Economy

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.

Articles

2,616 total articles

AEP Widens Capital Plan as Power Demand from Hyperscalers Accelerates

AEP Widens Capital Plan as Power Demand from Hyperscalers Accelerates

Feb 12 - American Electric Power reported fourth-quarter operating earnings that exceeded analysts' expectations and said it will augment its five-year capital expenditure program beyond $72 billion to accommodate rapidly growing electricity demand driven largely by major cloud and AI-related data center customers.

Anthropic Pledges $20 Million to Group Backing State-Friendly AI Regulation

Anthropic Pledges $20 Million to Group Backing State-Friendly AI Regulation

Anthropic said it will contribute $20 million to Public First Action, a political organization that supports candidates favoring state-level AI regulation and opposes federal limitations on states. The move highlights growing political investment by AI companies ahead of the U.S. midterm elections and a broader contest between groups advocating for…

ECB Likely to Hold Deposit Rate at 2.00% Through Year-End, Poll Shows

ECB Likely to Hold Deposit Rate at 2.00% Through Year-End, Poll Shows

A February poll of economists indicates the European Central Bank will keep its deposit rate at 2.00% at least through the end of this year, extending the central bank's longest continuous period of unchanged rates since its negative-rate era. The survey, conducted Feb. 9-12, shows broad expectations for steady borrowing costs, inflation near targe…

Futures Tick Up After Stronger Jobs Data, Markets Await Inflation Read

Futures Tick Up After Stronger Jobs Data, Markets Await Inflation Read

U.S. equity futures rose modestly after data showing stronger jobs growth and a lower unemployment rate eased immediate economic concerns. Traders reduced expectations for near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts, shifting odds toward policymakers holding rates steady, while focus turns to Friday's Consumer Price Index for January and a slate of corpora…

ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0 Sparks Social Buzz as China Eyes a New DeepSeek Moment

ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0 Sparks Social Buzz as China Eyes a New DeepSeek Moment

ByteDance on Thursday introduced Seedance 2.0, a multimodal AI model capable of processing text, images, audio and video together to generate high-quality cinematic footage. The system, aimed at film, e-commerce and advertising production, has gone viral on Chinese social media, elicited public praise including a comment from Elon Musk and drawing …

UK GDP Ends 2025 on Soft Footing as Construction and Business Investment Weaken

UK GDP Ends 2025 on Soft Footing as Construction and Business Investment Weaken

Official GDP figures show the UK economy finished 2025 with subdued growth, driven by weakness in construction and a drop in business investment. ING links part of the investment fall to a cyberattack on a major carmaker late in Q3, and expects the Bank of England to cut rates in March and June if labour-market and wage trends remain soft. EUR/GBP …

Markets Rebound After Strong Jobs Print; Cisco Margins Weigh on Tech

Markets Rebound After Strong Jobs Print; Cisco Margins Weigh on Tech

U.S. equity futures pointed higher on Thursday as investors looked past a stronger-than-forecast January nonfarm payrolls report and turned attention to upcoming corporate results and inflation data. The jobs report, which showed a 130,000 increase in payrolls and a decline in the unemployment rate to 4.3%, pushed back market expectations for the f…

European equities hit record as corporate results and M&A lift markets

European equities hit record as corporate results and M&A lift markets

European shares rose to a fresh record high on Thursday as better-than-expected corporate updates and a major takeover in asset management supported sentiment. The STOXX 600 climbed, led by a strong performance in French stocks after Legrand and Hermès posted encouraging results, while Schroders surged following a proposed acquisition by Nuveen. In…

China Signals Support as Some EV Makers Strike Individual Pricing Deals with EU

China Signals Support as Some EV Makers Strike Individual Pricing Deals with EU

China's commerce ministry said it expects more Chinese electric-vehicle manufacturers to secure minimum-price arrangements with the European Union and expressed willingness to keep communications open with the bloc. The statement followed the EU's approval of an exemption for Volkswagen's Cupra Tavascan, granted in return for an agreed minimum pric…

Jobs Fade, Earnings Move to Forefront as Markets Weigh Policy Signal

Jobs Fade, Earnings Move to Forefront as Markets Weigh Policy Signal

A stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs headline has encouraged investors to pare back bets on an imminent Federal Reserve rate cut, shifting attention to upcoming inflation data and a heavy slate of European earnings. Currency moves, a record European equity close, and uneven corporate earnings forecasts frame a cautious market mood ahead of key data a…

Markets Reprice as U.S. Policy Shifts Spur 'Middle Powers' to Coordinate

Markets Reprice as U.S. Policy Shifts Spur 'Middle Powers' to Coordinate

Financial markets are adjusting to a world where U.S. policy under President Donald Trump is prompting allied nations to pursue closer cooperation and independent trade and industrial strategies. Investors are responding by tilting portfolios toward non-U.S. equities, energy stocks and currencies such as the euro and Canadian dollar, while European…

China and Mexico Hold First Face-to-Face Trade Talks After Mexico Raises Tariffs

China and Mexico Hold First Face-to-Face Trade Talks After Mexico Raises Tariffs

Senior Chinese trade official Li Chenggang met with Mexico’s Deputy Economy Minister Vidal Llerenas in Beijing for the first in-person discussions since Mexico enacted steep tariffs on imports from China and other countries without free trade agreements. The talks covered bilateral economic and trade relations, amid Chinese warnings of potential re…

States Challenge Federal Cuts to $600 Million in Public Health Grants

States Challenge Federal Cuts to $600 Million in Public Health Grants

Four Democratic-led states have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to halt the Trump administration's termination of roughly $600 million in public health grants. The complaint alleges the funding cuts are politically motivated and threaten core programs administered through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including HIV prevention and …