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China’s deflationary pressures deepen in Februaryby hellenicshippingnews… on 10 March 2025 at 11:00 am
China’s consumer price index in February missed expectations and fell at the sharpest pace in 13 months, while producer price deflation persisted, as seasonal demand faded and households remained cautious about spending amid job and income worries. Beijing last week vowed greater efforts to boost consumption in the face of an escalating trade war with …
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China’s Wide Budget Deficits Set to Drive Further Rise in Debtby hellenicshippingnews… on 10 March 2025 at 11:00 am
The step-up in fiscal stimulus announced by China’s government for 2025 will support the economic outlook, but the large budget deficit points to a continued rise in government debt in the next few years, says Fitch Ratings. Deteriorating public finances were the key factor behind our decision to revise the Outlook on China’s ‘A+’ sovereign …
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ECB cuts rates but the door to further cuts is closing quicklyby hellenicshippingnews… on 10 March 2025 at 11:00 am
The reasons for today’s rate cut decision were clear: at 2.75%, the deposit rate was still too restrictive for a eurozone economy showing signs of bottoming out but not yet recovering. And with looming US tariffs on European goods and high geopolitical uncertainty, as well as falling headline inflation, the decision to cut interest rates …
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Global trade near-stabilises in Februaryby hellenicshippingnews… on 9 March 2025 at 10:00 pm
The worldwide Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) surveys compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence indicated that the recent contraction of global trade moderated to a near-neutral level midway through the first quarter of the year, albeit with regional variations apparent. The seasonally adjusted Global PMI New Export Orders Index, sponsored by JPMorgan and compiled by S&P …
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Fed Chair Powell signals possible tweaks to ‘dot plot’ rate-path forecastsby hellenicshippingnews… on 9 March 2025 at 10:00 pm
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday signaled potential changes for the Fed’s closely watched “dot plot” interest-rate projections as part of a broad policy framework review underway at the U.S. central bank and expected to wrap up by the end of summer. “On the communications…particularly our post-meeting communications, we’re going to take a close …
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Powell says Fed has time to wait for clarity on Trump policy shiftsby hellenicshippingnews… on 9 March 2025 at 10:00 pm
The U.S. central bank will be in no rush to cut interest rates while it waits for more clarity on how the policies of the new Trump administration affect the economy, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday. “The new administration is in the process of implementing significant policy changes in four distinct areas: …
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DBRS upgrades Greece on debt reductionby hellenicshippingnews… on 9 March 2025 at 10:00 pm
DBRS Morningstar upgraded Greece’s credit rating to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB low’ citing a healthier banking sector and the continued reduction in the country’s general government debt ratio. DBRS was one of the first rating agencies that upgraded Greece to investment grade in 2023. It also changed the outlook to stable from positive. “The upgrade reflects …
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China has more room to act on fiscal policy amid global uncertainties, finance minister saysby hellenicshippingnews… on 9 March 2025 at 10:00 pm
China has more room to act on fiscal policy amid domestic and external uncertainties, Finance Minister Lan Fo’an told reporters. He was responding to a question during China’s “Two Sessions” annual parliamentary meeting about the country’s plans for proactive fiscal policy this year. The gathering this year comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has raised …
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Maybe government spending isn’t so bad after allby hellenicshippingnews… on 9 March 2025 at 10:00 pm
It has been an extraordinary 24 hours for government spending. Germany has given the green light for an unprecedented fiscal splurge worth 1 trillion euros that has been warmly welcomed by the market, at the same time investors are becoming increasingly anxious about the tightening purse strings on the other side of the Atlantic. This …
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Inflation, growth may be in conflict but Fed seen restarting cuts in Juneby hellenicshippingnews… on 9 March 2025 at 10:00 pm
New data may point to emerging tension between the U.S. Federal Reserve’s dual inflation and employment goals, as price pressures remained sticky in January while consumer spending slowed more than expected. Traders maintained bets the Fed will cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point at its June and September meetings this year, …
