Happy morning, Munchers!

Friday's in! We're on the home stretch before we can blissfully sleep in all weekend.

As always, here is your daily dose of the news that matters, from Wall Street to Dalal Street - in 5 minutes and 6 seconds.

Let’s dive in.

Story Roundup

1 - UK inflation outpaces forecasts, surges to 40-year high. 🔥

Periods of double-digit inflation are very rare in the UK.

We are living through one of them. Headline inflation in Britain came in at 10.1% for July - higher than the 9.4% in June.

This brings overall inflation to a 40-year high and paves the way for quite some economic tightening by the Bank of England.

The price of goods leaving factories surged 17% - highest in 45 years - and 9 of 12 categories of goods rose strongly.

However, oil prices are coming down and it looks like the UK is tackling food inflation well.Red, red hot. 🥵

2 - Turkey cuts interest rates despite 80% inflation. 🤨

Forget being asleep at the wheel - some people don't know they're in a car.

The Turkish central bank has surprised markets by cutting their benchmark interest rate.

They slashed rates from 14% to 13% - saying they were concerned about "slowing economic growth".

Inflation in Turkey is at 79.6% - and the central bank's unorthodox policy is doing no favours.

Wild stuff. 💀

3 - Meme stock mania pops as BBBY plummets 67%. 📉

This year's meme stock saga seems to be over - as Bed, Bath and Beyond's shares tumbled over 67% over Thursday.

One of the company's largest shareholders sold a stake of 12% - worth about $530m before the crash.

This sharp return to reality echoes the throes of last year's crash - as some frenzied trading saw some life-changing profits being made.

If you scroll around on Reddit's WallStreetBets subreddit, you'll find that there's been quite a few life-changing losses being made too.

4 - Germany slashes gas taxes & gives consumers breathing room. 😤

Germany wants to soften the blow of an energy crisis.

They plan to cut taxes on natural gas sales from 19% to 7% from October.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants the people of Germany to know that "you'll never walk alone" - saying that gas suppliers should pass this tax cut fully on to their customers.

Authorities aim to cut usage by 20% to avoid a situation where they have to start rationing gas supplies. Reducing taxes is going to make that goal more difficult.

Short term gain, long term pain? 🤔

5 - Indian govt cuts windfall tax on domestic crude. 🛢️

The Indian government has cut taxes on domestic crude from Rs 17,750/tonne to Rs 13,000/tonne.

It comes as a relief for oil producers such as ONGC and Vedanta - who've seen their stock prices shaken up by previous tax increases.

This reduction in taxes looks key as India's trade deficit surged to a record high amid a weak Rupee and elevated commodity prices.

If taxes are cut, Indian crude is now cheaper to foreign buyers. This means exports should go up and the deficit should start narrowing.

Uncharted territory. 💀

Have an amazing Friday, and go easy on the partying. 😏

Hope you enjoyed this issue of the Market Munch. If you have any feedback, positive or negative, hit my line at [email protected] or +971 50 708 8469.

Cheers.

- A