# markets
Latest news and articles about markets
Total: 4 articles found
From Wedding Rules to Winter Sports: How Beijing’s Year‑start Directives, Consumer Frenzy and Platform Policing Are Shaping China’s Early‑2026 Economy
Beijing’s latest No.1 document renewed efforts to rein in excessive rural bride prices and for the first time called for cross‑provincial coordination, even as state media celebrated mass participation in winter sports and officials moved to revive cross‑strait tourism. Markets were volatile: gold jewellery prices surged, bitcoin hit a 15‑month low amid AI‑related software fears, and regulators forced WeChat to block widely shared promotional links that were disrupting user experience.
Trump Picks Kevin Warsh for Fed Chair — a Hawkish Choice That Stokes Market Jitters
President Trump has nominated Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor and Wall Street banker, to be Federal Reserve chair. Markets moved sharply on the news as investors priced in a more hawkish US monetary stance, while the nomination raises questions about Fed independence and global spillovers from tighter US policy.
Fed Holds Rates Steady after Prior Easing, Spotlighting Policy Uncertainty
The Federal Reserve kept its policy rate at 3.50%–3.75% and signaled a cautious, data‑dependent approach after three rate cuts in late 2025. A 10–2 vote to hold, with two officials favoring an immediate 25‑basis‑point cut, exposed internal disagreement over how quickly to ease further amid still‑elevated inflation.
China’s Economy and Tech Swerve Between Commercial Ambition and Policy Recalibration
China’s private-sector dynamism is on display: a domestically built commercial passenger spacecraft opened 3 million-yuan ticket sales, while TikTok formalised a U.S. data-and-content entity to keep American users connected. Markets and commodities reacted: gold hit a record high and equities rallied in technology, materials and consumer niches, even as local governments roll back high-stakes school exams and industrial automation tests promise large efficiency gains.