Japan raises interest rates to highest level in 17 years
CNN
The Bank of Japan raised interest rates on Friday to their highest since the 2008 global financial crisis, underscoring its confidence that rising wages will keep inflation stable around its 2% target.
The Bank of Japan raised interest rates on Friday to their highest since the 2008 global financial crisis, underscoring its confidence that rising wages will keep inflation stable around its 2% target. The decision marks its first rate hike since July last year and comes days after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, who is likely to keep global policymakers vigilant ahead of potential repercussions from threatened higher tariffs. At its two-day meeting concluding on Friday, the BOJ raised its short-term policy rate from 0.25% to 0.5%, a level Japan has not seen in 17 years. It was made in a 8 to 1 vote with board member Toyoaki Nakamura dissenting. The widely expected move underscores the central bank’s resolve to steadily push up interest rates to around 1%, a level analysts see as neither cooling nor overheating Japan’s economy. “The likelihood of achieving the BOJ’s outlook has been rising,” with many firms saying they will continue to raise wages steadily in this year’s annual wage negotiations, the central bank said in a statement announcing the decision. “Underlying inflation is heightening towards the BOJ’s 2% target,” the central bank said, adding that financial markets remain stable as a whole.
For years, a huge Amazon contract has been one of the few bright spots in the US Postal Service’s finances. But now the USPS plans to offer those last-mile services to additional customers to stem billions in ongoing losses – a move that risks losing its biggest customer.
Data this week showed that the American economy is growing at its fastest pace in two years — and yet polling shows the mood on Main Street is grim.
Lottery hopefuls can try their luck once again for the estimated $1.7 billion Powerball jackpot after no winners took home the grand prize Monday night.
One of China’s most popular short-video and streaming platforms was flooded with porn and violent content earlier this week, sparking outrage and bafflement in a nation where the internet is tightly controlled.
An initial reading of third-quarter gross domestic product showed the US economy expanded at an inflation-adjusted annualized rate of 4.3%, a far faster pace than the 3.8% recorded in the second quarter, according to Commerce Department data released Tuesday. That’s the fastest growth rate in two years.
When jobs or inflation data counter President Donald Trump’s preferred economic narrative, he typically offers alternative statistics to shine a more positive light on the economy. But Trump’s latest effort asks Americans to buy in to some puzzling logic.
A new rule by the Federal Communications Commission will make it impossible for US consumers to buy the next generation of foreign made drones, including DJI.
CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss decided to shelve a planned “60 Minutes” story titled “Inside CECOT,” creating an uproar inside CBS, but the report has reached a worldwide audience anyway.
Earlier this month, after President Donald Trump blasted “60 Minutes” for interviewing Marjorie Taylor Greene, correspondents noticed a change behind the scenes.
Paramount has upped the ante in its hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, announcing Monday that Larry Ellison will personally guarantee the tens of billions of dollars he is putting up to bankroll the transaction. The Ellisons will also let shareholders peer into the finances of their family trust.
Thieves are increasingly targeting the copper wires that keep America’s power grids and phone networks running.
You don’t get labeled the “Oracle of Omaha” for nothing.
An estimated $1.6 billion is up for grabs in Monday’s Powerball draw after the jackpot rolled over on Saturday.