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A London-bound passenger jet crashed in a residential area in the Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, killing at least 265 people on board and on the ground — but one passenger has miraculously survived.An AFP journalist saw bodies being recovered from the crash site, and the back of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — which had 242 passengers and crew on board — hanging over the edge of a building it hit around lunchtime.The government opened a formal investigation into the cause of the crash, and rescue teams worked into Friday morning scouring the charred wreckage with sniffer dogs.”The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after Air India’s flight 171 crashed following takeoff. “It is heartbreaking beyond words”.Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai told reporters said that “265 bodies have reached the hospital”.That suggests that at least 24 people died when the jet ploughed into a medical staff hostel in a blazing fireball — and that the toll may rise further as more bodies are located.- ‘Devastating’ -The AFP journalist saw a building ablaze after the crash, with thick black smoke billowing into the air, and a section of the plane on the ground.”One half of the plane crashed into the residential building where doctors lived with their families,” said Krishna, a doctor who did not give his full name.”The nose and front wheel landed on the canteen building where students were having lunch,” he said.Krishna said he saw “about 15 to 20 burnt bodies”, while he and his colleagues rescued around 15 students.India’s civil aviation authority said two pilots and 10 cabin crew were among the 242 people on board.Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London’s Gatwick airport.UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the scenes from the crash were “devastating”, while the country’s King Charles III said he was “desperately shocked”.- ‘Sole survivor’ -But while everyone aboard the flight was initially feared killed, state health official Dhananjay Dwivedi told AFP “one survivor is confirmed” and had been hospitalised.Air India said in a statement that the “sole survivor is being treated in a hospital”, adding that the “survivor is a British national of Indian origin”.The survivor is believed to be 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. India’s Home Minister Amit Shah told reporters he was speaking to them “after meeting him”.The BBC and Britain’s Press Association news agency spoke to Ramesh’s family members.”He said, ‘I have no idea how I exited the plane'”, his brother Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, told PA in the British city of Leicester.- ‘Devastating’ -The plane issued a mayday call and “crashed immediately after takeoff”, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.Ahmedabad, the main city of India’s Gujarat state, is home to around eight million people and the busy airport is surrounded by densely packed residential areas.”When we reached the spot, there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames,” resident Poonam Patni told AFP.”Many of the bodies were burned,” she said.The AFP journalist saw medics using a cart to load bodies into an ambulance, while a charred metal bed frame stood surrounded by burnt wreckage.US planemaker Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood “ready to support them” over the incident, which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner.The UK and US air accident investigation agencies announced they were dispatching teams to support their Indian counterparts.Tata Group, owners of Air India, offered financial aid of 10 million rupees ($117,000) to “the families of each person who has lost their life in this tragedy”, as well as funds to cover medical expenses of those injured.India has suffered a series of fatal air crashes, including a 1996 disaster when two jets collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing nearly 350 people.In 2010, an Air India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in southwest India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew on board.Experts said it was too early to speculate on what may have caused Thursday’s crash.”It is very unlikely that the plane was overweight or carrying too much fuel,” said Jason Knight, senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth.”The aircraft is designed to be able to fly on one engine, so the most likely cause of the crash is a double engine failure. The most likely cause of a double engine failure is a bird strike.”India’s airline industry has boomed in recent years with Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), last month calling it “nothing short of phenomenal”.The growth of its economy has made India and its 1.4 billion people the world’s fourth-largest air market — domestic and international — with IATA projecting it will become the third biggest within the decade.

