Global Economy News and Headlines
Global Economy News and Headlines
Global Economy Pulse
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Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman warned that presidential tariffs are endangering key export markets, especially for soybeans. He highlighted that U.S. agriculture relies heavily on overseas sales and that recent tariff measures have squeezed demand and farmgate prices. Glickman called for Congress to regain tariff authority, noting recent court rulings against the White House’s actions. While bridge payments offer temporary relief, farmers prefer earnings from competitive market sales.
Agricultural markets are closely monitoring the upcoming face‑to‑face meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing at the end of March. The talks follow a late‑October summit that produced a trade framework committing China to 25 million...
Footwear maker Weyco Group, owner of Florsheim, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade seeking refunds for tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. The company alleges it paid up to a 145% duty on Chinese imports and...
Crude oil futures hovered just below $119 per barrel, easing fears of a supply shock amid heightened Middle‑East tensions. The broader market rebounded, with the Nasdaq gaining 1.4%, the S&P 500 up 0.8% and the Dow rising 0.5% after a volatile...
Anne Applebaum warned that Europe is increasingly hedging against U.S. security and trade dependence as the Russia‑Ukraine war drags into its fifth year. She highlighted the erosion of the post‑World‑II liberal, rules‑based order, noting that terms like “liberal world order”...
The outbreak of war involving Iran has triggered a sharp contraction in oil output and transit, pushing global energy prices up by over 15 percent. The surge in energy costs is reigniting inflation expectations worldwide, prompting traders to anticipate more...
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has nearly stalled, with crossings dropping 66% and crude‑oil futures briefly spiking above $115 per barrel. The U.S. responded with a $20 billion maritime reinsurance program aimed at protecting vessels and cargo. The slowdown has...
EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos urged European firms to invest in candidate countries, citing past enlargement’s boost to exports, supply chains and GDP. She emphasized reforms—independent courts, anti‑corruption, free media—as prerequisites for safe investment. New research from the Confederation of...
In the fourth quarter of 2025 U.S. markets extended gains while the margin for error narrowed across policy, valuation and data. Artificial‑intelligence demand remained robust, yet investors grew more selective, emphasizing balance‑sheet strength and near‑term cash flow. The Federal Reserve...
Redfin economists warn that mortgage rates could remain volatile as the Iran‑Israel conflict drives oil prices toward levels last seen during the Ukraine war and fresh inflation data arrives. February core CPI is projected to rise 0.2% month‑over‑month, while the...
The National Retail Federation’s Global Port Tracker projects U.S. container imports will stay below last‑year levels through the first half of 2026 due to lingering tariff uncertainty and geopolitical risk. After the Supreme Court struck down IEEPA tariffs, the Trump...
Kazakhstan’s President Kassym‑Jomart Tokayev has steered a pragmatic foreign policy through the recent wave of missile and drone attacks across the Middle East, opting for neutrality while maintaining diplomatic channels with Iran, Israel, Gulf states and the United States. He...
The United States is forming a critical‑minerals trading bloc aimed at breaking China’s dominance in supply chains for digital and defense technologies. The initiative downplays clean‑energy needs, even though analysis shows only a handful of the 33 minerals the UK...
Former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng warned that the UK may need to introduce tax hikes as early as November to fund energy subsidies amid soaring oil prices and a sudden spike in government bond yields. He likened the current market turbulence...
The Iran‑U.S. conflict is spilling into the Gulf, forcing BRICS to confront its first major geopolitical test since the 2024 expansion. While Russia and China back Tehran’s strategic autonomy, India adopts a cautious stance to protect its Chabahar‑linked trade interests....
Israeli officials and U.S. think tanks are warning that Turkey could become a strategic rival comparable to Iran, citing President Erdogan’s authoritarian turn and regional ambitions. The article argues the "new Iran" label is misleading because Turkey lacks Iran’s ideological...
