Reuters US Economy

By Ana Isabel Martinez and Adriana Barrera MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s presidential front-runner Claudia Sheinbaum plans to invest in state-owned Pemex’ oil refineries to reduce the huge volumes of low-value fuels produced and instead boost the output of motor fuels, one of her advisors said. Pemex has been producing record levels of heavy fuels, …

Mexico’s presidential front-runner aims to cut oil refinery waste, advisor says Read More »

By Anant Chandak BENGALURU (Reuters) – New Zealand’s central bank will leave its key interest rate unchanged for a sixth consecutive meeting on Wednesday and wait until the third quarter before cutting it, as it navigates between still-elevated inflation and recession, a Reuters poll showed. While the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s (RBNZ) own estimates …

Reserve Bank of New Zealand to cut rates in Q3 but may wait longer: Reuters poll Read More »

(Reuters) – Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari said on Thursday that at the U.S. central bank’s meeting last month he penciled in two interest rate cuts this year but if inflation continues to stall, none may be required by year end. “If we continue to see inflation moving sideways, then that would make …

Fed’s Kashkari says 2024 rate cuts under threat if inflation continues to stall Read More »

By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) – Actively managed U.S. equity funds in the first quarter posted their best quarterly out-performance since 2007, BofA Global Research strategists said. In the first quarter, 64% of actively managed U.S. large-cap mutual funds beat their Russell 1000 benchmarks, compared to just 38% last year, BofA’s data showed. The …

Active US funds tally best quarterly outperformance since 2007, BofA says Read More »

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased to a two-month high last week, though labor market conditions remain fairly tight. The weekly claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday also showed fewer people remaining on jobless rolls towards the end of March, suggesting that …

US labor market still tight; trade seen subtracting from Q1 growth Read More »

BERLIN (Reuters) – Business activity in Germany’s services sector stabilised in March, ending a five-month sequence of contractions in activity, a survey showed on Thursday. The HCOB final services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 50.1 in March from 48.3 in February, just above the 50.0 mark that separates growth from contraction. “Overall, the services …

German services sector activity stabilises, PMI survey shows Read More »

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand will remove barriers for construction companies to use overseas building products in a move it hopes will bring down prices, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Thursday. Building costs have increased 41% in New Zealand since 2019 in part due to the increase in the cost of materials. House building …

New Zealand removes barriers on foreign building products to cut prices Read More »

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. services industry growth slowed further in March, while a measure of prices paid by businesses for inputs dropped to a four-year low, which bodes well for the inflation outlook. The moderation in inflation is, however, likely to be gradual as other data on Wednesday suggested companies were willing …

US services sector cooling; input price increase slows considerably Read More »

By Howard Schneider and Abhirup Roy STANFORD, California (Reuters) -Federal Reserve officials including U.S. central bank chief Jerome Powell on Wednesday continued focusing on the need for more debate and data before interest rates are cut, a move financial markets expect to occur in June. “Recent readings on both job gains and inflation have come …

Powell sticks with Fed’s cautious rate-cut strategy Read More »

By Ezgi Erkoyun ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey’s annual inflation rate climbed to 68.5% in March, data showed on Wednesday, underscoring a major reason for the massive losses sustained by President Tayyip Erdogan’s party in nationwide local elections at the weekend. Monthly inflation was 3.16%, the Turkish Statistical Institute said, easing from 4.53% and 6.7% in …

Turkey inflation hit 68.5% ahead of election blow to ruling party Read More »