Money Talks

Asia-Pacific markets are mixed this morning as investors are digesting Japan's inflation data. Prices in Japan rose 2.2% in June compared to a year ago, in line with analysts' expectations. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank raised rates more than expected on Thursday with ECB President Christine Lagarde warning that inflation risks had intensified.

For more on global consumer prices, we spoke to Danni Hewson, who is a financial analyst at AJ Bell in the UK.

#Inflation #InterestRates #CentralBanks

European markets are heading for a lower open, anticipating a historic rate hike by the European Central Bank, the first in eleven years. Investors expect the bank to hike rates by 25 basis points but they might surprise markets and actually opt for a 50 basis points hike. Either way, this is expected to support the Euro, which has lost over 9% of its value against the dollar since the start of the year, and fight inflation, which in June spiked to 8.6%, the highest level on record.

For more on ECB’s interest rate decision, we were joined by Han Tan, who is the chief market analyst at Exinity Group in Abu Dhabi.

#Euro #ECB #InterestRates

The European Commission is presenting a plan on how European countries can prepare for the winter months, when energy needs will be much higher. This comes as Europe is scrambling to find solutions as to how to reduce supplies from Russia, after Russia's energy giant Gazprom claimed it could not fulfil gas contracts with the bloc.

For more on Europe’s energy crisis, we were joined by independent analyst, Neil Atkinson in from.

#EuropeanUnion #NaturalGas #Gazprom

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi is due to face lawmakers today and tell them whether or not he will stay on as Prime Minister. This is likely to create significant market volatility in Europe, just ahead of a crucial meeting of the European Central Bank tomorrow. Last week, Italy's President Sergio Mattarella rejected Draghi's resignation and asked him to conduct further parliamentary negotiations.

For more on Italy, we had Victoria Scholar, who is the head of investment at Interactive Investor in London.

#Italy #MarioDraghi #ItalianEconomy

Russia's energy company Gazprom has invoked force majeure for its failure to deliver contractually agreed natural-gas shipments in recent weeks. This is raising concerns that it could use the same argument to turn off the tap to Europe later this week instead of resuming gas flows to the continent this Friday as previously scheduled. Gazprom stopped deliveries last week via the Nord Stream 1, as the pipeline is undergoing annual maintenance, a routine procedure.

For more on energy conflict, we had Craig Erlam, who is OANDA’s senior market analyst in London.

#Gazprom #EuropeanUnion #NaturalGas

A roaming art experiment in the US has turned the world's richest men into frozen desserts. So consumers can now literally eat the rich!

#Mischief #EatTheRich #IceCream

With a war on the Eurozone's border, an uncertain energy supply from Russia, and a growing risk of recession, the pressures bearing down on the euro have grown so strong that this week the currency dipped below the US Dollar. This hadn't happened in 20 years, since the early years of the euro's existence. We explain winners and losers of this development.

#Euro #Dollar #Parity

Now for a look under the hood at the ride-hailing giant, Uber. The company is at the centre of a massive leak of documents that detail years of sketchy behaviour. That includes possibly illegal dealings with powerful politicians, who helped transform the firm from a money-losing start-up into a multi-billion dollar transportation behemoth. Paolo Montecillo reports.

Nicole Sadek is an editorial fellow at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. They're leading the effort to comb through the 124,000 documents leaked to the media by a former Uber executive. She tells us about what the group is doing, and what they hope the revelations will achieve.

#Uber #UberLeaks #RideHailing

Financial markets have been under immense pressure this year as the conflict in Ukraine and rising inflation push investors toward safer bets. Among the top assets that fund managers have dumped are cryptocurrencies. The collapse in prices has plunged companies in the sector into financial distress. As firms fight to survive, governments are stepping in to ensure investors are protected.

We were joined by crypto market analyst Jeffrey Tucker in Texas. He's also the president of the Brownstone Institute.

#CryptoRegulations #Cryptocurrencies #Bitcoin

Rising prices of fuel and other inputs, along with fresh coronavirus outbreaks are slamming the brakes on the world's second-largest economy. In the second quarter, GDP growth in China dropped to its slowest pace since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, the world's largest economy isn't faring any better. Officials say US GDP contracted 1.6% in the first quarter. That's worse than earlier estimates and the International Monetary Fund says growth will remain stunted until 2025.

For more on global economic slump, Taha Arvas joined us from eastern Turkish city of Sanliurfa. He is an adjunct professor of finance at Bogazici University.

#ChinaEconomy #USEconomy #Recession