• May 13, 2025

Oil Holds Four-Day Gain Spurred by Trade Optimism, Iran Remarks

(Bloomberg) -- Oil held the bulk of its biggest four-day rally since October, spurred by the US-China trade détente and President Donald Trump’s increasingly hostile rhetoric on Iranian supply, Most Read from BloombergAs Coastline Erodes, One California City Considers ‘Retreat Now’A New Central Park Amenity, Tailored to Its East Harlem NeighborsWhat’s Behind the Rise in Serious Injuries on New York City’s Streets?How Finland Is Harvesting Waste Heat From Data CentersLawsuit Challenges Trump Admi

• May 13, 2025

Morning Bid: Markets near even keel amid trade deal hope

Most major equity markets have clawed back loss in the six weeks since U.S. President Donald Trump dropped his tariff bomb, leaving investors now nervously looking to see if more trade deals will follow those the U.S. has sketched out with China and Britain. U.S. stocks have returned to positive territory for the year, while European shares are now a shade higher than when Trump announced tariffs against friend and foes alike on April 2. Technology shares are back in the spotlight after U.S. chip firms Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices announced huge artificial intelligence deals in the Middle East, timed with a visit by Trump to Saudi Arabia.

• May 13, 2025

Asian shares mostly gain amid cautious relief over U.S.-China agreement

Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday as a cautious sense of relief spread through regional markets after the U.S. and China agreed to a 90-day pause in their trade war. The relief over the trade truce between the U.S. and China is tepid among global businesses and investors given uncertainty over how long it might last and where tariffs might go in the months ahead. A report overnight that showed U.S. inflation unexpectedly slowed last month helped drive buying that pushed the S&P 500 up 0.7%, to 5,886.55.

• May 13, 2025

Asian shares mostly gain amid cautious relief over U.S.-China agreement

Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday as a cautious sense of relief spread through regional markets after the U.S. and China agreed to a 90-day pause in their trade war. The relief over the trade truce between the U.S. and China is tepid among global businesses and investors given uncertainty over how long it might last and where tariffs might go in the months ahead. A report overnight that showed U.S. inflation unexpectedly slowed last month helped drive buying that pushed the S&P 500 up 0.7%, to 5,886.55.

• May 13, 2025

Sony forecasts flat profit this year as tariffs bite

TOKYO (Reuters) -Sony said on Wednesday it expects operating profit to rise 0.3% to 1.28 trillion yen ($8.7 billion) in the financial year ending in March, after factoring in a 100 billion yen hit from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. The estimated tariff impact does not reflect this week's trade deal between the United States and China and the actual impact could vary significantly, Sony said. Sony's shares reversed a more than 3% fall from the morning session to rise over 2% in afternoon trading after the results.

• May 13, 2025

Iron Ore Bounces Back to Six-Week High on Trade-War Truce Hopes

(Bloomberg) -- Iron ore rose as trade tensions eased, spurring optimism across a metals market that has been hit especially hard by global growth worries.Most Read from BloombergAs Coastline Erodes, One California City Considers ‘Retreat Now’A New Central Park Amenity, Tailored to Its East Harlem NeighborsWhat’s Behind the Rise in Serious Injuries on New York City’s Streets?How Finland Is Harvesting Waste Heat From Data CentersLawsuit Challenges Trump Administration Policy on Migrant ChildrenFut

• May 13, 2025

Shares rise, dollar struggles as investors consider tariff truce

Stocks climbed in Asia on Wednesday while the dollar wobbled as relatively benign U.S. inflation data kept alive the prospect of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later this year even as investors were still gauging if the worst of the trade conflicts were over. As U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade war appeared to hit pause, led by a truce in the tariff spat between China and the United States, financial markets remained nervous about the outlook. "I'm just a little bit cautious here about chasing the rally in stocks at this level," said IG analyst Tony Sycamore.

• May 13, 2025

Tariffs on the auto industry could take a hit on car insurance rates

Getting behind the wheel is about to get more expensive, with tariffs poised to raise the price of car insurance by nearly 10% later this year.

• May 13, 2025

Australia wage growth ticks up in Q1, led by public sector

Australian wages picked up in the March quarter led by government pay rises, data showed on Wednesday, while subdued growth in the private sector suggested a tight labour market was still no bar to a cut in interest rates. Investors remain confident the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut by a quarter point to 3.85% at its May 20 meeting, due to cooling inflation at home and global uncertainty caused by U.S. tariff policies. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed wage growth of 0.9% in the first quarter, slightly higher than forecasts of 0.8%, largely due to one-off public sector awards for people working in childcare and aged care.

• May 13, 2025

Dollar steadies with trade talks in frame after sliding on muted US inflation

The U.S. dollar steadied on Wednesday following its biggest decline in more than three weeks overnight, with cooler-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation data bolstering the case for Federal Reserve easing just as global trade tensions cool. The Labor Department said the consumer price index increased 0.2% last month, below expectations of economists polled by Reuters for a 0.3% gain, after dipping 0.1% in March. U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Fox News interview that he could see himself dealing directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the final details of a trade deal, adding: "I'm not sure it'll be necessary."