Romanian "hard-right" (pundit desciption) candidate George Simion is leading the presidential election with 40% of the vote after 95% of ballots were counted, excluding those from the diaspora, according to official data released Sunday. Centrists Nicușor Dan and Crin Antonescu had been running neck and neck, but Dan has now edged into second place,…

Reuters conveying the information that OPEC+ is preparing to fast-track oil output hikes through October and may scrap 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of voluntary production cuts by November if member compliance does not improve. Reuters cite according to five sources. The decision follows April's surprise move to raise output faster than expected, a…

Trump has refused to rule out the use of military force to take control of Greenland, calling the territory vital for American security interests. “I don’t rule it out. I don’t say I’m going to do it, but I don’t rule out anything,” Trump said in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.…

Prior was +228K Unemployment rate: % versus 4.2% expected This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.

Wall Street futures rise with S&P 500 close to erasing losses since Donald Trump’s ‘liberation day’ tariff announcement

Happy Friday. Futures are upbeat on the comments from China about trade but I find the comments from Japan to be the story today, as the US appears to be set on leaving the majority of tariffs on permanently, including the 10% floor. In any case, the market can turn away from tariffs for a…

Shares in US company tumble as launch of latest version of best-selling game is delayed

First-quarter figures affected by stockpiling but other indicators remain strong

Gold is back to flat today after falling earlier. The market is now pricing in 131 bps in Fed easing in the coming year, up 6 bps from yesterday following a couple of poor economic data readings today. The view is that the Fed will cut despite rising inflation as the economy slows. Technically, this…

Core PCE (excluding food & energy): Prior was +2.8% (revised to +3.0%) Core m/m +0.0% vs +0.1% exp Unrounded core PCE +0.028% vs +0.38% m/m prior Supercore (services ex-shelter) +3.0% vs +3.34% y/y prior Services inflation +0.15% vs +0.375% m/m prior Headline PCE Headline PCE +2.3% y/y vs +2.2% expected Deflator +0.0% m/m vs +0.0%…