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Will ECB hold or cut in April? Trump may tip euro scalesby hellenicshippingnews… on 9 March 2025 at 10:00 pm
To cut or not to cut interest rates again in April? That is the question for the European Central Bank, with events across the Atlantic set to influence its answer. Germany’s fiscal “bazooka” means there is a strong case for an ECB rate hold next month after the central bank said “monetary policy is becoming …
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Germany’s fiscal overhaul could buffer euro zone if US tariffs materialise – UBSby hellenicshippingnews… on 9 March 2025 at 10:00 pm
The recently announced spending plans and borrowing overhaul by the new German government could help offset potential headwinds to the euro zone economy if the U.S. slaps on tariffs, says Mark Haefele, global wealth management CIO at UBS. Frankfurt’s DAX is at another record high today, following Wednesday’s news that Germany will drastically shift spending …
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Could’ve been worse: A jobs report deep diveby hellenicshippingnews… on 9 March 2025 at 10:00 pm
The February employment report, which arrives at a time of heightened uncertainties regarding policy and deteriorating demand, was fairly calm on the surface of it. The U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs in February (USNFAR=ECI), a 20.8% monthly increase, but weaker than the 160,000 consensus. In addition to missing expectations, the number follows a January number …
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Germany thinks big againby hellenicshippingnews… on 9 March 2025 at 10:00 pm
In a spontaneously announced press conference, the political leaders of CDU/CSU and SPD presented a significant shift in German politics and policies. The four leaders, Friedrich Merz, Markus Söder, Lars Klingbeil, and Saskia Esken, agreed on a special fund for infrastructure investments of €500 billion over the next ten years. Additionally, the likely next Chancellor, …
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Trump says Canada, Mexico tariff reprieve is short-term move, duties may rise over timeby hellenicshippingnews… on 9 March 2025 at 10:00 pm
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he gave Canada and Mexico a break from his new 25% tariffs for goods compliant with a regional free trade deal because he wanted to help automakers, but added that the reprieve was a short-term measure and tariffs could go up over time. Trump, in an interview …
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Guns N’ Money: Europe’s reaction to the new geopolitical realityby hellenicshippingnews… on 9 March 2025 at 10:00 pm
The start of negotiations between the US and Russia over Ukraine without involving Ukraine and Europe should have been the final wake-up call for Europe to up its game on defence security. This is a trend that started under Donald Trump’s first presidency, persisted with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and now appears to be …
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Is a Trump recession coming? Not so fastby hellenicshippingnews… on 9 March 2025 at 10:00 pm
Steven Blitz, chief U.S. economist at TS Lombard, writes in his latest research note that a recession under President Donald Trump is probably not in the cards. He adds that weaker, not weak consumer confidence numbers, reflect a worse inflation outlook, not weaker growth. After a strong fourth quarter, U.S. economic numbers had been soft, …
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Fed’s Kugler says rate policy likely on hold for some timeby hellenicshippingnews… on 9 March 2025 at 10:00 pm
U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler said on Friday that rising inflation risks argue for an extended period of steady central bank interest rate policy. “Given the recent increase in inflation expectations and the key inflation categories that have not shown progress toward our 2% target, it could be appropriate to continue holding the policy …
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What China can teach Europe about geopolitical independence: Klementby hellenicshippingnews… on 9 March 2025 at 10:00 pm
The transatlantic alliance appears to be coming apart at the seams, meaning Europe will need to quickly develop a strategy for harnessing geopolitical hard power. The continent could look to China for tips on how to achieve this. The first step is enhancing defensive capabilities. In the early 1990s, China’s leadership launched a major modernisation …
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Resilience of US job creation set to be testedby hellenicshippingnews… on 9 March 2025 at 10:00 pm
Jobs report suggests no pressing need for additional Fed support In terms of the headlines from the jobs report, US non-farm payrolls rose 151k in February versus the 160k consensus while there were 2k of downward revisions to the past two months. The unemployment rate ticked higher to 4.1% from 4% (consensus 4%) while hours …