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Even before the French and German governments collapsed, Europe’s economy had enough difficulties. Where once there was the so-called French-German axis to push Europe ahead, now there’s a vacuum. French Prime Minister Michel Barnier resigned Thursday after losing a vote of confidence, and while President Emmanuel Macron will appoint a successor, the new head of government will lack a majority.

NEW YORK (Reuters) -The U.S. dollar rose on Friday, as earlier selling, amid a jobs report showing higher unemployment and modest job gains overall, lost momentum ahead of an inflation report next week that could either reinforce or cast doubts on interest rate cut expectations later this month. Against the yen, the dollar advanced from session lows to trade little changed at 150 yen. "Noisy (payrolls) report but soft enough to reinforce the positioning adjustment across FX," Mark McCormick, head of foreign exchange and emerging market strategy at TD Securities, wrote in a research note.

(Bloomberg) -- US Treasuries rallied and traders boosted their bets on a Federal Reserve interest-rate reduction this month after a mixed November employment report.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitYields on two-year notes, which are sensitive to central-bank policy changes, slid as much as seven basis p

(Bloomberg) -- Oil slid to a three-week low, closing near $67 a barrel, after a wave of technical selling compounded oversupply fears. Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitA decision by OPEC and its allies to return output at a slower pace than initially planned capped losses Friday, but a looming supply glu

Federal Reserve officials appear on track to cut interest rates this month after data showed the U.S. labor market remained strong but continued to cool in November, even as debate emerged over a possible pause to rate cuts in the new year. U.S. employers added 227,000 jobs last month, a rebound from a hurricane-impacted slowdown in October, but the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%, the Labor Department's monthly employment report showed on Friday. Over the last half-year average monthly job gains are below 150,000, short of what some policymakers feel is needed to provide enough work to match a growing population, but nothing like the collapse Fed policymakers worried could happen when they began cutting interest rates a few months ago.

Chicago Federal Reserve president Austan Goolsbee said that economic conditions will determine how fast the Federal Reserve cuts rates from here, but added he hopes the Fed will be homing in on a stopping point by the end of next year. "I'm hopeful that conditions continue to evolve such that we can get in close to the range" where monetary policy is having a neutral impact on the economy, Goolsbee said in comments to reporters. While he would not specify his estimate of neutral, he said that a level around 3%, well below the current 4.5% to 4.75% rate and roughly the median that Fed officials projected as a stopping point at their September meeting, "doesn't seem crazy to me."

In her first major policy speech, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack said on Friday she’s keeping her options open when it comes to the central bank’s next policy meeting, as broader economic conditions continue to argue for a slowdown in the pace of rate cuts. “I believe we are at or near the point where it makes sense to slow the pace of rate reductions,” Hammack said in the text of a speech prepared for delivery before The City Club of Cleveland. As for what will happen at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting scheduled for Dec. 17-18, Hammack said that more data is coming between now and then, noting she “will maintain an open mind” about how to set the federal funds rate, which is currently set between 4.5% and 4.75%.