Germany’s trade sector ended the year on a strong note, but weakness in industrial production underlined the fragile and uneven nature of any economic recovery in Europe’s largest economy, official data showed on Friday. German exports surged 4.0% in December compared with the previous month, significantly outperforming expectations for a …

Oil prices settled sharply lower on Thursday after the United States and Iran agreed to hold talks in Oman on Friday, easing market concerns over potential disruptions to Iranian crude supplies and injecting fresh volatility into energy markets. Brent crude futures closed down $1.91, or 2.75%, at $67.55 per barrel, …

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey struck a cautiously dovish tone on Thursday after the central bank kept interest rates unchanged at 3.75% in a surprisingly close 5–4 vote, signaling that borrowing costs are likely to fall further if economic conditions evolve as expected. Speaking at the post-meeting press conference, …

The Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged at its first policy meeting of the year on Thursday, opting for caution as inflation remains well above target despite growing signs of weakness in the U.K. labor market. The central bank maintained its benchmark Bank Rate at 3.75%, in line with …

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) topped Wall Street expectations on both earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter of 2025, but its sharply higher-than-expected capital expenditure guidance for 2026 unsettled investors, sending shares lower in premarket U.S. trading on Thursday. The results come at a sensitive time for technology stocks, with the artificial …

European equity markets traded in a mixed fashion on Thursday, as investors weighed overnight weakness on Wall Street against a fresh round of corporate earnings, while looking ahead to key policy decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England later in the day. At 03:05 ET (08:05 …

Bitcoin slumped nearly 8% on Thursday, falling toward the $70,000 level as thinning liquidity and a sharp sell-off in global technology stocks renewed pressure on risk assets. The world’s largest cryptocurrency was last down 7.6% at $70,427.1 by 00:28 ET, hovering near its lowest levels since early November 2024 after …

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he held a “long and thorough” phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, covering a broad range of geopolitical and economic issues ahead of Trump’s planned visit to China in April. Trump said the discussion touched on Iran, Russia’s war in Ukraine, …

Gold prices reversed earlier gains and moved lower in Asian trading on Thursday, while silver plunged sharply, erasing much of its brief rebound earlier this week as renewed pressure returned to metal markets. Spot gold slipped 1.3% to $4,899.18 an ounce by early Asian hours, while April gold futures fell …

U.S. private-sector hiring disappointed in the latest ADP National Employment Report, signaling a notable loss of momentum in the labor market ahead of this week’s key government jobs data. According to ADP, private employers added just 22,000 jobs, well below market expectations of 46,000, and down sharply from the previous …