- In the Colombian Pacific, fighting to save sharks
- Argentina's Matera banned for Italy Test after red card
- Vientos grand slam propels Mets in series-tying win over Dodgers
- Supporters of ex-Bolivia leader Morales block roads over possible arrest
- Germany into Nations League quarters, France and Italy win
- Nagelsmann lauds 'supercharged' Germany's 'best half of the year'
- 'Pandas are coming': Two new bears depart China for US capital
- Dodgers pitcher Kershaw plans to return for 2025
- Mbappe 'investigated for rape' in Sweden: report
- Revived Italy sweep past Israel in Nations League amid high security
- Trudeau slams India as tensions soar over Sikh separatist's murder
- Harris courts Black voters as Trump makes inroads
- Wall Street stocks hit fresh records as oil prices slide
- Nigerian team return home after boycotting AFCON qualifier in Libya
- Nigeria refuse to play in Libya as Algeria, Cameroon qualify
- Strike-hit Boeing leaves experts puzzled by strategy
- Leweling rockets Germany past Dutch and into Nations League quarterfinals
- Kolo Muani double fires France to win in Belgium
- Italy sweep past Israel in Nations League amid high security
- UN peacekeepers to 'stay in all positions' in Lebanon
- NASA launches probe to study if life possible on icy Jupiter moon
- 'Unique' Ronaldo an example to everyone, says Martinez
- New lawsuits against Sean Combs allege sex assault, including of minor
- Italy begins migrant transfers to Albania with first group of 16
- Google signs nuclear power deal with startup Kairos
- Carsley open to foreign England manager amid Guardiola links
- Pogba hungry to have his football cake after doping ban
- India and Canada expel top envoys in Sikh separatist killing row
- Mbappe says victim of 'fake news' after 'rape' report in Sweden
- Lebanon says 21 killed in strike on northern village
- Netanyahu vows no mercy after deadly Hezbollah drone strike
- Russia could be able to attack NATO by 2030: German intelligence
- EVs seek to regain sales momentum at Paris Motor Show
- Clarke backs Scotland to bounce back from 'tough' run
- Harris, Trump target crucial Pennsylvania as US vote looms
- NASA probe Europa Clipper lifts off for Jupiter's icy moon
- Lebanese Red Cross says 18 killed in strike in north
- Mendy borrowed money from Man City team-mates for legal fees
- Palestinian officials say Israeli forces kill two in West Bank
- Football leagues, unions file EU complaint against FIFA in calendar dispute
- Nigeria boycott AFCON qualifier in Libya after 'inhumane treatment'
- India to recall top envoy to Canada: foreign ministry
- Hezbollah, Israeli troops in 'violent clashes' after drone strike
- China insists won't renounce 'use of force' to take Taiwan as drills end
- Painkiller sale plan to US gives France major headache
- Italy begins landmark migrant transfers to Albania
- Russia jails French researcher for three years
- 'Unsustainable' housing crisis bedevils Spain's socialist govt
- Stocks shrug off China disappointment but oil slides
- New Zealand 4-0 up in America's Cup but British show signs of life
British economy stalls in third quarter
Britain's economy stagnated in the third quarter, official data showed Friday, weighed down by elevated inflation and interest-rate hikes.
Gross domestic product showed no growth in the July-September period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.
That beat market expectations for a contraction of 0.2 percent, but followed 0.2-percent expansion in the second quarter.
The data comes one week after the Bank of England froze interest rates at a 15-year high of 5.25 percent to tackle high inflation, and forecast the economy would flatline next year.
Reacting to Friday's data, UK finance minister Jeremy Hunt warned that "high inflation was the single greatest barrier to economic growth".
Hunt added that his budget statement on November 22, would "focus on how we get the economy growing healthily again".
- 'UK woes' -
"UK economy woes continue," noted KPMG economist Yael Selfin.
"Economic activity is continuing to slow as high interest rates are weighing on consumer sentiment and disposable incomes.
"While real incomes have started to grow as inflation eases, this is being offset by higher mortgage rates feeding through into housing costs."
The ONS added Friday that activity grew 0.2 percent in September after downwardly-revised expansion of 0.1 percent in August and zero growth in July.
"The economy is estimated to have shown no growth in the third quarter," said ONS economic statistics director Darren Morgan.
"Services dropped a little with falls in health, management consultancy and commercial property rentals. These were partially offset by growth in engineering, car sales and machinery leasing."
There was also a boost from manufacturing, led by cars and metal products while construction also expanded.
Output has been slammed by soaring inflation, which has sparked a cost-of-living crisis, and the BoE's aggressive hikes since late 2021, when rates stood at just 0.10 percent.
Rate hikes have worsened Britain's cost-of-living squeeze because retail lenders follow suit by hiking the cost of repayments on mortgages and other loans.
- Resilient performance -
Economists said after the latest figures that the UK may avoid recession, defined as two successive quarters of contraction.
"The economy narrowly avoided contracting in the third quarter, and we continue to think that it can maintain this resilient performance in the fourth quarter," said Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at research consultancy Pantheon Macroeconomics.
"We continue to think that the chances of a recession look low."
UK inflation remained elevated in September, holding at 6.7 percent and stoking fear that interest rates could stay higher for longer.
It has slowed dramatically since hitting a 41-year peak of 11.1 percent in October 2022, when energy bills rocketed after key producer Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Th.Berger--AMWN