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Growing numbers of retail investors are being drawn into commodity trading after two consecutive years of bumper returns, despite concerns that they could suffer huge losses or disrupt the complex and volatile markets. Retail trading volumes in commodity futures and the largest commodity-focused investment funds surged in 2022. But while activity has been spurred by

Pension funds should be “extremely careful” when investing in illiquid assets, as rising interest rates and falling stock markets increase the likelihood of their having to access cash quickly, the OECD has warned. In the recent era of low interest rates, pension funds poured money into alternative investments, such as infrastructure projects and private equity,

Global stocks and bonds lost more than $30tn for 2022 after inflation, interest rate rises and the war in Ukraine triggered the heaviest losses in asset markets since the global financial crisis. The broad MSCI All-World index of developed and emerging market equities has shed a fifth of its value this year, the biggest decline

UK house prices fell for the fourth consecutive month in December, marking the longest contraction since the 2008 financial crisis, as rising interest rates deterred prospective buyers. Prices contracted 0.1 per cent between November and December, following falls every month since September, according to figures provided by Nationwide, the mortgage provider. It was the worst

The EU is debating a bloc-wide response to the abrupt end of China’s zero-Covid containment policy, as capitals across the world seek to contend with surging infections in the country. Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s new prime minister, called on Thursday for the EU to follow Rome’s move to test all air arrivals from China for coronavirus

Some of the UK’s largest banks have agreed measures with the government to help struggling borrowers as they brace for a surge in late mortgage payments. The so-called forbearance measures, which were used during the 2008 financial crisis, are an attempt by banks including HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest to avoid repossessions and

China will remove quarantine requirements for inbound travellers from January 8 as the country dismantles the remnants of a zero-Covid regime that closed it off from the rest of the world for almost three years. The National Health Commission on Monday unveiled the move as part of a wider announcement that downgraded the country’s management

Hedge funds trading bonds and currencies are on track for their best year since the global financial crisis, boosted by the steep interest rate rises that have inflicted heavy losses on equity specialists and mainstream investors. So-called macro hedge funds, made famous by the likes of George Soros and Louis Bacon, endured a barren period

Apple’s business is under threat from a widespread coronavirus outbreak in China, with supply chain experts warning of a growing risk of months-long disruption to the production of iPhones. The US tech giant has had to contend with more than a month of chaos at its main assembler Foxconn’s megafactory in Zhengzhou, China, known as

When Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s infamous “mini” Budget sent Britain’s finances into turmoil in September, it was pilloried as an egregious example of putting ideology over evidence. Both of its architects were gone within a matter of weeks, and a chastened Conservative party announced a series of U-turns. The damage was done, but it

Passengers flying into the UK face months of disruption at the border as passport officers gear up for prolonged strikes, the head of the civil service union has warned. Border Force officers on Friday began eight days of strikes and government officials have warned people to prepare for long queues and drafted in the military

The UK economy contracted by more than previously estimated in the third quarter and lagged further behind other advanced economies, as households struggled with high inflation. Data published by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday also suggested that consumers are not dipping into their savings as much as forecast, suggesting the UK’s recession could

UK health secretary Steve Barclay on Wednesday doubled down on the government’s decision not to negotiate on pay with striking NHS staff, as he accused ambulance unions of jeopardising patient safety. The government is braced for severe disruption within the NHS across England and Wales, following the decision by about 10,000 ambulance workers represented by

A Russian court has ordered the seizure of a luxury hotel complex owned by billionaire Oleg Deripaska, one of the few oligarchs to have criticised President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, in a sign of the pressure facing the country’s tycoons since the invasion. The legal dispute, following an initial claim brought by a science

UK ministers will on Monday meet to co-ordinate a response to one of the most disruptive weeks of strike action in recent history, as concerns mount over emergency cover when ambulance workers walk out on Wednesday. Steve Barclay, the health secretary, said on Sunday he was still waiting to receive solid assurances from unions that

Covid-19 is spreading rapidly through China’s biggest cities, leading to widespread medicine shortages and exposing Beijing’s lack of preparation after authorities reversed strict pandemic controls. Residents of Shanghai, Shenzhen and other cities reported pharmacies have sold out of fever medicine and Covid tests, while social media images contrast long queues outside Covid clinics with otherwise

David Cameron, Britain’s former prime minister, is returning to public life with a new job teaching politics at a university in the Gulf state of Abu Dhabi. Cameron will lecture students on “practising politics and government in the age of disruption” for a three-week course in January at the New York University Abu Dhabi. It

Evidence of a wave of Covid-19 deaths is beginning to emerge in Beijing despite official tallies showing no fatalities since an uncontrolled outbreak began sweeping through China’s capital this week. Staff at one crematorium in Beijing said they cremated the bodies of at least 30 Covid victims on Wednesday and Financial Times reporters saw two

The UK’s health minister on Thursday said that the government had no realistic way of meeting nurses’ pay demands as the first day of historic strikes got under way. Nurses across England, Wales and Northern Ireland will stage industrial action for 12 hours, after ministers refused to negotiate with the Royal College of Nursing over

UK inflation dipped to 10.7 per cent in November as an easing in the rise in petrol prices helped to lower the rate from a 41-year high of 11.1 per cent last month. The figure was better than an expected 10.9 per cent and economists said the annual inflation rate had now probably passed its