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The U.S. dollar dropped to its lowest level since April 2022, driven by rising tensions in the Middle East and fragile trade relations between Washington and Beijing. As investors flocked to safe-haven assets, the global stock rally decelerated, with the MSCI All-Country World Index stagnating just below its record high.Oil prices briefly surged by 4% before retreating, influenced by the U.S.'s relocation of personnel from the Middle East due to increased security risks. The ongoing volatility in economic policies prompted concerns, as President Trump's tariffs and fluctuating trade relations...

The dollar's decline extended into Tuesday, as the Federal Reserve's cautious stance on the economic landscape and prospective U.S.-Japan dialogues weighed in. This marked a continuation of plummeting values after Moody's downgraded the U.S. sovereign rating, heightening traders' concerns over the nation's fiscal health.In focus are anticipated U.S.-Japan conversations, where Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato expects discussions with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to tackle currency volatility. Similar issues are likely to surface at the G7 finance meeting in Canada this week.While Australia's decision to cut interest rates saw...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday on Capitol Hill that new trade deals with major partners could be announced as soon as this week. "Many of our trading partners have approached us with very good offers, and we are in the process of renegotiating those," Bessent said, noting that the US is currently in talks with 17 of its 18 key trading partners, with China as the exception. "I'd be surprised if we don't have more than 80% or 90% of those wrapped up by the end of the year,...

The steep recovery in equity markets over the past two weeks is typical of bear market rallies, and the erratic swings mean almost every investor will experience pain whichever direction the market suddenly moves. Goldman Sachs Group (GS) strategist Peter Oppenheimer said “the asymmetry for equity investing is poor. Sharp rallies within bear markets are the norm, not the exception.” The biggest market driver is still uncertainty, with no real long-term bullish or bearish conviction seen from investors. Price action is mainly fueled by short-term headlines and guesswork on how...

Oil prices tumbled more than 2% on Monday over expectations of a supply boost from OPEC+, while trade war-sparked demand worries linger. West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) futures fell more than on Wednesday to trade near $57 a barrel, while Brent crude (BZ=F), the international benchmark, also dropped to near $60 per barrel. Prices declined after members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries on Saturday agreed to boost production levels next month by the same increase as in May. Wall Street anticipates the cartel will likely raise output in July...

US stock futures jumped after President Trump said he has 'no intention' of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, easing fears on Wall Street that the central bank's independence was under threat. Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) popped 1.2%, while futures attached to the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F) jumped 1.5%. Futures attached to the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NQ=F) soared 1.8%. CBOT - Delayed Quote • USD As of 2:09:28 AM EDT. Market Open. YM=F ES=F NQ=F Trump told reporters from the Oval Office on Tuesday that...

By Hannah Parry is a Newsweek Live Blog Editor based in New York. Her focus is reporting on U.S. politics and society. She has covered politics, tech and crime extensively.Hannah joined Newsweek in 2024 and previously worked as an assistant editor at The U.S. Sun and as a senior reporter and assistant news editor at The Daily Mail. She is a graduate of the University of Nottingham. You can get in touch with Hannah by emailing h.parry@newsweek.com. Languages: English. Hannah Parry and Gabe Whisnant is a Breaking News Editor at...

Wall Street economists are tweaking their GDP growth estimates as new data trickles in, with Trump's tariff whipsaw still firmly in the background. The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow tool, which uses already released data to forecast the quarterly pace of economic growth, now projects that GDP fell by 2.2% in the first three months of the year, an improvement from its prior April 9 projection of negative 2.4% growth. The update follows Wednesday's retail sales data, which rose 1.4% in March, matching forecasts. The control group in the release, which excludes...

Gold futures (GC=F) rose to a fresh record on Friday as tariff threats sparked fears of an escalating trade war, while the stock market plummeted. Sticky inflation along with plummeting consumer sentiment prompted investors to continue buying up the safe haven asset. A weaker US dollar (DX-Y.NYB) has also supported higher gold prices. Gold futures surpassed $3,115 ahead of the Trump administration's reciprocal tariffs announcement on April 2. On Wednesday the President announced 25% levies on foreign-made autos . The yellow metal is up more than 17% over the past...

The recent market decline has prompted another Wall Street strategist to revise its S&P 500 forecast lower for 2025. On Friday, UBS Global Wealth Management head of US equities David Lefkowitz predicted earnings would come in weaker than previously expected, prompting a trim to the firm's year-end price target to 6,400 from 6,600 on the broad-based index. “We still believe that US stocks can recover and post gains for the year. However, recent economic weakness and our expectation that tariffs will be at the higher end of our base case...