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.
7,124 total articles
Japanese officials on Tuesday described the latest slide in the yen as speculative for the first time since the Middle East war began, signaling readiness to act as the currency neared the 160-per-dollar threshold. The slump has combined with a spike in oil prices after the Iran conflict and rising import costs to intensify inflationary pressure an…
A People’s Bank of China monetary policy committee member said imported inflation linked to the Middle East conflict could squeeze corporate profits and complicate policymakers' efforts to simultaneously contain price pressures and support growth. Consumer inflation is still modest but the eventual impact depends on the duration and severity of the…
On March 30, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order obliging companies that pursue state contracts to adopt measures guarding against AI misuse, including producing illegal content, introducing harmful bias, or violating civil rights. The order mandates watermarking of AI-generated images and video per state guidance, directs st…
Bank Negara Malaysia has modestly lifted its economic growth projection for 2026 to a range of 4%-5%, up from 4%-4.5%, citing resilient domestic demand, a solid financial sector and external buffers. The central bank warned that higher oil prices and ongoing trade disruptions tied to the Middle East conflict and U.S. tariff actions pose risks to gr…
Oil prices were poised for unprecedented monthly gains as the conflict between the U.S., Israel and Iran intensified, triggering investor concern about higher inflation and slower growth. Asian stock indexes headed for steep monthly declines, bonds endured their largest losses in months amid renewed expectations for tighter policy, and the dollar s…
Shin Hyun-song, nominated to lead the Bank of Korea, told reporters on Tuesday that the central bank should adopt a "flexible" approach to monetary policy to address heightened risks stemming from the Iran war. He said the won's current level was "not concerning," and that liquidity conditions were healthy. Shin identified the Middle East crisis as…
Minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s March board meeting reveal that the board viewed policy as needing to be restrictive when it voted to raise rates earlier in the month, but members said the future path for interest rates is uncertain amid the conflict in the Middle East. The decision to lift the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.1% was …
Tokyo's core consumer prices, excluding fresh food, increased 1.7% in March from a year earlier, marking a second consecutive month below the Bank of Japan's 2% target. A narrower CPI that also strips out fuel rose 2.3% in March. Fuel subsidies and a weak yen are cited as opposing forces shaping the readings, while analysts expect higher oil-driven…
British retailers raised shop prices slightly faster in March, with annual shop price inflation moving to 1.2% from 1.1% in February. The British Retail Consortium warned that higher costs linked to the conflict in the Middle East are beginning to pass into supply chains and could push inflation higher, while food price behaviour remains a key conc…
Australia is on track for one of its largest post-pandemic quarters for bond issuance as high sovereign yields and international investor interest draw a wave of borrowers into the Aussie-dollar market. More than A$92 billion of investment-grade debt has been sold in local currency so far in 2026, placing the market on course to surpass last year’s…
The Reserve Bank of Australia has confirmed it will eliminate consumer-facing surcharges on designated eftpos, Mastercard and Visa networks from October 1 and will cap interchange fees paid by merchants in staged reductions. The combined measures are estimated to deliver roughly A$2.5 billion in annual savings, split between consumers and businesse…
Stocks and indices tumbled to multi-month lows while bond yields fell on mounting growth concerns tied to the Iran conflict. Oil pushed further above $100 a barrel, tech shares bore the brunt of the sell-off and market-based borrowing costs have surged at a moment when large technology companies are increasingly relying on debt to finance AI invest…
Netflix is negotiating to increase its National Football League game lineup from two games to four, targeting a Thanksgiving Eve matchup and an international game likely to occur in the season's opening week. The company remains in the final year of a three-year Christmas Day rights package it paid roughly $75 million per game for. The NFL has recl…
New York Federal Reserve President John Williams told an audience on Monday that he anticipates inflation will fall to the Fed's 2% goal by 2027. He noted current inflation sits near 3%, with tariffs contributing between 0.5 and 0.75 percentage points and recent Middle East-related energy price rises likely to elevate inflation in the near term bef…
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said monetary policy is currently well positioned to address a set of 'unusual' circumstances that are likely to push near-term inflation higher. Williams cited the war in the Middle East and related energy price shocks as primary drivers of elevated inflation in the months ahead, while also …
European officials say Iran has urged Houthi leaders to prepare for a fresh campaign against vessels transiting the Red Sea if the United States increases military pressure on Iran. The Houthis, who have already launched ballistic missiles at Israel, are reported to be debating the scale and timing of any maritime operations, while U.S. and Saudi o…
Apple has removed Anything, a vibe coding application that lets non-developers build apps using AI, from its App Store, the startup's CEO said. The move follows a prior action by Apple that blocked updates to vibe coding tools while leaving existing versions available. Anything's co-founder says users have published thousands of apps using the tool…
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating whether high-return wagers placed on prediction markets violated insider trading and other statutes. Officials from the securities and commodities fraud units of the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York met with representatives of a major prediction market platform to explor…
Greece's central bank chief Yannis Stournaras said the European Central Bank must be prepared to act quickly if a prolonged war in the Middle East causes inflation expectations to drift, potentially jeopardizing the ECB's March baseline price and growth projections. Speaking at a financial conference in Bucharest, Stournaras stressed the dilemma of…
The White House reported that talks with Iran are ongoing and showing progress, while highlighting a discrepancy between the regime's public statements and its private messages to U.S. officials. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said negotiators are continuing discussions and that private Iranian statements will be subject to verification.
Greece's central bank governor cautioned that the European Central Bank may need to react quickly should inflation expectations begin to drift or second-round effects emerge, particularly if the Middle East war persists. His remarks noted the potential threat to the ECB's March baseline projections for prices and growth.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told a Harvard audience that the central bank is closely tracking developments in the private credit market for connections that could transmit stress to the banking system. While Powell warned that individual losses are likely in parts of the opaque lending sector, he said current evidence does not indicate a th…
A poll of 17 economists expects the Central Bank of Egypt to keep its deposit and lending rates unchanged at 19.0% and 20.0% respectively when the Monetary Policy Committee meets on Thursday. The anticipated pause in a previously planned easing cycle follows concerns that the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has pushed up the country’s energy import bill a…
The International Monetary Fund said the US-Israel campaign against Iran poses a 'global, yet asymmetric' shock that will push prices higher and dampen growth. The IMF highlighted immediate strains on oil supplies, rising crude prices, and threats to fertilizer and food availability that could imperil low-income countries as planting season gets un…
The governor of the Bank of Mexico indicated that the central bank may be close to finishing its sequence of interest-rate reductions, defending last week's 25 basis-point cut to 6.75% made in a narrow 3-2 vote. She attributed a recent uptick in headline inflation to temporary volatility in fruit and vegetable prices but acknowledged that risks are…
