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Wheat swung between gains and losses after a weekend in which top exporter Russia experienced an armed uprising

China set its daily reference rate for the yuan at a stronger-than-expected level to slow its slide, as

PwC’s decision to sell its scandal-plagued government services business in Australia has done little to ease its troubles

Japan’s impressive stock rally may cool in the second half of this year as the highly cyclical market

Investors are conceding that the Federal Reserve is now intensely focused on fighting inflation and less concerned about

The yen is nearing levels that will likely prompt Japan to again jump in and defend the currency,

Vladimir Putin managed to avert an attack on Moscow with an eleventh-hour deal with his mutinous mercenary commander.

Losses in Chinese assets are mounting again as Beijing’s modest stimulus disheartens investors. The Hang Seng China Enterprises

The UK government is stepping up efforts to tame soaring inflation by threatening both a crackdown on corporate

An attempted uprising by Russian mercenary fighters has revealed cracks in Vladimir Putin's authority, a top US official has said. The mutiny by the Wagner Group, which saw its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin order his troops to march on Moscow, left the Russian president hiding from public view on Sunday after being forced into an amnesty deal. Though the astonishing revolt was short-lived, with mercenary fighters withdrawing under the agreement that saw Mr Prigozhin exiled to Belarus, it has raised questions about Mr Putin’s grip on power. Mr Putin has not commented publicly since the deal was struck to de-escalate one of the biggest challenges since he rose to power more than two decades ago. He said he was giving top priority to the conflict in Ukraine in excerpts from an interview aired by state television on Sunday, but it appeared to have been recorded before the mutiny. Speaking on Sunday, US secretary of state Anthony Blinken said the revolt was a “direct challenge of Putin’s authority”. Mr Blinken said the turmoil has weakened Mr Putin in ways that could aid Ukraine’s counteroffensive. Mr Blinken told US media: “We’ve seen more cracks emerge in the Russian façade. It is too soon to tell exactly where they go... but certainly, we have all sorts of new questions that Putin is going to have to address in the weeks and months ahead.” The Wagner Group’s forces were just 120 miles from Moscow before the rebellion was called off to avoid shedding Russian blood. Mr Prigozhin had said his “march” on Moscow was intended to remove corrupt and incompetent Russian commanders he blames for botching the war in Ukraine. Mr Prigozhin has for months accused Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu and the chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov, of incompetence and of withholding ammunition from his fighters as they battled to take Bakhmut in Ukraine. This month, Mr Prigozhin defied orders to place his troops under defence ministry command. He launched the rebellion on Friday after alleging the military had killed some of his men in an air strike - a claim denied by the defence ministry. Mr Prigozhin, 62, was seen leaving the district military headquarters in Rostov, hundreds of miles south of Moscow, late on Saturday in a sport utility vehicle. His whereabouts on Sunday were not known. The deal brokered by Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko also means Wagner fighters who joined the “march for justice” will face no action. In an earlier televised address on Saturday, Mr Putin said the rebellion put Russia‘s very existence under threat. “We are fighting for the lives and security of our people, for our sovereignty and independence, for the right to remain Russia, a state with a thousand-year history,” Mr Putin said, vowing punishment for those behind “an armed insurrection”. In his daily address on Sunday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Mr Putin is “obviously very afraid” and is “probably hiding”, while his defence minister Oleksii Reznikov said the 36-hour mutiny shows Russian authorities are “weak”. Mr Reznikov said: “Had a phone conversation with my friend and colleague Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III “We talked about recent events in Russia. We agree that the Russian authorities are weak and that withdrawing Russian troops from Ukraine is the best choice for the Kremlin. Russia would be better served to address its own issues.” He added: “We also discussed the #UAarmy‘s counteroffensive and the next steps in strengthening our Defence Forces. Things are moving in the right direction. Ukraine will win.” Meanwhile, the Institute for the Study of War said Russia struggled to respond clearly and coherently to the threat from the Wagner Group. It said the incident has highlighted “internal security weaknesses likely due to surprise and the impact of heavy losses in Ukraine” Commons defence committee chair Tobias Ellwood told the i newspaper: “Putin’s days are clearly numbered, he might survive the initial wound for a period of time but as Russian history shows, often it triggers a series of subsequent events that lead to the leader’s downfall. “Power is ebbing away. The Wagner Group may be neutered, Prighozin exiled, but Putin is definitely weaker and the hawks are now circling.” Read More Ukraine says Wagner’s mutiny proves Putin’s fragility – but this war ends on the battlefield US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says ‘we haven’t seen the last act’ in Russia’s Wagner rebellion Russia-Ukraine war live: Wagner rebellion shows Putin’s power is finally cracking, US says The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Oil climbed as investors weighed the fallout from an attempted mutiny in Russia against Vladimir Putin’s almost quarter-century

The Biden administration has warned that more turmoil is possible in Russia after a short-lived coup instigated by a mercenary group once loyal to Putin. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the prediction on Sunday in the first comments from a senior administration official on Russia’s future after a whirlwind 48 hours which left the leader of the Wagner Group exiled after his troops marched on Moscow. "This is an unfolding story, and I think we're in the midst of a moving picture," Mr Blinken said on CBS show Face the Nation. "We haven't seen the last act. We're watching it very closely." He went on to say that the rebellion showed “real cracks” in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s power structure, and raised “profound questions” about his ability to hold on to that power. His comments came after the Kremlin announced that Wagner leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, would accept a deal requiring him to leave Russia for Belarus in exchange for immunity for members of Wagner which has been on the front lines of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for months. In that time, Mr Prigozhin has been increasingly vocal about supposed failures in Russia’s command, and accused the nation’s generals of mismanaging the war. A senior administration official noted as much to The Washington Post in a report which revealed that US intelligence agencies have known about the mercenary group’s impending attack for several weeks. The secretary’s comments are in line with many commentators in the US and Europe who have predicted that Mr Putin’s control over Russia and his country’s military will continue to slip as further victories are won by Ukraine’s military against their invading foes. “This is the biggest crisis of his time in power since [Putin] became president in 2000,” Michael McFaul, the former US ambassador to Russia, added on MSNBC in an interview with Jen Psaki. Mr Prigozhin’s exile is at the very least a black eye for Mr Putin given that just a day ago the Russian leader was denouncing the advancing forces as traitors and vowing retribution; as it stands, none of those involved will see any consequences for their actions. The secretary of State added in his interview Sunday that he expected the public would learn more in the coming days what concessions (if any) Mr Prigozhin was able to secure in his deal with the Russian president. "We still don't have finality in terms of what was actually agreed between Prigozhin and Putin," he told CBS News. "I suspect that we're going to learn more in the days and weeks ahead about what deal they struck." Read More Russia-Ukraine war live: Wagner rebellion shows Putin’s power is finally cracking, US says Putin is weakened – but the endgame could be a dangerous one Ukraine says Wagner’s mutiny proves Putin’s fragility – but this war ends on the battlefield The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary