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France’s 2026 budget to be ‘demanding’ undertaking: economy minister

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Watch CNBC's full interview with France's Economy Minister Eric Lombard

Ironing out the 2026 budget of the euro zone’s second-largest economy will prove a “demanding” task, French Economy Minister Eric Lombard told CNBC’s Charlotte Reed, after lawmakers earlier this month finally adopted 2025’s financial plan after a spate of tumultuous, government-toppling attempts.

France has charted a trajectory to reduce its public deficit, aiming to reach 5.4% of the national GDP in 2025 and to dip below 3% in 2029, Lombard said. Under European Union spending rules, member states must keep their deficits below 3% of GDP.  

“2026, yes, it is a very demanding budget, because we will continue to diminish the deficit and to be below, of course, below 5.4%, and probably below 5%,” the economy minister told CNBC on Monday, noting that the final target hadn’t been set in stone. 

“We are going to work with all the political parties … to discuss, to talk with us. We are going, also, to work with the unions, with the employers, in order to reach a consensus on the main policies that are key for the country, and policies on which we can make adjustments that will allow us to spend less in 2026,” he said.

The absence of a budget and broader instability in French politics has bled into markets over recent months. Lombard conceded a “negative impact on growth,” expressing hope that investors will now return to France.

The country’s economic performance shriveled with a 0.1% contraction in the fourth quarter, from from 0.4% growth in the preceding three months, with the Bank of France expecting a meager 0.1-0.2% rise in the national GDP in the first quarter amid anticipated increases in market services and the energy sector, according to its latest monthly business survey. The International Monetary Fund anticipates the French economy will expand by 0.8% across the full-year 2025 period.

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Economics

America’s Supreme Court tackles a thorny voting-rights case

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Louisiana v Callais, a case the Supreme Court heard on March 24th, contains a political puzzle. Why is the solidly Republican state defending a congressional map that cost the party a seat in 2024—and will likely keep that seat in Democratic hands after the 2026 midterms, when the fight to control the House of Representatives could be very close?

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Economics

Consumer confidence in where the economy is headed hits 12-year low

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Shoppers walk near a Nordstrom store at the Westfield UTC shopping center on Jan. 31, 2025 in San Diego, California.

Kevin Carter | Getty Images

Consumer confidence dimmed further in March as the view of future conditions fell to the lowest level in more than a decade, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.

The board’s monthly confidence index of current conditions slipped to 92.9, a 7.2-point decline and the fourth consecutive monthly contraction. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a reading of 93.5.

However, the measure for future expectations told an even darker story, with the index tumbling 9.6 points to 65.2, the lowest reading in 12 years and well below the 80 level that is considered a signal for a recession ahead.

The index measures respondents’ outlook for income, business and job prospects.

“Consumers’ optimism about future income — which had held up quite strongly in the past few months — largely vanished, suggesting worries about the economy and labor market have started to spread into consumers’ assessments of their personal situations,” said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist, Global Indicators at The Conference Board.

The survey comes amid worries over President Donald Trump’s plans for tariffs against U.S. imports, which has coincided with a volatile stock market and other surveys showing waning sentiment.

The fall in confidence was driven by a decline in those 55 or older but was spread across income groups.

In addition to the general pessimism, the outlook for the stock market slid sharply, with just 37.4% of respondents expecting higher equity prices in the next year. That marked a 10 percentage point drop from February and was the first time the view turned negative since late-2023.

The view on the labor market also weakened, with those expecting more jobs to be available falling to 16.7%, while those expecting fewer jobs rose to 28.5%. The respective February readings were 18.8% and 26.6%.

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Economics

A shambolic leak reveals Team Trump’s contempt for allies

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MANY KNOW the mortification of sending the wrong text message to the wrong person. But when the fat thumb is that of America’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, the message is a detailed military plan to bomb Yemen and the recipient is a prominent journalist, the error is not just a cause of shame but potentially a serious breach of national security.

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