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Reuters GraphicsNOTHING 'BROKEN' YETInternational economic officials gathering in Washington this week for the IMF and World Bank spring meetings can take some comfort that pandemic-era risks are continuing to diminish. An aggressive year of central bank rate hikes hasn't yet "broken" any of the economies involved, with the U.S. unemployment rate at 3.5%, near its lowest level since the late 1960s. Still, that terminal rate remains unclear, and the end of synchronized tightening by the Fed, BoE and European Central Bank doesn't mean tight monetary policy is going away. Wages, services and food are driving price growth to the point that the ECB's attention has shifted almost entirely to underlying inflation on fears that rapid price growth is at risk of getting stuck above target. The U.S. central bank is expected to increase its benchmark overnight interest rate by another quarter of a percentage point next month, and signal whether more hikes may be warranted.

☆ Real Madrid beat 10-man Chelsea 2-0 as Benzema strikes again
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Soccer Football - Champions League - Quarter Finals - First Leg - Real Madrid v Chelsea - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - April 12, 2023 Real Madrid's Karim Benzema celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates REUTERS/Albert GeaMADRID, April 12 (Reuters) - European champions Real Madrid beat 10-man Chelsea 2-0 in their Champions League quarter-final, first leg courtesy of a tap-in by Karim Benzema and a powerful strike by substitute Marco Asensio in the Spanish capital on Wednesday. Benzema, the scourge of Chelsea at the same stage of the competition last season, converted from point blank range in the 21st minute when Kepa Arrizabalaga saved from Vinicius Junior but could only touch the ball in the direction of the Frenchman. Chelsea went close to scoring in the first half through Joao Felix and Raheem Sterling but they were thwarted by Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois playing against his former club. The win at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium puts the 14-time European champions in the driver's seat ahead of the second leg at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge on April 18. Writing by William Schomberg in London Editing by Toby DavisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK economy set for smaller hit in 2023 than previously feared - IMF
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

British gross domestic product will contract by 0.3% in 2023, the IMF said in its latest set of global forecasts, a smaller shrinkage than the 0.6% contraction the Fund predicted in January. Britain is no longer the only Group of Seven economy set for a fall in GDP this year as Germany is now expected to shrink by 0.1%, the IMF forecasts showed. But its contraction this year is set to be the biggest among the Group of 20 economies, according to the IMF's forecasts. After narrowly avoiding recession in 2022, Britain's economy has shown some signs of resilience in early 2023. The IMF said it expected Britain's economy would grow by 1.0% in 2024, weaker than most other G7 economies with the exception of Italy while matching Japan's expected growth rate.

☆ UK house sales at pre-COVID levels after 'mini-budget' shock - Rightmove
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Property website Rightmove (RMV.L) said the number of sales agreed between sellers and buyers was just 1% lower last month than in March 2019 as borrowing costs edged down from their leap after the September 'mini-budget'. However, while the total number of agreed sales had improved from being 21% below 2019 levels as recently as January, they remained down 18% when compared with March 2022. Real estate agents noted a "significant upswing" in buyer demand for apartments of all sizes, with agreed sales rising 10% from 2019, up from a fall of 11% at the start of 2023. London saw the most pronounced recovery in the broader market, with overall agreed sales increasing 11% compared to March 2019, and agreed sales of apartments 23% higher. Rightmove said a third of properties were reduced from their original asking price, up from 19% last year although in line with pre-pandemic levels.

☆ UK's scandal-hit CBI fires director-general after complaints
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The allegations that have been made over recent weeks about the CBI have been devastating," it said in a statement. Danker stepped aside in March while the CBI conducted a review into his behaviour. The CBI said three employees were suspended pending further investigation into a number of ongoing allegations. "The CBI is liaising with the police and has made clear its intention to cooperate fully with any police investigations," it said. After he was suspended, Danker expressed regret over his behaviour.

