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.
5,121 total articles
U.S. investment-grade corporate bond issuance passed the $1 trillion mark earlier in the year than in all but the pandemic-hit 2020, with $21 billion of notes scheduled to price on Tuesday to bring aggregate volume to $1.01 trillion. A handful of large technology firms accounted for a substantial share of the supply as they ramp up capital spending…
South Africa recorded a primary budget surplus equal to 1.1% of GDP in the year through March, marking the third straight annual primary surplus. The result exceeded the National Treasury's February projection of a 0.9% surplus, the Director-General Duncan Pieterse said at a Citigroup conference. Government debt is described as stabilised and is fo…
Chile's finance ministry will ask Congress to authorize up to $6.2 billion in extra borrowing for 2026 after revising the fiscal deficit projection to 2.4% of GDP from the budgeted 1.5%. Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz said the revised outlook creates a financing shortfall of about $4.7 billion, with a further $1.5 billion sought to cover working cap…
President Donald Trump has accepted an invitation to speak at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner rescheduled for July 24 at the Waldorf Astoria on Pennsylvania Avenue. The original event, held April 25, was cut short when a shooter opened fire and was stopped by the Secret Service. The president announced his attendance and commente…
Iraq has announced a plan to expand its pipeline crude exports from 220,000 barrels per day to 770,000 bpd within the next two and a half months in a two-phase program. The government also plans to boost trucked exports to neighboring countries to 420,000 bpd via a three-phase rollout and has approved an agreement with Syria to move and handle Basr…
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey told the House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee that returning inflation to the central bank's 2% target remains essential to maintain public confidence in monetary policy. He dismissed raising the target to 3% and outlined the bank's central and adverse inflation scenarios, which hinge on energy price pat…
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Megan Greene said the argument for raising interest rates has strengthened as the Iran conflict continues, warning that delays in action could allow wider price pressures to take hold. Greene, who joined the 8-1 majority to keep Bank Rate at 3.75% in April, reiterated that a rate increase may be requ…
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva publicly referenced Brazil's commercial ties with China after Washington proposed a 25% punitive tariff on many Brazilian imports. Lula highlighted China’s recognition of Brazil as free from foot-and-mouth disease and criticized U.S. officials and a Brazilian senator he says lobbied for the tariff measure. Trade …
NewLimit, a longevity company co-founded by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, closed a $435 million financing round that lifts its valuation to $3.1 billion, more than triple its value a year earlier. The company, which has no commercial products yet, plans to start human trials next year for a drug aimed at alcohol-related liver disease. The raise com…
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…
