant to layoff workers. Initial claims decreased by 3,000 to 224,000 in the week ended Aug. 9, which was about in line with economists' forecasts. Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, fell to 1.95 million in the previous week, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. Source: Bloomberg
Core producer prices in the United States, which exclude food and energy, rose by 0.9% over a month in July 2025, marking the strongest increase since March 2022, after being flat in June. Figures came above market estimates of a 0.2% increase. On a yearly basis, core producer prices surged by 3.3% in July, after an upwardly revised 2.4% rise in the prior month and also surpassing forecasts of a 2.5% advance. Source: Trading Economics
A jump in wholesale prices is likely to bolster concerns among Federal Reserve policymakers that rising inflation remains a risk, intensifying debate over the rationale for an interest rate cut next month and leaving the tension between the U.S. central bank and the White House unresolved. The Producer Price Index increased 0.9% in July on a month-over-month basis, well above economists' expectations, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday. Trade services inflation, a measure of retail and wholesale margins, rose 2%, the fastest pace in a couple of years and...
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin held talks in Alaska on Friday (August 15). The US president's hopes of reaching a ceasefire in Ukraine remain uncertain, but Putin's latest offer of a possible nuclear deal could help both sides save face. The meeting of the Russian and US leaders at a Cold War-era air force base in Alaska, their first face-to-face talks since Trump returned to the White House, comes amid concerns in Ukraine and Europe that Trump may betray Kyiv. Trump, who once said he would end Russia's war in Ukraine within 24 hours, said on Thursday that the three-and-a-half-year...