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.
5,920 total articles
Chancellor Rachel Reeves presented a Spring Statement on March 3, 2026, that contained no major policy shifts and only a small improvement in fiscal headroom. Analysts warned that the modest buffer created by lower gilt yields and firmer equity prices could be eroded rapidly by rising energy costs and broader geopolitical uncertainty, leaving limit…
Kansas City Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Schmid reiterated his opposition to additional interest-rate reductions, arguing that the labor market is balanced while inflation remains above the central bank's target. He warned that demand is outstripping supply and that services prices are rising too quickly for a return to the Fed's 2% goal, and …
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said Tuesday that cuts to the federal funds rate would be appropriate if inflation slows after the primary effects of tariffs have passed. Williams laid out an expected trajectory for inflation and described recent signs of stability in the labor market, while noting that tariffs are likely t…
U.S. officials say President Trump is considering backing Iranian groups willing to use force against the Tehran government. He has held direct talks with Kurdish leaders based in Iran and remains in contact with other local figures, while White House officials say no final decision has been made on providing weapons, training or intelligence.
New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said monetary policy is appropriately positioned to help stabilize the labor market and guide inflation back to the Fed's 2% objective, and that additional federal funds rate reductions would be justified if inflation follows his expected path. Williams delivered his remarks to a conference hosted by…
Markets pared back expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin trimming interest rates before September after air strikes linked to the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran lifted oil prices and provoked heavy selling in rate-sensitive assets. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed and global crude flows curtailed, traders have reduced the…
In a budget update to parliament, finance minister Rachel Reeves set out revised forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility that show Britain's inflation and borrowing will be lower than previously expected by the fiscal watchdog, while economic growth forecasts for the near term were reduced. The update, delivered against a backdrop of Mi…
Finance minister Rachel Reeves set out a revised, weaker growth path for the U.K. in a budget update, with the Office for Budget Responsibility cutting its 2026 GDP forecast and projecting a higher unemployment peak. The OBR attributed labour market weakness to new entrants struggling to find work, and warned of persistent weak demand as output fal…
In a budget update delivered to parliament, finance minister Rachel Reeves pledged to shield the UK economy from external shocks and maintain policy stability. New official forecasts from Britain’s fiscal watchdog show lower inflation and borrowing than previously estimated, though growth for the year was revised down to 1.1% from 1.4%. The fiscal …
Finance minister Rachel Reeves said the government’s margin for meeting its principal fiscal objective at the end of the decade has increased to 23.6 billion pounds for 2029/30, up from an almost 22 billion pound estimate in November. The Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecasts underpin the change, but they were compiled before a recent spike …
President Donald Trump declared that the United States has a near limitless inventory of munitions and can wage wars "forever" using existing supplies, comments made as U.S. and Israeli military operations in Iran entered their fourth day. Trump gave few operational details but said the campaign was projected to last four to five weeks and that cur…
The Office for Budget Responsibility has reduced its projected UK GDP growth for 2026 to 1.1%, Finance Minister Rachel Reeves said in a half-yearly fiscal update. The OBR's profile now shows slightly slower expansion in 2026 with stronger growth of 1.6% pencilled in for both 2027 and 2028 and 1.5% for 2029 and 2030.
Traders have reduced their expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year after a spike in energy prices tied to widening U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran raised the prospect of higher inflation. Futures indicate a sharply lower probability of a June cut, a rising chance of a July move, and only modest easing priced in by year-end. Federal Res…
Government bond markets across Europe, the United States and Britain plunged after an escalation of the Middle East conflict disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and lifted oil and gas prices. Short-dated, rate-sensitive notes fell most sharply, forcing traders to reduce expectations of imminent rate cuts by the Bank of England and the F…
Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, has announced plans to evacuate as many as 200 employees from the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran after explosions were reported just kilometers from the facility's protective perimeter. The company says roughly 700 Russian specialists are assigned to Bushehr and that about 100 non-essential staff ha…
A study published by European Central Bank economists concludes that the spread of stablecoins across the euro area could erode the central bank's ability to shape financial conditions, draw deposits away from traditional banks and reduce the supply of credit to the real economy. While stablecoins remain small relative to euro-area deposits, the pa…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told visiting Brunei officials in Moscow that Russia has not observed proof of an Iranian nuclear weapons program, repeating Moscow's demand for an immediate end to military hostilities amid reported regional fallout from the U.S. and Israeli operations against Tehran.
BCA Research advises investors to avoid fading the recent rise in oil prices or rushing back into equities, characterizing the Iran-related geopolitical shock as ongoing and likely to have larger economic consequences. The firm assigns a high weighted probability to a substantial oil supply shock and is maintaining defensive positioning, including …
Qatar's foreign ministry has warned that Iranian targets are not confined to military installations but encompass the country's entire territory. Doha said it had received no prior notification of incoming missile strikes, has no active communications with Iran, and confirmed the downing of Iranian jets that entered Qatari airspace. Attempts to hit…
Federal Reserve officials acknowledge that artificial intelligence is reshaping the economy but remain divided over how quickly and to what extent those changes will affect employment and inflation. Recent corporate layoffs tied to AI, rising Fed attention to the technology in research and speeches, and competing views among policymakers and commen…
Realtor.com's 2026 Housing Supply Gap report shows the U.S. housing deficit increased to an estimated 4.03 million homes in 2025 from 3.80 million in 2024. The gap widened as household formation rose sharply while housing starts and completions declined, reinforcing a pattern of underbuilding that Realtor.com says has constrained supply and pushed …
Euro zone consumer prices rose more than economists expected in February, lifting both headline and underlying inflation measures but keeping headline inflation below the European Central Bank's 2% goal. Officials are now monitoring a recent more-than-10% jump in oil prices tied to the Middle East conflict and assessing how quickly that move could …
A sharp rise in oil and natural gas prices is likely to push U.K. consumer inflation higher while weakening near-term growth, according to J.P. Morgan. The bank's analysis shows that oil at $78 per barrel and gas trading near 95 pence per therm would lift CPI modestly and could prompt the Bank of England to delay planned interest-rate reductions un…
Yannis Stournaras, governor of the Bank of Greece and an ECB policymaker, said the European Central Bank should keep policy options open as the unfolding war on Iran could push inflation higher if it continues. He recommended patience, arguing that the conflict's ultimate impact on prices and output hinges on how long and how deep the fighting beco…
U.S. equity futures turned sharply lower following a session in which major indices recovered from deep losses after renewed strikes in Iran. President Trump signaled the U.S.-led campaign could extend beyond initial timelines, while oil surged on supply disruption fears tied to the Strait of Hormuz. Spot gold eased as a stronger dollar reduced bul…
