Trump convened nearly 20 industry representatives in the East Room of the White House Friday and predicted they could come to an agreement “today or very shortly thereafter” to reinvigorate operations in the oil-rich Latin American country following the b

SAVAGE, Minnesota, Jan 9 (Reuters) - U. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday said the goal of the Trump administration's launch of mortgage-backed securities purchases is to roughly match ​the rate at which those bonds are rolling off the Federal Re

Oil giants tell Trump they need stability and considerable legal and political reforms before investing big in Venezuela.

Venezuela's oil recovery is hampered by both long-term structural damage from the collapse of PDVSA and later, faster-acting disruption from US sanctions, with a near-term rebound hinging most on sanctions relief.

By Jarrett Renshaw and Bo Erickson WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - U.S.

A surprise drop in the unemployment rate in December is likely to keep the Federal Reserve on course to take a breather from cutting interest rates later this month.

Consumers remain pretty skeptical of the economic road ahead.

A productivity boom coinciding with higher unemployment, a frozen hiring scene, and growing anxiety over automation hint at an economic and social predicament.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that the Federal Reserve needs to do its part to boost investment in the economy and that interest rates should be substantially lower.

Employers announced 35,553 layoffs in December in the lowest monthly total since July 2024, following sweeping job cuts earlier in the year.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed 7.15 million jobs open at the end of November, by which point the unemployment rate was at a four-year high of 4.6%.

US private employers brought on 41,000 new positions in December, ending a difficult year for a job market plagued by lackluster hiring and rising layoffs on a muted note.

Fed officials expect interest rates to fall in the future, but some see the case for waiting \\

Analysts looking forward to what is in store on the tariff front in 2026 see limited deescalation next year, with President Trump as intent as ever on keeping rates at historically high levels.

Spending shift comes as China and U.S. challenges mount