Squawk Box Europe Express

Germany’s preliminary official election results are in but there is still no clear winner in the federal elections of Europe’s biggest economy. The CDU/CSU have suffered their worst showing since 1949, but the party candidate Armin Laschet believes he still has a chance of victory. The FDP and Greens will be kingmakers in the result, potentially paving the way for the country’s first 3-party...

We are live in Berlin and London for a special edition of Squawk Box ahead of Sunday’s German federal elections. Polls have narrowed with the SPD’s lead over the CDU now just down to a couple of points. During the last TV debate before the vote, candidates sparred over taxation, debt and foreign policy in the face of an ascendant China. We also hear exclusively from ECB President Christine Lagarde...

November seems likely for a potential Fed tapering announcement. Chairman Jerome Powell looks to possibly end support by the summer of 2022, with a rate hike later that year. The Dow and S&P react, closing in the green and ending a four-day losing streak, with bank stocks cheering the news. In China, Evergrande shares jump after the chairman pledges to prioritise shareholders, but doubts remai...

Chinese property development giant Evergrande says it is set to make an interest payment on its bonds as scheduled tomorrow. However, former PBOC advisor Li Daokui says that the company’s debt problems are far greater and the firm could well be dissolved. Mainland Chinese markets attempt to claw back losses on the news after an extended weekend. In the U.S., the House of Representatives has voted...

U.S. indices suffer a torrid session, with the S&P 500 posting its worst day since May while the Dow falls by more than 600 points. In Japan, the Nikkei is also down. Standard & Poor’s warns Chinese property developer Evergrande will potentially default without government support. Beijing is seen as unlikely to step in with aid, unless the risk of contagion rises. And European countries ar...

European gas prices soar, as the UK’s business and energy minister prepares to hold emergency talks with suppliers, but COP26 President Alok Sharma has played down concerns. In Germany, the SPD’s Olaf Scholz has emerged the clear winner in the latest TV debate ahead of this weekend’s general election. Chinese property developer Evergrande faces twin bond payment deadlines this week, prompting its...

The S&P closes lower, but pares losses after retail sales come in better than expected, despite Delta variant concerns. Meanwhile President Biden lays out plans to raise taxes on the highest earners and big business, as he looks to fund his infrastructure package and social policies. China applies to join the new Pacific Trade Pact, in a bid to boost its regional role, just a day after the for...

US President Joe Biden announces a new Indo-Pacific security partnership with the UK and Australia - riling China. The French government meanwhile, voices its disappointment to have been excluded from the pact. In Germany, the front-runner to succeed Angela Merkel as Germany's next Chancellor, Olaf Scholz is summoned to appear before lawmakers over a money laundering scandal, just days before the...

China's August retail sales miss the mark, growing at 2 and half percent, nearly one-third the expected level, as the country deals with its worst Covid outbreak in over 18 months. In the US, price pressures appear to ease, as CPI jumps less than expected in August - but still hovers near 13-year highs. And Apple unveils its latest range of iPhones, as the world's most valuable company seeks to mo...

The Dow and the S&P log their first positive day in six - ahead of today's CPI report, expected to show inflation running hot, potentially putting the Fed in a tough spot on its tapering timetable. U.S. House Democrats return from their August recess with a plan to roll-back Trump era corporate tax cuts, as they look to finance the 3-and-a-half-trillion-dollar infrastructure bill. And in Corpo...

Asia markets see red on fresh regulatory concerns in China - as Beijing reportedly seeks to break up Ant Group's online payments platform Alipay, and amid calls for consolidation in the country's EV sector. In Europe, the SPD's Olaf Sholz pulls ahead in the polls, less than two weeks before the German election - hitting back at accusations he was culpable in a string of high-profile financial scan...

The leaders of the world’s two biggest super powers spoke for the first time in 7 months. U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to avoid conflict while managing competition in a 90-minute call that the White House described as “familiar and candid”. Meanwhile, Wall Street extends losses despite an improving employment picture, while Asian equities bounce back as Chinese...

Investors await one of the most contentious ECB meetings in months, as the central bank is expected to map out how it will pare back its emergency bond purchase programme. The Nasdaq retreats from record highs, joining the S&P and Dow in the red, sending Asian stocks lower, as the Fed's monthly Beige book reports a downturn in the economic outlook. China's factory gate prices surge to a 13-yea...

