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.
5,922 total articles
U.S. equity funds saw their largest weekly net outflows in eight weeks in the seven days to March 4 as investors reduced risk exposure amid concerns over the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran and its potential effects on inflation and the Federal Reserve's interest-rate path. Simultaneously, money market and bond funds drew significant inflows, and s…
The largest government bond markets worldwide ended the week with significant losses amid concerns that conflict in the Middle East will revive upward pressure on inflation and prompt central banks to tighten policy sooner. Short-dated, two-year government bonds were hit hardest, with yields climbing sharply in the UK, euro area, the United States …
U.S. equity futures declined Friday as intensified fighting in the Middle East raised concerns about higher energy prices and supply disruptions, while traders awaited a weekly jobs report. The U.S.-Israel air campaign against Iran approached a week, contributing to a sharp weekly jump in oil and interruptions to shipping through the Strait of Horm…
United Arab Emirates authorities are weighing a decision to freeze billions of dollars of Iranian assets parked in the Gulf state. The measure, reported by the Wall Street Journal, would dramatically impede Iran's access to foreign currency and international trade networks as its economy contends with inflation and an ongoing military confrontation…
European Central Bank policymaker Jose Luis Escriva said the ECB is unlikely to change interest rates at its next policy meeting and will decide on a meeting-by-meeting basis as it gauges the fallout from the war in the Middle East, particularly on energy prices and supply chains. He warned that while effects on consumer prices are expected, they m…
Bank of America projects UK household consumption will expand only 1.2% in 2026, citing weaker real income growth, a modest fall in the savings rate and several downside risks. Elevated energy prices, rising mortgage refinancing costs, potential labour-market deterioration and entrenched behavioural shifts toward saving could further depress spendi…
Global investors reduced equity allocations in the week to March 4, snapping an eight-week inflow streak as an intensifying U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran amplified inflation concerns and curtailed risk-taking. U.S. equity funds experienced the heaviest net sales, while money market and bond funds attracted fresh capital amid safe-haven demand.
Financial markets will remain focused on the widening U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran next week, with sharp moves in oil, gas and shipping threatening to eclipse scheduled economic releases. U.S. inflation data compiled before recent hostilities, central bank reactions in Europe, China’s policy calendar and Colombian elections all add to the week’s …
U.S. stock-index futures inched higher Friday as investors weighed ongoing fighting in the Middle East that has pushed oil prices sharply higher and raised fresh concerns about supply through the Strait of Hormuz. Crude's surge has fed worries about higher gasoline prices and potential upward pressure on inflation, complicating expectations for the…
Halifax reported that UK house prices rose 1.3% in the 12 months to February, the strongest annual increase since October. Month-on-month prices rose 0.3% in February, slower than January's 0.8% gain. Halifax highlighted renewed market momentum but warned geopolitical uncertainties could slow the pace of future interest-rate cuts. The Bank of Engla…
A panel of property analysts expects average home prices in Germany to climb roughly 3% a year through 2028, outpacing general inflation and raising affordability concerns for first-time buyers. The outlook follows a recovery from a multi-year slump, with building permits rising in 2025 and rents forecast to increase slightly faster than prices.
Olaf Sleijpen, head of the Dutch central bank and an ECB policymaker, said the euro zone’s monetary policy environment remains largely stable despite the outbreak of war in the Middle East. He cautioned that it is premature to draw firm conclusions about the conflict’s long-term impact, emphasized the ECB’s data-dependent approach and highlighted t…
Seisaku Kameda, the Bank of Japan's former chief economist, said the central bank is likely to postpone further tightening until around June or July because sustained conflict in the Middle East is keeping markets volatile. While April had been a plausible timing for a lift from 0.75% to 1.0% if hostilities eased, persistent instability increases t…
European Central Bank policymaker and Dutch central bank head reflects on market moves after the recent conflict in the Middle East, saying the earlier description of a central banker’s 'nirvana' no longer fits but that his assessment of the economy has not fundamentally changed. He emphasises data-dependence, the role of sensitivity analysis in pr…
Dutch central bank governor Olaf Sleijpen said a sharp rise in energy prices this week does not yet require a shift in European Central Bank policy. He stressed the bank can accept a small, temporary overshoot of its 2% inflation target and cautioned against drawing direct parallels to the 2021-22 inflation episode, while urging contingency analysi…
Japanese authorities said they are prepared to act with international partners to counter market volatility and economic damage stemming from the conflict in Iran. Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama flagged the possibility of measures including an extra budget, while Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino warned that yen moves can feed through t…
Moscow, Russia's wealthiest federal unit, will trim its 2026 investment programme and cut municipal staff after revenue growth slowed sharply in early 2026. The move highlights mounting regional fiscal pressure, with consolidated deficits rising, regions shifting toward costlier commercial borrowing, and social and military-related payments adding …
Chinese regulators have approved Pfizer’s GLP-1 therapy Xianweiying, also known as ecnoglutide, for chronic weight management in overweight and obese adults. The approval adds a new competitor to a rapidly expanding class of GLP-1 receptor agonists sold in China and follows a licensing deal between Pfizer and Sciwind Biosciences for mainland commer…
Global markets traded unevenly on Friday as the Middle East conflict intensified, sending energy prices sharply higher and unsettling shipping and air travel. U.S. and European futures gained while Asian equities pared losses. Concerns about renewed inflation pushed yields up and prompted investors to price in more hawkish central bank stances. Att…
Huang Yiping, a member of the People’s Bank of China monetary policy committee, told Bloomberg TV that Beijing’s shift toward greater consumer-driven growth will be a gradual process. He warned investors not to expect heavy-handed stimulus, noting the government does not view the current situation as a crisis. China has set a 2026 growth target of …
Economists expect U.S. job growth to ease in February, with the unemployment rate projected to remain at 4.3%. Forecasters point to a normalization in healthcare hiring after an outsized January increase, potential drag from weather and regional strike action, and new Census-driven population controls that will revise labor force estimates. Rising …
The Asian Development Bank's chief economist said a short-lived Middle East conflict and a roughly month-long closure of the Strait of Hormuz would produce only a modest, temporary slowdown in developing Asia's growth, but prolonged disruption could significantly raise energy costs, disturb trade routes and financial markets, and force policy inter…
The U.S. dollar remained broadly steady in early Asian trading and was set for its largest weekly gain in more than a year as renewed conflict in the Middle East spurred demand for safe-haven assets. Rising oil prices pushed inflation risks higher for energy-importing economies and altered timing expectations for rate moves by major central banks.
A federal judge has directed the U.S. government to begin reimbursing importers for emergency tariffs imposed during the Trump administration that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unlawful in late February. Budget analysts estimate the refunds could total between $168 billion and $182 billion. The mechanism for distributing those refunds remains unclea…
Equity markets fell on Thursday while a fresh jump in oil sent government bond yields higher, as expanding conflict in the Middle East stoked investor worries about energy availability, rising inflation and slowing economic growth. Attention now shifts to U.S. February payrolls for a clearer read on the labour market and whether the war-driven shoc…
