The world's major economies have seen their debt levels surge in recent years, while ever-increasing spending demands - from ageing populations to climate change and defence - add to the pressure. With no end in sight to the conflict, the pressure is building as traders bet on central bank rate hikes and long-term borrowing costs march higher.
Economic activity in Brazil fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in March from the previous month, according to a central bank index on Monday, a steeper drop than the 0.2% contraction expected by economists polled by Reuters. The IBC-Br index, a proxy for gross domestic product, expanded by 1.3% in the first quarter.
* Futures down: Dow 0.7%, S&P 500 0.4%, Nasdaq 0.4% * Dominon Energy rises on report of NextEra talks. * UnitedHealth (UNH) slips after Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/A) sells stake. By Ragini Mathur and Utkarsh Hathi. U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Monday as rising Treasury yields and oil prices weighed, while investors awaited key earnings from Nvidia (NVDA) and Walmart (WMT) later in the week.
Euro zone bond yields rose on Monday amid a broader global bond selloff, with investors worried that higher energy prices amid the Middle East conflict could fuel inflation and prompt further interest rate hikes.
* Central bank seeks 30% offtake in dore form for improved traceability, official. * Miners concerned over proposed discount, citing unclear terms. * GoldBod designated gatekeeper for gold exports under revamped programme. By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila.
U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Monday as rising Treasury yields and oil prices weighed, while investors awaited key earnings from Nvidia and Walmart later in the week.
* Futures down: Dow 0.6%, S&P 500 0.3%, Nasdaq 0.09% U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Monday as rising Treasury yields and oil prices weighed on equity markets, while investors awaited key earnings from Nvidia (NVDA) and Walmart (WMT) later in the week.
After eight years of friction with the White House, a global pandemic, and a fight with high inflation, the U.S. Federal Reserve begins a new era with former governor Kevin Warsh soon to be sworn in as chair. It will be a new era for President Donald Trump as well. In 2016, Powell was only a few months into his first term when Trump began berating him, annoyed at the Fed's interest-rate hikes.
* Warsh inherits high inflation, above Fed's 2% target, with pressure to address price stability. * Unemployment remains low at 4.3%, but debate continues over labor market strength and risks. * Warsh expected to consider shrinking Fed balance sheet, facing complex policy and market challenges. By Howard Schneider.
* US 10-year Treasury yields rise to their highest since February 2025. * Brent rises above $110/bbl on fresh Middle East tensions. * Traders see 40% chance of a US interest rate hike in December. By Noel John.
Syria will take part in a closed-door session with G7 finance ministers and central bank governors in Paris on Monday, a person familiar with the matter said, in a sign of its growing status less than two years after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad.
U.S. President Donald Trump conceded in an interview with Fortune magazine published on Monday that he may have to wait until the war with Iran was over for more interest rate cuts. "You can't really look at the figures until the war is over," he said.
* Finance ministers and central bankers to discuss inflation, volatility. * France puts deep-seated global economic imbalances on the agenda. * Lescure says G7 offers opportunity for frank dialogue. * Meeting follows US-China summit that yielded few economic breakthroughs. By Leigh Thomas, David Lawder and Makiko Yamazaki.
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has signed into law a contentious measure that he says aims to curb foreign influence in the country despite heavy criticism from quarters such as the central bank, warning it could trigger "economic disaster".
* U.S. Treasury yields hit one-year peaks; JGB yields scale record highs. * Renewed tensions in Middle East keep investors worried about inflation, growth risks. * Japan likely to issue fresh debt to deal with impact from Iran war. * Investors ramp up bets of global rate hikes. * British gilts unusual outperformer on Monday. By Alun John and Rae Wee.
* Companies face higher costs, supply disruptions, and operational changes. * Airlines, automakers, and other companies warn of profit hits. * Extra costs not yet showing up in earnings, analysts say. * Europe and Asia most affected by oil-price surge. By Medha Singh, Deborah Mary Sophia and Bernadette Hogg.
* Tier-one cities see price rise, smaller cities and developers struggle. * Government incentives, state-backed purchases aim to stabilise market. By Liangping Gao, Yukun Zhang and Ryan Woo.