Gold slipped to about $5,015 an ounce on Monday, a 3% intraday drop, before regaining most of the loss, as a stronger U.S. dollar and inflation‑driven rate worries kept investors on the sidelines. Silver, by contrast, rose over 2% to...
China’s investment strategy in Central Asia is moving beyond the debt‑trap stereotype, emphasizing joint ventures and infrastructure that fuel industrial growth. In 2025, Chinese foreign direct investment rose roughly 15% year‑on‑year, with Kazakhstan alone attracting about $12 billion in energy projects....
The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry says ongoing global disruptions – from the Middle East conflict to the US‑China trade war – are creating fresh trade openings for ASEAN. At the pre‑ASEAN Business Environment Forum (ABEF), DTI executive director...
Stagflation concerns have pushed volatility risk premiums to record levels across commodities and equities. One‑month implied volatility for crude oil surged to 104%, the highest since 2020 and near 2008 crisis peaks, with the volatility risk premium now almost twice...
JPMorgan’s head of global market intelligence warned that the Iran war could push the S&P 500 down about 10%, citing oil prices breaching $120 a barrel and heightened inflation risk. The bank’s outlook marks a sharp reversal from earlier estimates of...
Oil prices surged past $100 a barrel after the Iran‑related conflict disrupted the Strait of Hormuz, sending crude to near $120 in a single day. In response, the UK’s AA and RAC urged motorists to skip non‑essential trips and adopt...
Prediction‑market platform Kalshi saw recession odds climb above 34% on Monday, the highest level since November, after U.S. crude oil breached the $100 per barrel threshold. The surge in oil prices follows recent Middle‑Eastern output cuts and the closure of...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced it will create a refund process for Trump‑era tariffs invalidated by the Supreme Court, aiming to launch within 45 days. The agency has not yet detailed how importers will file refunds in the Automated...
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned that Europe’s “limited responsibility” fiscal framework must be abandoned to protect prosperity and sovereignty. She made the remarks at an informal European Council meeting and the Munich Security Conference, calling for deeper fiscal...
Xeneta’s March 5 report warns that the Iran‑U.S./Israel conflict is reshaping the 2026 air cargo outlook. February showed a 6 % YoY volume rise and spot rates up 5 % to $2.58/kg, indicating resilience. With the Strait of Hormuz closed, jet‑fuel costs could...
Ukraine has set 2027 as its target for full EU membership, framing accession as an existential and strategic priority amid an ongoing war. Since accession talks began in June 2024, Kyiv has completed screening of 33 negotiation chapters in under...
Pre‑market trading is under pressure as the Iran conflict pushes WTI and Brent crude above $100 a barrel, lifting oil prices 78% year‑to‑date. Major indices are slipping, with the Dow down 1.16%, the S&P 500 off 1.05% and the Nasdaq losing...
The United States‑Israeli war on Iran has driven the Indonesian rupiah to Rp 17,009 per dollar, flirting with its 1997‑1998 crisis low. Bloomberg data show the currency briefly breaching the Rp 17,000 psychological barrier before settling near Rp 16,950. The conflict has also...
Iran's Assembly of Experts appointed 56‑year‑old Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah, as the new supreme leader amid an ongoing war with Israel and heightened attacks across the Middle East. The appointment reinforces the Revolutionary Guard’s hard‑line stance and...
Escalating US‑Israel and Iran conflict is disrupting tech hubs across the Middle East, prompting global giants like Microsoft, Nvidia and Amazon to shut their Dubai offices and shift staff to remote work. Indian founders based in Dubai report that day‑to‑day...
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer told CNBC that oil prices, which surged above $100 per barrel after Middle Eastern production cuts tied to the U.S.–Israel conflict with Iran, will "tumble" once the operation concludes. President Donald Trump echoed the short‑term...
Starting May 1, China will waive import duties on virtually all goods from every African nation except Eswatini, expanding a previous exemption for 33 least‑developed countries. The move, announced by President Xi at the African Union summit, is framed as...
