Britain faces the largest debt load in the Group of Seven

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The bombing of a major port in Ukraine sent wheat prices to a five-month high.

The attack on the Danube port of Reni comes a week after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, threatening global food supplies.

5 things to start your day

1) Virgin Media O2 to cut 2,000 jobs | The mobile operator plans to cut the workforce by one-tenth of its workforce amid skyrocketing borrowing costs

2) Manchester plans world’s largest battery to handle intermittent wind | Planning permission granted for a £750m project on the site of an old coal-fired power station

3) Why is Rishi Sunak backing away from the 2030 Petrol Car Ban | The Prime Minister has opened the way for a rethink of the Tory’s net zero pledge

4) Inflation is now driven by demands for higher wages, businesses warn The British economy is facing recession amid rising interest rates and tightening consumer spending

5) ChatGPT Founder Plans to Scan Every Network in the World for Cryptocurrency | Sam Altman claims that the Worldcoin project is necessary to counter the threat posed by artificial intelligence

What happened overnight

Chinese stocks rose sharply and the yuan rose after Beijing pledged to ramp up policy support to support a weak post-Covid economic recovery.

The blue-chip CSI 300 snapped a six-day losing streak to jump 2.6% by midday, on track to post its best day since last November, while the Hang Seng jumped 3.2%.

The yuan rose to a two-week high against the dollar, with added support from a move by state-owned banks to sell dollars and buy Chinese currency on Tuesday.

The Politburo, the ruling Communist Party’s highest decision-making body, said Beijing will step up economic policy support to focus on expanding domestic demand, boosting confidence and preventing risks.

Elsewhere, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% to 32,605.97 while Seoul’s Kospi advanced less than 0.1%, to 2,630.70.

Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 rose 0.4% to 7,336.20. New Zealand fell behind while Singapore and Jakarta advanced.

On Wall Street, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.4% on Monday ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve meeting.

The S&P 500 rose to 4,554.64. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5 percent, at 35,411.24, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2 percent, to 14,058.87.

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