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UK fintech funding plunges 21% as rates hit 5.25%
Fintech investment in the UK fell 21% in 2025, driven by the Bank of England’s base rate climbing to 5.25%. Higher rates made government bonds more attractive, pulling capital from venture funds and limiting contributions from pension schemes, while softer consumer spending and loan demand pressured fintech valuations.
A tentative cease‑fire between the United States and Iran has not reopened the Strait of Hormuz, leaving energy and fertilizer shipments in limbo. Urea fertilizer prices have surged about 40%, while global fuel costs continue to climb, pressuring agricultural production and transport. Governments from India to Egypt are scrambling with subsidies and price caps, but uncertainty over maritime access persists. The World Bank, IMF and UN warn that the shock could push an additional 45 million people toward hunger, raising the global at‑risk population to over 360 million.
Euro‑area household disposable income jumped 3.3% year‑on‑year in the fourth quarter of 2025, while consumption rose 3.6% and the saving rate held at 14.9%. Non‑financial corporations posted a 4.4% rise in net value added and a 4.3% increase in gross...
The pound slipped to about $1.3420 per dollar as markets brace for the U.S. consumer price index. Traders have cut expectations for Bank of England hikes to 30‑40 basis points this year, while the Federal Reserve is still seen cutting...
A coalition of market strategists says the Federal Reserve is now more likely to hike rates in 2026 than to cut them, after minutes revealed heightened inflation worries. The shift pushes 10‑year Treasury yields toward the 4.5% range and forces...
The KOSPI index slipped to 5,796.75 points on April 9, reversing a 6% rally that had pushed it above 5,800 the day before. Profit‑taking by domestic traders and lingering geopolitical risks drove the 1.29% decline, even as foreign investors logged net...
Morningstar DBRS confirmed Malta’s sovereign ratings at A (high) for long‑term foreign and local currency debt and R‑1 (middle) for short‑term debt, with a Stable outlook. Real GDP expanded 4.0% in 2025, while the fiscal deficit narrowed to roughly 3%...
Morningstar DBRS confirmed Lithuania's long‑term sovereign rating at A (high) and short‑term rating at R‑1, maintaining a stable outlook. The agency highlighted solid fiscal discipline, a modest public‑debt ratio of about 39.5% of GDP and 2.9% real GDP growth in...
Canada added 14,100 jobs in March, the first gain this year, but the increase was modest and driven entirely by part‑time positions while full‑time jobs fell 1,100. The unemployment rate held at 6.7%, unchanged from February, reflecting persistent labour slack....
Oil prices hover near $100 per barrel despite the U.S.–Iran cease‑fire, because the Strait of Hormuz remains tightly controlled by Iran’s IRGC. Traffic through the chokepoint is limited to managed routes, preventing a return to normal commercial shipping. Analysts from...
The article outlines how systematic trade cheating by China has eroded U.S. manufacturing, citing a loss of $230 billion and 2.1 million jobs since 2018. It details tactics such as intellectual‑property theft, transshipment via third‑party countries, and exploitation of de‑minimis exemptions that...
Alisha Chhangani was quoted in a House of Saud analysis describing how Iran circumvents U.S. sanctions to continue oil shipments to China. The piece outlines Tehran's use of covert shipping routes, shell companies, and diplomatic channels to mask the origin...
The Atlantic Council hosted a front‑page event featuring World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, whose remarks were subsequently highlighted in a Reuters piece on the slowdown in global growth. Banga warned that the ongoing Middle East conflict is pushing oil prices...
Former U.S. Treasury official Robert Tannebaum was quoted in a Politico piece highlighting the heightened risks facing shipping firms that navigate the Strait of Hormuz. He stressed that the narrow waterway remains a chokepoint for roughly one‑fifth of the world’s...
Canada’s March Labour Force Survey showed a modest 0.1% rise in employment, adding 14.1 k jobs to a total of 21.05 million. The unemployment rate held steady at 6.7%, while the layoff rate stayed at 0.6%, matching pre‑pandemic norms. However, the job‑finding...
