What Happened Friday: Key Financial & Economic News Recap

According to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s business survey released today, domestic business operators project inflation will cool to 3.0% one year ahead, dropping from 3.7% in the June quarter. This easing outlook extends to anticipated wage growth of +2.8% and a projected jobless rate of 5.2% over the next twelve months, down from … Read more

Takaichi’s Fiscal Push: Growth Risks and Japan’s Rising Interest Bill

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is advancing a legislative package to temporarily slash the consumption tax on food to 1% from 8%, creating an expansionary fiscal gamble that has drawn sharp warnings from the International Monetary Fund and senior members of her own ruling party over ballooning national debt. According to Nikkei, the ruling Liberal … Read more

Treasury Yields Climb Ahead of PPI Inflation Data

Treasury yields edged higher Wednesday as investors await the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report for June. The 10-year Treasury note, a key benchmark for U.S. mortgage rates and consumer loans, rose more than 1 basis point to 4.5996%. Market participants are seeking further clarity on the economic outlook following a cooler-than-expected Consumer Price Index … Read more

Treasury Yields Climb on Rising Fed Rate Hike Bets

U.S. Treasury yields climbed on Tuesday as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East intensified and market participants adjusted expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. According to market data, the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.622% by 6:02 a.m. E.T., while the 2-year note, sensitive to short-term policy, reached 4.277%. These shifts follow recent announcements … Read more

Citi Wealth: Why Investors Should Move Out of Excess Cash Amid High Inflation

Investors holding high levels of cash face a significant risk of eroding their purchasing power as inflation rates outpace the yields offered by money market funds and savings accounts. According to Citi Wealth Investments, persistent inflation—highlighted by a 4.2% rise in the consumer price index in May—means that many cash-equivalent assets currently provide a negative … Read more

Japan’s Insurers Take Advantage of Soaring Yields in Domestic Superlong Bond Sales

Japan’s Insurers Shift Strategy Amid Rising Bond Yields and Policy Uncertainty Japan’s major insurers reversed their bond-buying stance in May, selling ¥201.2 billion ($1.25 billion) of superlong government bonds as yields hit multi-decade highs, according to the Japan Securities Dealers Association. The move highlights growing volatility in the market and concerns over the Bank of … Read more

US Debt Crisis: When Interest Payments Trigger Default

The Penn Wharton Budget Model (PWBM) projects that U.S. federal debt could reach an “outer bound” of 210% of GDP, a threshold beyond which financing interest payments becomes mathematically infeasible through labor income taxes. According to the PWBM, exceeding this limit makes default on Treasury debt or mandatory social insurance transfers like Social Security a … Read more

What happened Wednesday | interest.co.nz

Market Trends 2026: What’s Next for Mortgages, Housing, and Global Economies? As we navigate through mid-2026, economic indicators are sending mixed signals—from stubborn inflation expectations to shifting mortgage markets and geopolitical tensions flaring up in unexpected ways. Here’s what the data tells us about where things are headed, and what it means for your wallet, … Read more

How Trump’s ‘unusual’ brokerage account traded around his own market-moving decisions

The New Alpha: How AI Disruption and Political Power are Rewriting the Investment Playbook For decades, the “golden child” of Wall Street was the software engineer—and by extension, the SaaS (Software as a Service) companies that employed them. But a tectonic shift is occurring. We are moving away from a period of general tech optimism … Read more

Venezuela embarks on $150 billion restructuring of sovereign, oil debt

The Great Reset: Mapping Venezuela’s Path from Default to Global Energy Hub For years, Venezuela has been the textbook definition of an economic cautionary tale. With the world’s largest proven oil reserves yet a collapsed currency and a mountain of defaulted debt, the country seemed trapped in a cycle of hyperinflation and isolation. However, a … Read more