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.
2,679 total articles
Havana's familiar chorus of vintage gasoline cars is giving way to electric vehicles as Cuba confronts a severe fuel shortfall following tightened U.S. measures that halted Venezuelan oil shipments and warned other suppliers. Residents and state services increasingly rely on electric tricycles and rickshaw-style vehicles to keep neighborhoods mobil…
Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee described the latest Consumer Price Index report as a mix of encouraging signs and lingering problems. While headline inflation cooled to 2.4% year-over-year in January, Goolsbee warned that services inflation is still "not tame" and "pretty high," and said inflation looks "stuck around 3%." He left…
Two U.S. banking regulators have submitted rule drafts to the Office of Management and Budget that signal movement toward a fresh set of global-style capital rules for large banks. The filings, posted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website, offer no technical details or timetable; the Federal Reserve has not posted a correspond…
The federal government has proposed a $38.3 billion Detention Reengineering Initiative (DRI) to expand and consolidate the U.S. immigration detention network. The plan would add more than 92,000 beds through acquisition, renovation and repurposing of facilities, create new regional processing centers and large-scale detention sites, and is slated f…
January's consumer price index showed headline inflation moderating to 2.4% year-over-year, below expectations and down from December's 2.7%. Monthly headline CPI rose 0.2% versus a 0.3% consensus while core CPI matched forecasts on both monthly and yearly measures. The report followed a strong jobs print, spurring investors to price in a somewhat …
The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled February 20 as an opinion day that will likely include a decision on President Trump's tariff policies. Additional opinion sessions are scheduled for February 24 and 25. The case, heard on an expedited timeline, could invalidate major tariffs that federal data show are costing importers more than $16 billion eac…
Clients of a major global custodian have increased their hedging of U.S. dollar exposure to levels not seen since late 2023, taking currency protection roughly 20% greater than the notional need implied by their U.S. assets. The trend reflects heightened investor caution toward the dollar in early 2026 and aligns with expectations around central ba…
Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) defends the country’s bank capital framework as appropriately calibrated, saying requirements achieve a “Goldilocks zone” that preserves financial stability while allowing lenders to support credit. A technical report benchmarking six systemically important Canadian banks agains…
World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said she agrees with U.S. calls to reform the global trading system, noting the system's resilience but lack of robustness. Her comments come ahead of a major WTO meeting in Cameroon next month and follow U.S. tariffs imposed by executive order last year that are awaiting a U.S. Supreme …
The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday unveiled an online portal for whistleblower tips related to fraud, money laundering and sanctions breaches. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department will offer monetary awards if tips lead to successful enforcement actions. The move follows scrutiny over federal funds administered by nonprofit grou…
The Federal Reserve is expected to nominate Randall Guynn, a long-time Wall Street lawyer and former Davis Polk partner, as director of supervision and regulation. Guynn, who has advised Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman since May 2025, would replace Michael Gibson and report to Bowman while overseeing proposed changes to the Fed's sup…
U.S. consumer prices rose modestly in January, with the Consumer Price Index increasing 0.2% from December and 2.4% from a year earlier, slightly under economists' expectations. The delayed release did not change the view among many market participants that the Federal Reserve remains positioned to lower interest rates later this year, though under…
Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill told a Santander Bank event in London that it is becoming harder to gauge how much monetary policy is suppressing demand. While he described the disinflation process as intact but incomplete, Pill said wage settlements remain elevated and that underlying inflation would be about 2.5% after removing a half pe…
A report released by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democrats found that the Trump administration spent more than $40 million to deport roughly 300 migrants to countries with which they had no prior connection. The program cost an average of $133,333 per deportee, with Rwanda reported at about $1.1 million per person for seven individuals. Five…
U.S. stock index futures pared earlier losses after the Labor Department reported January Consumer Price Index readings that were marginally softer than economists had forecast. Headline CPI rose 2.4% year-over-year and 0.2% month-on-month; core CPI, which excludes food and energy, matched the annual estimate at 2.5% and was 0.3% on a monthly basis…
U.S. consumer prices rose 0.2% in January, below expectations, while core inflation - which excludes food and energy - accelerated to 0.3%. Annual CPI slowed to 2.4% from 2.7% as last year’s higher readings dropped out. Adjustments to seasonal factors and government shutdown-related data gaps influenced the release, and officials will weigh a firme…
Morgan Stanley raised its forecast for U.S. real GDP in 2026 to 2.6% from 2.4%, citing stronger capital expenditures driven by hyperscaler spending. The bank's revisions lift nonresidential business fixed investment and equipment spending projections, tilt the outlook toward an 'animal spirits' upside scenario, and highlight new downside risks tied…
Hedge funds increased short bets against Hims & Hers Health in January to levels not seen in at least a year, according to Hazeltree data provided to Reuters. The rise in short interest preceded a sequence of events that included Hims withdrawing a low-cost version of Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug under FDA scrutiny, a patent lawsuit from Novo No…
Euro area finance ministers will evaluate a set of proposals intended to increase the euro's appeal as an international currency and reduce reliance on foreign financial infrastructure. The European Commission's list ranges from removing internal barriers and harmonising corporate law to issuing joint debt, launching a digital euro and encouraging …
Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill said consumer-price inflation in the U.K. is declining but at a slower rate than authorities hoped. Pill emphasized that much of the projected drop in inflation reflects government interventions to lower energy costs rather than deeper underlying economic improvements. He also stood with a majority of Moneta…
The Central Bank of Russia cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 15.50% on Friday, marking a cumulative reduction of 550 basis points since it began easing policy in June last year. The decision surprised a majority of market analysts, with an LSEG poll showing only eight of 24 respondents predicted the cut while 16 expected the bank to h…
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has launched a dedicated webpage to accept confidential whistleblower tips on fraud, money laundering and violations of U.S. sanctions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that eligible tips may receive financial awards, and tied the move to recent anti-fraud efforts highlighted during his Mi…
Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill said underlying inflation in the U.K. appears to be stabilizing near 2.5% annually, above the BoE's 2% target. Pill made the comment in London and noted that removing a half percentage-point budget effect would leave the April/May forecast at about 2.5%. He recently voted with a narrow majority to keep the B…
U.S. stock index futures were largely unchanged following an AI-related market selloff that extended beyond software into brokerages and transportation. Traders stayed cautious ahead of the January Consumer Price Index due at 8:30 a.m. ET, a report that could affect expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts. Major index futures drifted lower in ea…
Federal authorities are weighing legal options, including injunctions and fines, against online telehealth firm Hims after the company briefly announced plans to market a low-cost compounded version of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy. The FDA has referred Hims to the Department of Justice, and lawyers say the move could lead to enforcement if regulators find…
