Recession fears weigh on markets as Chinese export growth hits two-year low – Business Live | a job

European countries should consider seizing Russia’s frozen foreign exchange reserves to help finance the cost of rebuilding Ukraine, tThis was suggested by the EU’s chief diplomat.

Josep BorelThe High Representative for Foreign Policy of the European Union told the Financial Times that it would make sense to use Russia’s reserves, of which $300 billion was frozen after the start of the Ukraine war.

Borrell noted that the United States had seized control of billions of dollars in assets belonging to the Afghan Central Bank for humanitarian aid, and to compensate victims of terrorism – so the same principle could be applied to Ukraine.

Borrell told the Financial Times:

“I would be very supportive because it is full of logic.

“We have money in our pockets, and someone has to explain to me why it is good for Afghan money and not good for Russian money.”

But as the Financial Times points out, the idea of ​​seizing Russia’s foreign-exchange reserves would be a dramatic move that would alarm other governments with fraught relations with the European Union and its partners.

Here is the full story:

Full story: UK expands import sanctions against Russia and Belarus

Joanna Partridge

The UK government has expanded its sanctions against Russia to include punitive import tariffs on Russian precious metals, as well as export bans on some UK products, to increase economic pressure on Moscow due to the invasion of Ukraine, My colleague Joanna Partridge explains.

The new package of restrictions includes £1.4 billion in UK import duties – border taxes paid by buyers on goods shipped from Russia – which will affect imports of platinum, palladium and other products including chemicals from Russia.

The Department for International Trade said Russia was relying heavily on the UK to export precious metals, which would be subject to an additional 35 percentage point tariff.

The government will also ban the export of more than 250 million pounds of goods in sectors where the Russian economy is most dependent on British products, including key items such as chemicals, plastics, rubber and machinery. More here.

The pound hit a new two-year low against the US dollar.

Sterling fell another half a cent to $1.226, the weakest since June 2020, extending its recent decline against the strong dollar.

Sterling fell last Thursday when the Bank of England predicted the economy would be in recession for two years as the cost of living crisis weighed on growth.

Like John Hardy from saxo Bank He explained last week:

The United Kingdom is at the forefront of economies experiencing risks of stagflation, having been affected on the supply side by the high energy prices that started even before the war in Ukraine and due to several labor shortages linked to Britain’s exit from the European Union.

The Bank of England said the population of the United Kingdom is experiencing the second largest decline in living standards since 1964.

Good morning, and welcome to our renewed coverage of business, the global economy, and financial markets.

Recession fears are fresh again this morning as China’s Covid-19 lockdowns, the Ukraine war and the cost of living crisis threaten the global recovery.

China’s export growth fell to its lowest level in two years, as restrictions imposed to fight Covid hit factory production, disrupt supply chains and also weaken domestic demand.

Exports slowed to 3.9% year-on-year in April, the weakest since June 2020.

Import growth has been flat (and imports from the US are down 1.2%), as cities like Shanghai have been locked down to combat the virus outbreak.

April data shows the impact of China’s recent Covid restrictions, including a tight six-week lockdown in Shanghai, which has disrupted the operations of companies including Tesla and Apple.

Julian Evans-Pritchardchief Chinese economist at capital economicsHe says weak foreign demand has hurt China’s exports, indicating that higher prices are now affecting consumer spending,

The largest drop was in shipments to the European Union and the United States, where high inflation affected the real income of households.

The declines were particularly evident in electronics exports, indicating a further decline in epidemic-related demand for Chinese goods.”

Russia continues to come under fresh criticism over the war in Ukraine, which has entered its seventy-fifth day.

Overnight, the UK announced new £1.7 billion sanctions on Russia and Belarus, including raising tariffs on its lucrative platinum and palladium imports.

Last night, the Group of Seven major industrialized countries pledged to gradually abandon or ban the import of Russian oil, “in a timely and orderly manner” (so no specific date has been set yet).

G7 added:

“We will work together and with our partners to ensure a stable, sustainable and affordable global energy supply to consumers.”

As the day comes

The future of British supermarket chain McColl can be decided today, as officials evaluate competing bids from Morrisons and EG Group.

Sky News reported yesterday that Morrisons It made an improved offer to McCall’s lenders, which said Friday it would recall managers, putting 16,000 jobs at risk.

Michael Saunders, a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, later delivers a speech about “taking the right path”, (days after the BoE warned that the UK was on the path to recession).

schedule of work

• 7.45am GMT: French Trade Balance for March
• Noon GMT: Mexico’s April inflation report
• 2pm GMT: BoE policymaker Michael Saunders’ speech on ‘taking the right course’