premiums all up. the cost of food consumed at home rose nearly 12%, food away from home, 7.4%. the gasoline index has increased 48.7%. the average national price of a gallon of gas this week, is at $5, highest in california at $6.42. trying to stem inflation, the fed said it will raise interest rates by three quarters of a percentage point, the biggest hike since 1994. new projections show interest rates may hit 3.4% by the end of the year, but because inflation is rising far faster than any of those rates, any money in savings is still being eroded. there s also a spade of layoffs adding to investor fears. cnn reports two u.s. real estate companies that had flourished in the pandemic announced layoffs of 8 and 10%. coin base laid off 18% of its staff. spotify plans to reduce hiring by 25%. elon musk, who already said he wants to lay off 10% of the tesla staff, is now intimating
listeners? well, i think they are scared because they are trying to fill up their car and i think most people get what you guys covered in the last segment. the fuel costs that biden by shutting down domestic production has driven these costs through the roof. simple supply and defend. the fed raising the interest rate won t lower gas prices. it won t stem inflation. a lot of our inflation is coming from fuel and all kinds of energy issues. a lot of our inflation is coming from a disrupted labor market. the biden bucks have driven the cost of labor up. those two things both enter into everything you and i buy and people are scared. bill: dave, you can stack up the issues one on top of the other. they seem endless. gasoline on screen $5 a gallon. think about where we were two years ago. think about the difference it makes in everybody s pocket. the good news is that the
the economy. first to that question. it s an effort to stem inflation. will it work? neil: it s the only game in town if you think about it. the federal reserve, more government spending isn t going to cure this. many argue we re in the position we re in because we ve been spending like crazy. that was before the war in ukraine and everything else. leaving that aside, the federal reserve seems to be doing what people thought it would. its hiking interest rates half a percentage point. we haven t seen a move like that since 2000 if you think about it when bill clinton was president. the idea seems to be jerome powell talks to the press about this that more hikes are on the way. they re okay with that because the hikes even though they seem to be fairly dramatic, another half point now, another half point presumably at the next fed meeting next months, maybe successive hikes after that, interest rates could go up quickly from here.
seated next to his wife he says, if you re watching this video it s because the government has carried one more abuse. protesters in caracas erupted in fury tuesday. continuing to demonstrate into the night after their hero while professing his innocence turned himself into national guard troops. the demonstrations began two weeks ago. thousands of students demanded government action to end violent crime waves in the country, stem inflation which is an alarming 56% and bring an end to shortages and necessary advertise. the tensions boiled over with police using water canons and tear gas. now venezuelan s youth want change. at the same time pro government supporters staged their own protest dressed in red accusing the opposition of being violent fascists blaming them for the country s crime and scarcity.
and pakistan. clinton just left libya. the visit there was the first by a cabinet-level official since the overthrow of moammar gadhafi. there are reports that turkish forces killed 15 militants in iraq. they were in pursuit of kurdish rebels. the fighters have waged a campaign for a separate state for several decades. france s president and first lady welcomed a baby girl wednesday night. a close family friend says she is doing well after giving birth to the first baby born to a sitting french president. nicolas sarkozy visited his wife and new daughter in a paris hospital a few hours after the girl was born. those are the headlines. i m zain vergee and world business today starts now. good morning, from cnn london, i m nina dos santos. and a very good afternoon from cnn hong kong, i m andrew stevens. welcome to world business today. the top stories this thursday, october 20th, you re looking at live pictures of crowds gathering in athens, constitution square