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
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Wednesday to underscore their comprehensive partnership and to publicly criticize U.S. President Donald Trump's Golden Dome missile defense plans. The two leaders signed a lengthy joint statement and a package of additional agreements, while negotiators reported only a general…
President Prabowo Subianto told parliament that Indonesia will centralise exports of selected commodities under a government-appointed enterprise to capture greater state revenue and tighten oversight of natural resources. The initial list includes palm oil, coal and ferroalloy, with a three-month transition during which transactions will be monito…
Benchmark rice prices in Asia rose to their highest level in over a year amid mounting concern about regional harvests. Thai 5% broken white rice climbed to $446 a ton, marking a third straight week of gains and the highest price since February 2025. The US Department of Agriculture expects global rice production to fall in the 2026-27 season for t…
New rules issued by Chinese authorities specify implementation measures for a 2024 law, directing rapid construction of state-controlled strategic mineral reserve facilities, enforcing a minimum five-year on-site holding period and prohibiting mining or encroachment of state-held strategic minerals without approval from the State Council's natural …
UK average house prices were unchanged in March at £268,000 compared with a year earlier, marking the first 12-month period without growth in almost two years. Seasonally adjusted prices fell 0.2% in March, while higher energy costs and rising mortgage rates linked to the Iran conflict are weighing on the market.
Singapore is exploring a novel approach to AI product transparency: 'nutrition labels' for consumer applications that would spell out intended uses and limitations. The government, led by Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo, is considering a voluntary rollout while also building testing and accreditation frameworks and attrac…
U.S. convertible bond issuance surged to about $34 billion in the first four months of 2026, more than double the same period a year earlier, with roughly half tied to AI-related activity. Corporates are favoring convertibles to finance capital expenditure for data centers, power and cloud infrastructure and to roll over pandemic-era convertibles a…
The Federal Reserve's minutes from the April 28-29 policy meeting are scheduled for release on Wednesday and are expected to expose deep divisions among policymakers on the outlook for interest rates and inflation. The meeting produced the most dissents since 1992 and coincided with the end of Jerome Powell's tenure as chair. With Kevin Warsh set t…
Initial alarm that Anthropic’s Mythos large language model would unleash a tidal wave of new hacking capability has moderated. Experts who have used Mythos say it marks a technical advance in vulnerability discovery but that organizational capacity, validation processes and substantial computing and harness requirements constrain how rapidly bad ac…
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte dismissed Moscow's accusations that Baltic countries are permitting Ukrainian drones to traverse their airspace for strikes on Russia, calling those assertions "ridiculous." Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Rutte said the presence of drones tied to Ukraine is a consequence of Russia's illegal full-scale attack an…
Emmanuel Moulin, President Emmanuel Macron’s nominee to lead the 226-year-old Bank of France and a former chief of staff, told lawmakers he would run the central bank independently ahead of a closely contested parliamentary confirmation that could be blocked if three-fifths of finance committee members vote against him.
Bank Indonesia raised its policy rate by 50 basis points to 5.25% on Wednesday, a larger move than many economists expected. The increase appears aimed at supporting the rupiah, which has been under downward pressure. Analysts polled before the meeting were divided, and a research note flagged that the rate rise may only provide temporary relief un…
Bank Indonesia raised its key policy rates by 50 basis points on May 20, lifting the 7-day reverse repo rate to 5.25% and marking the first rate increase in two years. The move, larger than market forecasts, is aimed at stabilising the rupiah after a run of record lows and at pre-emptively keeping inflation within target ranges through 2027. Offici…
U.S. index futures hovered near flat on Wednesday as investors monitored developments in the Iran war, awaited Nvidia's quarterly results and anticipated potential IPO filings from SpaceX. Traders are also set to pore over minutes from the Federal Reserve's April meeting. Bond yields surged earlier in the week amid inflation concerns tied to the co…
Foreign net selling of Asian equities has accelerated in May, driven by concerns that war-related inflation and rising long-term U.S. borrowing costs will squeeze corporate margins. LSEG data show net disposals of $24.75 billion so far this month across exchanges in several Asian markets, with a record $17.27 billion sold in the past week. The jump…
Samsung Electronics’ labour union is set to begin an 18-day strike involving around 48,000 workers after bonus negotiations with management failed. Authorities are weighing an emergency arbitration order that would suspend the strike for 30 days and compel mediation, a measure rarely used and reserved for potential broad economic damage. Officials,…
British consumer price inflation slowed to 2.8% in April, down from 3.3% in March. The decline largely reflects last April's sharp increases in utility and regulated charges dropping out of the annual comparison. Policymakers remain focused on whether a potential uptick in headline inflation will translate into persistent wage and price pressures, …
Nvidia's quarterly results, due today, loom as a potential major market catalyst. Options pricing suggests the chipmaker's shares could move by as much as $350 billion in either direction. The report arrives at a fragile moment for markets, which are contending with higher oil-driven inflation fears, climbing bond yields, and geopolitical tensions …
President Prabowo Subianto told parliament he expects Indonesia to target a fiscal deficit of 1.8% to 2.4% of GDP in 2027 while aiming for economic growth as high as 6.5%. He highlighted the need to ensure the nation's natural resources benefit all 280 million citizens and announced macroeconomic targets for inflation, growth, the rupiah, revenue a…
The political landscape surrounding the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is shifting as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signals support for central bank autonomy, potentially easing the path for a policy rate increase in June. Following discussions with Governor Kazuo Ueda, Bessent emphasized that Japan's robust economic fundamentals and the need to mitig…
Asian equity markets have entered their fourth consecutive day of declines as rising global bond yields and heightened inflation concerns stemming from conflict weigh heavily on investor appetite. While market participants look toward Nvidia's upcoming earnings for a potential catalyst, the broader macroeconomic environment is being shaped by signi…
The U.S. dollar maintained a steady position near its highest level in six weeks on Wednesday, driven by shifting market expectations regarding Federal Reserve interest rate policy and ongoing geopolitical instability in the Middle East. Investors are increasingly accounting for the possibility that higher interest rates may be required to combat i…
In a decision that aligned with broader market anticipation, China's central bank held its benchmark lending rates steady on Wednesday. This marks the 12th straight month where these key interest rate benchmarks have remained unchanged. The decision comes at a time when the nation faces various economic headwinds, including cooling industrial perfo…
During the 2026 Financial Markets Conference held in Amelia Island, Florida, Anna Paulson, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, indicated that it is beneficial for financial markets to account for the possibility of additional interest rate increases. While she characterized current monetary policy as being in a "good place," Paul…
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has initiated legal action against the state of Minnesota, seeking to invalidate a new law that prohibits prediction markets within state borders. This move follows the signing of legislation by Governor Tim Walz which, beginning August 1, will classify the operation, hosting, or promotion of the…
