Central bankers once again held key interest rates in the Eurozone at levels set in June, with the monetary policy for the single currency said to still be in a good place.

On Thursday, the European Central Bank decided to stay the course for a fifth straight meeting, as predicted by economists. Officials left their benchmark discount rate at 2%, which has been hovering at that level for more than six months.

ECB President Christine Lagarde even revived some old phraseology to underline the present environment: “We are in a ‘broadly balanced’ situation when it comes to risk assessment.”

Analysts widely anticipate that the ECB will leave policy as is, with the majority predicting current levels of key rates could survive through this year and some of 2027. (LiveSquawk – Continue Reading)

Despite leaving borrowing costs unchanged, the prospect of cheaper mortgage rates for homeowners edged closer following Thursday’s Bank of England policy decision.

As widely expected, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to hold the Bank Rate at 3.75%. However, the decision proved far more finely balanced than markets had anticipated. Policymakers voted 5–4 in favour of no change, compared with the 7–2 or 6–3 split widely predicted beforehand. Dissenting in favour of a cut were Sarah Breeden, Swati Dhingra, Dave Ramsden and Alan Taylor.

Analysts noted that within the majority, two influential voices – Governor Andrew Bailey and Catherine Mann – appeared comfortable with signalling that rate cuts could come sooner rather than later. (LiveSquawk – Continue Reading)

Ukraine and Russia concluded a second day of US-led talks in Abu Dhabi on Thursday without a breakthrough towards ending Europe’s most deadly conflict since the second world war.

The two sides agreed to a reciprocal exchange of 157 prisoners of war each, offering a rare concrete outcome from the discussions.

But Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy involved in the talks, cautioned that “significant work remains” in the weeks ahead, dampening expectations of any swift move towards peace.

Even so, the meetings marked the most substantive engagement between senior delegations from Kyiv and Moscow in months, pointing to a tentative, if uncertain, revival of diplomatic efforts nearly four years into the war. (Guardian – Continue Reading)

Fitch Ratings has updated its U.S. Effective Tariff Rate (ETR) Monitor and now estimates the overall U.S. ETR at 12.7%, down from 13.6% published in the Nov. 5, 2025 update. The decline reflects a reduction in the combined tariff rate on Indian imports, from 50% to 18%, along with lower tariffs on Switzerland and revised ETR estimates for Canada and Mexico.

The U.S.’s new trade deal with India, announced Feb. 2, 2026, cut the U.S. reciprocal tariff on India to 18% from 25%, effective immediately. Reports indicated that a separate 25% penalty tariff linked to India’s purchases of Russian oil would also be lifted. With these changes, India’s ETR declined to 15.6% from 35.2%. (Fitch – Continue Reading)