☆ Opinion: Texas judge’s stunning ruling caps extraordinary week
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. Tennessee legislators targeted three members of the state House for joining a gun control protest in the chamber, expelling two young Black men while failing to oust a 60-year-old White woman. (He gave the Biden administration a week to appeal the ruling before it goes into effect. Thus, the week that began with Trump facing a judge in Manhattan ended with a Trump-appointed judge overturning more than two decades of medical practice. “They go far too fast to be safe on the sidewalk” and aren’t right for bike lanes or roads either.

☆ Bob Lee: Moments following stabbing of Cash App founder captured on video, local news site reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Taylor Romine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The moments following the San Francisco stabbing attack of Cash App founder Bob Lee were captured on surveillance video and in a 911 call to authorities, according to a local Bay Area news portal. The driver of the Toyota pulls the car away and Lee collapses to the ground. Lee manages to get up and walk a bit further before he collapses in front of an apartment building. “No one who commits a violent crime, or who’s a repeat offender are receiving overly lenient plea deals.”Her comments appear to be in response to Twitter’s new owner, billionaire Elon Musk. In total, there were 56 homicides in San Francisco in 2022, the same as in 2021.

☆ UK house prices rise for 3rd month in a row, Halifax says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 6 (Reuters) - British house prices rose for a third month in a row in March, representing a further calming of the market after the turmoil sparked by former Prime Minister Liz Truss's "mini-budget" last September, data from mortgage lender Halifax showed. House prices rose by 0.8% in month-on-month terms, Halifax said on Thursday, the second-strongest gain since June last year after February's 1.2% increase. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a 0.3% drop on the month. House prices were 1.6% higher than a year ago. But other indicators, such as the BoE's mortgage approvals data and a measure of asking prices compiled by property company Rightmove, have suggested the market has become more stable in recent months.

☆ UK service firms report second month of growth as prospects improve -PMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Adding to signs of recovery in the economy, Wednesday's final reading of the S&P Global/CIPS UK Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) of 52.9 was below February's 53.5 but above the 50 mark denoting growth for a second month in a row. It was also a touch higher than a preliminary March reading of 52.8 and contrasted with a more downbeat picture for the smaller manufacturing sector last month. The PMI showed business expectations improved for a fifth straight month and optimism about business prospects was the highest since March last year. S&P Global's input price index showed growth in costs was the slowest since May 2021. Although still high by historical standards, that represented welcome news for the BoE which is worried about the persistence of the recent surge in inflation.

☆ The Fed could easily drive Black unemployment much higher than the overall jobless rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

However, the jobless rate isn’t expected to be that low for long. While that’s a small improvement from the central bank’s previous 4.6% jobless rate estimate, economists say it’s possible the unemployment rate could rise above the Fed’s expectations. It can be difficult to slow an unemployment spiralEconomists say it’s hard to guess the trajectory of the unemployment rate this year, noting it could very well exceed the Fed’s estimate. As such, the Fed’s tightening efforts could easily drive the Black unemployment rate much higher than the overall jobless rate, said William Spriggs, an economics professor at Howard University and chief economist to the AFL-CIO. The Black unemployment rate will easily get to 9% in that scenario.”One other likely consequence of growing unemployment is slowing wage growth, Bivens said.

☆ New Zealand ex-PM Ardern becomes trustee of Prince William's Earthshot Prize
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) - Britain's Prince William has named Jacinda Ardern, the former prime minister of New Zealand, as a new trustee for his multi-million pound environmental award, the Earthshot Prize. William, heir to throne, set up the prize in 2020 with the mission of finding solutions to the planet's biggest environmental problems through new technologies and ideas. Ardern joins Earthshot's board of trustees as it gears up to select finalists for the 2023 award. Last year, five winners were each awarded 1 million pounds ($1.24 million) at a ceremony in Boston, United States. Prince William said he was grateful that Ardern, who unexpectedly stepped down as New Zealand's leader earlier this year, was joining the team.

