Ggood morning. We’ve seen the first sign that Vladimir Putin is serious about his threat to turn off the taps. Gazprom confirmed it’s cut off flows of natural gas to Poland and Bulgaria as they had failed to pay in roubles, adding that supplies will be halted until payment has been made. European gas prices … Read more
Ggood morning. Twitter has locked down changes to its website in an effort to stop unhappy staff ‘going rogue’ and making unauthorized changes in the wake of Elon Musk’s $44bn takeover. Elsewhere, public sector net borrowing came in under forecast in March, with £18.1bn added to the debt pile. 5 things to start your day … Read more
MArkets tumbled across the world on Monday as fears of a new Chinese lockdown sparked panic buying in Beijing. Around £40bn was wiped off the FTSE 100 which dropped 1.9pc, amid concerns over a wave of draconian restrictions to prevent the collapse of China’s zero Covid policy. Economists warned the world’s second-largest economy may already … Read more
Is art, wine or bitcoin BTCUSD, -0.05% a good alternative bet in these uncertain times, particularly as investors in stocks and bonds reel from a bruising start to 2022? With few corners of financial markets left unscathed by volatility tied to rising interest rates, a surge in the cost of living, and Russia’s war in … Read more
London’s miners have had another weak day, but this time did not drag the FTSE 100 below the performance of its global peers during a rough day on international markets. The FTSE 100 closed down sharply, and was likely saved from an even more devastating drop by a rapidly falling pound. It ended at 7,521, … Read more
Ggood morning. Netflix is tearing up all its old rules after a disastrous set of quarterly results cast doubts over its future prospects. The streaming giant said it lost 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of the year – its first decline in more than a decade. While its withdrawal from Russia led to … Read more
Ggood morning. Russian energy imports are back in focus this morning after France called on other European nations to support fresh sanctions. Bruno Le Maire, France’s finance minister, said it was necessary “more than ever” to implement a ban on Russian oil, cutting off a key source of revenue for the Kremlin. While the US … Read more
Ggood morning. Russian authorities are said to be preparing a step-by-step approach to rolling back capital controls that have propped up markets ever since the war began. Discussions this week revolved around a potential extension of the deadline for exporters to convert their foreign earnings to rubles, and a lowering of the threshold below 80pc. … Read more
Ggood morning. There’s yet another reminder of the cost-of-living crisis this morning, with the latest ONS figures showing wage growth is lagging well behind surging inflation. While average earnings excluding bonuses rose 4.1pc in February from a year ago, when adjusted for prices they dropped 1.3pc – the biggest fall since 2013. There were also … Read more
Ggood morning. The World Bank has issued dire forecasts for both Ukraine and Russia this year as a result of the war, warning the outlook could get even bleaker if the conflict drags on. Ukraine’s economy will collapse by 45.1pc this year, the bank predicted, far worse than the 10pc to 35pc downturn the IMF … Read more