Week Ending 18th May 2018 U.S. stocks fell in light trading, the dollar rose and Treasury yields retreated as investors assessed conflicting signals on trade talks between the world’s two largest economies. The S&P 500 Index edged lower on volume 8 percent below the 30-day average, adding to a weekly loss. Technology shares slid after […]

The Bank of England said the UK economy has hit a “temporary soft patch” as it kept interest rates on hold at 0.5%. The Bank cut its growth forecast for the year to 1.4%, down from the forecast of 1.8% made in February. The Bank says that cut is almost entirely due to the disruption […]

US job growth slowed sharply in March, as employers added 103,000 positions over the month. The figure was lower than expected, and left the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.1%. Analysts said the cold weather may have contributed to the slowdown, which was anticipated to some degree after February’s blockbuster gains. The low unemployment rate may […]

Asian shares have been hit by fears that US President Donald Trump’s plan for tariffs on up to $60bn of Chinese products could trigger a trade war. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 4.5% and the Shanghai Composite fell 3.6%. China responded to news of the planned tariffs by saying that while it did not want […]

Job creation in the US economy surged last month, but the annual rate of wage growth slowed. The economy created 313,000 jobs in February, official figures show, far in excess of analysts’ expectations. However, the unemployment rate remained at 4.1%, while the annual earnings growth rate slowed to 2.6% last month. January’s annual wage growth […]

The US has rejected a proposed merger between the Chicago Stock Exchange and a Chinese-linked investor group. The decision comes after more than two years of reviews by officials. The tie-up was initially approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, pending further approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). But […]

A rise in oil prices and higher imports contributed to a widening of the UK’s goods trade deficit in December. The gap between exports and imports rose to £13.6bn, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, which was higher than analysts’ forecasts. Separate ONS data showed industrial output experienced its biggest fall since 2012, largely […]

The US labour market barrelled forward in January, as employers added more jobs than expected and wage growth was its strongest in more than eight years. US payrolls expanded by 200,000 last month, driven by hiring in construction, food services and health care, the US Labor Department said. The average hourly wage for private sector […]

The UK economy expanded by a better-than-expected 0.5% in the last three months of 2017, official figures say. Economists had expected a 0.4% expansion in the three months to December. However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the broader picture was “slower and more uneven” growth. In 2017 as a whole, growth was 1.8% […]

US economic growth slowed unexpectedly to an annualised rate of 2.6% in the last three months of 2017, the Commerce Department said on Friday. Economists had expected the rate to be 3% – the same as the three months to September. A surge in imports was blamed for the slowdown, which meant growth for 2017 […]