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.
5,907 total articles
A senior official at Canada’s Department of Finance told a London conference that hedge funds now buy between 30% and 50% of government debt at auction, a dramatic increase from a decade ago. While authorities' concerns about such participation have eased over the past year, the official cautioned that concentration and potential herding remain ris…
Single-family housing starts fell 1.9% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 882,000 units, the lowest reading since September, as rising mortgage rates and elevated building costs weighed on construction activity. Permits for future single-family construction rose 0.6% to 886,000, while residential investment has now contracted for five s…
A broad economist poll indicates Brazil's monetary policy committee is poised to lower the Selic rate by 25 basis points at its upcoming meeting, marking a third consecutive reduction as inflation edges higher. While most respondents expect further gradual easing, concerns about inflation persistence and shifting expectations temper forecasts for t…
U.S. import prices rose 1.9% in May, surpassing expectations, driven by a large increase in imported fuel and gains in capital goods. On a 12-month basis import prices advanced 6.7%, the largest year-on-year rise since August 2022. The strength in import costs coincides with faster consumer and producer inflation readings and comes as the Federal R…
European Central Bank Governing Council member Jose Luis Escriva cautioned that disruptions to energy supplies are likely to continue even after the recent agreement to re-open the Strait of Hormuz. He said markets may not be fully pricing in the magnitude or the time needed to restore production, and that uncertainty around energy supply will rema…
Iceland will hold a public vote on August 29 on whether to resume European Union membership negotiations. Finance Minister Dadi Mar Kristofersson says EU accession would strengthen the island nation’s economy and security posture amid rising Arctic competition and strained transatlantic relations, while opponents point to existing single-market acc…
The European Parliament voted to implement cuts to import duties on a broad range of U.S. goods, fulfilling the European Union's obligations under the Turnberry trade framework and reducing the immediate risk of a renewed tariff confrontation with the United States. The legislation, approved by 440 votes to 151, also extends duty-free treatment for…
The European Parliament on Tuesday voted to reduce import duties on U.S. goods, putting into effect the European Union's commitments under a trade framework agreed last year. The measure, intended to head off a new round of tariffs between the two largest trading partners, implements reciprocal concessions negotiated at a July 2025 meeting in Scotl…
U.S. equity futures showed little direction as investors awaited the Federal Reserves first rate decision under new Chairman Kevin Warsh. SpaceX pushed higher for a third day after its IPO, while gains in memory-chip stocks and mixed corporate earnings reactions added nuance to the premarket session. The Fed is expected to hold its policy range, w…
European Investment Bank President Nadia Calvino said there is scope for the EIB to expand lending as it supports EU priorities such as defense, energy and competitiveness. Speaking at the Reuters NEXT Europe summit, she noted that shareholders - EU governments that own the bank - are prioritizing impact, risk-taking and influence in key strategic …
Reckitt Benckiser CEO Kris Licht said the consumer goods group expects inflationary pressure from the Iran crisis to reach consumers with a delay, projecting broader cost effects across feedstocks and commodities over the next six to 12 months. The maker of Dettol and Durex is facing weak consumer sentiment, higher costs and supply disruption, thou…
The Kremlin stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not received an official invitation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to attend the G7 summit. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there are currently no official communication channels between Kyiv and Moscow and repeated that Zelenskiy could come to Moscow for talks if he is…
An analyst from a think tank affiliated with the China Mineral Resources Group told a Singapore industry conference that imported iron ore will account for roughly 50% of China’s consumption by 2030, down from about 80% today. The projection rests on expanded domestic concentrate capacity and greater scrap steel use, and comes alongside forecasts f…
The Ifo Institute estimates that Germany could strengthen its fiscal position by as much as €60 billion annually by 2030 if a package of reforms is launched now and implemented over the next four years. The study, commissioned by the New Social Free Market Initiative, attributes roughly €54 billion of the potential improvement to changes in pension…
Kevin Warsh begins his tenure as Federal Reserve chair with a two-day meeting and a Wednesday press briefing, confronting an early trade-off between paring forward guidance and responding to economic data that many policymakers view as supporting higher interest rates. His stated preferences on the language in policy statements, the role and freque…
A majority of Federal Reserve policymakers are expected to indicate they plan to leave short-term interest rates unchanged through the year, according to projections due out on Wednesday, though a small number are likely to signal support for a rate increase if inflation risks rise. The expected shift in the dot plot toward a slightly higher path f…
UBS Global Wealth Management has revised its timeline for Federal Reserve rate reductions, moving expected cuts to March and June 2027 and removing any easing from its outlook for this year. The firm expects two 25 basis point reductions next year and anticipates a hawkish tone at the Fed's June meeting under new chair Kevin Warsh. UBS also notes t…
President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz is already partially open and predicted it will be fully reopened by Friday, ahead of a formal signing in Switzerland of an interim memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran. Oil benchmarks fell on the prospect of renewed supplies, while questions remain over the deal's timeline and regio…
U.S. equity futures were largely subdued as investors awaited clearer terms of a preliminary U.S.-Iran framework peace deal. President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz should be fully reopened by Friday, though other officials have signalled a longer timeline. Brent crude prices drifted lower amid the reports and a Bank of Japan interest-rate…
European equity markets opened marginally higher, supported by optimism over a preliminary U.S.-Iran agreement that could ease oil supply concerns via the Strait of Hormuz. Gains were led by industrial goods and services, while energy-linked price relief pressured inflation worries and expectations for further policy tightening. Central bank decisi…
Ten years after the 2016 referendum, brothers Nigel and Ian Baxter, both Nottingham-based business owners who took opposing positions on Brexit, report parallel disappointment. Nigel, 63, who campaigned to leave, says the deregulation and investment he expected have not materialised. Ian, 60, who favoured remain, acknowledges no 'catastrophic conse…
The Bank of Japan increased its policy rate to a 31-year high on Tuesday, the first hike since December, as it shifts toward normalising monetary policy to address inflationary pressure from an energy shock tied to the Iran war. Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida noted a recent memorandum between the U.S. and Iran but warned that uncertainty remains o…
President Lai Ching-te said he will continue efforts to raise Taiwan's defence budget and find alternative legislative and budgetary routes after an opposition-led parliament approved only two-thirds of a $40 billion supplementary defence package, trimming funding for domestically produced drones and missiles. Lai stressed the need to sharpen comba…
A World Gold Council survey of 74 central banks conducted Feb. 5-May 19 finds a record 45% of reserve managers expect to raise their institutions' gold holdings in the next 12 months, with 54% planning no change and 1% anticipating a reduction. Most replies came after the late-February Middle East conflict, which affected oil and gold prices. The s…
The Reserve Bank of Australia left the cash rate at 4.35% at its June meeting, citing a slowing economy and tighter financial conditions but reiterating it will tighten further if inflation remains elevated. The unanimous pause followed softer domestic data and reduced near-term oil-price risk after a Middle East peace initiative, yet the RBA empha…
