March, 22(Agencies)--British consumer price inflation unexpectedly rose to 10.4% in February of January’s 10.1%, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Wednesday.Economists polled by Reuters had forecast that the annual CPI rate would drop to 9.9% in January, moving further away from October’s 41-year high of 11.1% but still eating into the spending power of workers whose pay is rising by less.The Bank of England is due to announce on Thursday whether it has raised interest rates for an 11th meeting in a row. Core CPI - which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco and is watched closed by the BoE - rose to 6.2% from 5.8% in January, versus a forecast decline to 5.7%.The annual inflation rate in the services secto...
March 22, 2023 at 7:35 pm | Economic Affairs
AgenciesTOKYO, Oct. 4 — Asian shares dipped on Monday as concerns about China’s property sector and inflation worries offset upbeat U.S. data and positive news on new drugs to fight the coronavirus.Trading in shares of debt-laden China Evergrande was suspended pending an announcement about a major transaction. That comes a few days after the distressed developer missed a key interest payment on its offshore debt obligation for the second time.Chinese media reported on Monday Evergrande will sell a half-stake in its property management unit for more than $5 billion, however, that news did little to sooth sentiment.“The biggest problem is not a default by Evergrande but the environment that has led to its downfall. Authorities are regu...
October 4, 2021 at 12:15 pm | Economic Affairs
TOKYO, Oct. 01 - growing inflation risk sentiment pushed Asian equities Friday to follow Wall Street, sharply lower and bonds rallied.Japan’s Nikkei tumbled 2.52% to the lowest level since Sept. 3, while Australian stocks slumped 2.02%, South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.50%, and Taiwan’s benchmark dropped 2.18%.An MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks slid 1.33% to its lowest since Aug. 24.Chinese markets are closed for a week from Friday for the Golden Week holiday.“You can argue whether it’s really stagflation or not, but the whole growth-inflation backdrop seems to have just tilted to a less favorable one,” said Rob Carnell, Asia-Pacific head of research at ING in Singapore.“Whether or not this is actually going to get imbedded and c...
October 1, 2021 at 11:45 am | Economic Affairs
Malik Muhammad Ashraf Sitting governments all over the world, for real or perceived reasons, lack credibility and their performance invariably remains under strict scrutiny by the media, its political opponents and the elements within the society who have an irresistible propensity to look askance at every thing done and said by them. Therefore, the widely accepted barometer for judging their claims in regards to performance and good governance is the endorsement of their authenticity by independent national and international entities. The PML (N) government in Pakistan is in the saddle for almost a year, trying to grapple with formidable inherited challenges like terrorism, energy crisis, an economy in shambles and the negative fall ...
June 11, 2014 at 11:54 pm | News Desk