* Euro zone factory activity slipped into deeper contraction in December. * Asian factory activity rebounds with growth in key economies. * Taiwan and South Korea PMIs show expansion after months of decline. By Indradip Ghosh and Sam Holmes.
Greece's jobless rate stood at 8.2% in November, ?down from ?8.6% in October, ?data from ?statistics service ?ELSTAT showed on Friday. Seasonally ?adjusted ?data showed 395,436 people were officially ?unemployed. Unemployment ?impacted ?women more than men, at the ?rates of 10.6% and 6.3%, respectively.
Lending growth to euro zone firms and households accelerated in November, European ?Central Bank data showed on ?Friday, adding to evidence that ?the currency bloc continues ?to ?grow at a steady, even ?if modest pace.
Euro zone factory activity retreated further into contraction territory in December as production decreased for the first time in 10 months, dampened by accelerating declines in new orders, a survey showed on Tuesday.
Euro zone factory activity retreated further into contraction territory in December as production decreased for the first time in 10 months, dampened by accelerating declines in new orders, a survey showed on Tuesday.
The new year starts with U.S. jobs data, a rebalancing of commodity indexes and an OPEC+ meeting. But there are plenty of risks on the horizon, with a U.S. Supreme Court tariff ruling and new Federal Reserve chair announcement imminent.
Euro zone government bond yields rose on Friday, with investors looking ahead to a year that will be marked again by hefty new debt sales, the impact of German fiscal stimulus and geopolitical headwinds. Benchmark 10-year bond yields edged up in early Friday trade, following Wednesday's rise ?in U.S. Treasury yields.
* Asia's factory activity rebounds with growth in key economies. * Taiwan and South Korea PMIs show expansion after months of decline. * New product launches and demand boost semiconductor manufacturers. Asia's factory powerhouses closed 2025 on a firmer footing, with activity swinging back to growth in several key economies as export orders ?picked up, helped by new product launches.
U.S. stocks oscillated to a mixed close, U.S. Treasury yields climbed and the dollar firmed on Friday, the first trading day of 2026. While all three major U.S. stock indexes seesawed for much of the session, the S&P 500 and Dow posted gains, snapping their four-day losing streaks. All three indexes registered losses for the holiday-shortened week.
The U.S. dollar began 2026 stronger on Friday, snapping last year's slump against most currencies as investors look ahead to a critical week of economic data that could steer Federal Reserve policy and global markets.
South Korea's factory activity expanded in December, after two months of contraction, on a rebound in export demand, a private-sector survey showed on Friday, with manufacturers' optimism surging to a 3-1/2-year ?high.
EU member Bulgaria marked its entry into the euro zone on Thursday with a display of euro coins on the facade of the central bank in Sofia and fireworks to celebrate a long-awaited ?milestone. As of midnight the euro became the country's currency and the lev was banished ?into history.
US equity indexes fell on Wednesday, with all sectors posting declines amid mixed macroeconomic data, with real estate, materials, and industrials leading the decliners.
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Major US equity indexes closed lower Wednesday amid a broad market decline, as the year came to an end, despite a better-than-expected jobless claims report. * Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims fell to 199,000 for the week ended Dec. 27 from 215,000 in the previous week, a lower figure than the 218,000 projected by analysts in a Bloomberg survey.
Financial stocks were lower in late Wednesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF each decreasing 0.4%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 0.9%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF retreated 0.7%. Bitcoin was declining 1.2% to $87,321, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 3 basis points to 4.1...
Financial stocks were lower in late Wednesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF each decreasing 0.4%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 0.9%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF retreated 0.7%. Bitcoin was declining 1.2% to $87,321, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 3 basis points to 4.1...
The average rate on 30-year fixed home loans this week dropped to the lowest of the year, Freddie Mac said Wednesday. The closely watched housing market benchmark averaged 6.15% as of Wednesday, compared with 6.18% last week and 6.91% a year earlier.
Financial stocks were lower in Wednesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index shedding 0.3% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF decreasing 0.1%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 0.6%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF retreated 0.5%. Bitcoin was declining 0.7% to $87,756, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 3 basis poi...
Municipal bond issuers are on tap to sell about $6 billion of new issues in early January, but there should be plenty of money from maturing issues and interest payments to easily absorb that amount, as well as volume going forward, says Kim Olsan, senior fixed income portfolio manager at NewSquare Capital.
Advocates for improving inland port infrastructure in the House and Senate are pushing bipartisan bills aimed at funneling more dollars from the Port Infrastructure Development Program to facilities on the Great Lakes as opposed to East and West coasts.
U.S. short-term funding markets saw some of the usual year-end tension this week, but the Federal Reserve's renewed buying of short-term government debt and heavy use of its Standing Repo Facility helped keep cash flowing and prevented a bigger liquidity squeeze, market participants said.
