ECONOMY & MARKETS

The U.S. economy's contraction for a second consecutive quarter will make it more difficult for Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to portray an image of economic health at a news conference later on Thursday.

The Bank of Japan could target a more flexible monetary policy after the departure of dovish Governor Haruhiko Kuroda next April, former BOJ policy board member Takahide Kiuchi said on Thursday.

U.S. Senate Democrats huddled on Thursday to weigh a breakthrough $430 billion drugs and energy bill agreed to by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and maverick Democrat Joe Manchin which they say will help fight the nation's inflation problem.

The United States is optimistic that there could be some positive announcement when OPEC+ meets next week, a senior administration official said on Thursday, adding that additional oil supplies would help further stabilise the market.

OPEC and its allies will consider keeping oil output unchanged for September when they meet next week, despite calls from the United States for more supply, although a modest output increase is also likely to be discussed, eight sources said.

Spain's leftist ruling coalition introduced a draft bill on Thursday to create a temporary tax on banks and power utilities, aiming to raise 7 billion euros ($7 billion) by 2024 to fund measures to ease cost of living pressures.

Mastercard Inc warned on Thursday that runaway inflation was sapping spending from lower-income customers, after rounding out a strong quarter for card issuers.

Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday to its highest level in more than six weeks as investors cheered corporate earnings results, shrugging off data that showed the U.S.

Canada's main stock index slipped on Thursday following a mixed bag of results, while gloomy forecasts by U.S.

U.S. stocks on Thursday rallied for a second day, with all three major indexes ending up more than 1% as data showing a second consecutive quarterly contraction in the economy fueled investor speculation the Federal Reserve may not need to be as aggressive with interest rate hikes as some had feared.

U.S. stocks rallied for a second day on Thursday as data showing a contraction in the U.S.

U.S. stock indexes fell on Thursday weighed down by gloomy forecasts from Meta and Qualcomm, while an early reading showed the U.S.

Wall Street's main indexes were set to open lower on Thursday following gloomy forecasts from Meta and Qualcomm, while an early reading which showed the U.S.

In central England, birthplace of the industrial revolution, factories are buzzing anew, hammering out parts for cars, planes and medical machines that used to be made in Asia.

Soaring inflation has made life harder for most of the world - but some people are still smoking expensive cigarettes and doing shots of fancy tequila.

Cenovus Energy reported a near 11-fold surge in second-quarter profit on Thursday and boosted capital spending and production forecasts, but warned Canadian government plans to cap oil and gas emissions could lead to production being shut in.

China will try hard to achieve the best possible results for the economy this year, state media said on Thursday after a high-level meeting of the ruling Communist Party, dropping previous calls that it will strive to meet its 2022 growth target.

China will try hard to achieve the best possible results for the economy this year, state media said on Thursday after a high-level meeting of the ruling Communist Party, dropping previous calls that it will strive to meet its 2022 growth target.

Asian companies will slow investment sharply this year, deterred by soaring interest rates and fears of deepening recession, and budgets will on average fall next year, the first contraction since 2015, data showed.

Loan growth in India is at a three-year high and seen inching up further as economic activity gains traction but a much slower growth in deposits could send banks scurrying for funds and prompt deposit rate increases, say analysts and bankers.

As the United States pushes ahead with its steepest interest rate hikes in a generation, investors are unusually poised to buy in Asia's emerging markets, betting authorities can tame inflation without triggering the capital-flight chaos of previous cycles.

Bearish bets on the Thai baht extended on risks around recession, the Chinese economy, and inflation, while short bets on most Asian currencies eased slightly but remained firmly around multi-month highs, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday.

As a cost-of-living crisis with no end in sight sends shockwaves through Europe, deals in the region's retail and consumer-products industries have slowed dramatically - even more so than in other sectors, data shows.

Investors are gauging whether the U.S. Federal Reserve has reached the peak of its aggressiveness in hiking rates, with some saying they're ready to up risky positions again.

China will help property developers by issuing 1 trillion yuan ($148.2 billion) in loans for stalled developments, the Financial Times said on Thursday, as it tries to revive the debt-stricken sector and relieve pressure on the economy.

After the U.S. central bank raised its policy target interest rate on Wednesday by three-quarters of a percent for the second month in a row, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell did something he hasn't done since rate hikes began in March: He avoided putting exact numbers to the size of the next rate hike.

U.S. economic growth likely rebounded moderately in the second quarter as companies boosted exports and maintained a strong pace of spending on equipment, which could assuage financial market fears that the economy was already in recession.

The U.S. economy unexpectedly contracted in the second quarter, with consumer spending growing at its slowest pace in two years and business spending declining, raising the risk that the economy was on the cusp of a recession.

India's gold demand in the first half of 2022 jumped 42% from a year ago but consumption in the second half could be lower than last year as higher inflation erodes disposable income, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday.