A shopper browses meat at a grocery store in New York, US, on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.
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It was a stellar day for markets as all three major U.S. stock indexes closed at record highs on Wednesday.
That’s despite a sharper-than-expected month-on-month growth in U.S. consumer prices in August, according to the Labor Department, signaling that tariffs are likely raising inflationary heat.
While the monthly inflation reading overshot estimates from a Dow Jones survey by 0.1 percentage point, the headline annual reading, as well as both monthly and yearly core data, came in as expected.
Granted, that’s not much of a comfort. Having expectations of an unpleasant scenario confirmed doesn’t take away its sting.
That said, the inflation data was accompanied by a separate report that showed weekly jobless claims in the U.S. rose to their highest level in nearly four years.
“Today’s CPI report has been trumped by the jobless claims report,” wrote Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management.
This reinforces the narrative that the U.S. Federal Reserve will lower rates by at least 25 basis points during its meeting next week.
But with so much riding on the Fed, it’s crucial to not just celebrate a possible rate cut next week, but also chew on what Chair Jerome Powell has to say about the economy and monetary policy.
U.S. prices heat up. August’s consumer price index rose 0.4% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.9%. It appears that Trump tariffs are showing up in prices. Separately, weekly jobless claims jumped to their highest in nearly four years.
Japan will receive a share of profits. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Thursday that the U.S. will split with Japan returns from Tokyo’s investments in American projects. The pledged $550 billion in investments are part of Japan’s trade deal with the U.S.
China warns Mexico to ‘think twice’ about tariffs. The comments came after Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s sectary of economy, said Wednesday the country planned to raise tariffs on vehicles coming from Asia, particularly China, to 50% from the current 20%.
All-time highs for major U.S. indexes. On Thursday, the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite closed at fresh records. Asian tech stocks, such as SK Hynix, Alibaba and Baidu, jumped Friday on chip-related developments.
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U.S. President Donald Trump and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen shake hands as they announce a US-EU trade deal after a meeting at Trump Turnberry golf club on July 27, 2025 in Turnberry, Scotland.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Singapore’s allure for China’s wealthy fades as crackdown sends money to rival hubs
When a 3 billion Singapore dollar ($2.3 billion) money-laundering scandal — dubbed the “Fujian case” as culprits hailed from that region — happened in 2023, Singapore’s regulators and banks embarked on an aggressive clean-up, introducing stricter rules and re-screening of wealthy clients.
“When the Fujian news broke, a lot of these wealthy Chinese left. So literally, almost all … they go to Hong Kong, the Middle East, Japan,” said Ryan Lin, a director at Bayfront Law in Singapore. Their departure has only accelerated since that incident.
— Lee Ying Shan