- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- 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
Pound sinks on UK political chaos
The British pound sank against the dollar Friday on political uncertainty after the resignation of UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, while weak economic data added to the turmoil.
The dollar strengthened also on expectations that the US Federal Reserve would press ahead with its programme of bumper interest rate hikes to target decades-high inflation.
European stock markets fell heavily, mirroring losses in Asia and on Wall Street, as investors fretted that rising global interest rates could tip the world economy into recession.
Sterling slid beneath $1.12, having bounced above $1.13 Thursday after Truss quit.
The yield on the British government's 30-year bond, or gilt, climbed back above four percent on Friday.
- 'Seismic events' -
"We are seeing retracement of these initial moves as markets realise that there's still huge uncertainty," noted Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson.
"The economic policies (of Truss) were already dead in the water so the market doesn't have a huge amount of genuine new information to move on despite the seismic events of the last 24 hours."
Truss resigned after 44 days in office, having triggered markets chaos over a tax-cutting budget due to have been funded by debt.
The pound was weighed down Friday additionally by official data showing that UK borrowing surged and retail sales slumped in September.
Elsewhere, traders were girding for another possible intervention by Tokyo after the dollar went above 150 yen.
The dollar burst to a 32-year high Thursday as investors bet the Fed would continue to aggressively ramp up borrowing costs.
In a sign of growing rate hike expectations, US 10-year Treasury yields rose to their highest level since the financial crisis in 2008, which in turn hit equities.
By contrast, the Bank of Japan refuses to raise interest rates despite the country's sky-high inflation.
- Key figures around 1015 GMT -
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.1114 from $1.1235 on Thursday
Dollar/yen: UP at 150.98 yen from 150.15 yen
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $0.9735 from $0.9786
Euro/pound: UP at 87.62 pence from 87.11 pence
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.9 percent at 6,883.43 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.5 percent at 12,573.45
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.7 percent at 5,986.60
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.6 percent at 3,437.84
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 26,890.58 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.4 percent at 16,211.12 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,038.93 (close)
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 30,333.59 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $92.14 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $84.31 per barrel
burs-rfj/bcp/lth
O.Ignatyev--CPN