European stocks rose on Wednesday after soft inflation data in the US bolstered investors’ bets that the Federal Reserve would not increase interest rates when it met later in the day. Europe’s region-wide Stoxx 600 opened 0.2 per cent higher, as did Germany’s Dax. London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1 per cent. Wall Street rallied overnight,
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The UK economy returned to growth in April, driven by the rebound in consumer spending and fewer strikes, but the prospect of higher interest rates clouds the outlook. Gross domestic product grew 0.2 per cent between March and April, reversing some of the contraction of the previous month, according to data published by the Office
Big asset managers are buying up UK government debt again, tempted by the higher yields on offer after a much faster sell-off than in other major bond markets. Two-year gilts suffered a sharp sell-off on Tuesday, with yields surging 0.25 percentage points to 4.89 per cent, the highest level since 2008. That followed official figures
On New Year’s Day, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged that 2023 would be Ukraine’s “year of victory”. Last week, Kyiv launched its long-awaited military counteroffensive to drive Russian forces out of the country. Early reports from the front line have so far been mixed. East of the capital, Ukrainian forces claim to have recaptured high ground
Grubhub’s new chief executive had “tough” news on Monday for its 2,800 employees. Though the food delivery app had boomed during the pandemic, 15 per cent of workers will now lose their jobs. “We operate in a highly competitive and constantly evolving industry, and we need to continually look at whether we are set up
Crispin Odey threatened to take the UK financial watchdog to court if it did not drop an investigation into sexual misconduct over almost two decades at his eponymous hedge fund firm. Odey challenged the Financial Conduct Authority’s decision to open a probe in 2021 and threatened to bring a judicial review against the regulator, according
No two criminal arraignments are quite the same, as Donald Trump can now attest. When the former US president appeared in a federal court in downtown Miami on Tuesday to answer criminal charges that he mishandled classified documents after he left office, there were many similarities to his appearance in a Manhattan court just over
Nvidia closed on Tuesday with a $1tn valuation for the first time, ending a fortnight of wobbly trading during which the semiconductor stock was unable to finish above the milestone level. Shares in the chipmaker, regarded by Wall Street as one of the big beneficiaries from the surge in developments around artificial intelligence, closed 3.9
Nadine Dorries, the former cabinet minister who claims she has fallen victim to “sinister forces” in Downing Street, is making her party leader and prime minister Rishi Sunak sweat by delaying her formal resignation as an MP. Dorries, who claims Sunak and his Number 10 allies blocked her elevation to the House of Lords, declared
Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to the first federal criminal charges brought against a former US president during an initial appearance to answer an indictment at a courthouse in Miami on Tuesday. Trump has accused prosecutors of conducting a “witch hunt” in bringing the case over his alleged failure to return sensitive national security records
Boris Johnson is facing a “totally damning” report that will conclude the former prime minister misled MPs about the partygate scandal, with some Tories saying he should be barred from making a return to parliament. MPs on the House of Commons privileges committee met on Tuesday to discuss their report, with one person close to
The UK jobs market is defying gravity. For months, Bank of England officials have warned that households should expect to feel poorer, as higher energy costs and rising interest rates made employers less willing either to hire or to raise wages in line with inflation. But the latest official data, released on Tuesday, showed workers
Credit Suisse has asked London’s High Court to strike out a lawsuit brought by Mozambique over the bank’s role in the $2bn “tuna bonds” scandal, claiming failures to disclose government documents mean there cannot be a fair trial. The Swiss bank and other parties are defending a lawsuit brought by the Republic of Mozambique, one
It is natural for people to focus on problems at home. But it is also essential to take a wider view. The succession of shocks — the pandemic, supply constraints, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, soaring inflation and tightening monetary and financial conditions — have adversely affected large parts of the world economy, but the weakest
Economic forecasters are used to ridicule. Their role is to confer respectability on astrologers, quipped John Kenneth Galbraith. But the Bank of England’s forecasting failures are no joke. On Tuesday, strong wage data pushed gilt yields above the mini-Budget levels of last autumn. Two-year yields rose 0.23 percentage points to 4.86 per cent. They peaked
EY’s global chief executive Carmine Di Sibio has told partners he plans to retire next year, sparking a race to lead the accounting and consulting firm after the collapse of his plan to split it in two. Di Sibio masterminded Project Everest, the once-in-a-generation break-up plan, but called off the deal in April after opposition
I read it somewhere over the weekend and thought, “Fair enough.” I heard it from a colleague, and went, “OK, but . . . ” By the time non-political friends were saying it, I knew the idea was so widespread that it must be shaky. This is the claim that Britain is in better civic health than America. And
Gilt yields surged to the highest since 2008, surpassing the level reached during the turmoil following Liz Truss’s mini Budget, after strong UK wage growth data on Tuesday. Wage growth accelerated in the three months to April against a backdrop of rising employment, raising the likelihood of further interest rate rises. Two-year gilt yields rose
European stocks rose on Tuesday, propelled by the S&P’s highest close in more than a year, as traders prepared for the release of US inflation data and the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates. Europe’s region-wide Stoxx 600 climbed 0.2 per cent, while France’s Cac 40 added 0.4 per cent and Germany’s Dax advanced 0.3
A missile strike in Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown killed at least 10 people, marking the latest escalation in Russia’s full-scale invasion as Ukraine’s army claimed its first gains in its south-eastern counteroffensive. “More terrorist missiles, Russian killers continue their war against residential buildings, ordinary cities and people,” Zelenskyy said on Tuesday about the overnight
A subsidiary of Odey Asset Management has stopped investors from withdrawing money from the Brook Developed Markets fund in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against Crispin Odey. The board overseeing the Brook Developed Markets fund said in a letter to clients that it was gating redemptions following a higher volume of requests from investors