Asian shares were a touch below a recent three-month top on Thursday with China a tad weaker as investors weighed inflation concerns ahead of key U.S. economic data while oil prices rose to near 1-1/2 year highs. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 0.3% to 711 points. It went as high as 712.57 […]

Thursday, June 3, 2021 07:39 AM By Vince Golle ISM orders, activity indexes pick up from month earlier Measure of order backlogs also highest in data to 1997 (Bloomberg) — U.S. service providers expanded at the fastest pace on record in May, highlighting the rapid improvement in business activity across the economy. The Institute for Supply […]

Thursday, June 3, 2021 03:01 AM By Megan Durisin UN gauge of world food costs climbed for 12th month in May ‘Very little room’ for shocks to production, demand: economist (Bloomberg) — Global food prices extended their rally to the highest in almost a decade, heightening concerns over bulging grocery bills as economies struggle to exit […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. economic recovery accelerated in recent weeks even as a long list of supply chain troubles, hiring difficulties, and rising prices cascaded through the country, Federal Reserve officials said in their latest review of economic conditions. The economy grew at a “somewhat faster rate” from early to late May, the Fed reported […]

Intel Corp’s (INTC.O) CEO said on Monday it could take several years for a global shortage of semiconductors to be resolved, a problem that has shuttered some auto production lines and is also being felt in other areas, including consumer electronics. Pat Gelsinger told a virtual session of the Computex trade show in Taipei that the work-and-study-from-home […]

Friday, May 28, 2021 08:31 AM By Alfred Cang Dips after speculator warnings a buying opportunity: Goldman Fiscal stimulus means the U.S. now has more pricing power (Bloomberg) — China’s efforts to rein in surging commodities prices are likely to be in vain as it’s lost the ability to boss the market around, according to two […]

Thursday, May 27, 2021 09:14 AM By Rita Nazareth and Claire Ballentine Jobless claims fell last week to a fresh pandemic low Orders for U.S. business equipment rose more than forecast (Bloomberg) — Stocks climbed after strong economic reports spurred a rally in companies that stand to benefit the most from a rebound in activity. Treasuries fell, while the dollar was […]

Friday, May 28, 2021 06:38 AM By Elena Popina (Bloomberg) — This month’s drop in yields was supposed to benefit high-growth tech names. Not only didn’t they rise — they fell, now headed for the biggest loss since October. And while a list of reasons why that could’ve happened is getting long, one take is that […]

Don’t tell Costco executives that inflation is low. The big-box club chain said it’s been seeing accelerating prices across a range of products, including shipping containers, aluminum foil and a 20% spike in meat prices over the past month. “Inflationary factors abound,” CFO Richard Galanti said on the company’s fiscal third-quarter earnings call Thursday. “These […]

Wednesday, May 26, 2021 05:20 PM By Bloomberg News Surging commodity prices curbing manufacturers’ profits Uncertainty is restraining companies from expanding capacity (Bloomberg) — Eric Li’s factory making glass lampshades for companies including Home Depot Inc. is being stretched to its limits with sales doubling their pre-pandemic level. But like many Chinese manufacturers, he doesn’t plan to […]