Analysis-Apple has big AI ambitions – at a lower cost than its rivals By Stephen Nellis (Reuters) -For most of the past year and a half, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has fielded questions from Wall Street analysts about his plans for artificial intelligence amid grumbling that the iPhone maker has no AI story to tell. After the company reported quarterly earnings on Thursday, Cook insisted that Apple will have concrete details about its plans for AI to talk about very soon. “We continue to feel very bullish about our opportunity in generative AI and we’re making significant investments,” Coo ..read more

Sterling shrugs off local election to focus on US payrolls data By Joice Alves LONDON (Reuters) – Sterling rose on Friday against a weakening dollar ahead of U.S. jobs data due later in the day, while local elections in Britain have left the currency undisturbed. Markets are focusing on U.S. nonfarm payrolls data due at 1230 GMT for clues on when the Federal Reserve might cut rates after Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters this week that interest rates might have to remain elevated for longer but shot down talk of raising them again. In Britain, the opposition Labour Party won a parliamenta ..read more

Global equity funds attract robust weekly inflows, led by Asia (Reuters) – Global equity funds experienced renewed interest from investors in the seven days through May 1, buoyed by a surge in inflows to Asia amid optimism about an economic recovery in the region, particularly in China. Investors secured a net $4.86 billion worth of global equity funds during the week, marking their first weekly net buying since March 27, data from LSEG showed. Regionally, Asian equity funds attracted a net $5.68 billion, marking the largest weekly inflow since March 27. Meanwhile, investors put $4.46 billion ..read more

Dollar drops as employers add fewer jobs than expected in April By Karen Brettell NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar fell to a three-week low against the yen on Friday after data showed that U.S. jobs growth slowed more than expected in April and annual wage gains cooled, boosting bets that the Federal Reserve will cut rates twice this year. Employers added 175,000 jobs last month, below economists’ expectations for a 243,000 increase. Wages increased 3.9% in the 12 months through April, below expectations for a 4.0% gain after rising 4.1% in March. The unemployment rate rose to 3.9% from 3.8%, s ..read more

Analysis-Traders prep for another round of yen whack-a-mole By Amanda Cooper and Dhara Ranasinghe LONDON (Reuters) – Japan’s attempts to shore up its currency are putting trading desks across the globe on high alert and dealers are taking no chances ahead of a long weekend in London and Tokyo that might offer authorities another opportunity to bolster the frail yen. The Japanese currency, which is around its weakest since 1990, has witnessed its biggest weekly price swing since 2022, when the Bank of Japan bought the yen for the first time since 1998. Traders suspect the authorities stepped in ..read more

Oil edges back towards 7-week low after resilient US jobs data By Robert Harvey and Deep Kaushik Vakil LONDON (Reuters) -Oil edged back towards the previous day’s seven-week low on Thursday, paring earlier gains, after U.S. data pointed to persistent labour market strength and further dimmed prospects of an early decline in U.S. interest rates. Brent crude futures for July were up 40 cents, or 0.5%, at $83.84 a barrel by 1332 GMT, heaving earlier touched a session peak of $84.44. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June was 27 cents, or 0.3%, firmer at $79.27, off a high for the day o ..read more

Euro zone factory activity takes turn for the worse in April, PMI survey shows By Jonathan Cable LONDON (Reuters) -The downturn in manufacturing activity across the euro zone deepened in April due to crumbling demand despite factories cutting prices, pushing firms to reduce headcount again, a survey showed on Thursday. But it was something of a patchwork decline in the region with the situation deteriorating in France and Italy while in Germany the sector moved closer to expanding. Spain was an outlier, activity there expanded at its fastest pace in almost two years thanks to an uplift in dema ..read more

Sterling gives back some Fed-inspired gains, eyes on local elections By Samuel Indyk LONDON (Reuters) – The British pound slipped against the dollar, having risen the day before after the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, while investors were playing down the impact UK local elections on Thursday might have on the currency. The pound was last down 0.1% against the dollar at $1.2509, having risen 0.3% the day before after Fed Chair Jerome Powell ruled out hiking interest rates, which weighed on the U.S. dollar. “The Fed will be data dependent and if data were to show another boost to inflation ..read more

UK set for weak growth and highest inflation in G7, OECD says By Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) -Britain will suffer some of the lowest rates of economic growth and highest inflation among Group of Seven countries this year and next, forecasts from the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development suggested on Thursday. The OECD cut this year’s growth forecast for the British economy to 0.4% from the 0.7% it predicted in February. Only Germany is expected to perform worse among G7 advanced economies, which also include Canada, France, Italy, Japan and the United States. UK growth in 2025 ..read more

European shares struggle for direction in earnings tide, Fed decision By Ankika Biswas (Reuters) -European shares flitted in a tight range on Thursday, after falling to a one-week low in early trade, as investors returned from a mid-week holiday to gauge a slew of earnings and the Federal Reserve signalling a delay in interest rate cuts. The pan-European STOXX 600 held its ground at 503.55, as of 0830 GMT, after logging its first monthly decline this year in April. Market sentiment has come under pressure as investors navigated through risks surrounding the Middle East geopolitical conflict, t ..read more