The most important events and reports on the economy, central banks and politics from the Dow Jones Newswires program
Trump plans to announce his nominee for Fed chairmanship next week
US President Donald Trump plans to announce next week who he has chosen to replace Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Trump announced this at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday. “We’re going to announce the Fed chief… and it’s going to be a person who, I think, is going to do a good job,” Trump said.
US trade deficit rose sharply in November
The US trade deficit rose more than expected in November. According to preliminary calculations, it amounted to 56.83 billion dollars after a revised 29.21 (preliminary: 29.35) billion in the previous month. Economists had expected a deficit of $42.90 billion. Exports fell 3.6 percent month-on-month to $292.05 billion, while imports reached $348.877 billion, up 5.0 percent month-on-month.
US productivity grows 4.9 percent in the third quarter
According to revised calculations, non-farm productivity in the USA increased by 4.9 percent quarter on quarter in the third quarter of 2025, seasonally adjusted and annualized. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected such an increase after the first estimate had shown an increase of 4.9 percent.
Initial claims for US unemployment benefits fell
The number of initial claims for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits decreased in the week ending January 24th. Compared to the previous week, the number of applications fell by 1,000 to 209,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis, as the US Department of Labor announced in Washington. Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires had predicted 205,000.
US industrial orders increased in November
Incoming orders from US industry increased by 2.7 percent in November compared to the previous month. Economists, on the other hand, had expected an increase of 1.3 percent. For the previous month there was a minus of 1.2 percent, as the US Department of Commerce also announced. A preliminary decrease of 1.3 percent was reported. The ministry reported an increase of 5.3 percent in orders received for durable goods in November, following a preliminary increase of 5.3 percent.
Trump on Truth Social: Fed should finally cut interest rates significantly
US President Donald Trump has renewed his attacks on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell – a day after the central bank left interest rates unchanged. He wrote on Truth Social that the US should have lower interest rates than all other countries. “Due to the enormous amount of money flowing into our country as a result of tariffs, we should be paying the LOWEST INTEREST RATES OF ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD,” Trump wrote.
White House and Democrats seek agreement to avoid shutdown
The White House and Senate Democrats are moving toward an agreement that will avoid a government shutdown. The plan calls for severing a controversial immigration funding bill, people familiar with the discussions said. However, any deal that passes the Senate would still need to be passed by the House of Representatives. Discussions are ongoing and a solution remains uncertain, according to sources, even though the Friday evening deadline to avoid a shutdown is approaching.
Great Britain is moving closer to China – alliance with USA under pressure
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed to improve relations between the two countries. “Currently, the world is both changing and turbulent,” Xi said. “Be it for the sake of global peace and stability or for the economies of our two countries and people’s livelihoods – it is essential for us to strengthen dialogue and cooperation.”
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 29, 2026 1:00 p.m. ET (18:00 GMT)
