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Economic data in the US are sending mixed messages, complicating the answer to a seemingly simple question: is the world’s largest economy in a recession? Figures from the commerce department on Thursday showing a second consecutive quarter of decline in gross domestic product intensified what has become a politically charged debate. News of the second

Global stocks were on track to post their best month since late 2020, bouncing back from a savage first half of 2022 as easing rate rise expectations and upbeat earnings from big tech groups fuelled a broad rally. The FTSE All-World index of developed and emerging market shares has jumped 5.8 per cent in July,

Inflation has hit its highest level in decades for many countries, with the Ukraine conflict adding upward pressure on energy prices and squeezing households’ real incomes. Russia’s invasion of its neighbour has pushed up energy and food prices at a time when many countries were already registering near-record rates of consumer price growth, leading some

The head of carmaker Stellantis has warned about growing Chinese government interference in western businesses operating in the country, days after the company ditched its joint venture to manufacture Jeep vehicles there. Carlos Tavares said the “interference of the political agenda has been increasing by the day”, and said that rival carmakers with plants in

The senator who had single-handedly blocked Joe Biden’s climate agenda just a few weeks ago has explained his stunning change of heart this week as a move to protect both US oil and gas and clean energy interests. Backing a historic bill that would set aside $369bn for climate and clean energy programmes, Democratic senator

Losses at Aston Martin ballooned after shortages of key parts left it with hundreds of unfinished models at the end of the first half of the year. The luxury carmaker was also hit by foreign exchange movements and higher debt interest payments, during a tumultuous six months in which it changed chief executive and raised

Good morning. Yesterday I scolded the market for being too enthusiastic about the Fed chair’s comments. Today stocks went up more. It’s almost as if people aren’t listening to me. This is hard on my ego, so email me: robert.armstrong@ft.com. Recession The US economy shrank for the second quarter in a row — on an

It is almost 11pm on an evening in early June and a group of about 60 gay men have taken over the Enchanted Rose, a cocktail bar at Disney’s upscale Grand Floridian Resort. This is the last stop on the Gay Pride Disney Monorail Crawl, an informal annual get-together that serves as a warm-up for

For decades, the Kuwait Investment Authority kept a low profile as it garnered a reputation as one of the oil-rich Gulf’s most powerful and respected sovereign wealth funds. But last week, the KIA abruptly sacked Saleh al-Ateeqi, the head of its London investment arm, the Kuwait Investment Office, dragging the secretive fund into the spotlight.

Investors were desperate for the slightest sliver of good news from Jay Powell, and it shows. Fund managers were pretty sure that the US Federal Reserve would raise interest rates this week at an increment that just a few months ago would have brought us all out in hives. It duly delivered a 0.75 percentage

Apple’s revenues grew slightly on the back of iPhone sales and its services division despite headwinds from supply chain shortages and factory shutdowns in China. The iPhone maker said revenues had risen 2 per cent from a year ago to $83bn, slightly ahead of analysts’ forecasts for $82.8bn, according to Refinitiv. Apple in April had

Amazon’s shares rose more than 10 per cent on Thursday after it beat revenue expectations and offered an upbeat forecast for the remainder of the year, as its reins in ecommerce costs and benefits from strong demand for its cloud computing business. Amazon said it expected to return to double-digit quarterly revenue growth now that

Intel shocked Wall Street as it reported a slump in revenue in its latest quarter and slashed its financial outlook for the rest of the year, sending its battered stock price down 10 per cent in after-market trading on Thursday. The biggest US chipmaker by revenue blamed the disappointing results on weakening economic conditions, supply

S&P Global has downgraded Pakistan’s outlook to negative from stable, as a depreciating currency, tighter global financial conditions and higher commodity prices weaken the government’s external position. S&P Global reaffirmed its sovereign credit rating of “B-/B” and said it expected external resources to remain “under pressure”, even after an expected IMF disbursement of $1.3bn. “The

Foreign secretary Liz Truss has rejected suggestions of a windfall tax on the profits of energy companies, despite British Gas owner Centrica’s announcement of huge earnings amid calls for increased support with fuel bills for struggling UK households. Truss, who in recent weeks has led the polling in the race to become leader of the

President Joe Biden is on the cusp of two back-to-back legislative victories after Congress passed a $280bn package to boost the semiconductor industry while a conservative Democrat unexpectedly swung behind a sweeping tax-and-spend bill. The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to pass the Chips and Science Act, which includes subsidies for the US semiconductor

The energy, climate and social spending bill that won critical support in the US Senate this week would raise $14bn by taking aim at a tax break long cherished by America’s wealthiest private equity and hedge fund managers. “Carried interest” allows profits accrued by investment managers to be taxed at a lower rate than ordinary

At the height of his success, the Pakistani tycoon Arif Naqvi invited cricket superstar Imran Khan and hundreds of bankers, lawyers and investors to his walled country estate in the Oxfordshire village of Wootton for weekends of sport and drinking. The host was the founder of the Dubai-based Abraaj Group, then one of the largest

This year, anybody receiving an annual statement from America’s mighty social security system might notice a tiny ticking time bomb — if they possess sharp eyes. Tucked into a footnote is a website link that explains that the two funds in this system — called “Disability Insurance” and “Old Age and Survivors Insurance” — have

“There is no such thing as public money,” Margaret Thatcher once said, “only taxpayers’ money”. Her dictum is one that Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak should heed in their race to become Britain’s next prime minister. Both candidates for the Conservative leadership, despite repeatedly lionising the Iron Lady, are competing on spending pledges. The former