The dollar plunged on Thursday after US President Donald Trump threatened higher unilateral tariffs on trade partners, and oil see-sawed as traders evaluated the probability behind reports that Israel could be gearing up to strike Iran.Stocks traded mixed as investors navigated the double whammy of returning trade uncertainty and geopolitical volatility, while Boeing’s share price slumped sharply in the wake of a deadly 787 Dreamliner crash in India.In New York, investors cheered benign US producer price data and a successful US Treasury auction that sent yields lower.But markets were leery after Trump on Wednesday said he would be sending letters within the next two weeks to other countries’ governments to announce unilateral US levies on their exports to America.”This is the deal, you can take it or leave it,” Trump told reporters.Investor unease about Trump’s trade rhetoric is “causing a little bit of selling,” said Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital Management.In the end, the S&P 500 finished up 0.4 percent after a see-saw session. All European stock markets finished lower, except London, which posted an uptick despite official data showing the UK economy shrank more than expected in April.The dollar was down against the euro, and at one point fell by more than one percent to its lowest point in three years against the European single currency.”Trump has done it again. The US president has rattled markets with fresh threats of unilateral tariff rates on several trading partners,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at FOREX.com.Markets were also following reports that Israel was poised to launch airstrikes on Iran.Trump called Thursday on Israel not to attack Iran, saying a deal on its nuclear program remained close.But Iran has ramped up rhetorical pressure before upcoming talks, including with a threat to strike American bases in the region if the negotiations break down and conflict erupts.Oil prices, which had initially jumped on Wednesday on the heightened tensions, flipped direction for much Thursday, finishing modestly lower.Back in New York, Boeing dropped nearly five percent after a London-bound Air India plane — a Boeing 787 —  crashed in Ahmedabad with 242 people aboard.The US planemaker declared itself ready to support Air India following the crash, the first involving a 787 Dreamliner.- Key figures at around 2015 GMT -New York – Dow:  UP 0.2 percent at 42,967.62 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 6,045.26 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 19,662.49 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,884.92 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,765.11 (close) Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.7 percent at 23,771.45 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 38,173.09 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 24,035.38 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,402.66 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1583 from $1.1487 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3605 from $1.3547Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.56 yen from 144.56 yenEuro/pound: UP at 85.11 pence from 84.79 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 $69.36 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $68.04 per barrel

A London-bound passenger jet crashed in a residential area in the Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, killing at least 260 people on board and on the ground — but one passenger is believed to have survived.An AFP journalist saw bodies being recovered from the crash site, and the back of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — which had 242 passengers and crew on board — hanging over the edge of a building it hit around lunchtime.The government opened a formal investigation into the cause of the crash, and rescue teams worked overnight scouring the charred wreckage with sniffer dogs.”The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after Air India’s flight 171 crashed following takeoff. “It is heartbreaking beyond words”.Police commissioner Vidhi Chaudhary said the number killed stood at 260 people, suggesting that at least 19 people died when the jet ploughed into a medical staff hostel in a blazing fireball.- ‘Devastating’ -But while everyone aboard the flight was initially feared killed, state health official Dhananjay Dwivedi told AFP “one survivor is confirmed” and had been hospitalised.The AFP journalist saw a building ablaze after the crash, with thick black smoke billowing into the air, and a section of the plane on the ground.”One half of the plane crashed into the residential building where doctors lived with their families,” said Krishna, a doctor who did not give his full name.”The nose and front wheel landed on the canteen building where students were having lunch,” he said.Krishna said he saw “about 15 to 20 burnt bodies”, while he and his colleagues rescued around 15 students.India’s civil aviation authority said there were 242 people aboard, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew.Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London’s Gatwick airport.UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the scenes from the crash were “devastating”, while the country’s King Charles III said he was “desperately shocked”.But one of the British passengers was reported to have walked out alive — with India’s Home Minister Amit Shah telling reporters he had heard the “good news of the survivor” and was speaking to them “after meeting him”.The BBC and Britain’s Press Association news agency spoke to family members of the reported survivor, 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh.”He said, I have no idea how I exited the plane”, his brother Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, told PA in the British city of Leicester.- ‘Devastating’ -The plane issued a mayday call and “crashed immediately after takeoff”, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.Ahmedabad, the main city of India’s Gujarat state, is home to around eight million people and the busy airport is surrounded by densely packed residential areas.”When we reached the spot, there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames,” resident Poonam Patni told AFP.”Many of the bodies were burned,” she said.The AFP journalist saw medics using a cart to load bodies into an ambulance, while a charred metal bed frame stood surrounded by burnt wreckage.US planemaker Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood “ready to support them” over the incident, which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner.The UK and US air accident investigation agencies announced they were dispatching teams to support their Indian counterparts.Tata Group, owners of Air India, offered financial aid of 10 million rupees ($117,000) to “the families of each person who has lost their life in this tragedy”, as well as funds to cover medical expenses of those injured.India has suffered a series of fatal air crashes, including a 1996 disaster when two jets collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing nearly 350 people.In 2010, an Air India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in southwest India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew on board.Experts said it was too early to speculate on what may have caused Thursday’s crash.”It is very unlikely that the plane was overweight or carrying too much fuel,” said Jason Knight, senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth.”The aircraft is designed to be able to fly on one engine, so the most likely cause of the crash is a double engine failure. The most likely cause of a double engine failure is a bird strike.”India’s airline industry has boomed in recent years with Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), last month calling it “nothing short of phenomenal”.The growth of its economy has made India and its 1.4 billion people the world’s fourth-largest air market — domestic and international — with IATA projecting it will become the third biggest within the decade.

