the notes from the us central bank s last meetings show policy makers are feeling better about inflation. they a . ree better about inflation. they agree with better about inflation. they agree with investors - better about inflation. they agree with investors that i better about inflation. tie: agree with investors that rates are at or near the peak for this cycle. they also agree that that will come down this year. but they offer no clues as to how or when that will happen. just to remind viewers it started raising rates in march 2022. it did so 11 times, taking the benchmark weight to a range of five and a quarter to five and a half percent. inflation had dropped to 3.2% from a peak of 9.1%. new data out on wednesday showed the number of job out on wednesday showed the number ofjob openings in the united states fell to a .70 9 million in november. this points to weaker demand for labour, but it is still way above pre labels. that is consistent with the goal to slow the
correspondence sent this report. the december note on the us central banks asked meeting showed policymakers are feeling better about inflation. they agreed with investors that interest rates are at or near the peak of the cycle. they also agree it will come down this year. they offered no clues as to how or when that will happen. to remind viewers come at the federal reserve started raising rates in march 2022 to tame inflation. it is so 11 times, taking the benchmark rate to 5.5%. inflation by the time of the last meeting had dropped to 3.2% from a peak of 9.1%. meanwhile, new data out on wednesday showed the number of job openings in the united states fell to 8.79 million in november. this points to weaker demand for labour but is still well above pre covid levels. that is consistent with the fed s goal. to slow the economy without triggering a nasty recession. the feds first ratesetting meeting this year starting january 30. that disappointment is reflected in how us stoc
if you have joined if you havejoined us, you are welcome and we are looking at the top business stories. we start here in the uk, where there is some relief for millions of people facing soaring housing costs. lenders have started the new year by slashing the cost of mortgages as financial markets bet the bank of england will soon begin to cut interest rates from their 15 year high. from today banking giant hsbc becomes the first major lender to bring back mortgages below 4% since last march. it comes as rival halifax slashed almost a percentage point off some of its mortgage rates this week. and it s raised hopes of a price war between banks. hsbc is offering a five year fixed rate mortgage at 3.94%. it s only available to people remortgaging their home not to first time buyers. but it s far below rates of almost 6.5% that borrowers were facing just a few months ago. and it will be a welcome development for many uk households as our cost of living correspondent kevin peach
in tel aviv, demanding that israel s government restart negotiations. prime minister benjamin netanyahu says israel s military campaign in gaza will continue, but that it is working with qatar and egypt for a possible deal. the israel defense forces on saturday admitted three men were mistakenly killed in gaza while holding a white cloth on a stick, indicating surrender. an idf official says a soldier felt threatened and opened fire after misidentifying them as terrorists . prime minister benjamin netanyahu said the hostage deaths broke his heart . translation: we will draw i the lessons, we will implement the lessons, and we will remain relentless in our military and diplomatic efforts to bring back all the hostages home safely. with all the terrible sadness, let me clarify the military pressure is necessary both for bringing back the hostages and to achieve victory. the deaths have prompted outrage among the families of hostages held in gaza. protests in tel aviv are in
to respond to local government debt and real estate troubles. another priority is to get financial regulators to work more closely together so they can co ordinate the event of an economic shock. janet yellen is slowly emerging as a key player in the biden administration s handling of this challenging relationship between the world s two superpowers and she said she plans to visit china again and she said she plans to visit china again next year, her second visit since july. china industrial output grew 6%, faster than the 4.6% gain in october. retail sales also grew but missed forecast chinese consumers have been reluctant to spend amid a deepening crisis in the country s property sector and economic slowdown. a majorfault line between washington and beijing is the race to develop semiconductors. chips power everything from smartphones to military highend equipment and are increasingly seen as crucial to the global economy. south korea and the netherlands two keynotes south