Wall Street Slides as Warsh Fed Nomination, Hot Inflation, and Precious Metals Rout Shake Markets 
U.S. Eases Venezuela Oil Sanctions to Boost American Investment After Maduro Ouster 
Starmer’s China Visit Highlights Western Balancing Act Amid U.S.-China Rivalry 
Japan Election Poll Signals Landslide Win for Sanae Takaichi, Raising Fiscal Policy Concerns 
BOJ Policymakers Warn Weak Yen Could Fuel Inflation Risks and Delay Rate Action 
China Manufacturing PMI Slips Into Contraction in January as Weak Demand Pressures Economy 
South Korea Factory Activity Hits 18-Month High as Export Demand Surges 
China Factory Activity Slips in January as Weak Demand Weighs on Growth Outlook 
India Budget 2025 Highlights Manufacturing Push but Falls Short of Market Expectations 
Gold and Silver Prices Plunge as Trump Taps Kevin Warsh for Fed Chair 
EU Recovery Fund Faces Bottlenecks Despite Driving Digital and Green Projects 
Asian Currencies Hold Firm as Dollar Rebounds on Fed Chair Nomination Hopes 
Oil Prices Slide Nearly 3% as U.S.-Iran Talks Ease Geopolitical Tensions 
Dollar Holds Firm as Markets Weigh Warsh-Led Fed and Yen Weakness Ahead of Japan Election 
Gold Prices Stabilize in Asian Trade After Sharp Weekly Losses Amid Fed Uncertainty 
Asian Markets Slide as Silver Volatility, Earnings Season, and Central Bank Meetings Rattle Investors 
The U.S. dollar edged up on Monday after suffering sharp losses last week following a weaker-than-expected July jobs report and President Donald Trump’s abrupt firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer. The dollar had tumbled over 2% against the yen and 1.5% against the euro on Friday, as investors ramped up bets on imminent Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls missed forecasts, with prior months’ figures revised down by 258,000 jobs, signaling a steeper-than-anticipated slowdown in the labor market. Trump accused McEntarfer of “faking” the numbers, while the unexpected resignation of Fed Governor Adriana Kugler gave the president an opportunity to shape the central bank’s direction sooner than expected.
The dollar recovered slightly, rising 0.14% to 147.60 yen but remained nearly 3 yen below Friday’s peak. The euro slipped 0.2% to $1.1560, and sterling eased 0.1% to $1.3263. Against a basket of currencies, the greenback gained 0.2% to 98.86, after dropping more than 1% on Friday.
Treasury yields fell as traders priced in a 95% probability of a Fed rate cut in September, with over 63 basis points of cuts expected by year-end. The two-year yield dropped to a three-month low of 3.6590%, while the 10-year yield hovered near 4.2060%. Analysts at Macquarie now expect the Fed to cut rates by 25 basis points in September.
The Australian dollar slipped 0.17% to $0.6465, and the New Zealand dollar eased 0.24% to $0.5905. The Swiss franc held steady at 0.8041 per dollar, despite Switzerland facing steep new U.S. tariffs that local industry groups warn could cost tens of thousands of jobs.