A London-bound passenger plane crashed in the Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday leaving one known survivor from 242 on board, with the jet smashing into buildings housing doctors and their families.An AFP journalist saw bodies being recovered from the crash site, and the back of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner hanging over the edge of a building it hit around lunchtime.”The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after Air India’s flight 171 crashed following takeoff.The bodies of passengers and victims on the ground were among 204 recovered so far, city police commissioner GS Malik said, while medics were treating dozens who were injured in the city.While everyone aboard the flight was initially feared killed, state health official Dhananjay Dwivedi told AFP “one survivor is confirmed” and had been hospitalised.The AFP journalist saw a building ablaze after the crash, with thick black smoke billowing into the air, and a section of the plane on the ground.”One half of the plane crashed into the residential building where doctors lived with their families,” said Krishna, a doctor who did not give his full name.”The nose and front wheel landed on the canteen building where students were having lunch,” he said.Krishna said he saw “about 15 to 20 burnt bodies”, while he and his colleagues rescued around 15 students.India’s civil aviation authority said there were 242 people aboard, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London’s Gatwick airport.UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the scenes from the crash were “devastating”, while the country’s King Charles III said he was “desperately shocked”.- ‘Devastating’ -The plane issued a mayday call and “crashed immediately after takeoff”, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.Ahmedabad, the main city of India’s Gujarat state, is home to around eight million people and the busy airport is surrounded by densely packed residential areas.”When we reached the spot there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames,” resident Poonam Patni told AFP.”Many of the bodies were burned,” she said.The AFP journalist saw medics using a cart to load bodies into an ambulance, while a charred metal bed frame stood surrounded by burnt wreckage.The plane came down in an area between a hospital and the city’s Ghoda Camp neighbourhood.The airport was shut, with all flights “suspended until further notice”, its operator said.US planemaker Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood “ready to support them” over the incident, which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner.The UK and US air accident investigation agencies announced they were each dispatching teams to support their Indian counterparts.The airline’s chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said an emergency centre had been set up with a support team for families seeking information.Tata Group, owners of Air India, offered financial aid of 10 million rupees ($117,000) to “the families of each person who has lost their life in this tragedy”, as well as promising to cover the medical expenses of those injured.India has suffered a series of fatal air crashes, including a 1996 disaster when two jets collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing nearly 350 people.In 2010, an Air India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in southwest India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew on board.Experts said it was too early to speculate on what may have caused Thursday’s crash.”It is very unlikely that the plane was overweight or carrying too much fuel,” said Jason Knight, senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth.”The aircraft is designed to be able to fly on one engine, so the most likely cause of the crash is a double engine failure. The most likely cause of a double engine failure is a bird strike.”India’s airline industry has boomed in recent years with Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), last month calling it “nothing short of phenomenal”.The growth of its economy has made India and its 1.4 billion people the world’s fourth-largest air market — domestic and international — with IATA projecting it will become the third biggest within the decade.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed in India on Thursday is the pride of the US company’s catalogue for long-distance planes: a fuel-efficient, wide-body aircraft able to transport up to 330 people.- Lightweight -After first entering service in October 2011, with Japan’s All Nippon Airways, 2,598 of the planes have been ordered by more than 80 airlines around the world, with 889 still awaiting delivery.Its appeal is its lightweight structure, half of which is made from composite materials, allowing it to burn up to 20 percent less fuel over long distances than older, equivalent-sized passenger planes.It can be used for “point-to-point” services, meaning it can fly direct to a destination instead of relying on a “hub” system used by heavier aircraft.Boeing says the use of the 787 has opened up 180 such “point-to-point” routes, more than the 80 initially banked upon.- Three versions -There are currently three versions of the 787: the 787-8, which can carry up to 248 passengers over distances up to 13,530 kilometres (8,400 miles); the 787-9, carrying up to 296 passengers up to 14,010 kilometres; and the 787-10, with up to 330 passengers, up to 11,910 kilometres.The one that went down in Ahmedabad, India on Thursday was the 787-8 version, carrying 242 passengers and crew. It was scheduled to fly to London, but crashed shortly after taking off from the western Indian city.Boeing said it was “aware” of the reports of of the crash and was “working to gather more information”.It was the first deadly crash of a 787 Dreamliner.- Boeing setbacks -Boeing’s programme for the plane had suffered several setbacks, including repeated and costly delivery suspensions between 2021 and 2023, mainly due to assembly faults and manufacturing quality issues.The US Federal Aviation Administration ended up reinforcing quality assurance checks and inspections on the production lines.In April this year, the FAA authorised Boeing to step up its production pace to make seven planes a month, from five previously.In terms of sales, Boeing is facing headwinds.The manufacturer did not deliver any aircraft to China in May, despite having a green light from Beijing, which the month before had temporarily barred Chinese airlines from dealing with the company because of the trade war unleashed by Washington.

