Good morning.
The Bank of England has lashed out at fellow City regulators over the pension market fiasco after an intervention by Andrew Bailey triggered a surge in borrowing costs.
In a report released on Wednesday, Threadneedle Street suggested that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) had failed to crack down on risky investment strategies that left retirement funds exposed to ructions in the bond market.
The Bank said that TPR – which is chaired by a former pension industry insider who once worked on the products that sparked the rout – was responsible for overseeing the schemes that had fallen into turmoil.
5 things to start your day
1) Bank lashes out at City regulators as borrowing costs surge
2) Zero Covid policy sends Chinese growth back to the 1970s, warns Lagarde
3) Blame game erupts over pensions fiasco
4) M&S to close quarter of bigger shops as it struggles with rising costs
5) IMF calls for austerity to tackle inflation
What happened overnight
Asian stocks followed Wall Street lower and bond yields remained depressed on Thursday as investors weighed the risks of global recession amid hawkish Federal Reserve rhetoric and uncertainty about the Bank of England’s commitment to stabilising markets.
The recession risks also fuelled concerns about demand for oil, and crude prices failed to bounce after the previous day’s 2pc fall.
The dollar held its ground against major peers as traders awaited US consumer price data that could shed light on the pace of further Fed policy tightening.
Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.53pc, while South Korea’s Kospi slid 1.18pc.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.02pc, and mainland Chinese blue chips lost 0.64pc.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares sank 0.54pc, languishing close to Wednesday’s 2 1/2-year low.
Coming up today
Corporate: DiscoverIE Group, easyJet, Entertain, Hays (trading statements)
Economics: IMF meeting (US), consumer price index (US, Ger), jobless claims (US)
