Bank of America analysts led by Michael Hartnett believe that the aggregate yield on investments in 30-year U.S. government bonds has decreased by 45% since April 2020, which is the largest four-year reduction in over a century, writes MarketWatch. They argue that such a severe fall was caused by high inflation and increased government spending. Due to increased inflation, the real GDP growth...

The European Central Bank stated in its biannual Financial Stability Report that excessive levels of public debt make European nations susceptible to geopolitical and high interest rate threats. According to the ECB, several EU nations have not yet finished implementing the stimulus plans meant to shield businesses and consumers from the effects of the energy crisis and the coronavirus pandemic....

Natural gas demand will only increase, and additional LNG projects will be required globally beyond 2030, according to Qatar Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, who spoke at the Qatar Economic Forum, cited by Bloomberg. According to al-Kaabi, the kingdom is moving forward with a multibillion-dollar plan to expand its LNG capacity and may take into account building other facilities. "With...

US corporations that produce oil from shale oil resources are being sued in multiple class action lawsuits alleging that they conspired to restrict production and drive up fuel prices, writes the Financial Times. The defendants include, among others, ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, and Diamondback Energy with at least ten cases, according to the FT. The most recent of these class action cases...

A report by the People's Bank of China states that the amount of new bank lending in local currency in China in April was 731 billion yuan ($101 billion). This has been the minimum amount for nine months, since July 2023. The total amount of credit in March was 3.09 trillion yuan. Trading Economics’ analysts expected a drop to 1.2 trillion yuan last month on average. The PBC reports that new...

The Bank of England maintained the basic interest rate at 5.25% annually while consumer prices rise reached 6% in March in the UK. The notification posted on the regulator's website indicates that the Bank of England maintained the basic interest rate at 5.25% annually. Two members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) supported lowering the rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 5%, while the...

OPEC intends to stop releasing the estimate of the world's need for its own oil, reports Reuters. The group has chosen to concentrate on demand projections for the OPEC+ association, according to the newspaper. It consists of non-member states, the biggest of which being Russia, as well as cartel nations. This decision was caused by changes in the cooperative policy between OPEC and OPEC+...

According to a news statement from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), worldwide chip sales increased by 15.2% year over year in the first quarter, to $137.7 billion. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, the number was lower by 5.7%. March saw a 15.2% increase in chip sales over the previous year, but a 0.6% decrease from February. "First-quarter global semiconductor sales grew...

The International Coffee Organization said that the price of robusta coffee has increased to a 45-year high since 1979. The main producer of Robusta in the world, Vietnam, had low yields. According to a research released in April by the London-based International Coffee Organization (ICO), the price of Robusta coffee has reached a 45-year high since July 1979. Its data shows that Robusta...