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.
7,193 total articles
Standard Chartered’s investor day puts CEO Bill Winters under pressure to demonstrate that the bank can transition from a decade-long recovery into a sustained growth phase. Management will present a new global strategy after the bank exceeded previous performance targets ahead of schedule, but geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and recent le…
Andy Burnham, currently the front-runner to replace Keir Starmer as leader of the UK government, has indicated he would preserve existing fiscal rules on borrowing established by Chancellor Rachel Reeves if he assumes the premiership. A spokesperson for the Greater Manchester mayor said Burnham would not carve out defence spending from those constr…
A technical mission from the International Monetary Fund is visiting Bolivia to hold discussions with government officials and representatives from the private sector. The team, which arrived last week, will conduct meetings in Santa Cruz and La Paz. Bolivia's finance minister has indicated a potential IMF program could channel between $2.6 billion…
The International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for U.K. growth in 2026 to 1% from 0.8% and advised the Bank of England to keep monetary policy restrictive, holding the Bank Rate at 3.75% through the year. The IMF warned that higher energy prices tied to the conflict in Iran will lift headline inflation, weigh on output and delay the return to …
The U.N. refugee agency says it will need to reduce staff numbers and implement urgent reforms after projecting a lower funding envelope for 2026 and enduring a steep decline in available resources in 2025. In a letter dated May 15, High Commissioner Barham Salih warned that the agency expects just over $3 billion in available funds for 2026 - roug…
A court filing on Monday shows President Donald Trump has voluntarily dismissed a $10 billion suit brought against the Internal Revenue Service. The filing gives no details on the terms of dismissal and leaves unclear whether the parties reached a settlement. The suit, filed in January by Trump, two of his sons and the Trump family business, accuse…
Poland's GPW Benchmark and the national financial regulator have delayed the removal of the Wibor interbank reference rate for existing loan agreements until the end of 2036. The move, prompted by lenders' concerns, gives banks ten years to migrate legacy contracts, while requiring new local-currency lending to use the Polstr rate starting at the e…
Iran has introduced a Bitcoin-backed marine insurance product called Hormuz Safe for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz and adjacent Persian Gulf waterways. State-affiliated reporting says the service could generate more than $10 billion in revenue, though no timeline or operational breakdown was provided. The launch comes amid tightened Irani…
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has declined to provide a timetable for leaving office as a leadership crisis deepens within the Labour Party. Nearly 100 lawmakers have demanded his resignation after weak local election outcomes. Senior figures including Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and the resigning Health Secretary Wes Streeting have pressed for clar…
Brazil's IBC-Br index, a central bank proxy for gross domestic product, rose 1.3% in the first quarter compared with the prior three months, even as March recorded a steeper monthly decline than economists had forecast. All monitored sectors contracted in March, with services - the largest component of the economy - falling notably. The central ban…
Brazil’s central bank activity gauge rose 1.3% in the first quarter relative to the prior three months, despite a steeper-than-anticipated 0.7% month-on-month decline in March. All sectors tracked fell in March, with services - the main engine of the economy - down 0.8%. Policymakers have eased policy with two consecutive 25 basis point cuts, lower…
Borrowing costs across the Group of Seven have climbed sharply in recent years as central banks lifted rates and investors demand higher compensation for holding long-term debt. New geopolitical tensions, shifting investor appetite and persistent fiscal needs from ageing populations, climate and defence spending are adding to the strain. This analy…
Hungary’s central bank governor, Mihaly Varga, said the institution will be a cooperative partner in the government’s effort to adopt the euro, while emphasizing the need to keep inflation under control. He framed euro membership as a political decision for Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s new administration, and noted that meeting Maastricht criteria…
Mandiri Sekuritas expects Bank Indonesia to raise its policy rate by 25 basis points to 5.00% at the May 20 meeting, citing a prolonged weakening of the Rupiah and a drawdown in foreign exchange reserves. The firm places a 60% probability on a direct policy rate increase, while leaving open a 40% chance that the central bank will instead rely on no…
The European Commission intends to renew existing steel safeguard measures before their July 1 expiration and plans to extend the new rules to all EU trading partners, explicitly including Switzerland. A commission spokesperson said the executive aims to adopt a concrete implementing act that will specify quotas by the July 1 deadline and confirmed…
Bank of England policymaker Megan Greene said central banks should not assume inflationary effects from the Iran war will be short-lived and warned that successive supply shocks raise the risk of entrenched wage and price-setting. Another Monetary Policy Committee member, Catherine Mann, said she was waiting for April inflation data and forward-loo…
The International Monetary Fund has raised its projection for British economic growth to 1.0% for the current year, citing stronger pre-war momentum and revised data. At the same time the Fund warned that ongoing domestic political instability and the war in the Middle East pose risks to consumption, investment and government finances, and urged ad…
Bond yields jumped on Kevin Warsh's first day as Federal Reserve chair, prompting strategists at Yardeni Research and Bank of America to warn that markets are running out of patience with an easing bias. Both firms argue that mounting market pressure - and stronger oil-related risks - make a hawkish pivot increasingly likely, with Yardeni even leav…
China's outbound shipments of solar cells rose 60% year-on-year in April to 1.34 billion units, valued at $3.12 billion, according to customs data released Monday. Although exports expanded versus the prior year, monthly shipments and tonnage declined from March peaks, a drop analysts link in part to front-loading ahead of the elimination of an exp…
President Donald Trump told a magazine he believes Iran wants to sign a peace agreement with the United States but is presenting unacceptable terms. The comments come as hostilities in the Middle East pass the 80-day mark, with a weekend drone strike at a UAE nuclear facility and intercepted drones over Saudi Arabia raising doubts about an already …
U.S. stock index futures opened lower as an upturn in Treasury yields and a jump in oil prices damped investor appetite for equities. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to its highest level since February 2025 before easing, while Brent crude traded above $110 a barrel after a drone strike raised concerns about conflict in the Middle East. Market p…
An executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump to accelerate development of psychedelic drugs has prompted renewed investor attention and some immediate fundraising success for developers, but researchers caution that clinical progress and safe market-ready therapies will still require lengthy, costly study. Industry executives say the order c…
China's exports of refined oil products dropped 38% year-on-year in April to 3.12 million metric tons, customs data show. The decline follows export restrictions introduced in mid-March that allocated shipment volumes to specific countries and exempted certain categories. Jet fuel and diesel experienced the largest falls, and liquefied natural gas …
Global bond markets are under pressure as investors price in the inflationary risk of an extended Iran conflict, sending yields to multi-month and multi-year highs. The tension is weighing on equities even as demand for AI exposure keeps risk appetites afloat. Nvidia’s quarterly report, results from major retailers and the possible filing of a Spac…
Kevin Warsh is set to be sworn in as chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve at a moment of elevated inflation, a sizable central bank balance sheet and divergent views among policymakers about the path of interest rates. The transition ends a contentious chapter between the White House and the central bank but opens a new phase of debate over how aggres…
