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The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its main policy rate by 50 basis points, the largest increase since 2000. The steep hike reflects the current state of the US economy, where inflation surged to 8.5 percent in March with unemployment relatively low at 3.6 percent.

As inflation persists across Europe, with double-digit numbers for some eurozone countries, ECB President Christine Lagarde’s road map for upcoming interest rates hikes drew a mixed response in the markets.

The European Central Bank on Thursday, in no hurry to raise interest rates while inflation pressures continue to build, took another small step on its journey  towards higher eurozone benchmark rate as Lagarde repeatedly underlined the need for flexibility in the bank’s monetary policy.

Sanctions imposed on companies and individuals in Russia and Belarus have triggered concerns that crypto-currencies offer an escape route to circumvent them. Insiders argued that these concerns are unjustified, although crypto sceptics argue that “we should not be naive”.

Fund data specialist FE fundinfo, partly owned by the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, said it has reached an agreement with Euronext to acquire French fund data provider Funds360 for an undisclosed amount. The deal expands its geographical presence in Europe and Asia. 

Active management of investment funds is no guarantee for outperformance during volatile times in financial markets, according to a new study presented on Monday by Europe’s top financial markets authority. “There is low ability to generate sustained positive alpha, especially for larger funds,” it said.

The European Central Bank on Thursday opened the doors to a potential eurozone rate hike in the second half of this year as it brought forward the end of its asset purchasing programme to the summer, but at the same time it made clear that it would keep open its option to renew the programme if economic conditions worsen because of the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.

Luxembourg’s space sector is about to undergo a top level strategic review, with a reassessment to be made of the ambitious approach taken in recent years. This takes place against the background of the country’s satellite giant SES SA also reorienting itself.

For a second time in two years, investment fund managers have been ordered to directly report significant redemptions as the CSSF, the Grand Duchy’s financial supervisor, stepped up its monitoring of the impact from the war in Ukraine and the international sanctions against Russia.

Luxembourg fully supports the European Union’s additional sanctions against Russia over its aggressive move towards Ukraine but supports a cautious approach with the EU’s plans to eject Vladimir Putin’s country from the international payments system Swift. If that happens Russia will in essence be cut off from the world economy.

Spacs – special purpose acquisition vehicles – had a very good year in 2021, with some 600 Spacs raising 165 billion dollars but they are, like the rest of the economy, adapting to the new post-Covid economic reality. Many investment banking and legal experts active in the Spac field see them continuing to do well.