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Central Banks

Thu, Mar 19, 2026 12:12 PM All times are UTC

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Fed Minutes Signal Steady Interest Rates but Hint at Potential Rate Hikes if Inflation Persists

Feb 19, 2026 02:52 am UTC| Economy Central Banks

The Federal Reserves January Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes reveal that nearly all policymakers supported keeping interest rates unchanged, while leaving the door open for possible rate hikes if inflation...

Fed Divided But Patient: January FOMC Minutes Signal Cautious Path Ahead

Feb 19, 2026 02:12 am UTC| Central Banks Insights & Views

The January 2728, 2026, FOMC minutes show a Federal Reserve increasingly split on the next policy steps, even as the federal funds rate was kept unchanged at 3.50%3.75% in a 102 vote. Many officials today consider this...

Fed January meeting minutes highlights policy split

Feb 18, 2026 22:48 pm UTC| Central Banks

The Federal Open Market Committee kept the federal funds rate at 3.50%-3.75% in January, according to Federal Reserve meeting minutes. Minutes revealed continued concerns about inflation remaining beyond the 2%...

Fed Minutes in Focus: Will January Debate Cement a ‘Higher for Longer’ Rate Plateau?

Feb 18, 2026 05:52 am UTC| Central Banks Insights & Views

Scheduled for release today, February 18, 2026, at 2:00 PM ET, the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) from its January 2728, 2026, conference offera thorough understanding of the Feds discussions. Markets...

RBNZ Holds OCR at 2.25% as Inflation Set to Ease Toward 2% Target

Feb 18, 2026 05:43 am UTC| Central Banks Economy

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) kept its official cash rate (OCR) unchanged at 2.25% on Wednesday, signaling that monetary policy will remain supportive as inflation gradually moves back toward the midpoint of its...

Christine Lagarde Reportedly Set to Exit ECB Before End of Term

Feb 18, 2026 05:39 am UTC| Economy Central Banks

Christine Lagarde is expected to step down as President of the European Central Bank (ECB) before completing her full eight-year term, according to a report published Wednesday by the Financial Times. The report cited a...

RBNZ Hits Pause, Not Stop: Cash Rate Hold Signals Possible End to Easing Cycle

Feb 18, 2026 04:40 am UTC| Central Banks Insights & Views

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) released its Monetary Policy Statement today, February 18, 2026, maintaining the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 2.25%, as anticipated following prior cuts. The decision reflects a...

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Economy

China Holds Lending Rates Steady Amid Global Oil Price Surge and Middle East Tensions

China is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rates unchanged for the tenth straight month in March, according to a Reuters poll, as soaring global oil prices fueled by escalating Middle East conflict introduce...

Asian Markets Tumble as BOJ Holds Rates, Oil Surges Past $110

Asian stock markets declined sharply on Thursday as a combination of a cautious Bank of Japan decision, soaring oil prices, and a hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve rattled investor confidence across the region. Japans Nikkei...

Asian Currencies Rebound as Dollar Weakens, BOJ Holds Rates

Asian currencies staged a modest recovery on Thursday after suffering steep losses overnight, as the U.S. dollar pulled back following a brief surge driven by stronger-than-expected inflation data and cautious signals from...

Japan's Parliament Backs Dovish BOJ Board Members, Raising Questions on Rate Hike Path

Japans lower house of parliament has approved Prime Minister Sanae Takaichis nominations of two monetary doves academics Toichiro Asada and Ayano Sato to serve on the Bank of Japans nine-member policy board. The decision...

BOJ Holds Interest Rates Steady Amid Middle East Uncertainty

Japans central bank maintained its benchmark interest rate at 0.75% following a two-day policy meeting that concluded on Thursday, a decision that aligned with broad market expectations. The Bank of Japans move comes at a...

Politics

Trump Warns of U.S. Strike on Iran's South Pars Gas Field Over Qatar Threat

President Donald Trump announced late Wednesday that Israel has agreed to pause its attacks on Irans South Pars gas field, but issued a stark warning that any renewed Iranian aggression toward Qatars liquefied natural gas...

DOJ Antitrust Chief Rejects Political Fast-Track for Paramount-Skydance Deal

The head of the U.S. Department of Justices antitrust division has firmly dismissed suggestions that political connections could accelerate regulatory approval for the proposed Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner...

Trump Eyes Troop Deployment to Middle East Amid Escalating Iran Conflict

The Trump administration is weighing a significant military escalation in the Middle East, with reports indicating that thousands of U.S. troops could be deployed to the region as part of its ongoing campaign against Iran....

Russian Drone Strikes Hit Odesa Apartments and Lviv Security HQ

Russian drone attacks targeted multiple Ukrainian cities in the early hours of Thursday, causing widespread damage and injuries across the country. In the southern port city of Odesa, drones struck several residential...

Iran-Israel War Escalates: Energy Infrastructure Attacks Shake Global Oil Markets

The ongoing conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran reached a dangerous new threshold this week as Iran accused Israel of striking facilities within the massive South Pars gas field one of the worlds largest...

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Technology

Xiaomi's AI Model "Hunter Alpha" Mistaken for DeepSeek's Next Release

A mysterious artificial intelligence model that appeared anonymously on the developer platform OpenRouter last week has been identified as a product of Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, not the widely anticipated next release...

Apple Defies China's Smartphone Slump with Strong Early 2026 Sales

Apple has recorded a remarkable 23% jump in China smartphone sales during the first nine weeks of 2026, outperforming a broader market that contracted by 4% over the same period. The surge highlights Apples strengthening...

Cyberattack on Stryker Triggers U.S. Government Warning Over Microsoft Intune Security

A cyberattack targeting medical device giant Stryker Corporation last week has prompted urgent action from U.S. federal cybersecurity authorities. The March 11 incident severely disrupted Strykers core operations,...

Elon Musk Confirms SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla Will Continue Large-Scale Nvidia Chip Orders

Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur behind some of the worlds most ambitious tech ventures, confirmed late Thursday that his companies SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla plan to keep purchasing Nvidia chips at significant scale....

Micron Technology Beats Q2 Earnings Estimates, Issues Strong AI-Driven Outlook

Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) delivered a standout second-quarter performance, surpassing Wall Street expectations on both earnings and revenue as surging demand for AI-optimized memory chips continues to reshape the...