Shows / First Financial News
First Financial News
First Financial News gives listeners a fast, clear audio briefing on the economy, markets, the Federal Reserve, inflation, jobs, and major global financial moves. Each episode turns the latest FirstFinancialNews.com stories into concise, easy-to-follow audio so listeners know what happened, why it matters, and what to watch next.
Episodes
- First Financial News
Fed Faces a Delicate Balance as Markets Watch for Rate Signals
The Federal Reserve is navigating a narrow path between controlling inflation and keeping the economy on solid footing — and financial markets are paying close…
- First Financial News
Asian Stocks Stall as Rising Oil Prices Stoke Inflation Concerns
Asian equity markets traded in a narrow range as elevated oil prices renewed concerns about inflation across the region, keeping investors cautious. Stock…
- First Financial News
All Four Major U.S. Stock Indexes Hit Record Highs in Broad Market Rally
Wall Street posted a sweeping advance, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite, and Russell 2000 all closing at record levels. The…
- First Financial News
U.S. Stocks Post Strong Weekly Gains as Dow and Nasdaq Rally More Than 1,300 Points
U.S. equity markets closed out a strong week with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq each climbing more than 1,300 points. The broad rally lifted…
- First Financial News
India’s 10-Year Bond Yields Show Resilience as Global Markets Churn
Indian government bond yields have held largely steady in recent sessions, even as turbulence in global debt markets has rattled investors elsewhere. The…
- First Financial News
U.S. Stock Futures Point Higher as New Trading Week Gets Under Way
Futures tied to major U.S. stock indexes are trading in positive territory ahead of the opening bell, signaling a cautiously optimistic start to the week on…
- First Financial News
Japan Bond Yields Climb as Investors Price In Faster BOJ Rate Hikes
Japanese government bond yields moved higher as traders increased their bets that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates sooner and more aggressively than…
- First Financial News
Armenia’s Central Bank Flags Export Risks as Income Pressures Mount
Armenia's central bank has raised concerns that weakness in key export markets could weigh on household and business incomes, posing a broader risk to the…
- First Financial News
U.S. Stocks Rise After Softer Jobs Data Eases Rate Pressure
U.S. equities moved higher after a softer-than-expected jobs report gave investors reason to believe the Federal Reserve may have more room to ease interest…
- First Financial News
U.S. Stock Futures Rise as Investors Brace for Major Earnings Reports
U.S. equity futures climbed in early trading, pointing to a higher open on Wall Street as investors look ahead to a wave of high-profile corporate earnings…
- First Financial News
Treasury Yields Rise as Strong U.S. Economy Tests Fed’s Rate Strategy
Bond markets are under pressure as persistent economic strength in the United States raises questions about whether the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy…
- First Financial News
S&P 500 and Nasdaq Futures Edge Higher as Earnings Season Lifts Sentiment
U.S. stock index futures pointed higher in early trading, with technology-heavy Nasdaq futures outpacing the broader market as quarterly earnings results from…
- First Financial News
Dow Surges 1,000 Points as Chip Stocks Rally; Retail and Consumer Names Lag
U.S. stocks posted a sharp rally in recent trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing roughly 1,000 points. Technology and semiconductor shares…
- First Financial News
European Central Bank Warns Climate Change Poses Growing Risk to Global Financial Stability
The European Central Bank has issued a warning that climate change represents a significant and rising threat to the global economy, even as equity markets…
- First Financial News
Tech fragmentation risks splitting the global economy into rival digital blocs
A deepening divide between competing technology ecosystems is raising fresh concerns about the long-term health of the global economy. Analysts warn that a…
- First Financial News
China’s Central Bank Pledges Policy Flexibility, Boosts Panda Bond Market
China's central bank signaled it stands ready to adjust monetary policy as conditions warrant, while also announcing support for the country's panda bond…
- First Financial News
Markets Face a Busy Week: Earnings and the Jobs Report Set the Tone
A string of high-profile earnings releases and a closely watched U.S. jobs report are set to test the durability of the stock market's recent gains in the days…
- First Financial News
Bond traders warn of rising yield risk as Fed outlook stays murky
U.S. Treasury market participants say uncertainty about the Federal Reserve's next moves is making it harder to price bonds — and some warn that yields could…
- First Financial News
US Stock Futures Rise, Pointing to a Higher Open for Wall Street
Futures tied to major US stock indexes moved higher in early trading, signaling that investors may be in a buying mood when markets open. The gains come after…
- First Financial News
Bank of Japan Holds Rates Steady at 1% as Policymakers Weigh Uncertain Outlook
