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.
U.S. consumer prices rose 3.3% year‑over‑year in March, the strongest pace since early 2022, as the Iran‑Israel conflict sent global energy prices soaring. The monthly CPI increased 0.4%, with gasoline and electricity leading the surge; energy costs were up about 12% year‑over‑year. The spike revives inflationary pressure just as the Federal Reserve had been signaling a pause on rate cuts. Markets responded with higher Treasury yields and renewed debate over the timing of monetary easing.
China's government has been providing incentives for Chinese manufacturers and suppliers to sharply undercut foreign auto manufacturers at home and abroad. This has been the goal of the CCP - rule the auto supply chain sector and wipe all global...
Coming up on CNBC with Kelly Evans & Steve Liesman to talk inflation and the road forward with the Federal Reserve.
Inflation spikes tied to the Iran conflict prompted the Blue Chip Economic Indicators (BCEI) panel to revise upward its core PCE forecasts and soften expectations for near‑term Federal Reserve rate cuts. The panel now projects core PCE growth of 3.0%...
Taiwan's Kuomintang chair Cheng Li-wun met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, the first such encounter in over a decade. Both sides pledged a peaceful path to reunification while Taiwan’s $40 bn defense spending plan and...
The protracted closure of the Strait of Hormuz has lifted Brent crude past $100 a barrel and sent North Sea Forties Blend to a record $147, prompting China to tap its commercial oil reserves and curb refined fuel exports. The...
The euro appreciated on Friday after ING highlighted that markets now price only a 6‑basis‑point ECB hike on 30 April, with about 55 basis points still priced by year‑end. The analyst expects the euro to hold near 1.1700 against the dollar, outpacing...
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a 32‑hour ceasefire for Orthodox Easter, beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday and ending at midnight Sunday. President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to halt hostilities, while President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the pause and reiterated his demand...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 3.3% year‑over‑year rise in U.S. consumer prices for March, the steepest increase in two years. The surge is tied to an oil shock sparked by the Iran‑Israel war, pushing gasoline to $4.15 a...
The Bank of Korea kept its seven‑day repurchase rate unchanged at 2.50% for the seventh consecutive meeting, matching a 93% market expectation. The decision came as inflationary pressure from oil prices and exchange‑rate volatility rose, but a surge in semiconductor...

The University of Michigan has been conducting a consumer confidence survey for 74 years (starting in 1952). The lowest reading in this history is the number out today for April 2026 at 47.6. The commentary from the University of Michigan attributes...
Investors pushed the Kospi, Nikkei and Hang Seng higher after news of a tentative U.S.-Iran ceasefire, with the Korean index gaining 1.9% and Japan’s 1.5%. The rally was tempered by lingering doubts about the durability of the truce and ongoing...
"Once it's over, things don't go back to normal." The LNG facility in Qatar alone will take 3 to 5 years to rebuild Fertilizer, helium, chip supply chains are all disrupted The strait is a chokehold with no alternative route. This isn't transitory. 🎙️...
Next week (April 11‑17, 2026) brings a packed economic calendar, beginning with the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book and a series of speeches by Fed officials such as Williams, Goolsbee and Barkin. Central banks in Singapore and Turkey will review monetary stances, while...

President Donald Trump threatened Iran with strikes over the Strait of Hormuz, then abruptly announced a two‑week cease‑fire, prompting a wave of AI‑generated memes from Iranian embassies. Tehran’s diplomatic accounts in Zimbabwe, Thailand, South Africa and India used humor and...
U.S. consumer prices jumped 3.3% year‑over‑year in March, the fastest pace since mid‑2024, driven largely by a surge in energy costs. Gasoline prices recorded a 21.2% monthly gain, the largest in the BLS record dating back to 1967, while fuel...

Brazil’s February imports of Vietnamese tilapia fillets topped 1,300 metric tons, outpacing the country’s own exports for the first time. The imports, valued at roughly $8 million, represent about 56% of Vietnam’s monthly tilapia revenue and are driven by a preferential trade...

The U.S. federal debt now incurs over $1.2 trillion in annual interest, consuming roughly 23% of tax revenue and poised to become the largest budget line item. A "maturity wall" of $8‑9.6 trillion in Treasury securities will come due in 2026, forcing...
Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer, in partnership with Kapoor Watch Company, opened its first franchise boutique in India at Noida’s DLF Mall of India. The 517‑square‑foot store showcases the brand’s flagship collections, signaling a strategic push into a market projected to...

The Iran‑Iran war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have halted roughly 20% of global oil and LNG flows, driving crude toward $100 a barrel and pushing U.S. gasoline above $4 per gallon. Nations that have already built...
The Iran‑US war has snarled maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving 1.9 million tonnes of fertiliser on 41 vessels – about 12% of the strait’s 2024 output – and driving urea prices up 70%. The disruption has forced airlines...

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that March’s headline CPI rose 0.9% month‑over‑month and 3.3% year‑over‑year, staying above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Energy prices surged, with the energy index up 11% and gasoline climbing 21.2% amid the Iran‑related...
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South African President Cyril Ramaphova was quietly removed from France’s June 2026 G7 guest list after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to boycott the summit if the South African leader attended. France’s Emmanuel Macron substituted Kenya’s President William Ruto, citing a streamlined agenda, while French...
U.S. GDP growth fell to a meager 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, far below expectations, while consumer price pressures remain stubborn. The slowdown, amplified by a 43‑day government shutdown and weaker global demand, has analysts warning of a...

