Oil prices were up slightly on Friday, after rising about 3% in the previous session, as trade tensions between top oil consumers U.S. and China showed signs of easing and Britain announced a “breakthrough” trade deal with the United States. Brent crude rose 23 cents, or 0.37%, to $63.07 a barrel while U.S. West Texas […]
The U.S. dollar slipped again on Monday as a meteoric surge in its Taiwanese counterpart stoked speculation some Asian countries were prepared to engineer revaluations of their currencies to win U.S. trade concessions. Asia-Pacific currencies were the major developed-market beneficiaries of the fallout from that, and the dollar was down 0.7% on the Japanese yen […]
Gold climbed on Thursday after the Federal Reserve warned of rising inflation and labor market risks fuelling economic uncertainty, while investors awaited the outcome of the U.S.-China trade talks this weekend. Spot gold rose 1.4% to $3,409.76 an ounce, as of 0223 GMT. U.S. gold futures firmed 0.7% to $3,416.70. “I think it’s mostly a […]
As economies develop, it is often assumed that agriculture becomes less relevant—a small slice of GDP and a shrinking share of employment. But evidence from Europe and Central Asia tells a different story. Across countries stretching from Portugal to Uzbekistan, agriculture and the broader agrifood sector remain essential pillars of economic development, employment, trade, and […]
As governments around the world combatted COVID-19, the US witnessed unprecedented levels of funding transfers from the federal government to state and local municipalities. This column examines how the influx of federal aid affected the population’s health. Leveraging the fact that states with excess representation in Congress received more assistance than underrepresented states, the authors […]
Gold prices rose to a two-week high on Tuesday as concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff plans boosted interest in the safe-haven metal, while investors awaited the Federal Reserve policy meeting on Wednesday. Spot gold gained 0.9% to $3,362.69 an ounce as of 0632 GMT, after hitting its highest since April 22 earlier in […]
The United States is seeking to weaken a global deal aimed at helping developing countries struggling with the impacts of climate change and other issues, an internal United Nations document seen by Reuters showed. The Trump administration opposes draft reforms of the world’s financial system intended to help developing countries, including around taxation, credit ratings […]
Carbon pricing has become a central tool in Europe’s strategy to mitigate climate change. This column presents new evidence on the impact of carbon pricing across European regions. The authors find that an increase in carbon prices is associated with a significant decline in output and a rise in unemployment. Carbon pricing also has important […]
It is down more than 4% on both the euro and the yen through April, though bounced at the end of last week on an apparent conciliatory shift in the tone of U.S.-China relations. The dollar held steady on Monday as investors waited warily on news of U.S. trade policy and braced for a week […]
In higher-income countries, urban proximity has been shown to enhance workers’ skills and income, but less is known about low- and middle-income countries. This column examines how the income of initially poor workers in Brazil changes after urban migration. Wages go up immediately for migrants to both southern and northern Brazilian cities, but only in […]
