Reuters World News - Tumbling markets, Bangladesh violence, UK disorder and life after wrongful detention

Episode Date: August 5, 2024

Stock markets have fallen as fears of a US recession send investors fleeing from risk while wagering that rate cuts will be needed to rescue growth. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is holding an emergency meeting with police chiefs after days of violent anti-immigration protests intensified. Jason Rezaian, a journalist who was released from Iran in 2016 after being wrongfully detained, tell us the mental and bureaucratic challenges facing the prisoners released in an exchange with Russia last week.  Find our recommended read here. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, markets tumble over fears the United States could be heading for recession. Violent disorder hits major cities across England and Northern Ireland. And a journalist held in Iran for more than a year tells us the challenges facing those who are freed as part of the Russia prisoner swap. It's Monday, August 5th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes every weekday. I'm Tara Oaks in Liverpool. First to those big negative figures on the markets in Asia and Europe. The falls have been sparked by fears of a slowdown in the US economy,

off the back of Friday's weaker than expected jobs data. Plus, the yen has been strengthening against the US dollar since the Bank of Japan raised interest rates last week. Amanda Cooper covers the markets from London. Amanda, what's happening here? We've seen Japanese stocks today. get hit particularly hard. At one point, the NICA tumbled by as much as it did, the day after Black Monday in October 1987, so very, very dramatic moves there. That is going down to what's

happening with interest rates in Japan. And a lot of people that had sold the Japanese currency in order to buy things with better returns. So it could be US tech stocks, it could be Mexican government bonds, could be any manner of things that yield some kind of return, are now starting to unwind those bets. So you've got a number of things here. You've got right. Geopolitical risk rising, people are bit nervous. Earnings not exactly stellar but not terrible either.

Decent beats, but not quite enough for investors to feel like these kind of valuations and the likes of the magnificent seven of big, the seven biggest companies in the S&P 500, the likes of Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, Microsoft are justified. And then the interest rate picture that is starting to spark moves in one pocket. to the market that's rippling through to others, if that makes sense. Is an emergency cut in rates by the Fed possible? I think it would be a bit unusual to see the Fed step in with an emergency rate cut when the economy isn't doing badly.

Friday's employment report, which is what has added to this kind of what feels like a bit of a snowball effect, came in weaker than expected, but didn't exactly paint a picture of an economy in recession, of massive job losses. it just came in a bit softer, which was sort of what was expected. So I think it would be highly unusual for the central bank to actually come in and cut rates. What we are seeing is people increasing their bets, if you will, their expectation that the Fed will cut rates by a lot more when it meets in September than we'd anticipated really just a week ago. I utterly condemn the far-right thuggery we've seen this weekend.

Britain's Prime Minister, Kirstama, at least. to a weekend of violent anti-immigration protests. Here in Liverpool, I was on the waterfront on Saturday as hundreds of anti-racism protesters marched to meet an anti-immigration demonstration. The two groups were separated by lines of police outside the iconic Liva building, where just last week hundreds had gathered to celebrate pride.

The anti-racism marchers calling the anti-immigrant protesters Nazi scum, who in turn threatened violence. Violence which then erupted along the nearby streets, as the anti-immigration protesters fought a running battle with police, hurling bricks and bottles and shouting, save our kids. The protests were prompted by the killing of three girls in a knife attack at a dance class in Southport. In Liverpool, it feels very close to home. Southport is just 20 miles up the coast.

And it's in a Liverpool court that the suspect has been charged, A 17-year-old boy, police say, was born in Britain. But the murders have been seized on by anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim groups as misinformation spread that the suspected attacker was an immigrant and a radical Islamist. On Friday night, hundreds of people with placards, including Nams against Nazis, gathered around Liverpool's Abdullah-Quilion mosque, which claims to be Britain's oldest to fend off a rumoured attack by far-eye protesters. In the end, a few dozen anti-Islam protesters turned up

and were offered food and even hugs by Imam Adam Kellick, who later posted this on social media. We built some bridges tonight, and it was a very positive experience. A far cry from Saturday's violence, which was mirrored across the country, including in one town, an attempt by protesters to break into a hotel that housed asylum seekers. Stama is set to hold an emergency meeting with police chiefs.

later today. To Bangladesh and a fast-moving story, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigning according to an army source. That source also says she has fled the country. Over the last month, dozens of people have been killed in some of the worst violence seen in Bangladesh since the country was formed more than five decades ago. You can follow the latest at Reuters.com or on the Reuters app. Vice President Kamala Harris has conducted interviews with three more candidates for her running mate. Minnesota Governor Tim Walts, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro met with her on Sunday. Harris is expected to announce her choice as early as today.

Her first public appearance with the vice presidential nominee will be on Tuesday in Philadelphia. Hurricane Debbie is heading to Florida's Gulf Coast with warnings of life-threat, threatening storm surges. 3,000 National Guard troops have been called in, and most of the state, cities and counties are under emergency orders. Alerts are in place for severe flooding in Georgia and South Carolina as well as the storm moves north during the week. Ukrainian pilots have started flying F-16s for operations,

with President Volodymyr Zelensky confirming their long-awaited arrival. Speaking, as two of the jets flew overhead, he said more training support from the West is needed. the West is needed, as Ukraine still does not have enough pilots to fly the F-16s. At the Olympics in Paris, Noah Lyles says a call to his therapist just before the 100-metres final helped him snatch a dramatic victory. He won gold by 5,000th of a second, having been behind for much of the race. The final is being described as the greatest of all time, with all eight men finishing within 0.12 seconds of the gold medal.

Last place would have been good enough for fourth at the Tokyo Games. Celebrations and tears of joy at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Friday with the arrival back of four US residents after the huge prisoner swap with Russia. But after the jubilation comes the impact of a return home and adjusting to the dramatic change. The part of it that nobody expects is that you can't return to the life that you had before, right? That's not possible. It doesn't exist anymore.

Washington Post reporter Jason Rezion, who spent more than a year and a half in Iranian jail, was released in a prisoner swap in 2016. We reached out to him to find out from his own experience what the former prisoners might face in the weeks and months ahead. First and foremost, they're being monitored and screens for any physical health ailments. that need immediate attention. And then the psychological work begins.

When you come home, there are bureaucratic needs, right? You know, if you've been away for an extended period of time, your driver's license might have expired. Your passport, your insurance needs to be reconnected, right? Recovery is not a straight line. And when you are confronted with small aggravation, after going through such a horrific ordeal, it has the potential to derail you for a while.

Touchdown at Andrews Air Force base and the embrace with the president and the vice president and the photo ops, that's the end of the story for most people. And for these people coming home, I'm here to tell you it's actually just the beginning of the story, the story of the rest of their lives. Before we go, today's recommended read is a very important. recommended view. Check out the incredible photos of Europe's most active volcano, Mount

Etna, erupting. We'll put a link to the best ones in the pod description. And for more on any of the stories from today, check out reuters.com or the Reuters app. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show. And to never miss an episode, subscribe on your favorite podcast player.