Stock markets slump amid Iran war as gas prices jump 30% to three-year high

The war in the Middle East has plunged financial markets around the world into turmoil for a second day, with oil and gas prices surging and share indices plummeting days after the US-Israel attack on Iran.After a calm Monday, US stocks fell sharply after trading opened on Tuesday, with the Dow dropping more than 2% before paring back those losses. At Tuesday’s closing, the Dow had dropped 400 points, or 0.8%, while S&P and Nasdaq saw similar dips.Earlier in the day, the London stock market dropped deep into the red, with the FTSE 100 index closing 2

Surprise jump in UK grocery inflation makes interest rate cut less probable

Shoppers faced a surprise jump in grocery inflation last month, as experts warned there was worse to come if there was prolonged war in the Middle East and the odds of a UK interest cut fell sharply.In a blow to households struggling with the cost of living, grocery price inflation rose to 4.3% in the four weeks to 22 February, after falling to 4% in January from 4.7% in December, according to the market research company Worldpanel by Numerator.The European Central Bank’s chief economist, Philip Lane, also warned that prolonged war in the Middle East could lead to lower oil and gas supplies from the region, causing a “substantial spike” in inflation and a “sharp drop in output” in the eurozone

‘Peak Greggs’? Bakery chain’s profits slump and sales slow

Greggs has reported a slump in profits as it bemoaned “challenging” market conditions hitting consumer confidence and disposable income, amid pressure to prove the UK has not hit “peak Greggs”.The high street bakery chain, known for its sausage rolls and steak bakes, said statutory pre-tax profits fell by 17.9% to £167.4m for the year to 27 December, compared with a year earlier. Total sales rose by 6

US markets see-saw as investors keep close eye on Iran war

US stocks see-sawed on Monday as investors tried to keep abreast of the news on the first day of trading since the US and Israel attacks on Iran began.After dipping down over 1% across the board, the major indexes recovered most of their losses even after global markets saw heftier drops earlier in the day. At Monday’s closing, the Dow was down 0.15%, while the S&P 500 was 0.04% up

A gas shock – not an oil shock – from the Iran war looks more threatening | Nils Pratley

The price of oil grabs most of the energy-related attention during conflicts in the Middle East for understandable reasons: oil is the commodity on which the world runs (still) and analysts have roughly reliable models for what every $10 per barrel increase in cost does to global growth and inflation.So, on that front, one can say we’re still a long way from “oil shock” territory. Monday’s rise to $79 a barrel, up 9% since the end of last week, is sizeable, especially as the price was $62 at the start of this year, but remember that $125 was seen shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and $100-plus was then sustained for three months.A gas shock, however, looks a real and present threat. European wholesale gas prices rose 50% as QatarEnergy, the world’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) halted production after being targeted by Iranian drone strikes

Men almost twice as likely as women to earn high salaries in ‘reality check’ on Australia’s gender pay gap

Men are nearly twice as likely as women to be making $220,000 a year, with minimal progress made on closing Australia’s gender pay gap in the past 12 months.The federal government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) published its gender pay gap results for 10,500 employers on Tuesday. It revealed there was a slight increase in the number of women in highly paid roles, but men were still 1.8 times more likely to be in the upper quartile of earners on an average salary of $221,000.On the other hand, women were 1