U.S.: Fed's Williams Says 2.5% Funds Rate About the `New Normal' Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said he expects “gradual rate increases” over the next couple of years, with one possibly as early as December. “The pace at which that happens and exactly the contour of that will depend on how

U.S.: U.S. Jobless Claims Decline as Harvey Impact Fades in Texas Applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. unexpectedly declined last week as the Hurricane Harvey-related surge in Texas filings continued to reverse, Labor Department figures showed Thursday. HIGHLIGHTS OF JOBLESS CLAIMS (WEEK ENDED SEPT. 16) Jobless claims declined by 23k to 259k (est. 302k)

Europe: The U.K.'s Economic Outlook Is Getting Rosier Bank of England officials aren’t the only ones feeling a bit more bullish about the U.K. economy. The Centre for Economics and Business Research upgraded its outlook for the nation’s economy Monday, citing a pickup in manufacturing and a view that the worst of the consumer-spending squeeze

U.S.: U.S. industrial output, sapped by Harvey, falls for first time since January U.S. industrial output fell in August for the first time since January as Hurricane Harvey battered oil, gas and chemical plants along the Gulf Coast and a cool summer sapped utility demand in the east, the Federal Reserve said on Friday. Overall

U.S.: U.S. Inflation Picks Up, Ending Five-Month Streak of Misses Inflation may finally be getting back on track to reach the Federal Reserve’s goal, as the U.S. cost of living accelerated following a weak stretch of readings, Labour Department data showed Thursday. HIGHLIGHTS OF CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (AUGUST) Consumer-price index increased 0.4% m/m (est. 0.3%

Europe: U.K. Unemployment at 42-Year Low Fails to Spur Wage Pickup For British workers, the lowest jobless rate in more than four decades isn’t enough to maintain their standard of living. Basic wages rose an annual 2.1 percent in the three months through July, unchanged from the second quarter and below market forecasts, figures on

Asia: China's Factory Prices Give Global Inflation Unexpected Lift Inflationary pressure emanating from the factory to the world is proving more resilient than economists have anticipated.  China’s producer-price inflation accelerated to 6.3 percent in August from a year earlier, exceeding all but one of 38 estimates in Bloomberg’s survey of economists. That data released Saturday

U.S.:  Trump’s Surprise Deal With Democrats Sets Up Christmas Showdown President Donald Trump’s unexpected decision to spurn his Republican allies in Congress by striking a short-term debt-limit deal with Democrats leaves the GOP reeling and lawmakers bracing for a bruising battle in December. Trump’s move undercut GOP leaders in the House and Senate, as well

U.S.: Hurricane Harvey boosts U.S. jobless claims to more than two-year high The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits jumped to its highest level in more than two years last week amid a surge in applications in hurricane-ravaged Texas, but the underlying trend remained consistent with a firming jobs market. The surge in claims

U.S.: U.S. trade gap edges up; deficit with China at 11-month high The U.S. trade deficit increased less than expected in July as both exports and imports fell, suggesting that trade could contribute to economic growth in the third quarter. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday the trade gap rose 0.3 percent to $43.7 billion.