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
India indicated late Friday that it would accept a two-year extension of the World Trade Organization moratorium that prevents tariffs on electronic transmissions, marking a possible softening of its earlier stance. The move comes after India’s commerce minister urged caution over a permanent extension and as U.S. negotiators insist on a lasting so…
A partisan impasse over funding and policy restrictions for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has left both parties claiming partial victories while producing limited legislative change. Democrats used negotiations to spotlight aggressive ICE tactics and to signal electoral priorities, but most of their proposed curbs failed to win Republica…
Ten American servicemembers were injured during an Iranian strike on Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia. Two are seriously wounded. The assault struck a building on the base and damaged several U.S. refueling aircraft; officials said at least one missile and multiple unmanned aerial vehicles hit the site. The incident occurs amid regional escal…
Brazilian beef and poultry exporters report only modest disruption from the Iran war despite near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Companies are diverting shipments through the Red Sea and Suez Canal and using alternative ports and trucking to reach buyers in Iraq, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other markets. Higher fuel, storage, transport a…
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.7% on Friday, confirming a correction after sliding 10% from its record close on February 10. The move comes as investors weigh the economic fallout from the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran, with surging oil prices and renewed inflation concerns shifting expectations for Federal Reserve policy.
Two large private credit vehicles, Blue Owl Credit Income Corp. and the HPS Corporate Lending Fund, posted their weakest monthly returns in more than three years in February. The losses mirror a sharp downturn in the leveraged loan market. Despite the month’s declines, year-to-date performance diverged across funds, with HPS and Apollo remaining po…
Gulf states have grown privately critical of US security guarantees amid the month-long US-Israeli conflict with Iran, raising doubts about Washington's strategy and the value of hosting US military bases as attacks continue to hit the region and choke vital shipping routes, costing billions in oil revenue.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has ordered emergency payments to roughly 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers who have been unpaid since mid-February. The move follows widespread absences that generated multi-hour security lines at major airports; DHS said paychecks could begin arriving as early as Monday. Funding durati…
Two senior European officials briefed on planning say France and Britain are taking the lead in preparing to send warships to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. The proposed deployments would include frigates armed with air-defence systems to counter drones and missiles, and are intended to reassure shipping companies and insur…
President Donald Trump issued a memorandum on Friday instructing the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Management and Budget to use funds that have a nexus to Transportation Security Administration operations to pay TSA employees. The move comes during the sixth week of a DHS shutdown that has left more than 60,000 TSA personnel, in…
An independent congressional watchdog reported that nearly one in five staff at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had left by September of last year amid routine attrition and administration-driven cuts. The departures concentrated in divisions that oversee investment managers and stock markets, contributing to an 18% decline in SEC headc…
President Donald Trump called on leading agricultural equipment makers, including John Deere, Case and Caterpillar, to reduce the price of tractors and related equipment, and outlined a set of measures aimed at supporting agricultural communities. Market reactions included a modest drop in Deere & Co shares and a smaller decline for CNH. The White …
European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel said the bank should avoid rushing into interest-rate increases following a recent spike in inflation. Speaking at a university lecture in Zürich, Schnabel called for time to assess whether the rise in prices is becoming entrenched in expectations and wages, while reiterating that the ECB will act …
U.S. and Israeli forces conducted airstrikes on multiple Iranian nuclear facilities and steel plants, including a heavy water reactor at Arak and a yellow cake production site in Yazd. Iran responded with drone and missile strikes across the Persian Gulf that damaged two ports in Kuwait and triggered missile alerts in Doha. Regional states reported…
A pro-Iran hacking collective said it breached the personal email account of FBI Director Kash Patel and released portions of the files online. Security firm Check Point reported the leaked material is largely personal - photographs, financial records and other private data - while U.S. authorities and news organizations have questioned the provena…
European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel said in Zurich that the bank should avoid hasty policy moves in response to the Iran war, urging careful monitoring of data to judge whether the energy-driven inflation shock is producing second-round effects and becoming entrenched in expectations and wages.
Following a meeting with G7 foreign ministers in France, the U.S. Secretary of State said the U.S. expects its operation connected to Iran to finish in weeks rather than months, that Russian support for Iran is not hindering U.S. actions, and that Washington does not plan to deploy ground forces. He also called a potential Iranian tolling scheme fo…
A federal judge has warned the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs it could be held in contempt after the agency terminated a bargaining agreement covering roughly 320,000 employees following a prior judicial order to reinstate the contract. The move came in an after-hours filing and prompted the judge to demand immediate compliance and explanation…
The U.S. dollar strengthened to roughly 160 yen on Friday, a level traders view as a potential trigger for official action by Japanese authorities. The move accompanies gains in the dollar index as investors seek U.S. currency amid geopolitical uncertainty, while Japan's fiscal policy stance and reliance on energy imports leave the yen and local go…
Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Anna Paulson told a San Francisco Fed event that the conflict in the Middle East has introduced fresh risks to U.S. inflation and growth. She reiterated that inflation has remained above the Fed's 2% goal despite significant progress in reducing price pressures, and described longer-run inflation expectations …
Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Anna Paulson said Friday that the war in Iran is creating new risks for the U.S. economy, particularly for inflation and growth, but did not indicate any immediate implications for near-term monetary policy. In remarks prepared for an event hosted by the San Francisco Fed, Paulson also weighed how rapid produc…
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Tom Barkin told an economics forum that the range of uncertainty facing policymakers and businesses has widened over the past year. He pointed to rapid advances in artificial intelligence and the conflict involving Iran as primary new sources of ambiguity, while noting that growth, consumer spending, and s…
Canada reported a C$31.21 billion budget deficit through the first ten months of the 2025/26 fiscal year as government outlays grew faster than receipts. Program spending rose modestly, while public debt charges edged lower overall due to reduced rates on short-term instruments but were partly offset by higher effective rates on a larger stock of m…
Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said the twin shocks of the U.S. war with Iran and the rapid deployment of artificial intelligence technologies have increased uncertainty around the central bank's outlook, making it appropriate to keep interest rates on hold. Barkin warned that an oil-price shock from the Iran conflict and AI-drive…
Bank of America strategists say markets are now factoring in a more hawkish Federal Reserve response to inflation risks stemming from an energy shock tied to the Iran war. The repricing shows up in a recent divergence between the rate-sensitive 2-year Treasury yield and West Texas Intermediate crude, and has largely erased expectations for rate cut…
