British annual inflation has hit a fresh 40-year high, official data showed Wednesday, further eroding workers’ wages and pressuring the Bank of England to keep on raising interest rates.

Germany faces certain recession if already faltering Russian gas supplies completely stop, an industry body warned on Tuesday, as Sweden joined a growing list of European nations rolling out emergency plans to cope with a deepening energy supply crisis.

The United States is in talks with Canada and other allies to further restrict Moscow’s energy revenue by imposing a price cap on Russian oil, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday.

The European Union on Tuesday pledged an additional 600 million euros to help vulnerable nations weather a food security crisis worsened by Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Neither inflation nor the war in Ukraine are threatening to take a bite out of the luxury fashion market, according to a study.

Germany faces certain recession if already faltering Russian gas supplies completely stop, an industry body warned on Tuesday, as Italy said it would consider offering financial backing to help companies refill gas storage to avoid a deeper crisis in winter.

The Turkish central bank’s net foreign currency reserves fell to a 20-year low of around $7 billion last week, according to calculations by four economists based on preliminary data.

The influx of Ukrainian refugees into the European Union could gradually ease labour shortages in the euro zone as some of those fleeing the war are likely to settle permanently, the European Central Bank said on Monday.

China stood pat on its benchmark lending rates for corporate and household loans, as expected, on Monday, with global central banks’ rate increases making it tough for Beijing to stimulate a weak domestic economy by lowering rates.

A series of surprise actions by some of the world’s largest central banks fretting about runaway inflation has left bond investors battered. Now, a growing chorus of investors is calling on policymakers to move fast to end the uncertainty.

The cryptocurrency industry was on edge on Monday as bitcoin held just above $20,000 and investors feared that problems at major crypto players could unleash a wider market shakeout.

A recession in the United States is not  “inevitable” but the economy is likely to slow, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday, days after the US Federal Reserve hiked interest rates, raising fears of a contraction.

China’s imports of oil from Russia in May rose 55 per cent year on year, customs data showed on Monday, with the West sanctioning fuel imports from Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

Germany announced emergency measures on Sunday to ensure its energy needs after a drop in Russian gas supplies, including reverting to coal in what it called a  “bitter but indispensable” step.

Russia’s economic authorities have clashed over inflation and growth forecasts in rare public displays of discord at a flagship forum in Saint Petersburg.

Central banks have ramped up their battle against runaway inflation, a necessary remedy that could have the adverse side effect of tipping countries into recession, analysts say.

Germany will take emergency measures to ensure it meets its energy needs after the drop in supply of Russian gas, including increased use of coal, the government said Sunday.

Fiona Shi lost her job twice during the pandemic -- first, in 2020 when Covid ravaged the travel industry, and then this year as China’s strict virus controls hammered businesses in the world’s number two economy.

Russia is putting the world at risk of famine through its blockade of Ukraine’s shipments of grains and restrictions on its own exports, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Saturday.

With France becoming the latest country to be cut off from Russian natural gas, and supplies sharply reduced in Italy and Germany, Europe’s summer stockpiling plans are looking shaky.