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.
2,613 total articles
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…
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s commanding election victory has strengthened her hand to pursue reflationary policies, reinvigorating a market dynamic known as the 'Takaichi trade' that has driven Japanese equities to fresh highs while pushing up government bond yields and weakening the yen. Investors now face a pivotal question: will political mom…
BCA Research warns that the U.S. residential housing market is unlikely to become a growth engine for the economy in 2026. Despite a decline in mortgage rates, residential investment was a mild drag on growth in 2025, housing starts fell to a five-year low in October 2025, and affordability pressures continue to restrain prices and sales.
Deutsche Bank Research analysts say a long-standing positive link between U.S. economic growth and hiring has weakened since the pandemic. From 2002 to 2019, hiring and growth moved closely together, with an 84% correlation; that relationship has faltered in recent years and its resolution could influence Federal Reserve decisions on rates and vote…
U.S. customs duty collections have fallen since October, slipping roughly 11% by late January on an annualized basis. While headline receipts retreated from an October high, economists warn that seasonal import patterns, targeted rate cuts and shifting port activity make it difficult to conclude that the decline reflects weakening import demand.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced sanctions on foreign manufacturers supplying critical components for Russian missiles and drones, signing decrees that single out firms in China, former Soviet states, the United Arab Emirates and Panama. The measures also extend to Russian financial entities and organizations linked to the crypto market and …
Concerns that the U.S. dollar is on the verge of a swift and sustained debasement appear exaggerated, according to market evidence cited by Bank of America. While the currency remains under longer-term pressure and has been volatile, asset flows, options positioning and macro indicators do not yet point to a structural shift away from U.S. assets. …
Japan holds a national election with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s conservative coalition favored to expand its lower house foothold. Polls point to a substantial gain in seats for the Liberal Democratic Party and its partner Ishin, while fiscal plans to suspend food sales tax, youth turnout and tensions with China present pivotal uncertainties f…
Japanese voters headed to the polls amid heavy snowfall in a rare February election that opinion polls indicate could deliver a decisive majority to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's conservative coalition. The vote presents potential implications for fiscal and defence policy, currency markets and the balance of power between the lower and upper cha…
South Africa’s central bank governor said the country would welcome newly proposed European Central Bank repo lines, noting such facilities would reinforce trade and investment flows from Europe. He also reiterated that South Africa’s interest-rate easing cycle is not yet complete, with policymakers watching inflation and exchange-rate developments…
Hungary’s centre-right Tisza party published a 240-page election programme pledging a 1% annual wealth tax on fortunes above 1 billion forints, plans to adopt the euro, and a strategy to end reliance on Russian energy by 2035 while expanding renewables and reviewing a Russian-built nuclear project. The programme also promises immediate overhauls to…
Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said Turkey will preserve a tight monetary policy and maintain fiscal discipline as authorities aim to bring consumer prices lower. January saw a sharper-than-anticipated monthly jump in consumer prices, while officials signalled the need for further supply-side measures even as rates have been cut in recent months.
Brad Karp, who led Paul Weiss from a respected New York litigation shop to a global legal powerhouse, resigned as chairman after Justice Department disclosures revealed extensive communications with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. His resignation follows a turbulent period that began with the 2024 presidential election and included a controvers…
Across five speeches on the economy since December, the president repeatedly claimed inflation was defeated and prices were coming down, but those assertions contrast with persistent price increases for many grocery items, modest declines in headline inflation, and voter sentiment showing unease about the cost of living. Republican strategists warn…
Morgan Stanley analysts warn that a slowdown in U.S. population growth - driven primarily by reduced immigration - could pull the country’s potential economic output down toward pre-pandemic rates. Census Bureau data show the slowest rise in population since 2021, and the bank’s economists say absent faster productivity gains the pace of potential …
India's recently concluded free-trade agreement with the European Union grants preferential treatment across the vast majority of EU tariff lines and nearly the entire bilateral trade value, according to ING Economics. Economists view the pact as a potential inflection point in India's external trade orientation as regional supply chains are being …
