TAG · Economy
President Trump has reimposed a naval blockade on Iran, revoking the country's right to sell oil in a bid to force Tehran to release its hold on the Strait of Hormuz, a move analysts say could reduce Iran's oil revenues to close to zero…
2026-07-17 · 3 MIN READThe U.K. economy grew 0.1% in May, rebounding from a 0.1% decline in April, as strong retail sales in the services sector offset weakness in industrial production and construction, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday.
2026-07-16 · 3 MIN READLatin America is on track for a fourth consecutive year of growth near 2.3%, a pace the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean has described as a "persistent pattern of low growth capacity." ECLAC revised its 2026 regional…
2026-07-16 · 4 MIN READUnconfirmed media reports have identified Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood as incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham's likely choice for chancellor of the exchequer, triggering a rally in the pound and UK government bonds Wednesday as…
2026-07-16 · 3 MIN READThe U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday that wholesale prices fell 0.3% in June, reversing two months of increases, as a 12% drop in gasoline prices drove two-thirds of the decline. Core producer prices, excluding food and…
2026-07-15 · 3 MIN READChina's economy expanded 4.3% in the second quarter from a year earlier, official data showed Wednesday, falling short of the 4.5% forecast by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal as weak domestic demand and a pullback in…
2026-07-15 · 3 MIN READSouth Korea's stock market triggered a buy-side sidecar for the third time this week on Friday after the KOSPI climbed as much as 5.7% intraday, before closing 2.52% higher at 7,475.94, as semiconductor shares rallied on Wall Street gains…
2026-07-10 · 3 MIN READSouth Korea's benchmark KOSPI plunged nearly 5 percent Tuesday as technology stocks extended losses after Samsung Electronics released its preliminary second-quarter earnings estimate, beating market forecasts but triggering profit-taking.…
2026-07-07 · 3 MIN READWalmart on Monday said it is cutting prices on thousands of items across its stores, including a 12% reduction on ground beef, halving the price of cherries, and reducing a 24-pack of Coca-Cola by one-third to $9.97. The nation's largest…
2026-07-06 · 3 MIN READEzcorp, a pawnshop chain operating more than 600 locations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, saw its overall pawn loans jump 33% to $349 million in the three months through March, as the company reported rising demand from cash-strapped…
2026-07-06 · 4 MIN READAmericans' attitudes toward the economy improved slightly in June as gas prices declined, the Conference Board reported Tuesday. The research group said its consumer confidence index rose 0.6 point to 91.2 in June, a figure below the…
2026-07-04 · 3 MIN READSouth Korea's government on Friday announced a 14.9 trillion won ($9.7 billion) emergency financing package and expanded tax and trade-insurance support for small and midsize companies facing rising import costs due to the weak won,…
2026-07-03 · 3 MIN READGlobal M&A volume rose 44% year-over-year to more than $3 trillion in the first half of 2026, setting a new first-half record, according to Mergermarket data. The surge was driven by blockbuster AI deals and a rush to lock down…
2026-07-08 · 3 MIN READExtreme heat is imposing a growing and recurring cost on the global economy, restricting work, disrupting transportation, and straining public budgets. An academic study estimated that last year's European heat waves and floods cost $43…
2026-07-02 · 3 MIN READ
The Associated Press reported that legendary music executive Clive Davis and former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan died in June 2026, placing them among the noteworthy figures in the wire service's year-in-review rollcall of…
2026-07-02 · 3 MIN READSouth Korea's benchmark stock index plunged nearly 8% on Thursday, driven by a sell-off in semiconductor shares amid renewed concerns about excess AI computing capacity. The KOSPI fell 655.32 points, or 7.89%, to close at 7,648.09 after…
2026-07-02 · 3 MIN READAndy Burnham's incoming government will have to find an extra £4.7bn to fund the defence investment plan announced by outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said Wednesday, as the Treasury acknowledged only…
2026-07-01 · 3 MIN READU.S. commercial crude oil inventories fell for a 10th consecutive week in the period ended June 26, dropping by 3.8 million barrels to 408.4 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. The decline exceeded…
2026-07-01 · 3 MIN READThe net profit margin for S&P 500 companies climbed to a record 14.8% in the first quarter of 2026, the highest since FactSet began tracking the metric in 2009, giving investors a key rationale for elevated stock valuations.
