Author: Finance for Sight

US stock indexes dropped on Thursday, as worries about the repercussions of an ongoing global trade war resurfaced, a day after the Federal Reserve left interest rate steady but warned of an uncertain economic backdrop. Global markets have been roiled with volatility over the past few weeks as investors were concerned that President Donald Trump’s aggressive stance on trade policies could stoke inflation, tip the economy into a recession and disrupt the Fed’s monetary policy easing cycle. The Fed maintained current interest rates on Wednesday as expected and reaffirmed its forecast for two 25 basis point reductions by the year-end.…

CAIRO: Hamas’ armed wing claimed on Thursday an attack with a barrage of rockets against Tel Aviv, in central Israel. The group said the attack was in response to “the Zionist massacres against civilians”. Three projectiles were identified crossing from southern Gaza into Israel, the Israeli military said. Hamas to release American hostage in Gaza, ready for second-phase ceasefire talks “The IAF successfully intercepted one projectile and two additional projectiles fell in an open area,” it added.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen on Thursday, as the Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed to have targeted Ben Gurion international airport. “A missile launched from Yemen was intercepted… prior to crossing into Israeli territory,” Israel’s military said. Part of Iran’s “axis of resistance” against the United States and Israel, the Houthis have been firing on ships in the Red Sea and at Israel since the start of the Gaza war, claiming solidarity with Palestinians. They had paused their attacks for the duration of an Israel-Hamas ceasefire that began mid-January, but resumed launching missiles and drones…

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s rand weakened early on Thursday, ahead of a much anticipated interest rate decision by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). At 0715 GMT, the rand traded at 18.1750 against the dollar, about 0.3% weaker than its previous close. The dollar last traded up about 0.2% against a basket of currencies as markets digested the US Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates steady and lower the nation’s growth forecast on Wednesday. The risk-sensitive rand has been rocked by national budget deadlock, tensions with the US and uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s tariffs, but investor focus will be…

SAN FRANCISCO: The only two Democrats on the US Federal Trade Commission have been fired by President Donald Trump, the White House said, opening the door for the Republican to appoint loyalists at the independent regulatory agency. The FTC’s primary function is to protect the US public against deceptive or unfair business practices. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a White House official confirmed that FTC commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter were dismissed. The FTC consists of five commissioners, typically representing both major political parties. “The president just illegally fired me,” Bedoya wrote in a post on X, formerly…

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks climbed early Wednesday as markets awaited a Federal Reserve decision and news conference with updates on the monetary policy and economic outlook. The US central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged, but markets will be scrutinizing the Fed’s updated economic projections and whether it still expects two interest rate cuts in 2025. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to again be pressed on how the Trump administration’s aggressive trade policies and tariffs affect the outlook for inflation. About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5 percent at…

CAIRO: Israeli strikes killed at least 20 Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday, local health workers said, as the Israeli military unleashed more bombardments of the enclave and ordered residents to evacuate combat zones. The United Nations said a foreign staffer was killed and five other workers were wounded in an Israeli airstrike on the site of a UN headquarters in central Gaza City. Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director of the UN office for Project Services, said: “Israel knew that this was a UN premises, that people were living, staying and working there, it is a compound. It is a…

DEIR EL-BALAH: The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said a foreign UN worker was killed and five others seriously injured Wednesday by an Israeli strike on their headquarters, as the Israeli army denied hitting a UN building. A statement from the health ministry said there was “one death and five severe injuries among foreign staff working for UN institutions… due to the bombing of their headquarters by the occupation in the central governorate a short while ago”. It added they had been taken to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. AFP has not been able to confirm the information with the United…

The World Bank’s Board of Directors approved $102 million in financing for the Resilient and Accessible Microfinance (RAM) Project in Pakistan on Wednesday. As per a statement, the project aims to enhance access to microcredit and support the resilience of the microfinance sector and its borrowers, particularly in the face of climate-related shocks. The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Finance through the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the World Bank said. The project will be the first in a series of interventions to support the sector, to be designed and phased in close partnership with other international…

ISTANBUL: Turkiye authorities detained President Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival on Wednesday on charges including corruption and aiding a terrorist group in what the main opposition party called “a coup against our next president”. The move against Ekrem Imamoglu, the popular mayor of Istanbul, caps a months-long legal crackdown on opposition figures across the country which has been criticised as a politicised attempt to hurt their electoral prospects. Turkiye lira currency crashed 12% to an all-time low of 42 to the dollar in response, underscoring worries over the eroding rule of law in the major emerging market and NATO member…