NEWSLETTER
Thursday / September 29Sep 29
Friday / January 28
Ukraine situation
Russia said on Thursday it was clear the United States was not willing to address core security concerns in the dispute over Ukraine, but both sides kept the door open for further dialogue.
The United States and NATO submitted written responses Wednesday to Russia's requests for a redrawing of post-Cold War security arrangements in Europe.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow needs time to review and won't come to conclusions in a hurry, but the US and NATO statements that described Russia's main demands as unacceptable left little room for optimism.
US President Biden held a phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart, Zekensky. While Biden reiterated Washington's support for Kiev, Zelensky conveyed to his counterpart that the talks, in the form of the Normandy Four, formed by Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine, which will continue in Berlin in two weeks, are going well.
US data
The US economy closed 2021 growing at a much better-than-expected pace, despite signs of slowing down towards the end of the year.
Gross domestic product rose 6.9% year-on-year in the October-December period, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected 5.5% growth.
The increase is well above the unrevised 2.3% growth in the third quarter.
Gains in the US economy came from increases in private inventory investment, strong consumer activity reflected in personal consumption spending, business spending as measured by exports and non-residential fixed investment. Thus, GDP saw a 5.7% increase in 2021 at its strongest growth since 1984.
In the week ended January 22, US unemployment claims totaled 260,000; this was slightly below the consensus estimate of 265,000, a drop of 30,000 from the previous week.
North Korean missile tests
North Korean state media KCNA confirmed reports that the country conducted tests of an advanced long-range cruise missile and tactical guided missile warhead last week, writing that the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, visited a munitions factory producing a "major weapon system."
With the 6 new missile tests carried out by North Korea in the first month of 2022, the tensions in the Korean peninsula, which is closely watched by the USA, China, Japan and the UN, simmer.
The update to a long-range cruise missile system was tested on Tuesday, and another test was conducted Thursday to verify the power of a conventional warhead for the surface-to-surface tactical guided missile, KCNA said.
Kim did not attend the tests, but during his visit to the munitions factory, he praised the "leaping progress in big arms production" in implementing decisions taken at last month's meeting of the ruling Labor Party.
"The factory has a very important position and task in modernizing the country's armed forces and in realizing the national defense development strategy," said Kim.
US stocks
Wall Street was were volatile on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 34,160.78 with little change. The blue-chip average rose more than 600 points for the session. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% to 4,326.51 while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4% to close at 13,352.78. Both indices were trading in positive territory at the beginning of the session.
The Dow is down just 0.3% weekly, while the S&P 500 is 1.6% lower and the Nasdaq 3% lower.
Russia said on Thursday it was clear the United States was not willing to address core security concerns in the dispute over Ukraine, but both sides kept the door open for further dialogue.
The United States and NATO submitted written responses Wednesday to Russia's requests for a redrawing of post-Cold War security arrangements in Europe.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow needs time to review and won't come to conclusions in a hurry, but the US and NATO statements that described Russia's main demands as unacceptable left little room for optimism.
US President Biden held a phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart, Zekensky. While Biden reiterated Washington's support for Kiev, Zelensky conveyed to his counterpart that the talks, in the form of the Normandy Four, formed by Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine, which will continue in Berlin in two weeks, are going well.
US data
The US economy closed 2021 growing at a much better-than-expected pace, despite signs of slowing down towards the end of the year.
Gross domestic product rose 6.9% year-on-year in the October-December period, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected 5.5% growth.
The increase is well above the unrevised 2.3% growth in the third quarter.
Gains in the US economy came from increases in private inventory investment, strong consumer activity reflected in personal consumption spending, business spending as measured by exports and non-residential fixed investment. Thus, GDP saw a 5.7% increase in 2021 at its strongest growth since 1984.
In the week ended January 22, US unemployment claims totaled 260,000; this was slightly below the consensus estimate of 265,000, a drop of 30,000 from the previous week.
North Korean missile tests
North Korean state media KCNA confirmed reports that the country conducted tests of an advanced long-range cruise missile and tactical guided missile warhead last week, writing that the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, visited a munitions factory producing a "major weapon system."
With the 6 new missile tests carried out by North Korea in the first month of 2022, the tensions in the Korean peninsula, which is closely watched by the USA, China, Japan and the UN, simmer.
The update to a long-range cruise missile system was tested on Tuesday, and another test was conducted Thursday to verify the power of a conventional warhead for the surface-to-surface tactical guided missile, KCNA said.
Kim did not attend the tests, but during his visit to the munitions factory, he praised the "leaping progress in big arms production" in implementing decisions taken at last month's meeting of the ruling Labor Party.
"The factory has a very important position and task in modernizing the country's armed forces and in realizing the national defense development strategy," said Kim.
US stocks
Wall Street was were volatile on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 34,160.78 with little change. The blue-chip average rose more than 600 points for the session. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% to 4,326.51 while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4% to close at 13,352.78. Both indices were trading in positive territory at the beginning of the session.
The Dow is down just 0.3% weekly, while the S&P 500 is 1.6% lower and the Nasdaq 3% lower.
