Author: Daniel Wilson

By Suzanne McGee (Reuters) -Investors are increasingly taking refuge from the tumultuous U.S. stock market by pouring into a type of exchange-traded fund that offers a tradeoff, a cap on potential gains in return for a cushion against possible losses. Over the past month, as the market has pulled back sharply, “buffer” ETFs have seen $2.5 billion of inflows, according to CFRA Research. The category has seen $4.7 billion of inflows so far this year, as the benchmark S&P 500 stock index has declined 6%. On Monday, the S&P 500’s biggest drop of the year, such buffer ETFs pulled in…

By Kevin Buckland TOKYO (Reuters) -Wall Street futures sank and the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc strengthened on Monday as building deflationary pressures in China added to growth worries from a lacklustre U.S. economy and an escalating global trade war. U.S. S&P 500 stock futures pointed 0.5% lower and Nasdaq futures sagged 0.6% as of 0609 GMT. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slumped 1.8%, and an index of mainland Chinese blue chips eased 0.7%. Taiwan’s equity benchmark slipped 0.5%, although Japan’s Nikkei was 0.4% higher after flipping between small gains and losses. The yen strengthened some 0.3% to 147.605 per dollar,…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — President Donald Trump’s administration is considering granting relief from his 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports for products that comply with an existing trade pact he negotiated with the two US neighbors during his first term, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Tuesday. Lutnick, in an interview on Fox Business, said Trump was looking at the 2020 US-Mexico-Canada Agreement as a way to meet Canada and Mexico “in the middle some way.” Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick speaks with reporters after President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday,…

By Kevin Buckland TOKYO (Reuters) – Tech stocks led advances in Asia on Thursday, taking their cue from Wall Street’s gains after tepid inflation data allayed concerns over the state of the U.S. economy. U.S. Treasury yields remained elevated after pulling further away from recent lows the day before, on escalating tit-for-tat tariff battles between the United States and trading partners. The euro was steady after slipping back from a five-month high on Wednesday, when President Donald Trump warned of a response to the European Union’s threatened counter-tariffs on U.S. goods. However, the shared currency continued to garner support from…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, but sharp government spending cuts and an escalating trade war threaten labor market stability. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 220,000 for the week ended March 8, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 225,000 claims for the latest week. Claims have settled after spiking in late February amid winter storms and difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations around the Presidents Day holiday. Though the labor market remains on solid ground, policies…

By Suzanne McGee (Reuters) -Investors are bracing for more U.S. stock market volatility when President Donald Trump delivers an address to Congress on Tuesday evening, on the heels of his implementation of new tariffs that rattled asset prices earlier in the day. The president’s remarks come at a pivotal point for markets, as the post-election wave of exuberance and excitement has given way to anxiety that Trump’s policies are weighing on economic growth and contributing to inflation. “A lot of where we are headed next really does depend on what is in this speech,” said Steve Sosnick, market strategist at…

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were higher on Friday, signaling a pause from a week-long selloff triggered by fears over the economic impact of the Trump administration’s erratic trade policies, while investors awaited a consumer confidence report later in the day. Global financial markets witnessed significant volatility during the week, with the S&P 500 confirming a correction and losing more than $4 trillion in value. Concerns are rife that U.S. President Donald Trump’s unpredictable tariff threats could stall investment and tip the world’s largest economy into a period of high inflation and slowing growth. U.S. tariffs on metal imports…

By Tom Westbrook SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Citi analysts cut their recommendation for U.S. stocks to “neutral” from “overweight” on Monday after recession fears pummelled the market, arguing that the U.S. economy may no longer outpace the rest of the world in the coming months. At the same time, they upgraded their view on China to “overweight” from “neutral”. The report was issued after the close of trade on Monday when the Nasdaq lost 4%, its steepest one-day tumble since 2022. The benchmark S&P 500 fell 2.7%, its biggest daily drop of the year. [.N] Dirk Willer, Citi’s global head of macro,…

Sleep Number (NASDAQ:SNBR) Misses Q4 Revenue Estimates, Stock Drops Bedding manufacturer and retailer Sleep Number (NASDAQ:SNBR) missed Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q4 CY2024, with sales falling 12.3% year on year to $376.8 million. Its GAAP loss of $0.21 per share was 10.6% above analysts’ consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy Sleep Number? Find out in our full research report. Revenue: $376.8 million vs analyst estimates of $389.7 million (12.3% year-on-year decline, 3.3% miss) EPS (GAAP): -$0.21 vs analyst estimates of -$0.24 (10.6% beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $26.21 million vs analyst estimates of $28.9 million (7% margin, 9.3% miss)…

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge has denied Elon Musk’s request for a court order blocking OpenAI from converting itself to a for-profit company but said she could expedite a trial to consider Musk’s claims against the ChatGPT maker and its CEO. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled late Tuesday that “Musk has not demonstrated likelihood of success on the merits” in his request for a preliminary injunction. She offered to hold a trial in her California courtroom as soon as this fall, “given the public interest at stake and potential for harm if a conversion contrary to…