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.
7,192 total articles
The European Central Bank's Economic Bulletin reports a marked fall in euro zone household consumption in the weeks following the outbreak of the Iran war, driven by a collapse in consumer confidence. Nominal consumption growth eased from mid-2024 averages of 3%-4% to roughly 2.5% year on year in April, with wealthier households curbing discretiona…
The World Bank maintained its 2026 growth forecast for the Philippines at 3.7%, saying the country's recovery will likely be slower than previously anticipated. The lender flagged weak investment, constrained consumption and sustainability concerns as primary drags, and noted that peso depreciation has kept import costs elevated and delayed a slowd…
The yen rallied sharply in early Asian trade, reviving concerns that Japanese authorities could again step into foreign-exchange markets. The move follows coordinated intervention with the United States and a string of large-scale actions by Japan's finance ministry and the Bank of Japan over recent years. This report traces Tokyo's interventions a…
A survey of economists indicates Indonesia's economic momentum probably slowed in the April-June quarter, with year-on-year growth expected at 5.10% and quarter-on-quarter activity seen rebounding 3.50% after a slight contraction. The results highlight a retreat in consumer demand following the festive period and diminished contributions from net e…
Australian equities rose on Monday, led by gains in banks, healthcare and gold stocks after U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran and other regional nations requested time to finalise an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.5% to 9,019.30, carrying momentum from July’s strong monthly showing. Energy stocks …
Japan and the United States carried out joint yen-buying intervention to curb the currency's descent from multi-decade lows, a move confirmed by Japan's finance ministry. A photographed notepad suggested U.S. purchases of $5 billion to $10 billion of yen were being considered. While the intervention pushed the yen higher intraday and lifted short-t…
China has reiterated support for a development model that privileges investment and advanced industries over boosting household consumption, signaling a defensive stance ahead of scheduled trade discussions with the United States and the European Union. Senior party pronouncements and a commerce ministry paper reject Western accusations of unfair i…
Bank of America Securities economists use the 'Anna Karenina Principle' to frame the Federal Reserve's recent decision to hold rates at 3.75%, warning that incomplete communication and reliance on market-driven rate moves could threaten the anchoring of inflation expectations and complicate policy outcomes.
U.S. equities entered the week in a fragile state, pressured by conflicting earnings from large technology firms, uncertainty over Federal Reserve communication and renewed geopolitical tensions that have lifted oil and Treasury yields. Upcoming U.S. payrolls data and a slate of heavy corporate reports, including several megacaps and a first quarte…
China’s central bank said it will keep monetary policy appropriately loose, maintain ample liquidity and adjust policy tools as needed, while facilitating issuance of yuan-denominated panda bonds and supporting market-oriented solutions for local government financing vehicles. The pledge follows a Politburo call to speed fiscal spending on budgeted…
An improvised explosive device detonated inside the Balzi Rossi Italian restaurant in central Moscow on Saturday night, killing three people and injuring 21. Officials say an unidentified woman carrying a concealed device attempted to enter the restaurant posing as a delivery person. A security guard tried to stop her before the device exploded. In…
Russian authorities reported a large overnight barrage of Ukrainian drones that killed at least two people, damaged civilian infrastructure in the Saratov region and struck a Wildberries distribution centre in Samara. The Defence Ministry said 635 Ukrainian drones were intercepted, while officials assess the extent of damage and casualties at comme…
Companies in Hungary with ties to Viktor Orban’s administration are scaling back large-scale projects and refocusing their business models after Péter Magyar’s election victory ended Orban’s 16-year rule. The new government has pledged to review contracts and curb alleged favouritism in public procurement, prompting construction groups and politica…
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the UK jobs market into a two-speed environment: demand is rising for senior software and tech specialists while vacancies across retail, manufacturing and certain white-collar roles have dropped substantially. Data from job postings show an overall decline in advertised roles alongside concentrated growth in se…
Public opposition to new data center construction has risen sharply, making state-level permit moratoriums and federal restrictions on frontier AI models the primary near-term policy risks to the current wave of AI capital expenditure, according to research cited in the reporting. While analysts do not expect a broad national ban, targeted state ex…
Russian forces launched a major overnight missile and drone assault on Kyiv that Ukrainian officials say killed nine people, injured at least 30 and caused damage to civilian buildings and Lithuania's embassy. Ukrainian authorities detected hundreds of aerial weapons during the strikes, while Moscow reported strikes on military-related targets and …
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…
