Ata mārie and welcome to the end of another working week. Here’s your morning summary of global business and political news from overnight.
First, multiple media outlets are reporting on the “knife-edge” vote at the Bank of England to hold interest rates steady, ahead of the Government’s upcoming Budget.
Five members of the monetary policy committee voted to hold the key interest rate at 4%, while four voted for a 25 basis point cut.
Governor Andrew Bailey suggested to CNBC that rate cuts were coming, with economists now predicting a rate cut before Christmas.
“We’re past peak-restrictiveness, which is what you’d expect given that we’ve cut interest rates five times [since August 2024]. For my part, I feel policy is still restrictive, but it’s past peak restriction,” he said.
Bailey said he would be watching inflation and labour market data closely to determine the timing of the next cut.
He said the monetary policy committee would also be able to factor in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget on November 26, into the bank’s outlook for the UK economy.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration said it would cut flights across the country because of the ongoing government shutdown, CNBC reported.
Overall, the FAA said it would cut flights across 40 airports. Major airlines said they would waive cancellation fees.
Air traffic controllers have gone unpaid since the shutdown started in October.
Nancy Pelosi, 85, announced she will not run for re-election to Congress next year, ending a four-decade career, the AP and Reuters reported.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives was the first woman to become speaker.
"I will not be seeking re-election to Congress. With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service," Pelosi said.
She was first elected in 1987.
In business news, Qatar Airways will sell its 9.6% stake in Cathay Pacific Airways for US$896 million, ending its eight-year shareholding in the Hong Kong carrier, CNN reported.
Cathay will buy back the holding subject to the approval of its independent shareholders.
“Following a period of record profitability and strong performance, this decision is part of a proactive strategy to optimise our investments and position the group for long-term growth,” said Qatar Airways chief executive Badr Mohammed Al-Meer.
Elsewhere, despite controversary in France, online retailer Shein told investors that it expected US$2 billion in net income this year, amid higher profit margins and cost-cutting, Bloomberg reported.
The net income guidance suggested profit could nearly double from US$1.1b last year.
Reuters has a special report on Facebook earning advertising revenue from scam advertisements. Last year, parent company Meta projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods.
Documents seen by Reuters revealed Meta platforms showed users about 15 billion “higher risk” scam ads each day. Meta earnt about US$7b in annual revenue from this category of ads.
In other business news, US President Donald Trump announced a deal with pharmaceutical firms Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to expand coverage and cut prices for obesity products Zepbound and Wegovy, Al Jazeera reported.
Coverage of obesity products will expand to Medicare patients starting next year. Starting doses of the new pill versions of the treatments could cost US$149 per month.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy said it would help health problems exacerbated by obesity. “If we want to solve the chronic disease crisis, we have to tackle obesity,” he said.
“Diabetes, cardiac diseases, we are going to see a decline because of this historic agreement. We’re going to see a decrease in the costs, but also, more importantly, in the afflictions themselves.”
