archivetrade policy

US stock futures fell with investors on edge as Israel and Iran continued to trade strikes against a backdrop of shifting US trade policy and stubborn interest rates. Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) fell 0.4%. Futures attached to the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F) sank 0.5% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) stumbled 0.6%. On Monday evening, Trump called for the evacuation of Iran's capital city, Tehran, as Israel pledged to continue attacking the country. "Iran should have signed the 'deal' I told them to sign," the...

The euro and other global currencies experienced a significant boost on Monday following President Donald Trump's decision to delay imposing 50% tariffs on EU imports, initially set for June 1. This move, requested by the EU to facilitate a better deal, comes amid Trump's broader policy shifts, contributing to a weakening U.S. dollar.Ray Attrill of the National Australia Bank noted the resurgence of the 'Sell America' trend in the currency markets. Investors are factoring in the likelihood that the U.S.-EU tariff resolution won't reach the hefty 50% level, though...

If the trade war is making you fear for your portfolio, you're not alone.Institutional investors are also on high alert. Bank of America's latest Fund Manager Survey shows that the biggest money managers are concerned about President Donald Trump's trade policy sparking a global recession.The survey, which collected insights from fund managers globally between April 4 and 10 — right as markets were going haywire because of tariff announcements — revealed that investor expectations for global growth hit 30-year lows in April, with 82% of fund managers expecting a weaker economy...

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...

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) rocketed higher after Donald Trump won the presidential election in November. Many analysts issued optimistic forecasts for the U.S. stock market based on expectations that tax cuts and deregulation should boost economic growth. However, the S&P 500 has lost its post-election gains and then some. Recession fears have resurfaced as President Trump has forged ahead with the aggressive changes to trade policy outlined during his campaign. The S&P 500 is currently 8% below its record high and nearly 3% below where it closed on election...

The U.S. dollar faced a decline against the Japanese yen on Monday, driven by fears of an economic slowdown and ongoing uncertainty concerning the Trump administration's trade policies. Investors' mounting concerns were compounded by a notable selloff on Wall Street.While the greenback faltered against the yen, it showed resilience by strengthening against currencies like the euro, Swiss franc, and sterling, as traders took profits from recent currency gains. Meanwhile, Wall Street noted a steep decline, with a significant drop in the Nasdaq as tech sectors suffered.Interest rate movements were...

The latest jobs report released Friday showed the construction industry increased its pace of hiring while unemployment for workers in the industry also rose. Data from the Labor Department showed that construction firms added 19,000 jobs in February, following a small gain of 4,000 in January. This marked the strongest month of growth since the third quarter of 2024. However, this growth came alongside a rise in the construction unemployment rate, which increased to 7.2% compared to the overall unemployment rate of 4.1% for the month. "The sizable jump in...