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LONDON — Railway staff in Britain on Thursday staged the latest in a series of strikes, once again disrupting commuters and leisure travelers.

Decades-high inflation has been eating up salaries and prompting walkouts across various industries in the UK.

The latest action by rail workers, which will be repeated on Saturday, is part of a summer of strike action by the sector and others at a scale not seen since the 1980s under former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

The dispute over pay rises and working conditions has shown little sign of resolution and is likely to be exacerbated by news this week that UK inflation topped 10 per cent in July for the first time since 1982.

The global impact of the war in Ukraine on energy and food prices, and, to a lesser extent, post-Brexit trade frictions are blamed for the surging cost-of-living crisis in Britain.

Tens of thousands of railway staff are set to walk out over the two days, leaving a skeleton train service and stranding holidaymakers and commuters, even if home-working continues for many office staff after COVID restrictions were lifted.

Meanwhile, London transport workers serving the underground "Tube" and bus network will walk out on Friday, creating three days of travel misery in southeast England.

"It's extremely unreliable these days, so I'm finding I'm having to drive, park and pay a lot more," recruitment consultant Greg Ellwood, 26, said at an unusually quiet Euston station in London.

"We're all just trying to make a living and get by... So I've got all the sympathy in the world for them," he added, referring to the strikers.

'Defend jobs' 

Among the sectors also calling strikes are dockers at Felixstowe, Britain's largest freight port situated in eastern England, who will start an eight-day stoppage on Sunday.

The waves of industrial action could continue into the autumn, since the Bank of England (BoE) forecasts inflation will top 13 per cent later this year, tipping the economy into a deep and long-lasting recession.

"We will continue to do whatever is necessary to defend jobs, pay and conditions during this cost-of-living crisis," Sharon Graham, head of major British union Unite, said this week.

"This record fall in real wages demonstrates the vital need for unions like Unite to defend the value of workers' pay," Graham said.

She hit out at suggestions, including from BoE Governor Andrew Bailey, that pay rises were in part fuelling inflation.

"Wages are not driving inflation," she insisted ahead of the latest UK inflation data that showed rocketing food prices were the main factor behind July's spike.

Inflation has soared worldwide this year also on surging energy prices, fuelled by the invasion of Ukraine by major oil and gas producer Russia.

Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), urged the UK government to get involved in talks over pay, jobs and conditions.

"Instead of waging an ideological war against rail workers, millions of voters would rather that the Government allow for a fair negotiated settlement," he said at a picket line at Euston.

Pay deals 

But a transport department spokesperson blamed union leaders like Lynch for inflicting "misery" on millions, urging them to work with industry "to agree a deal that will bring our railways into the 21st century".

Some proposed strikes planned for the British summer have been halted after unions and companies agreed pay deals at the eleventh hour.

But while British Airways ground staff and plane refuellers at Heathrow airport have scrapped proposed walkouts, other sectors are holding firm.

More than 115,000 British postal workers employed by former state-run Royal Mail plan a four-day strike from the end of August. 

Telecoms giant BT will face its first stoppage in 35 years and walkouts have recently taken place or are soon to occur by Amazon warehouse staff, criminal lawyers and refuse collectors.

Major UK business lobby group, the CBI, this week acknowledged workers' ongoing "struggle with rising costs like energy prices" and said employers were "doing their level best to support staff".

It also claimed, however, that "the vast majority" of companies "can't afford large enough pay rises to keep up with inflation".

Analysts are forecasting sector-wide stoppages to last beyond the summer as inflation keeps on rising.

It comes as teachers and health workers have hinted at possible walkouts should they not receive new pay deals deemed acceptable.

HONG KONG — Markets rose with oil prices on Wednesday following a rally on Wall Street, with Asia given a lift after China's premier called for more measures to boost the struggling economy.

Investors remain on edge as they try to navigate an uncertain landscape while central banks hike interest rates to fight runaway inflation, in turn fuelling fears of a possible recession.

