Category Archives: Global economy

Shares in New York and London tumble on fears of US recession

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FTSE 100 on track for its lowest close since April and Japan’s Nikkei suffers biggest fall since crash of 1987

Shares on Wall Street and in London have fallen heavily amid a global stock market rout triggered by fears of a recession in the US.

The tech-focused Nasdaq index dropped by 6% as trading in New York opened on Monday, while the broader S&P 500 index fell by 4.2% in a sell-off triggered by weak US jobs data. The Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 1,100 points, a 2.8% decline.

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Large English vineyards mark boom year as output and investment soars

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Though tiny compared with rivals, English wine trade is thriving as climate crisis fuels flood of new capital from investors

The largest English vineyards increased their revenues by 15% last year, as wine investors respond to the climate crisis by planting more vines.

While the UK still languishes well down the list of the largest wine-producing nations, below countries such as Uzbekistan and Tunisia, the industry’s output has soared in recent years, rising by 77% last year to 161,960 hectolitres, equivalent to 21.6m bottles.

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UK food industry says lack of testing capacity forcing imports back to EU for checks

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Trade bodies blame lack of lab facilities at Brexit border posts for longer delays and shorter shelf life of food

Imported food coming into the UK through Brexit border posts is being sent back to Europe to be tested due to a lack of laboratory capacity in Britain, food bodies have said.

The SPS Certification Working Group, which represents 30 trade bodies covering £100bn worth of the UK’s food supply, has written to the government warning that members are being advised that some samples of imported foods are being sent to countries such as Germany to be tested before they can be released at the border.

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World Bank warns 108 countries risk being stuck in ‘middle-income trap’

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Too many nations, including China and India, are relying on outmoded strategies to become advanced economies, says report

More than 100 countries – including China, India, Brazil and South Africa – risk becoming stuck in a “middle-income trap” unless they adopt radical growth strategies for their economies, the World Bank has said.

The Washington-based development organisation said emerging market nations would struggle to close the gap on US living standards unless they relied less heavily on investment to increase growth.

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EU plan to impose import duty on cheap goods could dent Shein and Temu

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Brussels move to end tax loophole exploited by China-linked marketplaces could also dent Shein’s planned London listing

The EU is moving forward with plans to impose customs duty on cheap goods in a shift that could hit imports from online retailers and harm a hoped-for London listing by the fast-fashion seller Shein.

The potential change comes amid growing disquiet among retailers based in the UK, elsewhere in Europe, and the US about rising competition from Chinese-linked marketplaces Shein and Temu, which exploit a loophole that excludes low-value items from import duty.

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Soaring government debt could roil global financial markets, warns BIS head

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Agustín Carstens says world economy on course for ‘smooth landing’ after inflation but political turmoil poses risk

Rising government debt levels could disturb global financial markets, the head of the body that advises central banks said on Sunday before France’s high-stakes parliamentary elections.

Agustín Carstens, the general manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), said the world economy was on course for a “smooth landing” from the inflation crisis, but he warned that policymakers, especially politicians, needed to be careful.

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Global wave of elections could hit UK financial system, warns Bank of England

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Central bank raises concerns over newly elected governments as more than 80 countries go to polls this year

Uncertainty caused by a global wave of elections, starting this weekend in France, risks destabilising the UK’s financial system, the Bank of England has warned.

Officials are concerned about the kind of policies that newly elected governments may enforce in large economies, including the US, where Donald Trump is vying for another term as president in the run-up to the election in November.

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Russian ties and cheap tech: G7 leaders unequivocal in criticism of China

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Concerns set out over supply of materials with military applications, and impact of subsidies on global market

China’s role in providing assistance to Russia in its war against Ukraine, and its “harmful overcapacity” in the production of cheap goods, have been targeted by G7 leaders despite misgivings from Germany.

On the second day of the annual summit, being held in Puglia under the Italian chair, the US drove home a 36-page communique that condemned Chinese subsidies for products such as solar panels and electric cars which it said were leading to “global spillovers, market distortions and harmful overcapacity … undermining our workers, industries, and economic resilience and security”.

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Stellantis says it will ‘fight’ for electric car sales rather than hide behind tariffs

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The owner of Vauxhall, Jeep and Fiat says it opposes EU measures against Chinese EVs and wants to compete ‘as a global company’

The owner of the Jeep, Fiat and Vauxhall brands has said it will not take a defensive stance in the battle for electric car sales, amid signs of an escalating trade war in the market between Europe and China.

Stellantis’s chief executive, Carlos Tavares, has criticised the EU tariffs on imported Chinese cars announced on Wednesday and said the world’s fourth biggest carmaker preferred to “fight to stay competitive”.

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EU to put tariffs of up to 38% on Chinese electric vehicles as trade war looms

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Move, to be applied provisionally from July, would trigger duties of more than €2bn a year

The EU has notified Beijing that it intends to impose tariffs of up to 38% on imports of Chinese electric vehicles, triggering duties of more than €2bn (£1.7bn) a year and a likely trade war with China.

The tariffs will be applied provisionally from next month in line with World Trade Organization rules, which give China four weeks to challenge any evidence the EU provides to justify the levies on imported EVs.

