Squawk Box Europe Express

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warns a CNBC IMF Spring Meeting panel that the pandemic will leave permanent scarring on the global jobs market but that an inflation hike will only be temporary. Vaccine access and recovery trajectories are also dominating the discussion. IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva says that poorer countries must not be left behind. Australia acknowledges the...

The UK has changed its guidance for the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine following reported rare blood clots. Younger recipients will now be offered an alternative dose but the British medical authorities say the benefits still outweigh any risks. The European Medical Agency has acknowledged a possible link between the vaccine and the side effects but has not age-restricted the jab on the Continent. In t...

CNBC launches Germany: Engine of Europe with the country’s finance minister Olaf Scholz telling the channel exclusively that Europe requires a streamlined and united front in tackling the COVID pandemic. The IMF raises its post-pandemic global guidance, saying that China’s response has driven growth but warns that asymmetrical vaccine rollouts will provide ‘daunting challenges’ ahead. According to...

Credit Suisse takes drastic action, axing 2 top executives, cutting its dividend, halting its share buy-back plan and slashing bonuses as the bank warns the Archegos fallout will cost $4.7bn. On Wall Street, a strong March jobs number and a service sector activity spike buoy the Dow and the S&P 500. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announces the Biden’s administration return to the world s...

U.S. President Joe Biden unveils his massive $2tn infrastructure programme, which promises millions of jobs as part of a “once in a generation investment”. However, he’s immediately facing resistance over the tax hikes required to foot the bill. As March closes, U.S. equities have marked out their fourth consecutive positive quarter. Meanwhile, China’s post-virus recovery seems to stutter with the...

Recovering global demand pushes Chinese factory activity to expand at its fastest rate in three months. On the other side of the Pacific, U.S. markets are jittery as the 10-year yield reaches a 14-month high and the fallout from the Archegos collapse continues. JPMorgan warns that the banking sector could be hit for up to $10bn as a result. President Biden is set to outline his multi-trillion-doll...

Billions of dollars of losses on Wall Street are exposed to the Archegos Capital fire sale fallout, with Nomura, Viacom and Discovery following Credit Suisse into the red. In Washington, President Biden aims to stave off CDC warnings of a late winter surge, saying 90 per cent of Americans will be eligible for Covid vaccines within the next month. Global sea trade resumes along the Suez Canal after...

Almost a week after running aground, the giant container ship the Ever Given is at least partially refloated, but the backlog of vessels in the Suez Canal remains. Oil prices fall as a result with traders pricing in the re-opening of supply routes. In the U.S., futures dip after seeing a record high during Friday’s session, which was dominated by a fire sale from Archegos Capital. Meanwhile, fears...

Asian equities are in the green, mirroring Wall Street gains after President Biden says his rescue plan is working and the U.S. recovery is burgeoning. The European Union backs down from a vaccine export ban but Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen repeats calls for AstraZeneca to honour its delivery commitments to the bloc. The Ever Given container ship continues to block the Suez Canal, wit...

AstraZeneca has revised down vaccine efficacy data after doubts were raised over its U.S. trial results. The pharma giant is also at the centre of the ongoing vaccine export row between the UK and EU. But, London and Brussels are looking to ease tensions and ramp up supplies across the continent. In market news, U.S. equities fall with the Nasdaq leading declines, despite 10-year treasury yields a...

CNBC speaks exclusively to BIS general manager Agustin Carstens who says that clarity will come with rate normalisation but that investors should heed calls for patience. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell testify jointly in a bid to reassure Congress over asset valuations and recovery jitters. On the one-year anniversary of the bull market, U.S. stocks...

On the anniversary of the ECB’s emergency bond-buying programme, we hear exclusively from the central bank’s chief economist Philip Lane who says Treasury volatility will not necessarily spill over to Europe. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell are set to testify before Congress over the $1.9tn pandemic rescue bill. Meanwhile, President Biden is reportedly...

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to confront EU leaders over threats to block AstraZeneca vaccine exports to Britain. Meanwhile the bloc’s two biggest economies face further Covid restrictions due to spiralling cases. Germany is set to extend the national lockdown for a fifth month and quarantine all arrivals into the country. The Turkish lira plunges to a record low against the greenback after...

