UK government borrowing surged and retail sales slumped in September, official data showed Friday.

British consumer spending grew last month at a rate that lagged behind inflation by a long way, according to surveys on Tuesday that underlined the risk of recession as the cost-of-living crisis rumbles on.

Britain's private-sector economy last month suffered the sharpest contraction in activity since a COVID lockdown early last year, underlining the challenge facing Prime Minister Liz Truss who on Wednesday emphasised her push for economic growth.

Expectations of more Federal Reserve tightening and economic worries are weighing on a rebound in consumer discretionary stocks, though some investors believe the sector will outperform other areas of the market if growth begins to wobble in coming months.

An already-murky outlook for U.S. stocks and bonds is growing darker, as sizzling inflation ratchets up expectations for how aggressively the Federal Reserve will need to raise rates.

British construction companies suffered a second straight month of contraction in the face of deep uncertainty about the outlook for the inflation-hit economy, a survey showed on Tuesday.

Consumer morale in the euro zone's two biggest economies diverged starkly in August as French consumers benefited from fresh government measures while concerns over rising energy bills hit their German counterparts, surveys showed on Friday.

British retail sales surprisingly rose overall in July but consumer confidence is at a record-low level as the UK heads towards recession under a new leader.

British households are feeling "a sense of exasperation" about the surging cost of living which has pushed consumer sentiment to its lowest since at least 1974, according to the country's longest-running survey of household finances.

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.

British markets braced for more political uncertainty on Wednesday, with investors keen to see if the new finance minister loosens the purse strings and wondering whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson will survive an exodus of support.

The trillion-dollar retail investment express is losing steam, dampening the fortunes of British trading platforms that boomed during lockdowns on the back of a meme stocks frenzy.

Construction of new homes in Britain almost ground to a halt last month as builders feared the cost-of-living squeeze and rising interest rates would constrain demand, a closely watched survey showed on Wednesday.

European shares fell on Tuesday as investors worried about the squeeze to economic growth from aggressive monetary policy tightening by central banks in a bid to tame rising inflation.

British manufacturing activity expanded in May at the weakest rate since January 2021, as producers of consumer goods struggled against a worsening cost-of-living crunch, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Crypto markets, which trade around the clock, had a quiet weekend after turmoil last week driven by TerraUSD, a so-called stablecoin, broke its dollar peg.

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin was last up 5.1% at $31,277, having touched its lowest since December 2020 last week

The dollar index was at 101.08 on Monday morning, just shy of a two-year peak of 101.33 hit on Friday.

China has been praised by the WHO for its transparent handling of the outbreak.

The latest outbreak is expected to deal a massive blow to China's already-fragile economy.

Slower U.S. growth expectations and the Federal Reserve's more gradual approach towards interest rate hikes will weigh on the U.S. dollar in the second half of the year, analysts said in a poll conducted by International Business Times.

Investors fear a constellation of concerns from rising interest rates, intensifying tensions over trade, a slowdown in China and the prospect that U.S. corporate earnings growth will soon stall.

Companies in the top quartile for gender and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns above the industry average.

Several indicators suggest Trump's America is in good economic health.

The Nationwide UK house price index for February reveals a slowdown after January's data sparked hopes of a bounce in the property market.

Consumer spending fell 0.9% compared to a year earlier following a 2.1% drop in October, Visa and IHS Markit said.

GfK consumer confidence index falls to -12 in November, the lowest level since immediately after Brexit vote.

Slowdown in housing market and Bank of England's rate rise earmarked as the main factors behind a decline in confidence.

Chancellor abolishes Stamp Duty for all first time buyer purchases up to £300,000 as part of housing reforms.

Bank of England lifted interest rates for the first time in a decade last week, bringing the benchmark to 0.5%.