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The August payroll report from ADP Thursday is tipping odds toward a 0.5% rate cut by the Federal Reserve two weeks from now, according to economists. The report said 99,000 jobs were added in August — down from 140,000 expected — and reflects the fifth straight month of slowing private payroll...

Thursday’s revised gross domestic product figure was a clear indication the U.S. economy is faring pretty well, according to an economist. “The GDP revisions show the U.S. economy was in good shape in mid-2024,” Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank, said Thursday. “...

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct a reference to January 2025 in comments from Comerica Bank’s chief economist. The Federal Reserve has every reason to cut interest rates at its next meeting in September since the U.S. revised its jobs report, according to...

Economists had high praise for July’s retail sales numbers on Thursday, but they believe that the Federal Reserve will still cut rates in September in the face of rising unemployment. “Today's retail sales numbers were a blowout versus consensus, but more importantly it should lay to...

The U.S. dollar-Japanese yen exchange rate endured one of its most turbulent weeks in recent years, with sharp swings driven by pivotal economic events that have left traders reassessing the future of the dollar-yen carry trade. The USD/JPY pair opened the week at 146.36, but quickly plunged to a...

The Federal Reserve decided at its Wednesday meeting to keep the key interest rate between 5.25% and 5.5% while maintaining other policy interest rates and continuing to lower its bond holdings at a rate of $60 billion per month. Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank, said the committee...

The Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index keeps falling. This reaffirms the possibility that the Federal Reserve will cut the key interest rate by September. The PCE, the Fed’s favored inflation indicator which tracks U.S. consumer spending, rose 2.5% on an annual basis in June,...

June’s U.S. retail sales report indicates that increasingly careful consumers are still opening their wallets, despite a stagnant reading on Tuesday, economists say. U.S. retail sales remained flat in June, falling from an upwardly revised 0.3% growth in May to zero growth and matching the...

The Russell 2000 index of small caps, tracked by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM), recorded its best weekly performance since October 2023, surging over 6% and reaching its highest level since January 2022. The rally was largely driven by Thursday’s session, where the Russell 2000...

Economists have broadly welcomed the latest key piece of inflation data, with the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index — commonly referred to as the Fed’s favorite measure of inflation — dropping to a 2.6% year-on-year rate in May 2024, its lowest level since March 2021. This...

Resilient corporate profit growth has been one of the major market drivers, and an analyst said on Monday the upcoming first-quarter reporting season could reflect the positive impact of an improving economic environment and continued strength in technology. Bar Neither High Nor Low: Unlike in the...

Oil prices kicked off the new week on a bullish trajectory, with spot contracts for light crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) surging above $82 per barrel, marking a return to levels last observed in early November 2023. The surge in oil prices is propelled by tightened conditions in the global...

Chinese stocks have staged a notable recovery in recent sessions, buoyed by speculations of potential government interventions to bolster the struggling market. On Thursday, an analyst suggested that a bullish upswing might be on the horizon, basing his assessment on technical indicators...

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the U.S. markets have normal trading hours Wednesday, and the market is closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday. Sentiment appears to have reversed course after Tuesday’s pullback, with stock futures pointing to a modestly...

The resilient market looks set to open the week’s last trading session on a modestly positive note. Stocks have been mostly higher this week following the release of a tame consumer price inflation report on Tuesday, although the upward move hasn’t been very convincing. On Friday,...