Macroeconomic data, trends, and policy developments.
Coverage of key economic indicators, central bank policy decisions, inflation trends, labor data, and growth signals. This category focuses on the macroeconomic forces that shape markets, interest rates, and long-term capital allocation.
5,182 total articles
Futures for U.S. equity benchmarks were mixed-to-higher early Friday as U.S. and Israeli officials worked to tamp down fears of a prolonged campaign against Iran. Oil prices eased from intraday spikes after diplomatic signals and possible relief measures were signaled by Washington, while gold rebounded from recent losses. Logistics giant FedEx rai…
European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said a rate increase could be enacted as early as April 30 if energy-related price pressures push the medium-term inflation outlook higher and lift inflation expectations. His comments followed fresh ECB staff projections showing headline consumer-price inflation at 2.6% this year and cam…
Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said the European Central Bank will avoid passivity or overreaction to recent oil and gas price swings and stands ready to intervene to keep inflation anchored at 2%. He told Boursorama the ECB will decide on potential rate moves on a meeting-by-meeting basis, with a rate increase currently more p…
Bank of Spain Governor Jose Luis Escriva told EFE that any Spanish measures to offset the economic fallout from the Iran conflict should be narrowly targeted at those most affected and limited in duration. Rising oil and gas prices since U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran have heightened the risk of higher consumer prices and weaker activity across the e…
Delegates meeting at next week’s World Trade Organization ministerial in Yaounde face a high-stakes test of whether the body can agree a credible reform path. Diplomatic sources and internal documents indicate broad support for reform but deep disagreement on the route forward. If members fail to settle on a roadmap, trade-reliant economies may pur…
A rapid re-pricing of global interest rate expectations tied to higher energy costs has halted the dollar's advance. Investors now see a greater likelihood of rate hikes from other major central banks, pressuring global sovereign bonds and lifting crude prices above $100 a barrel as Middle East supply risks persist.
Economists warn that the war in Iran could turn China's long-running deflation into an inflation driven by higher input costs rather than demand recovery. A sharp rise in oil and commodity prices risks lifting producer price inflation from negative territory, compressing already thin corporate margins, weighing on wages and jobs, and intensifying d…
Goldman Sachs has revised its timeline for Bank of England rate reductions, pushing expected cuts out to 2027. The move follows the BoE's decision to keep the Bank Rate at 3.75% and its warning that inflation could rise to about 3.5% over the next two quarters amid heightened energy-price risks tied to the conflict in the Middle East and strained s…
The dollar retreated from multi-month peaks this week after a sharp rise in energy prices altered expectations for interest rate paths in several major economies. As central banks in Europe, the U.K., Japan and Australia signalled greater readiness to tighten policy in response to constrained Middle East energy supplies, the euro, yen, sterling, Sw…
Global markets entered Friday with bonds under pressure and oil easing from recent highs after policymakers across major central banks warned that inflation risks tied to the Middle East conflict could require a firmer policy stance. Traders pared expectations for Federal Reserve easing this year and placed greater odds on rate moves from other cen…
China's central bank left its benchmark loan prime rates unchanged for the 10th month running, keeping the one-year LPR at 3.00% and the five-year LPR at 3.50%. Officials continue to rely on market liquidity tools and signaled further fiscal and monetary support while setting a slightly softer 2026 growth target amid weak domestic demand.
European Union leaders agreed clear deadlines for a broad set of reforms aimed at making the single market of 450 million consumers more effective and competitive versus foreign rivals. The summit conclusions require EU institutions and member states to deliver measures on cross-border services, banking competitiveness, emissions trading, professio…
Anduril Industries will begin assembling its FURY high-speed, 'loyal wingman' combat drones in the coming days at the new Arsenal-1 manufacturing campus in Ohio. The $1 billion facility, located about 20 miles south of Columbus, is slated to employ more than 4,000 people over the next decade, with an initial workforce of roughly 250 by year-end. An…
The U.S. Department of Defense has requested more than $200 billion in additional funds to cover operations related to the Iran conflict. Lawmakers from both parties have pushed back, and Pentagon officials say the figure remains subject to change. Early estimates put the first six days of the campaign at more than $11 billion, with daily costs ass…
The Pentagon has asked the White House to approve a request to Congress for more than $200 billion to fund U.S. military operations in Iran. The figure has drawn immediate resistance from Democrats and surprised some Republicans, who noted recent record defense appropriations and pressed for more information on how the funds would be used.
U.S. stocks erased early declines after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters that 20 days of joint U.S.-Israeli air strikes have, in his assessment, stripped Iran of the ability to enrich uranium and produce ballistic missiles. Netanyahu said Iran's missile and drone stockpiles are being degraded and that strikes are aimed at fa…
Jeff Bezos is engaged in preliminary discussions to raise roughly $100 billion for a fund that would acquire manufacturing businesses and deploy AI to accelerate automation. The vehicle, described in investor materials as a manufacturing transformation fund, is targeting industrial segments such as chipmaking, defense and aerospace. Bezos has also …
Yannis Stournaras, governor of the Bank of Greece and a member of the European Central Bank’s Governing Council, said the Middle East war is acting as an economic drag on Europe and should prompt deeper integration. He argued the bloc needs institutional change, notably joint debt issuance to reduce financing costs and to collectively fund high-pri…
A fresh escalation in the Iran conflict that targeted energy infrastructure has driven oil to about $119 a barrel, sent European gas prices sharply higher and prompted broad selling across bonds, equities and gold. Traders have repriced rate expectations for the Bank of England and other central banks, heightening market volatility and raising the …
Morgan Stanley has revised its projection for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, moving its prior June and September calls to September and December, after interpreting Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting remarks as signalling greater caution and heightened uncertainty. The bank highlights oil-price risk, recommends a neutral stance on U.S. Treasur…
At Tulane University’s Corporate Law Institute in New Orleans, senior bankers and M&A lawyers said the total value of transactions has climbed to near all-time highs despite market volatility, geopolitical conflicts and regulatory uncertainty. Panelists noted that fewer deals are being completed but the ones that are happening tend to involve large…
The European Central Bank kept its key interest rate at 2% but warned that higher oil and gas prices linked to the Iran conflict increase the risk that inflation will rise. Officials signalled they are likely to begin discussing rate hikes in the near term if energy-driven price pressure persists, with markets already pricing in further tightening …
President Donald Trump hosted Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House, commending Japan for backing U.S. actions in Iran while also making a provocative reference to Pearl Harbor when questioned about ally notification prior to strikes. Takaichi did not respond to that remark but affirmed that Iran must never obtain nuclear weapon…
The Czech National Bank kept its key interest rate at 3.50% in a unanimous decision by its seven-member Bank Board. The central bank did not publish a fresh macroeconomic forecast at the meeting and said an updated outlook will be released in May. In a post-decision press conference, officials underlined the need to maintain tight monetary conditio…
The average rate on the U.S. 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.22% this week, the highest level since early December, driven by market reactions to conflict in the Middle East that pushed oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields higher. The increase reverses a recent dip to 5.98% after federal directives expanded mortgage-backed securities purchases, and…
