ECONOMY & MARKETS

Qatar's central bank has told banks in the Gulf state not to exchange its currency with entities outside the country without prior permission, five sources told Reuters, in a move bankers say aims at ending the riyal's divergence against the dollar.

British construction companies suffered a second straight month of contraction in the face of deep uncertainty about the outlook for the inflation-hit economy, a survey showed on Tuesday.

Emerging Asian equities ex-China saw massive foreign purchases in August due to a rise in risk appetite based on tempered inflation expectations.

The hit to the euro zone economy and its currency from a deepening energy crisis is so severe that more aggressive monetary tightening from the European Central Bank will do little to stop the euro's slide.

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki on Tuesday reiterated that sharp yen moves were "undesirable" and that he was watching rising volatility in the exchange market with a "great sense of urgency" as the currency hit a fresh 24-year low.

The dollar took a breather on Tuesday after a sweeping rally, easing slightly from milestone highs on the euro, yen and sterling, but not too far as recession stalk Europe and U.S.

Malaysia's central bank will deliver a third consecutive 25 basis point interest rate hike on Thursday and a fourth in November to quell growing inflationary pressures but will opt to move slowly despite a hawkish U.S.

A runaway surge in global house prices is drawing to a close as interest rates rise along with the cost of living, according to Reuters polls of housing analysts, who said prices needed to fall in double digits in several key markets to turn affordable.

Japan's household spending extended growth in July for a second straight month despite a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, but inflationary pressures from the yen's slump to a 24-year-low have cast doubt over the pace of consumption.

British shoppers are cutting back on purchases of clothes and other non-essential items as they try to cover their sky-rocketing utility bills and higher food prices, surveys showed on Tuesday.

Argentina's central bank is set to hike the country's interest rate as early as this week, a source said, after the economy ministry rolled out a preferential exchange rate for soybean farmers dubbed the "soy dollar" in a bid to promote exports.

Although inflation has disrupted the economy and caused prices to rise, there are several ways to save money.

UK's FTSE 100 was unchanged after opening lower on Monday as the Conservative Party announced Liz Truss as Britain's new prime minister as expected, while the British pound remained lower against the dollar.

The euro zone is almost certainly entering a recession, with surveys on Monday showing a deepening cost of living crisis and a gloomy outlook that is keeping consumers wary of spending.

European gas prices surged, share prices slid and the euro sank on Monday after Russia stopped pumping gas to Europe via a major supply route, sending a new tsunami through the European Union economy that has yet to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Major investment houses have cut their yuan forecasts as its fall against the dollar accelerates, with some expecting a breach of the 7-per-dollar milestone before next month's politically sensitive Party Congress despite authorities' efforts to slow the slide.

Thailand's headline inflation rate in August rose slightly from the previous month to a 14-year high, in line with forecast and reinforcing expectations of a further interest rate hike later this month.

The European Union should set up a fiscal capacity to pay for EU public goods, link the pace of debt cuts to individual country risk and let independent fiscal councils play a bigger role in policy, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday.

European Central Bank policymakers meeting on Thursday have a choice between a big 50 basis point interest rate hike, or an even bigger one to contain record high inflation.

The buoyant outlook for India's housing market has barely changed in the last three months despite the Reserve Bank of India embarking on its most aggressive tightening cycle in a decade, a Reuters poll of property market analysts found.

India's dominant services industry grew faster than expected in August thanks to a solid expansion in demand and a continued easing in cost pressures, encouraging firms to hire at the quickest pace in more than 14 years, a private survey showed.

Indonesia's government predicts inflation will pick up in the next two months after its weekend decision to raise fuel prices, but would normalise in November and the measure would have minimal impact on economic growth, an official said on Monday.

Asian shares slipped on Monday while the euro took a fresh spill after Russia shut a major gas pipeline to Europe, leading some governments there to announce emergency measures to ease the pain of soaring energy prices.

Australian house prices will fall sharply this year and next as rising mortgage rates and cost of living pressures drag on demand, a Reuters poll found, but for many people buying a home will still remain far out of reach.

Finland and Sweden on Sunday announced plans to offer billions of dollars in liquidity guarantees to energy companies in their countries after Russia's Gazprom shut the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, deepening Europe's energy crisis.

Germany will spend at least 65 billion euros ($64.7 billion) on shielding customers and businesses from soaring inflation, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday, two days after Russia announced it was suspending some gas deliveries indefinitely.

As rising energy prices and a new gas levy in Germany are expected to triple fuel bills for consumers from autumn, pressure is mounting on the government to introduce a windfall tax on energy firms to fund further relief measures.

European stocks rose 2% on Friday, clocking gains for the first time in six days after key U.S.

Calls for an unprecedented jumbo 75 basis point lift to interest rates from the European Central Bank next week are on a knife's edge as inflation soars although a very slim majority of economists said it would be tamer, a Reuters poll found.