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.
6,589 total articles
Global stock markets reached unprecedented levels on Monday, propelled by a continued surge in artificial intelligence-related optimism. This rally occurred despite significant headwinds, including a fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, rising oil prices, and increasing bond yields. Major indices such as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit new highs…
The Port of Los Angeles recorded 890,861 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in April 2026, a 5.7% increase from April 2025. Loaded containers rose to 587,551 TEUs, with inbound loaded boxes up 4.7% and outbound loaded boxes down 0.5%. Empty container moves grew 10.2%. The monthly results follow a recovery from earlier 2026 declines and come after …
On May 11 in Washington, the U.S. Treasury announced sanctions on three individuals and nine companies accused of facilitating Iran's shipment of crude to China. The Office of Foreign Assets Control said the designated parties helped the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps move oil to China through front companies located in permissive jurisdictions.…
Spanish Broadcasting System Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday after agreeing to hand ownership to its noteholders under a debt restructuring plan. The agreement, struck in early April with Brigade Capital Management, Man Group and an affiliate of HIG Capital, covers bondholders that own 72% of the companys $310 million in n…
The Republic of Congo has formally asked the International Monetary Fund to open discussions on a new financing arrangement after several years of very high public debt and weakening GDP growth. An IMF mission is due in Brazzaville in the coming weeks to design a framework for potential support, while official data point to a debt burden among the …
US Treasury yields moved higher across the curve during Monday afternoon trading. The 10-year Treasury yield registered the largest increase, while the 30-year and 1-year yields also rose. The spread between 5-year and 30-year Treasuries tightened, the S&P 500 inched up modestly, and US 5-year credit default swaps were unchanged.
Treasury prices fell on Monday as yields climbed roughly 5 to 6 basis points after a 3-year note auction showed weaker-than-expected demand. Key bidding metrics disappointed and primary dealers took a larger share, while indirect participation dipped. Markets reacted with a selloff in the belly of the curve as investors prepared for upcoming 10-yea…
The Australian Taxation Office is preparing a draft taxation determination to clarify how capital gains tax applies to certain exchanges of cryptocurrency assets conducted via wrapping contracts. The ATO said the guidance will address scenarios in which an asset is sent to a wrapping contract on the basis that it has been abandoned, and that the ru…
Canada's sovereign bond yields moved higher across maturities on Monday afternoon, with the 10-year note recording the largest increase. The 1-year yield rose to 2.649%, the 10-year reached 3.54%, and the 30-year climbed to 3.906%. The gap between the 1-year and 30-year yields widened slightly, while credit default swaps for the five-year tenor wer…
The Czech Financial Administration issued guidance on April 30 interpreting recent amendments under Law No. 32/2025 for individual income tax exemptions on crypto-asset transfers. The guidance applies rules tied to the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (2023/1114/EU), sets a value-based exemption limit of 100,000 koruna for 2025, excludes el…
A recent four-day national poll shows 66% of respondents believe President Donald Trump has not clearly explained the objectives of U.S. military involvement in the conflict with Iran. The survey also finds growing household financial strain from higher gasoline prices and places the president's approval rating at 36%. The results indicate potentia…
Goldman Sachs and Bank of America have revised their forecasts for Federal Reserve interest-rate reductions, moving expected cuts out of 2026 as robust labor-market data and elevated inflation readings argue for rates to remain unchanged through at least the end of 2026. Market positioning has shifted after disruptions to oil markets and hawkish co…
Citadel Securities is broadening its Asian footprint and will provide US equity block trading to clients in the region, offering human-led 'high touch' execution to handle large orders. The move responds to growing demand from Asian investors for access to US-listed stocks, especially chipmakers, and addresses a gap left by many Asia-based brokerag…
Saudi Aramco's chief executive warned that continued disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could delay a market rebalancing into 2027. The closure has removed substantial volumes from global trade, left hundreds of vessels idling or diverted, and drained product inventories, with particular pressure on gasoline and jet fuel ahead of summer travel.
A BTG Pactual analysis concludes that the initial 2023 consumer debt renegotiation program launched under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva did not lead to greater access to credit for those who benefited. The finding, drawn from an assessment of the program's first iteration by BTG economists Tiago Berriel and Bruno Martins, may help explain why…
President Donald Trump expressed satisfaction with the federal response to a hantavirus outbreak aboard the Hondius cruise ship that resulted in three deaths. He said the virus is "not easy to spread" and that the United States was in "very good shape." Seventeen U.S. citizens from the vessel were airlifted to Nebraska for evaluation, with two pass…
The American Automobile Association expects a record 39.1 million Americans to drive over the Memorial Day holiday, even as average gasoline prices remain above $4.50 per gallon and at their highest seasonal level on record. Total travel across all modes is projected at 45 million between Thursday, May 21 and Monday, May 25, with driving accounting…
A BTG Pactual report concludes that the first phase of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's consumer debt renegotiation program did not translate into greater credit access for participating households. Economists Tiago Berriel and Bruno Martins link the lack of a consumption uptick to a process of financial adjustment among borrowers, a…
Hudson River Trading reported $6.4 billion in trading revenue for the first quarter, a 135% increase from the same period a year earlier, according to people familiar with the matter. The firm said this quarterly haul accounts for more than half of its total trading revenue for all of 2025, while profit and earnings metrics also rose sharply. Net t…
Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius identifies three channels through which the 10-week closure of the Strait of Hormuz has so far produced only moderate damage to global growth: muted oil price response, demand reallocation that eased physical fuel shortages, and cushioning from fiscal policy, the AI-driven investment cycle, and generally su…
The head of the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority warned that advanced generative AI models, including Anthropic's Mythos and ChatGPT 5.5 Instant, are likely to cause substantial disruption across financial services. Sam Woods said the models' enhanced capacity to detect system weaknesses, combined with the imperative for banks to patch swiftly …
Federal officials plan a temporary rollback of tariffs on imported beef, aiming to ease record-high retail prices. The administration will suspend the annual tariff-rate quota that raises duties after a set import volume, expand Small Business Administration lending to ranchers, and relax select livestock regulations and endangered species protecti…
The Peruvian government has authorized state oil company Petroperu to obtain private financing to address a liquidity shortfall. An emergency decree permits the Finance Ministry to assume contingent commitments of up to $2 billion, including $500 million for short-term needs, with arrangements to be channeled through a new Petroperu subsidiary and …
U.S. existing home sales rose 0.2% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million units, slightly below economist expectations of 4.05 million. The sales data reflect contracts closed in February and March, a period that saw the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate move from 5.98% to 6.38%. Mortgage rates later climbed further in earl…
Senegal's sovereign bonds fell for a third straight session after lawmakers approved legislation that could permit Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko to run in the 2029 presidential election. The move has intensified investor concern about the outlook for a planned debt restructuring, pushing bonds across maturities down and leaving some issues at multi-…
