https://www.scmp.com/rss/522705/feed The latest news and top stories on Kevin Hassett. An American economist, he currently serves as Director of the National Economic Council, a role he assumed in January 2025. Previously, he was the 29th Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers from 2017 to 2019 and a Senior Advisor during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hassett is known for his expertise in tax policy, business investment and trade, having authored numerous papers. He has also advised multiple presidential campaigns and is a leading... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Yulu Ao Yulu Ao Hong Kong stocks rose for a third day on Wednesday as investors tracked overnight gains on Wall Street and took cues from stabilising oil prices, despite lingering geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The Hang Seng Index added 0.6 per cent to 26,025.42 at the close of trading, marking its third consecutive day of gains and the longest winning streak since January 29. The Hang Seng Tech Index was little changed. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index gained 0.5 per cent and the Shanghai... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3346952/hong-kong-stocks-extend-winning-streak-amid-stabilising-oil-prices-despite-iran-conflict?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3346952/hong-kong-stocks-extend-winning-streak-amid-stabilising-oil-prices-despite-iran-conflict?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 02:04:27 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The US unexpectedly lost jobs in February while unemployment edged up, government data showed Friday, piling pressure on President Donald Trump’s economic agenda as key midterm elections approach. The world’s biggest economy shed 92,000 jobs last month, in a sharp reversal from the job growth of 126,000 in January, the Labour Department said. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, crept up to 4.4 per cent from 4.3 per cent. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett insisted Friday that the US... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345782/us-sheds-92000-jobs-warning-sign-trumps-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345782/us-sheds-92000-jobs-warning-sign-trumps-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 21:09:39 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US job growth beat expectations in January while unemployment crept down, official data showed on Wednesday, defying immediate concerns about labour market fragility on the back of US President Donald Trump’s economic policies. The United States added 130,000 jobs last month, the Department of Labour said, significantly higher than the 55,000 predicted in surveys by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. The jobless rate dropped to 4.3 per cent from 4.4 per cent in December. Trump... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343229/us-adds-130000-jobs-january-amid-trump-policy-fallout-and-fed-rate-freeze?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343229/us-adds-130000-jobs-january-amid-trump-policy-fallout-and-fed-rate-freeze?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 14:49:38 +0000 Mark Magnier,Frank Tang Mark Magnier,Frank Tang US President Donald Trump on Friday named former Federal Reserve official Kevin Warsh to be the next head of the US central bank, after teasing his choice for weeks, with Jerome Powell due to step down from the top job in May. The 55-year-old Warsh, who served as a governor of the Federal Reserve Board from 2006 to 2011, appeared to align with Trump’s bid to control the monetary policymaking institution as economic issues – from tariffs to affordability – dominate the policy agenda ahead of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3341870/trump-picks-former-federal-reserve-official-kevin-warsh-chair-us-central-bank?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3341870/trump-picks-former-federal-reserve-official-kevin-warsh-chair-us-central-bank?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 12:22:59 +0000 Mia Nurmamat Mia Nurmamat Since returning to the White House a year ago, US President Donald Trump has stepped up pressure on the Federal Reserve. With the term of the current Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, set to end in May, Trump said he would announce his pick to replace Powell on Friday. Speculation has intensified on prediction markets. On Polymarket and Kalshi, betting volumes on the question “Who will Trump nominate as Fed chair?” had respectively reached about US$294.24 million and US$81.61 million by... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3341813/trumps-fed-pick-new-clear-favourite-emerges-chair-race-succeed-powell?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3341813/trumps-fed-pick-new-clear-favourite-emerges-chair-race-succeed-powell?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 08:30:19 +0000 Mark Magnier,Khushboo Razdan,Xinmei Shen Mark Magnier,Khushboo Razdan,Xinmei Shen There was moderate relief after US President Donald Trump walked back his threat to take Greenland by force on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, but also concern among critics and lawmakers that his speech was little more than a diversion at a time of significant global peril. Attendees watching in the Davos Congress Centre and millions tuned in around the world received a full dose of unfettered Trump as, during his 70-minute speech, he slammed Nato member Denmark for not... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3340748/trumps-freewheeling-davos-speech-draws-unease-allies-and-critics-alike?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3340748/trumps-freewheeling-davos-speech-draws-unease-allies-and-critics-alike?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 20:44:53 +0000 Reuters Reuters European Union ambassadors reached broad agreement on Sunday to intensify ‌efforts to dissuade US President Donald Trump from imposing tariffs on European allies, while also preparing retaliatory measures should the duties go ahead, EU diplomats said. Trump vowed on Saturday to implement ‍a wave of increasing tariffs from February 1 on EU members Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, along with Britain and Norway, until the US is allowed to buy Greenland, a step major EU... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340351/eu-considers-us108-billion-retaliatory-tariffs-us-over-trumps-greenland-threat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340351/eu-considers-us108-billion-retaliatory-tariffs-us-over-trumps-greenland-threat?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Jan 2026 20:05:19 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg US President Donald Trump teased that he has a preferred candidate to be the next head of the Federal Reserve but is in no hurry to make an announcement while also musing that he might fire the central bank’s current leader, Jerome Powell. “I do, still do – hasn’t changed,” Trump said at a press conference on Monday, when asked if he has a favourite candidate. “I'll announce him at the right time. There’s plenty of time.” Trump added that Powell “should resign” and that he would “love to fire... