The IMF's latest World Economic Outlook projects global growth of 3.3% for 2026, a slight upward revision from the October 2025 forecast. The World Bank, separately, raised its own estimate to 2.6%, reflecting a global economy that has proved more durable than many expected in the
Two of Blue Owl Capital's largest funds gated investor withdrawals in early April after redemption requests overwhelmed available liquidity. Investors sought to pull 40.7% of shares from one fund and nearly 22% from another. The firm said the gating mechanism was working as designed, but markets took
With Qatar's gas no longer flowing after Qatar Energy declared force majeure on its contracts, European countries scrambled to find alternatives. Italy's Prime Minister visited Algeria in late March to secure larger volumes of Algerian natural gas. Algeria already supplies about 30% of Italy's
March was a month when almost nowhere was safe. The S&P 500 fell 1.9% over the period, dragged down by a sharp drop in technology stocks, which lost 3.5% as a group. Communication services fared even worse, shedding 7.2%. Energy was the lone bright spot,
Brent crude closed at $112.96 on April 2, its highest level in over a decade and a half, after Iran declared a full blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. That single waterway normally carries about 20 million barrels of oil per day, roughly one-fifth of everything the world
France is facing a manufacturing crisis. Factory closures jumped 30% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year. Industrial production is contracting. Jobs are being lost. And there's no quick fix in sight. The dual pressures of Asian competition and US tariffs are
A wave of interest rate cuts is sweeping across Africa as inflation finally eases after years of pain. Six central banks cut rates in the first quarter of 2026: Kenya, Egypt, Angola, Ghana, Mozambique, and Zambia. It's one of the most coordinated monetary easing cycles the continent has
New Zealand just delivered an inflation surprise that's forcing the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to completely rethink its monetary policy plans. Consumer price inflation came in at 3.1% for the fourth quarter of 2025, above the RBNZ's 1% to 3% target band and well
The Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates again on March 17, lifting the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.10%. This is the second consecutive hike, and markets are pricing in at least one more before the cycle ends. The decision was narrow. The board voted 5
Nigeria is beginning to see early signs of relief from inflation after several years of painful price increases. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) projects that inflation could fall to around 12.9% by the end of 2026, down from an average of about 21% in 2025. If achieved, this
The US labor market just delivered a stunning shock. Nonfarm payrolls for February came in at negative 92,000, meaning the economy lost 92,000 jobs. That's the first negative monthly reading since the pandemic recovery in 2020. Markets were expecting a gain of around 150,000 jobs,
Colombia is dealing with some of the highest inflation in Latin America. Consumer prices rose 6.4% year over year in February, well above the central bank's target range of 2% to 4%. And it's probably going to get worse before it gets better. The Central