Aurelia Butler

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This article is an on-site version of our Disrupted Times newsletter. Sign up here to get the newsletter sent straight to your inbox three times a weekToday’s top storiesThe US Federal Reserve announces its interest rate decision today at 2pm ET/7pm London. Check back on FT.com for details and reaction.UK inflation fell unexpectedly in August from 6.8 per cent to 6.7 per cent, with the core measure — excluding food, alcohol and energy prices — dropping from 6.9 per cent to 6.2 per cent. The data put new pressure on the Bank of England to stop raising interest rates tomorrow: markets are now evenly split on the prospect of a 0.25 percentage point increase Uber warned that EU plans to designate gig workers as de facto employees would force the ride-hailing service to shut down in hundreds of cities.For up-to-the-minute news updates, visit our live blogGood evening.“Our business needs three things from the UK government: ambition, commitment and consistency. A relaxation of 2030 would undermine all three.”That was the instant reaction from the chair of Ford UK after news that prime minister Rishi Sunak might water down green measures, including postponing the ban on new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035 (although the overarching target to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 still stands). Ford is among those leading brands that have already pledged to go fully electric this decade and have made manufacturing decisions with that target in mind.The initial reports of a backtrack on government policy, confirmed by the prime minister in a speech this afternoon, sparked a new bout of infighting in Sunak’s Tory party. Chris Skidmore, the government’s former net zero tsar, and Alok Sharma, who was COP26 president, argued the moves would be electoral and ecological disaster, while former prime minister Boris Johnson said business needed certainty. Others, such as home secretary Suella Braverman, were pleased to see the “arbitrary”, “punitive” and “totally unrealistic” targets potentially ditched.Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said last week that the UK would not be adopting US president Joe Biden’s “subsidy bowl” approach on the green transition, but when it comes to net zero, some commentators, including the FT’s Stephen Bush, argue Sunak is following his heart and that he would ideally not have put the target into law at all.The prime minister has been emboldened by his party’s narrow win in the recent Uxbridge by-election, where voters’ antipathy to London mayor Sadiq Khan’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone is thought to have swung the result. (Coincidentally, Khan is outlining the positive impact from Ulez, the world’s largest clean-air zone, at the UN Climate Ambition Summit in New York today, held alongside the General Assembly.)Concerns about the economic damage from climate change and the cost of dealing with it are not limited to the UK. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen yesterday warned of “significant economic costs” while opposition Republicans are aiming to unpick president Joe Biden’s green agenda, touting for support among oil donors with a pledge to end the “far-left assault” on American fossil fuels. Financing the climate transition is also putting pressure on governments everywhere to boost spending, just as higher interest rates push up borrowing costs.Across the Atlantic, the EU has watered down and delayed its own Green Deal, four years after the plan to decarbonise the economy by 2050 was supposed to be its “man on the Moon moment”.  Pushback has come from industry, farmers and companies facing high inflation and increased energy costs while the current row with China over subsidies for electric cars has further muddied the agenda. Brussels, which also plans to ban new petrol car sales from 2035, has already surprised the industry by conceding that some carbon-neutral fuels — dubbed “e-fuels” — could be allowed for longer.The bigger picture however is one of existential crisis. UN secretary-general António Guterres told world leaders at the UN today that they were “decades behind” in moving away from fossil fuels. “We must make up time lost to foot-dragging, arm-twisting and the naked greed of entrenched interests raking in billions from fossil fuels,” he said, noting that the world was on track for a 2.8C temperature rise since pre-industrial times.“Humanity has opened the gates to hell,” he warned. Need to know: UK and Europe economyFinancial Times calculations show inflation will drive the cost of the UK’s High-Speed Rail 2 project from £70bn to £91bn as the government considers major cuts. Dithering and indecision is the British infrastructure curse, says columnist Helen Thomas.UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told French president Emmanuel Macron he wanted to strengthen cross-Channel relations during talks that covered issues including trade and security. Starmer also told business leaders in Paris he wanted to rewrite Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal with the EU. Here’s our explainer on how feasible that might be.A Big Read delves into the growing influence of the UK’s competition watchdog. The CMA has stronger powers since Brexit but some question its decision-making.UK rental costs last month increased at the fastest annual rate since records began, while house price rises slowed to the lowest rate in a decade, according to official data.European Central Bank board member Fabio Panetti said European defence spending would be more efficient if the EU could raise its own debt and provide common funding to support investment, echoing calls to make the bloc’s €800bn pandemic recovery fund a permanent facility.A Ukrainian grain ship left Odesa, despite the Russian blockade, the first to dock in and set sail from the country since Moscow reneged on an international deal to let exports through. Kyiv made an attempt to convince Hungary, Poland and Slovakia to lift their import bans on its grain. Poland’s president Andrzej Duda however escalated the rhetoric, comparing Kyiv to a “drowning” person clinging to its rescuer.Need to know: Global economyThe US launched the “Partnership for Atlantic Co-operation” to increase economic, environmental and scientific ties with dozens of countries and offer developing economies an alternative to China’s growing global economic clout.The OECD said central banks needed to keep on tightening monetary policy until inflation was tamed. The club of rich nations also downgraded its forecasts for 2024 and warned that protectionist measures were hurting global trade.You are seeing a snapshot of an interactive graphic. This is most likely due to being offline or JavaScript being disabled in your browser.Crude oil hit $95 a barrel but Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said its production cuts were not about “jacking up prices”.The world economy’s debt pile hit a fresh high of $307tn in the first half of this year, while borrowing as a share of gross domestic product is rising again after nearly two years of declines.Need to know: businessChina’s Huawei has made a processor breakthrough in its latest smartphone, becoming one of the elite Big Tech companies able to design its own chips, reducing its reliance on foreign technology as it confronts US sanctions. The EU is to crack down on “greenwashing” and terms such as “climate neutral” and “eco” used in consumer products unless companies can prove the claim is accurate.US car workers threatened to expand their industrial action. Columnist Rana Foroohar says the stakes are high: the battle may determine not only the future of the clean energy transition but also the outcome of next year’s presidential election.India is attracting global investment banks as business dries up in China. The World of WorkColumnist Sarah O’Connor delves into why people don’t just leave bad jobs. A market built on insecure jobs and employment rights makes many people stay put for fear that whatever comes next might be worse, she argues.Isabel Berwick speaks to BBC News veteran and viral internet “explainer” Ros Atkins on how better communication can help achieve your career goals in the new Working It podcast. Some good newsGoogle DeepMind has used a new artificial intelligence tool called AlphaMissense to predict whether mutations in human genes are likely to be harmful, in one of the first examples of the technology helping to accelerate the diagnosis of diseases caused by genetic variants. Recommended newslettersWorking it — Discover the big ideas shaping today’s workplaces with a weekly newsletter from work & careers editor Isabel Berwick. Sign up hereThe Climate Graphic: Explained — Understanding the most important climate data of the week. Sign up hereThanks for reading Disrupted Times. If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, please sign up here to receive future issues. And please share your feedback with us at [email protected]. Thank you More

