The geopolitical backdrop in the Middle East remained tense after renewed threats to Iranian infrastructure from President Donald Trump, although reports of a potential deal could limit the demand for the dollar.
The new checks, part of the EU's new Entry/Exit System (EES), collect digital personal records of third country nationals travelling to the Schengen area and replace the manual stamping of passports.
Credit cards can be very dangerous from a financial well-being perspective, if used irresponsibly. The temptation to use one to fund a big holiday or a new sofa that you can't afford can be seriously tempting.
I've always been interested in structure and teamwork. Growing up, I was very active in sport. I wrestled competitively and was ranked in the province. That taught me discipline and the importance of working together towards a common goal.
The US dollar returned to the upside as geopolitical fears rebounded after US President Trump's address to the nation. The rhetoric fuelled risk aversion and flows toward the dollar while oil prices surged.
Escalating geopolitical risk continued to dominate global markets' concerns, with safe-haven demand keeping the dollar index anchored near a multi-week high.
Gold keeps cranking higher with spot prices moving to a new all-time high a whisker off $4,640, while silver extended its parabolic rally to clear $90. Crude prices were at three-month highs with Brent (continuous) running into resistance at the 200-day moving average around $65.75, as flagged in yesterday's note. WTI spiked to $61.50 - as noted on Friday a clear break above $59 was likely to see a swift move toward the $60-61 area.
Markets remain fragile amid persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which have pushed oil prices higher and revived concerns about inflation in Europe. While interest rates are expected to remain unchanged, attention could turn to the ECB's forward guidance and assessment of energy-driven price risks.
The electronic version of the money used in the 21-nation currency area would be available to use free of charge in shops, online or from person to person. Supporters say it would let Europeans make online payments without relying on US payment systems -- as Europe ramps up efforts to break its dependence on foreign firms including US giants such as Visa and Mastercard. Critics fear it would allow governments to surveil citizens' payments or even cut them off from the money supply.
At the global level, two major economic blocs, the US and Europe, are taking very different approaches to crypto regulation. On one side, the European Union has moved from drafting rules to active enforcement. The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) has entered into force in phases. It already covers crypto asset service providers and market abuse, while the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) aims to integrate its interim MiCA register into formal regulatory systems.
By now we have grown accustomed to Trumps strategy of threatening nations with tariffs in a bid to get what he wants, but this occasion appears to have taken it a step too far. For many of the European leaders, this is a warning sign that their US partners are no longer reliable for as long as Trump is in power.
The European Central Bank said Friday it had fined French bank Credit Agricole €7.55 million ($9 million) for failing to properly identify climate change-related risks that could affect its balance sheet. "Credit Agricole did not sufficiently assess the materiality of its climate-related and environmental risks" by a deadline set after an investigation in 2024, the ECB said in a statement, adding the bank was late by "75 full days".
In an incisive analysis of the new age of predatory great powers, where might is increasingly asserted as right, Carney not only accurately defined the coarsening of international relations as a rupture, not a transition. He also outlined how liberal democratic middle powers such as Canada but also European countries must build coalitions to counter coercion and defend as much as possible of the principles of territorial integrity, the rule of law, free trade, climate action and human rights.
