The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased by the most in nearly 4-1/2 years last week, but the surge likely does not suggest a material weakening in labor market conditions, as the claims data are volatile around this time of year.
The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits surged last week, but that likely reflected difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations around this time of year, rather than a material change in labor market conditions.
US initial jobless claims rose to a level of 236,000 in the week ended Dec. 6 from an upwardly revised 192,000 level in the previous week, compared with expectations for a smaller increase to 220,000 in survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg. The four-week moving average rose by 2,000 to 216,750 after falling by 9,250 to a level of 214,750 in the previous week.
Canada posted a small monthly international trade surplus in September, reversing a trend of seven consecutive months of deficits, data showed on Thursday. It registered a marginal trade surplus of C$153 million in September, following a C$6.43 billion deficit in the prior month, Statistics Canada said.
BlackRock Inc (BLK): * BLACKROCK LAUNCHES FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND ETF OFFERING ACCESS TO THE FULL US BOND MARKET. * BLACKROCK (BLK) - LAUNCHES ISHARES TOTAL USD FIXED INCOME MARKET ETF Source text: Further company coverage:
Surgery Partners, Inc. (SGRY), a leading short-stay surgical facility owner and operator, announced today that Surgery Center Holdings, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, intends to offer, subject to market and other considerations, an additional $425.0 million aggregate principal amount of its 7.250% senior unsecured notes due 2032.
Canada will release international merchandise trade data for September at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, said Scotiabank. Normally, markets get the United States advance merchandise figures before the full set of accounts that are due on Thursday, but that advance report was a casualty of the recent U.S. government shutdown, noted the bank.
Phoenix Management, a Part of J.S. Held Lending Survey Results Reveal Continued Concern About Political Uncertainty. JERICHO, N.Y., Dec. 11, 2025 ?Following the meeting of the US Federal Reserve yesterday, global consulting firm J.S. Held reveals the "Lending Climate in America" survey results from Phoenix Management, a part of J.S. Held.
Canada will publish the long-awaited merchandise trade for September at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, incorporating United States data on imports and some price components that were delayed due to the U.S. government shutdown, said Bank of Montreal. Statistics Canada produced its own estimates for the Q3 GDP figures, which suggested the deficit narrowed from $6.3 billion to $1.25 billion in September.
The changing climate is increasing insurance rates for residents and cities and lowering property values in areas that face more frequent and intense disasters.
BondBloxx Investment Management, a provider of precision fixed income ETFs with over $6 billion in assets, today released its 2026 Fixed Income Market Outlook providing advisors and investors with insights and investment ideas for the year ahead.
Brazil's retail sales volumes unexpectedly rose in October, data from government statistics agency IBGE showed on Thursday, despite signs of a slowdown in Latin America's largest economy amid high interest rates. * Sales were up 0.5% in October from the previous month, while economists in a Reuters poll expected a decrease of 0.1%. * It was the largest monthly gain since March, according to IBGE.
* Fed outcome less hawkish than expected. * Dollar soft; euro, sterling hit new highs. * Fed to start buying Treasury bills to manage market liquidity. * Souring risk mood sends Aussie, cryptos sliding. * SNB leaves rates steady, franc strong. By Rae Wee and Alun John.
Turkey's central bank Thursday said its Monetary Policy Committee has decided to reduce the policy rate -- the one-week repo auction rate -- by 150bps to 38.0%. The MPC also lowered the Central Bank overnight lending rate from 42.5% to 41.0% and the overnight borrowing rate from 38.0% to 36.5%, noted CBT.
US equity markets were trending lower before Thursday's opening bell as Oracle's financial results reignited concerns about the artificial intelligence trade, erasing some of the gains sparked by the Federal Reserve's recent rate cut. The S&P 500 declined 0.5%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 0.2% and the Nasdaq fell 0.8% in premarket activity.
Futures for Canada's main stock index ticked lower on Thursday, as renewed fears about lofty technology stock valuations following Oracle's disappointing results outweighed a widely expected rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve. Futures on the S&P/TSX Composite Index were down 0.2% by 06:30 a.m. ET.
Central banks in big economies are signaling a change of stance, with many now on hold after a long easing cycle, and policymakers flagging that their next moves, in time, could be rate hikes. The U.S. Federal Reserve is something of an outlier. Here's where central banks in 10 developed markets stand.
* Fed policymakers see one rate cut in 2026. * Swiss central bank leaves rates unchanged on Thursday. * Market bets for ECB rate hike in a year's time creep up. By Alun John and Naomi Rovnick. Central banks in big economies are signaling a change of stance, with many now on hold after a long easing cycle, and policymakers flagging that their next moves, in time, could be rate hikes.
Two central banks, two different policy announcements on Wednesday, said Bank of Montreal. Both -- Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve -- are potentially setting up a stable 2026, stated BMO. The BoC left rates unchanged at 2.25%, and said as clearly as possible that it's comfortable on hold at these levels unless something drastically changes.
UBS continues to face support for stricter proposed banking regulations by the Swiss National Bank, Reuters reported Thursday, citing the vice-chairman of the Swiss central bank. "We believe that these measures are appropriate and targeted," Antoine Martin reportedly told Reuters regarding new proposed capital and risk management requirements for large Swiss banks like UBS.
Eni said Thursday its board approved a potential issuance of up to 1 billion euros worth of hybrid subordinated bonds. The bonds may be issued in one or more tranches by June 30, 2027, the energy company said. Eni plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes. MT Newswires does not provide investment advice.
