Grim Economic Outlook Overtakes Solid Earnings as Tariff Disruptions Surface
One thing is clear as the first-quarter earnings season draws to a close: The uncertain outlook for the global economy is superseding better-than-feared results even as stocks rally on signs of easing trade tensions. Corporations across the US, Europe and China are...
China Drops to Number Three Holder of Treasuries, Behind UK
China shrank its holdings of US Treasuries in March, with the UK replacing it as the No. 2 overseas owner. The month, which preceded the April turmoil in the Treasuries market, saw a second straight jump in foreign purchases, to a fresh record high. Total...
Wall Street Strategists React to Moody’s US Credit Rating Cut
US stocks declined and Treasury yields rose after Moody’s Ratings downgraded the US credit rating, citing an increase in government debt and a higher interest burden. An exchange-traded fund tracking the S&P 500 Index fell 1% in postmarket trading after the agency...
Trump Says He’s Willing to Travel to China for Xi Meeting
US President Donald Trump said he would be willing to travel to China to speak with Xi Jinping about foreign policy and economic issues. “I would certainly,” Trump said when asked if he wanted to visit Xi on a foreign trip during an interview on Fox News’s Special...
US Credit Rating Cut Over Massive Government Debt
The US was downgraded by Moody’s Ratings on Friday thanks to government debt that’s approaching a mind-numbing $37 trillion. It was a dramatic move that cast further doubt on the polarized nation’s status as the world’s highest-quality sovereign borrower. Moody’s...
FDA Clears First Blood Test to Diagnose Alzheimer’s Disease
US regulators have approved the first blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, potentially making it easier to find and treat patients with the mind-robbing disease that affects nearly 7 million Americans. The test made by Fujirebio Diagnostics Inc., a unit of...
Driverless Trucking Firm Aurora Puts Human Back in Driver’s Seat
Driverless vehicle developer Aurora Innovation Inc. is putting a human back in front of the wheel of big rigs operating in Texas, reversing course less than three weeks after the company began commercial autonomous service there. The decision to move an “observer”...
Battered Wall Street Short Brigade Is Refusing to Admit Defeat
Just like that, the panic on Wall Street has vanished almost as quickly as it arrived. Only weeks ago, traders from Singapore to New York were bracing for the economic fallout from President Donald Trump’s trade war. Global markets had shed trillions in value and...
China Drops to No. 3 Holder of Treasuries, Falling Behind UK
China shrank its holdings of US Treasuries in March, with the UK replacing it as the No. 2 overseas owner. The month, which preceded the April turmoil in the Treasuries market, saw a second straight jump in foreign purchases, to a fresh record high. Total...
Family Offices Added US Stocks Ahead of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’
Investment firms for the world’s wealthy increased their stock bets ahead of President Donald Trump imposing new tariffs that sent global markets into a tailspin before eventually clawing back losses. Family offices for a European dynasty, hedge fund billionaire Noam...
US Consumer Sentiment Nears Record Low on Inflation Concerns
US consumer sentiment unexpectedly fell to the second-lowest level on record and inflation expectations climbed to multi-decade highs amid growing concerns about tariffs. The preliminary May sentiment index declined to 50.8 from 52.2 a month earlier, according to the...
Price Hikes Are Beginning to Threaten the American Consumer
For all the worry about tariffs causing pain for American consumers, shoppers have so far been mostly shielded from — or shrugged off — higher prices at the checkout aisle. Businesses absorbed much of the costs from new levies as they took effect last month, economic...
Cava Avoids the Diner Pullback That’s Hitting US Restaurants
Cava Group Inc. sales rose in the first quarter, defying the consumer malaise that rivals have blamed for a slowdown in restaurant visits. Sales at established restaurants grew 10.8% in the three months ended April 20, in line with the average estimate of analysts...
Smart Money Loses to Retail Crowd That Bet on Stock Rebound
President Donald Trump’s tariffs announcement on April 2 devastated financial assets, wiping out some $6 trillion in market value from US stocks in just two trading days. Wall Street’s “smart money” — hedge funds and other professional investors — dumped equities, and...