ECONOMY & MARKETS

Britain's new government said on Wednesday it would not reverse its vast tax cuts or reduce public spending as it sought to stand firm in the face of yet more turmoil in financial markets and concerns over its change in economic policy.

Signs of stress are growing in the global financial system, sparking worries over everything from contagion between markets to ruptures in financial products.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has been unequivocal: the central bank will end emergency support for bonds on Friday.

Egypt is pushing to tie up a crucial financial package from the International Monetary Fund at annual meetings in Washington this week, hoping to stem a currency crisis that has restricted imports and sparked market unease over foreign debt repayments.

Hungary's central bank tightened forint liquidity further on Wednesday at a deposit tender as part of its latest efforts to shore up the currency, but too much is stacked against it to provide relief any time soon.

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Wednesday fast and one-sided moves in the yen would be bad for the economy, signalling the speed of its fall - rather than levels - was the key concern for policymakers as the currency plumbs fresh 24-year lows.

OPEC on Wednesday cut its 2022 forecast for growth in world oil demand for a fourth time since April and also trimmed next year's figure, citing slowing economies, the resurgence of China's COVID-19 containment measures and high inflation.

Britain's financial regulators will work together to tighten rules for pension funds which use derivatives to insure themselves against big moves in bond markets, drawing on lessons from past crises, the Bank of England said on Wednesday.

U.S. stock index futures pared gains on Wednesday after data showed producer prices increased more than expected in September, in another hot inflation reading that boosted bets of more jumbo-sized interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

The International Monetary Fund backs moves by governments to tax companies' excess profits, but believes such changes must be clearly communicated and cannot apply to already realized profits, the IMF's top fiscal expert told Reuters.

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund faced little scrutiny over its green credentials when it sold $3 billion in green bonds last week in its maiden debt issue, according to people familiar with the transaction.

Japan's policymakers continued to warn investors on Wednesday against selling the yen, as the dollar rose to a fresh 24-year high on the Japanese currency while hurdles to directly intervene remain high.

Singapore's economy is expected to have expanded at a slower pace in the third quarter, underlining the central bank's challenge as it balances the urgency of tackling inflation without triggering a steep recession by over-tightening policy.

Asian stocks wallowed at two-year lows on Wednesday, after a strengthening dollar, instability in the U.K.

Japan's machinery orders posted their biggest single-month fall in six months in August as pressure from a global economic slowdown and a weaker yen that pushes up import costs darken the outlook for corporate spending.

South Korea's central bank raised interest rates by a half percentage point and flagged more policy tightening as authorities scrambled to hose down red-hot inflation, caused in large part by a surging dollar and higher import prices.

The dollar rose to a fresh 24-year high against the yen on Wednesday, moving above levels that prompted intervention by Japanese officials last month, as traders braced for U.S.

Oil prices fell for a third straight session on Wednesday as investors fretted about a hit to fuel demand from growing risks of a global recession and tightening COVID-19 curbs in China.

Business confidence among big Japanese manufacturers fell for a second straight month to hit its lowest level in five months, a Reuters monthly poll showed on Wednesday, in another sign global inflation and a weak yen are taking a toll on the world's No.3 economy.

A price cap on Russian seaborne oil deliveries being developed by the United States and G7 countries could significantly reduce Russia's revenues while encouraging Moscow to continue to produce oil, 16 economists from top U.S.

JP Morgan CIO Bob Michele said Tuesday the climbing dollar could have a domino effect on the global economy.

The International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday that colliding pressures from inflation, war-driven energy and food crises and sharply higher interest rates were pushing the world to the brink of recession and threatening financial market stability.

UK pension schemes are racing to raise hundreds of billions of pounds to shore up derivatives positions before the Bank of England calls time on support aimed at keeping them afloat.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said Tuesday that even with a large amount of rate rises this year, the central bank has yet to get surging inflation under control and will need to press forward with tightening monetary policy.

The International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday of a disorderly repricing in markets, saying global financial stability risks have increased, raising the risks of contagion and spillovers of stress between markets.

Already blighted by Western sanctions, Russia's economy now faces a more self-inflicted blow, with President Vladimir Putin's military mobilisation drive threatening to undermine productivity, demand and recovery.

The International Monetary Fund cut Asia's economic growth forecasts on Tuesday, with rising inflation forcing many central banks to tighten monetary policy even as exports face the brunt of slowing growth in trade partners such as the United States.

The Bank of England again sought to stem a sharp sell-off in Britain's 2.1 trillion pound ($2.3 trillion) government bond markets on Tuesday, expanding its emergency buying to inflation-linked debt.

British shoppers are stocking up on electric blankets, candles and energy-efficient slow cookers as surging gas bills and record food price inflation force millions of people to prepare for a tough winter ahead.