Sydney Harbour and the skyline of the central business district (CBD) in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led declines in Asia-Pacific markets Thursday, falling over 2%, as investors weighed the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates steady, while the ongoing…
Wednesday’s Federal Reserve update kept intact a key interest rate projection that Wall Street was looking for, but it also raised concern about deeper structural problems for the U.S. economy. The official forecast from Fed officials still pointed to two interest rate cuts in 2025. But Fed officials also lowered the outlook for economic growth…
Shanghai urban skyline and the bund, China. Comezora | Moment | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Monday as investors assessed China’s promises to support domestic businesses as well as developments in trade negotiations between the U.S. and countries in the region. Over the weekend, China’s finance minister Lan Fo’an said that the Asian powerhouse…
The view of Nanjing Road East Pedestrian Mall, the main shopping street in Shanghai. Bruce Yuanyue Bi | The Image Bank | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets climbed Wednesday, after all three key benchmarks on Wall Street advanced overnight on optimism that U.S.-China trade tensions could ease. This comes after U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that…
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 21, 2025. Leah Millis | Reuters President Donald Trump’s public criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell has fueled concern that he will try to fire the…
A Chinese flag flies high over The Bund. Liu Liqun | Corbis Documentary | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Monday as China’s central bank held rates at a time when the yuan has come under pressure due to Beijing-Washington trade tensions. Mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 0.18% after the People’s Bank of China kept its key…
The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, U.S., on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. Stefani Reynolds | Bloomberg | Getty Images An independent central bank is seen by most (including this newsletter) as the bedrock of a functional economy. Officials steer the economy by calibrating the benchmark interest rate on which bank loans…
Anek S | 500px Plus | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets rose Thursday, breaking ranks with Wall Street which declined sharply after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned that the ongoing trade tensions could challenge the central bank’s goals of controlling inflation and spurring growth. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 started the day 0.59% higher, while…
The view of Nanjing Road East Pedestrian Mall, the main shopping street in Shanghai. Bruce Yuanyue Bi | The Image Bank | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Tuesday after all three key benchmarks on Wall Street rose on a tech rally. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 increased 1.02%, while the broader Topix index was advanced…
A Chinese flag flies high over The Bund. Liu Liqun | Corbis Documentary | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets climbed Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump paused tariffs on some consumer electronics, boosting risk sentiment. Trump exempted smartphones and computers as well as other devices and components such as semiconductors from his new “reciprocal” tariffs, according to a…