let s now get down to business. we start in the us, where the latest inflation data is due out today. and if we look at last month, prices rose 6.88% the highest levels in decades and the pressures that forced such big increases to the cost of living have not abated. the chair of the federal reserve, jerome powell, was on capitol hill for a hearing on his nomination to serve a second term as chair of the us central bank. questions from lawmakers were very focused on inflation and what the fed is doing to combat the high cost of living in america. samira hussain has more from new york. inflation in the united states have hit one of its highest levels seen in several decades and it still could climb even higher. everything from food to cars has gotten that much more expensive. the mutating covid disease is still spreading around the world, wreaking havoc on global supply chains. congestion at ports persists, which means goods are not getting to their destination, and consum
anti government protests, according to media reports citing health officials. if confirmed, it would mark a sharp rise from the previous figure of 44 deaths. almost 6,000 people have been arrested, including a substantial number of foreign nationals , kazakhstan s presidential office said on sunday. the demonstrations, triggered by a rise in fuel prices, turned into huge riots as they spread across the country. kazakhstan has some of the largest oil reserves in the world. it produces 1.6 million barrels of oil a day and has attracted billions of dollars in foreign investment. however, the wealth has not trickled down to the population, who have an average income of less than $3,400 a year. joining me now is philip worman, managing director, gpw group, a political risk consulting firm. welcome to you, thanks very much for being with us. tell us more about what sparked this unrest, because it is notjust about fuel prices, is at? ma. about fuel prices, is at? no, the raw materi
the us federal reserve will decide whether to raise interest rates later today, although they re expected to remain at 0.25% unchanged from march 2020. fed chairmanjerome powell is expected to plot a path of higher interest rates next year. economists polled by reuters expect the fed to raise interest rates in the third quarter of next year. last month the federal reserve outlined plans to withdraw the billions of dollars it has been pumping into the economy during the pandemic. since the start of the covid crisis, the us central bank has been buying $120 billion worth of bonds every month to help keep borrowing costs low. fed chairjerome powell said he expected economic growth to strengthen over the rest of the year. however, he said then the fed can be patient about raising interest rates. but inflation is raging in the us with annual inflation at rates not seen for a0 years. the latest figures show prices rose 6.8% in the year to november. and speculation is mounting tha