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EU expected to impose import tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles

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Experts believe Beijing will retaliate with measures that could hit European exports from cheese to cognac

The EU is expected to notify China that it will impose tariffs on electric vehicle imports this week, firing the starting gun on a potential summer trade war with Beijing.

A formal pre-disclosure of tariffs could happen as early as Wednesday, after a lengthy investigation into China’s state subsidies for its car manufacturing, which is predicted to conclude that massive support continues to be concentrated on the EV sector.

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UK clothing sales to EU plummet as Brexit red tape deters exporters

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Small and medium-sized firms badly hit as huge drop in apparel sales helps fuel 18% slide in all-non food exports

UK exports of clothing and footwear to the EU have dived since Brexit, according to a new study that shows the extent to which complex regulations and red tape at the border have deterred firms from sending goods across the Channel.

Exports of clothing and footwear sold to EU countries have fallen from £7.4bn in 2019 to £2.7bn in 2023, helping fuel an 18% slump in sales of all non-food goods exports to countries covered by the EU single market, according to the consultancy Retail Economics and online marketplace Tradebyte.

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Productivity soars in sectors of global economy most exposed to AI, says report

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Employers in UK, one of 15 countries studied, willing to pay 14% wage premium for jobs requiring AI skills

The sectors of the global economy most heavily exposed to artificial intelligence (AI) are witnessing a marked productivity increase and command a significant wage premium, according to a report.

Boosting hopes that AI might help lift the global economy out of a 15-year, low-growth trough, a PwC study found productivity growth was almost five times as rapid in parts of the economy where AI penetration was highest than in less exposed sectors.

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Cop29 at a crossroads in Azerbaijan with focus on climate finance

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Fossil-fuel dependent country hopes to provide bridge between wealthy global north and poor south at November gathering

Oil is inescapable in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The smell of it greets the visitor on arrival and from the shores of the Caspian Sea on which the city is built the tankers are eternally visible. Flares from refineries near the centre light up the night sky, and you do not have to travel far to see fields of “nodding donkeys”, small piston pump oil wells about 6 metres (20ft) tall, that look almost festive in their bright red and green livery.

It will be an interesting setting for the gathering of the 29th UN climate conference of the parties, which will take place at the Olympic Stadium in November.

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Putin and Xi announce plans to strengthen military ties in Beijing

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Russian leader praises ‘comradely’ talks with Chinese president ahead of concert to mark 75 years of ‘friendship’

Russia and China have announced they will deepen their already close military ties, as Vladimir Putin met Xi Jinping in Beijing on his first foreign trip since being inaugurated for a new term as Russia’s president.

It is the latest in a string of statements and signals that the warm relationship between the two countries is as strong as it has ever been.

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Biden announces 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles

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White House levy to protect US makers from cheap imports likely to inflame trade tensions

The US president, Joe Biden, has announced a 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles as part of a package of measures designed to protect US manufacturers from cheap imports.

In a move that is likely to inflame trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies, the White House said it was imposing more stringent curbs on Chinese goods worth $18bn.

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World Bank and IMF can press Ghana to rethink ‘punitive’ LGBTQ law, charities say

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Charities and campaign groups are calling on bodies to say they may stop funding country if legislation comes into effect

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are coming under pressure to use their financial might to persuade Ghana to reconsider a proposed law that could lead to anyone who identifies as LGBTQ+ being jailed for three years.

Charities and campaign groups are calling on the global development bodies to tell Ghana they may stop funding the country if the proposed legislation – which will be challenged in the country’s supreme court next week – comes into effect.

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Biden White House to expand tariffs on Chinese trade

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President likely to add sectors such as electric vehicles, batteries and solar cells to range of levies set up under Donald Trump

Joe Biden is expected as early as next week to announce fresh tariffs on Chinese trade, with levies focused on strategic sectors including electric vehicles, in a review of measures first put into place under Donald Trump.

An announcement planned for Tuesday will keep the blanket tax rises introduced by the president’s predecessor but supplement them with targeted levies on industries connected to EVs, including batteries and solar cells, according to reports.

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Hungary rolls out red carpet for Xi in final leg of European tour

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Warm welcome for Chinese president contrasts with rest of EU, with up to 18 cooperation agreements expected

Hungary has rolled out the red carpet for Xi Jinping in a show of warmth that contrasts with wariness in the rest of the EU about China’s stance on trade, global politics and human rights.

On the third and final stop of his first European tour in five years, Xi was given a ceremonial welcome by Hungary’s president, Tamás Sulyok, at Buda Castle, in Budapest, before talks with Viktor Orbán. The Hungarian prime minister, the EU’s longest-serving leader, has sought to deepen ties with Beijing and blocked EU motions criticising China’s human rights abuses.

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Xi Jinping to visit France, Hungary and Serbia amid EU trade tariff row

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China’s president arrives as EU anti-subsidy investigations and tensions over espionage, Ukraine and Taiwan continue

China’s president, Xi Jinping, is to visit Europe next week for the first time in five years, in a tour that will take in the unlikely trifecta of France, Hungary and Serbia.

The visit comes as China pushes to avoid a trade war with the EU, while attitudes towards Beijing in the bloc are hardening after multiple spying scandals and China’s ongoing support for Russia in the war in Ukraine.

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