2026-06-30 · 3 MIN READTreasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned oil and gas companies on Tuesday to lower their prices, saying the administration is watching the industry ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, a day after President Donald Trump demanded retailers…
2026-06-30 · 3 MIN READCanada has entered a technical recession after two consecutive quarters of GDP decline, official data showed this month, as Prime Minister Mark Carney presses a long-term economic restructuring plan that he says will eventually make the…
2026-06-27 · 5 MIN READHome prices are falling in Denver and other areas around the nation, a development that economists say can signal either a healthy market or the onset of broader economic distress, depending on the underlying cause. Supply-driven price…
2026-06-23 · 3 MIN READPresident Donald Trump this week signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran at the Palace of Versailles, declaring the agreement a success and pointing to Wall Street's approval. But economists cautioned that the economic disruption…
2026-06-21 · 4 MIN READCuba's parliament approved a package of 174 economic reforms in a single week, the most significant shift in government policy in at least 15 years, as President Miguel Díaz-Canel seeks to address the island's deepening economic crisis and…
2026-06-19 · 3 MIN READThe Bank of England held its key interest rate at 3.75% on Thursday, joining central banks worldwide in a cautious response to signs the Strait of Hormuz may soon reopen after a US-Iran interim peace deal. The decision keeps the rate where…
2026-06-18 · 3 MIN READBrent crude fell back below $80 a barrel and U.S. stock futures rose in early European trading Wednesday as details emerged of a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran that would waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales and lift…
2026-06-17 · 3 MIN READThe global economy avoided a severe shock despite the monthslong closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical energy conduit, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. Countries’ strategic oil reserves, alternative export routes,…
2026-06-17 · 3 MIN READThe United States has imposed tariffs on Chinese goods for eight years, but China's exports have not declined. It posted a record $1.2 trillion global trade surplus last year and is redirecting exports toward Europe and Asia, raising…
2026-06-16 · 3 MIN READThe Bank of England is expected to leave its key interest rate unchanged at 3.75% when its Monetary Policy Committee concludes its meeting Thursday, a decision that would align it with the Federal Reserve but mark a divergence from the…
2026-06-15 · 4 MIN READGold futures rose 2.3% to $4,337.80 a troy ounce and London mining stocks climbed Monday after the U.S. and Iran outlined an interim peace deal that eased fears of an energy-driven inflation shock and raised expectations that oil shipments…
2026-06-15 · 3 MIN READEurozone industrial output rose 0.1% in April from the prior month, the European Union’s statistics agency Eurostat said Monday, as factories raced to fill orders from customers seeking to stockpile goods ahead of supply disruptions from…
2026-06-15 · 4 MIN READThe U.S. economy has continued to grow at an annualised rate of about 2% through a succession of shocks — including President Donald Trump's tariffs, mass deportations, and conflict in the Middle East — defying predictions of a downturn,…
2026-06-14 · 3 MIN READAsian currencies are under broad selling pressure as a combination of higher energy costs from the Strait of Hormuz closure, rising U.S. interest rates, and an unusual capital outflow during an export boom drives losses from the yen to the…
2026-06-14 · 4 MIN READThe share of credit-card balances that are seriously delinquent has climbed to near the level seen after the 2008 global financial crisis, but the overall picture of American consumer debt is more nuanced than that headline figure…
2026-06-13 · 4 MIN READThe European Central Bank's first interest-rate increase in nearly three years will support European bank earnings, analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said Friday, even as the Middle East conflict continues to fuel market volatility and…
2026-06-12 · 3 MIN READChina's passenger car exports surged 73% year-on-year in May to approximately 809,000 vehicles, driven by soaring demand for electric vehicles amid higher fuel prices linked to the war in Iran, an industry group reported Wednesday.
2026-06-10 · 3 MIN READThe Nasdaq composite fell about 1% on Tuesday, its largest single-session decline following a rebound since early January, extending a volatile stretch in chip stocks that is driving investors toward transportation shares, equal-weighted…
2026-06-10 · 3 MIN READAsian currencies traded mixed against the U.S. dollar on Monday as investors adjusted to growing expectations of a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase following a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report.
