Reuters US Economy

By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks’ tumble this year is putting an increased focus on equity valuations, as investors assess whether recently discounted shares are worth buying in the face of a hawkish Federal Reserve and widespread geopolitical uncertainty. With the benchmark S&P 500 index down 13.5% year-to-date, valuations stand at their …

Battered U.S. stocks may not be bargains as investors brace for inflation data Read More »

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Hedge funds posted gains of 2.33% in April, mostly driven by macro funds, which managed to perform well amid high volatility, a report by hedge fund data provider HFR showed on Friday. Macro hedge funds, which bet on macroeconomics trends, rose 5.49% in the quarter, according to a macro fund asset …

Macro hedge funds lead industry gains in April Read More »

By Howard Schneider WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell this week laid out a hoped-for evolution of the U.S. job market that included a rising labor participation rate that would pave the way for continued job growth while tapping the brakes on the pace of wage increases. The prospect of more Americans entering …

U.S. labor market has yet to get Powell’s memo Read More »

By Chris Taylor NEW YORK (Reuters) – Can you guess who kids turn to first for money advice? Parents – and it is not particularly close. Even though friends, siblings and social media may all be in kids’ ears these days, parents are the top source of financial advice for 83% of children from ages …

Best financial advice from mom Read More »

ROME (Reuters) – World food prices eased slightly in April after hitting a record high in March, but global food security remained a concern because of the difficult market conditions, U.N. food agency said on Friday. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 158.5 …

Food prices ease slightly in April after record surge, U.N. agency says Read More »

BERLIN (Reuters) – German industrial production fell more than expected in March as pandemic restrictions and war in Ukraine disrupted supply chains, making it difficult to fill orders, official data showed on Friday. The Federal Statistics Office said industrial output fell 3.9% on the month after a downwardly revised increase of 0.1% in February. A …

German industrial output falls more than expected in March Read More »

BEIJING (Reuters) – Japanese firms are struggling to reopen their factories in Shanghai, a new survey shows, indicating strains in the municipal government’s push to help key businesses resume production amid an ongoing strict lockdown in the city. The Shanghai Japanese Commerce & Industry Club said on Thursday of 54 firms that responded to a …

Japanese factories in Shanghai struggling to resume operations, survey shows Read More »

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s export growth is expected to have slowed to a crawl in April as strict COVID-19 curbs hit production while imports likely extended declines, creating heavy headwinds for the world’s second-largest economy in the second quarter. The trade sector, which accounts for about a third of gross domestic product and employed 180 …

China’s trade seen faltering in April as COVID curbs hit output: Reuters poll Read More »

A look at the day ahead in markets from Dhara Ranasinghe. When the blue-chip Dow Jones index slides more than 1,000 points on one day, U.S. Treasury yields jump as much as 20 basis points and Britain’s pound drops more than 2%, you’d be forgiven for thinking that investors have gone into a sell everything …

Marketmind: Sell everything (except the dollar)! Read More »

LONDON (Reuters) – British house prices rose for a tenth consecutive month in April, although the annual rate of growth eased slightly from the 15-year high recorded in March, figures from mortgage lender Halifax showed on Friday. House prices increased by a hefty 1.1% on the month, down from 1.5% in March, and were 10.8% …

UK annual house price rise eases to 10.8% – Halifax Read More »