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
Freddie Mac reports modest declines in benchmark mortgage rates for the week ending April 9, 2026, with the 30-year fixed-rate falling to 6.37% and the 15-year fixed-rate to 5.74%. The readings are lower than last week and slightly below the levels reported a year ago, according to the lender's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the IMF must finalize the 16th quota review approved in 2023 to ensure it has sufficiently large and immediate lending capacity. She expressed optimism that the review will secure approval from the U.S. Congress this year, noting the change raises quota lending resources by 50%…
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on Thursday pushed back against remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump that described Greenland as a "BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE." Nielsen called the comments unfortunate, stressed Greenland's commitment to the international order established since World War Two, and confirmed ongoing diplomatic dis…
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the war in the Middle East has produced an energy and supply shock that will increase near-term demand for IMF balance-of-payments support to $20 billion-$50 billion. She signaled a downgrade to the IMF's growth outlook, highlighted risks to energy and food markets, and urged c…
OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, has paused its principal UK data centre initiative - Stargate UK - citing an unfavourable regulatory backdrop and elevated energy expenses. Launched last September with Nvidia and Nscale, the project aimed to boost Britain’s sovereign compute capacity and accelerate domestic AI adoption. The company said it will resume …
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told Fox Business he is confident Kevin Warsh will take office as Federal Reserve chair in May and that current Chair Jerome Powell has signaled he will step aside once a successor is confirmed. Powell, however, has said he will not leave until a criminal investigation led by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro co…
Citigroup updated its outlook for U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds, projecting assets under management to exceed $25 trillion by the end of the decade from roughly $10.4 trillion as of March 2025. The brokerage raised its longer-term estimates as well, now anticipating more than $40 trillion by 2035, and flagged active ETFs, product innovation and…
New filings for U.S. unemployment insurance rose modestly in the latest week but remain at low absolute levels, offering no clear sign of widespread layoffs. The data may give the Federal Reserve flexibility to hold interest rates steady as it monitors inflation pressures and the economic effects of tensions in the Middle East.
Personal consumption expenditures inflation rose 0.4% in February, matching economists' expectations, while core PCE also climbed 0.4% for a third consecutive month. Year-over-year headline PCE was 2.8% and core PCE stood at 3.0%. Consumer spending strengthened with a 0.5% monthly increase, supported in part by large tax refunds even as higher ener…
Japan's Financial Services Agency has been reviewing major banks' exposure to private credit, a person familiar with the matter said, as strains in the global private credit market raise concerns about potential spillovers. While Japan's domestic private credit market is small, banks have increased financing to international private credit funds se…
U.S. equity futures were largely unchanged after government data showed the Personal Consumption Expenditures index rose 2.8% year-on-year in February, with core PCE at 3.0%, both matching economists' estimates. A separate Commerce Department release reported 0.5% growth in the fourth quarter, below the 0.7% estimate. Traders assessed how these rea…
Barclays expects the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged until September 2026, citing the March FOMC minutes that highlighted elevated inflation concerns tied to a recent energy price surge. While some participants left the door open to hikes, the predominance of downside employment risks and repeated references to eventual easing unde…
Poland's Monetary Policy Council kept the main interest rate at 3.75%, matching market expectations. The pause follows a 25 basis point cut last month and comes amid concerns that the Middle East conflict and a jump in commodity prices have pushed inflation higher, complicating the path for further easing.
A poll by the Idea Institute finds the centre-right Tisza party leading Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling Fidesz ahead of a parliamentary election scheduled for Sunday. Tisza commanded 50% of decided voters in the survey, while Fidesz was at 37%. Among all respondents, support measured 39% for Tisza and 30% for Fidesz, with 21% undecided. The po…
Several large North American public pension funds are maintaining or expanding their private credit exposures even as parts of the private credit and BDC complex face heightened redemption pressure and investor concerns. Fund officials emphasize long-term strategies, selective manager selection and targeted allocation plans.
Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) and Blackstone Credit and Insurance have launched a joint aircraft leasing investment programme called Equator, targeting roughly $1.6 billion in annual deployments. DAE will source aircraft while its Aircraft Investor Services unit will manage the assets. The investor group will include capital from funds managed b…
Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC), said the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed because Iran is imposing restrictions that prevent normal energy flows. He warned that supervised or conditional transit is equivalent to control, and said roughly 230 oil-laden vessels are ready to sail. ADNOC has loaded cargoes and intends …
Tesla is working on an all-new compact electric SUV intended to be smaller and cheaper than its current offerings, according to four people briefed on the matter. The project remains in early development; Tesla has held supplier discussions about manufacturing processes and components. Plans could include production at the Shanghai factory with pot…
U.S. stock futures pulled back modestly following a sharp rally, after signs emerged that a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East was not holding. Energy markets reacted to continuing uncertainty over flows through the Strait of Hormuz, and traders are turning attention to the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge for the next directional cue.
The Bank of England's Credit Conditions Survey for Q1 2026, published Thursday, shows that availability of secured credit to households increased in the three months to end-February 2026 and is expected to rise further through the three months to end-May 2026. Unsecured household credit availability was unchanged in Q1 but is expected to increase i…
The International Monetary Fund has reached a staff-level agreement with Sri Lanka that, once formally approved, will unlock roughly $700 million in financing. The IMF said the funds come with a call to accelerate policy and structural reforms to protect macroeconomic stability as Sri Lanka continues to recover from its severe economic crisis, a 20…
A recent poll of economists indicates Chinese banks likely issued substantially more net new yuan loans in March than in February, with estimates around 3.4 trillion yuan versus 900 billion yuan in February. The rise is attributed to seasonal post-Chinese New Year lending activity and firmer credit demand, while other measures such as M2 growth and…
Markets are cooling after a brief rally as fresh developments in the Middle East undercut hopes for immediate de-escalation. Asian equities and U.S. futures slipped, while sovereign bonds in Europe outperformed Treasuries. Key data releases due Thursday and cautious commentary from U.S. central bank officials add to the near-term uncertainty. Most …
A government gauge of household sentiment fell to 33.3 in March, sliding 6.4 points from February in the first decline after three months of improvement. Officials pointed to rising fuel costs linked to the Middle East conflict as weighing on the fragile recovery, and said the data complicates the Bank of Japan’s choice over a possible April rate i…
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged Congress to enact the Clarity Act to establish a federal regulatory framework for digital assets. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Bessent warned that unclear rules have driven crypto activity to jurisdictions with clearer regimes, and he called on lawmakers to overcome disagreements - notably between bank…
