Money Talks

Global stocks are up across the board following the release of better than expected data out of the US. Consumer prices in the world's largest economy rose 8.5% in July. That's down from the previous month's increase of more than 9%, which was the highest in four decades.

Naeem Aslam is the chief market analyst at AvaTrade in London. He gave us his take on the prospects for the US economy.

#UnitedStates #Inflation #StockMarket

Asian markets are deep in the red after China reported that consumer prices rose at their fastest pace in two years. Inflation in the world's second largest economy accelerated to 2.7% in July.

That's relatively low in global standards, but it's the most since July 2020. It shows that China is dealing with the effects of persistent supply chain bottlenecks and higher oil prices. But it would have been even higher if not for pandemic-related lockdowns keeping down consumer spending.

For more on consumer prices in China and the US, we spoke to Craig Erlam, who is a senior market analyst at OANDA in London.

#China #Inflation #ConsumerPrices

Hedge fund managers beware, because the meme stock frenzy is back big time. More than a year since video game firm GameStop became centre of financial markets, retail investors on the social media platform Reddit have found their new favorite. This time, they're buying up shares in Bed Bath and Beyond, an American big-box chain that sells blankets, towels and candles. The original meme-stock darling GameStop also rose almost 9%, while cinema chain AMC was up 13%.

For more, we were joined by Equiti Capital market analyst David Madden.

#BedBathBeyond #GameStop #AMC

Oil prices have slumped to start the week amid persistent fears that major economies are heading for another recession. The international crude benchmark Brent has recovered slightly after going down to $94 a barrel. Natural gas prices have also fallen by more than 2% on the prospect of weaker demand from places like China.

For more on energy, we were joined by Exinity Group chief market analyst Han Tan.

#Oil #NaturalGas #Energy

A stark reversal of fortunes for the sharing economy this quarter, and that is despite all the flight cancellation chaos we've seen this summer. Now that travel has returned in the middle of this year, it seems that consumers have jumped back in the sharing economy with both feet in the second quarter. But there's a little more trouble ahead for e-retailers this season as high inflation is hitting consumers virtually all over the world.

#MarketMovers #SharingEconomy #ECommerce

One of China's largest cities has given the green light for driverless taxis to start picking up paying customers. It's the biggest test for the technology to date, because these cars will be operating in a crowded metropolis of 18M people. If it succeeds, the experiment will help other major urban centres hop on board.

#China #DriverlessTaxi #RoboTaxi

If you have ever enjoyed some Nutella, there is a very good chance that you have consumed Turkish hazelnuts. Türkiye is the world's biggest exporter of hazelnuts and the city of Giresun in the Black Sea region has emerged as a hub for growers, processors and sellers. As much of the city's economy relies on the dry fruit, the harvest season holds immense importance for residents. And as Rumeysa Codar reports, they celebrate it with music and other festivities.

#Giresun #Hazelnut #Agriculture

India's 5G spectrum auction has ended with the country's three biggest mobile service providers and a new entrant bidding a combined 19 billion dollars to upgrade their networks. India's government expects to begin rolling out the 5G network in October, significantly increasing internet download speeds. Smita Sharma reports from New Delhi.

For the details, we spoke to business strategy specialist Harish Bijoor in Bengaluru.

#India #5G #InternetSpeed

OPEC+, the international alliance of oil exporters led by the Saudis, raised its output target for September by a tiny 100,000 barrels a day. That's the equivalent of about 0.1% of what the world consumes every 24 hours. But the bigger issue isn't what the cartel promises. It's what it actually produces. OPEC+ has fallen almost 3M barrels short of its committed daily output level.

For more on oil market, we were joined by energy industry analyst Neil Atkinson and economist Taha Meli Arvas.

#Oil #OPEC #Energy

Oil prices extended losses on Friday, after hitting their lowest level since before Russia's February incursion of Ukraine in the previous session.

That's as the market fretted over the impact of inflation on global economic growth and demand. WTI is now trading at $89 a barrel, Brent at $94. Analysts think that commodities are starting to price in the possibility of a 'stagflation era', which would be an era characterized by low unemployment and high inflation.

For more we had Danni Hewson, who is AJ Bell's financial analyst in Huddersfield, UK.

#Oil #OilPrices #Stagflation