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Some investors are warning of a mismatch between market expectations and the Federal Reserve’s stated commitment to stamping out inflation as traders stand by their wagers on interest rate cuts next year. Traders in the futures market are betting the central bank’s main interest rate will be cut to 3.3 per cent by the end

UK consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level since comparable records began almost 50 years ago as the rising cost of living stokes concerns over personal finances and economic prospects. In monthly research from data provider GfK, the August index score for overall consumer confidence fell to minus 44 from a figure of minus

Turkey has shocked markets with a 100 basis point interest rate cut despite inflation of nearly 80 per cent, as the central bank loosens policy further to spur growth ahead of a general election next year. The bank had been expected to keep the rate at 14 per cent, which has already pushed real Turkish

The UK’s rate of inflation jumped to 10.1 per cent in July, the first time it has registered a double-digit annual increase in more than four decades. Consumer price inflation, driven by higher food prices, rose from 9.4 per cent in June to its highest level since February 1982. The double-digit rate exceeded economists’ expectations

Real levels of UK wages fell at the fastest rate for at least 20 years in the second quarter of this year, but the labour market remains too tight for the Bank of England to feel comfortable about inflationary pressures. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that in the three months to June

China has cut a crucial lending rate in an effort to shore up growth as the world’s second-biggest economy is buffeted by repeated lockdowns and a worsening property downturn. The People’s Bank of China on Monday reduced the medium-term lending rate, through which it provides one-year loans to the banking system, by 10 basis points

Saudi Aramco has broken its quarterly profit record set in May, as soaring energy prices driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine deliver windfalls to oil producers. But the state-controlled company’s chief executive warned that spare capacity remained limited as demand was increasing, with pandemic restrictions expected to ease in China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer.

The winner of the Conservative party leadership contest will face huge additional costs of servicing the nation’s debt and paying social security benefits as a result of rising inflation and interest rates, according to Financial Times calculations. The estimates, which are an update to the Bank of England’s previous official inflation forecast in March, show

Spain has said an additional link in a gas pipeline from the Iberian peninsula to France could be ready within nine months after Germany backed the idea of linking the region to central Europe to improve the continent’s energy security. Spanish energy and environment minister Teresa Ribera said on Friday that a new section of

Soaring oil use for power generation in Europe and the Middle East will boost crude consumption for the rest of the year, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday, as it increased its global demand forecast despite signs of a wider economic slowdown. Paris-based IEA, which is primarily funded by OECD members, said record European

The US consumer price index rose by 8.5 per cent year-on-year in July, a slower annual increase compared to June, as inflationary pressures eased on the back of lower petrol prices. CPI data released on Wednesday showed no increase between June and July, compared to a 1.3 per cent monthly increase recorded a month ago.

Household energy bills in Britain are projected to peak at more than £4,420 a year on average next spring, posing a “fresh shock” for households already enduring a cost of living crisis. The energy consultancy Cornwall Insight on Tuesday raised its forecasts for Britain’s price cap following an announcement by the energy regulator Ofgem of

China has extended military drills around Taiwan, stoking fears of a drawn-out period of heightened tension that is piling pressure on the US to respond. Beijing’s largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan had been expected to wind down after navigation warnings for seven areas around the country expired early on Monday. But the People’s Liberation Army

Liz Truss has promised an immediate cut to National Insurance rates if she becomes prime minister in September, but faced claims from her Tory leadership rival Rishi Sunak that the change would “not touch the sides” for many poorer households battling a crisis in living costs. Truss, foreign secretary, told the Financial Times on Friday

Liz Truss, the Tory leadership frontrunner, has rejected “handouts” as the best way to help households through the worst income squeeze in 60 years, promising instead tax cuts and radical economic reform. Truss, in an interview with the Financial Times, defied the “abacus economics” of the Treasury, insisting she would press ahead with tax cuts

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has rejected claims from Conservative MPs that the UK’s central bank acted too slowly to tackle surging inflation and defended its operational independence and mandate. Asked on Friday about whether he would remain in post no matter what changes were implemented by the successor to outgoing prime minister Boris

Britain faces a protracted recession and the worst squeeze on living standards in more than 60 years, the Bank of England warned on Thursday, as it raised interest rates to their highest level since the onset of the global financial crisis. Eight of the Monetary Policy Committee’s nine members voted to raise interest rates by

Bain & Co, the Boston-based global management consultant, was on Tuesday hit with a three-year ban from tendering for British government contracts because of its “grave professional misconduct” in a major corruption scandal in South Africa. Jacob Rees-Mogg, Cabinet Office minister, told Bain that the affair had rendered the company’s integrity “questionable” and that he

China is ratcheting up military activity around Taiwan ahead of a potential visit by Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, who is expected to land in Taipei on Tuesday night. Several Chinese fighter jets flew close to the median line that divides the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday morning, according to a

Deutsche Bank staff broke regulatory rules and company policy to enable clients to siphon off millions of euros in government revenues, according to an internal investigation on its role in one of Europe’s biggest tax scandals. More than 70 current and former employees are under investigation by public prosecutors in Cologne over the scandal, highlighting