Key Financial and Geopolitical Events Amid Iran War Tensions

The Bank of England is not expected to raise interest rates on Thursday, despite inflation rising to 3.3% last week amid the Iran war. City economists anticipate borrowing costs will remain unchanged.

Pakistan's central bank surprised markets by hiking its key policy rate 100 basis points to 11.5% to combat inflation from the Middle East conflict. The committee cited risks from global energy prices, freight, insurance, and supply disruptions, expecting inflation above target in coming quarters.

Shell has agreed to buy Canada's ARC Resources for $13.6bn in cash and shares, adding 370,000 barrels a day of low-carbon shale output in the Montney basin. CEO Wael Sawan called it a high-quality asset strengthening Shell's Canadian footprint.

Intel shares surged over 23% on Friday to surpass their 2000 dot-com peak, driven by AI demand. Analyst Jim Reid warns of volatility in tech stocks, noting it took 26 years for recovery while the S&P 500 rose significantly.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains low at seven vessels in 24 hours, down from 140 pre-war, as US-Iran talks stall.

Oil prices rose 2.5% to over $108 a barrel due to lack of US-Iran peace progress, despite a new Tehran proposal to reopen Hormuz.

UK retail sales darkened in April per CBI survey, with volumes below norms and expected to worsen. A net 32% reported poor sales, linked to war-hit confidence.

The pound hit a one-week high of $1.355 against the dollar as investors eye Fed chair change with Kevin Warsh's Senate vote cleared.

BASF raised prices 25% on plastic stabilizers, following a 20% hike, blaming war-driven raw material, energy, and logistics costs.

China blocked Meta's $2bn acquisition of AI startup Manus, citing risks to national tech base.

Moody's lifted China's debt outlook to stable from negative, affirming A1 rating due to resilient exports and policy support.