US inflation rose more than expected in October, with both headline and core consumer prices exceeding forecasts, seemingly cementing expectations of another Federal Reserve interest rate hike in December.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed headline CPI increased 0.4% m/m on a seasonally adjusted basis, a tenth of a percentage point above estimates but slower than September’s 0.6% rise.

Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3% m/m, also a tenth stronger than forecast and matching September’s increase. (Continue Reading - LiveSquawk)

President Trump was told aboard Air Force One in May en route to China that the United States had obtained sensitive intelligence showing that Nvidia’s chief executive was in a relationship with a woman believed to be a Chinese spy, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The message was delivered by Marco Rubio, his secretary of state and national security adviser, shortly before the Nvidia leader, Jensen Huang, joined the presidential trip to Beijing at Mr. Trump’s invitation. It marked at least the second time in seven months that the president had been told of intelligence about Mr. Huang’s involvement with the woman.

The existence of the previously unreported update given to Mr. Trump contradicts the president’s assertion on Monday that he had not known at the time of the trip about Mr. Huang’s relationship with the woman, who U.S. officials had concluded was working for China’s Ministry of State Security.

(Continue Reading – NY Times)

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blasted efforts to impeach him as a farce on Tuesday and delivered a defiant defense of his record, hours before a House vote that will test whether the effort has enough support to move toward impeachment.

A polarizing figure who has become the face of the unpopular Iran war, Hegseth faces eight articles accusing him of "high crimes and misdemeanors" ranging from the war itself to the US military raid in January to depose Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

(Continue Reading – Reuters)

The overall ​level of troubled borrowing in the US economy rose modestly in the third quarter but did not ‌appear to signal a notable deterioration in credit quality, a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Tuesday.

Loans that were in some form of trouble stood at 5% during the third quarter, up three-tenths of a percentage point from the second quarter, the regional ​Fed bank said in its latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit.

(Continue Reading – Reuters)

Andy Burnham is struggling to contain Cabinet splits over Brexit after top ministers used a private meeting to air disagreements over the Government’s EU strategy.

The Prime Minister convened his most senior ministers for a behind-closed-doors political Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, with no officials present, to discuss the Government’s Brexit reset and Burnham’s plan to explore options for getting closer to the EU, including rejoining the bloc.

But he struggled to dampen splits among Cabinet ministers, which were first revealed by The i Paper, who used the meeting to express differing views on the future relationship with Brussels.

One source with knowledge of the Cabinet discussion said there was a “clear divide between those who want to go further and those who don’t want to push the issue too far”.

(Continue Reading – iPaper)