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.
7,188 total articles
Qatar’s finance minister warned at the IMF spring meetings that a continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing trade restrictions affecting supplies of natural gas, fertilizers and helium could precipitate a much larger economic crisis in the coming months. Damage to Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG complex and constrained helium exports are central…
Germany is already feeling economic strain from the conflict involving Iran, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said in Washington at the IMF spring meetings. Klingbeil declined to preview the government’s own forecasts, which are due next week. Separately, the IMF cut its growth projections for Germany in 2026 and 2027 by 0.3 percentage points to 0.8…
Italy's independent budget office says the war in Iran and the broader Middle East could shave 0.2-0.4 percentage points off GDP growth in both 2026 and 2027. The watchdog also reported modest quarterly expansion in the first quarter of the year but stressed significant uncertainty around that estimate. Rome's government is expected to lower its ne…
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack said rates are currently appropriate and that the central bank's baseline is to keep policy unchanged for an extended period. She cautioned, however, that incoming data and energy price developments create two-sided risks for future decisions and described supply shocks as a particular challe…
New York state factory activity accelerated in April to its highest level in five months, driven by stronger orders and shipments. Measures of employment and hours worked rose to multi-month highs, even as firms became more cautious about business conditions over the next six months and downgraded plans for hiring and capital spending. Input-cost e…
Morgan Stanley reports that federal tax refunds are coming in slightly weaker than the firm anticipated, with average refunds up 11% to $3,462 and federal refunds up 14% year over year. While the bank had expected refunds to lift consumption modestly, economist Heather Berger cautions that a 15% rise in average gas prices - to about $3.60 or higher…
President Donald Trump said artificial intelligence carries risks for confidence in the banking system and said the government should implement safeguards, while also arguing the technology can improve security and performance. His comments followed warnings from cybersecurity specialists about Anthropic's Mythos model and its potential to amplify …
Pacific Investment Management Co. bought all $400 million of bonds sold Monday by a Blue Owl private-credit vehicle, a move that came during a recent selloff that widened spreads across similar funds. The trade follows market concerns about lending standards and exposure to software companies facing disruption from artificial intelligence; whether …
President Donald Trump announced that he has permanently opened the Strait of Hormuz and said China has agreed not to send weapons to Iran as part of cooperative efforts between Washington and Beijing. In a post on Truth Social, he said China welcomed the action and described U.S.-China relations as working together 'smartly and very well.' The ann…
A Pakistani delegation is expected in Iran today to hand over messages from the United States, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said. The visit is a continuation of talks hosted by Pakistan on Saturday, and follows multiple message exchanges since the Iranian delegation returned home. Saturday's discussions addressed a full end…
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that an EU-developed age verification application is ready and will soon be available for use across mobile and desktop devices. The tool requires anonymous upload of passports or ID cards to confirm age and is part of a broader push by EU institutions and member states to limit children’…
Recruitment firm Robert Walters narrowed its first-quarter decline in net fees, aided by a return to growth in Japan and early signs of increased candidate confidence in several markets. The company reported a 2% fall in net fees to 65.2 million pounds for the quarter ended March 31, after a prolonged spell of double-digit quarterly drops. Manageme…
Bank of America reported higher first-quarter profit as market volatility drove stronger trading volumes. Sales and trading revenue rose 13% to $6.4 billion, while net income increased to $8.6 billion, or $1.11 per share, from $7.4 billion, or 89 cents per share a year earlier. The gains came against a backdrop of shifting market sentiment that fav…
The Pentagon is deploying roughly 10,000 more personnel and significant naval assets to the Middle East to increase pressure on Iran while holding open diplomatic channels during a fragile two-week ceasefire that expires on April 22. The reinforcement includes the USS George H.W. Bush carrier strike group, the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and the 1…
The U.S. dollar has relinquished the majority of the gains it posted after the Iran conflict prompted a rush into safe-haven assets. A fragile ceasefire has pushed investors back toward riskier currencies, yet sustained foreign purchases of U.S. assets, higher relative yields and reduced odds of Federal Reserve rate cuts leave many market participa…
The 12 regional Federal Reserve presidents - locally selected figures who provide regional perspective to U.S. monetary policy - are facing an unprecedented pressure test. A pending Supreme Court case over presidential removal powers, a contentious transition at the Fed’s top, and criticism and proposals from Treasury levels and others raise questi…
Records released under the Freedom of Information Act show the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency terminated the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Washington headquarters lease in February and agreed to transfer the property to the General Services Administration at no cost. The move cuts the lease short by at least six years and comes …
President Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey is actively working to extend a ceasefire between the United States and Iran, urging both sides to use the pause to resolve difficult issues and keep diplomatic engagement alive. He also warned that Israeli strikes in Lebanon are damaging prospects for broader regional peace.
UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher told shareholders at the bank's annual meeting in Basel that new Swiss government proposals on capital requirements risk undermining UBS’s business model. While reaffirming the bank’s commitment to keeping its headquarters in Switzerland and pursuing expansion in Asia and the United States, Kelleher said the bank must con…
At a PIMCO media briefing in London, group chief investment officer Daniel Ivascyn said the private credit market does not constitute a systemic risk to the broader financial system. While acknowledging weaker-than-expected returns and liquidity-driven stresses, he said such dynamics will likely prompt increased trading and present opportunities fo…
President Donald Trump indicated he may alter the trade agreement struck with the United Kingdom, citing disagreement with British domestic policy choices and dissatisfaction with London’s support in a dispute over the U.S. campaign against Iran. The comments follow a pact reached last year that reduced tariffs on key British exports and increased …
A real estate monitor report shows total UAE property transaction values fell 4% year-over-year in the six weeks following the onset of a conflict. The decline masks contrasting moves across market segments: secondary sales values plunged while off-plan values rose, and overall transaction volumes and values fell sharply in the first full week of A…
Japan will establish a roughly $10 billion financing framework to assist Asian countries in securing energy resources amid intensified competition for oil linked to the Middle East conflict. The support, routed mainly through state-backed institutions including the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance,…
U.S. equity futures were largely unchanged as investors monitored signs of resumed U.S.-Iran negotiations and digested an influx of corporate results. Optimism about a potential detente has helped keep oil prices below $100 a barrel despite a U.S.-imposed blockade of Iranian ports. Attention has also turned to more U.S. bank earnings after large le…
HSBC raised its rating on Hungary from neutral to overweight after the opposition Tisza party, led by Peter Magyar, achieved a parliamentary supermajority. With nearly all votes counted, Tisza won a clear share of the party list vote and is positioned to pursue constitutional changes and a closer alignment with the European Commission that could un…