A London-bound passenger plane crashed Thursday in a residential area of the Indian city of Ahmedabad, with all 242 people on board believed killed.An AFP journalist saw people recovering bodies and firefighters trying to douse the smouldering wreckage after the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner smashed into a building.”The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after Air India’s flight 171 crashed after takeoff.City police commissioner GS Malik told AFP there “appears to be no survivor in the crash”. “And since the airplane has fallen on an area which was residential and had some offices, there are more casualties as well,” he added.”Our office is near the building where the plane crashed. We saw people from the building jumping from the second and third floor to save themselves. The plane was in flames,” said one resident, who declined to be named.India’s civil aviation authority said there were 242 people aboard, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London Gatwick.UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the scenes from the crash were “devastating”, in a statement addressing passengers and their families “at this deeply distressing time.” The plane issued a mayday call and “crashed immediately after takeoff” outside the airport perimeter, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.Ahmedabad, the main city of India’s Gujarat state, is home to around eight million people, and the busy airport is surrounded by densely packed residential areas. “When we reached the spot there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames,” resident Poonam Patni told AFP. “Many of the bodies were burned,” she added.An AFP journalist saw medics using a cart to load bodies into an ambulance, while a charred metal bed frame stood surrounded by burnt wreckage. A photograph published by India’s Central Industrial Security Force, a national security agency, showed the back of the plane rammed into a building.The plane came down in an area between Ahmedabad civil hospital and the city’s Ghoda Camp neighbourhood.- ‘Devastating’ -Aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu directed “all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action.””Rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site,” he added. The airport was shut with all flights “suspended until further notice”, the operator said.US planemaker Boeing said it was “working to gather more information” on the incident which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner. Air India ordered 100 more Airbus planes last year after a giant contract in 2023 for 470 aircraft — 250 Airbus and 220 Boeing. The airline’s chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said an emergency centre has been activated and a support team set up for families seeking information.”Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event,” he said.India has suffered a series of fatal air crashes, including a 1996 disaster when two jets collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing nearly 350 people.In 2010 an Air India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in southwest India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew on board.India’s airline industry has boomed in recent years with Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), last month calling growth “nothing short of phenomenal”.The growth of its economy has made India and its 1.4 billion people the world’s fourth-largest air market — domestic and international — with IATA projecting it will become the third biggest within the decade.India’s domestic air passenger traffic reached a milestone last year by “surpassing 500,000 passengers in a single day”, according to India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Air India’s London-bound flight 171 that crashed on Thursday with 242 people on board was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, part of India’s bold push to radically expand its air industry sector.The growth of its economy has made India and its 1.4 billion people the world’s fourth-largest air market — domestic and international — with IATA projecting it will become the third biggest within the decade.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who called the crash “heartbreaking beyond words”,  has made the development of the air sector a priority since coming to power in 2014.Modi, who has said he wants to “bring air travel to the common people”, began a plan in 2016 to boost air links between small towns and megacities in the world’s most populous nation.”A common man who travels in slippers should also be seen in the aircraft — this is my dream,” Modi was quoted as saying by the aviation ministry at the time.Air India, the country’s former national carrier, was taken over by the Tata Group in 2022.The sprawling salt-to-software conglomerate has since sought to turn around the airline by ordering new aircraft and upgrading its existing fleet.The airline currently operates a fleet of over 190 planes, according to latest available data on its website, including 58 Boeing aircraft. Over the last two years it has placed orders for 570 new aircraft.In September 2024, Air India kicked off a $400 million refit programme to revamp 67 legacy aircraft in its fleet.The airline’s global network spans 31 countries across five continents, connecting India with destinations in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.The airline says it operates about 5,000 flights a week “to and from 49 destinations within India and 43 destinations outside of India”.Domestic air passengers have more than doubled in the past decade, according to government figures, as Indian airlines quickly ramp up their fleets. This has partly helped the number of airports more than double in the past decade — from 74 in 2014 to 157 in 2024, according to ministry figures. The government is pouring in millions of dollars and is promising to increase the number of airports to between 350 and 400 by 2047, the centenary of India’s independence.At the same time, the government has opened programmes to train some 30,000 pilots and at least as many mechanics over the next 20 years.