While officials at the Federal Reserve (Fed) and its peers are expected to keep tightening monetary policy for the rest of the year, talk is building that they will be able to ease up in 2023 — and maybe even cut rates — if the pace of price rises comes down.

Minutes from the Fed's July meeting will be pored over when they are released later in the day, with investors hoping for some insight into policymakers' thinking and an idea of its plan for next month's gathering.

"We expect the... minutes to have a hawkish tilt," Carol Kong, at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said. "We would not be surprised if the minutes show [officials] considered a 100 basis points increase in July."

The bank lifted rates by 75 points in both June and July.

Forecast-beating earnings from retail titans Walmart and Home Depot provided optimism that US consumers remain resilient even as inflation remains elevated and borrowing costs are going up.

In a sign of the work ahead for banks in battling inflation, figures on Wednesday showed prices rose in Britain last month at their fastest pace since 1982 as food costs rocketed. The news sent sterling sharply higher against the dollar.

After a slow start Asia picked up on the positive lead from Wall Street, helped by hopes for some stimulus by finance chiefs in China.

The country's central bank announced a surprise interest rate cut on Monday and a report Tuesday said Premier Li Keqiang called on six key provinces — accounting for about 40 per cent of the economy — to bolster pro-growth policies.

The moves come after the latest batch of data showed the economy remained under pressure.

Analysts said markets are concerned about the debilitating impact of lockdowns and other strict containment measures implemented as part of the government's zero-COVID strategy.

"Visibility over the evolution of China's zero-COVID policy is low and recent messaging has suggested virus containment remains a top policy priority of the country," said Adam Montanaro, investment director of global emerging markets equities at abrdn.

"Not only do investors hate uncertainty, but the negative economic impact of this policy is increasingly visible."

Hong Kong and Shanghai enjoyed healthy gains, while Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei, Mumbai and Bangkok were also up — though Seoul and Manila dipped.

In early trade, London stocks were up along with Paris and Frankfurt.

Equities have enjoyed several weeks of gains since hitting their June lows, and while the initial bounce was broadly seen as a bear market rally there is hope that they may have already reached their nadir.

"It looks like a bottom, acts like a bottom, and trades like a bottom, then it probably is a bottom," said OANDA's Edward Moya in a note.

"Bear market rally calls are suddenly becoming quiet these days. The risks of the Fed sending the economy into a recession are easing as inflation is slowly coming down.

"The Fed's soft landing seems achievable and that has allowed this rally to continue."

Oil prices bounced after dropping for three days straight on demand worries as economies slow, while the possibility of an Iran nuclear deal has led to talk of a boost to supplies.

"The crude demand outlook is taking a big hit after... disappointing Chinese economic activity readings and as Germany struggles," Moya added.

NEW YORK — Walmart reported a jump in quarterly revenues on Tuesday partly driven by inflation as the retail giant signalled it expects its US sales growth to moderate over the next six months.

The big-box retailer, which had cut its profit forecast three weeks ago due to shifting consumer behavior, said pricing pressures on consumers boosted sales of groceries, while denting demand for other items such as apparel, electronics and home products.

Revenues for its second fiscal quarter ending July 31 were $152.9 billion, up 8.4 per cent from the year-ago period.

Profits rose 20.4 per cent to $5.1 billion, with some of the increase connected to the accounting for an asset sale in Brazil.

Walmart's US comparable store sales rose 6.5 per cent from one year ago, but the company expects about three per cent growth in the second half of 2022.

Higher gasoline prices, along with elevated prices for grocery-item staples have been prompting more consumers to "trade down" to lower-priced goods.

On the positive side, gas prices have gradually fallen during the summer, mitigating this effect somewhat.

"We're pleased to see more customers choosing Walmart during this inflationary period, and we're working hard to support them as they prioritise their spending," Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon said in a news release.

McMillon said the company made "good progress" to manage supply chain costs "and that work is ongoing".

Shares of Walmart rose 3.7 per cent to $137.48 in Tuesday pre-market trading.