Hungary’s parliamentary election on Sunday pits long‑time prime minister Viktor Orbán against opposition leader Péter Magyar. U.S. Vice President JD Vance flew to Budapest to back Orbán, while recent polls give the opposition a roughly 10‑point lead. The contest is...
India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade announced that the mandatory inspection certificate for rice exports will apply only to the EU, UK, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Exports to all other European nations are exempt for a six‑month period, easing...
India's wholesale rice prices jumped up to 7% in two days after a US‑Iran ceasefire sparked a surge in export orders to the Middle East and the United States. Prices had previously fallen up to 6% due to disruptions from...
$100 in 2021 now feels like ~$80 today. That’s inflation. Your money didn’t disappear—it just buys less. If your money isn’t growing, it’s losing value.
India's commerce ministry announced a new weekly monitoring mechanism to track export‑import trends and sectoral stress indicators. The system aims to identify supply‑chain disruptions, logistics bottlenecks, and rising input costs linked to geopolitical tensions from the Iran war. Customs officials...
The U.S. Department of Labor reported a 3.3% year‑over‑year CPI increase for March, propelled by a 10.9% surge in energy prices amid the Iran conflict. The sharp 0.9% monthly rise marks the strongest one‑month jump since the 2022 pandemic‑driven inflation...
The Strait of Hormuz remains technically open but is functionally constrained as Iran imposes coordination requirements and quasi‑tolls, turning the waterway into a tool of economic coercion. Shipping volumes have fallen sharply as insurers and operators avoid the heightened risk....
Iran has warned it will not resume talks or keep the Strait of Hormuz open until Israel stops bombing Lebanon, linking the conflict directly to its diplomatic leverage. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a looming corruption trial that...
Estonia, a NATO member bordering the Gulf of Finland, will not detain Russian‑sanctioned oil tankers in the Baltic Sea because the risk of military escalation is deemed too high. The stance follows a failed boarding attempt last year and a...
A NOAA forecast predicts a strong El Niño developing this summer, raising the likelihood of a significant drought in the Panama Canal watershed. Reduced rainfall could lower lake levels by as much as 30 cm, forcing the Canal Authority to tighten draft...
The U.S. consumer price index jumped 0.9% in March, the fastest monthly rise since the 2022 inflation surge, pushing annual headline inflation above 11%. Unlike the 2022 spike, the current increase is driven largely by higher energy costs linked to...
The U.S. Consumer Price Index rose 3.3% year‑over‑year in March, with a 0.9% monthly gain—the fastest since mid‑2022. A 21% jump in gasoline prices supplied nearly three‑quarters of that increase, putting energy at the headline. Core CPI, which strips out...
The United States is set to ship a record 5 million barrels of crude per day from the Gulf Coast in May 2026, up from 4.9 mb/d in April and 3.97 mb/d in March. The surge follows a sharp decline in exports that...
Canada’s labour market stalled in March 2024, with employment rising by just 14,000 jobs and the employment rate holding at 60.6%, while the unemployment rate remained at 6.7%. Despite the flat job picture, average hourly wages jumped 4.7% year‑over‑year to...
Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has plummeted to historic lows, with daily transits now under ten vessels—a roughly 70% decline from pre‑conflict levels. The slowdown follows heightened Iranian missile threats and tighter naval inspections, prompting many carriers to...
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South Africa’s paraffin price more than doubled in April, climbing from R11.52 ($0.61) to R23.19 ($1.22) per litre and reaching a retail ceiling of R31.47 ($1.66). Over 500,000 households – many in informal settlements – depend on paraffin for cooking,...
Airports Council International (ACI) Europe warns that a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz could trigger jet‑fuel shortages across the EU within weeks. About half of Europe’s jet fuel is sourced through the Persian Gulf, and prices have surged...
