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Warsh Embarks on High-Wire Act of Convincing Investors Without Angering Trump
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- Kevin Warsh faces a high-wire act balancing President Trump’s demands for interest-rate cuts with current economic conditions.
- Warsh secured the nomination by convincing President Trump he shares the view that the Federal Reserve should cut rates.
- Warsh warned that continued inflation would raise public doubts about whether monetary-policy independence is worth preserving.
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Kevin Warsh’s Finances Likely to Play Key Role in Confirmation Hearings
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- Senate Democrats plan to press Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh over opaque financial disclosures, arguing they prevent assessing conflicts of interest.
- Warsh disclosed over $100 million in assets but cited confidentiality for underlying holdings.
- Republican Sen. Thom Tillis is holding up Warsh’s confirmation, protesting a Justice Department probe of Jerome Powell.
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Governments Could Force ECB’s Hand If Energy Support Is Too Broad, Lagarde Says
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- European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned that excessive government energy support would force the ECB to raise interest rates more.
- Eurozone inflation rose to 2.6% in March from 1.9% in February as energy prices jumped following attacks on Iran by the U.S. and Israel.
- Lagarde said the Middle East conflict creates wider uncertainty for the eurozone economy, making the ECB unlikely to change policy at its April 30 meeting.
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India’s Central Bank Warns of Persistent Inflation as Mideast Conflict Drags On
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- Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra warned of persistent inflation risks due to the Middle East conflict.
- West Asia accounts for one-sixth of India’s exports, one-fifth of imports, half of crude oil imports, and two-fifths of remittances.
- Reserve Bank of India kept its policy rate unchanged and maintains a neutral stance, relying on incoming data.
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Canada Inflation Accelerates to 2.4% in March
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- Canadian annual inflation rose to 2.4% in March, its hottest in three months, driven by a 0.9% monthly CPI increase.
- The inflation surge was fueled by a 21.2% jump in gasoline prices in March, while core prices rose 1.9% annually.
- Bank of Canada Gov. Tiff Macklem expressed concern about medium-term inflation expectations, not near-term energy price sensitivity.
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German Financial Sentiment Hits Lowest Since 2022 on Energy Shock
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- German investor confidence fell to minus 17.2 in April, its lowest level since December 2022, due to energy price spikes from the Middle East conflict.
- The International Monetary Fund downgraded Germany’s 2026 growth forecast to 0.8% from 1.1%, while March inflation rose to 2.8%.
- Germany’s government proposed nearly $2 billion in fuel-price relief, but ECB President Christine Lagarde warned against excessive government support.
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U.K. Unemployment Falls Below 5%
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- The U.K.’s unemployment rate fell to 4.9% in the three months through February, but future job losses are expected due to the Middle East conflict.
- The Office for National Statistics attributed the unemployment decline to fewer people seeking work, not increased hiring.
- The Bank of England faces a delicate balance as officials weigh rate hikes amid a weak labor market and energy price surge.
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New Zealand First-Quarter Inflation Higher Than Expected
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- New Zealand’s consumer price index rose 3.1% from a year earlier in the first quarter, exceeding economists’ expectations of 2.9%.
- The higher-than-expected inflation data affirm the hawkish stance of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
- Electricity prices, up 12.5%, were the largest upward contributor to the annual inflation rate for the third consecutive quarter.
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Wall Street Brings Sophisticated Quant Trading to the Masses
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- Banks are selling programs that systematically execute trades based on preset rules to pension funds, endowments, family offices and others.
- Global QIS programs managed by bank trading units have grown to about $850 billion, up from $362 billion five years ago, according to Premialab.
- JPMorgan’s markets unit, a major QIS provider, manages over $100 billion in notional exposure, with QIS revenue up 30% this year from the same period in 2025.
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About Us
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WSJ Pro Central Banking brings you news and analysis from a global team of reporters and editors at The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. Send your tips, suggestions and feedback to service@dowjones.com. An artificial-intelligence tool created these summaries, which are based on the text of the article and checked by an editor. Read more about how we use artificial intelligence in our journalism.
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