After showing signs of a revival, business-class air travel among Europe’s three major airline groups has begun to level off, according to the carriers’ most recent earnings reports.
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THREAT OF STRIKE SENDS EUROPE’S GAS PRICES SOARING
The threat of strikes at several Australian ports exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) rocketed up prices for the fuel across Europe from around €30 per megawatt-hour on 8 August to €40 the next day.
OIL PRICE CONTINUES ITS CLIMB
Oil demand set a record of 103 million barrels a day in June, driven by summer air travel, a surge in use by China’s petrochemical plants, and stronger-than-expected economic activity in Europe, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported.
EUROPEAN INFLATION WILL RISE FOR A DECADE
Inflation swaps, analyst surveys, and other indicators find Europe’s economy watchers expecting inflation to continue above the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) 2-percent target for at least a decade.
MAJOR SOURCE OF COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LOANS DRIES UP
Blackstone Mortgage Trust and KKR Real Estate Finance Trust, two of the largest mortgage-focused real estate investment trusts, originated no new loans during the first half of this year, The Wall Street Journal reported. Starwood Property Trust, another key private source of mortgages for the commercial sector, also has slashed its pace of lending over the past......
U.S. BANKS LOSE $18.9 BILLION TO BAD LOANS
In this year’s second quarter, U.S. banks booked $18.9 billion in losses, the most in any quarter since the second quarter of 2020 when anti-COVID lockdowns crashed the economy. The number is up 17 percent from the first three months of this year and 75 percent compared to the same period last year. About $10.7......
U.S. INFLATION TICKS UP
The U.S. consumer price index grew at an annual pace of 3.2 percent last month, a slight rise from June’s 3.0 percent but still lower than many analysts had forecast.
START-UPS WITHER AMID FUNDING DROUGHT
A “historic” shortage of venture capital has cut off money for start-ups, The Wall Street Journal reported.
BOND MARKET BRACES AS FED’S BOND PORTFOLIO SHRINKS BY MORE THAN $1 TRILLION
Following the Great Recession and during the COVID War, the U.S. Federal Reserve bought trillion of dollars in bonds to keep the credit market alive, seeing its portfolio peak at $8.55 trillion in May 2022.
U.S. BANK STOCKS FALL AFTER FITCH DOWNGRADE
The U.S. banking sector saw stock prices sink on 7 August after Fitch Ratings lowered its credit ratings on 10 small and midsize lenders and put 17 other institutions under review.