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Fed’s Powell: High inflation poses a threat to job market
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that high inflation is a serious threat to the Fed’s goal of helping put more Americans back to work, and said the Fed will raise rates more than it now plans if needed to stem surging prices. “If we have to raise interest rates more over time, we will,” Powell said during a hearing of the Senate Banking Committee, which is considering his nomination for a second four-year term. Fed officials have forecast three increases in the their benchmark short-term rate this year, though some economists say they envision four rate hikes in 2022.
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Outbreaks, bottlenecks expected to slow global growth in ’22
WASHINGTON (AP) — The World Bank is downgrading its outlook for the global economy. It blames continuing outbreaks of COVID-19, a reduction in government economic support and ongoing bottlenecks in global supply chains. The 189-country, anti-poverty agency forecasts worldwide economic growth of 4.1% this year. That’s down from the 4.3% growth it was forecasting last June. It’s also down from the 5.5% expansion it estimates the global economy tallied in 2021. In its Global Economic Prospects report out Tuesday, the World Bank projects that the U.S. economy will grow 3.7% this year, down from 5.6% in 2021. It expects China, the world’s second-biggest economy, to see growth decelerate to 5.1% in 2022 from 8% last year.
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World Economic Forum warns cyber risks add to climate threat
LONDON (AP) — The World Economic Forum says cyberthreats and the growing space race are emerging risks to the global economy, on top of existing challenges posed by climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. The Global Risks Report released Tuesday usually comes out ahead of the annual elite winter gathering of CEOs and world leaders in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. But the event has been postponed for a second year in a row because of COVID-19. The report says cyberattacks are becoming more aggressive and widespread as criminals use tougher tactics to go after more vulnerable targets. It comes as the pandemic has forced many people to work or attend class virtually.
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Poland announces tax cuts meant to ease soaring inflation
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister has announced a second round of sales tax cuts as part of the right-wing government’s efforts to fight inflation after it reached a 21-year high last month. Premier Mateusz Morawiecki said Tuesday that the tax on engine fuels will be cut to 8% from 23% from February through July. There will be no tax on gas used for cooking and heating, on some foods or on artificial fertilizers. Morawiecki said the cost of those measures could reach 20 billion zlotys, or $5 billion.
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2nd election for Amazon workers in Alabama will be by mail
A federal labor board said that Amazon workers in a facility in Bessemer, Alabama will vote by mail next month in a re-run election to decide whether or not to unionize. The National Labor Relations Board said that the ballots will be mailed out Feb. 4 and must be returned before the counting starts on March 28. The move comes roughly a month and a half after the board ordered a new union election for Amazon workers based on objections by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union to the first vote that took place in April.
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California lawmakers debate universal health care proposal
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers are set to debate whether to create the nation’s first universal health care system. A bill to establish the system and set its rules faces a state Assembly hearing on Tuesday. A separate bill that would lay out how to pay for the coverage will be heard by lawmakers at a later date. The first bill must pass the state Assembly by Jan. 31 to have a chance of approval this year. The bill to establish a payment method for the coverage would increase taxes on some wealthier people and larger businesses. Voters would have to approve the payment plan before it could become law.
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Question for Fed: Has it waited too long to fight inflation?
WASHINGTON (AP) — With inflation surging, unemployment falling and wages rising, some economists are warning that the Federal Reserve may have waited too long to reverse its ultra-low-rate policies — a delay that could put the economy at heightened risk. On Wednesday, the government is expected to report that consumer prices jumped 7.1% the past 12 months, which would be the steepest such increase in decades. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is sure to be grilled on the issue during a Senate hearing Tuesday on his nomination for a second term. Inflation has become the most serious threat to the economy, a growing worry for the financial markets and a political problem for the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress.
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Fed vice chair is latest official to quit in trading scandal
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida said he will step down on Friday, the third Fed official to resign in the wake of a trading scandal at the central bank. The announcement followed new revelations around Clarida’s trading in a stock fund in February 2020, when the coronavirus threatened to upend the global economy and the Fed was discussing extraordinary measures to counter its impact. The New York Times last week reported that Clarida amended his financial disclosures to show that he had sold and then repurchased shares in the stock fund in a matter of days that month. The repurchase came a day before Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed was prepared to support markets and the economy.
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Indigenous news outlets, nonprofits drive deeper coverage
PHOENIX (AP) — Native American communities have seen more robust news coverage in recent years, in part because of an increase in Indigenous affairs reporting positions at U.S. newsrooms and support from foundations. A Media Impact Funders report found journalism-focused philanthropy quadrupled from 2009 to 2019. An increasingly diverse population and renewed focus on social injustice also have commanded greater media attention. Nonprofit news organizations are among those leading the way. National service program Report for America, for example, is helping fund temporary Indigenous affairs reporting positions at 10 U.S. newsrooms. The Native American Journalists Association says more such positions are needed, and media organizations need more Native American journalists in leadership roles.
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Stocks shake off an early loss, end higher as tech rebounds
Stocks closed higher on Wall Street Tuesday as technology companies rebounded after an early loss. The S&P 500 rose 0.9%. The index is coming off five straight losses and hadn’t closed higher since the very first trading day of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% and the Nasdaq rose 1.4%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.74%. Bond yields have risen sharply since the beginning of the year. Investors are anticipating that interest rates will rise in the coming months as the Federal Reserve shifts from stimulating the economy to fighting inflation.
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The S&P 500 rose 42.78 points, or 0.9%, to 4,713.07. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 183.15 points, or 0.5%, to 36,252.02. The Nasdaq rose 210.62 points, or 1.4%, to 15,153.45. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 22.85 points, or 1.1%, to 2,194.

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