U . S . Federal

For the first time in over a year, European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers are expected to decide against raising interest rates again when they gather in Athens on Oct. 26.

Once red-hot, inflation, driven by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, has started to ease, while the outlook for the economy has worsened.

Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa as presiding country, are convening to consider membership requests from 22 countries, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.

Australia left its key interest rate unchanged yesterday, with central bank governor Philip Lowe saying previous hikes were "working" but the outlook was uncertain.

The pause is the second in a row that the rate has been kept on hold at 4.1 percent, following a string of rises aimed at taming runaway prices.

The U.S. Federal Reserve raised its benchmark lending rate on July 26 to the highest level since 2001 to tackle above-target inflation, and signaled it could hike again later this year amid improving economic prospects.

In Washington they paused; in Frankfurt they hiked; and in Beijing, they cut.

Central bankers in three of the world's key economic regions have unveiled divergent monetary policies this week as they each contend with their own challenges.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to pause its campaign of interest rate increases on June 14 to give policymakers more time to assess the economic impact of existing hikes and recent banking stresses.

Asian and European markets rose yesterday, tracking a rally on Wall Street fuelled by a strong rebound in U.S. regional banks and forecast-beating jobs data that eased fears over a recession in the world's top economy.    

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on April 28 urged European central banks to "kill the beast" of inflation by pursuing interest rate hikes.

"You need to go and kill that beast" the IMF's European department director Alfred Kammer told reporters in Stockholm.

Alamy Photo

Disgraced former socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has claimed in a jailhouse interview with a U.K. broadcaster that a decades-old photograph of Prince Andrew with his sexual abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre is "fake."

The U.S. Federal Reserve is pegged to make a fourth straight steep hike in the key interest rate this week as it battles surging costs, with its aggressive stance fueling expectations of a recession.

American households have been squeezed by soaring consumer prices, propelling economic issues to the top spot among voter concerns in upcoming midterm elections.