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.
7,055 total articles
Markets entered the day under strain as a delayed U.S. jobs report and a sharp rise in announced layoffs intensified speculation that the Federal Reserve could ease policy at its next meeting. Global equities fell for a third consecutive day, with emerging markets and Korean shares notably weak, while bitcoin and silver staged partial recoveries. T…
Indonesia's equity market and currency fell sharply after Moody's cut the country's credit outlook to negative from stable, intensifying a selloff that follows an $80 billion equity rout last week. The Jakarta Composite Index dropped nearly 3% while the rupiah weakened to 16,885 per dollar. Ratings concerns, transparency flags and policy uncertaint…
The Reserve Bank of India kept its policy rate at 5.25% and maintained a Neutral stance, while upgrading near-term inflation projections and pointing to improving export prospects from recent and prospective trade deals. The central bank warned of a sharper pick-up in consumer inflation in the coming months even as GDP growth remains robust.
The Reserve Bank of India held its policy repo rate at 5.25% following a unanimous decision by its six-member monetary policy committee, retaining a neutral stance. A recent trade agreement with the United States, which cuts U.S. tariffs on Indian imports from nearly 50% to 18%, has reduced a key source of pressure on India’s economy and markets. T…
A Reuters poll of 16 economists indicates Japan likely returned to growth in the October-December 2025 quarter, with annualised GDP rising an estimated 1.6% after a sharp contraction in the prior quarter. The pickup is attributed to robust corporate capital expenditure and steady private consumption, while net external demand made a small positive …
Singapore is set to announce a conservative Budget on February 12 that prioritises fiscal prudence after elevated household support in 2025. Economists from Bank of America, Maybank and DBS expect an overall fiscal surplus of between 0.3% and 1% of GDP. The government is likely to shift focus toward longer-term measures such as technology and innov…
Bitcoin plunged to a 16-month low on Friday and briefly tested the $60,000 level as a rout in technology stocks and other risk assets intensified. The largest cryptocurrency later traded higher in choppy action but remained under pressure, while ether and the wider crypto market also registered steep declines. Market flows into U.S. spot bitcoin ET…
Bank of Japan board member Kazuyuki Masu said the central bank must raise interest rates in a timely manner to prevent underlying inflation from breaching the 2% target, while taking care not to choke off a nascent wage-price upturn. Speaking in Matsuyama, Masu said underlying inflation remains below 2% but is drawing close, and that further policy…
The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan announced plans to expand incentives for corporate cooperation in criminal probes, including quick non-prosecution agreements (NPAs). Speaking at a securities enforcement forum in New York, he framed the approach as a way to encourage cooperation, protect shareholders and target misconduct in small-cap stocks, private…
Mexico's central bank left its policy rate unchanged at 7%, temporarily halting an easing cycle that began almost two years ago. Officials said the pause was signaled in their recent monetary program and pointed to persistent core inflation that remains above the bank's tolerance band. Policymakers will account for recently imposed tariffs on Asian…
The Bank of England voted narrowly to keep the Bank Rate at 3.75% but signalled that borrowing costs are likely to fall if a projected decline in inflation proves durable. The 5-4 vote to hold was tighter than economists had expected and came alongside downgraded growth forecasts and a higher unemployment peak. Sterling and short-term government bo…
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem told the Empire Club in Toronto that reshaping the Canadian economy to handle U.S. tariffs, weaker population growth and the integration of artificial intelligence will take years and could be painful. The central bank last week kept its policy rate at 2.25% for a second consecutive meeting and emphasized unusua…
Federal enforcement actions brought on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency fell to historic lows in 2025, with just 16 civil complaints filed by the Justice Department. An analysis by the Environmental Integrity Project shows steep declines in both filings and settled cases compared with the opening years of prior administrations.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde told reporters that while artificial intelligence is fueling a surge in private-sector investment across information and communications technology, the productivity gains from that spending will take time to materialize. She spoke after the ECB kept interest rates unchanged and described investment …
Senator Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, has asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to terminate a $20 billion currency swap line provided to Argentina last year. In a letter dated Wednesday, Warren reminded Bessent that the Treasury had described the facility as for "acute, short-term and urgent" needs tied to Ar…
The European Central Bank held its key deposit rate at 2% on Thursday, signaling a probable policy pause given cooling inflation and moderate economic expansion. Recent data showing inflation at 1.7% and 2025 growth of 1.5% reduce immediate impetus for further easing or tightening, though currency appreciation and external disinflation pressures ke…
Moody's downgraded its outlook on Indonesia from stable to negative while keeping the nation's Baa2 rating, citing reduced predictability in policymaking and signs of weakening governance following market volatility tied to transparency concerns. The move comes as officials promise reforms and the government stresses economic resilience amid invest…
The International Monetary Fund projects Israel's economy will expand by 4.8% in 2026, following an estimated 2.9% growth in 2025, on the assumption that the October ceasefire in Gaza holds. The IMF highlighted that a resurgence in private consumption and a rebound in investment are driving a near-term recovery, while also flagging elevated defence…
The end of the 30% federal income tax credit for rooftop solar systems has precipitated layoffs, market exits and bankruptcies across the U.S. residential solar industry. Companies are cutting costs and pivoting toward third-party ownership models that retain access to tax incentives, even as analytics firms forecast a sharp fall in installations a…
At its first policy meeting of the year, the Bank of England left the Bank Rate unchanged at 3.75%, with the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee split five-to-four in favour of holding rates. Policymakers cited persistent inflation as the reason for a cautious stance despite evidence of weakening hiring and slowing pay growth. External forecasts …
Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle told delegates at the UK Trade and Export Finance Forum that an announcement on a UK-GCC free-trade agreement is 'imminent.' Talks with the Gulf Cooperation Council, which comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, began in 2022 and have experienced delays; negotiators …
The Justice Department unit charged with investigating and prosecuting potential law enforcement misconduct has experienced a dramatic reduction in staffing and a directive to limit the scope of many probes. Multiple former prosecutors say the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division has lost roughly two-thirds of its trial attorneys, supervis…
Documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice show that Ariane de Rothschild, chief executive of Geneva-based Edmond de Rothschild, corresponded repeatedly with Jeffrey Epstein and agreed to several meetings over roughly five years before his 2019 arrest. The files do not show evidence of criminal conduct by de Rothschild but raise questions…
China said it regretted the lapse of the New START treaty and urged the United States to re-engage Russia on strategic stability. Beijing reiterated its self-defence nuclear stance, no-first-use commitment, and refusal to join bilateral arms-reduction negotiations, while noting its arsenal is smaller than those of Washington and Moscow.
A surge of foreign capital into Malaysian assets reflects growing investor confidence in the country’s steady growth, policy stability and a strengthening ringgit. Foreign inflows into local-currency debt, a rising stock market, and substantial data centre investment have positioned Malaysia as an attractive middle ground for global investors seeki…