Financial stocks were lower in Wednesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index shedding 0.5% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF decreasing 0.3%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 0.7%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF retreated 0.6%. Bitcoin was declining 0.7% to $87,756, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 3 basis poi...
Initial jobless claims decreased by 16,000 to 199,000 in the week ended Dec. 27, but the four-week moving average rose by 1,750 to 218,750 due to a 192,000 level in the week ended Nov. 29 rolling out of the calculation. Insured claims fell by 47,000 to 1.866 million in the week ended Dec. 20.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars have underperformed compared with G10 currencies in 2025, MUFG has noted. The NZD's weakness has been more pronounced, as it has only strengthened by 2%-3% against the US dollar while the dollar index has fallen by around 9%, wrote the bank in its 'G10 FX 2026 Outlook' note published this week.
Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey?, showing the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.15%. ?After starting the year close to 7%, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage moved to its lowest level in 2025 this week, an encouraging sign for potential homebuyers heading into the new year,? said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac?s Chief Economist.
The Swiss National Bank bought 75 million Swiss francs' worth of foreign currencies in the third quarter of 2025, ?a sharp reduction from the previous three-month period, data from ?the central bank showed on Wednesday.
Sweden's krona has been the best-performing G10 currency in 2025, recording an outsized gain of around 19% against the US dollar, said MUFG. It has also outperformed the other Scandinavian currency, Norway's krone, pushing NOK/SEK back toward the lows last seen in early 2020 when the COVID-19 shock first hit the global economy.
Treasury yields moved higher on Wednesday after new U.S. jobless claims, the last major economic data before the New Year, came in lower than forecasts.
Weekly applications for unemployment insurance unexpectedly declined into the final part of 2025, while continuing claims fell more than projected, US government data showed Wednesday. For the week through Dec. 27, the seasonally adjusted number of initial claims fell by 16,000 to 199,000, the Department of Labor said.
When Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed property tax reform bills, there was hope in Columbus it would appease voters who backed a push to abolish property taxes.
Canada is slated to release the October trade figures on Jan. 8, Scotiabank noted. The bank will watch for revisions that could impact Q3 gross domestic product, which was initially estimated at 2.6% quarter over quarter seasonally adjusted annual with possibly incomplete trade data. MT Newswires does not provide investment advice.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Standing Repo Facility, or SRF, loaned a record amount of cash Wednesday to eligible financial firms, as these companies?managed liquidity needs on the final trading day of 2025. The firms borrowed $74.6 billion from the central bank, in loans collateralized with $31.5 billion in Treasury bonds and $43.1 billion in mortgage-backed securities.
Sterling has underperformed relative to other European G10 currencies in 2025, said MUFG. EUR/GBP has trended higher for most of the year after establishing lows between 0.8200 and 0.8250 in late 2024/early 2025. MUFG expects the GBP to weaken further against the euro, with EUR/GBP rising closer to 0.9000 in 2026.
US equity futures were edging higher premarket Wednesday following a better-than-expected weekly US jobless claims report. Ahead of the last trading session of 2025, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.01%, while the S&P and Nasdaq futures were trading around 0.1% higher.
BEIJING, Dec. 31, 2025 A news report from?China.org.cn on China's economy in 2025: ? Looking back at 2025, against the backdrop of sluggish economic recovery amid mounting uncertainties, China's economy has been releasing dividends through openness. In 2025, China continued to account for over 30% of global economic growth, remaining the world's biggest contributor for years in a row.
Americans filed the fewest new jobless claims in a month last week, and while the number of unemployed workers collecting relief payments has eased from recent highs, there is little indication of a break from the weak hiring environment that settled in over the course of President Donald Trump's first year back at the White House.
The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits fell unexpectedly last week to the lowest in a month, but the unemployment rate likely remained high in December amid sluggish hiring. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped by 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 199,000 ?for the week ended December 27, the Labor Department said on Wednesday.
US initial jobless claims fell to a level of 199,000 in the week ended Dec. 27 from an upwardly revised 215,000 level in the previous week, compared with expectations for an increase to 218,000 in survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg. The four-week moving average rose by 1,750 to 218,750 after falling by 500 to a level of 217,000 in the previous week.
Canada will release its Labour Force Survey for December on Jan. 9 at 8:30 a.m. ET, on the same day and time as the United States nonfarm payrolls, said Scotiabank. A small gain of 10,000 with a slight uptick in the unemployment rate to 6.6% could emerge, predicted the bank.
The US dollar was mixed against its major trading partners early Wednesday -- up versus the pound and yen, down versus the euro and Canadian dollar -- ahead of a light data schedule that leads into the New Year's Day holiday on Thursday.
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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