China's growth lost momentum in April, with industrial output cooling and retail sales sinking to over three-year lows as the world's second-biggest economy wrestled with higher energy costs from the Iran war and persistently weak domestic demand.
* China's April industrial output growth slowest since July 2023. * Consumer demand stays weak, as retail sales rise just 0.2% * Beijing unlikely to add immediate stimulus, economist says. * Trump visit to China eases trade tensions but produces few surprises.
China's industrial output grew 4.1% in April from a year earlier, slowing from the 5.7% pace in March, official data showed on Monday. The data released by the National Bureau of Statistics missed expectations for a 5.9% increase in a Reuters poll.
China's new home prices extended their decline in April, but fell at the slowest monthly pace in a year, official data showed on Monday, offering an early sign of improvement even as housing demand remained subdued despite efforts by cities across the country to boost sales and shore up sentiment.
Gold prices fell on Monday to their
lowest point in more than a month, as Middle East tensions
pushed oil prices higher, fuelling inflation fears and
reinforcing expectations of higher-for-longer ...
Japanese government bond yields surged on Monday, with the benchmark 10-year yield reaching levels last seen in October 1996, extending a global debt selloff as pressure mounts on central banks to raise rates to contain inflation. The yield on the 10-year JGB climbed 7.5 basis points to 2.775%, after earlier touching an intraday high of 2.800%, a level last seen in October 1996.
G7 finance ministers gathering in Paris on Monday will try to find common ground on tackling global economic tensions and coordinating critical raw material supplies, even as geopolitical differences threaten to test the group's cohesion.
The Federal Reserve Board on Friday said it has named Jerome Powell as chair pro tempore until Kevin Warsh is sworn in as the new head of the U.S. central bank. * Warsh is expected to be sworn in soon by U.S. President Donald Trump but no date has been announced. * Powell's eight-year run as Fed leader formally expired on Friday.
The Federal Reserve Board on Friday said it has named Jerome Powell as chair pro tempore until Kevin Warsh is sworn in as the new head of the U.S. central bank. -- Warsh is expected to be sworn in soon by U.S. President Donald Trump but no date has been announced. -- Powell's eight-year run as Fed leader formally expired on Friday.
Fitch Ratings has changed its ratings outlook to negative for Goldman Sachs' private credit fund, Goldman Sachs BDC, the ratings agency said on Friday. In its post-market close announcement, Fitch maintained its current lower-investment grade rating of Goldman Sachs BDC but could downgrade the fund if it doesn't increase its asset cushion.
* Fund had a rise in loans that are behind on payments. * Goldman Sachs BDC (GSBD) says problems concentrated in loans made by prior management. * GS says fund represents 1.5% of the firm's overall private credit assets under management. By Matt Tracy. Fitch Ratings has changed its ratings outlook to negative for Goldman Sachs' (GS) private credit fund, Goldman Sachs BDC (GSBD), the ratings agency said on Friday.
The Federal Reserve Board on Friday said it has named Jerome Powell as chair pro tempore until Kevin Warsh is sworn in as the new head of the U.S. central bank.
The Federal Reserve Board on Friday said it has named Jerome Powell as chair pro tempore until Kevin Warsh is sworn in as the new head of the U.S. central bank.
U.S. stocks retreated from artificial-intelligence-fueled record highs on Friday, as spiking crude prices ignited global inflation fears. All three major U.S. stock indexes veered lower as a jump in benchmark Treasury yields, reflecting surging energy prices and concerns about long-term inflation, offered an attractive alternative to higher-risk equities.
* Inflationary pressures fuel rate-hike expectations. * Rising US Treasury yields and inflation fears drive dollar strength. * Fed's Williams does not see need to change rate policy. By Chuck Mikolajczak.
* Inflationary pressures fuel rate hike expectations. * Rising US Treasury yields and inflation fears drive dollar strength. * Fed's Williams does not see need to change rate policy. By Chuck Mikolajczak.
* Indexes down: Dow 0.9%, S&P 500 1.1%, Nasdaq 1.6% * Applied Materials (AMAT) down after quarterly results. * Dexcom (DXCM) climbs after plans to revamp board panel with Elliott. By Ragini Mathur and Utkarsh Hathi. Wall Street's main indexes fell on Friday, as inflation fears triggered by the Middle East conflict drove up Treasury yields and threatened to halt an AI-fueled rally.
