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Standard DigitalStandard & FT Weekend Printwasnow $29 per 3 monthsThe new FT Digital Edition: today’s FT, cover to cover on any device. This subscription does not include access to ft.com or the FT App.What’s included Global news & analysisExpert opinionFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit appFirstFT: the day’s biggest stories20+ curated newslettersFollow topics & set alerts with myFTFT Videos & Podcasts20 monthly gift articles to shareLex: FT’s flagship investment column15+ Premium newsletters by leading expertsFT Digital Edition: our digitised print editionWeekday Print EditionFT WeekendFT Digital EditionGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresExclusive FT analysisFT Digital EditionGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresExclusive FT analysisGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit appFirstFT: the day’s biggest stories20+ curated newslettersFollow topics & set alerts with myFTFT Videos & Podcasts10 monthly gift articles to shareGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit appFirstFT: the day’s biggest stories20+ curated newslettersFollow topics & set alerts with myFTFT Videos & Podcasts20 monthly gift articles to shareLex: FT’s flagship investment column15+ Premium newsletters by leading expertsFT Digital Edition: our digitised print editionEverything in PrintWeekday Print EditionFT WeekendFT Digital EditionGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresExclusive FT analysisPlusEverything in Premium DigitalEverything in Standard DigitalGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresFirstFT newsletterVideos & PodcastsFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit app10 gift articles per monthExclusive FT analysisPremium newslettersFT Digital Edition10 additional gift articles per monthMake and share highlightsFT WorkspaceMarkets data widgetSubscription ManagerWorkflow integrationsOccasional readers go freeVolume discountFT Weekend Print deliveryPlusEverything in Standard DigitalFT Weekend Print deliveryPlusEverything in Premium Digital More

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BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s main opposition leader Friedrich Merz criticised Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday as “irresponsible” for delaying early elections, as an opinion poll also showed voters in favour of an early vote to pull the country out of political crisis.Europe’s largest economy was thrown into disarray this week with the collapse of Scholz’s three-way coalition and disagreements over how much money the government should spend to spur growth and support Ukraine. As parties positioned themselves, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck of the Greens party is set to fire the starting pistol on his own bid to become chancellor on Friday, a source familiar with the matter said.The coalition’s collapse comes at a tough time for Germany as its economy faces a second year of contraction, its companies fear a loss of competitiveness, while foreign policy challenges mount, from the re-election of Donald Trump to a tariff war with China. Scholz has suggested holding a confidence vote in his government in January, paving the way for snap elections in March, but Merz wants elections to be held in January. Along with “the vast majority of the German electorate, I believe it is irresponsible to handle this … in such a way that it becomes a mere delay, with party-political motives obviously taking centre stage,” said Merz, the leader of the Christian Democrats (CDU).According to one opinion poll, the ZDF Politbarometer, a majority of Germans also want an election as soon as possible. Some 84% think an earlier election is a good idea, while 13% do not, it said on Friday. In the survey, which is based on data from the research group Wahlen, 30% want a new election in March, while 54% want an earlier date. Only 12% want the election to take place on the original date of September 2025. Scholz’s coalition collapsed on Wednesday as he announced the firing of his Finance Minister Christian Lindner from the Free Democrats (FDP) party, which together with the Greens and Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) have been in power since 2021.Some 31% of people in the ZDF survey saw the FDP as being most to blame for the breakdown. Some 58% of citizens expect Scholz to emerge from the crisis weakened and 32% expect him to be strengthened. At the same time, 74% percent expected the FDP to be weakened, while only 16% saw them emerging stronger.Habeck, 55, a former novelist and philosopher, has been a central figure in Germany’s energy and climate policy as economy and climate protection minister, and been a vocal advocate for loosening Germany’s purse strings to support industry. More

BENGALURU (Reuters) – Consumer price inflation in India climbed to a 14-month high of 5.81% in October primarily due to a spike in vegetable and edible oil prices, a Reuters poll of economists predicted, a shade below the central bank’s tolerance threshold of 6.0%. Food prices, which make up nearly half of the inflation basket, likely increased at a faster pace last month. Tomatoes, a key ingredient in every Indian kitchen, are expected to have surged by double digits in price as uneven rains disrupted production.The government’s decision to raise import taxes on edible oils by 20 percentage points in mid-September also likely helped to drive prices up faster, further straining household budgets.Annual retail inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) likely rose a second straight month to 5.81% in October, the highest since August 2023, according to the median forecast from a Nov. 4-8 Reuters poll of 52 economists. It rose to 5.49% in September, higher than forecast.Estimates for the data, set to be released on Nov. 12 at 1030 GMT, ranged from 5.00% to 6.30%, with nearly a third predicting inflation to hit 6.00% – the upper boundary of the RBI’s 2%-6% target range – or above.”There is broad-based price pressure with a pronounced increase visible in tomatoes and edible oil. For the former, lower arrivals were primarily due to a lagged impact of unseasonal rains observed in September. For edible oils, a sharp increase is visible because of imported inflation,” Dipanwita Mazumdar, economist at Bank of Baroda (NS:BOB), said.”Going forward, rising intensity of climate risks, weaker currency against a stronger dollar and geopolitical risks might pose further upside risks to inflation,” she said.The rupee fell to its weakest ever on Thursday following Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election. An overall strong dollar, with downward pressure on the rupee, may be one constraint preventing inflation from softening quickly. Core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as food and energy and is seen as a better gauge of domestic demand, was forecast to be 3.60% in October, according to the median estimate from a smaller sample of 21 surveyed.”Core would also be on the upside due to frontloading of festive demand and higher gold prices,” Mazumdar said. The Indian statistics agency does not publish core inflation data. Economists estimated it at 3.50% in September. Reserve Bank of India (NS:BOI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday highlighted the upside risks to inflation, dampening immediate expectations for a rate cut. A slim majority in a separate Reuters poll expected the RBI to cut its key repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% in December.However, with inflation not expected to return to the 4% medium-term target until at least 2026, economists in the poll cautioned that rate cut could be delayed until early next year. “I don’t think it’s cast in stone what the rate cut cycle should look like … If you look at RBI’s forecast of growth, there is very little reason why support to growth is needed,” said Suvodeep Rakshit, senior economist at Kotak Institutional Equities. The RBI predicts economic growth of 7.2% economic growth this fiscal year, which some economists consider to be optimistic.Separately, wholesale price index-based inflation is expected to have surged to an annual 2.20% last month from 1.84% in September, the survey showed. More

