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A ‘Doom Loop’ Threatens France as Populism Confronts Markets

The turmoil shows the profound challenges facing governments stuck between unhappy citizens and wary bond investors.

© Abdul Saboor/Reuters

Police officers during civil unrest in Paris on Sunday.

Mortgage repayments are now cheaper than rent in some Australian suburbs. Is yours among them?

17 October 2026 at 00:00

As house prices plateau, the gap between the cost of buying and renting is narrowing in dozens of suburbs

High rents and falling property prices have opened a rare window for Australian tenants to become homeowners, with mortgage repayments cheaper than rent in dozens of suburbs.

Guardian Australia’s analysis of Cotality data shows that median rents in inner-city Melbourne, suburban Canberra and Darwin are now nearly matching weekly home loan repayments.

In one in 10 suburbs and towns across the country, repayments are less than $200 a week higher than rent, for the typical property. In some suburbs, they are actually cheaper.

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© Photograph: Westend61/Getty Images

© Photograph: Westend61/Getty Images

© Photograph: Westend61/Getty Images

Hot US inflation singes Asia as higher-for-longer Fed rates loom

16 October 2026 at 10:54

TOKYO — An unwelcome blast of US inflation is blowing across Asia’s markets. September’s hotter-than-expected price data revived concerns that the Federal Reserve will keep rates higher for longer, threatening fresh pressure on currencies, capital flows and economic growth across the region.

Last month’s 3.7% year-on-year increase in consumer prices didn’t just exceed forecasts. It ensured the Fed is on an even bigger collision course with both the bond market and US President Donald Trump’s White House. It’s arguably the last thing both Trump and US Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh wanted to see less than three weeks ahead of the mid-term elections.

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The post Hot US inflation singes Asia as higher-for-longer Fed rates loom appeared first on Asia Times.

How much longer will consumers be willing to muscle through higher prices?

High gas prices are intensifying inflation and vacuuming up more of Americans' dollars, yet consumers are still digging deep to spend, powering the economy, at least for now

Tech market sell-off deepens amid fears over US inflation and AI debt

15 October 2026 at 11:38

Chip makers and tech investors such as Samsung and SoftBank plunge as potential interest rate hikes spook markets

An accelerating sell-off of AI-linked shares has hit global markets, as fears over rising inflation and future interest rate hikes spooked traders already wary of the heavily indebted sector.

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi 200 index, which is heavily skewed towards the companies that make memory chips, fell more than 8% overnight to a six-month closing low, triggering circuit breakers that brought trading to a halt at various points.

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© Photograph: Lee Jin-man/AP

© Photograph: Lee Jin-man/AP

© Photograph: Lee Jin-man/AP

India’s rate hike a loud warning shot for Modinomics

8 October 2026 at 08:28

It’s not often that events in Mumbai reverberate through global markets. But the Reserve Bank of India’s first interest rate hike in almost four years speaks volumes about the chaotic state of play. The inflation slamming Asia’s third-biggest economy and the rupee’s drop to record lows left RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra with no choice but […]

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When Asia’s central banks turn bond vigilante on Trump

7 October 2026 at 05:19

TOKYO – For decades, the US enjoyed a remarkable luxury: its two biggest creditors, Japan and China, kept showing up at Treasury auctions with checkbooks open. Now, Donald Trump’s trade wars, tariff threats and widening geopolitical confrontations raise an uncomfortable question: what happens if Washington’s most reliable bankers decide they’ve had enough? Granted, global investors […]

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US diesel crisis about to become Asia’s interest rate problem

1 October 2026 at 04:21

Diesel in the US has climbed to more than US$6.50 a gallon, up about 75% from a year ago, and Asia is likely to pay for it in the form of higher interest rates. Expensive diesel keeps American inflation elevated, which gives the Federal Reserve reason to keep raising interest rates. Higher US rates lift […]

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Bond vigilantes on a savage hunt as global yields run wild

25 September 2026 at 06:59

TOKYO — The bond vigilantes are back — and now they’re patrolling every major debt market at once. As deficits balloon, spending runs unchecked and oil prices spike, investors are reasserting control over markets that once seemed shielded from shocks and sending yields skyrocketing. The revolt spans the US, Japan, Europe and beyond as a […]

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Why are rising bond yields spurring alarm? And what do they mean for you?

11 September 2026 at 17:24
Consumers could be facing higher borrowing costs for longer as bond markets are once again signalling rising economic risk to the finance and investing community.

Why are rising bond yields spurring alarm? And what do they mean for you?

11 September 2026 at 17:24
Consumers could be facing higher borrowing costs for longer as bond markets are once again signalling rising economic risk to the finance and investing community.

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