Doloresz Katanich

A consortium led by Airbus has proposed developing a next-generation fighter jet after the collapse of a high-profile Franco-German warplane programme, one of the companies involved told the AFP news agency on Tuesday.

Global stock markets fell on Wednesday, extending a volatile week driven by concerns about rising inflation, potential U.S. interest rate hikes, and escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Doloresz Katanich 4 min read Asian shares mostly retreated on Wednesday after a sell-off in technology stocks on Wall Street, while oil prices climbed following fresh US airstrikes against Iran.

A new German-led fighter jet initiative is taking shape following the collapse of Europe's Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme.

An Airbus-led alliance of eight defence firms will launch Team Gen 6 in Berlin, a German-backed sixth-generation fighter jet project intended to replace the collapsed Franco-German-Spanish FCAS programme, AFP reports.

Annual inflation accelerated to 4.2% in May, driven largely by higher fuel costs, as rising prices continue to weigh on household budgets and cloud the Federal Reserve's interest-rate outlook.

A sharp rise in fuel costs pushed US inflation to its fastest annual pace in three years in May, according to data published on Wednesday, strengthening the case for the Federal Reserve to keep borrowing costs higher for longer.

Investors are bracing for an ECB rate hike on Thursday. Markets expect the European Central Bank to raise rates by 25 basis points, which could weigh on growth and corporate earnings.

Rising housing costs are putting the right to adequate housing increasingly out of reach for many Europeans, according to the Vienna-based European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).

The increased cost of living is weighing on Europeans' rights, an EU agency said in a report published Thursday, citing rising housing costs that are making people homeless.