Plunge in consumer prices has fuelled calls for a stimulus package – yet Beijing may stick to the new normal of lower growth
• China consumer prices plunge at fastest rate for 15 years
China’s economy has gone from bad to worse – and it is only February.
Figures released on Thursday showed consumer prices fell by 0.8% in January compared with a year earlier, outstripping economists’ expectations and marking the biggest contraction in 15 years.
Continue reading...Plummeting food prices feed steep annual drop amid renewed calls to stimulate economy and offset weakening demand
China’s consumer prices fell at their fastest pace in 15 years in January, as the world’s second-largest economy sank deeper into deflation amid weakening demand.
Data released on Thursday showed that China’s consumer price index tumbled last month, falling by 0.8% compared with a year earlier. It marks the fourth consecutive month of declines, as well as the sharpest drop since September 2009, when the global economy was still grappling with aftershocks from the 2008 banking crisis.
Continue reading...Both banks deny helping Tehran-controlled oil firm PCC to move money in breach of sanctions
Two of the UK’s largest lenders, Santander UK and Lloyds Banking Group, allegedly held bank accounts for front companies that helped Iranian entities evade US sanctions, according to reports.
The news has rattled investors, who sold off shares in the two banks on Monday morning, amid fears that the lenders could face penalties if they are found to have in any way assisted Iran’s state-controlled Petrochemical Commercial Company (PCC).
Continue reading...Live, rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets as Canada says UK was unwilling to give access to agricultural products
Shares in US chipmaker Intel have slumped in pre-market trading after it revealed a weaker forecast of earnings.
Chipmakers have been flying in recent years as shortages followed by the huge hype over artificial intelligence – which is hungry for processing power – prompted investors to pile into the sector.
Although Intel beat estimates, investors’ disappointment in Intel’s datacentre GPU story’s growth can be primarily attributed to the slower-than-expected product delivery and ramp-up.
Continue reading...Exclusive: NFU warns blanket import checks from April could fuel long delays and damage future crops
The UK’s fruit and flower growers face an “existential threat” from new post-Brexit border checks that could damage business and affect next year’s crops, the country’s biggest farming body has said.
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) warned that changes to import rules in April, which will impose checks at the border for nearly all young plants coming into the country, could cause long delays and result in plants being damaged or destroyed.
Continue reading...Ukraine, Middle East and Taiwan overshadow annual meeting at Davos, with artificial intelligence also high on agenda
Growing concern that heightened geopolitical tension could damage an already shaky global economy has dominated the start of the annual gathering of the world’s business and political elite in Davos, Switzerland.
Three potential flash points – Ukraine, the Middle East and Taiwan – threatened to overshadow the meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) aimed at rebuilding trust after the series of setbacks suffered in the past four years, including war, the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis.
Continue reading...Experts warn of economic impact of sustained shipping attacks and Middle East tensions
Oil prices have hit $80 (£62.83) as fears grew about the economic impact of disruption to international trade through the Red Sea and escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Raising concerns about a possible inflation shock for the world economy, Brent crude prices jumped by about 4% to a high of $80.75 a barrel on Friday, while US West Texas Intermediate crude also increased after US and UK airstrikes against Houthi rebel sites in Yemen.
Continue reading...As railway staff, lorry drivers, farmers and others threaten to strike, we examine the challenges the country faces
Railway staff, lorry drivers and farmers are among those threatening strike action across Germany from Monday in nationwide protests over grievances ranging from pay and conditions to cuts in agricultural subsidies and higher road tolls.
Long Europe’s powerhouse, Germany is struggling with a potent mix of short-term and deeper structural problems that – along with a divided and seemingly ineffectual government – have prompted economists to talk of the “sick man of Europe”.
Continue reading...Secretary general urges countries to increase investment to avoid falling behind on climate action and sustainable development
The world faces a protracted period of weak economic growth that will undermine progress on sustainable development, the UN has warned, as it urged countries to raise investment to tackle the climate emergency.
Its annual assessment of the state of the global economy presents a sombre outlook for growth as countries grapple with the impact of higher borrowing costs, geopolitical tensions and heightened risk of climate disasters.
Continue reading...Treasury says post-Brexit tie-up to be signed on Thursday will ease cross-border market access for financial services
The UK and Switzerland will agree to forge closer links on Thursday in a post-Brexit accord that aims to deepen ties between the City and the Swiss banking system.
