Bonds & Stocks
US equity futures edged lower ahead of comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that may offer clues on the path of interest rates. Contracts on the Nasdaq slipped 0.3%, while US Treasuries and the dollar posted small moves. Anglo American and Rio Tinto led gains in Europe's Stoxx 600 Index after China's manufacturing data beat estimates. Oil held losses after OPEC+ promised further output cuts but was hazy on details. Bitcoin soared to its highest price so far this year.
Economy
Federal Reserve officials shifted their tone this week, inching closer to the conversation markets have long been having: When will the central bank begin cutting interest rates? A litany of policymakers - including six who will vote on policy next year - indicated in recent days that they were comfortable with keeping rates steady at their December meeting, encouraged by the downward trending inflation and data showing a slowing economy.
World
A client of Malaysia's biggest bank recently discovered that her bank balance had mysteriously increased to more than $86 million. When Hafidzah Abdullah checked her account late last month it showed she was over 404 million ringgit ($86.3 million) in credit. It would have been a huge windfall, especially in a country where the average household takes home around $22,000 per year, but there was a catch: She couldn't access the money. "It was not a system-wide issue and the customer account was not compromised," a spokesperson at the lender said in an email.