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.
7,067 total articles
Oracle’s aggressive investment in AI infrastructure has left the company with negative free cash flow, hefty borrowing and near-junk credit ratings. Large long-term data centre leases, rising capital expenditure plans and concentrated future revenue commitments have prompted ratings agencies and investors to reassess the company’s financial resilie…
The U.S. trade deficit contracted to $73.3 billion in June, a 5.6% fall from May, as both exports and imports declined. Goods flows were the main driver of the move: exports of goods fell, led by lower industrial supplies and petroleum-related shipments, while goods imports fell with notable decreases in computer and capital goods. The government e…
U.S. Treasury yields fell Tuesday after oil prices tumbled roughly 4% to a three-week low on reports that mediators are making headway toward ending the U.S.-Iran conflict. Comments from Qatar and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that an agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz could come within days reduced traders' expectations for a Fede…
The Labor Department's JOLTS report showed U.S. job openings fell by 178,000 in June to 7.359 million, driven largely by a drop in healthcare and social assistance vacancies. At the same time, hiring rose by 96,000 and layoffs remained subdued, while economists cautioned about falling survey response rates and flagged potential risks to payroll and…
Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson said she remains receptive to potential interest-rate increases while emphasizing a data-dependent approach to return inflation to the Fed’s 2% target. Speaking in a statement and later on CNBC, Paulson described recent inflation improvements as welcome but limited, supported the decision to hold the policy r…
Canada recorded a trade surplus of C$3.86 billion in June, marking the fourth month in a row of positive trade balances. Exports rose 0.4% and hit a record C$77.5 billion, lifted by a 16.5% jump in metal and non-metallic mineral products—chiefly a 27.9% increase in unwrought gold, silver and platinum group metals. Imports climbed 0.2% to a record C…
On Aug 4, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. will do "whatever it takes" to aid Japan’s recent moves to shore up the yen, confirming Washington joined a joint intervention last week and discussing potential use and scaling of the Fed’s FIMA repo facility to support the Bank of Japan. Bessent also addressed reserve reallocations involvin…
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that negotiators may reach a short-term agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz imminently, while Gulf mediators continue drafting language aimed at de-escalation. Conflicting incidents and statements, including a fresh strike on a vessel and denials of direct talks, have left markets and regional ob…
The World Bank's report finds that artificial intelligence could condense a century of development into a decade for developing countries, provided they rapidly address shortfalls in power, internet access and workforce skills. The analysis also concludes emerging markets face lower job-displacement risk from generative AI than high-income countrie…
Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson said she remains uncertain about the appropriate path for interest rates and will base future decisions on trends in underlying inflation. In an essay, she described two possible outcomes: one where policy is already mildly restrictive and will bring inflation back to 2% in an acceptable time frame, and anoth…
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that it would be reasonable for the Federal Reserve to consider increasing the size of the FIMA facility given growth in the bond market since the facility's 2020 launch. Bessent reiterated that facilities such as FIMA and swap lines exist to shield the U.S. economy by keeping market volatility offshore, a…
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Anna Paulson said she remains open to a range of monetary policy outcomes, including the possibility of higher rates, as she monitors mixed signs on inflation and a stabilizing labor market. Speaking publicly for the first time since the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Paulson supported the deci…
JPMorgan said hedge funds gave up almost 3% of their 2026 gains during July as technology-related positions were unwound amid a wider market reaction to a crude oil price spike linked to the Iran war. Despite the setback, hedge funds remain approximately 8% higher for the year across strategies. The bank highlighted concentrated losses from momentu…
China's industry ministry has put in place mandatory safety requirements for vehicles equipped with conditional and highly automated driving systems. The rules, announced on Tuesday and effective July 1, 2027, require such systems to meet safety performance at least on par with a qualified and attentive human driver and to avoid creating unreasonab…
Since his January 2025 inaugural pledge to reverse what he called government censorship, President Trump’s administration has faced an unusual and sustained legal pushback on First-Amendment grounds. Federal judges in 75 cases have concluded the government infringed speech, religion or press rights, with rulings spanning university research grants,…
Japan's trade and finance ministries announced provisional anti-dumping duties ranging from 29.2% to 55.3% on imports of hot-dipped galvanised steel coil, sheet and strip from mainland China and South Korea. The duties - effective from August 8 to December 7 - follow a year-long investigation triggered by a petition from Nippon Steel, Kobe Steel an…
The European Commission has opened a formal investigation into an arbitration award that led Spain to pay €23.5 million ($27.04 million) to Japanese firm JGC Holdings. The probe will determine whether the payment, which arose from alterations to a 2007 renewable power support scheme and was paid to a U.S. fund holding the award, breaches EU state a…
Bank of Japan data on money market projections and current account balances suggested Tokyo may not have intervened in currency markets on Monday, even though the yen jumped to its strongest level in about three months. The BOJ's projection for Wednesday showed a funding shortfall larger than broker forecasts, and central bank account flows for Tue…
U.S. equity futures moved higher as markets digested a mixed outlook for a potential de-escalation in the Iran conflict and a fresh wave of corporate earnings. Investors took heart from comments that talks with Tehran may have resumed and from a weekend decision to call off strikes, yet Iranian officials denied negotiations were under way. Robust q…
Minutes from the Bank of Korea's July 16 meeting show board members agreed to raise interest rates and discussed the timing and pace of additional tightening. Some members advocated a preemptive stance to secure price stability, while others urged a careful reassessment of growth and inflation projections as new data arrived. Recent inflation data …
A former Bank of Japan official directly involved in past market operations warned that Japan and the United States are prepared to repeat joint intervention if the yen resumes a fresh downtrend. He said the recent rare coordinated yen-buying operation successfully altered market perceptions, and that the U.S. backing gives Tokyo freedom to act aga…
The Indian government intends to seek parliamentary approval for a package of tax measures designed to draw foreign investment and reinforce domestic manufacturing capacity. Proposed legislation would formalize tax exemptions for foreign buyers of Indian government bonds, protect offshore funds from tax where management is India-based, and extend t…
July advertising data from ANZ-Indeed indicates a 0.8 percent monthly increase in job postings, counterbalancing June's minor decline. The labor market continues to show resilience amid the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate hikes, with management and healthcare roles leading occupational expansion while unemployment remains steady.
The Japanese yen maintained much of its recent strength following coordinated intervention efforts by Japanese and American authorities. Currency markets are now closely monitoring Federal Reserve policy expectations, upcoming labor reports, and potential diplomatic developments that could further influence capital flows and exchange rate trajector…
The U.S. Treasury raised its estimate for third-quarter borrowing to $739 billion, $68 billion above its May projection, with a larger opening cash balance tempering but not eliminating the increase. The department also outlined fourth-quarter and second-quarter cash and borrowing figures, and signaled it will publish detailed refunding plans, incl…
