Global stock markets, except for Asia, ended the week higher on Friday, as investors remained hopeful that the US Federal Reserve would reconsider its plans to implement more interest rate hikes.
Government data this week showed that US retail sales posted a surprisingly strong performance, and producer price data suggested that inflation, which has been at 40-year highs, has peaked and would allow wiggle room for lower interest rates.
But senior Fed officials were quick to douse water on those hopes.
St Louis Fed president James Bullard said rates needed to rise to between 5 per cent and 5.25 per cent to fight inflation, while Boston Fed president Susan Collins said there was little evidence to support holding off on more aggressive rate hikes.
Michael Barr, the Fed's vice chairman of supervision, said this week that inflation was “far too high”.
These remarks were supported by their counterparts in Europe, with three senior policymakers — European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde, Bundesbank president Joachim Nagel and Dutch Central Bank governor Klaas Knot — all saying the ECB must increase rates to tackle inflation.
On Wall Street, indices settled higher despite choppy trade on Friday: the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.6 per cent and the S&P 500 rose 0.5 per cent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended flat.
For the week, the exchanges were down, however, with the Dow dropping 0.1 per cent, the S&P 500 declining 0.7 per cent and the Nasdaq shedding 1.6 per cent.
Losses have been heavier year-to-date, with the Dow is off 7.1 per cent, the S&P 500 down 16.8 per cent and the Nasdaq diving 28.8 per cent.
The tepid performance of the US stock market can be attributed to "traders [who] had some reality checks with respect to their anticipations of the Fed's monetary policy", said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade.
The US Central Bank since March has raised its benchmark interest rate from near zero to a range of 3.75 per cent to 4 per cent, including four straight increases of three quarters of a percentage point, the latest being on November 2.
In Europe, London's FTSE 100 settled 0.5 per cent higher, boosted by UK retail sales data, which swung to a 0.6 gain in October following a 1.5 per cent drop in September.
Still, it remained below pre-Covid levels as stubbornly high inflation — which hit a new 40-year high of 11.1 per cent as energy costs soared — continues to hit the spending power of consumers.
"Higher energy bills will boost inflation, and that could be negative for the pound, if the Bank of England [BoE] doesn’t compensate with higher interest rate hikes," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
"And the BoE said last time that it won’t go crazy hawkish to avoid a complete economic meltdown in the UK."
In other major European bourses, Paris's CAC 40 closed up 1 per cent and Frankfurt's Dax rose 1.2 per cent.
Stock markets in Asia were a mixed bag, however, with the biggest exchanges ending the week lower as investors remained cautious over the Fed's next moves.
They were particularly concerned about the messages from several Fed officials, who said more interest rate hikes would be needed to tame inflation, further fanning the flames of a possible recession in the world's biggest economy.
"Investors seem continually surprised by the Fed merely repeating its mantra. Rates are likely to continue rising ... and may well stay higher until such time as a sustained slowdown in inflation is evident," said Richard Hunter, an analyst at UK-based Interactive Investor.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 ended 0.1 per cent lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.3 per cent and the Shanghai Composite shed 0.6 per cent.
In commodities, oil prices settled lower on Friday and posted a weekly decline as rising Covid-19 cases in China, the world's largest crude importer, affected the outlook for oil demand.
Brent shed 2.41 per cent at $87.62 a barrel at the close of trading, while West Texas Intermediate declined 1.91 per cent to $80.08.
Gold, meanwhile, also ended the week lower as investors were concerned on more Fed rate hikes. Gold for December delivery settled about 0.7 per cent lower, or $12.80, to $1,763 an ounce. US gold dropped 0.5 per cent to $1,754.40 an ounce.
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Profile
Company: Libra Project
Based: Masdar City, ADGM, London and Delaware
Launch year: 2017
Size: A team of 12 with six employed full-time
Sector: Renewable energy
Funding: $500,000 in Series A funding from family and friends in 2018. A Series B round looking to raise $1.5m is now live.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20Profile
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In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
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SPECS
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About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
'Outclassed in Kuwait'
Taleb Alrefai,
HBKU Press
Soldier F
“I was in complete disgust at the fact that only one person was to be charged for Bloody Sunday.
“Somebody later said to me, 'you just watch - they'll drop the charge against him'. And sure enough, the charges against Soldier F would go on to be dropped.
“It's pretty hard to think that 50 years on, the State is still covering up for what happened on Bloody Sunday.”
Jimmy Duddy, nephew of John Johnson
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
