Trump halts talks with Canada
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Friday (24 October) that trade talks with Washington are progressing well. She declined to comment on U.S....
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at Wednesday’s meeting.
It releases updated economic projections that could reveal whether policymakers now anticipate a path toward lower rates by year’s end despite mounting uncertainty from the new Trump administration’s policies.
At 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), the Fed is scheduled to issue a policy statement alongside its latest projections, following a two-day meeting that has been scrutinizing how the economic outlook has shifted since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to hold a press conference half an hour later to discuss the implications of these updates.
Since taking office, President Trump has introduced a series of measures that include tariffs on Chinese imports and primary metals, with additional taxes on imports from key U.S. trading partners expected next month. Alongside these trade policies, the administration has also imposed immigration restrictions and initiated significant layoffs of federal employees, factors that have unsettled both stock and bond markets.
Policymakers had previously lowered the Fed’s benchmark rate by a full percentage point last year in response to easing inflation, with the expectation that rates would eventually move toward a neutral level that neither stimulates nor restrains economic activity. However, with early signals of falling confidence and a drop in government employment, questions remain about whether slower growth and higher inflation might ensue as a result of Trump's trade actions.
Investors currently anticipate that the Fed could implement two quarter-point rate cuts by year’s end, potentially bringing the overnight rate into the 3.75%-4.00% range. Yet, the emerging economic picture is more complex. The full scope of Trump’s tariff proposals remains uncertain, as the bulk of the measures—expected to impact countries such as Mexico and Canada as well as the global auto industry—is still taking shape. Additionally, looming debates over the federal debt ceiling, prospects for major tax cuts, and ongoing legal challenges add layers of uncertainty.
“The markets are reacting to the initial shock of these policies, and there's a growing concern that Trump's approach is engineering a ‘trade shock’ that could set the economy on a lower growth path,” said Steven Blitz, chief U.S. economist at TS Lombard. “There is little that monetary policy can do to offset the adverse effects of a trade shock, except to counter rising unemployment and inflation.”
In recent data releases, the labor market has shown signs of strain, with the jobless rate edging up to 4.1% in February and the economy adding only 151,000 jobs. Meanwhile, inflation remains stubbornly above the Fed’s 2% target, with expectations that the reading for February might register a slight increase. Despite these challenges, Fed officials have maintained their focus on core monetary policy issues—namely inflation and unemployment—while refraining from direct commentary on the Trump administration’s broader economic policies.
Analysts believe that the Fed’s new projections, which include year-end estimates for overall growth, unemployment, inflation, and the benchmark interest rate from all 19 voting members, may now incorporate heightened uncertainty. Some policymakers have already started hinting at the difficult choices that might lie ahead if Trump’s tariff plans begin to drive up prices, slow growth, and increase unemployment.
“Even if the Fed doesn’t explicitly discuss administration policies, the language in these projections could signal that we are now more concerned about their potential impact,” said Steve Englander, head of macro research for North America at Standard Chartered.
As the meeting concludes and the new projections are released, investors and policymakers alike will be watching closely for clues about how the ongoing trade tensions and broader uncertainties will shape the economic landscape in the coming months.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
A shooting in Nice, southeastern France, left two people dead and five injured on Friday, authorities said.
Snapchat will start charging users who store more than 5GB of photos and videos in its Memories feature, prompting backlash from long-time users.
Türkiye’s main stock index, BIST 100, closed on Friday at 10,941.79 points, recording a 3.14% increase.
Türkiye has emerged as Europe’s largest steel producer and the world’s seventh largest in the first eight months of 2025, producing 36.9 million tonnes last year, according to sector officials.
Germany’s Adidas increased its full-year profit guidance, saying it managed to cushion some of the extra expenses resulting from higher U.S. tariffs.
Germany’s Adidas on Tuesday raised its full-year operating profit forecast, saying it had successfully offset part of the additional costs caused by higher U.S. tariffs.
New Zealand's annual inflation accelerated in the third quarter, reaching 3.0%, which aligns with analysts' expectations and is at the upper end of the central bank's target range, according to official data released on Monday.
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