ECONOMY

Another dramatic spike in natural gas prices appears to have ended any hopes that Europe's inflation battle is set to ease, with financial markets now bracing for higher prices, a faster pace of interest rate hikes and a deeper economic downturn.

Sri Lanka widens import ban as economic crisis persists

Indonesia's first interest rate hike in four years made its central bank one of the last to abandon pandemic-era monetary settings, but it's also given investors cause to stay bullish on one of the world's more resilient emerging markets.

The global economy is increasingly at risk of sliding into recession, surveys showed on Tuesday, as consumers faced with generation-high inflation rein in spending while central banks are tightening policy aggressively just when support is needed.

It was meant to be Europe's stellar year.

Singapore's key consumer price gauge in July rose again at its fastest pace in more than 13 years, official data showed on Tuesday, mounting pressure on the central bank to consider another policy tightening move later this year.

The Bank of Japan will likely cut its economic forecasts at its next quarterly review in October, as slowing global demand and a resurgence in COVID-19 infections hurt exports and consumption, the bank's former top economist Seisaku Kameda said on Monday.

A windfall of foreign funds arriving in Turkey and sustained interest in a state-backed deposit scheme have brought some relief for President Tayyip Erdogan's economic plan less than a year before tight elections.

Bangladesh will close schools for one extra day a week and cut office timings by an hour to save power, a government official said on Monday, as the country battles a shortage after shutting down all of its diesel-run power plants.

The German economy became more dependent on China in the first half of 2022, with direct investment and its trade deficit reaching new heights, despite political pressure on Berlin to pivot away from Beijing, according to research seen by Reuters.

Britain borrowed more than expected in July, official data showed, underscoring the challenge facing the country's next prime minister over how to provide more support to consumers hit by rocketing energy costs.

British shoppers spent more than expected last month after being enticed by online shopping deals, official figures showed on Friday, but sales volumes look set to resume their decline as households face the highest inflation in 40 years.

Fuel price hikes, scarce rice add to hardship in Myanmar

Britain's financial watchdog has told firms offering 'buy now, pay later' loans to spell out the cost of late repayments to customers as the UK cost-of-living crisis intensifies.

It's a weekday, but 50-year-old Lebanese finance ministry employee Walid Chaar is not at work and hasn't been since June.

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka warns of record 8% economic contraction

From $300 bucket hats to $900 sneakers and $700 t-shirts, the high-flying luxury sector is fretting over the appetite among financially stretched Gen Z consumers for such "aspirational" purchases.

UK inflation hits new 40-year high as food prices rocket

China's central bank is set to take more easing steps, pressured by a shaky economy that is undercutting jobs, but it faces limited room to manoeuvre due to worries over rising inflation and capital flight, policy insiders and analysts said.

U.S. inflation at a four-decade high has hit lower-income Americans the hardest. On Tuesday, Walmart's results showed that those with bigger wallets are getting squeezed, too.

China's central bank cut its interest rates on Monday for the second time this year, but analysts suspect it will do little to spur lending in an economy awash with cash but lacking in consumer demand and business confidence.

U.S. homebuilding fell to the lowest level in nearly 1-1/2 years in July, weighed down by higher mortgage rates and prices for construction materials, suggesting the housing market could contract further in the third quarter.

US industrial output jumps in July on solid manufacturing gain

The Dow inched higher on Tuesday as results from Walmart and Home Depot lifted the retail sector, while a slide in megacap growth stocks and signs of a slowing global economy weighed on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.

A sharp rebound in Israel's economic activity and a jump in annual inflation have made a 0.75-point interest rate increase more likely next week, analysts said on Tuesday.

The European Union is working to boost its presence in the Pacific through economic ties and new security commitments as geostrategic competition in the region intensifies.

Stood on her hind legs to greet any prospective owner who might approach her glass-doored kennel, Harriet is a black English cocker spaniel abandoned as a deepening cost-of-living crisis pushes growing numbers of Britons to part with their pets.

Britain's main opposition Labour Party will call for the energy price cap to be frozen this autumn, a party source said, to help the public deal with another expected surge in energy bills during the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades.

India's consumer inflation dipped to 6.71% in July, easing for the third month in a row, helped by a slower increase in food and fuel prices and adding to expectations that the central bank may rein in the pace of its policy rate hikes next month.