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.
6,527 total articles
American Express reported first-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations as billed business grew 9% and overall revenue increased 10% on a foreign exchange-adjusted basis. Strong retail and airline spending among affluent customers helped push card use to a three-year peak, while the company kept credit provisions modest and reiterated it…
The European Central Bank meets next Thursday and is expected to hold its key rate at 2% after a temporary pullback in oil prices following an Iran war ceasefire. While the near-term inflation outlook has improved, elevated energy prices, weak business activity and unclear prospects for resumed flows through the Strait of Hormuz mean markets still …
Japan's core consumer price index rose 1.8% year-on-year in March, staying below the Bank of Japan's 2% target for a second month as fuel subsidies and softer food inflation countered energy-driven price pressures. Wholesale and services price gains, including a large jump in ocean freight costs after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, …
New budget projections and confidential estimates indicate that Greece will relinquish its position as the euro zone country with the largest public-debt-to-GDP ratio by the end of this year, as Italian debt is forecast to remain slightly higher under Rome’s multi-year fiscal plan. The shift reflects divergent trajectories: a notable decline in Gre…
U.S. Southern Command confirmed a strike on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific that killed two people, identifying the targets as 'male narco-terrorists' engaged in illicit trafficking. The operation is the latest in a series of strikes attributed to the Trump administration's counter-narcotics campaign, which the military says has killed more than 17…
China's Ministry of Commerce has warned that new bipartisan export-control legislation in the U.S. Congress, aimed at curbing advanced AI and semiconductor technologies, risks destabilizing global supply chains. The statement comes after the House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced bills including the Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls o…
Deepening divisions inside Iran's leadership are undermining momentum toward a quick end to the Iran war. Pragmatic members of the Iranian delegation have indicated willingness to negotiate on key issues, including the nuclear program, but their proposals face public resistance from ultraconservatives and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC…
A surge in valuations for companies supplying hardware for artificial intelligence has lifted Taiwan’s stock market past the United Kingdom and pushed South Korea close behind. The shift reflects investor demand for leading-edge chipmakers and a widening capital flow into semiconductor-focused benchmarks, while European indices remain dominated by …
With tensions in the U.S.-Iran conflict potentially easing, market attention is returning to domestic politics ahead of the midterm elections. Analysts at Wolfe Research say President Donald Trump’s approval rating has come under renewed pressure amid the economic and social effects of the Iran conflict. Wolfe expects Democrats to win a solid House…
The U.S. State Department has instructed diplomats worldwide to raise alarms about what it characterizes as large-scale efforts by Chinese AI companies to appropriate intellectual property from American research labs through model "distillation." A diplomatic cable, first reported by Reuters, urges warnings to foreign counterparts and signals possi…
What began as headlines about a multibillion-dollar overhaul of two historic Federal Reserve buildings near the National Mall escalated into a criminal investigation of Fed Chair Jerome Powell and then subsided when the U.S. Attorney in Washington closed the probe and referred the matter to the central bank's inspector general. The sequence moved f…
Brazilian authorities have ordered the blocking of 28 prediction market platforms, including Polymarket and Kalshi, saying the sites do not meet betting regulations passed by Congress. Officials framed the action as a consumer-protection step tied to broader efforts to rein in public indebtedness and warned additional measures could be adopted.
Eminence Capital, a hedge fund founded by Ricky Sandler, is closing after 27 years and will return capital to its investors. In a letter to stakeholders, Sandler said the firm has struggled to apply its investment approach amid changing market conditions and an evolving market structure. He acknowledged recent underperformance and said the expense …
Swedish business groups have told the government they favor an expanded cost deduction for research and development wage costs over a refundable tax credit. The industry delegation said a 200% deduction would deliver larger tax relief and could influence where companies choose to locate R&D activities, while trade bodies argued the deduction is eas…
Brazilian authorities have blocked 28 prediction market platforms after concluding they violate the country’s betting regulations. The National Monetary Council narrowed which underlying assets are permissible in derivatives trading, excluding assets tied to sports, online gaming and social or political outcomes. Government officials said the actio…
European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said he and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick agreed to accelerate conversations on steel derivatives during Sefcovic's trip to Washington. He described mutual recognition of global steel overcapacity, proposed renewed exploration of protected trading arrangements for their steel sectors, and outlined…
The Justice Department has closed its inquiry into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Friday. The decision eliminates a major obstacle to the confirmation of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the central bank, and prompted immediate market responses including a decline in the dollar and in T…
Canada posted a C$25.55 billion budget deficit for the first 11 months of the 2025/26 fiscal year, up from C$19.27 billion a year earlier, as program spending increased and revenue growth stayed modest. Public debt charges fell slightly overall but were partly offset by higher rates on an expanded stock of marketable bonds. Monthly figures showed a…
Jane Street generated $39.6 billion in trading revenue in 2025, a Wall Street record, driven by strong fourth-quarter performance and gains tied to valuations of private-company stakes. The firm reported adjusted EBITDA of about $31.2 billion and averaged more than $11 million in revenue per employee.
The United States and the European Union issued an action plan on Friday aimed at coordinating trade policy for critical minerals supply chains. The plan includes exploring a binding plurilateral agreement and examining trade tools such as border-adjusted price floors to support domestic industries and downstream sectors tied to advanced manufactur…
Switzerland's financial regulator, Finma, has warned that broad or uncontrolled access to Anthropic PBC's AI tool Mythos could create a severe systemic risk for the country's financial system. Regulators and central bankers are weighing how to balance the need to prevent misuse with the desire to ensure relevant institutions have access to powerful…
The Bank of Russia cut its policy rate by 50 basis points to 14.5% while raising its 2026 average oil price forecast to $65 per barrel, citing higher global commodity prices linked to the Iran war and a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The central bank signalled caution on future easing, citing one-off domestic disruptions that hurt early-year act…
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek released a preview of V4, an open-source model family adapted to run on Huawei’s Ascend chips. V4 ships in two variants - Pro and Flash - supports a 1-million-token context window, and is positioned to work with agent frameworks such as Claude Code and OpenClaw. DeepSeek says Pro sets a new bar for open models in core ta…
A survey of 85 economists conducted April 17-23 indicates the European Central Bank (ECB) is likely to keep its deposit rate on April 30 but to raise it in June, with just over half forecasting a 25 basis-point increase. The vote reflects concern that a war-related spike in energy prices could push inflation further above the 2% target. Economists …
In Bern on April 24, Swiss National Bank Chairman Martin Schlegel defended the institution's investment framework after activists in Minneapolis urged the central bank to divest its $1.1 billion position in Palantir Technologies. Schlegel reiterated that the SNB maintains a market-neutral equity approach, weights holdings by market capitalization t…