☆ Britain's digital tax risks becoming permanent, says tax body
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 5 (Reuters) - A levy imposed by Britain on the revenues of big tech companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon in 2020 as a stopgap measure pending an international tax agreement risks becoming permanent, a group of tax experts said on Wednesday. The levy was introduced after concerns were raised about low levels of tax paid by some major tech companies, and raised 358 million pounds ($447 million) in its first year. Without an agreement on how to allocate taxation rights that all major trading partners could sign up to, there was a real risk that the tax could effectively become permanent, the CIOT said. "A revenue tax such as this is a blunt instrument that cannot accurately represent the tax on the profits generated in the UK," the CIOT's director of public policy, John Cullinane, said. The tax is forecast to raise around 3 billion pounds by 2024-25, it noted.

☆ BoE might need to cut rates sooner than thought, Tenreyro says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) - The Bank of England will probably need to start cutting interest rates sooner than previously thought after raising them sharply in recent months despite signs of weaker inflation pressures, monetary policymaker Silvana Tenreyro said on Tuesday. Investors currently put a 75% chance on a further quarter-point rate hike by the BoE in May and more than a 50% probability on another such increase by August. "With Bank Rate moving further into restrictive territory, I think a looser stance is needed to meet the inflation target in the medium term," she said. Tenreyro used her speech mostly to explain the BoE's bond-buying and bond-selling programmes. Reporting by David Milliken Writing by William SchombergOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Musk’s Twitter promised a purge of blue check marks. Instead he singled out one account
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Some VIP Twitter users woke up on Saturday expecting to have lost their coveted blue verification check marks in a previously announced purge by Elon Musk. But one high-profile account did lose its blue check over the weekend: the main account for the New York Times, which had previously told CNN it would not pay for verification. Although the New York Times’ main account lost its blue check, its other accounts, such as those for its arts, travel and books content, remained verified. Musk has been threatening to take away “legacy” blue check marks from users verified under Twitter’s old system since shortly after he bought Twitter last fall. In early November, Twitter launched the option for people paying for its Twitter Blue subscription service to receive blue checks.

☆ People are moving to North Carolina for its natural beauty and country vibes, but finding it doesn't offer a lower cost of living or diversity
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

She and her family considered places like Tennessee and Florida , but ultimately chose North Carolina because of its hands-off government and lush scenery. Five recent movers highlight what stands out about North Carolina, from its natural scenery to its lack of diversity. One thing she's had to get used to in North Carolina is the lack of diversity in food. An Ohio man liked North Carolina so much he moved there twiceJohn Yuschak first dipped a toe in North Carolina in 2012 after moving from Columbus, Ohio. They were pleased with the four seasons North Carolina has to offer, but anticipated higher savings.

Despite the improvement, British economic output remained 0.6% below its level of late 2019, the only G7 economy not to have recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. Ruth Gregory at Capital Economics said Friday's figures showed high inflation had taken a slightly smaller toll than previously thought. But the picture could darken again if recent turmoil in the global banking sector leads to lenders reining in loans. BUSINESS INVESTMENT FALLSThe data suggested businesses remained cautious. The ONS said increased foreign earnings by companies, particularly in the energy sector, helped narrow the deficit.

Economic output increased by 0.1% from the previous three months after shrinking by 0.1% in the third quarter, which was a smaller contraction than previously thought. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) had previously said the economy showed no growth in the fourth quarter. Britain's dominant services sector rose by 0.1%, boosted by a nearly 11% jump for travel agents. The ONS said changes to the way it calculates seasonal adjustments to the data were behind the big revision. The ONS said increased foreign earnings by UK companies, particularly in the energy sector, helped narrow the deficit.

☆ The Devil and Alvin Bragg
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Holman W. Jenkins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Holman W. Jenkins Jr. is a member of the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Jenkins joined the Journal in May 1992 as a writer for the editorial page in New York. In February 1994, he moved to Hong Kong as editor of The Asian Wall Street Journal's editorial page. Mr. Jenkins won a 1997 Gerald Loeb Award for distinguished business and financial coverage. Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Jenkins received a bachelor's degree from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University.

