Squawk Box Europe Express

The S&P 500 stares down the barrel its worst first half since 1970 while a host of other assets trade at multi-decade lows, but energy outperforms amid the turbulence with WTI on track for its longest quarterly win streak ever. The world’s top central bankers walk the inflation tightrope at the ECB's Sintra summit, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell admitting aggressive tightening could spark a...

Turkey lifts its veto to NATO expansion, allowing Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg tells CNBC that the ‘historic’ move will be globally significant. In Bavaria, G-7 leaders have pledged to maintain sanctions on Russia to curtail key revenues. French President Emmanuel Macron tells this channel that a price cap mechanism on Russian oil is still a work in p...

G-7 leaders mull the feasibility of a price cap on Russian oil as French President Macron admits he faces reluctance from major international producers to boost supply. NATO announces it will increase the number of troops on high alert from 40,000 to 300,000. We are live in Madrid ahead of the bloc’s summit. A Swiss court finds Credit Suisse guilty in a high-profile Bulgarian money-laundering case...

We are live at Elmau Castle in Bavaria where G-7 leaders are meeting to increase pressure on Moscow through a price cap on Russian oil and a ban on imports of Russian gold. Western sanctions have pushed Russia to default on its foreign debt for the first time in more than a century. The BiS has warned that the world has reached a tipping point on inflation. French energy executives have urged cons...

U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell faces the House Financial Services Committee and admits that he had underestimated inflation. Lawmakers pressed the central bank chief on how he would respond should his aggressive rate hikes push the U.S. economy into a recession. Wall Street is set to break a three-week losing streak later today as a very volatile H1 comes to a close. EU leaders unanim...

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has told the Senate Committee that a soft landing for the economy is now very difficult but insists that the central bank must succeed in reining in inflation. President Biden has called for a three-month federal gas tax holiday to ease the burden on U.S. consumers. He faces strong opposition from lawmakers, including from within his own party. The GOP h...

The S&P 500 hits back with its best day in June so far as Wall Street recovers from its worst weekly loss in 2 years. However, Asian markets don’t follow suit. South Korean stocks lead declines while the yen hits its lowest level in almost 24 years. Germany’s industry association, the BDI, has slashed its 2022 outlook and says a European recession is certain should Russia cut gas supplies comp...

We speak exclusively to Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing who warns that spiraling inflation and the energy crisis are a “perfect storm” to trigger a European recession. Asian markets are up and U.S. futures point to solid gains following the long Juneteenth weekend. President Biden says he is considering a pause on federal gasoline tax to help ease the cost burden on Americans ahead of the drivi...

President Emmanuel Macron loses his absolute majority in the French parliament to a leftist coalition and a resurgent National Rally. Germany has announced it will return to coal in a bid to secure energy supplies ahead of winter as Russia continues to cut gas output. Asian markets are in the red on the back of the worst weekly performance by the S&P 500 since March 2020. And Bitcoin claws bac...

The Dow plunges to below the 30,000-mark for the first time since January last year following the Federal Reserve’s historic 75-bps rate hike. U.S. President Joe Biden says that a recession Stateside is still ‘not inevitable’ but he admitted that signs of an economic slowdown is weighing on the mood of the nation. In Luxembourg, German finance minister Christian Lindner tells CNBC that euro zone f...

The Federal Reserve hikes interest rates by a historical 75 bps in what is its most aggressive move since 1994. Chairman Jerome Powell has suggested that July’s FOMC meeting could result in a similar move should rampant inflation show no signs of abating. The markets react immediately, with the Dow and the S&P 500 breaking five-day losing streaks. Asian stocks follow suit and European equities...

U.S. Treasury yields achieve new highs while the S&P 500 sinks even further into bear market territory as investors anticipate more aggressive rate moves from the Fed. DoubleLine Capital’s Jeffrey Gundlach calls for a 200-bps interest rate hike while legendary investor Bill Ackman slams the U.S. central bank for losing control of inflation. We are live in Berlin at the world’s largest private...

