- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Oil extends gains, jobs report lifts Wall Street
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Oil extends gains, Hong Kong stocks resume rally
- 'A man provides': Ukrainian miners send families away as Russia advances
- EU states greenlight extra tariffs on EVs from China
- Hong Kong stocks resume rally, oil dips after Middle East-fuelled surge
- Crude stable after Israel-Iran surge, Hong Kong stocks resume gains
- Hera spacecraft to probe asteroid deflected by defence test
- US dockworkers to head back to work after tentative deal
- After Helene's destruction, North Carolina starts to rebuild
- Dockers end three-day strike at Montreal port
- What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?
- Israel-Hamas war causes 86-percent dive in Gaza GDP: IMF
- Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
- Relief in Brazil, Asia over delay to EU deforestation rules
- Oil prices jump, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Biden says 'discussing' possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
- Oil prices rise, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Oil rallies, stocks mostly retreat on Middle East tensions
- Phasing out teen smoking could save 1.2 mn lives: study
- 'Welcome relief': Asia producers hail EU deforestation law delay
- Japan PM slated to announce plans for 'happiness index'
- Turkish inflation falls less than expected in September at 49.4%
- Easing inflation lifts profit at UK supermarket Tesco
- Skiing calls on UN climate science to combat melting future
- China wine industry looks to breed climate resilience
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong drops after surge
- Dutch airline KLM unveils 'firm' cost-cutting measures
- Carpe diem: the Costa Rican women turning fish into fashion
- Senegal looks to aquaculture as fish stocks dwindle
- Will AI one day win a Nobel Prize?
- Climate change, economics muddy West's drive to curb Chinese EVs
- Argentina's Milei vetoes university budget after huge protests
- TotalEnergies plans to grow oil and gas production until 2030
- 2024 Nobels offer glimmer of hope as global crises mount
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong reverses after surge
- Tunisia readies for vote as incumbent Saied eyes victory
- High childcare costs in US weigh on women's employment
- US voters seek help with crushing childcare costs
Stocks slide amid Ukraine, gas worries, as pound rebounds
European equities fell Tuesday as concerns over European gas supplies and the Ukraine conflict again came to the fore, while the dollar weakened slightly against major rivals, helping the pound to rebound from a record low.
Paris, Frankfurt and London all closed in the red, failing to hang on to earlier gains. Wall Street followed suit in mid-morning trades after an early rally.
"There's little doubt instability is here to stay, and nerves are frayed as central bankers pull out all the stops to battle with inflation," Danni Hewson, analyst at AJ Bell said.
"And there's plenty of tension too over Russian moves to try to annex parts of Ukraine as well as worries about gas supplies after it emerged the pipeline that carries gas from Russia to Europe has suffered some kind of damage."
European natural gas prices surged nearly 10 percent at one point, to 190.50 euros, following news that the two Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia and Europe have been hit by unexplained leaks.
Explosions were recorded before the mysterious leaks, seismologists said Tuesday, raising suspicions of sabotage amid tensions over Moscow's war in Ukraine.
The pipelines have been at the centre of geopolitical tensions in recent months as Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation against Western sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine.
"This damage is the clearest signal so far that Europe will have to survive the winter without significant Russian gas flows," analysts at Charles Schwab said in a note to clients.
- Tackling red-hot inflation -
In the latest warning of a looming economic downturn, World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said Tuesday that the world was heading towards a global recession as multiple crises collide.
Recession prospects have risen in recent weeks as central banks keep hiking interest rates to try and cool decades-high inflation, boosting in particular the dollar.
The Federal Reserve has carried out three successive bumper US hikes and is warning of more to come.
That has seen investors pile into the dollar, sending it to record or multi-decade peaks, in turn rattling governments from Tokyo to Beijing and London.
On Monday, the pound hit an all-time low at $1.0350, with traders spooked by a UK tax giveaway they warned could further fuel inflation and significantly ramp up British state borrowing.
In late afternoon deals on Tuesday, the pound rose 0.6 percent to $1.0755, having earlier rebounded by more than one percent.
The small recovery came after the Bank of England said it would "not hesitate to change interest rates by as much as needed".
With the pound showing record weakness against the dollar this week, analysts are forecasting a big rate increase when the BoE holds its next regular policy meeting on November 3.
Oil prices jumped more than two percent, helped by a weaker dollar.
"Oil remains a sellers’ market with worries about a global recession and high interest rates intensifying," Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at City Index and FOREX.com said.
"In addition, with currencies of major oil importing nations tumbling, anything traded in US dollars will cost more... such as oil."
- Key figures at around 1745 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 6,984.59 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.7 percent at 12,139.68 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 5,753.82 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,328.65
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.04 percent at 29,252.34
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 26,571.87 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 17,860.31 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 3,093.86 (close)
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.0776 from $1.0689 on Monday
Euro/dollar: UP at $0.9625 from $0.9611
Euro/pound: DOWN at 89.37 pence from 89.87 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.62 yen from 144.72 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 2.8 percent at $86.38 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.5 percent at $78.66 per barrel
O.Hansen--CPN