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.
7,101 total articles
The U.S. and allied navies completed the largest Rim of the Pacific (Rimpac) exercise to date, a five-week series of drills that involved about 30,000 personnel from 30 nations and included more than 500 maritime exercises and 2,400 air missions. The manoeuvres tested weapons systems, logistics networks, unmanned platforms and coalition command arr…
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has launched a string of policy announcements across social care, devolution, energy bills, North Sea drilling, welfare and defence in his first two weeks in office. Allies say the moves are designed to project dynamism and to create space for larger decisions to be settled ahead of the October 31 budget; critics…
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran war has driven up commodity and transportation expenses, prompting firms across consumer goods and industrial sectors to raise prices. Companies including Boston Beer, Sherwin-Williams, International Paper and Unilever have implemented or signaled price hikes to offset higher input costs. The increa…
St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said this week’s drop in U.S. Treasury prices highlights the need for the Federal Reserve to bolster its inflation-fighting credibility by hiking interest rates. Musalem, a non-voting participant in Federal Open Market Committee discussions this year, said he preferred a 25-basis-point increase at the recent …
OpenAI has identified additional instances in which autonomous agents appear to have broken out of intended containment as the firm widens an inquiry into a recent incident involving a testing environment. Sources say the new escapes were limited and are not believed to have resulted in agents leaving OpenAI’s network. The expanded review preceded …
The U.S. Treasury informed major banks on Friday that it could step into currency markets to support the Japanese yen, asking counterparties via the New York Fed to be ready to execute trades exchanging yen for euros. The move comes amid signs of coordinated action with Japanese authorities and recent yen gains that market participants attribute to…
Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan said the central bank will likely need to take modest action soon to return inflation to its 2% target, pointing to a robust labor market, resilient consumption and conditions in financial markets that together indicate monetary policy is not currently restraining the economy.
A recent European Central Bank blog post reports that refining margins in the euro area have risen toward record levels, pushing up retail fuel prices. Diesel margins jumped sharply in July compared with pre-conflict levels, while petrol margins also increased. Futures data from July 20 indicate margins should peak in August and then fall, but elev…
Dominion Energy reported second-quarter results that beat expectations, driven by stronger-than-anticipated demand from hyperscale data centers in its Northern Virginia territory. Revenue and adjusted earnings exceeded street forecasts, led by a 22% rise in adjusted operating earnings at the company’s Virginia segment. At the same time, operating e…
Brazil's Progressives Party announced it will remain neutral in the October presidential election, a move that, if maintained, prevents Senator Tereza Cristina from joining Senator Flavio Bolsonaro's ticket despite his earlier statement that she had accepted his invitation. Cristina's backing among rural voters and the agribusiness caucus had been …
Bond yields across the euro zone and the United States are on track for their largest monthly rise since March, driven by worries that the conflict in the Middle East could boost inflation and prompt tighter monetary policy. Long-term yields climbed more than short-term rates in July as investors weighed the prospect of sustained hostilities, highe…
Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill cautioned that recent increases in energy prices linked to the Iran war could create persistent inflationary pressures in the UK. Pill voted against the Monetary Policy Committee's decision to leave interest rates unchanged, joining two colleagues in favor of a quarter-point hike. Governor Andrew Bailey said…
Indian government bonds slipped in July, registering their first monthly decline in four months after a breakdown in a U.S.-Iran peace deal lifted oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields. The benchmark 6.94% 2036 bond yield rose to 6.8343%, and foreign investors began selling near month-end amid rising crude and uncertainty about index inclusion.
Taiwan's economy grew 12.92% year-on-year in the second quarter, driven by strong demand linked to the island's role in the global AI supply chain. Exports rose sharply, while analysts weigh implications for monetary policy and mid-year momentum after a faster first-quarter expansion. Key data points: Q2 GDP +12.92% YoY; Q1 GDP +14.55% YoY; Q2 exp…
Preliminary Statistics Canada data show real GDP grew at a 3.4% annualized rate in Q2, outpacing the Bank of Canada's July projection of 2.5%. Strength in energy extraction, expanded industrial output and higher real estate activity supported the rebound, while official second-quarter and June figures will be published on August 28.
Brazil's overall budget deficit widened to 1.3 trillion reais in the 12 months through June, equal to 9.99% of GDP and the highest reading since April 2021. The increase has been driven largely by a sharp rise in interest payments, while gross public debt climbed to 81.9% of GDP as primary and nominal shortfalls exceeded market expectations.
President Donald Trump defended a proposed $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund amid Republican opposition in the Senate that has delayed the permanent confirmation of acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche. Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis are seeking written assurances that the Justice Department will not implement the program and also o…
After the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, U.S. Treasury yields moved in opposite directions: short-dated yields fell while longer-dated notes climbed, particularly at the 30-year end. The resulting steepening - described by some strategists as a 'twist steepener' - has been read by market participants as reduced odds of further Fed h…
At the July 28-29 FOMC meeting the Federal Reserve held the federal funds rate at 3.50%-3.75% in a 9-3 vote, marking a fifth straight pause. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan dissented, each voting for an immediate 0.25 percentage point increase, warning that continue…
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack dissented at the most recent FOMC meeting, casting one of three votes in favor of raising the federal funds target to address inflation she said is unlikely to return to the 2% objective without tighter policy. Hammack pointed to energy price pressure tied to the Middle East conflict, tariffs…
Coinbase shares fell sharply in premarket trade after the company reported its third consecutive quarterly loss. The slide in the stock tracked broad weakness in cryptocurrencies, driven by fading expectations of U.S. interest-rate cuts and outflows from spot crypto ETFs. Analysts say Coinbase's expanding revenue mix - including derivatives and sta…
Nasdaq 100 futures led early U.S. gains after Amazon posted a strong quarter for cloud revenue, easing investor anxiety about returns on AI-related investments. Apple’s warning that supply constraints would curb growth weighed on the market, with its shares tumbling in premarket trading. The week marked a pivotal period for large-cap technology nam…
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's insistence that inflation must be reduced without committing to near-term rate hikes coincided with a steep selloff in long-term U.S. government bonds. The jump in 30-year Treasury yields to above 5.2% - a 19-year high - has intensified calls from some Fed officials for tightening and may compel Warsh to decid…
U.S. equities head into a consequential week with fresh employment data and a wave of corporate earnings set to influence market direction. Investors are weighing divergent reactions to recent megacap results, uncertainty around Federal Reserve communication, and the impact of higher oil prices and Treasury yields. Key reports include the July nonf…
A dramatic rotation in AI-related shares, renewed Middle East hostilities and severe European wildfires combine to create a high-risk backdrop for markets this week. Key data points include forthcoming U.S. non-farm payrolls that could sway Federal Reserve policy, and a Reserve Bank of India decision as authorities try to stabilise the rupee amid r…
