Money Talks

The Sterling has steadied at around the $1.2 mark, after having appreciated on Thursday as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that he would step down after more than 50 resignations from his government. The FTSE100 in the UK is slightly down today but it rallied yesterday, closing at 1.14% But despite this, the UK economy has had a difficult year so far. First of all, the Sterling has fallen more than 9% against the US dollar this year. Inflation in the country is currently running at 9% and the Monetary Policy Committee projects it will exceed 11% in October.

We spoke to Stephen Innes, who is SPI Asset Management Managing Partner. He shared his thoughts on the pound's trajectory for the rest of the year.

#UnitedKingdom #Pound #UKEconomy

Asia-Pacific markets are mostly higher this morning as investors watch for market reaction to the latest minutes from the US Federal Reserve. Central bank officials recognised that a "more restrictive stance" in policy could be suitable if inflation doesn't ease, even if it slows the economy. Fed officials also said a hike of 50 or 75 basis points would be likely at the July meeting. Meanwhile, oil prices extended declines for a third session on Thursday, with WTI slipping under $100 a barrel, as fears of a potential global recession spur concerns about oil demand.

For more, we spoke to David Madden, who is a market analyst at Equiti Capital, in London.

#FederalReserve #InterestRates #OilPrices

Oil prices have steadied near $100 a barrel, after nose-diving on Tuesday, as a broad sell-off in commodities markets reflected fears that an economic downturn will undercut fuel demand. The prices fell by the most in four months dropping around 9.5%. Now, WTI is trading at $101 a barrel and Brent at $103.

For more, we spoke to Han Tan, who is chief market analyst at Exinity Group, in Abu Dhabi.

#OilPrices #OilDemand #Recession

Ties between the world's two largest economies may be starting to improve. That's after years of heightened tension due to the hostile policies by former US President Donald Trump. President Joe Biden's top economic lieutenant, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, has spoken to Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. According to Beijing's readout of their phone conversation, the two senior officials discussed tariffs that both sides have placed on each other's goods. The White House says those additional levies have made wide range of products imported from China more expensive. Last month, Secretary Yellen also said some of those tariffs don't make any strategic sense.

We spoke to Danni Hewson, who is a financial analyst at AJ Bell in the UK.

#Tariffs #China #Biden

The British government has announced a tax cut that would boost the budgets of 30M people across the country. This will be achieved by raising the income threshold at which workers are required to make national insurance payments. It'll cost the government more than $7B in foregone revenue, and will help the UK's lowest salary earners.

Susannah Streeter is an investment analyst at Hargreaves Landsdown and she joined us from Bristol, the UK.

#UnitedKingdom #TaxCut #UKInflation

New management takes the charge in the Philippines. Ferdinand Marcos Junior has assumed the presidency after winning in a landslide in May, overcoming the controversies that have hounded his family for decades. Paolo Montecillo has more on the challenges the new government will have to face.

#Philippine #PhilippinesEconomy #MarcosJr

The bestselling book series of all time, the Harry Potter franchise, has turned 25. It's sold more than 500M copies worldwide since the first book hit the shelves in 1997. As Tayyibe Aydin reports, it's generated a lot of money-making magic.

For more on the wizarding world, we're joined by Richard Haigh, the managing director of the brand valuation consultance Brand Finance.

#HarryPotter #Rowling #PhilosophersStone

At the top of the agenda for G7 summit was crude oil, a commodity the world needs, but that's increasingly in short supply. For months, leaders have been putting pressure on oil exporters to pump more fuel out of the ground. They want other suppliers to offset the reduction in shipments from Russia, which have sanctioned by the West. This week, the expanded cartel OPEC+ announced it would hike output by 648,000 barrels of crude a day in July and August. But there's been a disconnection between what the group has promised on paper and the actual volumes it's added to markets. For the month of May, the group's production was 2.7M barrels a day below its collective target.

For more on the story, we were joined by Taha Meli Arvas who is Adjunct Professor of Finance at Bogazici University.

#OilPrices #G7Summit #OPEC

The southern region of Türkiye is often referred to as the country's agricultural hub. Citrus fruits have long been the dominant crop there, but changing trends and consumer tastes have pushed farmers to explore new ground. Rumeysa Codar reports.

#Türkiye #Agriculture #Avocado

In the face of higher fuel prices, and longer-term concerns over the climate crisis, many consumers are making the switch over to electric cars. Sales are surging around the world. And the cost of entry is also going down as automakers introduce new models that are getting more affordable with each iteration. TRT World's Ludovica Brignola spoke to the CEO of French carmaker Citroen, who was in Istanbul this week, to find out how the company is contributing to this transition.

#Türkiye #Citroen #ElectricVehicle