The latest from London: A decisive week for monetary policy

Last week ended with a volatile session, with the FTSE100 rising 0.8% before closing down by 0.9%. For the week, the blue-chip index fell 0.93%, hampered by commodity stocks

The week also isn’t off to the best start – The FTSE was down 1.5% this morning – due to ongoing concerns about rising inflation. On Thursday, the Bank of England will unveil its rate decision, while a Federal Reserve policy decision is expected on Wednesday.

Adding to investor’s nervousness, some reports indicate that Chinese authorities could tighten regulation on real-estate firms, following the troubles experienced by Evergrande.

Among stocks, Prudential decreased 4.6% after it announced this week-end it is planning to raise HK$22.5 billion through a concurrent public offer and international share placing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

 

Things to read:

• Big tech companies are snapping up smaller rivals at a record pace (Financial Times)
• According to Oxfam, rich countries' climate fund investment targets are not being met and will not be met by 2025 (Bloomberg).
• "More China, less America": how the superpower struggle affects the Gulf (Financial Times).