U.S. consumer prices jumped to a near two‑year high in March, with the CPI climbing 3.3% year‑over‑year, the strongest gain since May 2024. The surge was driven primarily by energy costs, as gasoline prices topped $4 per gallon for the first...
A McKinsey CFO Pulse survey of 152 finance leaders conducted late 2025 shows geopolitical instability and trade policy shifts are now the top growth risks. 37% of respondents cite geopolitical conflict, while 32% point to trade policy changes as major...
Nigeria became a net exporter of gasoline in March, the first time since the Dangote refinery began operations. The refinery processed 565,000 barrels per day of crude, producing 44,000 barrels per day of gasoline, of which 40,000 b/d were exported,...
The article argues that the Federal Reserve must stay agile as geopolitical shocks and soaring energy and fertilizer prices threaten to reignite inflation. It warns that the Fed’s overly accommodative stance in 2021‑22 helped push inflation to a 9% peak,...
Markets are going to be funky. SoH closure into an oil price spike and physical shortage. COVID showed us anything is on the table and that governments never let a good crisis go to waste. With sovereign bond yields about...
Am sure Yufan describes the basic view of many in Beijing -- At the same time, the world has already made enormous accommodations to China, and I am not sure China has made much effort to accommodate other creditors that also...
Mortgage rates held steady today, with the average rate barely moving from yesterday, effectively flat for the week. The market experienced unusually low volatility compared to the sharp swings seen in March. Analysts attribute this calm to steadier long‑term oil...
My video looking out over the coming week: Market Outlook Should a Ceasefire Fail or Hold https://t.co/MVQDZY94oJ https://t.co/Ir3CZFs9DE
Iran’s parliament is trying to ensure that Hormuz transit fees will be paid in RIAL. I currently measure that the Iranian rial has APPRECIATED by 9% vs. the USD since the beginning of the US-Israeli war on Iran. STAY TUNED. https://t.co/o5Mv9sigwg
The European Central Bank is advancing its digital euro project, originally launched in 2020, as EU legislation clears the path for implementation. The digital currency is envisioned as a cash‑like token to complement physical euros in everyday transactions. ECB officials...
Joe Gagnon (@GagnonMacro) should take a victory lap; the IMF has conceded intervention does have a real impact -- "A growing empirical literature finds that such intervention can systematically generate real exchange rate depreciation and raise current account balances" 1/
While everyone is focused on variations of this chart, the story reposted below might be more important. Essentially, only Iranian-linked ships are passing through the Strait; no one else. https://t.co/SvcJA7aoSC
The U.S. consumer price index jumped almost 1% in March, driven primarily by a 10.9% rise in energy costs and a 21.2% surge in gasoline—the steepest monthly increase since 1967. Year‑over‑year inflation climbed to 3.3%, the highest level since April...
In the first 6 months of the 2026 Fiscal Year the US Federal Government took in $2.5 trillion and spent $3.7 trillion. Don’t try this at home. https://t.co/L0Zec6hR6L
Iran’s Chokehold On Hormuz Remains On The Eve Of Peace Talks In Pakistan The list of contested issues that the U.S. and Iran will have to come to some form of agreement on is long and complex. Updating live: https://t.co/NsmIfTZKJg
The Iran‑Israel conflict has pushed the physical spot price of crude to a record $145 a barrel, more than double the level before the Feb. 28 attacks, while the widely quoted Brent futures linger around $109. The widening gap between futures...
White House/Trump. Opening the Strait will not happensoon. Delays with the Strait mean the impact will start to hit the US. And make global situation worse. What then? Will supply chains find a tenth circle of hell?
Most frequently asked question on this morning's livestream: is a ceasefire even possible? Two things are clear: (i) the US has had enough; (ii) Iran has leverage. How that gets dressed up in face-saving language is what talks are about,...
We said if Hormuz stayed close until mid-April, global supply chains were mathematically certain to begin collapsing, including in the US. Right on cue, on April 10👇 Things will rapidly get much worse from here if Hormuz stays closed “What’s the trade?” =...
