Georgia’s Foreign Minister says ‘No danger’ to its citizens as EU tightens visa-free rules
Georgia’s Foreign Minister, Maka Bochorishvili sought to reassure the public that there is “no danger” to Georgia’s status as the European Uni...
Asian markets began the week on a cautious note Monday as softer-than-expected Chinese retail sales data and growing uncertainty over U.S. economic and trade policy pressured sentiment across global equities and currency markets.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific index outside Japan dropped 0.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.7%. Chinese blue-chip shares (.CSI300) slipped 0.4%, after retail sales data for April missed forecasts, despite a better-than-expected showing from industrial output. The mixed signals underscored lingering fragility in China’s domestic economy, already stressed by ongoing U.S. tariffs and a faltering property sector.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures slumped, with S&P 500 futures down over 1% and Nasdaq futures falling 1.3%, amid concerns stoked by Moody’s downgrade of the U.S. credit rating and rising bond yields. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed 7 basis points to 4.51%, and the 30-year yield neared 5%.
Policy Uncertainty in Focus
The latest wave of risk aversion followed remarks by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who on Sunday downplayed the impact of Moody’s action while reaffirming the administration’s hardline stance on trade. Bessent warned that countries unwilling to strike “good faith” trade deals should expect to be hit with maximum reciprocal tariffs - now averaging 13%, the highest in nearly a century.
“Beyond disruptions from higher tariffs themselves, policy uncertainty should additionally weigh on growth,” said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan.
The White House’s mixed signals on tariff policy, coming alongside a contentious $3–5 trillion tax cut proposal progressing through Congress, have unnerved foreign investors already skittish about Washington’s fiscal trajectory. Moody’s downgrade - citing the U.S.’s $36 trillion debt load - fueled broader doubts about long-term dollar stability.
China’s Mixed Economic Picture
Data from Beijing Monday painted a murky outlook for Asia’s largest economy:
While a recent U.S.-China tariff pause offered short-term relief, economists remain skeptical about sustained recovery given deflationary pressures, consumer caution, and external headwinds.
Markets React
ECB President Christine Lagarde said over the weekend that the dollar’s decline reflects eroding confidence in U.S. policy, which may bolster the euro.
A centrist win in Romania’s presidential election—alongside similar results in Poland and Portugal—helped improve sentiment toward European assets.
Looking Ahead
Markets will closely watch earnings reports from Home Depot and Target this week for clues on U.S. consumer resilience, particularly in light of tariff-driven price pressures. Additionally, a lineup of Federal Reserve speakers, including Vice Chair Philip Jefferson and New York Fed President John Williams, may offer clarity on rate expectations. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak on Sunday.
Commodities Mixed
As global markets wrestle with crosscurrents of geopolitical tension, trade policy uncertainty, and uneven economic data, the path forward remains clouded by volatility and caution.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
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 powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
Gold prices rose above $4,000 an ounce for the first time on Wednesday, fuelled by investor demand for safe-haven assets amid rising geopolitical tensions and expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts.
U.S. shares ended Tuesday in negative territory as investors, cut off from official economic data due to the ongoing government shutdown, looked to alternative indicators and comments from Federal Reserve officials for guidance on economic weakness and monetary policy.
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI is targeting a $20 billion capital raise linked to Nvidia hardware, Bloomberg News has reported.
Türkiye’s benchmark stock index, the BIST 100, closed Tuesday at 10,814.11 points, up 0.74% from the previous session.
Euro zone finance ministers are set to meet on Thursday to explore ways to boost the development of euro-denominated stablecoins, amid concerns that the fast-growing market could remain dominated by the United States, a senior euro zone official said.
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