A month into the worst oil supply disruption since the 1970s Arab embargo, the economic pain spreading across Asia is reviving an uncomfortable question: Could this be 1997 all over again? The parallels are hard to ignore. Asian currencies are under pressure, fueling the risk of capital outflows. Spiking energy costs have pushed governments to…
Hello, this is Priyanka Salve, writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to the latest edition of “Inside India“ — your one-stop destination for stories and developments from the world’s fastest growing large economy. Just as India’s textile industry was beginning to stabilize after U.S. tariffs, it received another blow. Industry leaders tell me the Iran…
Antonio Garcia Recena | Moment | Getty Images The average tax refund is about $350 higher so far this season, compared with about the same period in 2025, according to the latest IRS filing data. As of March 27, the average refund amount for individual filers was $3,521, up from $3,170 roughly one year ago, the IRS reported on…
AI data centers are becoming a “stress test” for insurers as rapid technological advancements and the use of increasingly complex financial structures present a unique set of challenges and opportunities for the sector. Global spending on data centers could reach $7 trillion by 2030, according to McKinsey, and much of that spending can no longer…
Ludovic Marin | AFP | Getty Images The European car industry is in a structural crisis. Slowing demand for electric vehicles, lost market share to Chinese competitors and higher borrowing costs have created the perfect storm for the sector over the past five years, as sales volumes continue to slump well below pre-pandemic levels. Europe’s…
The U.S. labor market bounced back in March, with job creation much stronger than expected though the broader picture of a slow-growth labor market held intact. Nonfarm payrolls rose a seasonally adjusted 178,000 during the month, a reversal from the 133,000 decline in February and better than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 59,000, the…
A “Help Wanted” sign hangs in restaurant window in Medford, Massachusetts, U.S., January 25, 2023. Brian Snyder | Reuters Nonfarm payrolls are expected to bounce back — barely — in March as the bar keeps getting lower for what constitutes a healthy labor market. The U.S. economy is projected to show job gains of 59,000…
A year ago, on April 2, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump appeared in the White House Rose Garden with an announcement that would become one of the defining policies of his second term. The president unveiled a vast list of country-specific tariffs in what he dubbed his “liberation day” trade policies — a move that…
Hello, this is Priyanka Salve, writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to the latest edition of “Inside India“ — your one-stop destination for stories and developments from the world’s fastest growing large economy. Indian markets have been rattled by the Iran war, with foreign investors fleeing and valuations slipping to rare lows. But fund managers…
The Shibuya pedestrian intersection in Tokyo, Japan. Marco Bottigelli | Moment | Getty Images Large Japanese manufacturers indicated their highest level of business optimism in over four years, despite uncertainties brought about from the Iran war. That’s according to the Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan survey, a closely-watched poll that measures business sentiment among domestic…
