The world economy could contract by the size of the combined French and German economies, if there is a broad-based trade war between the world’s major economies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has told the BBC.

It comes as concerns are heightened ahead of the possible re-election of Donald Trump.

Trump says he plans to introduce a universal tax or tariff of up to 20% on all imports into the US, while the European Union is already planning retaliation if Washington goes ahead with the new levy.

Last week, Trump said “tariff is the most beautiful word in the dictionary”, and global markets and finance ministers are now beginning to take seriously the prospect of him enacting the ideas.

IMF Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said the Fund could not yet assess the specifics of Trump’s trade plans, but thinks that “if you have some very serious decoupling and broad scale use of tariffs, you could end up with a loss to world GDP of close to 7%”.

“These are very large numbers, 7% is basically losing the French and German economies. That’s the size of the loss that would be,” she continued.

Ms Gopinath also said tariffs worth hundreds of billions of dollars “is very different from the world we’ve lived in over the past two of three decades”.

The IMF’s deputy chief said another of the Fund’s main messages at its Annual Meetings was to warn on ballooning levels of global government debt.

She said the current period of steady economic growth was a “moment to rebuild your fiscal buffers” as “this will not be the last crisis. There will be additional shocks. You will need the fiscal space to respond. And now is the time to do it”.

Ms Gopinath said it was also necessary to “look at the bright side” with a resilient world economy after “some very tough knocks”.

She suggested the world economy had seen a soft landing from the multiple crises.

“Past experiences with bringing down inflation have not been with a soft landing. It was a big, big increases in unemployment. So that was a big hit, and it has turned out to be much better than many feared”, she said.

Ms Gopinath added that it was a “good win” for central banks everywhere that inflation has come down without high unemployment. But that now was the time to rebuild resilience in a fragile world.

Consumer rights regulator CCPA has slapped a notice on electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ola, as it initiates a class action after over 10,000 complaints related to quality and after-sales service remained unaddressed, according to sources.

The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has been getting complaints against Ola Electric for the last one year, which were escalated to higher levels at the company for redressal “but there was little interest shown in redressing these complaints”, said a source.

Subsequently, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) “started examining these complaints for class action and found that over the last one year, NCH received over 10,000 complaints”, the source added.

According to the source, the major categories of consumer complaints include charging during the free service period/warranty, delayed and unsatisfactory services, refusal or delay in warranty services, inadequate services, recurrent defects despite services, inconsistent performance with advertised claims, overcharging and inaccurate invoices.

Also, failure to provide refunds and documentation, unprofessional conduct and complaint closure and multiple issues with battery and vehicle components were highlighted by the aggrieved consumers, a source said.

As per the CCPA, the major grounds for issuing show cause notice are alleged violation of consumer rights, deficiencies in services, misleading claims, and unfair trade practices.

On October 7, the CCPA issued the show cause notice against Ola Electric and gave 15 days for the company to respond.

Before issuing the notice, the CCPA headed by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Anupam Mishra examined those consumer complaints for class action.

On October 7, Ola Electric informed stock exchanges that the company received the show cause notice from the CCPA. The authority has provided a timeline of 15 days for the company to respond to the show cause notice, the filing had said.

The company said it would respond to the authority within the given timeframe with the supporting documents.

The Department of Consumer Affairs has revamped the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), which has emerged as a single point of access to consumers across the country for grievance redressal at the pre-litigation stage.

It is available to all consumers of the country wherein consumers can register their grievances from all over the country in 17 languages through a toll-free number 1915.

These grievances can be registered on the Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism (INGRAM), an omnichannel IT-enabled central portal, through various channels- Whats App, SMS, mail, NCH app, web portal, and Umang app as per their convenience.

Ola Electric sells three models of electric scooters at the moment, and in August this year announced its foray into the electric motorcycle segment.

Earlier this week, a war of words broke out between Ola founder Bhavish Agarwal and stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra on social media platform X over the after-sales and service quality of the company’s electric scooters.

Kamra had taken up after-sales and service issues faced by Ola Electric customers.

BUDDING buyers looking to get on the housing ladder will be keen to learn of a lovely village where three-bed homes are £70,000 cheaper than the UK average.

As house prices continue to climb the dream of homeownership is beginning to vanish for many.

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Today, first-time buyers will also fork out over a quarter of a million pounds.

New figures by Zoopla, published this month showed the average price of a home is £267,100.

This rises to £451,600 for detached houses.

But if you are willing to be flexible you may be able to find your dream home at a bargain price.

There are still places in the UK where homes are below the national average and they are commutable to major cities.

Take Crosby for example, it is an idyllic coastal town in Sefton, which boasts an award-winning park and stunning beaches.

Three and four-bed homes here are on average £195,100 making them £70,000 below the national average.

Better yet, it is just a 25-minute car drive to Liverpool City.

Let’s take a look at the cheapest houses up for grabs in this area.

Four-bed semi-detached home – £195,000

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This four-bed semi is on the market for £195,000 on Zoopla.

It comes with four bedrooms, two bathrooms and two reception rooms.

The property is just a three-minute walk to a number of primary schools and nurseries.

Additionally, it is just a six-minute drive to Waterloo Merseyside, where you can reach Liverpool City in just 26 minutes via train.

You might be able to get a mortgage to buy this house with a 10% deposit of £19,500.

If you got accepted for a 25-year loan with 5% interest, your monthly payments would work out as £1,025.

Three-bed terrace – £185,000

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You can buy this family home in Sefton for £185,000.

It features a large kitchen and dining area alongside three bedrooms and one bath.

Agents at Zoopla said the home is within walking distance of local shops, schools, and transport links.

It is a four-minute drive to Waterloo Merseyside or just under a 10-minute drive to Blundellsands & Crosby train station.

This local transport hub can take you to the city centre in just 24 minutes.

You might be able to get a mortgage to buy this house with a 10% deposit of £18,500.

If you got accepted for a 25-year loan with 5% interest, your monthly payments would work out as £973.

Three bed semi-detached – £220,000

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This property is slightly more expensive than the previous two homes, but still £40,000 less than the UK average.

It comes with three bedrooms and a large conservatory and garden area.

A seven-minute car journey will take you to Blundellsands & Crosby train station, making it ideal for commuters.

You might be able to get a mortgage to buy this house with a 10% deposit of £22,000.

If you got accepted for a 25-year loan with 5% interest, your monthly payments would work out as £1,157

Three-bed semi-detached house -£215,000

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This three-bed and one-bath home would be ideal for anyone looking for a central location in Crosby.

It is a 16-minute walk to Blundellsands & Crosby train station or if you prefer to drive it will take you just three minutes.

The property is bright and has lots of natural light.

If you were looking for a home which you could move into without pouring hundreds into renovations then this could be it.

You might be able to get a mortgage to buy this house with a 10% deposit of £21,500.

If you got accepted for a 25-year loan with 5% interest, your monthly payments would work out as £1,131.

How to save for your first home

HAVE you ever wondered how first-time buyers manage to go from savers to homeowners?

Getting a foot on the property ladder might seem like a daunting task, but The Sun’s My First Home feature allows you to find out exactly what it takes to finally get the keys to your own place.

Leanne Gem managed to buy her £456,000 four-bed house with an “underrated scheme”.

Karis Jacobs and her husband George used the 50/50 method to buy their first home just two years after losing their jobs.

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Parents Chae and Cem used a “DIY Help to Buy scheme” to buy their £466,000 first home.

Anupam and his wife Shrabanti lost £6,000 free cash when buying their first home – here’s how you can avoid it.