Shipping giant’s warning stokes renewed fears of world recession

Autumn sales rise at Next warms hopes for the High Street

- ECONOMICS Simon Hunt

FEARS of an imminent global recession deepened today when shipping freight giant Maersk sounded the alarm on dwindling demand for its containers amid the European energy crisis and sky-high inflation.

The Norwegian firm, often considered a bellwether for international trade, warned of "plenty of dark clouds on the horizon" as it slashed its forecast for global container demand for 2022 as a whole to a fall of 2-4% against last year.

The warning comes as former Bank of England governor Mark Carney also said he feared a widespread recession was unavoidable.

Speaking at the Hong Kong finance summit this morning, Carney said: "We're headed for a global recession," adding the trajectory for the economy was like trying to get a flight during the pandemic: "You know where you're going, you just don't know when you'll get there." The growing fears about a global slump came ahead of the latest US interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve this evening. It is expected to order a further 0.75% increase in borrowing costs, making it more likely that the world's biggest economy will tip into recession. The Bank of England will make its decision on rates also expected to a be a 0.75% increase tomorrow.