SAN FRANCISCO — In the height of the pandemic, video games offered people solace in isolation. But now that life is slowly returning to pre-crisis normal, and inflation is soaring, gaming companies are feeling the pinch.

Makers of consoles, accessories, and software for gaming are experiencing the same kind of post-pandemic effect as tech titans who saw business boom while COVID-19 fears kept people close to home.

The squeeze has been exacerbated by steep inflation spurring belt-tightening and gaming fatigue after years of relying on indoor entertainment.

Early in the pandemic, "people flocked to Twitch in droves — streamers and viewers alike", said Brandon Williams, who goes by the handle "BWpaco" on the Amazon-owned platform where gamers broadcast video game action.

"But I've talked to quite a few people who have stopped streaming because they've had burnout or because it's not for them," the 30-year-old streamer added.

"Or, they don't have the time anymore since they went back to work in person."

Twitch viewership that soared during the pandemic has ebbed but remains above what it was in 2019, according to twitchtracker.com.

 Games still in play 

Matt Piscatella, an analyst with market research group NPD, estimated that people in the United States will spend about $55.5 billion on gaming in total this year, less than last year but still up 28 per cent from the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

US video game giant Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft is in the process of purchasing, reported that sales in the first half of this year declined, with gamers spending less time in its powerhouse "Call of Duty" franchise.

Nvidia, the California-based maker of high-performance graphics cards popular with gamers, recently issued an earnings warning because of "declining revenues in video games". 

Even spending on mobile games is showing signs of weakening, according to analysts.

"Higher prices in everyday spending categories such as food and gas, the return of experiential spending such as travel and attending live events, a lighter release slate of new games, and continued new generation console hardware supply constraints were all likely contributors to the decline seen in the second quarter," Piscatella said.

Omdia analyst Steven Bailey said delayed releases of keenly-anticipated titles such as "Starfield" and "Suicide Squad" also contributed to a pandemic boom "correction" that was inevitable.

Lurking 

The bump that new titles give to video game sales is a wild card likely to benefit the industry going forward, as players typically throng to get their hands on hot releases.

Piscatella expressed hope the video game market will stabilise in the year ahead and then return to steady growth.

The rising cost of living from inflation is forcing gamers to make choices with their money, but that doesn't mean they are abandoning play, the analyst noted.

More than three-quarters of US consumers play video games, and subscription services such as Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus help tamp down the cost, Piscatella said.

Pandemic effects on video game play have gone beyond the economic arena, giving rise to a trend of players seeking "comfort games" that emphasise cooperation rather than competition.

The explosion of Nintendo's "Animal Crossing" game devoted to community building is an example of this phenomenon, with players uniting to sustain virtual towns.

And, according to streamer BWpaco, viewers are taking to listening to Twitch channels as they might a radio broadcast while their attention is elsewhere.

"They're just lurking," the streamer said.

"I feel now that things have opened back up, and people are more busy, they have it on as background noise.

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia ‘s oil company, Aramco, on Sunday unveiled record profits of $48.4 billion in the second quarter of 2022, after Russia's war in Ukraine and a post-pandemic surge in demand sent crude prices soaring.

Net income leapt 90 per cent year-on-year for the world's biggest oil producer, which clocked its second straight quarterly record after announcing $39.5 billion for Q1.

Aramco's massive Q2 windfall was the biggest quarterly adjusted profit of any listed company worldwide, according to Bloomberg.

The state-owned Saudi firm heads a list of oil majors raking in eye-watering sums after ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies and Eni also revealed multi-billion-dollar profits in Q2.

"While global market volatility and economic uncertainty remain, events during the first half of this year support our view that ongoing investment in our industry is essential," said Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser.

"In fact, we expect oil demand to continue to grow for the rest of the decade," he added.

Net income rose 22.7 per cent from Q1 in "strong market conditions", Aramco said. Half-year profits were $87.9 billion, up from $47.2 billion for the same period of 2021.

