Economy & Markets
82 items · page 4 of 5
- Wednesday, 19 August 2026 · Lead Story
Brent tops 91 dollars, gas above 60 euros: markets price in the Hormuz stalemate
Oil at three-week highs, sovereign yields rising and the BTP-Bund spread back around 80 basis points. The same day brings the Federal Reserve minutes and Bank of Italy data on the balance of payments.
- Wednesday, 19 August 2026 · Analysis
Unitree raises $904 million as demand exceeds supply by 8,000 times
The Chinese humanoid robot manufacturer placed 40.4 million shares at 150.8 yuan on Shanghai's STAR Market, for an expected market capitalization of around 61 billion yuan. Individual investors submitted 9.8 million orders.
- Tuesday, 18 August 2026 · Analysis
Germany, ZEW expectations rise to 34.2 points as employment falls
A story the morning news did not tell: Germany's ZEW economic expectations index rises above economists' consensus, but on the same 18 August Destatis records 212,000 fewer people in employment than a year earlier.
- Tuesday, 18 August 2026 · Analysis
Euro area, gross domestic product grows by 0.4% while prices rise back to 2.9%
The Eurostat estimate of August 14 confirms a second quarter of moderate expansion, with employment nearly stalled. In the background, flat industrial production and markets that on August 17 followed artificial intelligence earnings more than oil.
- Monday, 17 August 2026 · Analysis
Stripe acquires OpenRouter: over $7 billion, more than five times May's valuation
This is not an update on this morning's Wall Street session, but a different story: according to Bloomberg and TechCrunch reports on August 16, the payments company has closed the acquisition of the platform that routes requests to over 400 artificial intelligence models. The news currently comes from a single source.
- Monday, 17 August 2026 · Analysis
Record and pullback: S&P 500 tops 7,800 then retreats on US consumer data
July retail sales fell 0.6% against expectations of growth, right after the index's all-time high. Annual inflation at 3.4% leaves markets betting on a Fed on hold in September, awaiting Jackson Hole.
- Sunday, 16 August 2026 · Analysis
Short week on the markets: oil below 90 dollars, gold heading towards 4,400, Seoul races ahead
A different story from the one on the yen opened this morning: with reduced volumes for the mid-August holiday, markets close out an interlocutory week, but three movements remain readable — crude oil supported by the Strait of Hormuz issue, precious metals approaching recent highs, the Korean index driven by semiconductors.
- Sunday, 16 August 2026 · Analysis
Yen stays close to 160 per dollar: the sticking point is the gap between Tokyo and Washington
Sanae Takaichi's government is open to a Bank of Japan rate hike between September and October, but the currency is not moving away from the threshold that in the past has preceded public intervention. On the other side of the gap, US data for July and August come in weaker than expected.
- Saturday, 15 August 2026 · Analysis
IEA cuts 2026 oil demand to −1.6 million barrels a day, Opec sees it rising
The two institutions that publish the reference estimates on the oil market diverge in sign. Meanwhile Brent climbs back toward $87 and gold moves closer to $4,400 an ounce.
- Saturday, 15 August 2026 · Analysis
Wall Street pauses after record: consumer confidence at 51 and retail sales decline
The S&P 500 closed Friday at 7,785.76 points, down 0.2%, a day after surpassing the 7,800 mark for the first time. Two indicators of U.S. domestic demand disappointed expectations in the same session.
- Friday, 14 August 2026 · Analysis
After S&P 500 record, markets pause: focus on retail sales
On Thursday the American index topped 7,800 for the first time; on Friday markets moved in mixed fashion as oil prices climbed back up. On the calendar: Fitch's review on the United Kingdom and the European Union's trade balance.
- Friday, 14 August 2026 · Analysis
Energy Agency cuts estimates: in 2026 oil demand contracts by 1.6 million barrels per day
The August monthly report revises downward the forecasts for the second half of the year and attributes the contraction to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Observed global inventories fell by 69 million barrels in July, by 410 million since the start of the war.
- Thursday, 13 August 2026 · Analysis
Wall Street near highs after weaker-than-expected inflation
Development of the day: after US inflation reassured Asian markets, Wall Street posts gains with the S&P 500 near records and Treasury yields falling.
- Thursday, 13 August 2026 · Analysis
US inflation in line with expectations boosts Asian stock markets
The US consumer price data did not surprise markets, easing fears of an imminent Federal Reserve rate hike.
- Wednesday, 12 August 2026 · Lead Story
Oil rises on Trump's threats to Iran, stock markets improve ahead of US data
Wti crude touches $83.47 after a new warning from the US president to Tehran, while European markets turn upward in the afternoon ahead of July's US inflation data.
- Wednesday, 12 August 2026 · Analysis
Piazza Affari closes lower, Mediobanca posts record half-year profit
The Ftse Mib fell 0.1 percent in Milan, while Mediobanca closed the half-year with a profit of 711.2 million euros, up 5.9 percent.
- Tuesday, 11 August 2026 · Analysis
European inflation slows, Italy stalls on industrial production
Eurostat data for June show a fall in eurozone inflation to 2.8%, while Istat confirms a decline in industrial production and a rise in unemployment to 5.7% for Italy.
- Monday, 10 August 2026 · Analysis
Gold above $4,340, oil rises on Hormuz uncertainty
Compared to this morning's highs, markets today are showing two new signals: gold touches a high not seen since late July and oil rises as mixed signals between the US and Iran over the strait remain unresolved.
- Monday, 10 August 2026 · Analysis
Wall Street at record highs, attention shifts to July inflation
The Dow Jones and S&P 500 hit new record highs, supported by solid earnings reports and falling yields; market attention now shifts to July's consumer and producer price data, seen as decisive for the Federal Reserve's next move.
- Sunday, 9 August 2026 · Analysis
United States, falling employment and weaker growth: three intersecting signals
In July the American economy lost 23,000 jobs, a figure the market was not expecting. Together with slowing GDP and core inflation still above three percent, the picture is becoming more complicated.
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