berlinvolkswagen ag said monday that it would list its iconic sports car maker porsche ag in one of the biggest initial public offerings in years and a crucial test of investors confidence as high inflation and the war in ukraine put a damper on the global economy the offering could value porsche at as much as 85 billion euros equivalent to 84 billion according to analyst estimates injecting fresh cash into vws coffers that executives say will help the company bankroll its transition to electric vehicles and selfdriving cars deutsche lufthansa ag will continue negotiations with its pilot union to avert a strike that would cause massive disruptions to flights the german airline said tuesday the pilot union vereinigung cockpit called for a strike for sept 7 and 8 plus another one until sept 9 for lufthansa cargo after it said that the airline didnt submit a new offer in response to demands a 75basispoint ecb interest rate rise in sept is the right size at right time bny mellon im says a 75basispoint interest rate rise by the european central bank on thursday will be the appropriate size and timing if the ecb wants to benefit from the window of opportunity to lower core inflation lale akoner senior market strategist at bny mellon investment management told dow jones newswires in an interview the eurozone august core inflation data at an alltime high of 43 actually stamps an interest rate hike of 75bps this week she said uk retail sales slowed in august compared with the prior month amid weak backtoschool spending and a slowdown in clothing sales according to the latest british retail consortium and kpmg report retail sales rose 05 in august on a likeforlike basis compared with an increase of 15 in august 2021 the report said in july retail sales rose 16 on a likeforlike basis the report noted sydneyrio tinto plc said it has entered a binding agreement with turquoise hill resources ltd to acquire the remaining shares in the mongoliafocused copper miner that it doesnt already own rio tinto said turquoise hills independent directors had unanimously recommended its cash offer of 4300 canadian dollars us3272 per share for all shares outstanding it previously offered c4000 per share windfall taxes are the latest hit on europes banks european banks have started to reap higher profits from rising interest ratesand governments are already starting to clamp down on them in spain the government has laid out plans to tax lenders on their rising income and use the money to alleviate higher living costs for the population hungary has imposed a similar measure and the czech republic where inflation is above 17 is also considering such a move in poland where mortgages carry variable rates that are quickly rising the government placed a moratorium on repayments to help borrowers financial pain is spreading in the junkloan market showing how interestrate increases are hurting debtladen companies and worrying investors that a credit crunch looms as the economy slows defaults on socalled leveraged loans hit 6 billion in august the highest monthly total since october 2020 when pandemic shutdowns hobbled the us economy according to fitch ratings the figure represents a fraction of the sprawling loan market which doubled over the past decade to about 15 trillion but more defaults are coming analysts say investors are pouring into us stocks to avoid greater turbulence overseas investors around the world are piling into us stocks even as they brace for the prospect of a rocky autumn because they say theres nowhere better to shelter from the turbulence in global markets skyrocketing inflation worries about a potential recession russias invasion of ukraine rising energy prices and new covid19 outbreaks have rattled everything from stocks to bonds to commodity prices this year sydneyaustralia forecast another bumper wheat crop following aboveaverage rainfall on its east coast but supply chain bottlenecks could limit its ability to export more and ease concerns about global food security russias invasion of ukraine pushed up wheat prices to record levels earlier this year and led some big producers including india to ban exports higher wheat prices have added to inflationary pressures threatening the global economic recovery from the covid19 pandemic rba delivers another big rate increase warns of more to come sydneythe reserve bank of australia delivered a fourth consecutive 50basispoint rise in official interest rates to combat inflation while warning that further increases remain in the pipe the rba raised the official cash rate to 235 from 185 after a policy meeting earlier tuesday since may it has announced 225 basis points of increases the fastest pace of policy tightening in nearly 30 years ukraine warns of risks to nuclear plant ahead of un inspectors report kharkiv ukraineukrainian president volodymyr zelensky warned that the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was again in jeopardy after shelling disconnected it from the grid ahead of the release of a report by united nations inspectors mr zelensky was speaking as the international atomic energy agency prepared to publish a report tuesday following its visit to the plant last week ukraines energy operator said on monday that a fire caused by russian shelling effectively disconnected the plant from ukraines electricity gridthe latest in a series of incidents that have raised international concerns about a nuclear accident boris johnson bows out as uk prime minister ending a tumultuous three years in office londonboris johnson officially ends his threeyear tenure on tuesday by tendering his resignation to queen elizabeth ii in scotland closing out one of the most tumultuous periods in office for a uk prime minister in recent history the voluble british leader will be replaced by the current foreign secretary liz truss who won a twomonth battle to replace mr johnson after he resigned following a party revolt in early july hong kongrescuers cleared roads to reach survivors of the most powerful earthquake to hit chinas southwestern sichuan province in five years with the death toll rising to 66 and adding to the troubles of a region already hit by drought scorching heat and covid19 as of tuesday afternoon 15 people were missing and 253 were injured staterun peoples daily cited local officials as saying write to us at newslettersdowjonescom we offer an enhanced version of this briefing that is optimized for viewing on mobile devices and sent directly to your email inbox if you would like to sign up please go to httpsnewspluswsjcomsubscriptions this article is a text version of a wall street journal newsletter published earlier today