and it has fallen pretty sharply from its peak of more than 9% injune of last year. it is a sign that the federal reserve s moves to raise interest rates to slow down inflation seems to be working. but analysts still think america s central bank will raise interest rates one more time at their next meeting. now, the cooler inflation is good news for consumers but it is also good news for us presidentjoe biden, who touted the administration s efforts to bring prices down. now, he s facing re rlection next year and being able to control inflation without pushing the economy into a recession will be key if he want another four years in the white house. william lee is the milken institute chief economist and he says everyone is wondering whether this is a turning point. that is the ultimate question at the fomc and all the central banks around about asking themselves, has it peaked? a lot of the inflation decreases have come about because supply chain to become restored around th
maria corina machado. welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much, stephen, it is a pleasure. great to have you on the show. for years, you have argued that participating in democracy in venezuela under nicolas maduro s rule, is a grave mistake because it ends up legitimising maduro. how come you have now decided to your hat in the ring how come you have now decided to put your hat in the ring and seek the nomination from the opposition, to fight in next year s presidential elections? for years, venezuela s people have been explaining to the world the way nicolas maduro have been rigging elections and turning down through control and repression, thejudiciary system, the national assembly, as well as the military at every single democratic institution. we have reached a point in which we realise maduro is willing to do anything to stay in power. the only way through which we can confront and defeat him is building a huge, unprecedented social movement, citizen movement that is ri
lets start with the reasons behind this. things like bank holidays strikes, how important are they? they are important and they can have a push and pull impact on these figures. we tend to see a boost to pub and restaurant although that wasn t the case in may, on the other hand, we tend to see it has a negative impact on manufacturing and construction activity because of those extra days off which is exactly what we did see in may. there is no doubt that the bank holidays had an impact and resort services was pretty much flat in may. we saw human health was a bit stronger because there weren t any strike day byjunior doctors but there was an increase in the output for arts and entertainment. that s partly because of the bank holidays. it was a bit of a mixed report but as you say, we saw a contraction in may, a bit better than expected. but matt lets pick up on those pay deals. , . ., ., matt lets pick up on those pay deals. , . . . , deals. they have agreed a pay rise, what
that we have returned to negative growth? that we have returned to negative urowth? , that we have returned to negative . rowth? , ., . ., , that we have returned to negative urowth? , ., , , . growth? they were actually expecting 0.396 contraction growth? they were actually expecting 0.396 contraction during growth? they were actually expecting 0.396 contraction during may, - growth? they were actually expecting 0.396 contraction during may, due - growth? they were actually expecting 0.396 contraction during may, due to l 0.3% contraction during may, due to the impact of the extra bank holiday related to the coronation. pretty mixed bag. it is not great overall. if you look at the numbers over the last three months, the uk economy essentially flatlined, as you said in your preamble. the uk economy is barely larger than it was four years ago, pre covid. it s not looking great, and if you look at what the markets think in terms of longer term growth for the uk economy, the
it s a sign that the federal reserve s moves to raise interest rates to slow down inflation seems to be working, but analysts still think america s central bank will raise interest rates one more time at their next meeting. now, the cooler inflation is good news for consumers, but it s also good news for us presidentjoe biden, who touted the administration s efforts to bring prices down. now, he is facing re election next year and being able to control inflation without pushing the economy into a recession will be key if he wants another four years in the white house. samira hussain there. let s bring in the milken institute s chief economist, william lee, whojoins us now from nevada. that s the ultimate question that all the central banks around the world are asking them selves. has the us peaked? lots of prices and inflation decreases have come out because supply chains have been restored around the world and consumers are able to get the stuff they want to buy. one of the