shareholders are in favour. welcome to business today. i m sally bundock. we start in the us where the cost of borrowing will be staying higher for a while longer. the us federal reserve left its key interest rate unchanged on wednesday at its highest in more than two decades and signalled it only expects to make one cut this year. the fed though is predicting four more cuts in 2025. the decision came just hours after some encouraging news on its battle to control inflation. america s official consumer price index showed prices rising at an annual rate of 3.3% in may. that was down 0.1% on april s rate and was lower than expected. but it s still way above the fed s inflation target of 2%. erin delmore in new york has all the details. economic datasets can feel abundant, these are two big deal events. we ve only seen them happen on the same day seven times in the last decade. to start, the consumer price index. that s the key inflation gauge that held good news wednesday morni
you re watching bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. we begin in the middle east and the us secretary of state has said that american and other mediators will work over the coming days to see if they can reach an agreement for a ceasefire in gaza. the us has come up with a plan, but there s a blame game about why it hasn t been accepted. speaking in qatar on his latest trip to the region antony blinken said that israel had agreed to the deal, but hamas had proposed a number of changes, some of which he described as unworkable. but a senior hamas official has denied this, saying they did not put forward new demands, and are still committed to the proposal. hamas claims israel has rejected the deal and argues america is covering up for its ally. israel has not commented. let s take a look at the plan, which involves three phases. the first would see an initial six week ceasefire, when hamas would release some of the hostages including women, t
on the same day seven times in the last decade. to start, the consumer price index. that s the key inflation gauge that held good news wednesday morning for american consumers and the fed. it showed inflation cooling slightly in may after a few particularly hot read outs in the first few months of the year. at 3.3% the yearly price increase was lower than expected and slower than the increase we saw in april. the data actually showed no change month to month between april and may. and the core inflation rate which excludes volatile food and energy prices cooled as well. that s the kind of news federal reserve officials are looking for. but it was not enough to warrant an interest rate cut. here is federal reserve chairjerome powell. we see today s report as progress and is building confidence, but we don t see ourselves as having the confidence that would warrant beginning to loosen policy at this time. the fed held steady, making no change to the current benchmark interest r
they got closer to cuba. on wednesday russia s defence ministry said two of the vessels are carriers of advanced weapons, including hypersonic zircon missiles. they conducted drills earlier in the atlantic. but cuba s foreign ministry says none of those ships are carrying nuclear arms, and that russia s five day visit does not pose a threat to region. this all comes as cuba s foreign minister bruno rodriguez and his russian counterpart sergei lavrov, met in moscow. live now to the bbc s central american and cuba correspondent will grant. good to see you. what are cuban officials are saying about this? ., ., ., ., , this? you have heard that they are at pains this? you have heard that they are at pains to this? you have heard that they are at pains to stress - this? you have heard that they are at pains to stress there - this? you have heard that they are at pains to stress there is i are at pains to stress there is no threat to the region by these naval exercises. it is a
these are two big deal events. we ve only seen them happen on the same day at seven times in the same day at seven times in the last decade. to start, the consumer price index. that s the key inflation gauge that helps good news wednesday morning for american consumers and the fed. it should inflation calling site in may after she particularly hot rebels in the first few months of the year. at 3.3% the yearly price increase was slower than expected and slowly increase we saw in april. the data actually showed no change month to month between april and may. and the core inflation rate which excludes volatile food and energy prices called as well. that s the kind of news federal reserve officials are looking for. but it was enough to warrant an interest rate cut. here is federal reserve chair jerome powell. we see today s report as progress and is building confidence but we don t see ourselves as having the confidence that would warrant beginning to loosen policy this time. the