Coverage of fiscal and monetary policy, regulation, taxation, and geopolitical decisions that influence markets and everyday life. We break down government action and its economic impact.
Fiscal Policy
India's Union Budget for the 2026 to 2027 financial year set government capital expenditure on track to cross Rs12 lakh crore, equivalent to roughly $144 billion, marking a year on year increase of approximately 10%. As a share of GDP, that level of capital spending represents an all
Fiscal Policy
Pakistan's Ministry of Finance reported that the country is on track to post its smallest budget deficit in 21 years for the fiscal year ending June 2026, with the deficit projected at 3.6% of GDP. The primary surplus, which excludes interest payments on debt, reached 3.2%
Monetary Policy
The Bank of Zambia cut its key policy rate by 75 basis points to 13.5% on February 11, 2026, the second consecutive rate cut, after annual inflation slowed sharply from 11.2% in December 2025 to 9.4% in January 2026. The scale of that single month decline is
Monetary Policy
The Mexican peso was one of the best performing currencies in the world in 2025, appreciating almost 16% against the US dollar in what analysts nicknamed the superpeso rally. That made Banco de Mexico's decision in March 2026 to resume cutting interest rates, reducing its benchmark rate by
Fiscal Policy
FTSE Russell's decision to upgrade Vietnam to secondary emerging market status effective September 21, 2026, is the most significant development in Vietnam's capital market history. The move will channel an estimated $6 billion from passive index trackers and up to $25 billion in total long-term
Fiscal Policy
The French government under Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu entered 2026 with a budget package containing €44 billion in fiscal measures, equivalent to approximately 1.5% of GDP. The plan targets a public deficit of no more than 5.1% of GDP this year, a modest improvement from 5.4% in
Monetary Policy
Bank Negara Malaysia reduced its overnight policy rate to 2.75% in July 2025 and has held it steady since. That is nearly twelve months of unchanged rates in an environment where central banks across Europe, Australia, and parts of Africa have been actively moving their benchmarks in either direction,
Monetary Policy
Most central banks around the world adjust monetary policy by raising or lowering interest rates. Singapore's Monetary Authority takes a fundamentally different approach. Instead of setting a benchmark rate, the MAS manages monetary policy by controlling the level and rate of appreciation or depreciation of the Singapore dollar
Monetary Policy
Something significant is happening to the architecture of global trade, and it is moving faster than most policymakers anticipated. What is often called deglobalisation is more accurately described as a targeted recalibration. Certain sectors, technologies, and supply chains are being reorganised around geopolitical priorities rather than cost efficiency alone. This
Monetary Policy
While central banks in Europe, Canada, and parts of Asia were cutting rates through 2025, most African central banks were moving in the opposite direction, raising rates sharply or holding them at levels that make borrowing painfully expensive for businesses and households. In 2026, that divergence is widening. Zimbabwe maintains
Fiscal Policy
The debate over whether American protectionism is working depends entirely on which number you look at and whose analysis you trust. In 2026, both sides of that argument have data. The Trump tariffs represent the largest US tax increase as a percentage of GDP since 1993 and amount to an
Monetary Policy
Central bank digital currencies are no longer a future concept. In 2026, they are live infrastructure in some of the world's most significant economies, and the gap between leaders and followers is widening rapidly. The Central Bank of the UAE officially launched the Digital Dirham for retail use