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
Japanese manufacturers registered the largest month-on-month decline in confidence in more than three years in April, according to the Reuters Tankan poll. A jump in oil prices and disruptions to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, linked to the Iran conflict, were cited as key drivers. Materials sectors, especially chemicals, recorded the stee…
U.S. equities advanced and crude oil prices fell after fresh indications that negotiations between the United States and Iran may resume, easing immediate geopolitical risk. Investors also focused on corporate earnings and a string of economic readings that left policymakers debating the timing of interest-rate cuts.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani selected East Harlem as the inaugural location for a city-run grocery store, part of a five-store pilot funded with $70 million. The move is aligned with the mayor's affordability platform and will see the city own the land and subsidize basic staples while private operators manage day-to-day operations. The East …
Lebanon and the International Monetary Fund are negotiating a rapid financing option valued between $800 million and $1 billion, aimed at providing budgetary backing and humanitarian relief. Bloomberg reported the talks, citing sources familiar with the discussions, and the IMF has said staff remain engaged with Lebanese authorities while conversat…
The International Finance Corporation and Citigroup have established a 1.6 billion rand ($98 million) borrowing facility to expand local-currency financing for private-sector borrowers in South Africa. The transaction is intended to reduce foreign-exchange risk for borrowers that earn revenue in rand and has already supported the IFC’s anchor inves…
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the full Senate could start considering a partisan funding bill for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Border Patrol as soon as next week. Republicans are pursuing a strategy that would allow passage by simple majority and seek to limit additions that could derail the effort. The proposal would a…
European nations are preparing a coordinated mission to clear mines and deploy naval vessels to restore commercial transit through the Strait of Hormuz after hostilities end. The plan, described by European officials, would deliberately exclude the United States, Israel and Iran and would see participating European ships operate independently of Am…
U.S. Customs and Border Protection will begin operating a new electronic refund platform Monday to return $166 billion in tariffs that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unlawful in February. The CAPE system, completed in its initial phase according to a recent court filing, will issue consolidated electronic payments to importers and is being deployed i…
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized recent downward revisions to global growth and upward adjustments to inflation by the IMF and World Bank, characterizing their response to the Middle East conflict as likely an overreaction. He contrasted the United States' expected brief passage through higher prices with other countries adopting su…
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey told an audience in New York that regulators and central banks must quickly determine the implications of a new artificial intelligence model from Anthropic that cyber experts say could amplify sophisticated attacks. Bailey also used the event to argue that central banks’ operational independence on financial …
U.S. Customs and Border Protection will begin using the Consolidated Account Processing Environment (CAPE) on April 20 to issue electronic refunds to importers for $166 billion in tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court. The system will consolidate payments and apply interest where appropriate; CBP says it will deploy CAPE in phases and is weighin…
The S&P 500 has essentially returned to its level from the start of the Middle East conflict more than six weeks ago, despite crude oil jumping roughly 40% and benchmark Treasury yields climbing. Markets are pricing in a near-term resolution to the war and a stronger corporate profit outlook, which has helped equities hold up even as expectations f…
Eurogroup chair Kyriakos Pierrakakis said stagflation in Europe - the combination of rising inflation and falling growth - would be the worst-case outcome of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran but that Europe has not reached that point. He echoed European Commission concerns that a spike in oil, gas and fertiliser prices tied to a shutdown of the Strait …
The International Monetary Fund trimmed its near-term global growth outlook amid higher energy costs and supply disruptions linked to the Iran war, publishing three scenarios at its spring meetings. In the IMF's baseline - a reference case that assumes a brief conflict - 2026 real GDP growth is projected at 3.1%, down 0.2 percentage point from Janu…
Citadel CEO Ken Griffin cautioned that a lengthy closure of the Strait of Hormuz could precipitate a global recession, stressing the central role of uninterrupted energy shipments from the Middle East. He also commented on recent U.S. strikes on Iran and the resilience of Iran’s military capabilities, while noting that delayed action could have pro…
As the Middle East conflict approaches its eighth week, global markets are showing a clear divergence. U.S. equities have fully recovered losses recorded at the start of the war, but crude remains substantially elevated, keeping pressure on government bond markets and gold. Regional performance varies: large energy exporters have outperformed, whil…
The International Monetary Fund raised its projection for Russia's economic expansion in 2026 to 1.1% from 0.8%, citing stronger oil and commodity prices after disruptions to maritime oil routes. The IMF said momentum should carry a similar pace into 2027, even as the economy faces headwinds from tight monetary policy, Western sanctions and wartime…
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed confidence that core inflation in the United States will continue to decline even amid the Iran war, and he reiterated his recommendation that the Federal Reserve begin reducing interest rates. He acknowledged that Fed officials might wait to assess economic effects from the conflict, and he said the …
Citadel CEO Ken Griffin told the Semafor World Economy Forum that a sustained shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz could tip the global economy into recession within six to 12 months. He framed the situation as a severe energy-price shock, stressed the need to restore uninterrupted energy flows from the Middle East, and commented on geopolitical and do…
Portugal’s finance minister warned that government support after winter storms and higher energy costs tied to the Iran war could push the country into a small budget deficit. He said any gap should be limited to 0.5% of GDP to safeguard investor confidence, while reiterating the central scenario of a balanced budget and plans to continue reducing …
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused China of accumulating oil supplies and limiting exports of various goods amid the Middle East war. He likened the behavior to pandemic-era hoarding of medical supplies, said he has raised the matter with Chinese officials, and warned the primary pressure from China’s oil purchases is on Asian countries …
Bank of England policymaker Megan Greene told a Washington event that upside risks to inflation are her primary concern for the outlook on interest rates, while acknowledging downside demand risks and observing that data on second-round inflation effects remain mixed and could take months to appear.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde told Bloomberg Television in Washington that the eurozone economy has shifted away from the bank's Iran war base case scenario and now sits between the ECB's baseline and adverse forecasts. She said the central bank has no bias toward raising rates and emphasized that decisions will depend on incomi…
Prime Minister Mark Carney said he will suspend Canada’s federal fuel excise tax until Labor Day weekend, reducing gasoline prices by 10 Canadian cents per liter and diesel by 4 Canadian cents per liter. The move comes after gasoline prices rose roughly 45% in 2026, a rise the government attributes primarily to the Iran war. Carney framed the polic…
The International Monetary Fund warns that the war in the Middle East and the resulting rise in energy prices are increasing global financial stability risks. Markets have seen equity declines and jumpy bond yields since February; higher inflation expectations and issuance of short-term debt raise rollover vulnerabilities. The IMF highlights potent…