The S&P and Dow close in the red after the Labour Day long weekend, with recovery concerns growing. Meanwhile big tech stocks push the Nasdaq to another record high. It’s a bumpy ride for Bitcoin after El Salvador's launch of the crypto as an official currency gets off to a rocky start amid protests and tech teething trouble. And German Chancellor Angela Merkel implores voters to back Armin La...

Chinese exports score a big beat - jumping more than 25-percent on the year in a sign the world's second largest economy may be performing better than a recent run of data suggested. The CEO of Daimler tells CNBC it's seeing strength across its product line, despite supply chain challenges that the group hopes will ease later this year. Porsche is also feeling the chip squeeze - the CEO tells CNBC...

We are live from the shores of Lake Como where EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni says that the continent must move to fill the geo-political void created by the U.S. following the Afghanistan withdrawal. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire also echoes the sentiment, telling CNBC that EU nations must now increase defence spending. In the U.S., the August jobs report falls short of expectat...

U.S. weekly jobless claims come in at their lowest level since the early days of the pandemic, helping Wall Street to new record highs. We are live at the Ambrosetti Forum on the shores of Lake Como where former World Bank chief economist Joseph Stiglitz tells CNBC that he welcomes a tighter labour market. China’s services sector shrinks in the month of August, according to a private survey, plung...

OPEC+ producers stand firm against U.S. pressure to sharply boost supply, agreeing to extend existing policy to return supply to market and hike forecasts. The S&P 500 ends the session flat after U.S. companies produced fewer August jobs than expected with Delta variant concerns weighing. The world’s largest chemical producer, BASF, has launched its de-carbonisation programme. We hear exclusiv...

The Chinese post-Covid economic recovery suffers a setback with factory activity shrinking for the first time in 18 months. Also in China, a new data security law launches as part of Beijing’s efforts to regulate the country’s internet future. In South Korea, a new bill is passed which will limit Apple and Google’s ability to control app store payments. OPEC and its allies have predicted that oil...

Manufacturing growth in China falters in August and the services sector contracts for the first time since the height of the pandemic. The U.S. completes its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan after a 20-year military mission in the country. More than 120,000 people have been evacuated with thousands more hoping to escape Taliban rule. In corporate news, Porsche has announced plans to open a factor...

President Biden issues a major disaster declaration for the state of Louisiana as Hurricane Ida makes landfall as a category 3 storm, with torrential rains and rising waters that have knocked out power and shut down the Gulf's oil platforms. Germany's SPD extends its lead over Chancellor Merkel's Conservatives, while a snap poll shows Olaf Scholz winning the 3-way debate, as Saxony's President tel...

More than 60 civilians and 13 U.S. troops are killed by ISIS-affiliated suicide bombers outside Kabul International airport, where thousands are gathering in the hope of being evacuated ahead of the U.S. military withdrawal and Taliban rule. U.S. indices break their winning streak ahead of the virtual Jackson Hole summit this weekend. Key Fed speakers have told CNBC that tapering will begin within...

Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit new record highs with markets now eyeing the upcoming virtual Jackson Hole summit of central bankers for clues of the Fed’s tapering path. The Bank of Korea hikes interest rates for the first time in three years. It’s the first developed economy to make the move since the start of the pandemic. In the U.S., the SEC is reportedly set to investigate DWS after a fo...

President Joe Biden has confirmed he will be adhering to his 31st August deadline to withdraw all U.S. military personnel from Afghanistan despite G7 leaders pushing for an extension, amid continued evacuation chaos in Kabul. With a month to go before Germany’s federal election, the SPD has pulled ahead of Angela Merkel’s CDU by a single point - the first time in 15 years. In market news, the S&am...

U.S. markets have had a strong start to the week with the Nasdaq reaching a new record high. Asian indices follow suit on Tuesday with Chinese tech firms rebounding from recent lows, giving the Hang Seng a boost. In vaccine news, the U.S. FDA fully approves the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine, prompting President Biden to call on companies to encourage employees take up the jab. Meanwhile, U.S. Vice-...