Squawk Box Europe Express

Oil hits a three-year high as OPEC+ members fail to agree on output hikes. The U.S. has called for a “compromised solution”. Tech fears affect Asian markets after reports suggest that Beijing had asked ride-hailing app Did Chuxing to delay its NYSE IPO. In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces plans his government will end nearly all Covid restrictions by July 19th but does warn that viru...

The UAE rebels against an Opec+ supply agreement. We hear from the country’s energy minister Suhail Al Mazrouei who says the current deal on the table “is not good for us.”. Markets in Asia are mixed despite Friday’s strong U.S. jobs data, while PMI numbers reveal a slowdown in Chinese services activity. Beijing suspends ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing over privacy concerns just 4 days after the com...

Up to 130 nations representing 90 per cent of global GDP have become signatories to a minimum corporate tax rate. The International Monetary Fund has hiked its growth forecast for the U.S. to 7 per cent but has warned that the recovery could be lopsided. Meanwhile, markets await U.S. jobs data with non-farm payrolls expected to rise by 700k and jobless claims set to hit a fresh pandemic low. The l...

China celebrates the centenary of the Communist Party with President Xi Jinping offering a thinly veiled warning to foreign nations about Beijing’s positioning on the global stage. Meanwhile, Hong Kong marks the 24th anniversary of its handover from British to Chinese rule with strict measures in place to curb any potential protests across the city. In IPO news, Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Chuxi...

It’s the end of a half that has seen numerous policy changes spurred by uncertainties surrounding the pandemic. We take a look at how the markets have fared during these turbulent times and look ahead to the second half as well. In the U.S., the S&P 500 is set to finish its fifth straight month of gains. Oil has also enjoyed it best H1 since 2009. We hear from the Bank of International Settlem...

Strong tech stocks push the Nasdaq to a fresh record high but Asian markets are in the red over Delta variant concerns in the region. In tech news, Facebook enters the trillion-dollar club, with shares soaring after a U.S. judge slaps down anti-trust suits from the FTC and 48 states against the social media company. Meanwhile, U.S. banks unveil around $2bn in quarterly dividends after passing the...

Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National party fails to win in French regional elections but President Macron’s La Republique En Marche party also struggles to gain a single council. In the UK, Sajid Javid replaces disgraced former Health Secretary Matt Hancock and pledges to end all Covid restrictions across the country as a priority. In autos news, Tesla recalls almost 300k vehicles in China due t...

President Biden hails a bipartisan deal between senators on his $1.2tn infrastructure deal but he faces criticism from Republicans over further spending plans. The news buoys Wall Street with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting record highs as construction stocks lead the way. In Brussels, there is a rift between the 27 EU nations, with Poland and the Baltic States rejecting France and Germany’s ca...

There’s a mixed picture in the U.S. markets as the Nasdaq hits a new record high but the Dow and S&P 500 snap two-day winning streaks on the back of continuing inflation fears. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, however, says that price pressures should abate later in the year. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has begun a European tour, first meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berl...

The U.S. markets rally continues with investors focusing on growth stocks. The Nasdaq closes on a record high while the S&P 500 nears a new peak and the Dow enjoys its best day since March. Congress hears from Federal Reserve Chairman who says the central bank will not waver by raising rates too soon on fears of surging inflation. Brussels green-lights Rome’s recovery plan with €190bn set to b...

U.S. equities surge back into the green following last week’s post-Fed sell-off, with the Dow posting its best day since March. However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell warns of a continued threat to the economy from the pandemic but says price pressures remain transitory. In France, media giant Vivendi comes under activist investor scrutiny as it attempts to spin off its Universal Music arm. We speak to...

The Nikkei leads sharp declines across Asia after Wall Street posts its worst week since October, with markets continuing their post-Fed slump amid a more hawkish shift. Morrisons braces for a bidding war as a US private equity firm reportedly continues its pursuit of the British grocer, after the group rejects a 5 and a half billion dollar takeover attempt. Bill Ackman's SPAC buys a 10 percent st...

'The recovery is just beginning'. As European finance ministers hail the economic turnaround ahead of today's talks on tax and growth, we hear from the Finance Minister of Luxembourg. In markets, the Dow struggles for the second straight day as markets digest a more hawkish Fed, while formerly red-hot commodity plays lose some steam, weighing on industrial stocks. Core inflation rises for the firs...

