INFLATION

British consumer sentiment fell for the first time in three months in January, returning near to historic lows as concerns about the economy and the soaring cost of living tightened the squeeze on household finances, research showed on Friday.

Europeans have dialled down their heating this winter, apparently heeding government calls to conserve energy amid the Ukraine crisis, with some delaying switching it on by almost a month and setting the temperature lower, data shows.

Pay awards by British employers held at 5% for the second month in a row in December, well below annual inflation of close to 11%, data from human resources company XpertHR showed on Wednesday.

Egypt's government will start selling discounted bread to people not enrolled in its bread subsidy programme as it battles accelerating inflation, the supply minister said on Monday.

Britain's financial services minister sought to reassure U.S. counterparts on Wednesday that the UK's bout of debt market instability last fall was a one-time event

Slowing the economy typically means that job creation also decelerates, as borrowing becomes more expensive.

Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill said on Monday that Britain is at risk of persistent inflationary pressure from a tight labour market, even if natural gas prices stabilise or fall, implying further rate rises may be needed.

Updates next week from Britain's biggest retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer are expected to confirm that while Christmas was not the disaster that some had feared, consumer demand is set to weaken in 2023, denting profit.

All of the country's left-wing political parties, as well as the far-right National Rally, are against the changes and have vowed to join protests.

British businesses are gloomy about prospects for 2023 as they face the likelihood of a surge energy bills and ongoing post-Brexit trade difficulties, the British Chambers of Commerce said late on Wednesday.

The euro nursed losses on Wednesday and has helped the dollar to make a strong start to 2023, after a surprise slowdown in German inflation rallied bunds and sent the common currency sliding.

Investors were rocked last year by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February, soaring inflation and rising interest rates.

For much of the global economy, 2023 is going to be a tough year as the main engines of global growth - the United States, Europe and China - all experience weakening activity, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday.

Heavy falls in stock and bond markets over the last year have cut the combined value of the world's sovereign wealth and public pension funds for the first time ever - and to the tune of $2.2 trillion, an annual study of the sector has estimated.

The dollar was on track for its best performance in seven years on Friday, having been buoyed by the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary policy tightening and concerns about the global growth outlook.

Wall Street's main indexes ended weaker on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq hitting a 2022 closing low, as investors grappled with mixed economic data, rising COVID cases in China, and geopolitical tensions heading into 2023.

U.S. stock investors could not be more eager to turn the page on 2022, a brutal year dominated by market-punishing Federal Reserve rate hikes designed to tamp down the steepest inflation in 40 years.

On Jan. 1 Singapore's sales tax goes up for the first time in 15 years.

Oil prices rose in light trade on Tuesday on concerns that winter storms across the United States are affecting logistics and production of petroleum products and shale oil.

A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever.

Gregorina Victorica, 86, a retiree in Buenos Aires has been cheering Argentina's victory in the soccer World Cup, which has lifted spirits in the South American nation and brought joy to people hard hit by rising prices and economic malaise.