Monetary Policy
India is in an unusual position for a central bank. Its economy is the fastest-growing among large nations, projected at 7.4% for the current fiscal year, and yet its monetary authority is being asked to act with caution usually reserved for economies in distress. The Reserve Bank of India
Monetary Policy
Germany's fiscal transformation is the most dramatic economic policy shift in Europe in a generation. After decades of strict borrowing limits that kept the country's finances tight but also left its infrastructure ageing, its military depleted, and its economy increasingly stagnant, Berlin has thrown open the
Fiscal Policy
When the IMF publishes its World Economic Outlook, most people focus on the growth and inflation numbers. But buried in the April 2026 report is a set of policy instructions to governments that is arguably more important than any single forecast. At the Spring Meetings in Washington, IMF Managing Director
Monetary Policy
The European Central Bank meets on April 29 to 30, and this is shaping up to be one of the most genuinely uncertain rate decisions in years. Markets are currently pricing in a hold for April, followed by a hike in June, according to LSEG data. The majority of traders
Inflation
The European economy entered 2026 with genuine momentum. Inflation had largely returned to target, real wages were rising for the first time in years, and the German fiscal expansion was expected to provide a meaningful boost to the bloc's largest economy. Then the Middle East war began, and
Economic growth
While the global growth conversation has been dominated by downward revisions and war-related concerns, one region keeps posting numbers that stand apart. East Africa is on track to be the fastest-growing sub-region on the entire African continent in 2026, with Ethiopia and Uganda leading a group of economies that are
Inflation
The World Bank, IMF, and UN World Food Programme issued a rare joint statement on April 8 warning that the oil and gas shock from the Middle East war will inevitably translate into higher food prices and food insecurity across the world. The burden, they said, will fall most heavily
Economic growth
The IMF released its April 2026 World Economic Outlook on April 14, and the headline number told a clear story. Global growth for 2026 is now projected at 3.1%, down from 3.3% in the January forecast and down from the 3.4% that had been expected before the
Money & Markets
The Reserve Bank of India took an unusual step this week, quietly easing some restrictions on how Indian banks can participate in the foreign exchange market. The RBI had tightened those rules significantly in recent years as part of one of its most aggressive efforts in decades to stabilise the
Money & Markets
Nigeria spent most of 2025 celebrating a rare streak of falling inflation. After 11 consecutive months of declining prices, the number finally turned upward in March 2026. Headline inflation rose to 15.38%, up from 15.06% in February, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The monthly rate was
Money & Markets
For anyone hoping to buy a home in the United States this spring, there is some genuine good news. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.3% as of April 16, down from a recent high of 6.57% at the end of March and down for two consecutive
Stocks
Something unusual happened in US markets over the past few trading days. Stocks did not just recover from their war-related lows. They went past them entirely. The S&P 500 closed above 7,100 points for the first time in history on Friday April 18, capping its third straight