The U.S. Federal Reserve speeds up its timeline for hiking rates and also increases its inflation guidance. Wall Street plunges into the red as a result. We hear from Man Group CEO Luke Ellis who warns that there are more ‘scary’ price prints to come over the summer. In Geneva, Presidents Biden and Putin hold ‘constructive’ talks and agree to continue the dialogue on cyber warfare and arms control...

The EU has excluded 10 banking giants from participating in its Covid recovery fund bond sale. Big names such as JP Morgan, Natwest and Bank of America have reportedly been blocked over previous involvement in market-rigging scandals. Meanwhile, Brussels and Washington end their 17-year feud over aircraft subsidies. European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen has welcomed the ‘new chapter’...

NATO members meet in Brussels and double down on criticism of Chinese expansionism. Moscow is also labelled a security threat. U.S. President Joe Biden fired a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the welfare of jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny. The U.S. and the EU are reportedly set to end a 17-year feud over aircraft subsidies. In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson delay...

G-7 leaders in Cornwall claim they have reached consensus on tax, climate change, infrastructure and the vaccine rollout, but they face criticism over a lack of concrete action. Brexit was also in focus with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowing to do whatever it takes to conserve the union while Canadian PM Justin Trudeau tells CNBC that the Irish border was an integral part of his bilateral tal...

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.S. President Joe Biden meet for the first time in St Ives, Cornwall ahead of the G-7 summit and reaffirm the ‘special relationship’ between the two nations. This as G-7 nations pledge to donate 1 billion vaccines to the developing world. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 hits a new record high despite surging inflation. Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing has...

We are live in Falmouth, Cornwall for the G-7 summit where leaders are set to meet. U.S. President Biden and UK Prime Minister Johnson are to re-hash the Atlantic Charter - a WW2-era Churchillian pact between the two countries – to strengthen trade, travel and technology ties. G-7 nations are hoping to use the meeting to pledge a billion Covid vaccines to distribute globally with the U.S. to provi...

Chinese factory gate prices surge to their highest level in almost a decade on rising commodity prices. Concerns are now growing about a tide of inflation. The World Bank upgrades its global growth guidance on the fastest recession recovery seen in 80 years, but the group believes that emerging economies may fall behind due to asymmetrical vaccination rates. This, as France further eases travel re...

The G7’s planned 15 per cent minimum global corporate tax rate is rejected by several key U.S. Senate Republicans. We hear from EY CEO Carmine Di Sibio who says the agreement may provide a long-awaited framework for international cooperation on taxes, but warned the reality may be quite different. U.S. markets are mixed with investors eyeing Thursday’s inflation data. Meanwhile, Apple launches a n...

G7 finance ministers reach a historic agreement on a 15 per cent global minimum tax rate but there is already criticism that the deal isn’t comprehensive enough. Chinese export growth slows while imports soar by 50 per cent. In the U.S., jobs grew in May but the data fell short of expectations. And in Germany, Angela Merkel’s CDU avoids defeat to the far-right in a state election in Saxony-Anhalt,...

U.S. President Joe Biden signs an executive order banning investment in 59 blacklisted Chinese tech and defence companies. Stateside, markets slide weighed down by tech stocks, with all eyes on today’s non-farm payroll report. We hear exclusively from Russian oil minister Alexander Novak who says Moscow could back out of dollar-denominated oil contracts should Washington persist in its sanctions....

Washington D.C. is ramping up the pressure on digital tax coming from six nations by slapping tariffs onto $2bn worth of goods. It has, however, immediately suspended the duties for 180 days in order to allow tech tax negotiations to continue. Entertainment giant AMC sees shares soar by 95 per cent as a buying frenzy gathered speed. Meanwhile, Chinese Caixin data for May shows growth slowing on we...

Demand optimism drives oil to a two-year high while Opec+ members agree to stick to the policy of gradually increasing production. U.S. markets come off a long weekend with stocks benefitting from pandemic reopening in June. However, Wall Street ended the session flat as investors anticipate this week’s U.S. jobs data. We speak exclusively to Russia’s central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina who sa...