hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we begin in the us where the central bank is expected to increase interest rates by another 75 basis points today which would be the fourth consecutive increase of this size. many are hoping for signs the federal reserve may soften its approach in the months ahead with markets anticipating a 0.5% rate rise in december. so what s different within the us economy that would lead the fed to change its current course? here s michelle fleury. since march the federal chair hiked the rate by three percentage points, in so doing caused more expensive loans on everything, from houses to cars and credit cards, so far they have done so without any damaging slowdown in job have done so without any damaging slowdown injob or growth wealth creation. the trouble is there is no sign of a living rolling off with consumer prices, inflation still high at over 8% and still the fed has focused on. and until it sees inflation coming
welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. we begin here in the uk where temperatures of more than a0 degrees celsius have been recorded for the very first time. the heatwave has caused widespread disruption, and a major incident has been declared in london, where the mayor sadiq khan said fire crews were struggling to cope. the un s climate chief has warned heatwaves like the one gripping western europe are becoming more frequent. our first report is from our climate editorjustin rowlatt. with today s searing heat came fires, and lots of them. huge plumes of smoke rose above london as grassfires engulfed homes on the outskirts of the capital. the london fire brigade declared a major incident. a number of the calls that we ve been dealing with today have been wildfires or grassfires, where the ground has been tinder box dry result of the weather over the last week, but in particular, the last two days. temperature records were tumbling before midday today.