The Bank of Japan left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1% at its latest policy meeting, a decision that aligned with what most market participants had…
- First Financial News
Stocks Rally Led by Tech Gains, But Bond Market Signals Lingering Inflation Concern
U.S. stocks climbed in recent trading, with a surge in technology shares driving major indexes higher. At the same time, the bond market sent a cautionary…
- First Financial News
Tech Stocks Power Nasdaq Higher as Broader Wall Street Holds Steady
U.S. technology stocks rallied in recent trading, lifting the Nasdaq composite more than 1.5% while the broader market largely treaded water. The divergence…
- First Financial News
U.S. Stock Futures Rise as Tech Earnings Lift Mood Ahead of Key Inflation Report
U.S. equity futures climbed in early trading, with technology shares leading gains after a strong earnings report from a major software company helped ease…
- First Financial News
U.S. Stock Futures Rise as Traders Await Delayed Jobs Report
Futures tied to major U.S. stock indexes moved higher in early trading as investors positioned ahead of a closely watched jobs report whose release has been…
- First Financial News
Taiwan’s Central Bank Pushes Back on ‘K-Shaped Economy’ Concerns, Cites Resilience Amid Dual Pressures
Taiwan's central bank has challenged the narrative that its economy is splitting sharply between winners and losers, even as traditional industries face…
- First Financial News
U.S. Tariffs May Be Quietly Reshaping Global Trade Flows — Away From America
A wave of U.S. tariffs is prompting emerging-market economies to deepen trade ties with one another, potentially accelerating a long-run shift in how global…
- First Financial News
Economists See Stubborn Inflation Lingering Across the Global Economy
A broad survey of economists points to persistently elevated inflation remaining a key challenge for the world economy in the months ahead, complicating the…
- First Financial News
Dow Sets a New Record While Nasdaq Falls as Jobs Data and a Tesla Selloff Split Wall Street
U.S. stocks posted a divided session, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average touching a fresh record while the Nasdaq slipped after weaker-than-expected jobs…
- First Financial News
A Busy Week Ahead: Fed Decision, Inflation Data, and Major Earnings Converge
Markets are entering one of the most data-heavy stretches of the year, with a Federal Reserve interest rate decision, a key inflation reading, and a wave of…
- First Financial News
AI Boom Adds Complexity to Central Banks’ Inflation Forecasts
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence across the global economy is making it harder for central banks to judge inflation and set interest rates…
- First Financial News
Oil and Treasury Yields Slide as Iran-U.S. Tensions Ease; Stocks Finish Mixed
Oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields fell after the United States and Iran signaled a pause in their standoff, easing some of the geopolitical pressure that had…
- First Financial News
ECB analysts credit China with cushioning the global economy from a deeper slowdown
Analysts at the European Central Bank argue that China's economic activity has played a meaningful role in supporting global growth at a time when other major…
- First Financial News
Wall Street Holds Its Breath Ahead of Fed Decision and Key AI Earnings
Investors are bracing for a pivotal stretch as a Federal Reserve policy decision and a wave of major technology earnings converge, adding layers of uncertainty…
- First Financial News
Rising Oil Prices Stoke Rate-Hike Fears, Leaving Wall Street Split on Fed’s Next Move
A climb in crude oil prices is renewing concerns about inflation and pushing some investors to price in a higher chance of further interest rate increases from…
- First Financial News
Rising Oil and Bond Yields Put Wall Street on Edge Amid Middle East Unrest
A combination of climbing oil prices and higher Treasury yields is testing the durability of the recent U.S. stock market rally, as renewed tensions in the…
- First Financial News
U.S. Payrolls Fall 92,000 in February as Federal Cuts and Strike Activity Weigh on Jobs
The U.S. economy shed 92,000 payroll jobs in February, a rare decline that signals softening in the labor market. The unemployment rate held at 4.4 percent…
- First Financial News
AI enthusiasm lifts a broad set of winners beyond traditional chipmakers
The surge in artificial intelligence investment is producing outsized stock gains across a wider range of companies than many investors expected, with some…
- First Financial News
Fed’s Beige Book Points to Modest Improvement but Flags Tariff and Fuel Cost Pressures
The Federal Reserve's latest Beige Book survey found economic conditions edging higher across much of the country, even as businesses flagged tariffs and…
- First Financial News
ECB Rate Decision, Flash PMIs, and Major Tech Earnings Set to Drive Markets This Week
A packed week of economic events lies ahead, headlined by an interest-rate decision from the European Central Bank, a round of global business activity…
- First Financial News
ECB and PBoC Rate Decisions Headline a Busy Week for Global Monetary Policy
