PHOTO COLLECTION: US Election 2024 America Votes

Associated Press

This is a collection of photos chosen by AP photo editors.

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  • A top Chinese economist just said what many people suspected: China's official GDP numbers may not be accurate

    China's GDP growth rate is likely to be between 3% to 4% for the next three to five years, said Gao Shanwen, a prominent economist.

  • PPI shows wholesale inflation jumped more than expected amid 'extended and bumpy journey' to Fed's target

    Thursday's wholesale inflation reading follows a string of releases that have shown price increases aren't rapidly falling toward the Fed's 2% target.

  • The Fed Is Poised to Cut Rates Next Week. But 2025 Is Another Matter.

    The U.S. economy is in a pretty good place, and Fed officials don’t want to see restrictive monetary policy stall out growth.

  • China pledges more debt, rate cuts to counter Trump's tariff threats

    China pledged on Thursday to increase the budget deficit, issue more debt and loosen monetary policy to maintain a stable economic growth rate as it girds for more trade tensions with the U.S. as Donald Trump returns to the White House. The remarks came in a state media readout of an annual agenda-setting meeting of China's top leaders, known as the Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC), held on Dec. 11-12.

  • Fed could cut interest rates again as US inflation barely moves in November

    Federal reserve could cut rates for third time this year as prices rise 2.7% compared with a year before

  • Inflation Stays Stubborn: Why the Fed's Next Move Could Supercharge the S&P 500

    Markets brace for a rate cut as inflation lingers--what it means for your portfolio in 2024

  • Rate cuts fail to spur European stocks

    Europe's main stock markets were little changed Thursday despite interest rate cuts by the eurozone and Swiss central banks as policymakers warned of economic and political woes in the region and beyond.Earlier, the Swiss National Bank surprised markets with a 50-basis-point reduction in its rate, citing slowing inflation and uncertainty over the impact of Trump's economic policies and Europe's political upheaval.

  • How Much the US Spends Compared to Other Countries: How It Affects Your Wallet

    From rent to online shopping, which country's residents spend the most? Ubuy Switzerland did a study that looked at factors like local purchasing power, annual average income, average annual online...

  • China ends planning meeting with vows to stabilize its economy, but gives no details on stimulus

    Chinese leaders wrapped up a two-day planning meeting in Beijing on Thursday with pledges to take a more proactive approach in pepping up the world's second-largest economy, but gave no details on new stimulus measures. A state-run CCTV report on the annual meeting mainly reiterated a strategy outlined earlier in the week after a session of the ruling Communist Party’s powerful Politburo at which leaders pledged to loosen monetary policy and adopt a more proactive fiscal approach. Markets in China have climbed recently on renewed hopes for a stronger dose of stimulus to help counter weak consumer spending that has kept the economy growing this year at a rate slightly slower than the government's official target of about 5%.

  • Stock market today: World shares are mixed, follow Wall St decline as price data disappoint

    World shares were mixed on Friday following Wall Street's decline in response to potentially discouraging data on the economy. European markets opened mixed as investors assessed the European Central Bank’s Thursday rate cut decision. Britain's economy unexpectedly shrank by 0.1% month-on-month in October, following a 0.1% decline in September, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

  • US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated

    Wholesale costs in the United States picked up sharply last month, signaling that price pressures are still evident in the economy even though inflation has tumbled from the peak levels it hit more than two years ago. The Labor Department reported Thursday that its producer price index — which tracks inflation before it reaches consumers — rose 0.4% last month from October, up from 0.3% the month before. Higher food prices pushed up the November wholesale inflation reading, which came in hotter than economists had expected.

  • Italy sees weaker 2024 GDP, with industrial sector in trouble, economy minister says

    Italy will likely end this year with an annual economic growth rate of 0.7%, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Thursday, warning that the industrial sector risked slumping. Speaking at a political event promoted by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, Giorgetti said the estimate was adjusted for the number of days worked. The government in September set an unadjusted 1% growth target for this year.

  • Stock market today: Wall Street’s rally stalls as Nasdaq pulls back from its record

    U.S. stock indexes fell Thursday following some potentially discouraging data on the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 234 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.7% from its record set the day before. Neither report points to imminent disaster, but they dilute one of the hopes that’s driven the S&P 500 to 57 all-time highs so far this year: Inflation is slowing enough to convince the Federal Reserve to keep cutting interest rates, while the economy is remaining solid enough to stay out of a recession.

  • China signals it's prepared to double down on support for the economy as Trump tariffs loom

    Chinese leaders met this week to plot economic policy for the coming year, sketching out plans to raise government spending and relax Beijing’s monetary policy to encourage more investment and consumer spending. Leaders of the ruling Communist Party wrapped up their two-day Central Economic Work Conference on Thursday with praise for President Xi Jinping's guidance and a pledge to “enrich and refine the policy toolbox” and defuse risks facing the world's second-largest economy. One of the biggest: threats by President-elect Donald Trump to sharply raise tariffs on imports from China once he takes office.

  • The French aren’t spending. Inflation is down, but people aren’t opening their wallets. Here’s why

    With consumer prices still inflated the French are becoming far more picky about how they spend their spare time and cash.

  • Exclusive-Chinese authorities are considering a weaker yuan as Trump trade risks loom, sources say

    The contemplated move reflects China's recognition that it needs bigger economic stimulus to combat Trump's threats of punitive trade measures, people with knowledge of the matter said. Trump has said he plans to impose a 10% universal import tariff, and a 60% tariff on Chinese imports into the United States. Letting the yuan depreciate could make Chinese exports cheaper, blunting the impact of tariffs, and creating looser monetary settings in mainland China.

  • Bank of Canada cuts interest rate, says to expect more 'gradual approach' ahead

    The 50 bp cut is the Bank's fifth consecutive drop in rates since June, and its second jumbo reduction in a row.

  • Asian shares weaken, dollar rises on U.S. Treasury sell-off

    SYDNEY/LONDON (Reuters) -Asian shares dropped on Friday as a lack of details on Chinese stimulus disappointed investors, while the dollar was buoyed by the biggest weekly rise in longer-dated Treasury yields in a year on receding U.S. rate cut expectations for 2025. European stocks were mixed shortly after trading opened, while U.S. futures were slightly higher. Both China's blue chip stocks and Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost more than 2% after the Central Economic Work Conference did not offer details on new stimulus measures.

  • Thai consumer confidence rises in November on stimulus measures

    Thai consumer confidence rose for a second consecutive month in November, bolstered by government economic measures and tourism, a survey showed on Thursday. The consumer index of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce increased to 56.9 in November from 56.0 the previous month, the university said. "The confidence index should have passed its lowest point and gradually improve, following improving economic signals," university president Thanavath Phonvichai told a press conference.

  • Democratic President Rebuilds Economy, Just In Time To Hand It Off To Trump — Again

    Trump damaged the Obama economy he inherited with his trade war, and now appears poised to repeat that move with the Biden economy.