Headlines

Global financial markets could tumble if investors' mood sours on the prospects for artificial intelligence or the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England warned on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The BoE said that share price valuations on U.S. stock markets were similar to those seen near the peak of the dotcom bubble on some measures and noted that U.S. government bonds were vulnerable to any weakening in the Fed's credibility.

Household spending rose for a fourth month in Japan, showing resilience amid persistent inflation as the central bank continues to mull the timing of its next interest rate hike, Bloomberg News reported. Outlays by households adjusted for inflation gained 2.3% from a year ago in August, led by spending on transport and entertainment, the internal affairs ministry reported Tuesday. The result beat the median economist estimate of a 1.2% increase.

It’s hard to imagine the folks at law firm Mason Hayes & Curran (MHC) imagined Jim O’Callaghan would speak out against the enriching of lawyers when they asked him to address their conference on dispute resolution this week, the Irish Times reported. That, though, was the basis on which the Minister for Justice said he is reluctant to provide for third party funding of legal actions in the Irish courts.

The insolvency of an operator of a decommissioned nuclear power plant in Germany raises questions about the financial responsibilities for deconstructing the reactor and disposing of its radioactive materials, TheEnergyMix.com reported. HKG, the owner of the nuclear plant Hamm-Uentrop that was opened in 1983 and taken out of service only six years later, filed for insolvency at a court in western state North Rhine-Westphalia, reports Clean Energy Wire, citing the German business weekly WirtschaftsWoche.

German manufacturing orders unexpectedly sank for the fourth straight month in August, as tariff uncertainty over the summer damped international orders, the Wall Street Journal reported. Total orders tumbled 0.8% on month in August, from a 2.7% fall in July, Germany’s statistics agency Destatis said Tuesday. Orders rose in the first quarter in the run-up to the announcement of expected tariffs from the Trump administration at the start of April. Since then, they have slumped. Germany, in common with other European Union members, faces a 15% tariff on most goods imports into the U.S.

French president Emmanuel Macron has called for an urgent plan for stability after the resignation his prime minister triggered a surge in borrowing costs, The Telegraph reported.

The European Union proposed Tuesday cutting free-trade quotas by 47% on steel and steel products, effectively adding large tariffs on imports from countries like China, India, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, which said the measures would wreck the British steel industry, the Associated Press reported. After importing 18.3 million tons, the new quota, additional imports will face up to 50% in new tariffs, a high price akin to U.S. President Donald Trump's steel measures. Neighboring nations like Norway, Iceland and Ukraine will be exempt.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has established a new committee for the conduct of financial policy, giving it power over issues around financial stability and prudential issues for banks, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Financial Policy Committee will set debt-to-income and loan-to-value ratios for banks, thus giving it enormous power over the country’s housing sector. The FPC will consist of the RBNZ board chair, the central bank’s governor, and three other RBNZ board members, with up to two members who aren’t RBNZ board members or employees of the RBNZ.

A measure of Australian consumer sentiment slid for a second straight month in October as concerns about family finances returned amid speculation interest rates might not fall any further, a survey showed on Tuesday, Reuters reported. A Westpac-Melbourne Institute survey showed its main index of consumer sentiment dropped 3.5% to 92.1, having fallen 3.1% in September. The reading under 100 means pessimists increasingly outnumber optimists. Sentiment had been slowly picking up mid-year as the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates three times and inflation looked to be cooling.

According to the latest MNP Consumer Debt Index data, Canadians' financial vulnerability is intensifying as persistent economic uncertainty, concerns about borrowing costs, and employment anxiety weigh on household confidence. Three in ten Canadians say that they have reduced their utility consumption, while a quarter report eating less to save money. The Index dropped two points to 86 this quarter -- its lowest September reading since 2023. Read more.