ECONOMY & MARKETS

Borrowing costs for UK companies have soared since the British government's mini-budget last week spooked markets, with data showing sterling corporate bonds suffering their biggest monthly selloff since at least the 1990s.

The U.S. trade deficit in goods narrowed for a fifth straight month in August amid a decline in imports, which is being driven by slowing domestic demand as the Federal Reserve aggressively tightens monetary policy to tame inflation.

The Bank of Canada on Wednesday said it would begin publishing a summary of its monetary policy deliberations starting next year, accepting a key recommendation from a transparency review by the International Monetary Fund.

The lack of clear progress on inflation means the Federal Reserve needs "moderately restrictive" interest rates that should reach a level between 4.25% and 4.50% by the end of this year, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Wednesday.

Russia estimates the new cut-off price for its budget rule that diverts excess oil revenues into its wealth fund at $62-$63 per barrel and may resume foreign currency purchases as early as this year, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday.

The Bank of England stepped into Britain's bond market on Wednesday to stem a market rout, pledging to buy 65 billion pounds ($69.4 billion) of long-dated gilts after a government fiscal statement triggered the biggest sell-off in decades.

European Union countries were at odds on Wednesday over whether to cap gas prices in the bloc, with France, Belgium and 13 other states stepping up their call for the move opposed by Germany and others.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Wednesday led by Apple after it dropped plans to boost production of its new iPhones, but a pullback in benchmark Treasury yields from multi-year highs limited the decline.

China may tweak a proposed sharp increase in refined fuel export quotas for this year by extending the plan into next year, as it weighs the benefits to the economy of higher exports against low domestic stocks and operational challenges, four sources told Reuters.

In the month since Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell laid down a hard line on inflation, stocks have suffered double-digit losses, chasms have opened in global currency markets, and yields on the safest U.S.

British government 30-year bond yields hit a 20-year high on Wednesday, pushing past 5%, and bond strategists warned that markets were becoming close to untradeable due to volatility, something the Bank of England will be watching with alarm.

European shares slid 1% on Wednesday, in line with a sell-off in Asian markets, as an intensifying energy crisis in the region and the relentless surge in global bond yields fuelled worries about a recession.

Capital outflows are a "temporary phenomenon" and Taiwan, with its foreign currency reserves, has enough capacity to maintain its financial markets stable, Finance Minister Su Jain-rong said on Wednesday.

Thailand's central bank raised its key interest rate modestly for a second straight meeting on Wednesday to tame 14-year high inflation and ensure a continued economic recovery, while maintaining its 2022 growth projection of 3.3%.

The European Central Bank must continue to raise interest rates quickly to tame inflation and could reach a level that no longer stimulates the economy before Christmas, Finnish central bank chief Olli Rehn said in an interview.

Anonymous shared a plethora of tips and tricks on how to connect to blocked services, connect to DNS servers, how to stay anonymous, among others, to help Iranians.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and ratings agency Moody's criticised Britain's new economic strategy, as investors braced for more havoc in bond markets that has already forced the Bank of England to promise "significant" action.

Perhaps remarkably, some of the world's major economies still hold at least part of their rainy-day savings in sterling and British government bonds - raising questions about whether long instability in both will keep them doing so.

Interest rate hikes in the United States and the resultant pressure on the rupee is likely to give the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reason to deliver a 50-basis-point rate hike on Friday even as it tries to protect a recovery in growth.

A decade ago, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda won praise for ending a debilitating spike in the yen with his "bazooka" stimulus.

Oil prices fell more 1% on Wednesday, pressured by a strengthening dollar and crude storage builds that offset support from U.S. production cuts caused by Hurricane Ian.

Investors are dialling back risk exposure ahead of China's Communist Party Congress in October and sticking money in the relative safety of mainland blue chips as they await signs Beijing is ready to address problems hanging over the economy.

Asian share markets slid on Wednesday as surging borrowing costs fed fears of a global recession, spooking investors into the arms of the safe-haven dollar and driving the Chinese yuan to record lows.

Bank of Japan (BOJ) board members agreed the inflationary impact of the yen's recent sharp moves must be closely scrutinised, but policymakers reiterated their resolve to keep policy loose even as the currency's rapid fall has unsettled financial markets.

The Federal Reserve will hike its key interest rate to a much higher peak than predicted two weeks ago and the risks are skewed towards an even higher terminal rate, according to economists polled by Reuters.

The Biden administration's plan to provide student loan debt forgiveness will most benefit Americans who live in less affluent parts of the country - the South in particular, a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Tuesday.

Weather disasters linked to global warming are increasingly reducing the productive capacity of the U.S economy and sapping resources from governments, U.S.

The Bank of England is likely to deliver a "significant policy response" to finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng's huge tax cuts but wants to wait until its next scheduled meeting in November before making its move, BoE Chief Economist Huw Pill said on Tuesday.

The National Bank of Hungary raised its base rate by a larger-than-expected 125 basis points to 13% on Tuesday and ended its more than year-long rate hike cycle amid a slowing economy.