Yields soar, hitting tech stocks. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq retreat in the face of the U.S. 10-year bill reaching a 14-year high. U.S.-China relations under the Biden administration are off to a rocky start as the superpowers’ top diplomats meet for the first time in Anchorage. The scheduled short opening session descended into an hour-long exchange of insults and acrimony over internal and...

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell holds a dovish line. The central bank sees interest rates staying near zero until at least 2023, despite Fed members offering a more optimistic outlook for growth and inflation this year. Markets cheered Powell’s announcements with the Dow closing at over 33-thousand points for the first time while yields ease. However, U.S. futures point to a muted open on Wall...

U.S. markets are on tenterhooks with all eyes on the Federal Reserve, as investors wait to see whether Fed Chair Jerome Powell will react to rising bond yields and increasing inflation speculation at the close of the two day FOMC meetings today. Back on the continent, it's the third and final day of voting in an election that could see Prime Minister Mark Rutte win a fourth consecutive term - havi...

The Dow and S&P 500 hit new highs, as investors bank on the economy reopening. Investors will keep an eye out on the Fed which prepares to meet later today. In Europe, vaccine efforts could face delays after Germany, France, Italy and Spain all pause their Astrazeneca jab rollouts over blood clot fears. The European Medicines Agency's safety committee is due to meet today on the matter, as the...

President Biden signs the $1.9tn stimulus bill and in a prime time TV address he unveils the roadmap out of lockdown, urging eligible Americans to take the vaccine where possible. U.S. equities react positively with both the Dow and S&P 500 hitting new highs. Shares in South Korean web retail giant Coupang rally up to 40 per cent after the company lists on the NYSE - Wall Street’s largest list...

The U.S. Congress passes the $1.9tn virus stimulus bill and sends it onto President Biden to sign into law. The Dow hits a record high, while U.S. Treasury yields pare down after moderate take-up in the latest 10-year auction. Across the Atlantic, ECB policy makers react with caution over rising sovereign bond yields ahead of today’s central bank meeting. GE is to sell its jet-leasing business to...

The Nasdaq marks its best session since November, just one day after slipping into correction territory, as bond yields ease. Latest data from China fuels inflation concerns, with factory prices rising at their fastest pace in two-and-a-half years. GFG Alliance holds last-ditch talks with Greensill Capital as the supply chain finance group files for insolvency, amid reports Softbank pumped $400m i...

The Dow rallies to a record high but the U.S. tech rotation to cyclicals continues with the Nasdaq suffering a fall into correction territory. However, Ark Invest founder Cathie Wood tells CNBC she is optimistic the bull market is broadening and has space to run. Following the Senate’s approval of President Biden’s $1.9tn stimulus bill, so-called ‘meme stocks’ are rallying on expectations that som...

China says relations with the U.S. should move on from “zero-sum finger-pointing” as Beijing calls for the removal of “unreasonable curbs on co-operation”. Early U.S. futures are mixed despite President Biden’s $1.9tn stimulus plan passing the Senate before it heads back to the House. Brent crude tops $70 a barrel for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic, while WTI hits a 2-year high...

The Nasdaq turns negative for 2021 as tech stocks continue to weigh on the back of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s failure to address the recent surge in bond yields and investors’ inflation jitters. OPEC+ leaders have agreed to maintain supply cuts until April amid ongoing demand uncertainty, nudging prices upwards. China cools down recovery expectations, outlining a growth target of mor...

Tech stocks continue to weigh on Wall Street with sharp sell-offs in Asia mirroring the declines. Spikes in bond yields are once-again blamed. We speak with Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann who says he is ready to react to the moves. No big surprises in the UK Budget as Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledges billions of pounds to support workers and businesses post-pandemic. Plans to shore up the balloo...

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is set to unveil his 2021 Budget, which is expected to include an extension to the worker furlough scheme but also corporate tax hikes in a bid “to do whatever it takes” to bolster the British economy. Wall Street dips into the red with tech shares weighing on the Nasdaq in particular. President Biden announces the U.S. will have enough vaccine doses to i...