Euro area central bankers are expected to raise their key interest rates this week in an attempt to mute inflation that is surging due to the war in Iran.

An economists’ poll predicted policymakers will increase their main rates by 25 basis points on Thursday, which would take the benchmark deposit rate to 2.25% and the main refinancing rate to 2.40%. These would be the first hikes since September 2023 and follow 200 bps of cuts in the deposit rate and 235 bps in the refinancing and marginal lending rates between June 2024 and 2025.

“The ECB is set to hike rates by 25bp,” ING said in a note. “Recent communication has effectively pre-committed markets to this outcome. A hold would come as a shock and carry significant risk for a central bank trying to avoid a repeat of the 2022 inflation crisis. (LiveSquawk – Continue Reading)

The trigger for President Trump's strikes on Iran was the downing of a U.S. helicopter, but behind the scenes Trump had been growing more and more frustrated over nearly two weeks of waiting for an Iranian response to his latest offer that still has not arrived.

Why it matters: The strikes on Tuesday evening were intended to restore some leverage, but be calibrated such that no one would be killed and the possibility of a deal would not be foreclosed, a senior U.S. official told Axios. (Axios – Continue Reading)

Defense industry leaders have been preparing to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House later this week in what is expected to be a contentious discussion as concerns grow over the U.S. supply of missiles, according to two people familiar with details of the meeting.

The leaders of roughly seven defense companies are expected to be pressed by the president to find ways to swiftly increase their production of weaponry for the Pentagon, according to these people and one other person familiar with the upcoming meeting. Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg is also expected to attend, two of the people said.

The president has expressed anger to aides and allies over thinning American stockpiles, the people said. Trump is considering whether to restart major combat operations in Iran, which downed a U.S. Army helicopter on Tuesday. The crew was rescued and the U.S. launched new attacks in Iran in response. (NBC – Continue Reading)

Several junior banks marketing shares in SpaceX’s landmark listing are working for relatively small fees and being relegated to roles that don’t come with any credit, according to people familiar with the matter.

Some of the banks listed on the lower lines in the SpaceX filing were informed in recent weeks that they had been appointed as co-managers, the lowest rung of broker on an initial public offering, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. The banks that were notified include Societe Generale and Mizuho Financial Group Inc., the people said. (Bloomberg – Continue Reading)

President Donald Trump on Wednesday doubled down on his choice of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, despite bipartisan pushback on the pick that could result in the lapse this week of a foreign surveillance program with major national security implications.

Earlier this month Trump tapped Pulte, who leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency and has used his perch to launch a series of probes into several of the president’s political opponents over allegations of mortgage-related wrongdoing.

The move drew swift criticism from both sides of the aisle and calls for Trump to ditch his choice of Pulte or quickly find a permanent replacement for the role. It also increased the odds that Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the government to collect the communications of people outside the U.S., including when they are interacting with Americans, would expire at the end of the week as Democrats vowed to withhold their support. (CNBC – Continue Reading)