BLOOMBERG  Hungary’s central bank unexpectedly signalled its first potential step towards cutting the European Union’s highest key interest rate, with policymakers pointing to an outlook of rapidly slowing inflation. The forint dropped against the euro. Deputy Governor Barnabas Virag caught investors by surprise after months of pushing back against government pressure to lower the 18% key interest rate to aid …

BLOOMBERG Bitcoin dropped back below the closely watched $30,000 level amid a wider retreat in the cryptocurrencies, as stubbornly high inflation in the UK fanned fears of higher-for-longer interest rates. The largest token fell 4.5% before paring some of the slide to trade at about $29,175 in London. Ether shed 6% and smaller tokens like Solana and Avalanche suffered steeper declines. …

BLOOMBERG US equity futures retreated along with European stocks and bond yields rose as traders assessed the latest corporate earnings reports against the backdrop of yet another hot inflation print from one of the world’s major economies. Contracts on the rates-sensitive Nasdaq 100 fell about 0.8%, while those on the S&P 500 were down 0.5%. Morgan Stanley gained in premarket …