is under way. it sets the stage for a wednesday decision on whether they ll hike interest rates, or leave them unchanged. our business correspondent erin delmore reports from new york. what do you get when you add strong consumer spending? a tightjob market and remarkable growth. you get a resilient economy, an economy that defied earlier predictions of a recession and one that s not buckling under the weight of the fed s interest rate hikes. see, raising interest rates is the fed s best tool to combat persistently high inflation, which consumers have seen reflected in higher prices for nearly everything. and while inflation has fallen by half from itsjune 2022 high of 7%, it s still higher than the fed s target of 2%. earlier this year, federal reserve policymakers hinted that they may hike interest rates once more before the year is out. they ll have a chance this week or at their last meeting in december, or they could not do it at all. investors and economists are predict
see, raising interest rates is the fed s best tool to combat persistently high inflation, which consumers have seen reflected in higher prices for nearly everything. and while inflation has fallen by half from itsjune 2022 high of 7%, it s still higher than the fed s target of 2%. earlier this year, federal reserve policymakers hinted that they may hike interest rates once more before the year is out. they ll have a chance this week, or at their last meeting in december, or they could not do it at all. investors and economists are predicting that policymakers will skip a rate hike this week and, instead, hold rates steady, giving everything more time to work its way through the economy. we ll know the fed s next step on wednesday. one of the many things that have become more expensive for consumers is energy. oil prices have swung wildly over the last few years, due to the pandemic and the war in eastern europe. at one point, after russia invaded ukraine, prices rose to about
The neighbours of Esther Martin, a London grandmother, have since spoken out about the "horrific" screaming they heard while the 68-year-old was being attacked by dogs in the property next door.