WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods unexpectedly fell in February and could remain sluggish as economic uncertainty rises because of tariffs, discouraging businesses from boosting spending on equipment. Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, dropped 0.3% last month after an upwardly revised 0.9% surge in January, the Commerce...

The first quarter of 2025 saw a notable decrease in economic optimism among chief financial officers, with the latest CFO Survey pointing to tariffs and market uncertainty as primary drivers. What Happened: The quarterly survey conducted by Duke University and the Federal Reserve Banks of Richmond and Atlanta highlights insights from financial decision makers. Economic optimism among CFOs dropped to...

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Sweden provisionally plans to raise its defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2030, a bigger and faster ramp-up than previously planned, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Wednesday. Defence spending has so far been projected to reach 2.4% of GDP this year and 2.6% in 2028, but government ministers have acknowledged more will be needed amid...

Recent spikes in consumer inflation expectations are threatening to narrow the Federal Reserve's room to maneuver to further reduce interest rates this year, casting new uncertainty over whether cuts will materialize this year. In a note shared this week, Goldman Sachs analyst Elsie Peng discussed recent data showing a notable rise in survey-based inflation forecasts and why the Federal Reserve...