TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s manufacturing activity shrank at the slowest pace in six months in April on a softer decline in sales, while the service-sector stayed solid, a preliminary survey showed on Friday, suggesting a patchy post-COVID economic recovery. The au Jibun Bank flash Japan manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted…
By Suban Abdulla LONDON (Reuters) – British consumers were their most upbeat in more than a year this month, despite the surging cost of living, as they took a more positive view of their finances and the health of the wider economy, market research firm GfK said on Friday. GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index rose for…
By Michael S. Derby NEW YORK (Reuters) – Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said Thursday the U.S. central bank will have to do more on the policy front to get still high inflation pressures back down to the 2% target. “Some additional tightening may be needed to ensure policy is restrictive enough…
By David Lawder and Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. seeks “constructive and fair” economic ties with China, but will protect its national security interests and push back against Chinese actions to dominate foreign competitors, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday. Speaking at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, Yellen laid out…
By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) -The Bank of Japan is warming to the idea of tweaking its controversial bond yield control policy later this year, but will likely keep settings unchanged at next week’s meeting as it awaits more evidence of sustained wage growth, sources say. Kazuo Ueda chairs his first policy meeting since becoming…
By Lewis Krauskopf, Sruthi Shankar and Ankika Biswas (Reuters) – Major U.S. stock indexes ended lower on Thursday after disappointing quarterly reports from companies including Tesla and AT&T, while investors sought clarity on the path of interest rates. Tesla shares tumbled 9.7% after the electric vehicle maker posted its lowest quarterly gross margin in two…
By Stephen Nellis (Reuters) – Two companies that make tools for manufacturing chips said that they expect sales to China to boom later this year despite U.S. export restrictions on equipment used to make cutting-edge semiconductors. The comments by California-based Lam Research and the Netherlands’ ASML Holdings NV are a sign that China may be…
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Federal Reserve emergency lending to banks in the wake of last month’s financial sector troubles remains high and increased modestly in the latest week, according to data released on Thursday by the Federal Reserve. The institution reported that borrowing via three programs aimed at supporting banks moved to $316.5 billion as…
By Jeff Mason and Julia Symmes Cobb WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden praised Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Thursday for his country’s treatment of refugees from Venezuela and for his commitment to democracy and human rights. During a meeting at the White House, Biden said the United States and Colombia could deepen their…
By Hyunjoo Jin and Akash Sriram (Reuters) – Elon Musk is counting on full-self driving and other new technologies and vehicles at Tesla Inc to provide the “wow factor” that will continue to drive the electric carmaker’s value far beyond its automotive rivals. Some analysts and investors worry that Tesla’s industry-leading market valuation is threatened…
