International Economic
Euro area core CPI jumps in April
The cost of living in the single currency bloc continued rising in April, hitting a new record in the process as inflationary pressures broadened out from energy.
US consumer confidence improves a little in April, University of Michigan says
Americans grew more confident in April thanks to the retreat in expectations for increases in the price of petrol, the results of a very closely-watched survey revealed.
Chicago PMI drops in April as new order growth stalls
Factory activity in the Chicago area fell more quickly than expected in April as new order growth nearly stalled, the results of a survey showed.
US Q1 compensation growth seen having scant impact on Fed policy
The broadest measure of inflationary pressures in the US jobs market jumped by more than forecast last month as benefits exploded.
Real US personal spending falls in March as prices jump
A jump in inflation meant that Americans' spending in fact fell last month when measured in real terms, although prices rose a tad less quickly than anticipated.
Panama approves the use of cryptoassets, but Bitcoin is flat below $40,000
Lawmakers in Panama's National Assembly approved a bill to regulate the use and trading of cryptoassets in the Central American country, known for being a hub for offshore financial services, on Thursday. This is a new regulatory validation for the queen of cryptocurrencies after becoming official in the Central African Republic. However, despite this, Bitcoin is still flat below $40,000.
German CPI pushed higher by food prices in April
The cost of living in the euro area's largest economy edged past economists' forecasts in April despite a dip in goods' prices.
Sweden unexpectedly lifts key interest rate; flags more hikes as inflation soars
Sweden’s central bank on Thursday raised a key interest rate from zero to 0. 25%, citing the highest inflation level since the 1990s, and said more hikes would follow.
US initial jobless claims fall by 5,000
US initial jobless claims dropped 180,000 in the week ended 23 April, as expected by analysts, down from an upwardly revised print of 185,000 a week earlier.
Bitcoin becomes the official currency in the Central African Republic, but can´t go back above $40,000
The Central African Republic (CAR) approved Bitcoin as legal tender, making it the second country to do so after El Salvador's decision last year. The country's lawmakers voted unanimously to make the digital currency official, according to a statement from the CAR presidency. This move puts the Central African region "on the map of the world's boldest and most visionary countries," it stated. The market has reacted with little joy to the news and Bitcoin remains below $40,000, while Ethereum is barely above $2,800.
Spanish consumer prices surprise sharply to the downside in April
The cost of living in Spain came off the boil a little in April as the prices of fuels and electricity declined.
CMC Markets sees possible path down to parity opening up for euro
The task of managing the differences between economies in the single currency bloc has been magnified by the war in Ukraine and may result in further losses for the euro, perhaps even towards parity with the US dollar, City-based analysts say.
Bitcoin at nearly two-month low with price eyeing $36,000
The support due to the positive news that certified the fundamentals of the cryptocurrency market´s positive aspects or the purchase of Twitter by Elon Musk were not able to withstand the new wave of risk aversion that hit Wall Street on Tuesday. The Nasdaq led the decline in all indexes and investors in digital assets were carried away by the selling momentum, leaving a back and forth movement in Bitcoin, Ethereum and even Dogecoin.
Russia halts gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria
Russia has cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, causing European energy prices to spark.
Preliminary reading of UoM's April consumer sentiment index shows unexpected increase
The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment unexpectedly increased in April and significantly outperformed market expectations.
US durable goods orders up 0.8% in March
New orders for manufactured durable goods increased 0. 8% month-on-month across the US in March, according to the Census Bureau, bouncing back from a downwardly revised 1. 7% drop in February but below market expectations of a 1% gain.
Dogecoin rallies 30%, what does Musk's purchase of Twitter imply for Bitcoin?
The news that Twitter finally accepted Elon Musk's offer to buy the microblogging social network for 44 billion dollars has sent a wave of purchases to the cryptocurrency market, which has recovered its recent losses and left rises as spectacular as Dogecoin´s. The 'cryptomeme', Tesla's CEO´s favourite, rallied 26% on Monday after hearing the news and accelerated its performance to rises of 30% during the last 24 hours, while the rest of the market is dyed green and shows advances of between 7%, like Ethereum or Terra, to 2%, like Avalanche or Ripple.
Moscow announces unilateral ceasefire to evacuate civilians from Azovstal steel plant
Russian forces announced a unilateral ceasefire on Monday in order to allow for the evacuation of civilians from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine.
German business confidence unexpectedly jumps
German business sentiment unexpectedly strengthened in April, a closely-watched survey showed on Monday, despite the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Bitcoin loses steam and tests $40,000 again after Powell´s remarks
The cryptocurrency market is back to declines of around 2% on Friday, weighed down by remarks from US Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, who did not shy away from making it clear that a 50 basis point rate hike at the central bank's May meeting is on the table. He also opened the door to further rate hikes of 0. 5% at successive meetings. Bitcoin gives ground, moves away from its recent 10-day high above $42,000 and looks set to test the important $40,000 support.