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Europe’s central bank hikes interest rates again even as threat of recession grows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:26:14 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank piled on a 10th straight interest rate increase Thursday, pressing forward in its fight against stubbornly high inflation that has been plaguing consumers even as worries grow that higher borrowing costs could help push the economy into recession.The increase of a quarter-percentage point comes as central banks around the world, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, try to judge how much anti-inflation medicine is too much — and what’s the right point to halt their swift series of rate rates before the economy tips into a downturn and people lose their jobs.The decision raises the ECB’s benchmark deposit rate to 4%, up drastically from minus 0.5% just a little more than a year ago and the highest it has been since the euro was established in 1999.“Future decisions will ensure that the key ECB interest rates will be set at sufficiently restrictive levels for as long as necessary,” the bank said in a statement, adding that it will keep...

Applications for US jobless benefits tick up slightly

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:26:14 GMT

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week ticked up modestly after falling to the lowest level in seven months the week before, as companies continue to retain employees despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to cool the economy.U.S. applications for jobless claims rose by 3,000 to 220,000 for the week ending Sept. 9, the Labor Department reported Thursday.Jobless claim applications are seen as representative of the number of layoffs in a given week.The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure, fell by 5,000 to 224,500.The Federal Reserve is well into the second year of its battle against inflation, having raised interest rates 11 times since March of last year. At 5.4%, the Fed’s benchmark borrowing rate is at the highest level in 22 years.The Fed’s rate hikes are meant to cool the job market and bring down wages, which many economists believe helps to ease pressure on price growth. Though some measures of inflation have retr...

An Airbnb, Vrbo or other rental host ghosted you. Now what?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:26:14 GMT

Lauren Gumport was en route to a vacation on the island of Chios, Greece, in July, where she was set to stay in an Airbnb for five nights with her best friend.But upon her arrival in Athens to connect to her flight to Chios, she received a WhatsApp message from someone stating that their dad owned the Airbnb property, but that they managed it. The son said they’d be out of town — and that their dad didn’t speak English — but that Gumport would still be able to check in with the dad.Gumport, who works for the travel insurance company Faye, is no stranger to stories of travel mishaps. She sensed something was off but forged ahead with the Chios flight. When she arrived at the meeting spot near the Airbnb, no one was there.“It was hot and not in a touristy area, so it didn’t feel great,” she says. “We were exhausted from the flights and just wanted to drop our bags, so that was frustrating.”She had an international cell phone plan, so after 15 minutes of waiting for the owner,she calle...

Retail sales rise 0.6% in August as inflation on many items eases, but gas price hike boosts number

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:26:14 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans stepped up retail spending modestly from July to August as the price of gasoline jumped, cutting into budgets as many families send their kids off to school. Retail sales rose 0.6% in August, compared with a revised 0.5% increase in July, according to a report issued by the Commerce Department on Thursday. The big rise in gas prices accounted for more than half of the inflation increase recorded in August, the U.S. reported Wednesday. Excluding gas, retail sales were just up 0.2%, according to the report.Sales at gas stations rose a robust 5.2%, while furniture and home furnishings stores saw a 1% drop in sales. Clothing and accessories stores had a 0.9% gain. Restaurants saw a 0.3% increase. Grocery stores had a 0.4% increase.The uptick in retail sales reflects the economy’s resiliency despite a still tough economic environment. Yet spending has been volatile this year after surging nearly 3% in January. Sales tumbled in February and March before recoverin...

Pakistani court rejects ex-PM Imran Khan’s bail plea in case related to leaking state secrets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:26:14 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on charges of leaking state secrets, his lawyer said.Khan is accused of exposing an official secret document, dubbed Cipher, when he waved a confidential diplomatic letter at a rally last year.It was apparently correspondence between a Pakistani ambassador to Washington and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad. Khan told the rally it was proof that his removal from power in April 2022 was a conspiracy.After a private hearing, Judge Abul Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain dismissed the plea under the Official Secrets Act. Zulqarnain made no immediate remarks on his rejection of Khan’s plea. He said at the hearing that “irrelevant persons” like journalists and lawyers not connected with the case were to leave the room at the request of the government prosecutor. Khan’s lawyer Naeem Panjutha denounced the decision to refuse bail. “The facts of the case are crystal clear...

