Zgood morning.
There’s some much-needed good news this morning as UK inflation eased slightly in August.
The consumer price index cooled to 9.9% last month, according to the ONS. That’s down from 10.1 percent in July, though still not far from a 40-year high.
The figure will offer some relief to the Bank of England, which will announce its interest rate decision next week as it tackles stubbornly high inflation.
A price rise still remains embedded in the economy, although Prime Minister Liz Truss’ support for energy bills could offer further relief later in the year.
5 things to start your day with
1) Unemployment lowest since 1974 as NHS backlog leads to ‘alarming’ exodus – Sharp rise in long-term illnesses drives unemployment to lowest since 1974 as labor market shrinks
2) New York Times employees refuse to return to the office – More than 1,200 employees revolt against the newspaper
3) Hawksmoor criticized pressure to close on the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral – Many businesses have announced they are closing as a mark of respect
4) Port strikes deal another blow to Britain’s fragile supply chains – Workers at two of the UK’s biggest ports will stage up to two weeks of walkout later this month over a pay dispute
5) Deloitte plans to hire 1,000 staff outside of London – The Big Four are joining the rush of accounting networks expanding beyond the capital
What happened in one night
Asian shares tumbled, the dollar held steady and the U.S. yield curve was deeply inverted on Wednesday as a white-hot U.S. inflation report dented hopes of a peak in inflation and fueled bets that interest rates may have to be promoted higher and for longer.
Wall Street posted its steepest decline in two years, the safe-haven dollar posted its biggest jump since the start of 2020 and the yield on two-year Treasuries jumped to a 15-year high.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.3 percent in early Asian trade on Wednesday. Resource-rich Australia fell 2.8 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei tumbled 2.7 percent.
Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures rose 0.1 percent after heavy selling. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.94%, the S&P 500 lost 4.2% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 5.16%.
It’s due today
Corporate: Dunelm, Redrow (all year), Tullow Oil (interim)
Economy: Consumer Price Index (UK), Producer Price Index (UK, US), Retail Price Index (UK), Industrial Production (EU)