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.
7,112 total articles
U.S. Treasury yields edged lower on Tuesday after the Labor Department reported a 731,000 increase in job openings to 7.618 million at the end of April. Oil prices stayed relatively steady following gains the previous day. Diplomatic developments involving Iran and the United States continued to weigh on energy markets.
Canada has formally proposed renewing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement for 16 years and asked that sector-specific tariff discussions occur alongside the USMCA review. The move precedes a meeting between Canadian and U.S. trade officials and follows criticism that Ottawa was slow to engage in the trilateral review process.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey told lawmakers that restoring inflation to the 2% target and convincing the public of the Bank’s commitment are priorities. Speaking before the House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee, he said the focus should be on managing the path back to target, not on increasing the target to 3%. Bailey also noted his …
Job vacancies climbed sharply in April to their highest point since May 2024, even as hiring declined, according to the Labor Department's JOLTS figures. The divergence between rising openings and weaker hiring, alongside low initial unemployment claims and elevated inflation, leaves markets focused on Friday's payrolls report and the Federal Reser…
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey told the House of Lords' Economic Affairs Committee that restoring inflation to the 2% target remains a priority to rebuild household confidence in the Bank's credibility. He dismissed proposals to raise the target to 3%, noted his April vote to hold interest rates at 3.75% amid an 8-1 decision, and said highe…
Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron said short-term interest rates in Israel may be lowered at a quicker pace if inflation continues to moderate following renewed optimism about a ceasefire with Iran, which has helped push down oil prices and firm the shekel. Yaron framed the May 25 policy decision and the subsequent rate cut within a balancing of g…
President Donald Trump announced that Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William J. Pulte will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence, while retaining his FHFA duties and chairmanship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The appointment, posted on Truth Social, diverges sharply from historical practice and has drawn strong reactions from …
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack warned that continued inflationary pressures could prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates if current trends persist. Speaking at the City Club of Cleveland, Hammack emphasized that inflation risks have grown and that waiting for conclusive evidence of entrenched inflation could fo…
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack signaled that the Fed may need to move 'soon' to curb inflation if recent upward trends persist. Speaking at the City Club of Cleveland, Hammack said inflation is too high, broadly based across categories, and poses a growing risk to the outlook. While she described it as reasonable to hold r…
The U.N. refugee agency has warned that falling humanitarian funding is jeopardizing support for roughly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. An influx of about 150,000 people since early 2024, cuts to donor budgets, and an underfunded $710.5 million appeal have left critical services — food, shelter, health and education — at risk.
China’s foreign minister said bilateral ties with the United Kingdom are returning to normal as UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper conducts high-level talks in Beijing. Officials signaled a resumption of exchanges across multiple fields and discussed trade, finance, energy, artificial intelligence and climate cooperation, while also acknowledging r…
An IMF staff paper finds that central banks across the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caucasus require firmer legal protection from political interference and from being used to finance government deficits. The report links stronger legal independence and clearer mandates with better inflation outcomes, particularly when economies face unanticip…
U.S. equity futures opened broadly lower Tuesday as markets digested a flurry of technology-sector developments and ambiguous reports on talks to end the war in Iran. Early trading showed declines across major index futures, while individual names from Alphabet to Marvell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise recorded sizeable moves ahead of the opening b…
Swiss National Bank President Martin Schlegel told lawmakers in Bern that the SNB does not seek a fixed exchange-rate target, but has increased its readiness to step into foreign exchange markets alongside use of the policy rate and other measures. He argued that price stability depends on a narrowly defined mandate and strong institutional indepen…
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said it will incorporate the unexpectedly persistent inflation that followed the 2022 energy shock into its next set of forecasts, prepared for the finance minister's annual budget later this year. The move reflects the OBR's decision to alter modelling assumptions about how energy prices pass through to i…
The South African Reserve Bank reiterated its commitment to returning inflation to its 3% target after raising the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 7%. Governor Lesetja Kganyago defended the hike as needed to stem developing second-round effects from a Middle East oil shock that are spilling into diesel, fertilizer and food prices, and warned…
Representatives from the Chinese and U.S. militaries met in Hawaii on May 28-29 to discuss air and maritime safety. Both sides agreed that better communication could help prevent miscalculations and improve professional conduct. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command hosted members of the People’s Liberation Army in Honolulu for talks aimed at reducing the …
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development President Odile Renaud-Basso said government assistance in EBRD regions hit by the Middle East conflict should be temporary and narrowly focused, citing constrained fiscal room and higher borrowing costs. The bank will revise down growth and up inflation in its next economic update and is preparing t…
The Kremlin stated that the conflict in Ukraine has entered a new phase following what Moscow described as terrorist actions by Ukrainian forces against civilians. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian forces are conducting systematic strikes on Ukrainian military infrastructure after a wave of Russian strikes killed at least 17 people and w…
Canada's minister in charge of Canada-U.S. trade, Dominic LeBlanc, will meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Tuesday, with Chief Trade Negotiator to the United States Janice Charette attending. The meeting comes after Canada was excluded from the first bilateral talks between the United States and Mexico on revisions to the United State…
Avla Seguros, together with Galapagos Capital, Tivio Capital and fintech Marvin, raised 126 million reais (about $25.07 million) through what is being described as Brazil's first insurance-linked security offered to the open market. The instrument, aimed at professional investors, covers credit insurance operations for a major retail company. Marvi…
The Department of Labor's proposed rule to permit employer-sponsored retirement plans to include alternative investments such as private credit and cryptocurrencies drew more than 33,000 public comments by the close of the review period. Asset managers and trade groups backed the idea as a way to widen investor access to private markets, while inve…
Citi has lifted its 2026 inflation projections for South Korea after May's consumer price index came in above expectations. The bank now sees headline CPI at 2.9% year-over-year and core CPI at 2.6% year-over-year for 2026, up from prior forecasts of 2.7% and 2.5% respectively. Citi continues to expect four 25 basis-point interest rate hikes at sch…
Congressional leaders in both chambers will publicly question Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week about the Trump administration's foreign policy as the Iran conflict moves into its fourth month. Rubio, who also serves as the president's national security adviser and was a senator from Florida until January 2025, will appear before multiple co…
The head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said governments in the bank's regions should deploy temporary, targeted fiscal support to shield the most vulnerable from fallout tied to the war in Iran. With fiscal space reduced after successive shocks and borrowing costs higher, the EBRD will lower its growth forecast and raise i…
