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

Greek summer wildfire threat nears, outpacing plans to contain it By Angeliki Koutantou ATHENS (Reuters) – When firefighters arrived at a blaze in a pine forest on the Greek island of Rhodes last July, flames were already leaping above the trees into the night sky. The volunteers needed to act fast, but dense vegetation on the forest floor blocked access. With crews unable to get close, the fire spread and within days had engulfed the Mediterranean island, forcing 19,000 people to flee – one of the biggest disaster evacuations in Greece’s history. “Have you ever tried walking through a forest ..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

Garmin’s Q1 results beat on strong demand for fitness, auto products (Reuters) -Garmin topped Wall Street estimates for first-quarter results on Wednesday as the Swiss navigation device maker benefited from new launches and strong demand for its products in fitness and auto segments, sending its shares up 9.6%. Garmin, which offers GPS devices and technology used for fitness tracking, sports, aviation and marine sectors, has introduced upgrades on its devices and launched new products, which have powered revenue growth. In the first quarter, it launched Forerunner 165 series, the latest additi ..read more

Stocks, dollar dip after data with eyes on Fed By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) – A gauge of global stocks declined for the first time in three sessions on Wednesday while the dollar dipped against a basket of peers after a flurry of U.S. economic data and ahead of a policy announcement by the Federal Reserve. On Wall Street, U.S. stocks were lower for the first trading day of the month, after each of the major indexes closed out April with their first monthly declines since October. U.S. private payrolls increased more than expected in April while data for the prior month was revised h ..read more

Apple set for big sales decline as investors await AI in iPhones By Yuvraj Malik (Reuters) – Apple’s plan to add generative AI to its iPhones and revive sagging sales in the crucial Chinese market will be in focus on Thursday, when the tech giant is expected to report its biggest quarterly revenue decline in more than a year. Long considered a must-own stock on Wall Street, Apple shares have underperformed other Big Tech companies in recent months, falling more than 10% year to date as fears mount about its slow roll out of AI services and as a resurgent Huawei takes market share in China. Ana ..read more