Westpac: US resilience may delay final Fed rate cut to June 2026

Westpac says US resilience limits scope for further Fed easing. Summary: US growth remains resilient, with activity tracking above trend despite uncertainty. Labour market stable, unemployment steady around 4.3% and wage growth firm. Household balance sheets strong, wealth at record highs supporting consumption. Inflation risks persist, particularly in core services, complicating Fed easing. Westpac delays final rate cut call…

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Solid growth outlook supports Ringgit – Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered’s Edward Lee and Jonathan Koh highlight that Malaysia’s economy grew 5.2% in 2025 after 5.1% in 2024, driven by strong domestic confidence, AI-related investment and accommodative policy. They expect GDP growth to moderate to 4.5% in 2026, above official projections, and see Bank Negara Malaysia keeping policy rates stable near term despite upside risks to growth. Growth…

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Gold reclaims $5,000 as US inflation data ignites Fed cut speculation

Gold (XAU/USD) price makes a U-turn on Friday and trims some of Thursday’s losses, rising nearly 2% following the release of a softer-than-expected inflation report in the US, which increased speculation that the Federal Reserve (Fed) could lower rates. At the time of writing, XAU/USD trades above the $5,000 milestone. XAU/USD rallies nearly 2% after cooler US inflation data…

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The On-Site Power Rush: How AI Data Centers Are Creatively Bypassing the Grid with Jet Engines and Other Unconventional Equipment

The data center industry faces a severe power shortage. Demand for artificial intelligence (AI) compute capacity is growing exponentially, fueled by the generative AI (GenA))  boom and the rollout of power-hungry GPU clusters. Meanwhile, the supply of reliable electricity is limited by an aging utility grid that expands slowly and is weighed down by bureaucratic delays. This mismatch has…

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Growth surges with AI exports – Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered’s Senior Economist Tommy Wu raises Taiwan’s 2026 GDP growth forecast to 8.0% from 3.8%, citing strong Q4-2025 expansion and robust global semiconductor demand. The bank expects economic momentum to stay firm through 2026, supported by booming ICT and electronics exports and a recent US trade deal, while growth remains uneven and income disparity may widen. AI-driven export…

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