05/12/2025

BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | DEC 5, 2025

/thesuntelegram FOLLOW / Malaysian Paper

ON TELEGRAM m RAM

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Poor hiring data points to US economic weakness o The only industries still recruiting staff are hospitality and healthcare: Economist

Italian police seek governance documents from 13 fashion firms MILAN: Italian police on Wednesday visited the headquarters of 13 high-end fashion firms, asking them to hand over documents on governance and supply-chain controls as part of an investigation into alleged worker abuse at fashion subcontractors, judicial documents showed. The brands that received document production orders are Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Prada, Adidas Italy , Off-White Operating, Missoni, Ferragamo, Givenchy Italia, Alexander McQueen Italia, Kering’s Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent Manifatture , Cris Conf. (Pinko) and Coccinelle. None of these firms is under investigation and prosecutors have not sought to impose court-appointed administration for any of them, according to the orders seen by Reuters. The 13 brands were drawn into the probe because, during dozens of searches of Chinese-owned workshops which led Milan prosecutors to request or impose judicial administration on the six companies, police also found garments and subcontracting documents relating to these other labels. The operation on Wednesday was led by the Carabinieri labour unit in Milan, supported by officers in the cities of Florence, Parma and Varese. Prosecutors did not seek court-appointed administration for the 13 because only smaller quantities of their products were found in the Chinese workshops inspected, the documents show. The purpose of the requests, according to the judicial documents, is to allow prosecutors to assess how far the 13 companies were involved in the use of exploited labour and whether their compliance and governance models are adequate to prevent abuse. – Reuters

cut interest rates next week for the third straight time. “The (ADP) report shows the job market is losing more momentum at year-end and skews risks toward modestly higher unemployment early next year,” said Nationwide Financial Markets economist Oren Klachkin. “There’s a high level of disagreement among Fed policymakers right now, but we maintain our call the doves will prevail over the hawks ... to vote for another 25 basis point interest rate reduction at next week’s meeting.” Other US data released on Wednesday contained conflicting signs on the economy. Industrial production increased 0.1% in September, in line with analyst expectations. The US services sector reported growth in November, with the Institute of Supply Management’s overall rating coming in at 52.6, a 0.2 percentage point gain from the prior month and slightly more than analyst expectations. But the employment index came in at 48.9, below the 50 level that separates growth from contraction. Multiple officials surveyed pointed to the lingering cloud surrounding trade policy, ISM said in a press release. A real estate official said tariff uncertainty adds “complexity to purchasing, and economic conditions remain mixed, with some indicators pointing to good prospects and others to worrying ones”. – AFP

“The only industries still hiring are hospitality and healthcare. If you don’t want to work at a bar or in health care, you’re out of luck.” While medium and large establishments added jobs last month, small establishments lost 120,000 jobs, according to ADP. Long described small firms as the most impacted by Trump’s barrage of tariff announcements, adding that the ADP report points to the potential for more weakness ahead. “The start-to-fire labour market is likely to remain in place for the first half of 2026 until there’s more certainty on tariffs and more confidence among businesses to begin hiring again,” Long said. The figures are considered unreliable by some analysts, but are still closely watched as a gauge of the American economy especially as official data is incomplete due to a federal government shutdown that has now ended. When the Fed meets next week, it will be forced to do without influential inputs for evaluating monetary policy. The Labour Department will not publish employment data for October and has pushed the November reading back until Dec 16 – after the Fed’s Dec 10 meeting decision date. The US central bank is also contending with a dearth of consumer pricing data. Fed officials have signalled greater concern about the state of the job market, lifting expectations that the central bank will

WASHINGTON: US private-sector hiring data released on Wednesday painted a downcast picture of the job market in the world’s biggest economy, especially among small businesses. The report showed US companies shed 32,000 jobs in November, payroll firm ADP said, in a surprise drop set to firm up expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week. President Donald Trump has been touting the economy’s health, and forecasts had incorrectly predicted the monthly data would show a net rise in employment. “Hiring has been choppy of late as employers weather cautious consumers and an uncertain macroeconomic environment,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said. “While November’s slowdown was broad-based, it was led by a pullback among small businesses.” The ADP data had been expected to show 20,000 new jobs created, according to a consensus of analysts reviewed by Briefing.com. “This is no longer a low hiring job market, it’s a start-to-fire job market,” said Heather Long, chief economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union. A large business delegation is accompanying Macron on his fourth state visit to the world’s second-largest economy, as he seeks to bolster his foreign policy credentials and secure commercial deals for French industry in a bid to revitalise his political legacy in the final years of his term after a tumultuous summer, and ahead of the 2027 presidential election. China, for its part, wants to ease trade frictions with the 27-strong EU over its heavily subsidised electric vehicle industry, while presenting itself as a reliable trading partner and an alternative market to the US as global economies face recession risks resulting from President Donald Trump’s tariffs. “Now, more than ever, dialogue between China and France is vital,” Macron told his host during their meeting at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People yesterday. “I propose a positive threefold agenda for our relations, one of geopolitical stability, of economic rebalancing, and of environmental sustainability.” “We have to continue to rally in favour of peace and stability in the world,” he added, referring to the conflict in Ukraine. “Our ability to work together is decisive.” Xi will accompany Macron today to southwestern China’s Sichuan province, lavish treatment considering Xi seldom joins visiting world leaders once they leave Beijing. But despite the apparent bonhomie between the two men, analysts say significant political constraints weigh on their partnership. The Chinese leader is not expected to approve a long-anticipated 500-jet Airbus order, as that

Macron urges Xi to cooperate on geopolitics, trade, environment BEIJING: French President Emmanuel Macron urged Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to boost cooperation on geopolitics, trade and the environment, as the European Union seeks China’s help in ending the war in Ukraine and Beijing looks for diplomatic wins from the US tariffs.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (second from left) looks on as children welcome Macron and his wife Brigitte with bouquets of flowers upon their arrival at the Capital International Airport in Beijing. – AFPPIC

China’s top leader encouraged the French president to deepen cooperation in aerospace and nuclear energy, as well as in artificial intelligence, the green economy and biopharmaceuticals. The two leaders signed 12 cooperation agreements following their talks, covering population ageing, bilateral investment, nuclear energy, and panda conservation. – Reuters

An easing of Chinese duties on EU pork shipments is also not expected, as Beijing seeks to pressure Brussels into agreeing to a minimum price plan for its EVs. France voted in favour of the EV tariffs in the October 2024 vote. And any overtures on Ukraine Xi might make to Macron would follow recent Chinese assurances to Russia of China’s continued support.

would weaken Beijing’s leverage during trade talks with the US, which is pressing for new Boeing purchase commitments. Similarly, Xi is unlikely to lift the minimum prices that most of France’s cognac industry must meet to sell to Chinese consumers, given that the preceding anti-dumping probe was launched in response to the wider EU’s decision to impose import tariffs on Chinese EVs.