ECONOMY & MARKETS

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.

Japan will take "unprecedented" measures to curb rising electricity bills for households and businesses as a weak yen fans inflation and global recession fears pose big risks to the economy, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told parliament on Wednesday.

Faced with mounting evidence that loose U.S. monetary policy contributed to the breakout of inflation last year, the Federal Reserve now faces the risk it jumped too far the other way with its plans to fight price pressures through continued aggressive interest rate hikes even as the world economy wobbles.

Euro zone government bond yields edged higher but stayed significantly below their multi-year highs as concerns about systemic risk and economic slowdown drove investors to lower bets on terminal rates.

Major developed central banks delivered in September rate hikes at a pace and scale not seen in at least two decades, ramping up their fight against multi-decade high inflation with little let-up in sight.

South Korea's consumer inflation slowed for a second month in September, data showed on Wednesday, but economists said the data would do little to change the central bank's tightening bias amid growing talk it could opt for a bigger hike next week.

New Zealand's central bank on Wednesday lifted interest rates to a seven-year high and promised more pain to come as it struggles to cool red-hot inflation in an over-stretched economy.

Asian stocks rose on Wednesday as investors grew hopeful future global interest rate rises might become less aggressive amid early signs previous policy tightening was working to temper price pressures in some major world economies.

Despite the high job opening levels, the U.S. economy has not gained any new jobs since the pandemic, and many jobs are either part-time or temporary.

The dollar nursed its biggest losses for years on Wednesday, after a dovish central bank surprise in Australia had investors wondering whether a peak is in sight for global interest rates.

Prime Minister Liz Truss will on Wednesday press her message that Britain needs "to do things differently" to kickstart stagnant growth, using her first speech to the party faithful as Conservative leader to try to restore her dwindling authority.

Americans' wages are losing ground to inflation at a steep rate, a report on Tuesday from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said, a finding that offers some support for the central bank's super-charged campaign to lower price pressures.

Investors suffering through a bruising year for markets are hoping that recent signs of wobbling economic growth will force the Federal Reserve and other global central banks to take their foot off the gas in the fight against inflation, sparking sharp rebounds in stocks and bonds.

A new report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed job openings in the U.S. dropped 10% in August.

Inflation is the most serious problem facing the Federal Reserve and "may take some time" to address, Fed Governor Philip Jefferson said on Tuesday in his first public remarks since joining the U.S.

More shipments to Asia through intermediaries and growing cargo swaps with Iran drove Venezuela's oil exports in September to their third highest level this year, internal documents and tanker tracking data showed.

Europe may avoid a gas disaster this winter, thanks to signs of demand reduction and solid inventories, but next winter could be worse as the balance of gas will be much less, a top executive at energy trader Trafigura said on Tuesday.

Some of Britain's top open-ended property funds are rolling out new measures to manage investor exit requests, as challenges in meeting redemptions continue to rise amid a sell-off in some UK risk assets.

A big oil production cut by OPEC+ members will not spur new U.S.

OPEC+ producers look set to cut output when they meet on Wednesday, squeezing supply in an oil market that energy company executives and analysts say is already tight due to healthy demand, lack of investment and supply problems.

The Bank of England intervened in the UK government bond market to rein in gilt yields, which rocketed after Britain unveiled a welter of tax cuts to be funded by borrowing on markets.

Two top European Union officials on Tuesday called for joint borrowing to help the 27-nation bloc navigate the energy crunch together, after Germany faced criticism for going its own way with huge subsidies its peers could never afford.

Sri Lanka's central bank is likely to maintain interest rates on Thursday in an effort to get a grip on inflation which has remained stubbornly high despite a sharp contraction in the crisis-hit economy.

Britain's bond market is undergoing "a major repricing", but should comfortably absorb the extra 62 billion pounds ($69 billion) of debt announced after finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng's Sept.

According to a recent LendingClub report, as of August, 45% of Americans who make six figures are living paycheck to paycheck, up from 38% a year ago.

Core consumer prices in Japan's capital, a leading indicator of nationwide inflation, rose 2.8% in September from a year earlier, exceeding the central bank's 2% target for a fourth straight month and marking the biggest gain since 2014.

Oil prices inched higher in early Asian trade on Tuesday, on expectations that OPEC+ may agree to a large cut in crude output when it meets on Wednesday but concerns about the global economy capped gains.

Sterling rose to a fresh post-budget high on Tuesday in Asia, weighing on the broader U.S.

Mexican state power utility Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) last year lost an international arbitration case to Canadian firm ATCO Ltd , and had to pay redress of about $85 million, according to three people familiar with the matter.