The ISM Manufacturing PMI for the US fell to 48.2 in November 2025, the lowest in four months, compared to 48.7 in September and below forecasts of 48.6. The reading showed that the manufacturing sector contracted for the ninth consecutive month and at a faster pace, led by pullbacks in supplier deliveries (49.3 vs 54.2), new orders (47.4 vs 49.4) and employment (44 vs 46), with 67% of panelists (the same as October) indicating that managing head counts is still the norm at their companies, as opposed to hiring. Also, price pressures intensified (58.5 vs 58) and backlog of orders decreased...
The U.S. dollar is expected to weaken further in 2026, albeit at a slower pace than this year, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank. Over the past one-year period, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currency pairs, has edged lower by more than 6%. A range of policy moves under U.S. President Donald Trump have dented the dollar throughout 2025, including the White House's sweeping tariffs, fears over the sustainability of elevated U.S. government debt levels, and worries over the independence of the Federal Reserve. In a note, the Deutsche Bank analysts...
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,"...
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...
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...