Currencies

Japan's service activity perks up as demand improves, PMI shows

Japan's service activity swung back to growth in November as improving demand supported new business, a private sector survey showed on Wednesday. The final au Jibun Bank Service...

US job openings rise in October, layoffs decrease

U.S. job openings increased moderately in October while layoffs declined, suggesting the labor market continued to slow in an orderly fashion. Job openings, a measure of labor demand,...

Trump tariffs could weigh on European growth and inflation, ECB's Cipollone says

Import tariffs expected to be implemented by the administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could lower economic growth and inflation in the 20 nations sharing the euro, European Central Bank...

Fed's Waller says inclined at this point to cut rates in December

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Monday he was inclined to cut the benchmark interest rate at the Dec. 17-18 meeting as monetary policy remained restrictive enough to keep putting...

Brazil's instant payment transactions more than doubled on Black Friday

Brazil's popular instant payment system Pix saw a 120.7% jump in the value of transactions recorded on Black Friday compared to the previous year, central bank data showed on Monday. The...

Exclusive-Russia's VTB expects rouble to stabilise around 100/dollar, CEO says

The Russian rouble will stabilise at around 100 to the U.S. dollar after the period of volatility in the aftermath of U.S. sanctions on Russia's financial sector, CEO of Russia's second largest lender...

Exclusive-Russia's VTB does not expect Western sanctions to be lifted soon

Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its military action in Ukraine will not be lifted anytime soon, the CEO of Russia's second largest lender VTB Andrei Kostin told Reuters in an interview. ...

Dollar faces crunch week for US rates, yen holds gains

The dollar started in a cautious mood on Monday in what is shaping up to be a critical week for the prospect of U.S. rate cuts, while the yen's recent rebound was underpinned by wagers on rising rates...

Jobs data set to pave way for rates path, stocks

The coming week will give investors a fresh view into the health of the U.S. economy with the release of a closely watched employment report that could help determine the trajectory of interest rates...

Asian shares slip, yen aims for best week in 4 months on BOJ hike bets

Asian shares slipped on Friday while the yen was aiming for its best week in four months as strong local inflation data had traders favouring an imminent rate hike from the Bank of Japan. ...

US pending home sales rise for third straight month, NAR says

Contracts to buy U.S. previously owned homes rose unexpectedly in October, notching a third straight month of increases, despite high mortgage rates and as inventory of properties for sale continued...

U.S. housing affordability to worsen even as price rises slow

Purchasing affordability for first-time U.S. homebuyers will worsen over the coming year on tight supply and just a few more Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, even as average home price rises slow,...

New Zealand cuts cash rate by 50 bps, flags further cuts

New Zealand's central bank cut the cash rate by 50 basis points to 4.25% on Wednesday, as annual inflation ran near the 2% midpoint of its target range and economic activity remained subdued. ...

Some Fed policymakers open to lowering the overnight repo rate

Some Federal Reserve policymakers believe it may soon be time to lower the rate on funds that banks and money market funds park at the Fed, minutes from the Fed's most recent meeting indicated, so...

Fed cites volatility, doubts about neutral rate as reasons to go slow on easing

Federal Reserve officials appeared divided at their meeting earlier this month over how much farther they may need to cut interest rates, but as a group agreed this was a moment to avoid giving much...

Bank of Canada says inflation will fade into background as it settles at 2%

The Bank of Canada on Tuesday said inflation, which has been the center of attention and unhappiness for years amid rising prices, should fade into the background again as the annual rate settled back...

Dollar rebounds on Trump tariff warning; stocks point lower

The dollar rose against major peers on Tuesday after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened Canada and Mexico with a 25% tariff on all imports into the United States. Stocks were...

Brazilian meat suppliers stop deliveries to local Carrefour retailers, media say

Brazilian meatpackers have reportedly stopped supplying meat to the Carrefour group in Brazil after the retailer's global CEO vowed to keep South American meat off its shelves in France in solidarity...

Brazil freezes spending at $3.33 billion to comply with fiscal rules

Brazil's government tightened spending controls late on Friday, freezing expenditure at 19.3 billion reais to comply with this year's fiscal rules. The figure exceeds the 13.3 billion...