Rolling live coverage of business, economics and financial markets as White House blocks transactions with two Chinese app owners
Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of business, economics and financial markets.
There was some mild optimism growing in financial markets on Thursday as US politicians moved closer to agreement on the terms of another round of massive fiscal stimulus, but US President Donald Trump has put paid to that with an offensive against two prominent social media apps.
the spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in the People’s Republic of China (China) continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.
The July jobs figures is expected to unveil a marked slowdown in hiring compared to stunning gains seen in the prior two months, which may fuel concerns that the US recovery is losing its momentum.
Still, Thursday’s better-than-expected weekly jobless claims figure of 1.19 million, which is the lowest number of applications for US jobless benefits since March, offers hope that the US economy can continue moving into the post-pandemic era. If the jobs market can stage a sustainable recovery from here, that could spur more risk-on market activity while offering relief for the beleaguered Dollar.