Wholesale price inflation accelerated in August from low level

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:26:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale prices increases accelerated in August, a sign that inflation remains stubbornly persistent despite a series of sharp interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The Labor Department said Thursday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers — increased 1.6% last month from a year earlier. That is up from a small 0.8% yearly increase in July and just 0.1% in June. Sharply higher gas prices drove much of the increase.Excluding the volatile energy and food categories, core inflation rose 2.2% in August from a year earlier, down from a 2.4% yearly increase in July. Wholesale prices are still rising more slowly than consumer costs, a sign that inflation may continue to cool as the weaker wholesale price gains translate into smaller price increases for the consumer. The Thursday data reflect prices charged by manufacturers, farmers and wholesalers.The government said Wednesday that the consumer price index, the most wi...

No sign of Kim Jong Un on his Russian travels as Seoul expresses concern over meetings with Putin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:26:14 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was expected to tour a Russian plant that builds fighter jets and visit the country’s Pacific Fleet, but his exact whereabouts remained uncertain Thursday following a summit at which he expressed unconditional support for Moscow.Washington has warned that the summit on Wednesday between Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin could lead to a deal for North Korea to supply ammunition for Moscow’s war in Ukraine. There’s widespread concern in Seoul that North Korea would in return receive advanced weapons technologies from Russia, including those related to military spy satellites, which would increase the threat posed by Kim’s military nuclear program.“We express our deep concern and regret that despite repeated warnings from the international community, North Korea and Russia discussed military cooperation issues, including satellite development, during their summit,” said Lim Soo-suk, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry spokespe...

American explorer says he thought he would die during an 11-day ordeal in a Turkish cave

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:26:14 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — An American researcher who spent 11 days stuck in a Turkish cave after falling ill said Thursday that he thought he would die there before a complex international rescue operation got him out. Mark Dickey, 40, appeared relaxed as he spoke to reporters at a hospital in Mersin, southern Turkey, where he is recovering from his ordeal.Asked if he ever gave up hope while trapped 1,000 meters (more than 3,000 feet) underground, Dickey replied, “No. But there’s a difference between accurately recognizing your current risk against giving up.“You don’t let things become hopeless, but you recognize the fact that ‘I’m going to die.’”Dickey fell ill on Sept. 2 with stomach bleeding while mapping the Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains. He vomited blood and had lost large amounts of it and other fluids by the time rescuers brought him to the surface on Tuesday. What caused his condition, which rendered him too frail to climb out of the cave on his own, remained uncle...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet visits country’s close ally China on his 1st official trip abroad

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:26:14 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet arrived in Beijing on Thursday on his first official trip abroad since taking office last month. The visit demonstrates his country’s warm relations with China, Cambodia’s closest political and economic ally.Hun Manet was expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials in the capital and to attend a weekend trade and investment expo in southern China, according to Cambodia’s Foreign Ministry. A ministry statement said the two leaders would discuss tightening the nations’ ties with the building of a “Cambodia-China Community,” strategic directions for their bilateral relations, and regional and international matters.Chinese state broadcaster CGTN posted images of Hun Manet and his wife, Pich Chanmony, walking down the stairs from a plane to a red carpet on an airport tarmac, where they were greeted by two children, a Chinese official and others. Hun Manet later laid a wreath at a monument in Beijing...

Stock market today: US futures point higher after US inflation data ease rate hike worries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:26:14 GMT

Wall Street is pointing higher Thursday following a modest increase in inflation across the U.S. in August that eased worries over the likelihood of another interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.Futures for the S&P 500 edged 0.4% higher before the bell Thursday and futures for the Dow Jones industrials were up 0.3%. While the inflation data was a touch hotter than estimated, economists and investors don’t expect it to change the Fed’s anticipated track much. The forecast is still for the U.S. central bank to keep interest rates steady at its meeting next week.The inflation report showed that U.S. consumers paid prices last month that were 3.7% higher than a year earlier, up from July’s inflation rate of 3.2% and slightly more than the forecasts for a 3.6% increase.That’s discouraging for shoppers paying higher prices, but much of the acceleration was because of higher fuel costs. Underlying inflation trends indicated a continued moderation in price increases, economists said...