Aurelia Butler

European stocks fell on Wednesday as traders turned their attention to economic data that offered signals on the likely path for eurozone interest rates.Europe’s region-wide Stoxx 600 lost 0.2 per cent at the market open, reversing gains from the previous session, while France’s Cac 40 lost 0.3 per cent.Germany’s Dax was down 0.1 per cent after data showed that industrial production in the eurozone’s largest economy rose 0.3 per cent in April, rebounding from the previous month’s contraction but missing economists’ expectations of a 0.6 per cent rise. The moves come a day after a European Central Bank survey showed that consumers were steadily lowering their expectations for inflation in the eurozone. Data is being closely watched by traders ahead of an ECB meeting next week, in which it is expected to raise interest rates from the current level of 3.25 per cent, to ward off lingering inflation.Annual consumer prices in the 20-country single currency bloc rose 6.1 per cent in the year to May, declining from 7 per cent in April, but investors expect they will remain too high to convince policymakers to stop raising rates.“While the ECB would welcome the drop in inflation expectations, its job is far from done”, said Mohit Kumar, chief Europe financial economist at Jefferies.US futures were down, with contracts tracking Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 and those tracking the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 falling 0.1 per cent ahead of the New York open. Both indices rallied in the previous session, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.2 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite adding 0.4 per cent, as investors hoped that the US would cease the ascent of interest rates, which boosted valuations. The S&P has risen by nearly a fifth so far this year.Asian equities were mixed with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index adding 0.7 per cent but Japan’s Topix fell 1.3 per cent.China’s CSI 300 lost 0.5 per cent, after data showed that Chinese exports contracted more than expected in May, in a further dent to the country’s hopes for a strong economic rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic.Exports contracted 7.5 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier, well behind the forecast of analysts polled by Reuters, who expected a contraction of 0.4 per cent.In Turkey, the lira tumbled as much as 7 per cent in London trading on Wednesday, to a new record low of 23.2 against the dollar. More

OECD said it now expects the global economy to expand 2.7% this year, a slight increase from its previous projection of 2.6%. However, when not including the pandemic-hit year of 2020, this would still be the lowest annual rate of growth since the 2008-2009 financial crisis, it noted.Lower energy prices are easing the strain on household budgets, while business and consumer sentiment is also improving, the Paris-based organization said. The re-opening of China has also helped to boost global activity.Growth is then expected to slightly accelerate to 2.9% in 2024 — unchanged from the OECD’s March forecast.During that time, the OECD expects a recent spate of central bank interest rises aimed at corralling inflation to gradually weigh more on private investment, starting with the housing market.The updated forecasts come a day after the World Bank raised its global growth outlook for this year, but warned that tight monetary policy and the war in Ukraine will continue to weigh on the global economy next year. More

PARIS (Reuters) -Global economic growth will pick up only moderately over the next year as the full effects of central bank rate hikes are felt, softening the boost from lower inflation, the OECD said on Wednesday, nudging up its 2023 economic outlook.The world economy is set to grow 2.7% this year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said, up from its previous forecast of 2.6% in March.Though boosted by the lifting of China’s zero-COVID policy, that would be the lowest annual rate since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis with the exception of the pandemic-hit year of 2020, the Paris-based organisation said. Growth would then accelerate only slightly next year to 2.9% – unchanged from March’s forecast – as the impact of rate hikes by major central banks over the last year increasingly drags on private investment, starting with housing markets.On Tuesday, the World Bank also cited the growing impact of rate hikes as it raised its forecast for world growth this year to 2.1% but for 2024 cut it back to 2.4% from a previous 2.7% forecast. A sharp fall in May for Chinese exports released on Wednesday also pointed to weakening global demand. The OECD forecast that inflation in the Group of 20 major economies would fall from 7.8% last year to 6.1% this year and 4.7% in 2024 – still well above many central banks’ targets despite the interest rate hikes.The U.S. Federal Reserve’s main interest rate was seen peaking soon at 5.25-5.5%, with “modest” rate cuts in the second half of 2024.In the euro area, the OECD expects the European Central bank to keep raising rates in the face of still high core inflation, with a peak seen in the third quarter. It forecast the ECB would then leave its main rate at 4.25% until the end of 2024.The Bank of Japan was expected to keep monetary policy accommodative, with no increase until the end of 2024, while UK rates were seen peaking some time from the second quarter of 2023.The OECD forecast the U.S. economy would grow 1.6% this year before slowing to 1% in 2024, with the lagged effect of rate hikes hitting the world’s biggest economy particularly hard. It had previously foreseen U.S. growth of 1.5% this year and 0.9% in 2024.Boosted by the end of COVID restrictions, the Chinese economy was expected to grow 5.4% in 2023 before moderating to 5.1% in 2024. China’s growth was previously forecast at 5.3% and 4.9% respectively.As Europe’s winter energy price shock fades, euro area growth was seen accelerating from 0.9% this year to 1.5% in 2024 as lower inflation weighed less on incomes. In March, the OECD saw growth of 0.8% in 2023 and 1.4% in 2024.Similarly, UK growth was seen rising from 0.3% in 2023 to 1% in 2024 as real income growth starts to improve. The UK’s outlook was raised from March forecasts for -0.2% in 2023 and 0.9% in 2024. More

Thousands of people have seen their savings swept away in recent years by an unprecedented wave of fake online bank transactions hitting Britain, called authorised push payment (APP) fraud.The PSR said the new rules will be imposed on the Faster Payments system, where the vast majority of APP fraud has occurred so far, with the reimbursement requirements coming into force next year.The regulator also said that all payment firms will be incentivised to take action, with both sending and receiving firms equally splitting the reimbursement costs.”We are pleased the PSR has said it will now use its powers to compel all banks and building societies which make and receive payments over the UK’s Faster Payment system to reimburse victims of APP scams when the regime goes live in 2024,” Pay.UK, a retail payments firm, said in response to the regulator’s decision.The PSR last year said it planned to introduce new rules to tackle APP fraud once the parliament expands the powers of the regulator. More