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The writer is senior macro investment strategist at BlackRock Much has been made of the speculative fervour that underpinned the gains in equity markets at the start of the year. After a challenging 2022, there was sharp rebound in riskier assets with investors seemingly taking a more bullish view of the world, particularly on the

China is holding up Arm’s plan to offload its troubled joint venture in the country, months after the UK chip designer agreed to transfer the unit to its owner SoftBank as a prelude to a blockbuster stock market listing. Three people close to the matter say Chinese officials have declined to process the paperwork confirming

André de Ruyter knew something was not right when he started to feel dizzy and nauseous after drinking a coffee. At the time he was chief executive of Eskom, South Africa’s collapsing electricity utility, and to his surprise, he found himself forgetting simple words, even the term “power station”. Only later, after he had been

A gambit to raise cash for Carlyle Group’s latest buyout fund has come up short, in a sign of continuing fundraising difficulties at the global private equity group. Carlyle has for months been pushing a complex deal that would raise money for its newest flagship vehicle while also giving investors in an older fund a

Sam Fleming and Henry Foy in Brussels, Felicia Schwartz and James Politi in Washington and Simeon Kerr in Abu Dhabi Western allies are pushing the United Arab Emirates to halt exports of critical goods to Russia, as they seek to starve Vladimir Putin’s military of components to sustain its war against Ukraine. Officials from the

Western allies are pushing the United Arab Emirates to halt exports of critical goods to Russia as they seek to starve Vladimir Putin’s military of components to sustain its war against Ukraine. Officials from the US, EU and UK have in recent weeks visited the wealthy Gulf state to spell out the wide-ranging scope of

UniCredit’s board has proposed raising chief executive Andrea Orcel’s salary by 30 per cent — from €2.5mn to €3.25mn a year — just weeks after the head of the Italian bank’s remuneration committee quit. Orcel is already one of the best-paid bankers in Europe, with a pay package of €7.5mn. The new proposals announced on

Airlines are defying gravity. The global economy is weak and inflation is fuelling a cost of living crisis, yet there is an apparently relentless demand for flying across the world. Low cost airlines in Europe are touting record booking sprees, US carriers cannot find enough planes to meet demand, and Air India has decided now

Prosecutors in Switzerland have charged four bankers with helping to hide tens of millions of Swiss francs on behalf of Vladimir Putin, in one of the first ever court cases in the west to directly involve assets allegedly belonging to the Russian president. The four individuals were employees of Gazprombank’s Swiss subsidiary, and include its

Across the bay from Port Talbot’s steelworks, one of the biggest metal plants in Europe, academics at Swansea University are laying the foundations of Wales’s green economy. In campus labs, academics are inventing materials that stop steel corrosion to extend the life of machine parts and support sustainable industry. Nearby stands an “Active House” that

Ferrovial, the Spanish infrastructure group and part owner of Heathrow airport, has triggered a political storm by proposing to shift its head office to the Netherlands after its founder raised questions over the business environment in Spain. “I don’t think it’s acceptable,” said Nadia Calviño, Spain’s deputy prime minister, as several members of the government

Viruses thrive on ignorance. China’s refusal to co-operate with investigations into Covid’s origins is thus self-harming. Not only does it deepen fears that China will be late in alerting the world to the next novel virus outbreak; it fans conspiracy theories that coronavirus was a Chinese plot. More than three years after Covid erupted, the

France is making an aggressive push to promote nuclear power in the EU, seeking to rally allies for battles to come in a stand-off with Germany over the bloc’s energy policy. Paris on Tuesday persuaded 10 countries, including Hungary and Bulgaria, to join a “nuclear alliance” calling on Brussels to do more to back atomic

The UK government on Wednesday came under renewed scrutiny over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic after a leaked dossier of WhatsApp messages involving former health secretary Matt Hancock raised fresh questions about the testing of people in care homes. The Daily Telegraph reported that Hancock rejected advice by Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical

Andrew Bailey has signalled that financial markets have been wrong in their growing belief over the past month that the Bank of England will need to impose many more interest rate rises to bring inflation under control. Speaking at a cost of living conference in London on Wednesday, the BoE governor said the central bank

UK housebuilder Persimmon has warned its new home sales could fall by up to 40 per cent this year if demand stays as it is now, sending its shares down almost 10 per cent. The FTSE 100 group, one of the UK’s largest housebuilders, said if current trends persisted throughout 2023, sales could fall to

Asian and European stocks rallied on Wednesday as robust Chinese manufacturing data lifted investors’ spirits following muted trading the previous day. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed up 4.2 per cent and China’s CSI 300 rose 1.4 per cent. Europe’s region-wide Stoxx 600 was up 0.3 per cent, Germany’s Dax added 0.7 per cent and

Revolut’s auditor warned that the design of the fintech’s IT systems meant there was a risk that the bulk of its 2021 revenues were materially misstated even as it turned a profit for the first time that year. The crypto boom helped Revolut report on Wednesday a net profit of £26mn in 2021 compared with

China’s manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace in more than a decade in February, in one of the clearest signs that the world’s second-largest economy is shaking off the effects of a nationwide Covid-19 outbreak and years of growth-constraining pandemic curbs. The official manufacturing sector purchasing managers’ index hit 52.6 last month, according to

UK house prices dropped more than expected last month and posted the first annual contraction since the start of the pandemic as inflation and higher mortgage rates hit prospective buyers. Property prices fell 1.1 per cent in February, the largest decline in a decade, compared with the same month last year, down from a 1.1