* Spot gold down 4% for the week. * U.S. Treasury yields rise to near one-year high. * Oil gains, Trump leaves Beijing with no major breakthroughs. By Ishaan Arora. Gold fell to a more than one-week low on Friday, as U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar climbed, while heightening inflation concerns due to the conflict in the Middle East reinforced bets for higher interest rates.
Wall Street indexes opened sharply lower on Friday, as inflation fears triggered by the Middle East conflict drove up Treasury yields and threatened to halt an AI-fueled rally.
Wall Street indexes opened sharply lower on Friday, as inflation fears triggered by the Middle East conflict drove up Treasury yields and threatened to halt an AI-fueled rally.
U.S. factory production posted its largest increase in 14 months in April, driven by motor vehicles and demand for technology goods amid an artificial intelligence spending boom, but supply disruptions from the war with Iran cast a shadow over the manufacturing sector.
* Trump's filings show $220M-$750M in trades across major US companies and municipal bonds. * Trump Org says investments managed by third parties, with no family involvement in decision. By Jarrett Renshaw, Lawrence Delevingne and Tom Bergin.
After a run of hotter-than-expected inflation data this week, investors on Friday ramped up bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will shift into interest-rate hiking mode perhaps before the year is out, presenting a potential policy dilemma out of the starting gate for incoming central bank leader Kevin Warsh.
Interest rate futures prices fell sharply on Friday, reflecting a growing conviction among bond market investors that stiff inflation will push the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates late this year or in early 2027.
* Futures down: Dow 0.9%, S&P 500 1.2%, Nasdaq 1.7% * Applied Materials (AMAT) down after quarterly results. * Dexcom (DXCM) climbs after plans to revamp board panel with Elliott. By Ragini Mathur and Utkarsh Hathi. Wall Street indexes were headed for a sharply lower open on Friday, as inflation fears triggered by the Middle East conflict drove up Treasury yields and threatened to halt an AI-fueled rally.
Longer-dated Treasury yields climbed to their highest levels since May 2025 on Friday, as a spike in oil prices stoked fears that ongoing energy disruptions in the Middle East could further fuel inflation - which data this week showed had already surged in April.
Canadian housing starts rose more than expected in April, increasing 17% from the previous month, data from the national housing agency showed on Friday. The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts increased to 279,317 units from a revised 239,747 units in March, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said.
* Inflationary pressures fuel rate hike expectations. * Trump-Xi summit gives markets little to cheer. * Yen struggles at 158 level; turmoil weighs on sterling. By Samuel Indyk and Rae Wee. The dollar was a touch higher and heading for its biggest weekly gain in more than two months, as mounting inflationary pressures from higher energy prices fuelled bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike this year.
Incoming Federal Reserve chief Kevin Warsh's plans to shrink the U.S. central bank's "footprint" in financial markets could be constrained by rising federal debt and the potentially lost luster of U.S. Treasuries, analysts said, with rising long-term interest rates a sign of the challenge awaiting the new Fed chair.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's immediate predecessors knew how to "go big" in a crisis, steer a committee towards an interest rate decision, and oversee changes in central bank strategy, all parts of the job that the lawyer and former private equity investor also had to learn.
U.S. stocks retreated from artificial-intelligence-fueled record highs on Friday, as spiking crude prices ignited global inflation fears. All three major U.S. stock indexes veered sharply lower, each shedding more than 1% as a jump in benchmark Treasury yields, reflecting surging energy prices and concerns about long-term inflation, offered an attractive alternative to higher-risk equities.
In general the bond market is volatile, and fixed income securities carry interest rate risk. (As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. This effect is usually more pronounced for longer-term securities.) Fixed income securities also carry inflation risk and credit and default risks for both issuers and counterparties. Unlike individual bonds, most bond funds do not have a maturity date, so avoiding losses caused by price volatility by holding them until maturity is not possible.
Lower-quality debt securities generally offer higher yields, but also involve greater risk of default or price changes due to potential changes in the credit quality of the issuer. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to loss.
Before investing, consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully.
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