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.
2,066 total articles
Home Depot reported fourth-quarter same-store sales growth that exceeded Wall Street forecasts, driven by continued demand from professional contractors and consumers opting for lower-cost repairs. The Atlanta-based retailer said it reaffirmed the annual sales forecast provided in December, and its shares rose in premarket trading following the rep…
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly voiced reservations about additional interest rate increases during a meeting with Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda last week, a development that market participants interpreted as potential tension between the government and the central bank. The yen weakened versus the dollar and euro after the r…
Outgoing Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic warned that wide adoption of artificial intelligence by employers may reduce demand for labor and push the natural rate of unemployment higher. He argued the Federal Reserve should not attempt to force the unemployment rate lower with interest-rate cuts if the change is structural, and that fiscal polic…
More than a year into President Donald Trump’s second term, sweeping economic measures have produced a patchwork of outcomes: stronger-than-expected GDP growth fueled by tax cuts and heavy tech investment, a resurgence in manufacturing output, and stubborn inflation and tepid job creation. A Supreme Court ruling that struck down emergency global ta…
Japan has requested that its treatment under newly announced U.S. tariffs remain as favourable as under the trade agreement struck last year. Tokyo is treading carefully before Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s planned late-March visit to Washington, citing risks to sectors like autos if additional levies are layered on existing concessions.
United Nations General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock pressed the United States to settle its full dues after Washington sent roughly $160 million toward more than $4 billion it owes to the U.N. The partial payment, less than 5% of the total, came amid warnings from the U.N. Secretary-General that unpaid contributions threaten the organizatio…
A lethal dormitory raid at Senegal’s principal university, sparked by disputes over delayed student aid, has intensified scrutiny of the government’s handling of public finances after the discovery of roughly $13 billion in misreported borrowing. The confrontation left one student dead, hundreds detained and the university closed, while budget adju…
Analysts at Yardeni Research describe the U.S. economy since 2020 as "shock resistant," arguing that it has navigated a sequence of severe challenges without falling into a prolonged recession. They point to the brief, government-imposed downturn at the start of the pandemic as the shortest U.S. recession on record, and note that subsequent stresse…
U.S. equity futures were largely flat as investors awaited a busy week of corporate earnings, with concerns about potential disruptions from artificial intelligence weighing on sentiment. President Donald Trump’s 10% global tariffs took effect after a Supreme Court ruling curtailed his broader emergency-powers levies. Meanwhile, Paramount Skydance …
Barclays has slashed its peak sales projection for Novo Nordisk’s next-generation obesity treatment CagriSema to $2 billion from $12 billion after late-stage trial results revealed the drug underperformed Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. The data prompted notable analyst skepticism about CagriSema’s commercial prospects, large moves in both companies’ share p…
Investors are increasingly unsettled by a sequence of policy choices and abrupt regulatory actions in Indonesia that followed a downgrade of its sovereign outlook and criticism from an index provider. Market responses - including a weak government debt auction, a currency trading near record lows, and a lagging equity benchmark - suggest growing co…
India's statistics office will roll out a revised national accounts series on February 27 that changes how real GDP is calculated, adopting more granular price deflation and moving toward double deflation. The overhaul expands the set of items used to deflate nominal output from about 180 to roughly 500-600 drawn from a new consumer price index and…
With the State of the Union address imminent, the administration faces mixed public sentiment after 13 months defined by aggressive use of executive power, an overhaul of trade policy, heightened military posture abroad and a rollback of climate and regulatory measures at home. The president is expected to defend his record on the economy while nav…
U.S. President Donald Trump's revised global tariff was implemented at a 10% rate at midnight on Tuesday after the Supreme Court curtailed the use of emergency powers that underpinned many earlier levies. The tariff, issued under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, covers imports unless a specific exemption applies and will remain in force for 15…
The U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of emergency tariffs has prompted a sharp reaction from President Trump and left trade partners seeking clarity on previously negotiated terms. Asian governments, notably Japan and Taiwan, are pressing Washington for assurances. Meanwhile, China imposed export restrictions on certain Japanese entities, and regiona…
President Donald Trump is set to use his State of the Union address to highlight perceived economic gains and to announce measures intended to ease living expenses. The speech will carry the official theme 'America at 250: Strong, Prosperous and Respected,' and is expected to underscore tax cuts and efforts to lower prescription drug bills. The tim…
Gold reversed an earlier three-week high and fell as the U.S. dollar strengthened, a move that made dollar-priced bullion costlier for holders of other currencies. Comments on U.S. tariff policy and mixed signals from Federal Reserve officials added to market unease, while other precious metals and Asian equities also moved lower.
The dollar softened as Asian markets resumed trading following holidays, with renewed uncertainty around U.S. tariff policy weighing on global trade prospects. Market participants parsed Supreme Court pushback on emergency tariffs, fresh presidential threats to raise duties, reports of U.S. rate checks in currency markets and signals from Federal R…
China left its benchmark loan prime rates unchanged for a ninth consecutive month, keeping the one-year LPR at 3.00% and the five-year LPR at 3.50%. Authorities have signalled a preference for targeted policy measures and structural-tool adjustments - including a 25 basis-point cut last month - to shore up domestic demand amid an export-driven 2025…
A Reuters poll of economists forecasts the Bank of Korea will leave its policy rate at 2.50% at its February meeting and keep it unchanged through 2026. The unanimous view reflects concerns over currency weakness, rising housing prices and financial stability risks, even as consumer inflation sits at the central bank’s 2.0% target.
The White House is considering imposing a fresh set of national security tariffs across about six industrial categories following a Supreme Court decision that struck down much of earlier tariff authority. The proposed duties would be issued under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and are planned to be separate from recently announced …
USD1, a stablecoin tied to the Trump family-backed World Liberty Financial, slipped to roughly $0.994 on Monday before regaining value and trading near $0.9994. World Liberty said its teams repelled a coordinated attack and that no smart contracts or wallets supporting USD1 or WLFI were hacked, though some co-founders' X accounts were accessed with…
U.S. equities tumbled on renewed tariff uncertainty after a U.S. court decision and an immediate presidential response introducing a temporary 15% global levy. Concurrent concerns about stress in the software and private credit sectors amplified risk aversion, sending money into Treasuries, gold and safe-haven currencies while oil rose to six-month…
A senior Reserve Bank of Australia official said the central bank is analysing underlying inflation measures built from new monthly consumer price data to determine whether a monthly-based gauge might eventually replace the quarterly measure it currently favours. The RBA will continue to prioritise the quarterly trimmed mean for now, and any change…
Rating firm Morningstar DBRS reports a deterioration in private credit quality, with downgrades reaching 3.3 times upgrades in February and defaults rising to 4%. The agency cites margin compression across sectors and rising debt levels as reasons for a negative outlook for 2026, while noting limited current impact from AI disruption on rated softw…
