European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Uruguay on Thursday, aiming to finalize along-delayed trade deal between the European Union and South America’s Mercosur bloc that includes farming powerhouses Brazil and Argentina. “The finish line of the EU-Mercosur agreement is in sight. Let’s work, let’s cross it. The largest trade and investment partnership the world has ever seen. Both regions will benefit,” von der Leyen said in a post on X. Mercosur will meet in Montevideo on Thursday amid signs the bloc – also including Paraguay and Uruguay ...

German industrial orders fell in October, sapped by weak domestic demand, showing that a recovery in the industrial sector is not in sight. Orders declined by 1.5% on the previous month on a seasonally and calendar adjusted basis, the federal statistics office said on Thursday. A Reuters poll of analysts had pointed to a fall of 2.0%. The negative development stems from declines in the manufacture of machinery and equipment by 7.6% on the month and in the automotive industry by 3.7%. On the other hand, increases were observed in ...

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly on Wednesday said the central bank needs to “carefully calibrate” its policy to make sure to bring inflation down without unnecessarily slowing the labor market, but also said she had not yet decided whether for her that would mean the Fed should cut rates again or leave them on hold at its policy meeting in two weeks. “There’s no sense of urgency” on cutting rates, Daly told the PBS NewsHour. “I’m going to wait until I get to the December meeting and ...

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week, suggesting that the labor market continued to steadily cool. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 224,000 for the week ended Nov. 30, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 215,000 claims for the latest week. Claims are at levels consistent with steady job growth, and have signaled a sharp rebound in nonfarm payrolls in November after the labor market was severely distorted by Hurricanes Helene ...

U.S. economic activity has expanded slightly in most regions since early October, with employment growth “subdued” and inflation rising at a modest pace and businesses expressing optimism about the future, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday in a summary of surveys and interviews from across the country known collectively as the “Beige Book.” “Though growth in economic activity was generally small, expectations for growth rose moderately across most geographies and sectors,” the U.S. central bank said in its regular temperature check on the economy, drawing on observations from the business ...

The risk premium investors demand to hold French debt rather than German Bunds dropped on Thursday after the widely expected collapse of the French government. Far-right and left-wing lawmakers joined forces early this week to back a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Michel Barnier. Analysts fear France would enter a slow-burning crisis that could lead to a deterioration of sovereign creditworthiness and less economic growth. They await the next move from President Emmanuel Macron, even if most analysts remained sceptical about a significant change of the current situation. Sources recently ...

The November reading of the US ISM services index is quite a bit weaker than predicted. The headline balance dropped to 52.1 from 56.0 versus a consensus forecast of 55.7. This is the weakest reading for three months, but at least it remains above the break-even 50 reading. Business activity declined 3.5 points to 53.7 while new orders fell 3.7 points, also to 53.7. This is a disappointing outcome with the ISM attributing the softening to “election ramifications and tariffs… with cautionary outlooks related to the potential impact on respondents’ ...

There is no longer a government in France As expected, French MPs decided on Wednesday evening to vote a motion of no confidence in the government led by Michel Barnier. 331 MPs from the left and far right voted in unison, and the government fell, less than three months after it was set up. France is thus entering a new era of political instability. There will be no dissolution of the National Assembly or early elections until July 2025, as the Constitution stipulates a minimum period of one year between ...

India’s journey toward becoming a global economic powerhouse is marked by remarkable achievements in its export landscape. The nation has demonstrated significant progress in diverse sectors, ranging from petroleum oils and agrochemicals to semiconductors and precious stones. This growth reflects India’s ability to leverage advanced technology, innovative practices, and competitive manufacturing to meet global demands. Supported by robust government initiatives, the country is not only expanding its export base but also strengthening its position as a reliable global supplier. India’s export performance in several key product categories at the 4-digit ...

Twenty years ago, Somalia was headed for catastrophe. Conflict, drought and government collapse threatened to plunge 200,000 people into famine. But relief groups lacked enough food for everyone and had no consistent way of identifying those most at risk of starvation. A man angered about his clan’s limited share of food aid fired shots at humanitarian workers. Nicholas Haan, an American then working on the aid effort for the United Nations, had an idea: Create an evidence-driven system that objectively classified acute food insecurity and engaged both international experts and ...

Australia’s economy in the third quarter grew at the slowest annual pace since the pandemic, disappointing hopes for a rebound as government spending did all of the heavy lifting and consumers remained cautious. Investors reacted by pushing the Australian dollar AUD=D3 0.7% lower to $0.6442. Markets moved to almost fully price in a rate cut next April at 96% from 73% before, and see a 35 basis points easing for May, from 28 bps before. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday showed real gross domestic product ...

Russia could see a big increase in foreign investment next year as investors think there is a chance the conflict in Ukraine could be resolved, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund said on Wednesday. “The year 2025 could be a year of significant increase in foreign investments in Russia. Investors see prospects for the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine,” Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said on the sidelines of an investment conference in Moscow. “They expect that not only countries of the Global ...

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey reiterated in an interview published on Wednesday that gradual cuts in interest rates are likely over the next year, adding that the process of falling inflation is well embedded. “This sort of disinflation process is now well embedded,” Bailey told the Financial Times Global Boardroom event. “There is still a distance to travel because although inflation came down to target over the summer, we’ve been saying for a while that… we were probably going to go back a bit above target,” he said. British ...

Germany’s service sector contracted in November for the first time in nine months as demand conditions continued to deteriorate, a survey showed on Wednesday. The HCOB final services Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 49.3 in November from 51.6 in October, moving below the 50-point threshold that separates growth from contraction. Germany’s economy has been dogged by weak demand, intensifying competition from abroad and political uncertainty after a budget row brought down the country’s three-way coalition last month. Snap elections will be held in February. “After eight months of growth, the ...

Business activity across the euro zone fell sharply last month as the bloc’s dominant services sector joined the manufacturing sector in contracting, according to a survey which showed a broadbased decline. HCOB’s final composite Purchasing Managers’ Index for the currency union, compiled by S&P Global and seen as a good gauge of overall economic health, sank to 48.3 in November from October’s 50.0. That was slightly ahead of a 48.1 preliminary estimate but still firmly below the 50 mark separating growth from contraction. “The services sector, which had been holding ...