The Czech Republic will "probably" miss NATO's target to boost military spending to 2% of gross domestic product?this year, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said in an interview published on Sunday. "We will do our best" to meet the pledge, Babis told the Financial Times, but he said his government was grappling with a budget shortfall due to overspending by his pro-EU predecessor.
* China's official manufacturing PMI falls to 50 in May, matching forecast. * New export orders contract as overseas demand weakens. * Input costs remain elevated even as raw material price gains slow. * Non-manufacturing PMI improves to 50.1. By Ethan Wang, Yukun Zhang and Ryan Woo.
China's factory activity came in flat in May, an official survey showed on Sunday, indicating that the manufacturing sector was under pressure from weak domestic demand and higher production costs.
Central bank independence is again coming under pressure as policymakers push through unpopular measures to curb surging prices, prompting political interference that could erode trust and deepen the crisis, current and former officials said.
* EU considers new trade tools, supply chain diversification rules. * China says EU cites selective data in trade imbalance claims. * EU tougher stance will need to bridge Franco-German divide. By Julia Payne.
China's central bank is making a broad push to increase the use of digital yuan at home and abroad, several industry sources said, setting Beijing on a different - and potentially competing - path from the United States in shaping the future of money.
National Bank of Canada on Friday raised its price target on the shares of Minera Alamos (MAIFF) to C$9.50 from C$8.50 per share while maintaining its outperform rating. The analysts said the company has completed a major restructuring with a clean capital structure and a clear multi-year growth plan.
RBC Capital Markets said next week's key Canadian economic release will be the May Labour Force Survey on Friday, with its economists expecting employment growth and a modest decline in the unemployment rate. In its CAD Weekly Soundbites report, RBC said it expects a 25,000 increase in employment in May and a decline in the unemployment rate to 6.8% from 6.9% in April.
Two Federal Reserve officials offered mixed views on whether the oil price shock could be considered transitory, with Michelle Bowman in favor of looking through such developments and Jeffrey Schmid saying inflation is too hot to ignore.
Federal Reserve officials continued on Friday to signal the U.S. central bank may need to raise interest rates in the future if the war in the Middle East leads to a persistent increase in already-high inflation. The potential shift in the monetary policy outlook has even been embraced by Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, one of the central bank's most dovish policymakers.
Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said that more clarity is needed on the situation in the Middle East before overreacting to a what could be a one-time spike in energy prices.
Advance data for April showed the international trade deficit narrowed to $82.4 billion from $85.27 billion in March, reflecting a large increase in exports offset by a smaller increase in imports. In the same report, wholesale inventories rose by 0.5% in April after a 1.5% gain in March, while retail inventories increased by 0.7% after a 0.7% gain.
According to Avery Shenfeld, the "surprisingly" weak Q1 GDP readings today actually explained more about why the jobs numbers this year have been "so ugly", rather than necessarily implying we're due for more of the same in May. CIBC sees a net addition of 15K to the ranks of the employed next Friday, compared to a consensus 10k gain, and Shenfled said this might only be enough to hold the unem...
Federal Reserve officials continued on Friday to signal the U.S. central bank may need to raise interest rates in the future if the war in the Middle East leads to a persistent increase in already-high inflation. The potential shift in the monetary policy outlook has even been embraced by Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, one of the central bank's most dovish policymakers.
* Loonie weakens 0.1% against the U.S. dollar. * GDP falls 0.1% annualized in first quarter. * Price of oil decreases 1.6% * Bond yields ease across steeper curve. By Fergal Smith.
* U.S. and Iran have agreed to extend ceasefire, sources say. * Canada's Q1 GDP contracts in the first quarter. By Niket Nishant. Canada's main stock index climbed on Friday and was on course for its second consecutive month of gains, as renewed hopes for a Middle East peace deal buoyed investor sentiment.
National Bank of Canada on Friday removed Tamarack Valley Energy (TNEYF) from restriction, raising its price target to C$16.50 from $15 with an outperform rating. The target price increase reflects the high-graded fundamentals of the business, specifically lower sustaining capital and higher associated free cash flow, the bank said.
Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said Friday that she believes price growth is still heading toward the central bank's 2% target when factoring out one-time shocks such as tariffs and elevated oil prices.
* BANK OF CANADA TO AUCTION C$5 BILLION OF 2-DAY FUNGIBLE CASH MANAGEMENT BILLS ON JUNE 1, FINAL CALL FOR TENDERS SHOWS. * BANK OF CANADA TO AUCTION C$3 BILLION OF 4-DAY NON-FUNGIBLE CASH MANAGEMENT BILLS ON JUNE 1, FINAL CALL FOR TENDERS SHOWS. Source text: Further company coverage: [ ]
On Friday, Laurentian Bank of Canada (LRCDF) discussed second-quarter financial results during its earnings call. This content is powered by Benzinga APIs. Access the full call at https://app.webinar.net/qWnJVW4ND3B LandBridge Co LLC reported a 12% increase in total revenue year-over-year, reaching $213.7 million this quarter.
Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said Friday that she is looking for more clarity on the Middle East conflict before determining the monetary policy path forward, noting the risks of overreaction to temporary factors.
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Anna Paulson said Friday "mildly restrictive" monetary policy is "well positioned" for an uncertain outlook where inflation pressures remain too high.
Canada's main stock index opened slightly higher on Friday amid reports that a deal has been reached to extend the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, even as gains were kept in check by data that showed Canada's economy contracted on an annualized basis in the first quarter. At 9:30 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 0.12% at 34,557.46 points.
Canada's economy "remained ice cold" throughout the early days of 2026, says Royce Mendes over at Desjardins, but even though the early economic results for 2026 "aren't encouraging" the Bank of Canada may be hesitant to put cuts back on the table, he adds. Mendes noted Friday's economic data showed quarterly GDP declined 0.1% in Q1, in sharp contrast to expectations for 1.5% growth.
Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said on Friday the Middle East war's impact on the economy, while still being measured, could lead to persistent rises in inflation that might require tighter monetary policy.
The Canadian economy continued to struggle in Q1 as gross domestic product posted another decline, said CIBC after Friday's GDP data. The 0.1% annualized drop was in stark contrast with the consensus for a rebound to 1.5%, noted the bank.
Canadian real gross domestic product edged down 0.1% month over month in March, partially offsetting February's increase of 0.2% and driven by contractions in goods-producing industries, said the country's statistical agency on Friday. March's contraction was worse than a 0.1% month-over-month consensus expansion provided by MUFG.
The U.S. trade deficit in goods contracted more than expected in April as a surge in exports blunted rising imports, but economists cautioned the trend was unlikely to be sustainable, with businesses ramping up investment in artificial intelligence.
* First quarter GDP contracts 0.1% on an annualized basis. * Q1 decline follows 1% contraction in Q4 on annual basis. * GDP was flat in Q1 on a quarterly basis, StatsCan said. * Advance estimate showed growth in April likely at 0.4% By Promit Mukherjee.
The U.S. trade deficit in goods contracted in April as a surge in exports more than offset rising imports, a trend that if sustained could see trade contributing to economic growth in the second quarter. The goods trade gap narrowed 3.4% to $82.4 billion last month, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Friday. Goods exports increased $8.5 billion to $219.7 billion.
* EU considers new trade tools, supply chain diversification rules. * China says EU cites selective data in trade imbalance claims. * EU tougher stance will need to bridge Franco-German divide. By Julia Payne.
Brazil's gross domestic product grew 1.1% in the first quarter from the previous three months, official data showed on Friday, compared with 1.0% growth forecast in a Reuters poll. On an annual basis, Latin America's largest economy expanded 1.8%, statistics agency IBGE said, matching market expectations.
The Canadian gross domestic product report for Q1 is the key release of Friday, at 8:30 a.m. ET, said Bank of Montreal. The bank notes that the Canadian economy seemed to regain its footing at the start of the year. Swings in trade -- like that in March -- can drive larger-than-normal differences between measures of GDP by industry and by expenditure, stated BMO.
Brazil's public sector gross debt rose to 80.4% of gross domestic product in April, from 80.0% the month before, central bank data showed on Friday. The public sector recorded a primary surplus of 24.624 billion reais for the month, beating the 22.0 billion reais forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Jeffrey Schmid said the current arc of inflationary pressures means that the central bank may need to weigh tightening the overall stance of monetary policy.
Futures tracking Canada's blue-chip stocks rose on Friday as a deal to extend the U.S.-Iran ceasefire renewed hopes for an end to the Middle East conflict, while investors also awaited domestic GDP data due to be released later in the day.
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Jeffrey Schmid said on Friday that already-hot levels of inflation make it harder to assume the current energy shock will have only a temporary impact on pricing and can be ignored by the central bank.
Investors will turn to an important labor market update next week as they weigh whether simmering inflation and the potential for interest rate hikes could derail the rally in U.S. stocks. Broadcom's (AVGO) results also pose a test in the coming week for the red-hot AI trade.
Some people inside and outside the Federal Reserve agree that rule changes easing how much cash banks need to keep on hand for emergencies could allow the central bank to further cut the size of its $6.7 trillion balance sheet but also harbor doubts holdings could be slashed by the degree new Chairman Kevin Warsh desires.
* Sterling dips, remains within recent range. * BoE's Bailey said allowing inflation overshoot is justified. * Markets still expect BoE rate hike this year. By Samuel Indyk.
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.
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