Stock markets and the dollar retreated Thursday after US President Donald Trump threatened higher unilateral tariffs on partners in the coming weeks, reigniting trade war fearsHis comments overshadowed any optimism that came from the United States and China reaching a deal this week to dial down tensions. The dollar slumped one percent against the euro, while oil prices slid on profit-taking, after having surged Wednesday.Geopolitical concerns were also weighing on sentiment after Trump said US personnel were being moved from the Middle East, as nuclear talks with Iran faltered and fears of a regional conflict grew.Asia’s main stock markets mostly closed down, while eurozone indices led losses in Europe.On the corporate front, shares in British carrier easyJet and British Airways owner IAG fell almost four percent, following news that a London-bound Air India plane — a Boeing 787 — had crashed in Ahmedabad. Ahead of Wall Street reopening, Boeing said it was “working to gather more information”.Markets were firmly focused on Trump’s latest move over tariffs.”Mainland European markets are being hit hard… amid growing concerns that we could soon see the trade war break out once again,” said Joshua Mahoney, chief market analyst at broker Rostro. Trump shook confidence on Wednesday by saying he would soon send letters telling governments what levies Washington would be imposing.”We’re going to be sending letters out in about a week and a half, two weeks, to countries, telling them what the deal is,” he told reporters.”This is the deal, you can take it or leave it,” he added.The US had paused until July 9 reciprocal levies imposed on many trading partners at the start of April, to allow countries to cut deals with the White House.This had sparked a relief rally for stocks.But Trump’s latest comments revived fears about sky-high levies and the impact on the economy. Trump has already threatened 50-percent levies on the EU once the July 9 deadline passes.Outside the eurozone, London managed to limit losses even as official data showed the UK economy shrank more than expected in April, as tariffs kicked in.Trump’s renewed threat to hammer trading partners’ exports came not long after US and China reached a tentative deal that would increase Chinese exports of rare earths while allowing Chinese students to remain in American universities.Wall Street struggled on Wednesday as trade worries overshadowed another below-forecast inflation reading that provided fresh speculation the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.Oil prices slid 1.5 percent Thursday, having surged Wednesday when Trump said US personnel were being moved from the potentially “dangerous” Middle East as Iran nuclear talks stutter.The move came as US reports suggested Israel could be preparing to strike targets in Iran, and as Tehran threatened to target US military bases in the region if a regional conflict broke out.Trump, who had recently expressed optimism about the talks with Iran, said in an interview published Wednesday that he was “less confident”.- Key figures at around 1050 GMT -London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,851.96 pointsParis – CAC 40: DOWN 0.7 percent at 7,723.01 Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 1.0 percent at 23,709.01Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 38,173.09 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 24,035.38 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,402.66 (close)New York – Dow: FLAT at 42,865.77 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1596 from $1.1489 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3591 from $1.3545Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.54 yen from 144.62 yenEuro/pound: UP at 85.35 pence from 84.79 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.5 percent at $67.13 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.5 percent at $68.75 per barrel

Myanmar’s economy is set to shrink 2.5 percent in the 2025/26 financial year, largely as a result of March’s devastating magnitude-7.7 earthquake, the World Bank said on Thursday.The country’s economy had already been battered by four years of brutal civil war when the March 28 tremor hit, killing nearly 3,800 people and destroying swathes of homeS and businesses.A World Bank report predicted GDP will contract 2.5 percent in the financial year ending in March 2026 “mostly due to earthquake impacts”, with output $2 billion lower than it would have been without the disaster.”Production across all sectors has been disrupted by factory closures, supply chain constraints, labour shortages, and damage to infrastructure,” said a World Bank statement.The tremor also inflicted an estimated $11 billion of damage, equivalent to 14 percent of GDP, according to the report.Myanmar’s sparsely populated administrative capital Naypyidaw and the second-largest city of Mandalay were the worst impacted by the quake.The World Bank predicted both regions would suffer from output slashed by a third between April and September, before being buoyed by reconstruction efforts in the second half of the financial year.”The earthquake caused significant loss of life and displacement, while exacerbating already difficult economic conditions, further testing the resilience of Myanmar’s people,” said Melinda Good, World Bank division director for Thailand and Myanmar.Myanmar’s military seized power in a 2021 coup which sparked a many-sided civil war between its troops, pro-democracy guerillas and ethnic armed groups which have long held sway in the country’s fringes.While the military and some of its adversaries have pledged a ceasefire throughout this month to spur aid efforts, intense combat has continued in locations across the country.The fighting has eviscerated Myanmar’s economy. Inflation for the year up to April 2025 was estimated at 34.1 percent, the World Bank report said.More than three million people are currently displaced in the country and the World Bank said 2024’s poverty rate was estimated at over 30 percent.

