British business leaders on Thursday criticised Prime Minister Boris Johnson for lacking a plan to deal with a labour shortage crisis, after he called for them to pay higher wages.

World food prices rose for a second consecutive month in September to reach a 10-year peak, driven by gains for cereals and vegetable oils, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday.

The International Monetary Fund’s executive board will meet again on Friday after interviewing Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva over claims that she pressured World Bank staff to alter data to favor China in her previous role, a source familiar with the deliberations said.

Oil prices extended losses from the previous session on Thursday, as the United States said it was considering selling oil from its strategic reserves and as Russia said it was ready to stabilise the natural gas market.

DuckDuckGo and three other search engine rivals to Google on Thursday urged EU lawmakers to take action against the Alphabet unit via new tech rules, saying they have yet to see positive results from an antitrust ruling against Google.

Military-appointed authorities in Myanmar are making progress in addressing its currency crisis, with the kyat stabilising and efforts underway to keep prices under control, a senior central bank official said.

German industrial production fell more sharply than expected in August, official data showed Thursday, as supply chain frictions weigh heavily on Europe’s biggest economy.

Asian shares rallied on Thursday, taking heart from a late recovery on Wall Street after US politicans appeared near to a temporary deal to avert a federal debt default and as Russia reassured Europe on gas supplies, calming volatile markets.

US senators neared agreement in the small hours of Thursday to stave off a catastrophic credit default after Democrats said they were close to accepting an offer from the Republicans to raise the debt limit for two months.

Britain’s government bond market is showing signs of strain from the country’s energy crisis, with headlines about gas prices sparking heavy selling this week - a new development that points to growing unease over inflation expectations.

The European Union will launch public consultations this month on reforming budget rules that cap members’ debt but were suspended due to the pandemic, the EU economic affairs commissioner said Tuesday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson rallies his Conservative party faithful on Wednesday, vowing a far-reaching overhaul to wean the UK economy off cheap foreign labour after Brexit.

Russia’s economic recovery will be stronger than expected this year but US sanctions, a poor vaccination rate and the central bank’s monetary tightening will all weigh on the growth outlook, the World Bank said on Wednesday.

Rising prices, supply chain disruption and staff shortages put the brakes on the recovery of Britain’s construction sector last month, a survey showed on Wednesday, adding to signs that economic growth has taken a hit recently.

German industrial orders fell sharply in August, after a record month in July, official data released on Wednesday showed, as global supply bottlenecks pinch the economy.

British supermarket giant Tesco on Wednesday posted surging first-half profit on the back of elevated pandemic sales and its  “resilient” supply chain.

President Joe Biden delivered a stark warning of American decline Tuesday in a speech urging Congress to vote through his ambitious infrastructure and social spending packages or lose out to the likes of China.

The International Monetary Fund expects global economic growth in 2021 to fall slightly below its July forecast of 6 per cent, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday, citing risks associated with debt, inflation and divergent economic trends in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

US services industry activity nudged up in September, but growth is being restrained by a persistent shortage of inputs and the resulting high prices as the pandemic drags on.

Trading volumes at major cryptocurrency exchange Binance soared between July and September, suggesting a recent crackdown by regulators across the globe has had little impact on the platform’s business.