Hong Kong catering and construction unions have called for a review of the labour import scheme amid high jobless rates in the sectors, with some local employees complaining about being replaced or forced to work fewer days after cheaper staff from outside the city were recruited. Chau Sze-kit, chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry…
Hong Kong’s residential property market is poised for a recovery after enduring a seven-year downturn, according to Morgan Stanley. Home prices in the city are set to bottom out, driven by an influx of mainland Chinese buyers, improved capital markets and a recent plunge in interest rates, analysts led by Praveen Choudhary said in a…
A local labour union has urged the Hong Kong government to review its imported labour policy after a survey revealed that more than half of catering workers lost their jobs following the Lunar New Year, while the percentage of employers hiring non-local workers trebled. The survey, jointly conducted by the Federation of Hong Kong and…
There’s an old joke in economics that stock markets have predicted nine out of the past five recessions. The point being that predicting a recession solely based on the stock market is difficult. “They can turn around on a dime. They can turn around in a heartbeat,” said James Angel, a finance professor at Georgetown…
(Reuters) – Wall Street futures climbed on Thursday as investors drew confidence from the Federal Reserve’s signaling of more interest rate cuts this year despite uncertainties stemming from U.S. trade policies. The Fed opted to maintain current interest rates on Wednesday, a move widely anticipated by the market, but reaffirmed its forecast for two 25…
The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite saw significant losses this week as investor sentiment soured over escalating trade policy actions and signs of economic weakness. While markets attempted a recovery on Friday, they still posted their worst weekly performance in several months, according to CNBC. The S&P 500 rose 0.55% to…
monsitj / Getty Images/iStockphoto Bitcoin surged to over $105,000 on Jan. 30, 2025, hours after the Federal Reserve announced that it would keep interest rates steady, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell saying in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting press conference, “Banks are perfectly able to serve crypto customers” provided that they understand and…
(Bloomberg) — US inflation showed scant signs of downward momentum at the start of the year, while healthy job growth undergirded the economy, backing the Federal Reserve’s stance to hold the line on interest rates for now. Most Read from Bloomberg Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who offers his semiannual testimony to lawmakers on Tuesday and…
Most mortgage rates have inched up today. According to Zillow, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate has increased by three basis points to 6.57%, and the 15-year fixed rate has risen by four basis points to 5.88%. These small increases are likely a response to the latest labor data. Yesterday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics…
By Lewis Krauskopf, Saqib Iqbal Ahmed NEW YORK (Reuters) -A fresh look at the pace of inflation will test the U.S. stock market in the coming week, as investors worry that President Donald Trump’s tariff plans are endangering Wall Street’s hopes for interest rate cuts this year. The benchmark S&P 500 remained about 1% below…