The S&P 500 plunges into bear market territory while the 10-year Treasury yield spikes to decade highs. Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan adjust their outlooks ahead of an expected 75-bps rate hike while the CME puts the odds of such a Fed move at more than 95 per cent. Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman believes the chance of a U.S. recession now stands at 50-50. And in crypto news, Bitcoin sinks to b...

French President Emmanuel Macron's bid for an outright majority comes under threat, as the Left surges in the first round of National Assembly elections. Credit Suisse is reportedly placed on a watchlist by the U.K.'s FCA as the financial regulator says the Swiss bank has not done enough to address risk controls. Asian stocks and US futures move sharply lower, as inflation and recession...

Wall Street marks its worst day in more than three weeks as markets await a fresh read on US inflation, with CPI forecast to hold near 40-year highs. “There’s nothing to suggest a recession is in the works,” says U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. She rejects suggestions that a downturn is on the way, highlighting that the labour market is strong. China bucks the global inflation...

Markets focusing on the ECB. President Christine Lagarde is expected to commit to a July rate hike, despite downgrading growth forecasts, as inflation hits a record high. Yields push higher, with Germany's 10-year bund yield hitting levels not seen since July 2014. Millions in Shanghai enter new lockdowns - just as China shows signs of recovery, with May exports coming in more than double exp...

Credit Suisse issues a profit warning, saying tough trading conditions for the investment bank will drag the group to a net loss in the second quarter. The World Bank warns of 70s style stagflation as it slashes its global growth forecasts, saying many countries will find it hard to avoid recession. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen tells Congress the country faces an extended period of higher...

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson survives a confidence vote, but his leadership is rocked after more than 40% of his own MPs vote to remove him from office. Across in China, Didi Chuxing was up almost 25% amid a report Chinese authorities may allow the ride hailing companies app back into domestic app stores. The Australian dollar spikes as the central bank lifts rates by a bigger-than-ex...

Global stocks show resilience amid a stronger than expected US jobs print. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester tells CNBC the fight against rising prices is ongoing. Chinese service sector activity contracts for the third straight month, while Beijing eases Covid restrictions in a bid to stave off an economic downturn. Crude prices gain after Saudi Arabia hikes the price-tag of its flagship pro...

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warns of an economic “hurricane” on the horizon as the Federal Reserve scrambles to wind back Covid-era policy in a bid to rein in inflation. Recession fears weigh on U.S. markets on the first day of June trading. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen tells CNBC that the White House is working on various fronts to bring inflation down. Crude prices fall following reports th...

Opec is reportedly set to review its Russia oil deal while the UK will back this week’s EU sea-delivered crude embargo agreement. In the U.S., President Biden has held talks with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to discuss surging inflation. Biden promised to back the central bank’s strategy and independence in tackling price pressures. Euro zone inflation soars to its highest level since th...

Oil is up after EU leaders agree to a Russian crude embargo. The deal features an exemption for pipeline deliveries after Hungarian-led opposition. President Joe Biden is to meet Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell following his re-confirmation. China manufacturing activity declines for the third consecutive month but there are signs of easing as Covid restrictions are beginning to lift in Beij...

Asian stocks are at a three-week high following the S&P 500 and Dow’s rebound on Wall Street last week. Beijing reopens shopping centres and its subway system while Shanghai says it will remove almost all Covid restrictions by mid-week. German economy minister Robert Habeck warns that European unity on a Russian oil embargo is “starting to crumble” ahead of today’s extraordinary council meetin...

U.S. markets are buoyed by retail stocks with department store giant Macy’s lifting guidance. In China, industrial profits plunge as Beijing's zero-Covid policies hurt manufacturers and supply chains. But tech giants Alibaba and Baidu beat earnings expectations to boost shares in Hong Kong. Staying with tech, Broadcom is set to snap up cloud computing firm VMWare in a $61bn deal. And, in the U.K.,...

U.S. markets are up with the Dow set to break an eight-week losing streak, despite Fed minutes indicating the central bank may raise rates beyond neutral and into restrictive territory. We speak to ECB Countil Member Klaas Knot who suggests a 50bps hike as early as July is “not off the table”. In a bid to stave off its first national default for 100 years, Russia offers to pay off dollar debt in r...