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will adopt a wait‑and‑see approach ahead of its April 23 policy meeting, citing the need for clearer evidence of second‑round inflation from the current global oil shock. March inflation accelerated to 4.1 percent, overshooting the central...

Foreign direct investment into the Philippines plunged 39.2% in January, reaching $443 million – the lowest level in four months. All major FDI components posted year‑on‑year declines, with equity and fund shares down 41.1% and reinvested earnings falling 56.6%. Japan topped...

The Asian Development Bank’s April 2026 outlook lowered its Philippines GDP growth projection to 4.4% for the current year, down from the 5.3% forecast made in December. The downgrade is driven by uncertainty from the Middle East conflict and higher...
The latest standardized consumer‑sentiment composite fell to 47.6, missing the 51.6 consensus and down from 53.3 in the previous period. The chart tracks the University of Michigan, Conference Board and Gallup surveys from Q4 2019 through Q2 2026, all demeaned and scaled...

The Trump administration is poised to extend a 30‑day waiver that lets countries purchase sanctioned Russian oil at sea, a measure that currently expires on April 11. The waiver would free roughly 100 million barrels—about one day of global output—as oil prices...
There was a large fall in CPI legal services. Now the question is whether BEA will use this in the PCE, where it would cut about-3.5bps from the core rate, or whether they will use the PPI (which they prob...

Airports Council International Europe warned EU officials that prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz could trigger jet‑fuel shortages across the continent. The warning follows President Trump’s cease‑fire pact with Iran, yet tanker traffic remains well below pre‑conflict volumes. The...

Before President Donald Trump launched his war on Iran, global financial markets were on an upswing and private‑sector confidence was rebounding, according to the Brookings‑FT TIGER index. The index highlighted solid growth prospects despite lingering trade‑policy volatility and high public...

Cuba announced in March 2026 that it will allow Cuban expatriates, especially those in the United States, to return, invest in the private sector and own businesses. The policy shift follows a deepening economic crisis marked by food, medicine shortages...

Iran has begun charging oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz a toll of roughly $1 per barrel payable in Bitcoin or stablecoins, turning the chokepoint into a crypto‑enabled revenue stream. The payments are invoiced by email and settled on‑chain...
U.S. grocery price growth decelerated in March, with food‑at‑home inflation easing to a 1.9% year‑over‑year increase, down from 2.4% in February. The broader consumer price index, however, jumped to 3.3% as gasoline surged more than 21%, driving overall inflation higher....

Ghalibaf says two conditions must be fulfilled before negotiations with the US begin: 1. A ceasefire in Lebanon 2. The release of Iran's blocked assets The blocked assets refer to tens of billions in Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks under...
so then you all must expect core goods inflation to be on a really benign path lower
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ March 2026 CPI report breaks down consumer spending into eight weighted categories, with food, shelter and clothing together representing over 60% of the index. Medical care, housing and food have each more than doubled in...
My view with @LenaPetrovaOnX on the outcome of the US-Israeli war on Iran: “The outcome of the war is unambiguously bad for the world economy… except for Russia and China, with Russia being a big winner.” https://t.co/5Rj36XtJ4O

Switzerland aims to finalize US tariff accord by the end of July https://t.co/ZYi5vpcuIn via @bbenrath @fabiennekatrin https://t.co/b6wPOAMUsC
The U.S. dollar slipped on Friday, positioning it for its largest weekly decline since January as investors unwound safe‑haven bets following a fragile cease‑fire in the Gulf. The euro rose 1.8% and the pound 2% against the dollar, while the...
"Iran has no cards"...except for the straight flush it happens to be holding with control of Hormuz

Based on this, US-Iran talks aren't going well 👎 Markets telling same story with stocks lower, gold lower, US dollar strengthens, oil rebounds https://t.co/ZmGKsaR6y5

The Iran war is "the mother of all supply chain disruptions," says @DanielYergin https://t.co/ShD5cIrrGe by @EmilyRPeck in @axios In fact, it's not even close ⬇️ https://t.co/XhpGtrbJzC
It was the combination of GDP revisions (PCE to 1.9%) & real personal consumption in Jan & Feb running at 0.6% rate. We are a rounding error away from inflation-adjusted consumption turning negative in an economy that runs on consumption....

The US has an ASTOUNDING 877 foreign military bases. The next 5 countries combined are NOWHERE NEAR AS CLOSE. They only have a combined total of ~313. https://t.co/ME9OlSbtKz
Meloni can't be reelected if she sees USA as an ally. I think most European politicians faces the same reality. Therefore the break between USA and Europa is probably a done deal. However Europe can't defend itself, is reliant on energy,...
VIDEO COLUMN (2): The Hormuz question. What's happening in the world's most important oil and LNG chokepoint? Let me explain the situation in the strait, and how its shipping lines (and status) are changing, perhaps for ever. @Opinion #Hormuz #IranWar ...
We just got the first hard economic data showing the effects of the war, and it shows inflation surging. Lemme take two minutes to explain what it all means while talking into a baby koala's butt. https://t.co/uYzeWmSssj

We've now reached the point where commodity exporters in Latin America are up from before the start of the war with Iran. We're getting a ceasefire, but oil prices will stay elevated for a long time. That lifts the ...