Economy

The review, which could unlock more than $1.2 billion in financing, is the fourth under Egypt’s latest 46-month IMF loan programme that was approved in 2022 and expanded to $8 billion this year after an economic crisis marked by high inflation and severe foreign currency shortages.The IMF also said that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability”, including the unification of the exchange rate that eased imports, with its central bank reiterating its commitment to sustain a flexible exchange rate regime.Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.”Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement. More

(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Investors hoping that Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA)’s eagerly-awaited earnings after the U.S. close on Wednesday would inject renewed vigor into world markets will be disappointed, heralding the prospect of a lukewarm open in Asia on Thursday. Wall Street spent all day Wednesday firmly in the red before a late rally, bond yields and the dollar were higher, and a weak 20-year U.S. Treasury bond auction was a reminder of how deep Washington’s fiscal deficit runs and the strain on investors to fund it. The global picture wasn’t particularly reassuring either. European stocks fell for a fourth day – their worst run in over two months – China’s yuan slipped to a three and a half month low on the spot market, and volatility ticked higher.Then came Nvidia. The world’s most valuable company reported a beat on third-quarter earnings per share and forecast fourth-quarter revenue slightly above estimates. But shares immediately fell in after-hours trading by as much as 5% before recovering, and Nikkei and Wall Street futures are pointing to a lower open in Japan and the US on Thursday.Is the AI darling’s shine beginning to fade? Thursday’s economic calendar in Asia is relatively light, with South Korean export, Indonesian current account and Hong Kong inflation data the main releases. Annual inflation in Hong Kong is seen slowing to a 1.7% pace in October from 2.2% in September, which would mark the steepest decline since April and heighten concern that deflationary pressures on the Chinese mainland could be spreading.There may be more market fireworks from Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda, who is scheduled to speak at a financial forum in Paris. Investors and traders will be trying to determine if his tone and signals differ from his fairly balanced remarks earlier this week that kept the door open to a December rate hike but also cautioned against moving too fast.Judging by the yen’s behavior recently, whatever markets think the BOJ will do is being completely overwhelmed by renewed hawkishness surrounding the Fed outlook.The yen has only appreciated in one out of the last eight trading sessions, and finds itself back below 155.00 per dollar. It might need a notably hawkish signal from Ueda to engineer a sustainable recovery or get September’s 140.00 per dollar back into view.But right now, the Japanese swaps market is pointing to less than 50 bps of BOJ tightening by the end of next year. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is moving closer to a historic break above $100,000, boosted by increasing confidence that President Donald Trump’s administration will be a crypto-friendly regime.Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Thursday:- Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda speaks in Paris- Hong Kong inflation (October)- South Korea exports (October) More

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins reiterated on Wednesday she believes the U.S. central bank has more interest rate cuts ahead as it seeks to normalize monetary policy while inflation pressures ease.”I expect additional adjustments will likely be appropriate over time, to move the policy rate gradually from its current restrictive stance back into a more neutral range,” Collins said in the text of a speech prepared for delivery before the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford (NYSE:F) School of Public Policy. Collins cautioned, however, that rate cuts will be decided meeting-by-meeting, driven by data, without a preset plan of action.The official said she favored a gradual course of action with an uncertain end game. “The intent is not to ease too quickly or too much, hindering the disinflation progress to date. At the same time, easing too slowly or too little could unnecessarily weaken the labor market,” she noted.Collins spoke as the Fed’s December policy meeting approaches, and markets are debating whether the current 4.5% to 4.75% federal funds rate target range will be lowered. The Fed started cutting rates in September as inflation pressures have eased and worries about labor market health have risen. Collins was upbeat about the economy, describing it as being in a “good place overall, with inflation heading back to the 2% target amid a healthy labor market.” Risks to the outlook are roughly in balance, she said, while flagging what is likely to be uneven progress on getting inflation back to target. “I see little scope for wages to disrupt the ongoing disinflation progress,” Collins said, citing strong levels of productivity. It would not be good for the labor market grow weaker, she added. More

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$75 per monthComplete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders. Pay a year upfront and save 20%.What’s included Global news & analysisExpert opinionFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit appFirstFT: the day’s biggest stories20+ curated newslettersFollow topics & set alerts with myFTFT Videos & Podcasts20 monthly gift articles to shareLex: FT’s flagship investment column15+ Premium newsletters by leading expertsFT Digital Edition: our digitised print edition More

The debt-laden government has been scrambling for new financing after deadly protests in June forced it to scrap planned tax hikes worth more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion).Raphael Owino, the director general of the Finance Ministry’s public debt management office, told Reuters that the IMF’s October approval of the seventh and eigth reviews, which paved the way for a $606 million loan tranche, had helped in its discussions for other lending. “The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.” ($1 = 129.0000 Kenyan shillings) More

World economies and equity markets have had a robust year, with global growth expected to average 3.1% this year, a Reuters poll published in October showed. Following are forecasts from some top banks on economic growth, inflation and the performance of major asset classes in 2025:Forecasts for stocks, currencies and bonds: Brokerage S&P 500 US 10-year EUR/USD USD/JPY USD/CNY target yield target UBS Global 6400 3.80 1.04 157.0 7.60 Research Goldman Sachs 6500 (next 4.25%(next 1.03(next 159(next 7.50(next 12-months) 12-months) 12-months 12-months 12-months) ) ) Nomura 135 6.93 Barclays (LON:BARC) Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) 6500 J.P.Morgan 4.10 (Q3’25) U.S. Inflation: U.S. inflation (annual Y/Y for 2025) Brokerage Headline CPI Core PCE Goldman Sachs 2.5% 2.4% J.P.Morgan 2.4% 2.3% Morgan Stanley 2.3% 2.5% (4Q/4Q) Barclays 2.3% 2.5% Real GDP Growth: Real GDP growth forecasts for 2025 Brokerage GLOBAL U.S. CHINA EURO AREA UK INDIA UBS Global 2.9% 1.9% 4.0% 0.9% 1.5% 6.3% (for Research FY 26) Goldman Sachs 2.7% 2.5% 4.5% 0.8% 1.3% 6.3% Barclays 3.0% 2.1% 4% 0.7% 1.2% 7.2% Morgan Stanley 3.0% 2.1% 4.0% 1.0% 1.4% 6.5% (FY25/FY2 6) J.P.Morgan 2.4% 2.2% 3.9% 0.8% 1.0% 6.0% Citigroup (NYSE:C) 1.1% 1.0% Nomura 4.0% 6.9% More