Two of the world's most influential central banks are set to announce interest rate decisions in the coming days, keeping investors focused on the global path…
- First Financial News
Prediction markets lean toward a weaker-than-expected jobs report this week
Traders on a major prediction market platform are betting the upcoming U.S. monthly jobs report will fall short of Wall Street forecasts. The signal adds to…
- First Financial News
IEA Warns Global Economy Has Weeks to Avert Hormuz Shipping Crisis
The International Energy Agency is sounding an urgent alarm: the global economy has only a matter of weeks to prevent a serious shipping crisis in the Strait…
- First Financial News
Analysts weigh in on a broad mix of U.S. companies, from discount retail to aerospace
Wall Street research desks issued a fresh round of ratings and price-target changes across a wide range of sectors this week, touching companies in retail…
- First Financial News
Eurozone Inflation Eases to 2.8% as ECB Weighs Its Next Rate Move
Consumer price growth in the eurozone slowed to 2.8% in the latest reading, a sign that the European Central Bank's rate campaign continues to bear fruit — and…
- First Financial News
Markets Climb Despite Rising Treasury Yields and Global Uncertainty
U.S. stocks pushed higher in early trading even as Treasury yields rose and global instability kept investors on edge. The resilience suggests equity markets…
- First Financial News
IMF Calls on Bank of England to Hold Rates Steady Amid Iran Conflict Risks
The International Monetary Fund is urging the Bank of England to keep interest rates on hold, citing ongoing risks from the conflict involving Iran as a reason…
- First Financial News
Treasury Yields Climb as Middle East Tensions Weigh on Markets
U.S. Treasury yields moved higher in recent trading as investors tracked escalating tensions in the Middle East. The move reflects a familiar pattern where…
- First Financial News
Markets See Little Chance of a Fed Rate Hike at July Meeting
Traders are pricing in a very low probability that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its upcoming July meeting, according to market-based…
- First Financial News
Markets Face a High-Stakes Tuesday as CPI, Bank Earnings, and Fed Signals Arrive Together
Investors are bracing for an unusually compressed stretch of market-moving events, with a key inflation reading, major bank earnings, and Federal Reserve…
- First Financial News
Fed Warns of Renewed Inflation Pressure From Tariffs, Energy Costs, and AI Spending
Federal Reserve officials are flagging a pickup in inflation, pointing to tariffs, rising energy costs, and surging investment in artificial intelligence as…
- First Financial News
Futures Slip as US-Iran Tensions, Rising Oil, and Key Data Weigh on Markets
U.S. stock futures declined as escalating tensions between the United States and Iran pushed oil prices higher and investors braced for a busy week of…
- First Financial News
Dow Jones Tops 53,000 for First Time as Chip Stocks Lift Nasdaq
U.S. stocks pushed higher in recent trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossing 53,000 for the first time and semiconductor shares driving strong…
- First Financial News
U.S. Economy Added 178,000 Jobs in March; Unemployment Holds at 4.3%
The U.S. labor market remained broadly stable in March, with employers adding 178,000 jobs and the unemployment rate holding near recent levels at 4.3%. The…
- First Financial News
IMF Trims Global Growth Forecast to 3%, Citing Persistent Risks
The International Monetary Fund projects the world economy will expand at a 3% pace, a rate that, while steady, sits below the historical average and reflects…
- First Financial News
Dow Reaches Record High After Soft Jobs Data Ease Rate Worries; Chip Stocks Drag on Broader Indexes
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high after a weaker-than-expected jobs report cooled fears that the Federal Reserve might raise interest…
- First Financial News
U.S. stocks climb as chip shares recover and oil prices pull back
American equity indexes advanced in the latest session, lifted by a broad rebound in semiconductor stocks and falling oil prices that eased cost pressures…
- First Financial News
Global Economy Holds Steady Despite Middle East Conflict, But Major Risks Remain, Top Institutions Warn
The world's leading economic institutions say the global economy has shown surprising resilience in the face of ongoing conflict in the Middle East, but they…
- First Financial News
Wall Street’s Favorite Trade Loses Steam After Stronger-Than-Expected Jobs Data
A widely held trade on Wall Street is showing signs of fatigue following a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report, according to market observers. The surprise…
- First Financial News
Oil prices, bond yields, and central bank signals dominate global markets amid Iran tensions
A convergence of geopolitical risk, uncertain Federal Reserve policy, and widening gaps between major central banks is pulling world markets in multiple…
- First Financial News
IMF Flags Persistent Inflation as a Central Risk to the World Economy
The International Monetary Fund has issued a fresh warning that inflation remains a significant threat to the global economy, signaling that the battle to…