Aramco will pay an $18.8 billion dividend in Q3, the same as it paid in Q2. It "continues to work on increasing crude oil maximum sustainable capacity from 12 million barrels per day to 13 million by 2027", its earnings announcement said.

The quarterly profits, the highest since Aramco's record-breaking IPO in 2019, beat a company-compiled analyst forecast of $46.2 billion.

Aramco shares closed down 0.9 per cent at 40.5 riyals ($10.8) on the Saudi stock exchange. They are up 25 per cent this year.

'Crown jewel' 

Aramco floated 1.7 per cent of its shares on the Saudi bourse in December 2019, generating $29.4 billion in the world's biggest initial public offering.

The "crown jewel" and leading source of income for the conservative kingdom temporarily supplanted Apple as the world's most valuable company in March. It now lies second in the list with a market valuation of $2.4 trillion.

Saudi Arabia has sought to open up and diversify its oil-reliant economy, especially since Mohammed Bin Salman's appointment as crown prince in 2017.

Despite raising production, Aramco has pledged to reach "operational net zero [carbon] emissions" by 2050. Carbon pollution is tallied in the country that uses the fuel, not where it is produced. Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product jumped nearly 12 per cent in Q2 on the back of high oil prices, the government announced last month. Abu Dhabi-based energy expert Ibrahim Elghitany said the oil bonanza was a "golden opportunity" for the country."Saudi Arabia has recently achieved financial surpluses that it did not achieve during the last decade, which helps to provide financing for its development projects," Elghitany said.

Nasser said Aramco recovered quickly from a series of attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on its facilities earlier this year, including a dramatic strike in Jeddah that sent smoke billowing during a Formula One practice session in March.

"We were able to restore our production in all these facilities immediately. In a few weeks, all facilities were working and producing at full capacity," he told a media conference call.

Oil prices have dropped by $30 per barrel from a peak in June due to growing supplies, but remain close to $100. 

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries group of oil-producing countries has been gradually raising production, despite pressure from Western leaders including US President Joe Biden — who visited Saudi Arabia last month — to pump more.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also visited Saudi Arabia since the Russian invasion in February.

High oil prices are contributing to the inflationary pain suffered by consumers worldwide. 

DHAKA — Nearly 150,000 workers at more than 200 Bangladeshi tea plantations went on strike Saturday to demand a 150 per cent rise to their dollar-a-day wages, which researchers say are among the lowest in the world.

Most tea workers in the overwhelmingly Muslim country are low-caste Hindus, the descendants of labourers brought to the plantations by colonial-era British planters.

The minimum wage for a tea plantation worker in the country is 120 taka a day — about $1.25 at official rates, but only just over a dollar on the free market.

One worker said that was barely enough to buy food, let alone other necessities.

"Nowadays we can't even afford coarse rice for our family with this amount," said Anjana Bhuyian, 50. 

"A wage of one day can't buy a litre of edible oil. How can we then even think about our nutrition, medication or children's education?" she said.

Unions are demanding an increase to 300 taka a day, with inflation rising and the currency depreciating, and said that workers in the country's 232 tea gardens began a full-scale strike on Saturday, after four days of two-hour stoppages. 

"Nearly 150,000 tea workers have joined the strike today," said Sitaram Bin, a committee member of the Bangladesh Tea Workers' Union.

"No tea worker will pluck tea leaves or work in the leaf processing plants as long as the authority doesn't pay heed to our demands," he noted.

Plantation owners have offered an increase of 14 taka a day, after an 18-taka rise last year and M. Shah Alom, chairman of the Bangladesh Tea Association, said operators were "going through difficult times with profit declining in recent times".

"The cost of production is increasing. Our expenses have increased as the price of gas, fertiliser and diesel have gone up," he told AFP.

Researchers say tea workers — who live in some of the country's most remote areas — have been systematically exploited by the industry for decades. 

"Tea workers are like modern-day slaves," said Philip Gain, director of the Society for Environment and Human Development, a research group, who has written books on tea workers.

