The Bank of Japan will raise its policy interest rate next week, resuming the hiking cycle for the first time since January, according to a Bloomberg survey of BoJ watchers.

All 50 economists expect the central bank to raise its benchmark rate to 0.75% at a policy meeting concluding next Friday, according to the poll. This is the first time every respondent predicted a rate shift under Governor Kazuo Ueda’s watch. (BBG – Continue Reading) 

The Federal Reserve’s board of governors voted unanimously to reappoint 11 reserve bank presidents to new five-year terms beginning March 1, 2026, the central bank said on Thursday.

The presidents of the Fed’s 12 quasi-private reserve banks are chosen by the individual banks’ boards of directors, whose members are typically business or nonprofit executives, but those selections must be approved by the Washington-based governors. All 12 presidents are up for reappointment at the same time every five years. 

The reappointment process had always been an under-the-radar administrative process that didn’t attract attention until this year because President Trump has escalated a pressure campaign on the central bank to cut interest rates. (WSJ – Continue Reading) 

The Trump administration is forming a coalition to counter China’s dominant control of critical minerals and emerging power as a center of AI and other tech sectors.

The administration plans to launch the coalition of partners with the signing Friday of the Pax Silica Declaration, uniting Singapore, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Israel in a collaboration intended to address deficits in critical mineral access edging out China’s massive investment in its critical minerals and tech sector. The administration is actively looking to enlist other countries to join the group. 

The initiative underscores the degree to which the Trump administration considers China’s near monopoly in rare earths – minerals that are critical to civilian and military applications – and dominance of other parts of the global supply chain, as a significant threat. (Politico – Continue Reading)