Barclays and J.P. Morgan on Thursday reduced their estimates on U.S. economic growth in the final quarter of 2018 following data that showed domestic retail sales took a 1.2 percent spill in December, which was its steepest monthly drop in nine years.READ MORE...

The U.S. and China remain deadlocked on key issues blocking the path toward a trade agreement, according to multiple reports published on Thursday, as representatives for the two countries meet in Beijing. The Chinese government's alleged forced technology transfers as well as its subsidization of domestic industries remain central sticking points as the world's two largest economies try to find common ground on a broad trade deal.READ MORE...

China is reportedly promising to buy semiconductors and other U.S. products in an attempt to alleviate trade tensions with the U.S., according to a Wall Street Journal report Thursday. The olive branch is meant to persuade President Donald Trump to extend a temporary truce over tariffs, according to the report, which cited people with knowledge of the matter.READ MORE...

This moved the four-week moving average of claims to its highest level in just over a year.  Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 239,000 for the week ended Feb. 9, the Labor Department said on Thursday.Data for the prior week was revised up to show 1,000 more applications received than previously reported. Despite the recent jump in claims, layoffs remain low amid companies struggling to find workers. 

President Donald Trump has reservations about a tentative government funding deal that needs his support to pass, leaving its fate unclear with days to spare before another shutdown. The president did not immediately commit Tuesday to signing the agreement to prevent a partial closure this weekend.READ MORE...

Yet more taxpayers will end up with no refund, or a smaller one, compared with a year ago, before the lower rates fully took effect.How could that be? READ MORE...

A meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is "highly unlikely" before the March 2 deadline for reaching a trade deal, according to a senior administration official. While Trump and Xi are still expected to meet, there's too much work to do to flesh out a deal with China and prepare Trump for a high-stakes meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. Trump's summit with Kim is set for Feb. 27-28.READ MORE...

Stocks are booming because investors care a lot more about corporate profits on Wall Street than any drama in Washington.READ MORE...

Even with the recent government shutdown, Social Security recipients kept getting paid.Because many retirees get almost all of their income from the benefit checks, it's essential to know exactly when they'll come in. READ MORE...

As the FOMC were in the process of reversing multiple years of near zero interest rates, the path back to rate ‘normalization’ was communicated relatively clearly to the public.So throughout the last few years, the number and timing of Fed Funds rate hikes was never a surprise. READ MORE...

January’s super strong jobs report and a solid manufacturing survey on Friday showed that recession worries may be overblown and slowdown fears are not impacting corporate hiring or dampening manufacturers’ sentiment.READ MORE...

The average net addition to workforce for the last three months is now 241,000 jobs — which is an acceleration in job growth. The leisure and hospitality sector, which hired 74,000 employees, led the job gains for the month.Construction and health care added 52,000 and 42,000 jobs respectively. In January, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 3 cents to $27.56, following a 10-cent gain in December.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq came under pressure from weakness in technology stocks ahead of Apple’s results on Tuesday, while a rebound in industrial stocks lifted the Dow.READ MORE...

stocks fell on Monday as weak forecasts from Caterpillar Inc and Nvidia Corp fueled worries about a slowdown in China taking a bigger bite off corporate profits.READ MORE...

The U.S. economy lost at least $6 billion during the partial shutdown of the federal government due to lost productivity from furloughed workers and economic activity lost to outside business, S&P Global Ratings said on Friday.READ MORE...

President Donald Trump’s tax cut package is apparently yet to produce a substantial boost in business spending, as suggested by a recent survey result. According to the National Association of Business Economics' (NABE) quarterly business conditions poll published on Monday, 84% of respondents indicated that corporate tax cuts did not lead them to change plans.That percentage is even bigger compared to the 81% in the survey published in October. The $1.5 trillion cut tax package – which included a reduction of corporate tax rate to 21% from 35% - is the largest U.S. tax code overhaul in more than three decades.

The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits fell to more than a 49-year low last week, but the drop likely overstates the health of the labor market as claims for several states including California were estimated.READ MORE...

Barclays economists said on Wednesday they reduced their outlook on U.S. economic growth in the first quarter to an annualized rate of 2.5 percent from an earlier projection of 3.0 percent as a result of the historically long partial federal government shutdown.READ MORE...

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde warned the "risk of a sharper decline in global growth has certainly increased," but also indicated that the headwind is unlikely to snowball into a global recession anytime soon.China’s macroeconomic slowdown amidst U.S. tariffs was mentioned as a potent cause of concern about global markets and economies. The IMF projects the U.S. economy to grow at 2.5% in 2019 followed by a slower 1.8% in 2020.  

NEW YORK (Reuters) - World stock indexes jumped on Friday, with Wall Street posting a fourth straight week of gains, and the dollar had its first positive week since mid-December as optimism increased that an end is in sight to the U.S.-China trade conflict. READ MORE...