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This week, real Treasury yields have remained at higher levels, reflecting the market’s collective prediction of a hawkish yet non-active approach from the Fed. This has led to a restrained outlook on gold. According to NAB Commodities Research, gold prices might face a downward push if the Federal Reserve adopts a tougher stance. The ongoing scenario suggests a potential consolidation for spot gold prices within the $1,900 to $1,890 range.Similarly, the silver market is also focused on the Federal Reserve meeting. The broader financial sector expects unchanged rates post this meeting, yet there is a 35% probability of another rate increment before 2024 concludes. The key element in this unfolding scenario will be insights from Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference. The Canadian dollar saw a surge this Wednesday due to hotter-than-predicted inflation figures, reaching its strongest position since August 10th. Despite this boost, speculators have heightened their pessimistic outlook on the Canadian dollar as per U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. The likelihood of the Bank of Canada introducing a rate hike in October has almost doubled following the inflation report.In addition to interest rates, the Federal Reserve’s quarterly economic outlook is likely to provide insights into GDP, unemployment, and inflation trends. Despite concerns over rate hikes potentially leading to an economic slowdown, Fed officials have not completely ruled out additional hikes.With Wall Street in a holding pattern ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy reveal, the prevailing market sentiment is cautiously optimistic. The market’s resilience is underpinned by strong earnings, which currently appear to be overshadowing other narratives, including inflation concerns. In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $0.68 or 0.72% at $90.52 a barrel. Gold futures are down $1.30 or 0.07% at $1,952.40 an ounce, while Silver futures are gaining $0.094 or 0.4% at $23.550 an ounce.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

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With a flurry of support steps kicking in, the $18 trillion economy showed better-than-expected figures including bank lending, industrial production and consumption gauges last month, but the wobbling property sector still weighs on its economic outlook.China will stick to deepening reforms and further opening up and will fully mobilize the enthusiasm of businesses, CCTV said.”China will accelerate the introduction of relevant policies and work implementation, as well as further consolidate the economy’s upward trend,” CCTV said.Feedback from an inspection and survey of the country’s economic recovery was presented at the meeting, according to state media.Local governments and government departments must attach great attention to problems found during the inspection and survey, and push for policy measures already released to take effect, CCTV reported, citing the meeting.Responding to the advice gathered during the survey, relevant government departments should make plans and carry out in-depth research considering 2024’s economic work, the state media said. The world’s second-biggest economy lost steam since April as its rebound from COVID reopening missed expectations by markets and economists.China should step up policy support for the economy while promoting reforms to help achieve the annual growth target of around 5%, Yi Gang, former governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), said in remarks published on Wednesday.The Asian Development Bank on Wednesday trimmed its growth forecast of China to 4.9% from 5.0% in July due to the weakness in the property sector. More

ROME (Reuters) -Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party has filed a new proposal to protect borrowers if they fall behind in repaying their bank debt, another move that investors said stoked risks for the country’s 307 billion euro ($328 bln) bad loan market.Italian lawmakers upset bad loan investors last month by proposing to give borrowers the right to repay their original loan at the discounted price at which the creditor bank sold it on, plus a 20% premium. To dispel concerns, Meloni said on Sept. 7 that there were no measures “on the launch pad” for non-performing loans. However, lawmakers from Meloni’s own Brothers of Italy party have now put forward to parliament another rule that would make it easier to apply their initial proposal.”The latest amendment aims to help borrowers to buy back loans,” senator Renato Ancorotti, one of the promoters of the measure, told Reuters.The proposed changes would make it obligatory in banks’ sales of bad loans to include in contracts the price of individual loans, even if they are sold in bulk.As a consequence, investors could act in court to recover soured loans from borrowers only if the contracts comply with the new requirements.A preliminary discussion on the proposal, which would be introduced by amending a government decree that in August imposed a surprise one-off tax on bank profits, is expected on Wednesday in the upper house committees.In a bulk sale of credits, the relevant price for the market is that of the overall portfolio, which is an average of the single loans’ prices.Portfolios can comprise thousands of loans, which would make it too onerous to price each individual loan properly.Three bad loan investors said the market did not expect the latest measure from Brothers of Italy to go through but it would create problems if it did.Attempts to change the rules of the game with retroactive effect are perceived as damaging, the people said requesting anonymity given the sensitivity of the issue.The rule sets a three-month limit to amend transactions that have already taken place but investors said it was impossible to retroactively price single loans in a meaningful way.($1 = 0.9361 euros) More