2026-06-08 · 3 MIN READInitial public offerings deliver average first-day gains of about 19% for investors who buy at the offering price, but historical data shows that buying an IPO at the end of its first trading day and holding it for three years…
2026-06-08 · 3 MIN READJapan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Friday that the government aims to defend the yen's credibility by strengthening the economy, signaling a strategic shift away from direct currency intervention as the yen weakens to near 160…
2026-06-05 · 3 MIN READParaguay is positioning itself as a stable investment destination as companies and investors restructure their supply chains amid mounting global uncertainty, according to analysis published June 4 by United Press International. Paraguayan…
2026-06-04 · 3 MIN READCanada's economy contracted at a 0.1% annualized rate in the first quarter of 2026, a second straight quarterly decline that badly missed expectations. Prime Minister Mark Carney attributed the weakness to deliberate policy decisions aimed…
2026-06-02 · 4 MIN READCanada has formally requested a renewal of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), proposing a 16-year extension of the North American free trade pact as the July 1 deadline to renegotiate the deal approaches. Canada-US Trade…
2026-06-02 · 3 MIN READThe Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday that U.S. job openings rose to 7.6 million in April, the highest level in nearly two years, as the labor market showed resilience amid the ongoing U.S.-Israel-Iran war. The figure beat…
2026-06-02 · 3 MIN READEurozone households expected consumer prices to rise 4% over the next 12 months in April, unchanged from March and well above levels recorded before the conflict in the Middle East, according to a European Central Bank survey published…
2026-06-01 · 3 MIN READGlobal stocks mostly rose Monday as oil prices fell more than $4 after U.S. President Donald Trump said talks to end the Iran war were progressing. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 2.9%, while trading was closed in the U.S. for Memorial…
2026-05-25 · 3 MIN READTreasury bond yields rose sharply this week, with 30-year rates topping 5%, and economists say the move reflects persistent inflation, larger government deficits and a political shift toward populism that limits deficit reduction. NPR’s…
2026-05-23 · 3 MIN READEurope’s oil and gas prices will remain above pre-Iran-war levels at least through the end of 2027, European Union and eurozone officials said Friday. The guidance came as eurozone finance ministers met, with EU Economy Commissioner Valdis…
2026-05-23 · 3 MIN READPresident Donald Trump on Friday oversaw the White House swearing-in of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair, signaling he wants Warsh to help boost the economy while saying the central bank will remain independent. The ceremony,…
2026-05-23 · 3 MIN READEU officials said Europeans should expect oil and gas prices to remain above pre-Iran war levels at least through the end of 2027, alongside an upward trajectory for prices of other goods. European Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis…
2026-05-22 · 3 MIN READEuropean Union officials said Friday that oil and gas prices in Europe will remain above their pre-Iran-war levels until at least the end of 2027, driving inflation to a revised forecast of 3.1 percent this year and warning that…
2026-05-21 · 3 MIN READUS stocks wavered Thursday as oil prices swung again, but all three major indexes erased earlier declines after Brent crude fell sharply. The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, the Dow gained 0.6% and the Nasdaq edged up 0.1%, according to data reported…
2026-05-20 · 3 MIN READThe bond market, a typically steady corner of Wall Street, is flashing warning signals as yields rise to multi-year or even multi-decade highs. The higher borrowing costs are weighing on stocks and influencing policy expectations as…
2026-05-20 · 3 MIN READU.S. stock markets slipped further from record highs on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, as Treasury yields climbed and oil prices fluctuated amid ongoing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% for a third straight loss, the Dow…
2026-05-19 · 3 MIN READThe U.S. stock market extended its retreat from all-time highs on Tuesday, with major indexes posting a third straight day of losses, as bond markets rattled by high inflation and oil-price swings tied to the Iran war continued to pressure…
2026-05-18 · 3 MIN READJapan's economy expanded at an annualized rate of 2.1% in the January-March quarter, the government said Tuesday, marking a second consecutive quarter of growth driven by consumer and business spending.
2026-05-18 · 3 MIN READTOKYO — Japan’s economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.1% in the January-March quarter, the government said Tuesday, citing resilient consumer demand even as energy prices rise amid the war in Iran. Real GDP rose 0.5% from the previous…
2026-05-18 · 3 MIN READUS stocks fell again Tuesday, giving back more of a record-setting rally as bond markets priced in higher inflation and sent Treasury yields higher. The S&P 500 lost 0.7% for a third straight day of declines, while the Dow fell 0.6% and…
2026-05-18 · 3 MIN READPresident Donald Trump returned from a state visit to China to face an accelerating inflation rate, growing political pressure over rising costs, and criticism that his administration is not focused on Americans' economic pain.
