i don t really see anything more meaningful coming into the market. we have reached now the halfway point of 2023. how would you describe the health of the global economy? that s a really intriguing question. i think throughout this year, central banks and lawmakers and policy makers have been focused on containing inflation, bringing inflation under control, and a lot of these banks have failed to bring the inflation to the target level, which is still running quite high, so especially in the uk, the cost of living crisis is a huge issue, and inflation data last week has already shown that there is no easiness or ease off in the data for the time being. but, having said all those pessimistic things and pointed to those factors, i think i am a bit more optimistic going into h2 of this year because i think inflation is going to come closer to the central bank s target, whether we are talking about the federal reserve, whether we re talking the ecb, and, of course, inflation is
in the united states where the central bank, the us federal reserve, has raised the cost of borrowing for the tenth time. the quarter percent rise puts the fed s main interest rate at between 5 and 5. 25% the highest it s been in 16 years. but has it done enough to tame inflation? or with banks struggling and recession looming, has the fed gone too far? our north america business correspondent samira hussain reports from new york. inflation remained stubbornly high, to try to get the cost of living back down to more normal levels the federal reserve has raised interest rates ten times in a little over a year, now it seems it may be ready to perhaps take a pause. the committee perhaps take a pause. the committee will perhaps take a pause. the committee will take - perhaps take a pause. the committee will take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy, le-s tightening of monetary policy, legs with which policy affects economic activity and inflation and ec
let s start here in the uk, where, in a few hours time, the chancellorjeremy hunt will unveil his first budget, where he will outline the government s big decisions on spending, and plans for raising or lowering taxes. among the measures he s expected to unveil is a significant expansion of free childcare provision. it s part of a strategy to get more people back to work, given the shortage of staff in some key sectors. the chancellor is also expected to announce a rise in the tax free limit for pension contributions, to encourage people to stay in work for longer. the latest economic figures underline the challenge facing the government, as well as the pressure on household and business budgets. here s our economics editor faisal islam. it is back to work budget, that s a promise, and it was centre on one of the biggest ever expansions of childcare for england with equivalent funding for other nations. parents of one and two year olds will get the same 30 hours of support a