US jobless applications fell to 199,000 in the week ending December 27, marking the lowest reading in weeks.The figure signals that employers remain reluctant to cut payrolls despite economic uncertainties approaching the year’s end.The unexpected decline, down 16,000 from the previous week’s revised 215,000, underscores a labor market characterised by…

Gold prices slipped on Wednesday, but were on track for steepest annual gains since 1979.Silver prices more than doubled in 2025 even as the white metal retreated sharply on the last trading of the year. Meanwhile, the picture is quite different for crude oil. Oil prices were headed for its biggest…

After a complex year marked by US President Donald Trump’s trade war, Mexico is entering 2026 with heightened challenges due to tariff uncertainty and the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which experts predict will be the primary source of volatility next year.José Ignacio Martínez, coordinator of the Laboratory…

European markets and politics closed the year on sharply diverging trajectories.London stocks delivered their strongest performance since the financial crisis, while geopolitical and fiscal strains deepened across the continent.Germany signaled a historic break from US security dependence, Russia’s latest battlefield claims drew widespread doubt, and Hungary’s capital slid into junk…

Markets are looking to kick off the year with a volatile mix of tech, geopolitics, speculative finance, and protectionism.Nvidia is racing to meet surging Chinese demand for its H200 AI chips amid shifting export politics, while Trump Media leans into crypto with a controversial shareholder token.India tightens trade defenses to…

On December 1st, famed investor Jim Cramer looked into the camera on CNBC’s Mad Money and made a provocative statement – “maybe the stretched consumer is a false narrative.”At first glance, the statement seemed to fly in the face of conventional wisdom.For months, headlines have been dominated by “vibe-cession” talks,…