By Humeyra Pamuk, Francesco Guarascio and David Brunnstrom HANOI (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Vietnam on Friday hoping for progress towards upgrading relations with a key trade partner that shares U.S. worries about China’s growing might. For Hanoi, it will be a delicate test: how to show openness to the…
(Fixes typo in first paragraph) By Joice Alves LONDON (Reuters) – European banks surged on Friday, rising to a one-month high, gaining support from U.S. lenders, which reported better-than-expected results in the first quarter. The STOXX 600 index of European banks gained as much as 3% to reach its highest since mid-March after JPMorgan, Citigroup…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The leak of classified information was a “deliberate, criminal act,” the Pentagon said on Thursday. Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder referred questions about the investigation to the Department of Justice. Ryder added the Pentagon had taken steps to review distribution lists and ensure that people receiving information had a need to…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. business inventories rose moderately in February, suggesting that inventory investment could subtract from economic growth in the first quarter. Business inventories increased 0.2% after falling 0.2% in January, the Commerce Department said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected inventories, a key component of gross domestic product, to rise 0.3%….
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. consumer sentiment inched up in April, but households expected inflation to rise over the next 12 months. The University of Michigan’s preliminary April reading on the overall index of consumer sentiment came in at 63.5, up from 62.0 in the prior month. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a preliminary reading…
(Reuters) – Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill into law that bans most abortions after six weeks, setting the stage for abortion access to be drastically curtailed in the state and across the U.S. South. DeSantis signed the legislation late on Thursday night after lawmakers in the state’s Republican-led House of Representatives…
(Corrects month in second paragraph to February from January) WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Production at U.S. factories fell more than expected in March, but eked out a modest gain in the first quarter. Manufacturing output dropped 0.5% last month, the Federal Reserve said on Friday. Data for February was revised higher to show production at factories…
(Reuters) – Southwest Airlines expects an ongoing Boeing 737 MAX manufacturing problem to delay some plane deliveries this year, Southwest said Friday. “We are in discussions with Boeing to understand what that impact will be in 2023 and beyond,” the company said. The manufacturing problem involves fittings that were incorrectly installed on the fuselage made…
(Reuters) – Traders of futures tied to the Federal Reserve’s policy rate on Friday kept bets the U.S. central bank will increase its benchmark rate in May by another quarter-of-a-percentage point, even after a report showed overall retail sales dropped more than expected last month. U.S. short-term interest rate futures reflect the view that a…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. import prices fell more than expected in March, leading to the biggest year-on-year decline since mid-2020, further evidence that inflation pressures were subsiding. Import prices dropped 0.6% last month after slipping 0.2% in February, the Labor Department said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices, which exclude tariffs,…
