China and the United States exchanged sharp criticism at a World Trade Organization meeting on Friday, with Beijing calling Washington a “unilateral bully” and the US accusing its rival of illegal retaliatory measures.

A proposed EU price cap on Russian diesel may be high enough to allow Moscow to continue exporting the fuel, but in practice could deter big Asian buyers who have become used to buying cheap Russian crude to refine it themselves, analysts say.

The eurozone economy grew in January for the first time in six months, a closely watched survey showed Tuesday, raising hopes that Europe will avoid a recession this winter.

The euro hit a nine-month peak against the dollar on Monday as comments on European interest rates signalling additional jumbo rate rises contrasted with market pricing for a less aggressive Federal Reserve.

Oil prices rose on Wednesday to their highest since early December on optimism that the lifting of China’s strict Covid-19 curbs will lead to a fuel demand recovery in the world’s top oil importer.

Pay growth in Britain - which is being closely watched by the Bank of England as it gauges how much higher to raise interest rates - picked up more pace in the three months to November, official data showed on Tuesday.

The dollar started the week on the back foot, hitting a seven-month low against a basket of major peers in Asian trade before steadying, with the yen in particular focus due to traders’ bets the Bank of Japan will tweak its yield control policy further.

Oil prices held near this year’s highs on Monday as easing Covid restrictions in China raised expectations for a demand recovery in the world’s top crude importer.

The top 1 per cent of earners grabbed nearly two-thirds of all the new wealth, or $26 trillion of the $42 trillion, generated since 2020, according to a report by Oxfam International released yesterday.

Oil rose more than 1 per cent on Thursday supported by optimism over China’s demand outlook and hopes that upcoming inflation data from the United States will point to a slower increase in interest rates.

Four out of ten German companies expect business to shrink in 2023, a survey by the German Economic Institute (IW) showed on Monday, blaming high energy costs, supply chain issues and the continuing war in Ukraine.

Britain on Monday scaled back its energy bill support for businesses after warning that the current aid level was unsustainable.

Britain has become less competitive and less attractive to foreign investors as a result of soaring energy costs and recent political turmoil, manufacturers said in an industry survey released on Monday.

German industrial production recovered slightly in November, official figures published Monday showed, as fears of an energy crisis eased although prospects for Europe’s top economy still looked gloomy.

Oil prices climbed more than 2 per cent on Monday as China’s move to reopen its borders boosted the demand outlook and overshadowed global recession concerns.

Bangladesh will attract more British investment if the existing business-related “complexities” are removed, said Rushanara Ali, the British prime minister’s trade envoy to Bangladesh.

German Ambassador to Bangladesh Achim Tröster and South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun visited Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) in Chattogram on Saturday. 

Britain’s top bosses earned more in the first few days of 2023 than most ordinary workers will all year, a study showed Thursday, as many grapple with a cost-of-living crisis.

Oil prices were little changed on Friday as the market balanced a weaker US dollar and mixed US jobs reports, but both crude benchmarks ended the first week of the year lower due to global recession concerns.

The eurozone’s annual inflation rate fell for a second month in a row, to 9.2 percent in December, driven by easing energy prices, official data showed Friday, bringing some relief to Europe in the new year.