"The plantation owners have hijacked the minimum wage authorities and kept the wages some of the lowest in the world."

AMMAN — The Amman Chamber of Commerce on Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Hebron Chamber of Commerce and Industry to consolidate economic relations between the two sides, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The MoU seeks to encourage, develop and facilitate joint cooperation in trade, economy and investment between Jordan and Palestine.

It also seeks to establish effective means of communication between the members of the two chambers in order to promote trade and encourage the establishment of joint investment projects, according to Petra.

Under the MoU, the two sides will exchange information on investment legislation, conduct visits by delegations and trade missions, and organise meetings, comprising members of the two chambers and Palestinian and Jordanian business owners to introduce partnership and investment opportunities.

The two parties will encourage business owners to participate in specialised international exhibitions held in Jordan and the Palestinian territories. 

They will also facilitate the exchange of publications, statistics and economic data. Moreover, the MoU paves the way for expertise and training exchange. 

GENEVA — The total global number of unemployed youths should fall to 73 million in 2022, down by two million from the year before, the United Nations said on Thursday.

However, the figure is still six million higher than the pre-pandemic level of 2019, with the recovery in youth unemployment lagging behind the bounceback in other age groups, the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO) said.

Between 2019 and 2020, those aged 15 to 24 experienced a much higher percentage loss in employment than the rest of the labour market, the ILO said in a report.

Their 300-page "Global Employment Trends for Youth 2022" update on key youth labour market indicators and trends said the pandemic exacerbated the market challenges generally facing young people.

Many dropped out of the labour force, or failed to enter it altogether, due to the difficulty of finding a job during COVID-19 lockdowns and while businesses were closing due to the pandemic.

Gender gap 

"The COVID-19 crisis has revealed a number of shortcomings in the way the needs of young people are addressed, especially the more vulnerable such as first-time job-seekers, school dropouts, fresh graduates with little experience and those who remain inactive not by choice," said Martha Newton, the ILO's deputy director-general for policy.

"What young people need most is well? functioning labour markets with decent job opportunities for those already participating in the labour market, along with quality education and training opportunities for those yet to enter it."

The report said that 27.4 per cent of young women were projected to be in work in 2022, compared to 40.3 per cent of young men.

This gender gap "has shown little sign of closing over the past two decades", the ILO said.

The gap is largest in lower-middle-income countries, at 17.3 percentage points, and smallest in high-income states, at 2.3 points.

The share of youth not in employment, education or training in 2020 — the latest year for which a global estimate is available — rose to 23.3 per cent, up 1.5 percentage points from 2019 to a level not seen in at least 15 years.

Regional differences 

The global youth unemployment rate is projected to be 14.9 per cent in 2022.

The report highlighted the differences in youth unemployment between the regions.

In Europe and central Asia, the rate is predicted to be 16.4 per cent, "but the actual and potential shocks of the war in Ukraine are highly likely to affect the results".

The rate in Asia and the Pacific is set to match the global average at 14.9 per cent; In Latin America, it should hit a "worrying" 20.5 per cent; while in North America the figure should be 8.3 per cent.

The 12.7 per cent rate in Africa "masks the fact that many youths have chosen to withdraw from the labour market altogether".

But the Arab states have the highest and fastest-growing unemployment rate of young people worldwide at 24.8 per cent — a figure that hits 42.5 per cent for young women in the region.

Green and blue future 

On the positive side, the report said young people were well-placed to benefit from the expansion of the so-called green and blue economies, centred around the environment and sustainable ocean resources.

The study said an additional 8.4 million jobs could be created for young people by 2030 through green and blue investments, notably in clean and renewable energies, sustainable agriculture, recycling and waste management.

The report estimates that achieving universal broadband coverage by 2030 could lead to a net increase in employment of 24 million new jobs worldwide, of which 6.4 million would be taken by young people.

The report also estimates that investments in care sectors would create 17.9 million more jobs for young people by 2030.