Reuters US Economy

By Echo Wang and Lance Tupper NEW YORK (Reuters) – Sales of shares in publicly listed U.S. companies had their strongest showing last week in more than a year, as companies and some of their shareholders, such as private equity firms, capitalized on the risk appetite of stock market investors. Stock sales reached $4.97 billion …

U.S. companies and their backers seize on window to sell stock Read More »

By Michael S. Derby NEW YORK (Reuters) – The United States risks long-term damage if Congress does not raise the national debt ceiling, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday. “Congress really needs to raise the debt ceiling … if we fail to do so, I think that the consequences are hard to estimate, …

Fed’s Powell sees long-term damage if US debt ceiling not raised Read More »

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s top grocer said on Tuesday that while the food inflation rate was beginning to decline, prices were taking longer than expected to retreat off pandemic highs. Woolworths Group Ltd Chief Executive Officer Brad Banducci said while price rises were slowing for certain products, with vegetables now “deflationary”, prices elsewhere were falling …

Australian food inflation rate falling, but slowly – country’s top grocer Read More »

By Gaurav Dogra (Reuters) – Most emerging Asia ex-China equity markets witnessed foreign outflows in February as strong U.S. economic data stirred worries that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates higher for longer than anticipated. Foreigners sold equities worth a net $2.1 billion in Thai, Indian, the Philippine and Vietnam markets, data from stock …

Most Asian equities see outflows in Feb as rate-hike jitters weigh Read More »

By Joe Cash and Ellen Zhang BEIJING (Reuters) -A fall in China’s exports for the January-February period pointed to continued weakness in demand for the country’s products, backing government concerns that a global slowdown will be felt at home. Imports dropped, too, government data showed on Tuesday, also partly reflecting weak foreign demand, since the …

China Jan-Feb exports, imports slump again as global demand falters Read More »

By Kantaro Komiya and Tetsushi Kajimoto TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s real wages fell the most in nearly nine years in January, official data showed, as four-decade-high inflation squeezed the purchasing power of consumers and undercut efforts by policymakers to revive a COVID-ravaged economy. Wage trends in the world’s third-largest economy are under close market scrutiny …

Japan’s real wages drop at fastest pace since 2014 as hot inflation takes toll Read More »

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Climate change could cost Latin America nearly a fifth of its gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of the century without new policies to curb its impact, according to a Moody’s Analytics report published Monday. The analysis examined three possible scenarios for the region, accounting for costs of climate change’s …

Climate change could cost Latin America 16% of GDP this century, says Moody’s Read More »

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s central bank announced the start of a digital currency pilot project on Monday, aiming to replicate the success of its instant payment system Pix to popularize financial services in the country. According to Fabio Araujo, coordinator of the initiative at the bank, the public use of the digital currency should begin …

Brazil announces pilot for digital currency seeking to leverage financial services Read More »

By Michael S. Derby NEW YORK (Reuters) – Global supply chains have “returned to normal,” the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Monday, with pressures dropping to the lowest since before the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench into procurement networks worldwide and created shortages for everything from microchips to motor vehicles. In a …

NY Fed says supply chain pressures normalized in February Read More »