recession

Prices of everyday basics like Bounty paper towels and Cadbury chocolate may rise again this year while those of others like Clorox Co wipes and Diet Pepsi are likely to stay steady.

Australian supermarkets will reap bigger profits in fiscal 2023 half-year due to decades-high inflation and increased savings, but analysts warned of a rough second-half as households reel from mounting expenses due to higher cost of living.

Britain's Conservative government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is temporarily subsidising electricity and gas bills this winter.

Latest figures from the ONS reveal zero GDP growth in Q4 2022. A labour shortage is part of the problem, with the Chancellor urging people to return to work.

Stocks rose on Thursday as recent economic data from around the world fed hopes that the global economy might not face as hard a landing as feared a few months ago, even as interest rates threaten to remain higher for longer than expected.

The Bank of England will make its final increase to borrowing costs in the current cycle next month to combat double-digit inflation, according to a Reuters poll which showed the British economy is almost certainly entering a recession.

The Agility Emerging Markets Logistics survey 2023 paints a sober picture, with more than 2/3 of respondents seeing a 2023 recession as 'Likely' or 'Certain'.

Oil prices climbed on Wednesday underpinned by a weaker dollar, which fell on signs of slowing inflation in the United States, easing fears that the world's largest oil user may face a recession because of further interest rate hikes.

Visa Inc's revenue growth continued to wind back to pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter as the post-lockdown travel craze ebbed and consumer spending slowed in a tough economy.

British private-sector economic activity fell at its fastest rate in two years in January, a survey showed on Tuesday, as businesses blamed higher Bank of England interest rates, strikes and weak consumer demand for the slowdown.

Britain's government borrowed more last month than in any December since monthly records began 30 years ago, reflecting the huge cost of energy support and soaring debt interest linked to rising inflation.

The UK is in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, and the politicians have been blaming everyone but themselves for the mess that the country finds itself in.

The Bank of England must decide next week how much higher it will raise borrowing costs as it tries to bear down on Britain's double-digit inflation rate without adding too much stress to an economy already close to recession.

Nordstrom Inc slashed its annual profit forecast after heavy discounting failed to sway people shopping at its off-price Rack stores, leading to weak holiday sales and pushing its shares down 6% in after-hours trading on Thursday.

British consumer sentiment fell for the first time in three months in January, returning near to historic lows as concerns about the economy and the soaring cost of living tightened the squeeze on household finances, research showed on Friday.

Europeans have dialled down their heating this winter, apparently heeding government calls to conserve energy amid the Ukraine crisis, with some delaying switching it on by almost a month and setting the temperature lower, data shows.

Steps taken by the government so far to try to generate growth have been questionable.

Britain's financial services minister sought to reassure U.S. counterparts on Wednesday that the UK's bout of debt market instability last fall was a one-time event

Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill said on Monday that Britain is at risk of persistent inflationary pressure from a tight labour market, even if natural gas prices stabilise or fall, implying further rate rises may be needed.

Updates next week from Britain's biggest retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer are expected to confirm that while Christmas was not the disaster that some had feared, consumer demand is set to weaken in 2023, denting profit.

All of the country's left-wing political parties, as well as the far-right National Rally, are against the changes and have vowed to join protests.

By attempting to shield consumers from high prices, governments will only encourage consumption via lower prices, prolonging the energy crisis.

Sunak did not offer any details, or on how he will end a wave of strikes including by nurses and train drivers that has stoked a sense of national paralysis this winter.

British businesses are gloomy about prospects for 2023 as they face the likelihood of a surge energy bills and ongoing post-Brexit trade difficulties, the British Chambers of Commerce said late on Wednesday.

Investors were rocked last year by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February, soaring inflation and rising interest rates.

For much of the global economy, 2023 is going to be a tough year as the main engines of global growth - the United States, Europe and China - all experience weakening activity, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday.

Heavy falls in stock and bond markets over the last year have cut the combined value of the world's sovereign wealth and public pension funds for the first time ever - and to the tune of $2.2 trillion, an annual study of the sector has estimated.

The dollar was on track for its best performance in seven years on Friday, having been buoyed by the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary policy tightening and concerns about the global growth outlook.

Wall Street's main indexes ended weaker on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq hitting a 2022 closing low, as investors grappled with mixed economic data, rising COVID cases in China, and geopolitical tensions heading into 2023.

U.S. stock investors could not be more eager to turn the page on 2022, a brutal year dominated by market-punishing Federal Reserve rate hikes designed to tamp down the steepest inflation in 40 years.