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Stocks are drifting on Wall Street after central banks around the world showed they’re not done cranking interest rates higher in their fight against inflation NEW YORK -- Stocks are drifting on Wall Street Thursday after central banks around the world showed they're not done cranking interest rates higher in their fight against inflation. The S &P 500 was 0.2% higher in afternoon trading after wobbling through the day. The majority of stocks in the benchmark index were slipping, but gains from some big technology stocks countered losses elsewhere. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 21 points, or 0.1%, to 33,930, and the Nasdaq was 0.6% higher, as of 2 p.m. Eastern. The Bank of England hiked its main interest rate by a bigger margin than expected to a 15-year high. Central banks in Norway, Switzerland and Turkey also raised borrowing rates. In the United States, meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated his belief that inflation is still too high and that fur...

Europe is getting a break on inflation FRANKFURT, Germany -- Europe's i NFL ation took a positive turn with a significant drop to 6.1%, but prices are still posing a pinch to shoppers who are yet to see real relief in what they pay for food and other necessities. The annual figure in May eased from 7% in April for the 20 countries that use the euro currency, the European Union’s statistical agency Eurostat said Thursday. It was a welcome sign that the explosion in price increases — which peaked in record double digits last October — is heading in the right direction. But economists warned that it will be many months before disgruntled consumers see more normal levels of inflation reflected on price tags in shops. While prices are rising more slowly, they are coming on top of already-high costs triggered by Russia's war in Ukraine and other factors. Relief is far off for people like 76-year-old Brigitte Weinbeck, who was shopping this week at an open-air market in Cologne, Ger...

Egypt's statistics bureau says the nation is continuing to battle surging inflation amid a dramatic slide of its currency as many Egyptians struggle with price hikes CAIRO -- Egypt continues to battle surging inflation amid a dramatic slide of its currency as many Egyptians struggle with price hikes, the country's statistics bureau said Tuesday. The state-run Central Agency for Mobilization and Statistics released figures showing that the annual inflation was at 21.9% last month, up from 19.2% in November. That's compared to 6.5% in December 2021, before inflation ballooned in 2022, following the outbreak of Russia's war on Ukraine that rattled the world economy. Prices in Egypt rose across many sectors, from food items and medical services to housing and furniture. Food prices increased by 4% on the average in December, with fruits and dairy products leading the list with 7.6% and 6.4% spikes, respectively. The higher inflation has inflicted heavy burdens on con...

Rising U.S. consumer prices moderated again last month, bolstering hopes that inflation’s grip on the economy will continue to ease this year and possibly require less drastic action by the Federal Reserve to control it WASHINGTON -- Rising U.S. consumer prices moderated again last month, bolstering hopes that inflation’s grip on the economy will continue to ease this year and possibly require less drastic action by the Federal Reserve to control it. Inflation declined to 6.5% in December compared with a year earlier, the government said Thursday. It was the sixth straight year-over-year slowdown, down from 7.1% in November. On a monthly basis, prices actually slipped 0.1% from November to December, the first such drop since May 2020. The softer readings add to growing signs that the worst inflation bout in four decades is steadily waning. Gas prices, which have tumbled, are likely to keep lowering overall inflation in the coming months. Supply chain snarls have largely unraveled. That...

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard said Thursday that high inflation in the United States is easing and suggested it was possible that the Fed’s interest rate hikes could slow price acceleration without causing significant job losses WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard said Thursday that high inflation in the United States is easing and suggested it was possible that the Fed's interest rate hikes could slow price acceleration without causing significant job losses. Speaking in Chicago, Brainard sketched out a more optimistic outlook for inflation than some Fed speakers have in recent days. At the same time, Brainard cautioned that inflation is still high and said the Fed would have to keep borrowing rates elevated “for some time” to curb price growth. She did not explicitly signal whether she would support a quarter-point or half-point rate increase in the Fed's benchmark short-term rate at the Fed's next meeting Jan. 31-Feb. 1. But Brainard sugge...