By Lucinda Elliott, Joe Cash and Maximilian Heath BUENOS AIRES/BEIJING (Reuters) – Argentina’s President-elect Javier Milei has a China conundrum. The libertarian economist insulted communist-run China in a fiery campaign, but takes office on Sunday needing the country’s second-largest trade partner more than ever as a recession looms and foreign…

Prices are stabilizing and unemployment is low, but Democrats are despairing that a booming economy hasn’t improved voters’ opinions of President Joe Biden’s performance. A number of recent polls show Republican front-runner Donald Trump leading Biden in a head-to-head matchup, while a recent Gallup survey showing a 32% approval rating…

ZURICH (Reuters) -UBS has formally begun the integration of Credit Suisse’s parent bank, the Swiss bank said, marking a key next step in what is the first merger of two global systemically important banks. UBS said its board of directors had given the green light for the respective parent banks,…

Interest-rate policy is in a “good place” at present and can move in either direction based on how the economy evolves, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said on Wednesday. The economy could move in unexpected ways, Mester said, in a speech at Loyola University Chicago. If it does, “monetary policy…

(Reuters) – BNP Paribas (OTC:) expects the European Central Bank (ECB) to deliver its first interest rate cut in April 2024 and a “gradual pace of cuts” through the year, citing weak economic activity and easing inflation. BNP Chief Economist Luigi Speranza sees ECB’s benchmark rate at 3.25% by 2024-end,…

The U.S. economy slowed in November while inflation also tapered off, according to a Federal Reserve survey, suggesting the central bank could be finished raising interest rates if those trends continue. The survey, known as the Beige Book, said the economy has softened since the previous report at the end…

By Gergely Szakacs BUDAPEST (Reuters) – The EU’s statistics agency said on Thursday it was in talks with Hungary’s main data body over how energy inflation was calculated, days after two local economists suggested current figures underestimated the strength of price growth. The EU agency Eurostat said the talks, which…

The Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate may have already hit its peak level, as it is now putting more downward pressure on the economy than at any time in the last 25 years, New York Fed President John Williams said Thursday. Earlier this month, the Fed kept its benchmark rate…

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s central bank on Thursday said exporters had increased foreign currency sales to $13.9 billion in November from $12.5 billion in October, as capital controls forced the transfer of FX revenues and buttressed the rouble. The Russian currency strengthened for seven straight weeks from early October to…

Don’t expect Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to say anything to bolster the market’s rising expectations for interest-rate cuts as soon as next March, economists said Thursday. Powell is likely to “lean against against the notion that there are cuts imminent,” said Jonathan Millar, senior U.S. economist at Barclays in…