Analysis: Indices

Oil prices steady with trade talks in focus

NEW YORK -Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday as investors assessed trade developments between the European Union and the U.S. after President Donald Trump reached a tariff deal with Japan. ...

Indonesia to cut tariffs, non-tariff barriers in US trade deal

WASHINGTON -Indonesia has agreed to eliminate tariffs on more than 99% of U.S. goods and scrap all non-tariff barriers facing American firms, while the U.S. will drop threatened tariffs on Indonesian...

Hershey to raise chocolate prices as cocoa costs remain high

Hershey has told retailers it will be taking a double-digit price increase on average across its confection portfolio due to a surge in costs of cocoa, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday. ...

Mali court rejects appeal to release four Barrick employees, judge says

BAMAKO -A court in Mali on Tuesday rejected an appeal by Barrick Mining to release four employees arrested last November, judge Samba Sarr said, the latest development in a long-running standoff...

Markets oddly serene

What matters in U.S. and global markets today By Mike Dolan, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets  Despite the edgy political and policy backdrop, world markets seem to be...

India-US interim trade deal prospects dim ahead of tariff deadline, sources say

NEW DELHI -The prospects of an interim trade deal between India and the United States before Washington's August 1 deadline have dimmed, as talks remain deadlocked over tariff cuts on key...

Inside a US guitar string maker's strategy to navigate the trade war

FARMINGDALE, NY -Once a week, executives of D'Addario & Company, a maker of strings and drumsticks for the world's top musicians, gather at the company's headquarters about 40 miles east of New York...

Hedge funds dumped Japanese stocks ahead of upper house election, says Goldman

HONG KONG -Global hedge funds offloaded Japanese equities at the sharpest pace in almost two-and-a-half months last week, just ahead of the country's upper house election on Sunday, Goldman Sachs...

Donald Trump sues Dow Jones, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch, WSJ reporters for libel, court records show

U.S. President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on Friday against Dow Jones, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch and two Wall Street Journal reporters, raising claims under federal libel law, court records show. ...

Hedge funds lure record inflows in first half of 2025

NEW YORK -Global hedge funds had their strongest inflows in the first half of the year since 2015, gaining popularity in turbulent markets amid U.S. President Donald Trump's new trade policies, data...

G20 finance chiefs back central bank independence in first communique since October

DURBAN -Finance chiefs from the Group of 20 countries stressed the importance of central bank independence while pledging to boost cooperation in a joint statement issued on Friday after a two-day...

Hedge funds favour short-dated, convertible bonds if Fed's Powell leaves early

LONDON -Hedge funds say they are prepared if U.S. President Donald Trump fires Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell before his term expires next year. The dollar briefly tumbled on...

Oil steadies as mixed US economic and tariff news offset new Russia sanctions

NEW YORK -Crude oil futures were little changed on Friday on mixed U.S. economic and tariff news and worries about oil supplies following the European Union's latest sanctions against Russia for its...

Crypto firm Bitcoin Standard to go public in deal with Cantor-backed SPAC

Crypto firm Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company said on Thursday it is aiming to list on the Nasdaq, with over 30,000 bitcoin on its balance sheet, through a merger with a Cantor Fitzgerald-backed...

Lofty US stock market valuations bank on earnings strength

NEW YORK -With Wall Street's surge to record highs, the U.S. stock market looks nearly as expensive as ever, and investors are debating whether the lofty valuations are a bearish signal or justified...

US corporates expected to buoy stock markets with buy backs, says Citadel Securities

LONDON -Companies in the U.S. are expected to buy $1 trillion worth of their own stock in 2025 and remain the largest buyers of U.S. equities, according to Scott Rubner, Citadel Securities' head of...

Oil jumps $1 after further drone attacks on Iraq oil fields

HOUSTON -Oil prices rose $1 on Thursday after drones struck Iraqi Kurdistan oil fields for a fourth day, pointing to continued risk in the volatile region. Brent crude futures settled...

Trump tariffs send chill through Greek peach harvest

NAOUSSA -July is harvest time in Greece's northern peach orchards, where pickers mount wooden ladders and carefully place the fruit in crates ready for factories that peel, slice and can them, often...

New plants, US trade worries to drive China's 2025 naphtha imports to record

NEW DELHI/BEIJING -China's naphtha imports will hit record levels this year as new plants and caution over U.S. propane and ethane purchases will drive demand and support refiners' margins for the...