☆ Celebrities are irritated by Elon Musk's plans to take away their blue tick on Twitter unless they pay at least $8 a month
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

William Shatner called Twitter Blue a "money grab." Musk responded to Shatner, saying that celebrities should be treated the same as everyone else on Twitter. Shatner replied to the billionaire, saying: "Somewhere, Twitter lost its way." He added that Twitter doesn't stop another William Shatner from being verified with the subscription service. Shatner said Twitter Blue seemed to be a "money grab."

☆ BAE Systems to work with Heart Aerospace on electric airplane battery
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, March 30 (Reuters) - Britain's BAE Systems (BAES.L) said on Thursday it would collaborate with Sweden's Heart Aerospace in developing a battery system for Heart's ES-30 regional electric airplane. The ES-30 will be powered by four electric motors, with an all-electric range of 200 kilometers, an extended reserve hybrid range of 400 kilometers with 30 passengers and an ability to fly up to 800 kilometers with 25 passengers, BAE Systems said. Heart Aerospace has a total of 230 orders and 100 options for the ES-30, along with letter of intent for an additional 108 airplanes. Reporting by Paul Sandle Editing by William Schomberg and Sarah YoungOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/7] BERLIN, GERMANY - MARCH 30: King Charles III addresses members of the German Bundestag at the Reichstag Building on March 30, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. The king, on the second day of a three-day trip to Germany, alternated between German and English for the half-hour speech, which won a standing ovation from lawmakers. Both Britain and Germany had shown "vital leadership", Charles said, praising Berlin's decision to provide large military support to Ukraine as "remarkably courageous, important and appreciated". Throughout his visit, German officials have praised his interest in environmental causes and sustainability that has shone through in the engagements he has chosen to understake. Charles had been due to travel first to France but cancelled that part of the tour due to violent social unrest there.

☆ Bank of England tells regulators to move fast on LDI reform after mini-budget crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - The Bank of England on Wednesday told regulators to move fast to toughen rules for funds used by Britain's pension industry which nearly collapsed last year after former Prime Minister Liz's Truss's "mini-budget." But the BoE's Financial Policy Committee called on pension regulators to act "as soon as possible" to mitigate the risks posed by liability-driven investment (LDI) funds. The FPC also said there is a need to toughen resilience of money market funds, used by companies for day-to-day financing, and UK regulators will publish a consultation paper on MMF regulation later this year. The FPC stressed that "all UK banks" have been assessed on their resilience to moves in interest rate rises, including the impact on their holdings of net open bond positions. (Reporting by Huw Jones and William Schomberg)((uk.economics@reuters.com; +44 20 7542 5109))Keywords: BRITAIN BOE/Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Mayor Pete and the FAA’s Plan for Higher Fares
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Holman W. Jenkins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Bank of England says it is on alert after turmoil in banking sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Top Bank of England officials said on Tuesday the central bank was on alert amid global turmoil in the banking sector but they also said Britain was not experiencing stress linked to the demise of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse. "I don't think that any, and we've said this, that any of these features cause stress in the UK banking system," BoE Governor Andrew Bailey told parliament's Treasury Committee. "This is why we have to remain incredibly vigilant," Deputy BoE Governor Dave Ramsden said. "We'll keep a close eye on bank funding costs, what the consequences of those could be for households and businesses, equally looking out for other risk factors, we have to remain incredibly vigilant." Bailey said the recent swings in the share prices of some banks showed investors were testing the sector.

☆ Elon Musk: Only paid subscribers will show up in your Twitter ‘For You’ feed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Elon Musk has announced Twitter’s latest push to get people to pay $84 a year for the social network: Twitter will promote only paid subscribers’ tweets, and non-subscribers will not be allowed to vote in polls. The For You tab will soon only recommend people who pay for the premium Twitter Blue service. Voting in polls will require verification for same reason.”Appearing in the “For You” feed helps users build their number of followers. Musk and actor William Shatner clashed on Twitter over the weekend, when Shatner objected to the idea of paying for the checkmark. “Hey @elonmusk what’s this about blue checks going away unless we pay Twitter?” Shatner tweeted.

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