Ikea cutting prices as inflation eases and more could be on the way

IKEA lowers prices on items worldwide. Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images Swedish home and furniture company Ikea has been cutting prices across a number of countries as global inflation eased, as it boosts its investments in price reductions. The company is further expanding its price cuts in 2024 across all of its markets globally, … Read more

China blames U.S. for bilateral tensions, reaffirms support for Palestinians

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in 2019. Mark Kauzlarich | Reuters BEIJING — China’s top diplomat slammed the U.S. for worsening bilateral tensions, while reiterating Beijing’s support for peaceful resolutions to the Middle East and Russia-Ukraine conflicts. “There is some progress in the China-U.S. bilateral relationship, but we have to point out that U.S. continues … Read more

When will European Central Bank cut rates? Markets could soon get clues

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde speaks as she presents the bank’s 2022 Annual Report to the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, eastern France, on February 26, 2024.  Frederick Florin | AFP | Getty Images FRANKFURT — The European Central Bank will meet again this week amid falling inflation, a slight recovery in economic activity … Read more

Nigeria battles to halt spiraling currency crisis and rising food insecurity

IBADAN, Nigeria – Feb. 19, 2024: Demonstrators hold placards during a protest against the hike in price and hard living conditions in Ibadan on February 19, 2024. Samuel Alabi | Afp | Getty Images Nigeria is battling to contain a historic currency crisis and soaring inflation, with the International Monetary Fund on Monday warning that … Read more

Turkish annual inflation soars to 67% in February

The Maslak financial and business center in the Sariyer district of Istanbul. Ayhan Altun | Moment | Getty Images Turkish annual consumer price inflation soared to 67.07% in February, the Turkish Statistical Institute said Monday, coming in above expectations. Analysts polled by Reuters had anticipated annual inflation would climb to 65.7% last month. The combined … Read more

UK, Europe real estate to surge as buyers eye investment opportunities

Aerial view of the roof gardens at Gasholder Park in Kings Cross, London. Richard Newstead | Moment | Getty Images The U.K. looks poised to lead a European real estate resurgence this year as international investors return capital to the region’s strained property market. An anticipated fall in interest rates and modest economic revival will … Read more

India ‘easily’ fastest growing economy, IMF director says, as GDP growth soars

IMF Executive Director and former Chief Economic Advisor of India, Dr Krishnamurthy V. Subramanian addresses a press conference. Hindustan Times | Hindustan Times | Getty Images India is ‘easily’ the fastest growing economy in the world, IMF executive director Krishnamurthy Subramanian said, as the country’s third-quarter GDP growth blew past analysts’ estimates. At 8.4%, India’s … Read more

How much wealth do you need to join the 1% club in your country?

The sun sets on the skyline of midtown Manhattan, the Empire State Building and Hudson Yards in New York City on February 17, 2024. Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images The entry barriers to the 1% rich club have been getting tougher across the world. Here’s how much you need to join the … Read more

Netanyahu’s first post-war plan seeks security buffer in Gaza — in blow to U.S. diplomacy

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on as the US Secretary of State gives statements to the media inside The Kirya, which houses the Israeli Defence Ministry, after their meeting in Tel Aviv on October 12, 2023. Blinken arrived in a show of solidarity after Hamas’s surprise weekend onslaught in Israel, an AFP correspondent travelling … Read more

Russia marks two years of war in Ukraine, looking confident amid gains

A Ukrainian soldier in a shelter at his fighting position in the direction of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, 20 February 2024. Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images When Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago, the stout resistance mounted by the country’s armed forces and overwhelming Western support for Kyiv — along with some obvious military … Read more