In a move that brings Europe’s largest financial centres closer together, the mutual recognition agreement will be signed on Thursday by the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, during a visit to Berne.
Continue reading...Commission moves to delay 10% sales charge after intense lobbying by EU and UK carmakers
The European Commission looks set to propose a three-year delay to a 10% tariff on sales of electric vehicles between the EU and the UK, in a major boost for car industries across Europe.
Duties were due to kick in on 1 January 2024 but all the major carmakers in the UK and Europe including BMW, Volkswagen and Stellantis have been lobbying for a temporary reprieve.
Continue reading...European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen to meet Chinese president Xi Jinping at summit on Thursday
The EU is to tell China that its €400bn (£343bn) trade deficit is not sustainable long term amid fears that it will flood the bloc with subsidised electric cars, solar panels and medical devices, threatening European manufacturing and jobs.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission chief, and Charles Michel, the European Council president, will meet Xi Jinping at a summit on Thursday, the second of its kind this year.
Continue reading...Rating agency says Beijing may need to bail out local governments as property sector collapses
China’s ability to repay its government borrowing has been downgraded by the credit rating agency Moody’s, which said the ripple effects from a crisis in the property sector would undermine efforts to revive its flagging economy.
Moody’s warned that Beijing would need to bail out local and regional governments and state-owned enterprises that were struggling with rising debts, hampering efforts to boost investment and growth.
Continue reading...Stance on inflation poses threat to ‘soft landing’ forecast for global economy, says OECD
Continued tough action by central banks to tackle stubborn inflation risks tipping Britain and other developed countries into recession next year, the west’s leading economic thinktank has warned.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said the chances of policymakers getting it wrong were “pretty high” and posed a threat to its central “soft landing” forecast for the global economy.
Continue reading...Rules, still subject to formal approval, stop exports to non-OECD countries and limit them elsewhere
The EU has struck a deal to stop ships of waste plastic landing in ports of poor countries.
European lawmakers and member states agreed on Friday to ban exports of plastic rubbish to countries outside the OECD group of mostly rich countries from the middle of 2026. The deal comes as diplomats meet in Nairobi, Kenya, to hammer out a global treaty on plastic pollution.
Continue reading...Fear adds to Russia-Ukraine conflict risk and increases ‘probability of European and of US recession’
A global recession could be triggered by the conflict in the Middle East as the humanitarian crisis compounds the challenges facing an already precarious world economy, two of Wall Street’s biggest names warned this weekend.
Larry Fink, chief executive of the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, said a combination of the Hamas atrocities of 7 October, Israel’s resultant attack on Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year had pushed the world “almost to a whole new future”.
Continue reading...Danish company has axed 6,500 of those roles already, with global economic slowdown taking toll
One of the world’s largest shipping companies, Møller-Maersk, is cutting 10,000 jobs because of a drop in demand triggered by the global economic slowdown.
The Danish company said it had already started cutting staff but was planning on “intensifying” cost-saving measures in order to safeguard its financial performance as price forecasts worsened.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Poll shows young people willing to make big lifestyle changes but baulk at smaller gestures
They are willing to have smaller families, stop using cars and – albeit in smaller numbers – go vegan for the planet, but abandoning single-use plastics and growing a few more plants could be a step too far.
Across Europe, according to a seven-country survey, it seems young people are more willing than older generations to make big lifestyle changes that would help combat the climate crisis – but are less convinced by smaller gestures.
Continue reading...Tax audits and land use inquiries follow company founder announcing run for Taiwan presidency
China’s tax authorities have launched multiple investigations into the company that makes the iPhone, months after its billionaire founder announced he would run in Taiwan’s presidential elections.
Foxconn faces tax audits of its operations in China, as well as investigations into land use in two Chinese provinces, according to reports by local media.
Continue reading...In an exclusive interview, Akinwumi Adesina, head of the African Development Bank, says the outlook is good for a continent with the workers of the future and the best investment opportunities
Africa holds the future workforce for the ageing economies of the west, according to one of the continent’s leading financial figures, who also said it was time to ditch the myths around corruption and risk.
In an exclusive interview before this weekend’s World Bank meetings in Morocco, Akinwumi Adesina said there was a resurgence of belief in Africa’s economic prospects and attacked negative stereotyping, adding that there was “every reason to be optimistic”.
Continue reading...