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338083/trump-says-he-still-might-fire-powell-federal-reserve-chief-teasing-preferred-pick?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338083/trump-says-he-still-might-fire-powell-federal-reserve-chief-teasing-preferred-pick?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Dec 2025 23:38:50 +0000 Reuters Reuters The US Coast Guard is pursuing an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, officials told Reuters on Sunday, in what would be ‍the second such operation this weekend and the third in less than two weeks if successful. “The United States Coast Guard is in active pursuit of a sanctioned ‘dark fleet’ vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion,” a US official said. “It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order.” Another official said the tanker was under... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3337248/us-pursuing-third-oil-tanker-near-venezuela-officials-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3337248/us-pursuing-third-oil-tanker-near-venezuela-officials-say?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 16:37:39 +0000 Frank Tang Frank Tang The US central bank announced on Wednesday it would slash the benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, though this year’s third cut has long been criticised by President Donald Trump as too late and too little. The cut decision made by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the monetary-policy organ affiliated to the Federal Reserve, was broadly in line with market expectations, but fell short of Trump’s demand of a larger cut. The benchmark interest rate after the... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/economy-trade-business/article/3335968/us-fed-delivers-quarter-point-rate-cut-trump-renews-pressure-central-bank?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/economy-trade-business/article/3335968/us-fed-delivers-quarter-point-rate-cut-trump-renews-pressure-central-bank?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Dec 2025 19:09:51 +0000 Sylvia Ma Sylvia Ma Central bank governor Pan Gongsheng has stressed the importance of China maintaining a sound monetary system that remains resilient to external shocks and systemic risks, signalling a focus on stability ahead of a key policy meeting. Pan said monetary policy must balance internal and external pressures, “primarily taking into account domestic economic and financial conditions”, while also factoring in the “spillover effects” from other economies, in an editorial for the Communist Party’s... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3335191/chinas-central-bank-vows-strong-breakwaters-shield-external-shocks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3335191/chinas-central-bank-vows-strong-breakwaters-shield-external-shocks?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 12:00:09 +0000 Zhang Shidong Zhang Shidong Hong Kong stocks showed signs of fatigue after a three-day gain spurred by hopes of an interest-rate cut in the US, as investors assessed the outlook for financial easing against China’s economic outlook. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.1 per cent to 25,945.93 at the close, giving up most of a 0.8 per cent gain earlier in the day but extending a 2.8 per cent advance for the previous three days. The Hang Seng Tech Index lost 0.4 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index slipped 0.1 per cent and the... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3334299/hong-kong-stocks-close-2-week-high-hopes-us-rate-cuts-fuel-rebound?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3334299/hong-kong-stocks-close-2-week-high-hopes-us-rate-cuts-fuel-rebound?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Nov 2025 02:34:35 +0000 Sylvia Ma Sylvia Ma China’s central bank has set the yuan’s daily reference rate against the US dollar at the strongest level in more than a year, with analysts expecting room for appreciation should a December rate cut by the US Federal Reserve weaken the dollar. The People’s Bank of China set the yuan’s midpoint rate, also known as the daily fixing rate, at 7.0796 to the US dollar on Wednesday – the strongest showing since October 2024. The decision followed a 0.34 per cent rally in the offshore yuan on Tuesday,... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3334178/china-sets-strongest-yuan-fix-over-year-fed-cut-bets-rise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3334178/china-sets-strongest-yuan-fix-over-year-fed-cut-bets-rise?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Nov 2025 05:10:10 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that a key theme of his interviews for the next chair of the Federal Reserve has been simplifying the US central bank, which he indicated has become too complex in how it manages money markets. “One of the things in terms of the criteria that I’ve been looking for” has been the interplay of the Fed’s various instruments, Bessent said on CNBC Tuesday. “I realise the Fed has become this very complicated operation.” Bessent said his final second-round... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3334145/trump-eyes-christmas-deadline-name-new-fed-chair-bessent-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3334145/trump-eyes-christmas-deadline-name-new-fed-chair-bessent-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Nov 2025 16:12:29 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg The October jobs report will be released without a reading of the unemployment rate, President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser said on Thursday. “The household survey wasn’t conducted in October, so we’re going to get half the employment report,” National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on Fox News. “We’ll get the jobs part, but we won’t get the unemployment rate, and that’ll just be for one month.” The October jobs report, originally scheduled for publication by the Bureau of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332706/no-october-unemployment-rate-available-due-shutdown-hassett-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332706/no-october-unemployment-rate-available-due-shutdown-hassett-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Nov 2025 16:15:12 +0000 Reuters Reuters Hundreds of thousands of travellers had their flights delayed or cancelled on Sunday in the worst day for disruptions since the start of a US government shutdown, as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned of worse to come in the run-up to the Thanksgiving holiday. Airlines cancelled more than 2,800 US flights and delayed more than 10,200 on Sunday in the third day of government-mandated flight cuts due to rising air traffic control staffing shortages, after thousands of delays and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332122/us-air-travel-will-fall-trickle-due-government-shutdown-transport-secretary-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332122/us-air-travel-will-fall-trickle-due-government-shutdown-transport-secretary-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Nov 2025 17:32:55 +0000 Reuters Reuters The economic impact of the US government shutdown is far worse than expected, but the US economy is likely to rebound quickly once it ends, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Friday. Construction projects are starting to slow down and travel is suffering, Hassett said in an interview with Fox Business Network. “Travel and leisure is a place that’s really being heavily hit right now, and if it continues to get hit, if the air travel thing goes south for another week or two, then... