Monetary / Fiscal Policy / Policy Makers
New Zealand and China will soon hold a series of high-level meetings and work to promote free trade, the countries' governments said on Friday, amidst growing concerns about U.S. trade protectionism.
China posted much stronger-than-expected trade data for January as demand picked up at home and abroad, an encouraging start to 2017 for the world's largest trading nation even as Asia braces for a rise in U.S. protectionism under President Donald Trump.
The dollar was buoyant on Friday, rising to a 1-1/2-week high versus the yen, on comments by U.S. President Donald Trump that he would announce the most ambitious tax reform plan since the Reagan era in the next few weeks.
The euro zone must remain as one bloc, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday, urging members of the single currency bloc to deliver on their common commitments.
A serious challenger to German Chancellor Angela Merkel is forcing global investors to parse another potential electoral surprise - removal of a key political constant through years of euro zone turbulence but also an end to Europe's austerity bias.
For seven years, the United States has fought to keep the euro zone intact, urging European officials toward action and supporting international bailout programs to keep the 17-nation currency union from cracking apart.
Rising inflation in the euro zone is primarily being driven by fluctuating energy prices and there are no signs it is sustainable, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Thursday.
Germany's insistence on austerity in the euro zone has left Europe more divided than ever and a break-up of the European Union is no longer inconceivable, German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel told Der Spiegel magazine.
A sharp rebound in euro zone inflation and a better-than-expected business outlook are certain to fire up demands from some hardliners for the European Central Bank to choke off it ultra-generous monetary policy.
