Browsing: Economy

Japan’s holdings of US Treasuries have continued to grow, exceeding $1.15 trillion in January, according to data released by the US Treasury this week. Tokyo has been the largest overseas holder of US debt since June 2019.

Most stock markets in the Gulf closed higher on Thursday, led by the Saudi index, joining a global rally as investors cheered the U.S. Federal Reserve’s indication that it will still deliver three rate cuts this year. The Fed kept borrowing costs unchanged on Wednesday and signaled they still expect to ease interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point by the end of 2024.

WASHINGTON: IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned on Thursday that central banks face growing political pressure to cut interest rates during a major election year but policymakers need to maintain their independence.

As the Fed maintained its long-run inflation projection at its 2% target, this implies a slight increase in what policymakers deem to be the neutral real rate of interest, or ‘R-star’, to 0.6% from 0.5%