LONDON (Reuters) -Global stock markets cruised towards their best week since August on Friday, with sentiment underpinned by Donald Trump’s decisive U.S. election victory, while China kicked off a fresh round of fiscal support for its flagging economy.A day after the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered a quarter-point rate cut, as anticipated, focus turned back to the fallout of Tuesday’s U.S. election as well as headlines out of Beijing. The offshore yuan weakened, while U.S.-listed shares of Chinese firms and China exposed-sectors in Europe fell in a sign of investor disappointment with China’s stimulus news.U.S. stock futures ticked lower,, Europe’s STOXX index eased 0.7%, while Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.3% higher. The modest moves masked what has been a generally strong week for stocks, led by Wall Street shares, as Trump’s election win stoked expectations of lighter regulation and tax cuts that could further boost the U.S. economy.The S&P 500 stock index is up over 4% this week and set for its best week in over a year, while MSCI’s world stock index is set for its best week since August with a gain of just over 3% and stands just shy of record highs.”What you are going to get because of the clean sweep – is a mandate to improve the U.S. economy. So, taxes will come down, bureaucracy will ease and regulation will become lighter,” said Guy Miller, chief markets strategist at Zurich Insurance Group (OTC:ZFSVF).”Between now and year-end, there is a tailwind for U.S. stocks. The U.S. market has potential.”Elsewhere, Germany’s DAX stock index fell a day after posting its best daily performance of 2024 so far, helped by expectations that Germany could scrap its debt brake.CHINA DISAPPOINTSChina unveiled a 10 trillion yuan ($1.40 trillion) debt package to ease local government financing strains and stabilise flagging economic growth.Finance Minister Lan Foan said more stimulus was coming, with some analysts saying Beijing may not want to fire all its financial weapons before Trump takes over officially in January. Mainland blue chips, which rose 3% on Thursday, fell 1% on Friday, as did Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, in a sign of some caution ahead of the announcement. The offshore Chinese yuan was 0.3% softer at 7.1730 per dollar. China-exposed European luxury and mining stocks each fell over 3%. “Unless there’s more to come later this evening, today’s fiscal announcement is another disappointment for those expecting substantial stimulus,” said Capital Economics chief Asia economist Mark Williams. FED CUTSU.S. Treasury yields were lower after Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday signalled continued, patient policy easing. Its rate cut followed a quarter-point cut from the Bank of England and a large half-point cut by Sweden also on Thursday.Ten-year Treasury yields fell 3 basis points to 4.31%, having reversed sharp rises seen following the U.S. election result.Powell said Tuesday’s election result would have no “near-term” impact on U.S. monetary policy.”The Fed pointed to a more uncertain economic outlook and inflation remaining elevated,” said Mahmood Pradhan, head of global macroeconomics at the Amundi Investment Institute.”Together with a likely change in policy direction under the new administration, we expect a more uncertain and measured pace of easing next year.”The dollar index, which measures the currency against six major peers, dipped to 104.36, following a 0.7% drop on Thursday, its biggest since Aug. 23. On Wednesday, it soared 1.53%, the most in over two years, a sign of increased volatility as investors assess the impact of the new Trump administration’s policies.The euro and sterling were just a touch softer against the dollar, while the dollar slipped almost 0.5% to 152.31 yen.Bitcoin was a touch firmer just above $76,000, following a nearly 10% surge this week, hitting a record peak of $76,980 on Thursday. Trump has vowed to make the United States “the crypto capital of the planet”.And after a rollercoaster week, gold fell 0.6% to $2,691. It slumped more than 3% on Wednesday, but bounced 1.8% overnight. Last week it surged to an all-time high of $2,790.15.Brent crude oil futures trimmed falls during London trade and were last down 1% at $74.86, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.2% to $71.45. More