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.
2,060 total articles
Annual growth in regular average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, slowed to 4.2% in the three months to December 2025 compared with the same period a year earlier, down from 4.4% in the three months to November, the Office for National Statistics reported. The data feed into Bank of England monitoring of inflation, while investors move to price …
A finance ministry estimate reviewed by Reuters indicates Japan could see annual bond issuance rise to as much as 38 trillion yen in the fiscal year beginning April 2029, a 28% increase from the 29.6 trillion yen projected for fiscal 2026. The projection reflects higher debt-servicing costs driven by rising long-term yields and greater social welfa…
The U.S. dollar held recent gains in light trading as markets awaited the Federal Reserve's minutes and advance U.S. GDP figures later in the week. The yen pared losses after disappointing Japanese growth data raised expectations of more government stimulus. The Australian and New Zealand dollars slipped amid central bank caution and upcoming polic…
Minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s February meeting show the board raised the cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.85% because it concluded inflationary pressures had become more persistent and widespread and that financial conditions were no longer sufficiently restrictive. The central bank said it lacked a "high degree of confidence in any…
Minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s February board meeting show policymakers judged a 25 basis point increase to 3.85% was required to avoid persistently high inflation, but they stopped short of committing to a specific future trajectory for the cash rate. The board highlighted stronger-than-expected domestic demand, a resilient labour ma…
Havana's long-lived fleet of vintage gasoline cars is yielding ground to electric vehicles as Cuba confronts a severe fuel shortfall. With U.S. moves to cut off oil shipments from Venezuela and warnings against other suppliers, the island has stepped up fuel rationing and is relying on state-run electric transport and private operators to keep peop…
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the appointment of Janice Charette as Canada’s chief trade negotiator to the United States. Charette will serve as a senior advisor to the prime minister and to Dominic LeBlanc on the upcoming joint review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), a pact that protects much of Canada’s exports from U.…
Ecuador's shrimp industry reported a 20% year-on-year increase in export revenues for 2025, reaching $8.4 billion and surpassing oil as the nation's largest export. Industry leaders attribute the record to sustained investment in aquaculture and a transitory advantage from U.S. tariff adjustments tied to India, while China remains the primary marke…
UBS economists Mark Haefele and Vincent Heaney argue that evidence of cooling tariff-driven inflation in U.S. goods prices, alongside slowing shelter costs and softer consumer inflation expectations, supports a case for the Federal Reserve to resume cutting rates from around mid-year. The bank expects two 25-basis-point cuts between June and Septem…
European Union finance ministers are set to discuss a set of 11 measures proposed by the European Commission designed to increase the international use of the euro. The proposals range from removing internal trade barriers and harmonising corporate law to issuing more joint debt, launching a digital euro, and expanding euro-denominated digital asse…
Investors face a condensed U.S. trading week with a dense slate of economic releases and a few high-profile corporate reports. Key data include the personal consumption expenditures price index and an advance reading on fourth-quarter GDP, while the Federal Reserve’s minutes should offer more detail on policymakers' thinking after their recent paus…
Traders face a shortened U.S. session and a packed calendar of data and corporate earnings as fresh negotiations between the U.S. and Iran add a geopolitical overlay. Inflation readings and growth figures this week will be watched closely by the Federal Reserve, while corporate reports from major names and developments in the media sector provide a…
The UK government is considering moving more quickly to increase defence expenditure to 3% of gross domestic product, with advisers to the prime minister examining ways to achieve the target ahead of the previously stated timetable. No decision has been taken, but officials acknowledge that current plans do not fully cover escalating defence costs.…
Markets enter a thin-turned-busy week as much of Asia celebrates the Lunar New Year and investors await a slate of corporate earnings and macroeconomic data. Walmart’s quarterly report will be scrutinized for clues on U.S. consumer spending after mixed retail and employment figures. European mining giants face results against a backdrop of volatile…
Asian markets opened a quiet week amid regional holidays, but fresh Japanese GDP figures undercut recent equity gains. December-quarter GDP expanded just 0.2% annualised, well below expectations, while year-on-year growth slowed sharply. At the same time, chipmakers in Taiwan and South Korea surged on heavy AI-related spending by hyperscalers. With…
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will hold their first bilateral meeting since her decisive election win. The discussion, scheduled for 5 p.m. local time, is expected to touch on the central bank's recent rate tightening and market speculation about another rate rise as early as March or April amid a higher cost o…
Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund have renegotiated elements of a proposed $8.2 billion lending programme to reduce the scope of politically sensitive tax increases, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said. The IMF board is expected to review the revised programme at its next meeting; its approval is necessary for unlocking further internati…
The Japanese yen retreated modestly on Monday after a strong weekly gain driven by reduced political uncertainty, while the U.S. dollar held steady following softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data. Markets face light liquidity because of regional holidays, and traders are recalibrating expectations for Bank of Japan and Federal Reserve policy mov…
Hirofumi Yoshimura, head of the Japan Innovation Party, told Reuters that politicians should not intervene in Bank of Japan rate decisions and urged the government to focus on fiscal measures to bolster the economy ahead of possible further rate rises. He reiterated support for a two-year suspension of the 8% sales tax on food at the earliest possi…
Anduril Industries is reportedly negotiating a new funding round that could raise up to $8 billion at a valuation of at least $60 billion. The potential capital would be used to underwrite the company’s first large-scale weapons-manufacturing facility and to advance an autonomous fighter jet program. The target valuation would be roughly double the…
Chongli's ski-resort revival, led by Wanlong, illustrates how targeted infrastructure and agglomeration can unlock latent consumer demand. Beijing is increasingly promoting state investment in services - from winter sports to medical and elder care - as it seeks to revive consumption. Analysts warn the same supply-driven approach that built industr…
Japan’s economy recorded a slim annualised expansion of 0.2% in the October-December quarter, driven by a marginal recovery in corporate investment while private consumption cooled. The outcome was below market expectations and follows a larger revised contraction in the prior quarter, leaving policymakers and markets to weigh a gradual recovery am…
Bank of England policymaker Catherine Mann told a UK newspaper that the substantial increases in minimum pay for younger workers over the past three years have been a key factor in rising unemployment for that age group, rather than an early sign of broader labour-market deterioration. Youth unemployment for 18-24 year olds rose to 13.7% in the thr…
Bank of America analysts say a widening split between affluent and low-income households is focusing attention on affordability ahead of U.S. midterms. They flag Fed-driven mortgage rate relief as a likely policy response that could weigh on the U.S. dollar, while uncertainty over Kevin Warsh's Fed policy stance and the labor implications of artifi…
BCA Research has raised alarms about the scale and vulnerability of the Japanese yen carry trade, saying positions funded in yen have swelled to levels that make a reversal potentially disruptive for global markets. The firm points to enormous outstanding forward and swap exposures, limited hedging by domestic insurers, and historical patterns wher…
