Weekly Economist

A Businessline poll of economists and market participants expects India's Monetary Policy Committee to raise interest rates by 25 basis points at this week's meeting. A majority of respondents anticipate cumulative tightening of 50 to 75 basis points by fiscal year 2027, pointing to continued inflation concerns shaping expectations for the Reserve Bank of India's policy path.

The Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its latest policy meeting this week, and markets will comb through them for signals on how many further interest rate hikes officials are considering as the central bank battles inflation. Investors and economists hope the record of internal debate will clarify whether more tightening is planned or if officials are close to pausing.

Rio de Janeiro's city government has launched a programme to bring movie theatres back to street corners across the Brazilian city, according to a report by Kenji Biyo in Weekly Economist's combined October 13-20, 2026 issue. The 'street-corner cinema revival plan' aims to restore local film venues, and the story is circulating among Japanese readers following international and film-industry news.

The US jobs report released just ahead of the election came in softer than expected, showing weaker hiring growth in the final weeks before voters go to the polls. The weak numbers are drawing attention from economists and political analysts, who are weighing how the slowdown could shape the economic debate in the closing stretch of the campaign.