Stocks struggled to make headway on Wednesday, the dollar nursed losses and bonds clung to gains, as signs of a slowing U.S. labour market made investors nervous about the economic outlook, while a bigger-than-expected rate hike lifted the kiwi dollar. Asia trade was thinned by holidays in Hong Kong and China, leaving MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to our live rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets. The cost of living crisis has knocked UK consumer confidence down to its lowest level since the pandemic, as rising food and energy bills hammer families. There has been a “significant and sustained drop-off in consumer sentiment”, leading to the … Read more
1.14am GMT 01:14 Natasha May Hema Henry has been working as a registered nurse in Western NSW for five years and today became an Australian citizen. I wanted to experience life in regional Australia. I really love it, I love the quietness and the people are very welcoming, friendly and open. Henry is participating in … Read more
Speech comes as prices increase 6.2% over past 12 months 54% of Americans say cost of groceries and gas is a ‘major crisis’ Biden to release 50m barrels of oil in effort to bring down US gas prices Sign up to receive First Thing – our daily briefing by email In case you missed it … Read more
A lot of families started receiving universal credit because of the pandemic. It is a massive hit to families’ incomes. We want to see immediate action to deal with the cost-of-living crisis facing families as we are entering a pretty tough winter for lots of people, but also businesses too. We have had a lot … Read more
Chinese regulators have already ordered Ant to separate the back end of its two lending businesses, Huabei, which is similar to a traditional credit card, and Jiebei, which makes small unsecured loans, from the rest of its financial offerings and bring in outside shareholders. Now officials want the two businesses to be split into an … Read more
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news Introduction: US jobs report coming up China’s service sector shrank last month Government urged to ‘get a handle’ on supply chain crisis 8.40am BST Japan’s Topix stock market index has hit a 30-year high today, after prime minister Yoshihide Suga unexpectedly announced he will step down. … Read more
The book covers financial crises like Lehman Brothers, Europe’s debt crisis contagion, property crisis in Ireland, etc (Photo: Express archives) History is all about wars and kings and destruction. Economics is always about inflation and growth. How does one then narrate economic history? The subject can be a drag and it is difficult to maintain … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business. Bitcoin is on a wild ride today as Tesla CEO Elon Musk sparked alarm that the electric vehicle maker could sell its holdings — before clarifying that it has not sold any bitcoin. The drama began … Read more
As infections surged in the wake of the Christmas holidays, authorities tightened restrictions on movement and limited business opening hours, weighing on output and denting early optimism for a quick recovery from 2020’s record 10.8% slump. Output fell across all sectors in the first quarter, the INE data showed, with construction the worst performer and … Read more