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332000/us-government-shutdown-far-worse-expected-white-house-adviser-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332000/us-government-shutdown-far-worse-expected-white-house-adviser-says?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Nov 2025 14:27:28 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A Canadian province said on Friday that it would pull an anti-tariff ad featuring former US president Ronald Reagan that prompted current leader Donald Trump to scrap trade talks. Trump announced on social media on Thursday that he had “terminated” all negotiations with Canada over what he called a “fake” ad campaign by Ontario province that he said misrepresented fellow Republican Reagan. Less than a day later, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he was suspending the ads after talking to Canadian... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3330285/canadians-pull-reagan-anti-tariff-ad-after-furious-trump-scraps-trade-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3330285/canadians-pull-reagan-anti-tariff-ad-after-furious-trump-scraps-trade-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Oct 2025 19:46:04 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan After nearly a year waiting to meet US President Donald Trump, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sought to argue his country’s strategic value Monday – only for the “America first” leader to dominate the encounter by opining that Beijing had no plans to invade Taiwan and posed no real threat in the Indo-Pacific. “China doesn’t want to do that,” he insisted on Taiwan, during a press gaggle alongside Albanese, later stating that the island will be one of the topics of discussion when he... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3329717/trump-downplays-beijing-threat-taiwan-australia-touts-rare-earths-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3329717/trump-downplays-beijing-threat-taiwan-australia-touts-rare-earths-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Oct 2025 18:01:12 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The agency responsible for safeguarding the US nuclear stockpile began placing most staff on enforced leave Monday, an official said, as yet another congressional vote to end the crippling government shutdown failed. With the stand-off about to enter its fourth week, some 1,400 workers at the National Nuclear Security Administration were due to receive notices telling them they had been placed on unpaid furlough. “Due to the Democrat shutdown, approximately 1,400 NNSA federal employees will be... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3329716/us-begins-sending-nuclear-workers-home-government-shutdown-drags?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3329716/us-begins-sending-nuclear-workers-home-government-shutdown-drags?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Oct 2025 17:41:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters The 20-day US federal government shutdown is likely to end this week, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Monday. “I think the Schumer shutdown is likely to end sometime this week,” White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said in an interview on CNBC, referring to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, said his “friends in the Senate” believed it was “bad optics for Democrats to open the government before the ‘No Kings’... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3329711/us-shutdown-near-end-after-no-kings-rallies-says-white-house-adviser-kevin-hassett?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3329711/us-shutdown-near-end-after-no-kings-rallies-says-white-house-adviser-kevin-hassett?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Oct 2025 14:26:47 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan Shut out of China’s massive soybean market, the United States is pressing countries across Africa and Asia to step up purchases of American soybeans, as President Donald Trump’s trade team seeks new markets, while tensions over tariffs ripple through global trade. “We’re calling up all our soybean customers around the world as part of our trade negotiations,” Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council at the White House, said in a CNBC interview on Monday. He added the Trump... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/economy-trade-business/article/3328056/snubbed-china-trump-team-presses-unlikely-buyers-snap-us-soybeans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/economy-trade-business/article/3328056/snubbed-china-trump-team-presses-unlikely-buyers-snap-us-soybeans?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Oct 2025 20:03:42 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump said he wants to make more investments in healthy US companies on Monday. Whether Corporate America is on board is another story. The White House announced a near-10 per cent stake in chipmaker Intel on Friday that converts government grants into an equity share. Trump doubled down on the idea of similar deals in other sectors on Monday, telling reporters at the White House: “I hope I’m going to have many more cases like it.” The administration’s approach upends a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3323124/trump-wants-more-investment-deals-us-firms-intels-worrying-business-community?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3323124/trump-wants-more-investment-deals-us-firms-intels-worrying-business-community?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Aug 2025 23:46:49 +0000 Nicholas Spiro Nicholas Spiro If US President Donald Trump had his way, the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate would stand at 1 per cent instead of the current level of between 4.25 and 4.5 per cent. In a handwritten note to Fed chair Jerome Powell on June 30, Trump renewed his attack on the head of the world’s most important central bank, accusing Powell of costing the country “a fortune” by refusing to reduce borrowing costs more aggressively. As far as Trump is concerned, there is “no inflation” in the United... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3318527/trumps-crusade-against-fed-turning-us-emerging-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3318527/trumps-crusade-against-fed-turning-us-emerging-market?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Jul 2025 08:30:08 +0000