Saudi Aramco has begun curbing output at two fields as the Strait of Hormuz bottleneck from the US‑Israeli war with Iran rattles global oil supplies. Meanwhile, Roche’s breast‑cancer drug giredestrant failed a late‑stage trial, sending its shares down more than...
The EU Institute for Security Studies recommends an “escalate to de‑escalate” approach toward China, urging faster use of the Anti‑Coercion Instrument (ACI), the bloc’s most powerful trade‑defence tool. The report notes China’s growing trade surplus of €359.3 billion and its leverage...
International Maritime Organization Secretary‑General Arsenio Domínguez condemned a series of attacks on merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, noting at least seven seafarer deaths and multiple injuries. He highlighted the missile strike on the tug Mussafah 2, which killed four...
Recent speeches by Federal Reserve officials highlight artificial intelligence as a key driver of future productivity growth. They differentiate labor productivity—real GDP per hour worked—from total factor productivity (TFP), both illustrated in a FRED series covering 1988‑2024. Economists contend AI...
Oil prices surged to near $120 a barrel as Iran’s conflict intensified following the appointment of a new supreme leader, then retreated to about $106 for Brent and $103 for WTI. The fighting threatens production and shipping in the Persian...
Air cargo networks across the Gulf are crippled by flight cancellations and airspace closures, prompting forwarders to reroute freight by truck, especially through Saudi Arabia. Freight rates have surged, with southern‑Asia to North America lanes up 36% and Asia‑Europe lanes...
Taiwan’s February exports surged 20.6% year‑on‑year to US$49.8 billion, marking the 28th consecutive month of growth and pushing the trade surplus to US$12.77 billion. The first two months of 2026 recorded US$115.57 billion in exports, up 44.5% – the strongest bi‑annual performance in...
Fertilizer prices are soaring as the United States, Israel and Iran become entangled in a new geopolitical conflict, disrupting key Middle‑East supply chains. The spike mirrors the 2022 commodity shock triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which sent grain, fertilizer...
House leaders filed HB 8292, allowing the Philippine President to suspend or reduce fuel excise taxes during national or global emergencies, triggered by soaring oil prices linked to Middle East tensions. The bill sets a concrete threshold—Dubai crude at $80 per...
Taiwan’s National Development Council reported its composite economic gauge at 39 in January, keeping the index in the red zone for a second straight month and signaling an overheating economy. The money‑supply sub‑index (M1B) improved to a green light, while...
Rising tensions with Iran are driving Brent crude above $100 a barrel, sparking fears of a prolonged oil shock. The iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF (KSA), heavily weighted toward oil and financials, has slipped to near five‑year lows despite the...
Crude oil breached $100 per barrel on March 8, its first four‑year high, driven by tighter inventories, OPEC+ output cuts, and Middle East tensions. The price surge coincided with a political jab from California Governor Gavin Newsom, who mocked former...
Philippine fuel retailers set pump prices based on the cost of the next shipment rather than the price they paid weeks ago, using a replacement‑cost accounting model tied to the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) benchmark. A mandatory 15‑ to...
Indonesia and the United States signed the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) on Feb. 19, imposing a 19% tariff ceiling and a clause to mirror U.S. restrictions on third parties, primarily aimed at curbing Chinese trans‑shipments. Beijing responded with its usual...
West Asian geopolitical tensions are creating a dual challenge for India’s paper sector by driving up energy costs and threatening key export markets. In FY24‑25, the industry shipped $980 million of paper and paperboard, with roughly $290 million (30%) destined for West...
Recent market turbulence—VIX up more than 50%, oil above $100, and a drop in February jobs—has pushed the S&P 500 down over 2% in a week. Wealth managers are fielding anxious client calls, emphasizing that diversification across sectors and asset classes...
Rolls‑Royce shares slumped up to five per cent at the open, later stabilising at a three‑per‑cent loss, as the Iran‑Israel conflict sparked broader market anxiety. The FTSE 100 fell about 1.5 per cent, driven by concerns over disrupted air routes over Azerbaijan...
