Norway has said it is willing to discuss a possible price cap on its natural gas, in a move that could help ease the energy crisis further. The Scandinavian country is Britain’s biggest supplier of natural gas, so any move to lower prices could reduce bills for households. Jonas Gahr Store, Prime Minister of Norway, said: “I fully understand that Europe is now having a deep discussion about how energy markets work, how they can ensure more affordable prices for citizens, families, industries, how this can be natural gas shortage after Putin’s aggression. handles.” He told the Financial Times: “Norway does not close the door to any such discussion.” But Mr Store said the EU needed to be careful not to adopt measures that ended up jeopardizing energy supplies ahead of winter.

5 things to start your day

  1. Britain to launch military satellites as China and Russia test hypersonic missiles Britain’s top defense company BAE Systems plans to launch a quartet of satellites into orbit.
  2. Four ways Liz Truss can pay for a £170bn energy bill gift Higher energy bills or higher taxes are some of her options.
  3. Volkswagen risks €85bn Porsche sale The German auto giant is seeking to raise cash for a shift to electric with non-voting floating shares in its prized sports car brand.
  4. Russia hunts microchips made by Welsh factory owner – Putin wants parts made by China’s Nexperia to replace weapons
  5. Scientists harness quantum technology to detect enemy submarines Experts at the Defense Science Technical Laboratory are experimenting with quantum clocks, using new technology they say could replace traditional timekeeping.

What happened in the night

Asian shares fell this morning as investors failed to find any cheer in strong US economic data and instead looked to what it could mean for a hawkish Federal Reserve, with a rising dollar weighing heavily on regional currencies . Trailing Wall Street’s losses, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.5 percent in early trade and Japan’s benchmark Nikkei average opened up 1.1 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.3% Its economic growth in the second quarter of this year accelerated. Shares in Hong Kong fell 1.4 percent with the main technology index losing 1.9 percent. China’s benchmark index fell 0.11% on concerns about new Covid restrictions in major mainland cities. Asian currencies fell against the dollar as US bond yields rose. The Japanese yen hit a fresh 24-year low of 143.57 per dollar and China’s yuan fell 0.3% to 6.96 against the dollar, nearing the psychologically important 7 mark.

It’s coming today

Corporate: Barratt Developments (full year results), Halfords, WH Smith (trading statements) Economics: GDP (EU), trade balance (US, China), Halifax house prices (UK)