Investors were rattled on Thursday after Donald Trump said he would impose unilateral tariffs on partners in the next two weeks, reigniting trade war fears soon after reaching a deal with China to dial down tensions between the superpowers.The mood was also shaded by geopolitical concerns after the US president said personnel were being moved from the Middle East as nuclear talks with Iran faltered and fears of a regional conflict grew.The equity losses snapped a recent rally fuelled by talks between Beijing and Washington in London that saw them hammer out a framework agreement to move towards a pact to reduce levies.Investors have been on edge since Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff blitz on April 2 that sent shockwaves through stock and bond markets and stoked global recession fears.Days later he announced a pause in those measures until July 9 to allow for countries to cut deals with the White House, sparking relief rallies that have pushed some markets towards all-time highs.However, he once again shook confidence by saying on Wednesday that he intended to send letters telling governments what levies Washington would be imposing.”We’re going to be sending letters out in about a week-and-a-half, two weeks, to countries, telling them what the deal is,” he told reporters.”At a certain point, we’re just going to send letters out. And I think you understand that, saying this is the deal, you can take it or leave it.”While some analysts indicated that previous threats had been rowed back, the comments added to the ongoing uncertainty about Trump’s policies, reviving fears about sky-high levies and the impact on the economy.They also came not long after he had flagged the London agreement, and posted on social media that “President Xi and I are going to work closely together to open up China to American Trade”, referring to his counterpart Xi Jinping.Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management said: “Whether this is a hardball negotiation tactic or a pressure valve reset ahead of another 90-day extension is anyone’s guess — but traders are reading it as another layer of headline risk.”The market knows the Trump playbook: bark, delay, then deal. But the closer we get to the cliff’s edge, the more likely someone slips.”- Rate cut speculation -Most Asian markets fell on Thursday, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Wellington, Sydney, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta in the red after a broadly healthy run-up this week. London was flat as data showed the UK economy shrank more than expected in April, while Paris and Frankfurt fell.There were gains in Singapore, Seoul and Wellington. Shanghai was barely moved.The weak performance followed losses on Wall Street, where trade worries overshadowed another below-forecast inflation reading that provided fresh speculation the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.Oil prices slipped more than one percent after Wednesday’s surge that came after Trump said US personnel were being moved from the potentially “dangerous” Middle East as Iran nuclear talks stutter.The move came as Tehran threatened to target US military bases in the region if a regional conflict broke out.The US president said the staff were “being moved out because it could be a dangerous place”.”We’ve given notice to move out and we’ll see what happens.”With regard to Iran, he added: “They can’t have a nuclear weapon, very simple. We’re not going to allow that.” Trump had until recently expressed optimism about the talks, but said in an interview published on Wednesday that he was “less confident”.- Key figures at around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 38,173.09 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 24,035.38 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,402.66 (close)London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 8,863.25Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1522 from $1.1489 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3541 from $1.3545Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.95 yen from 144.62 yenEuro/pound: UP at 85.09 pence from 84.79 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.3 percent at $67.29 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.3 percent at $68.84 per barrelNew York – Dow: FLAT at 42,865.77 (close)