2026-05-16 · 3 MIN READBEIRUT — Lebanon’s already battered economy is sinking deeper as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and renewed fighting with Hezbollah drive up prices, shutter businesses and displace 1.2 million people, according to government officials and…
2026-05-16 · 3 MIN READU.S. consumer prices rose 3.8% in April from a year earlier, driven by surging energy costs linked to the ongoing conflict with Iran. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that the consumer price index climbed 0.6% month-over-month,…
2026-05-16 · 3 MIN READPresident Donald Trump returned from a Chinese state visit to economic pressure at home, with consumer inflation rising to 3.8% in April, according to the U.S. Labor Department’s data as reported by The Associated Press. As voters head…
2026-05-16 · 3 MIN READLebanon’s economy is deteriorating as a nominal truce between Israel and Hezbollah reduces fighting but does not stop strikes, Associated Press reported Friday, May 15. Business owners and families in Beirut’s southern suburbs described…
2026-05-16 · 3 MIN READBeef consumption in Argentina has fallen to its lowest level in two decades as households cut back amid sharply higher beef prices and weaker purchasing power under libertarian President Javier Milei. In Buenos Aires, some butchers and…
2026-05-16 · 3 MIN READMany Americans are feeling the effects of hotter inflation as a prolonged war with Iran pushes energy prices higher. In weekly and monthly data released this week, the Labor Department reported rising consumer and wholesale inflation,…
2026-05-16 · 3 MIN READPer capita beef consumption in Argentina — long one of the world’s highest — fell to 44.5 kilograms in April 2026, its lowest level in at least 20 years, as soaring prices, a reduced cattle supply and President Javier Milei’s economic…
2026-05-16 · 3 MIN READU.S. retail sales rose just 0.5% in April, a sharp slowdown from March’s revised 1.6% jump, as surging gasoline prices tied to the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz shutdown ate into household budgets and curtailed discretionary spending,…
2026-05-15 · 3 MIN READCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday proposed a revised state budget with no deficit for his final year in office and the following year, laying out a $350 billion spending plan. Newsom said higher-than-expected revenues would prevent…
2026-05-15 · 3 MIN READU.S. producer prices surged 6% in April from a year earlier, the steepest increase in more than three years, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz drove energy costs sharply higher and intensified pressure on businesses from trucking…
2026-05-14 · 3 MIN READJerome Powell steps down as chair of the Federal Reserve after eight years that saw inflation surge after the pandemic and unemployment fall to decades lows. The Associated Press examined the themes that shaped his tenure, including the…
2026-05-14 · 3 MIN READTEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz has tightened global energy supplies and contributed to economic pain worldwide, as the war and a U.S. naval blockade continue. Within Iran, soaring prices for food and medicine and job…
2026-05-14 · 3 MIN READWholesale inflation measures came in hotter than expected in April, with producer prices up 1.4% from March and rising 6% from a year earlier, the Labor Department reported May 13. The report cited higher energy costs linked to the Iran…
2026-05-14 · 3 MIN READThe Iran war’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has cut off bunker fuel supplies to the global maritime industry, driving up prices at the world’s largest refueling hub and raising fears that higher shipping costs will spread through supply…
2026-05-13 · 4 MIN READA supply crunch for bunker fuel—used to power ships—has emerged as the Iran war disrupts access to the Strait of Hormuz, with Asia’s major refueling hub, Singapore, facing rising prices and dwindling reserves. Shipping companies have begun…
2026-05-13 · 3 MIN READAmerican businesses are facing mounting costs from the ongoing Iran war, and a growing number of economists expect a U.S. recession within the next year, according to a survey released Monday by the National Association for Business…
2026-05-10 · 3 MIN READSoaring energy costs driven by the war in Iran are cutting household incomes and slowing economic growth in Bangladesh, where fuel shortages have forced the government to ration supplies and reduce industrial output, and the World Bank and…
2026-05-09 · 3 MIN READThe average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.37% this week, Freddie Mac reported Thursday, marking the second straight weekly increase and returning borrowing costs to levels last seen four weeks ago as the bond market churns on…
2026-05-08 · 3 MIN READGasoline prices in the U.S. climbed over the past week, spiking to an average of $4.54 a gallon Wednesday, according to AAA data. The Associated Press reports the increase reflects how deepening fighting linked to Iran has kept oil…
2026-05-08 · 3 MIN READThe average U.S. price for regular gasoline jumped 31 cents in the past week to $4.48 per gallon, AAA reported Tuesday, rising 50% since the war with Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz and stranded a fifth of the world’s crude…
2026-05-06 · 3 MIN READ
