The bill to raise the U.S. debt ceiling clears the first hurdle in the House Rules Committee and faces a House floor vote tonight. Chinese manufacturing contracts further, reaching a five-month low while the services sector activity hits its slowest pace in four months. Asian markets slump as a result. The Nasdaq manages to cross the 13,000-point mark for the first time since August 2022, buoyed by an A.I. tech stock-inspired rally. The Dow, however, is set to post its first negative month in three. Sticking with tech, chip maker Nvidia briefly joins the trillion-dollar club, but falls back to ..read more

Following a battering for his PSOE party in regional and municipal elections, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez calls a snap election for 23rd July. The U.S. debt ceiling agreement is due to face its first test today when it comes up against the House Rules Committee. President Biden says he is confident the bill will pass despite signs of resistance from some GOP lawmakers. Asia markets are mixed with oil slipping as investors await Wall Street’s reaction to the debt deal following the Memorial Day weekend. In the UK, shop price inflation shows no signs of abating, hitting 9 per cent – its ..read more

U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hail a debt ceiling deal with a vote on the agreement set for later this week. Markets in Asia respond positively to the news with the Nikkei hitting a 30-year high while U.S. futures trade in the green with oil also up. In regional Spanish elections, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s PSOE party get thumped with the conservative People’s Party making significant gains in key areas. Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims victory in Sunday’s presidential election to extend his hold on power into a third decade. See Privacy Policy at https://ar ..read more

The White House and Republicans are reportedly inching towards a debt deal that will remain in place until past the 2024 elections. On Wall Street, the Nasdaq closes up 1.7 per cent, powered primarily by Nvidia shares. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo holds ‘candid and substantive’ talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Wengtao after months of tit-for-tat incidents and raised trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. And we are live in Valencia ahead of pivotal regional elections across much of the country this weekend. The poll is seen as a key test for parties going into this wint ..read more

Political wrangling over the debt ceiling continues in Washington D.C., prompting Fitch to place the U.S.’ AAA rating on negative watch. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy still manages to strike an optimistic note. There are differing opinions emerging at the Federal Reserve over the future rate path. The most recent FOMC meeting’s minutes show members now less certain that further hikes are needed. Chip maker Nvidia sees shares soar in after-hours trade, adding more than $200bn in value to take its market cap beyond $1tn as the firm posts its largest quarterly beat in 5 years. Florida Governor Ron ..read more

Wall Street is in the red as the debt ceiling negotiations drag on, with the deadline just over a week away. Speaking at the CNBC CEO Council Summit, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon says that the chance of recession this year is worsening as inflation remains stickier than predicted. Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel believes the ECB must hike several more times in its fight against inflation in the euro zone as the central bank marks its 25th anniversary. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is reportedly due to announce his presidential run later today during a special Twitter conversation wi ..read more

President Biden says talks with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the White House have been productive as negotiators seek to strike a debt ceiling deal ahead of the 1 June deadline. Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari tells CNBC he is open to either hiking rates or skipping an increase next month but warned that investors should not expect a cut any time soon. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon has said he plans to continue as boss of America’s largest bank so long as he is energized by the role. Facebook parent Meta is hit with a record $1.4bn fine by the EU for transferring user data t ..read more

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy attends the G-7 summit in Hiroshima and laments the destruction of the city of Bakhmut which Russian forces claim to have taken over the weekend. U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are to meet at the White House to discuss stalled debt ceiling talks. Biden says the GOP must compromise over its “extreme positions”. China slaps trade restrictions on U.S. chip maker Micron, claiming the company poses security risks. In aviation news, Ryanair posts FY profits of €1.4bn on the back of strong recovery in traffic. However, the carrier war ..read more

The G-7 summit kicks off in Hiroshima, Japan. Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy will reportedly attend the meeting where Western leaders have vowed to harden their stance against Russia. In the U.S., there are signs an agreement on the debt ceiling could be reached with a vote as a early as next week to avoid a default ahead of the June 1st deadline. Wall Street indices are on track to post their best week since March and in Asia, the Nikkei hits its highest level since 1990. In retail news, Alibaba shares are down after the e-commerce giant missed expectations while Walmart hikes f ..read more

It appears U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy may be closing in on a deal to avert a default. As Biden flies to Hiroshima to attend a G-7 summit, McCarthy tells our U.S. colleagues that the size of the debt issue can no longer be ignored. The optimism pushes the Dow by 400 points and regional banks also surge with Western Alliance reporting strong deposits for the quarter. In retail news, U.S. giant Target sees shares rise on an earnings beat but warns that organised retail theft could cost the company up to $1bn. Deutsche Bank agrees to settle a lawsuit concerning Jeffr ..read more