EUR/USD ended slightly higher after the Federal Reserve policy meeting on Wednesday, said ING. Also helping has been a string of European Central Bank optimists referencing growth surprising on the upside, noted ING. An additional ECB rate cut has now been priced out, but it may be far too early for markets to have the confidence to price in 2026 ECB rate hikes, wrote the bank in a note.
By Anna Szymanski, Editor in Charge, Reuters Open Interest. What matters in U.S. and global markets today The Federal Reserve gave markets an early holiday gift yesterday, as the widely expected 25 basis point interest rate cut was accompanied by a tone from Chair Jay Powell, positive soundings about U.S. productivity, and the announcement of a buying binge.
Copper prices rose to an all-time high on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates, while continuing flows of copper into U.S. inventories led to worries about tighter supply in the rest of the world.
Major stock indexes mostly rose on Thursday, with the Dow and S&P 500 posting record closing highs, while the dollar and U.S. bond yields extended declines from the day before, when the Federal Reserve cut interest rates but gave a less hawkish outlook than expected.
* Lagarde said the ECB could lift growth projections. * Markets price a 55% chance of a rate hike in March 2027. * Analysts cautious as inflation is expected to undershoot. * US jobs data due later in the session. By Stefano Rebaudo.
* Oracle shares set to tumble after miss; Nasdaq futures down 1% * Euro briefly breaks over $1.17 after Fed cut. * Short-dated Treasuries rally as Fed promises T-bill buying. By Marc Jones.
The S&P 500 and the Dow boasted record closing highs on Thursday after a Federal Reserve policy update that was less hawkish than expected while the tech-heavy Nasdaq underperformed as Oracle's financial update made investors wary of artificial intelligence bets.
* Futures off: Dow 0.30%, S&P 500 0.62%, Nasdaq 0.80% U.S. stock index futures tumbled on Thursday after Oracle's forecasts raised fresh concerns about hefty AI spending and outweighed optimism following a less hawkish tone from the Federal Reserve.
* Proposes merging capital layers into just 2. * ECB advocates reform of convertible bonds. * ECB wants streamlined stress testing. * EU will have final say on ECB recommendations. By Balazs Koranyi.
* * November non-farm payrolls due next week. * Silver hits record high at $62.88/oz. By Pablo Sinha. Gold edged lower on Thursday, as traders weighed the U.S. Federal Reserve's divided vote on a quarter-percentage-point interest rate cut, while silver climbed to yet another record high. Lower interest rates typically benefit non-yielding assets such as gold.
* Japanese rubber futures eased on Thursday, snapping a four-day rally as a stronger yen against the U.S. dollar prompted some selling, while traders booked profits after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates as expected. * The Osaka Exchange rubber contract for May delivery finished 0.8 yen, or 0.2%, lower at 329.6 yen per kg, reversing course after earlier gains.
* Stocks down 0.6%, currencies slip 0.1% * Investors debate hawkish tone in Powell speech. * Ukraine, Latin America under spotlight. By Niket Nishant. Emerging market assets slipped on Thursday as a risk-off mood gripped global markets, with investors unnerved by mixed signals from the Federal Reserve and renewed concerns over technology valuations.
* ECB aims to simplify buffer rules without lowering requirements. * Proposal includes merging capital buffers into two types. * ECB suggests reforming AT1 instruments due to loss-absorption questions.
* SNB leaves rates on hold for second straight meeting. * Lower U.S. tariffs on Switzerland deliver economic relief. * Inflation has been slightly lower than expected, SNB says. By John Revill.
The Swiss National Bank expects the global economy to grow moderately over the next quarters, Vice Chairman Antoine Martin said on Thursday. Global economic development in many countries remained more resilient than expected, said Martin after the SNB's latest monetary policy decision.
Copper prices traded higher for a second straight session on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates, though some of the early gains were trimmed by profit-booking triggered by caution over demand outlook. The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed daytime trade 0.57% higher at 92,180 yuan per metric ton.
U.S. imports of telephones and parts from Vietnam, one of its top suppliers, fell to their lowest levels in more than five years in November, according to official Vietnamese data, as exporters led by Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) faced trade uncertainties and slowing consumer demand.
The Swiss National Bank left its policy interest rate unchanged on Thursday as the central bank considered the impact of the recent agreement to reduce U.S. tariffs on Swiss goods, as well as persistently low inflation.
Most global brokerages predict the U.S. Federal Reserve will reduce interest rates in the short-term, reiterating their earlier position even as the central bank indicated that near-term cuts were unlikely. The Fed on Wednesday delivered a 25-bp cut amid sharp divisions and dissents among central bank officials.
The Philippine peso reversed earlier
losses and shares extended gains after the central bank
signalled it was done easing for the near term, while other
regional assets were mixed as markets parsed ...
Dec 11 - Euro zone government bond yields edged down after the Federal Reserve signalled a less hawkish outlook than some investors anticipated and announced larger T-bill purchases, pushing U.S. borrowing costs lower.
Japanese markets could be jolted next year if the central bank finds itself "behind the curve" in taming inflation, according to BlackRock Japan's chief investment strategist Yuichi Chiguchi.
In general the bond market is volatile, and fixed income securities carry interest rate risk. (As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. This effect is usually more pronounced for longer-term securities.) Fixed income securities also carry inflation risk and credit and default risks for both issuers and counterparties. Unlike individual bonds, most bond funds do not have a maturity date, so avoiding losses caused by price volatility by holding them until maturity is not possible.
Lower-quality debt securities generally offer higher yields, but also involve greater risk of default or price changes due to potential changes in the credit quality of the issuer. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to loss.
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