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.
5,128 total articles
Barclays strategists argue that the economic effects of artificial intelligence extend beyond technology stock valuations to influence productivity, monetary policy, employment and public debt dynamics. While markets appear to have priced in strong AI-related earnings growth, the bank cautions that evidence of broad-based productivity gains remains…
Denmark's economy appears resilient despite geopolitical jitters over Greenland and a sharp market correction for Novo Nordisk, according to a senior official at the Danish central bank. Governor Ulrik Nødgaard told attendees at the Warwick Economic Summit that the central bank's outlook remains broadly intact, with the 2% growth forecast from Sept…
U.S. stock futures opened modestly higher as traders brace for a heavy calendar of corporate earnings and delayed economic releases. Chipmaker Onsemi is scheduled to report after Monday’s close. In Asia, markets gained following a commanding parliamentary victory for Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Commodities were mixed, with gold and silve…
South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) warned that an accidental distribution by exchange Bithumb of more than $40 billion in bitcoin to customers highlights structural vulnerabilities in cryptocurrency systems and reinforces the need for tougher regulatory measures as digital assets are integrated into the mainstream financial framework…
Japan’s landslide parliamentary victory for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party gives her a strong political foothold to pursue an expansionary economic agenda. Markets reacted with equity rallies but have held back decisive moves in bonds and the yen pending clarity on how new measures will be funded and whether policymakers w…
A private survey shows Japan saw a rise in corporate bankruptcies in January, driven in part by higher labour costs and worsening labour shortages among smaller businesses. Separate government data indicated real wages fell 0.1% in December from a year earlier, improving from a steeper drop in November. Policymakers face a dilemma: lift pay to sust…
Goldman Sachs has upgraded its projection for India’s real GDP growth in 2026 by 20 basis points to 6.9% year-on-year, attributing the revision to a substantial reduction in U.S. tariffs under an interim trade agreement. The pact lowers duties on a wide swath of Indian exports, includes commitments on Indian purchases of U.S. goods, and prompts Gol…
South Korea's National Assembly has established a 16-member special committee to accelerate passage of legislation tied to Seoul's $350 billion investment commitments in the United States. The move follows a late-January announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to raise tariffs on South Korean goods, which Seoul says prompted urgent …
Japan's $1.4 trillion foreign currency reserves have emerged as a potential funding source after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi vowed to pursue a two-year suspension of the 8% tax on food sales without issuing new debt. Officials and economists warn the reserves - intended for currency stability and largely invested in U.S. Treasuries - should not b…
Markets face a busy calendar after Japan’s snap election produced a sweeping victory for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s coalition, lifting equities and reshaping perceptions of fiscal policy in Tokyo. At the same time, investors are increasingly sorting winners and losers in the AI trade, while a backlog of major U.S. economic releases - postponed…
A survey of economists indicates that Chinese banks probably extended roughly 5 trillion yuan of net new yuan loans in January, a sharp increase from December's subdued reading and close to the strong pace recorded a year earlier. Analysts cite a steady bill discount rate and government policy efforts to boost consumption as supporting factors, whi…
Japan's election delivered a commanding result for the Liberal Democratic Party and Sanae Takaichi, sending the Nikkei sharply higher and prompting moves across bond and currency markets. The LDP and its coalition partner now hold a supermajority in the lower house, clearing the way for potentially larger defence spending, tax cuts and corporate re…
Hong Kong’s High Court on Feb. 9 sentenced Jimmy Lai, founder of the pro-democracy Apple Daily, to 20 years in prison after finding him guilty of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces under the national security law and one count of publishing seditious materials. Lai, 78, had pleaded not guilty. His prosecution unfolded over mult…
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed gratitude to U.S. President Donald Trump following a decisive lower house election result that delivered a supermajority for her ruling coalition. She says she will visit Washington this spring and intends to press ahead with a fiscal agenda and an assertive security policy emphasizing closer ties wit…
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will clarify in a May update to its mergers and acquisitions code that corporate boards retain the right to refuse unsolicited takeover offers, including those carrying high premiums. The move responds to government concerns about foreign and activist bids targeting strategic firms and follows a recen…
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's commanding election victory on Sunday has increased the likelihood she will implement the Liberal Democratic Party's pledge to suspend the 8% sales tax on food for two years. Markets reacted sharply to the prospect of the tax pause, with stocks rising, government bonds selling off and the yen slipping to multi-year l…
Lee Seung-heon, a leading candidate to succeed Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong, advocates raising property ownership taxes to temper a housing price surge that he says could fuel inflation and block homeownership for middle-income families. He argues against immediate interest rate increases, calling further tightening premature given weak g…
Australia's monthly household spending indicator fell 0.4% in December to A$78.86 billion, after two months of elevated spending tied to year-end sales events. While annual spending growth slowed and goods and services spending dipped, quarterly volumes rose 0.9%, contributing an estimated 0.3 percentage points to GDP. The data arrives after the Re…
Asian equity markets advanced strongly after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured a commanding parliamentary majority, bolstering investor expectations for fiscal stimulus and tax relief. The move coincided with a late rebound on Wall Street and a surge in semiconductor shares, while traders also sought bargains in beaten-down momentum na…
Starting salaries for permanent roles in Britain recorded their largest increase in nearly a year and a half in January, and the decline in permanent staff placements slowed to its weakest pace since July 2024, according to the monthly Report on Jobs compiled by KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. Temporary hiring also picked up,…
The yen fell to a two-week low on Monday as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s decisive election victory cleared the way for expanded fiscal stimulus. Markets digested the political outcome and its implications for policy, while attention also turned to upcoming U.S. data and shifting Fed rate-cut odds.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s coalition achieved a landmark electoral victory, giving her a two-thirds parliamentary majority and a clear mandate to pursue policies centered on tax reductions and reflationary spending. Market strategists and economists anticipate this outcome will support equity gains for domestically focused firms, pres…
Japan’s labour ministry reported that inflation-adjusted real wages declined 0.1% in December from a year earlier, marking the 12th consecutive monthly fall since the contraction began in January 2025. Nominal earnings rose, but the increase was not enough to restore purchasing power. Full-year figures show a 1.3% drop in real annual pay for 2025, …
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a Sunday television program he does not anticipate a rapid reduction in the Federal Reserve's balance sheet even if Kevin Warsh becomes Fed chair. Speaking on Fox News Channel's "Sunday Morning Futures," Bessent said the Fed could take at least a year to decide its approach to reserves and the size of its …
Japan's finance minister said on Sunday that using the country's large foreign exchange reserves to finance spending or tax reductions is a potential option but would require a careful, professional approach given the reserves' role in currency intervention and the risk of market disruption. She said the prime minister is aware of these considerati…
