French inflation accelerated to its highest level since at least 1991 in June, official data showed Thursday, as food and energy costs have surged since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A key objective of issuing a monetary policy statement on the eve of the new fiscal year is to provide forward guidance to the public about the likely future course of monetary policy. When credible, individuals and businesses use this information in making decisions about spending and investments.

Swedish fashion retailer H&M posted stronger-than-expected sales and profits in the second quarter on Wednesday as shoppers splurged in stores and online.

Americans’ feelings about the economy slumped further in June after falling sharply the month before amid concerns over skyrocketing inflation, according to a survey released Tuesday.

India’s biggest cement producer, UltraTech Cement, is importing a cargo of Russian coal and paying using Chinese yuan, according to an Indian customs document reviewed by Reuters, a rare payment method that traders say could become more common.

Sri Lanka’s economy shrank 1.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year as an unprecedented financial crisis began to impact commercial activity, according to official data.

US and Taiwanese officials held the first round of trade talks on Monday under an initiative announced earlier this month that drew strong criticism from Beijing.

G7 leaders on Tuesday condemned China’s  “non-transparent and market-distorting” international trade practices in an end-of-summit statement that hit out directly at Beijing for the first time.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday promised his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro that Russia  “is committed” to maintaining its delivery of much-needed fertilisers to the South American agricultural giant.

Oil prices bounced and Wall Street stocks declined Monday, reversing the most recent trends as markets eye the end of a bruising second quarter.

At the Mellach coal power plant in southern Austria, spider webs have taken over the conveyor belts, and plants and flowers have sprung up around the vast lot that once stored coal.

The Group of Seven rich democracies will commit up to $5 billion to improve global food security, a senior US official said, as the group responds to worries in developing nations about the threat of hunger triggered by war in Ukraine.

Russia said Monday that two of its debt payments were blocked from reaching creditors, pushing the country closer to its first foreign default in a century due to sanctions over the Ukraine offensive.

France is working on energy contingency plans because of cuts to gas flows from Russia which have hit the European market but it has not yet had to put them into action, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday.

Britain is mulling action to protect its ailing steel industry that could set it on collision course with the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Sunday.

India and the European Union resumed talks Monday on a free-trade deal after a nine-year gap, as Western countries seek to wean New Delhi off its close economic ties to Russia.

Central banks must not let inflation become entrenched, with the threat of stagflation looming over the global economy, the Bank for International Settlements warned Sunday in its annual economic report.

India’s electricity shortages have eased over the last six weeks as renewables generation has increased seasonally and relieved some of the pressure on coal-fired units short of fuel.

It only took 24 hours last month for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in India - the world’s second-largest producer of wheat - to shelve its plans to “feed the world”.

Google was hit with an antitrust complaint on Monday after a Danish online job-search rival took its grievance to EU regulators, alleging the Alphabet unit had unfairly favoured its own job search service.