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.
7,112 total articles
BlackRock's hedge fund team is recommending that investors spread exposure across a range of hedge fund strategies as AI-related developments and geopolitical turmoil speed up market moves. The firm calls for greater transparency about what is producing returns, closer attention to overlapping positions and leverage, and stress testing of hedge fun…
China’s twice-yearly trade exposition opened in Guangzhou with over 32,000 exhibitors spread across a space larger than 200 football fields. The fair - staged in three phases from April 15 to May 5 - arrives after official data showed a sharp slowdown in exports in March, a development organisers and analysts say underscores risks tied to Beijing’s…
Global stocks pushed modestly higher as investors weighed comments from U.S. President Donald Trump that talks to end the Iran war could restart in Pakistan within days, even as Iran has not confirmed timing. The MSCI All-Country World Index extended a nine-day winning run, U.S. futures sat near the 7,000 level and Brent crude rose after the U.S. m…
Janet Yellen, former Federal Reserve chair and U.S. Treasury secretary, said a single interest rate reduction by the Federal Reserve remains possible this year, despite upward inflation pressures stemming from the conflict in the Middle East. Speaking at the HSBC Global Investment Summit in Hong Kong, she flagged higher short-term inflation expecta…
At a parliamentary confirmation hearing, Bank of Korea governor nominee Shin Hyun-song said the central bank must be prepared to tighten policy if supply-side shocks from the Middle East conflict drive persistent inflation. He stressed price stability as the priority, highlighted the upside risk to inflation from rising import costs, and cautioned …
Prosecutors from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office conducted an unscheduled visit to the Federal Reserve's headquarters renovation project, speaking with construction workers before being told they needed prior clearance. The visit, confirmed by Pirro's office and first reported by The Wall Street Journal, occurs against the backdrop of an inten…
After a White House interview with Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo, President Donald Trump described the Iran conflict as 'very close to over.' The comments come amid a tenuous two-week ceasefire set to expire on April 21, U.S. efforts to resume talks, and a new U.S. naval blockade ordered to begin this week.
The U.S. dollar remained close to its weakest level in over six weeks as investor optimism rose on signs that the United States and Iran may resume talks. Hopes of diplomacy eased demand for the dollar as a refuge, while crude prices pulled back and risk assets advanced. Key currency pairs and oil benchmarks moved in line with the shift toward a ri…
World Bank President Ajay Banga said the institution could mobilize between $80 billion and $100 billion over the next 15 months to assist countries hardest hit by the war in the Middle East. The plan would deploy an immediate crisis response window allowing early withdrawals of previously approved funds, repurpose existing programs in the medium t…
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a Washington audience that the U.S. economy remains fundamentally strong and could still grow more than 3% or even 3.5% this year, despite market strains from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. He criticized recent downward revisions to global growth and upward adjustments to inflation by the IMF and World Bank as e…
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…
