39;LDI39; tools gain popularity two years after pensions blowup Providers say they are better able to absorb shocks Value of leveraged hedging halves in two years regulator LONDON, Oct 4 Reuters Two years after market chaos jeopardised Britain39;s 2 trillion pound 2.7 trillion pensions industry, the hedging strategy that exacerbated the crisis is increasing in […]

WASHINGTON, Reuters Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo signed an agreement on Thursday to cooperate on strengthening supply chains in the two countries for lithium, cobalt and other critical minerals used in electric vehicles and clean energy applications. The Commerce Department said in a statement that the memorandum of understanding MOU, […]

LISBON, Oct 4 Reuters Portugal39;s minority centreright government has watered down its proposals for two major tax cuts, aiming to convince the main opposition Socialists to allow the passage of the 2025 budget in parliament. The Socialists said they would examine the new proposals and come up with a counterproposal next week. The government only […]

LONDON, Oct 4 Reuters Britain39;s construction sector grew at its fastest pace in nearly twoandahalf years in September, helped by a sharp jump in civil engineering and an upturn in housebuilding, but costs faced by firms escalated, an industry survey showed on Friday. There was also concern among some companies about possible spending cuts and […]

LONDON, Oct 3 Reuters British services firms lost some momentum but continued to grow in September and the prices they charged rose at the slowest pace in almost four years, according to a survey likely to be welcomed by the Bank of England. The SP Global UK Services Purchasing Managers Index published on Thursday dropped […]

LONDON, Oct 3 Reuters Euro zone business activity slipped back into contraction last month although the downturn was not as steep as initially thought, according to a survey that also showed inflationary pressures had eased. HCOB39;s composite Purchasing Managers39; Index for the bloc, compiled by SP Global and seen as a good gauge of overall […]

ISM nonmanufacturing PMI rose to 54.9 in September from 51.5 in August New orders index surged to 59.4, highest since February 2023 Services employment index dropped to 48.1 WASHINGTON, Oct 3 Reuters U.S. services sector activity jumped to a 112year high in September amid strong growth in new orders, more evidence that the economy remained […]

Weekly jobless claims increase 6,000 to 225,000 Continuing claims fall 1,000 to 1.826 million Impact of strikes, Helene may distort labor market WASHINGTON, Oct 3 Reuters The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose marginally last week, but the devastation unleashed by Hurricane Helene in the U.S. Southeast and strikes at Boeing […]

TORONTO, Oct 3 Reuters The downturn in Canada39;s services economy deepened in September as firms shed jobs and new business dropped to a near fouryear low, SP Global Canada services PMI data showed on Thursday. The headline business activity index fell to 46.4 from 47.8 in August, posting the lowest level since March. A reading […]

ZURICH, Oct 3 Reuters Swiss inflation has fallen to its lowest level in more than three years, government data showed on Thursday, prompting analysts to say more interest rate cuts by the Swiss National Bank were virtually certain. Swiss consumer prices rose by 0.8 in September compared with the same month a year earlier, data […]