<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="717" height="403" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107076151-1655299973535-gettyimages-1241323583-AFP_32CJ7Y3.webp" alt="" class="wp-image-419696" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107076151-1655299973535-gettyimages-1241323583-AFP_32CJ7Y3.webp 717w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107076151-1655299973535-gettyimages-1241323583-AFP_32CJ7Y3-300x169.webp 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107076151-1655299973535-gettyimages-1241323583-AFP_32CJ7Y3-160x90.webp 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 717px) 100vw, 717px" /><figcaption>The ECB announced a second consecutive interest rate rise to combat red-hot inflation. Daniel Roland | Afp | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The European Central Bank on Thursday announced a 75 basis point interest rate rise, taking its benchmark deposit rate to 0.75%.



“This major step frontloads the transition from the prevailing highly accommodative level of policy rates towards levels that will ensure the timely return of inflation to the ECB’s 2% medium-term target,” it said in a statement.



It added it “expects to raise interest rates further, because inflation remains far too high and is likely to stay above target for an extended period.”



It revised up its inflation expectations, forecasting an average 8.1% in 2022, 5.5% in 2023 and 2.3% in 2024.



Markets had largely priced in a 75 basis point hike, with the euro remaining flat against the British pound and rising slightly against the dollar to 1.0005. On Monday the euro dipped below 99 cents for the first time in 20 years.



The ECB move follows a hike from -0.5% to zero at its July meeting. The central bank, which sets monetary policy for the 19 euro-using nations, has kept rates in negative territory since 2014 in a bid to spur spending and combat low inflation.



The central bank now faces a very different problem, with consumer prices in the euro zone rising by 9.1% in August, setting a ninth consecutive record.



Thursday’s rate rise keeps the ECB below its “neutral” rate of between 1% to 2%.



Konstantin Veit, portfolio manager at investment firm Pimco, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” Thursday that it was now “uncontroversial” within the Frankfurt-based institution to get within this range before the end of the year.



The “more interesting” question now, he said, was what its “terminal rate” — the highest point— will be during this hiking cycle.



Markets will now be hunting for clues as to whether it will move above the neutral range into tightening territory.

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European Central Bank raises rates by 75 basis points to tackle soaring inflation

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1419815760-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419630" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1419815760-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1419815760-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1419815760-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1419815760-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1419815760-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1419815760-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>LONDON, ENGLAND &#8211; AUGUST 31: Foreign Secretary and Conservative leadership hopeful Liz Truss speaks during the final Tory leadership hustings at Wembley Arena on August 31, 2022 in London, England. Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss and former Chancellor Rishi Sunak are vying to become the new leader of the Conservative Party and the UK&#8217;s next Prime Minister. The winner of the contest will be announced on Monday. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



LONDON — After a drawn-out contest, the country’s ruling Conservative Party on Monday picked Liz Truss to be its new leader and the U.K.’s new prime minister.



Truss, until now the U.K.’s foreign minister, beat rival Rishi Sunak, the country’s former finance minister, to win the leadership race. With members of the Conservative Party asked to vote for their favorite candidate over the last few weeks, 81,326 members voted for Truss while 60,399 members voted for Sunak. Turnout was 82.6% with 172,437 party members voting in total.



Roughly, Truss has taken around 57% of the vote while Sunak achieved 42% of the vote.



Truss took to the stage to thank her supporters and ostensibly mentioned Boris Johnson, her “friend.” Saying she will govern as a Conservative, Truss said she intended to deliver “what we promised voters in 2019″ and said she would push a “bold plan to cut taxes” and grow the British economy. She said she will deal with long-term issues regarding the country’s energy supply too. Truss told delegates that she would deliver a victory for the party at the next election that’s expected in 2024.



Truss does not automatically become prime minister on Monday as ritual dictates that the outgoing prime minister (in this case Boris Johnson) first has to tender his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II, who then appoints Truss.



As the queen is currently staying in her Scottish residence Balmoral Castle, that event will take place there rather than in Buckingham Palace in London as the 96-year-old monarch experiences continuing mobility issues.



Johnson and Truss are set to travel up to Balmoral on Tuesday and the journey is likely to be cordial — Truss was among the high-level ministers that remained loyal to Johnson in the final death throes of his leadership, which by the end had been engulfed by several political controversies and scandals, while other top officials jumped ship.



Johnson dragged his feet but after repeated calls to resign he reluctantly announced on July 7 that he would step down as party leader, but would remain in office while his successor was chosen.



When Truss is appointed prime minister she is taking on the biggest challenge of her political career: Governing a fractious and divided political party and leading a country facing the biggest cost-of-living crisis in decades while maintaining support for Ukraine amid a continuing war on Europe’s doorstep.



The cost-of-living crisis and imminent energy bill spike is likely to be Truss’ priority and she’ll have to hit the ground running to deal with the immediate squeeze on Britons’ pockets, with inflation continuing its upward trend.



Truss has promised to unveil measures to help struggling Brits within a week of taking office but has so far ruled out energy rationing — although she might not be able to fulfil that promise.



Economists say the package of measures will need to be big, very big, in order to pull the U.K. through a winter of crisis.



“Once in power, Liz Truss will likely be forced to take more drastic action to prevent winter supply shortages,” Eurasia Group’s Mujtaba Rahman and Henning Gloystein said in a research note last week.



“Alongside her “fiscal intervention,” Truss is also likely to unveil an energy package, which while aimed primarily at domestic consumers, will cover questions like storage, raising production, and ensuring that the UK’s Norway stream is secure.”



“With little policy action undertaken so far, it seems likely that more significant steps will be required during the fall and winter, including nonessential industries being ordered to temporarily shut down or, curtailments on public energy use in order to avoid the worst-case scenario of rolling heating or power outages,” which they gave a 70% probability.



There is only a 30% chance that the U.K. “can get through this winter without additional severe measures to reduce consumption,” the analysts said.

Sunak And Truss Face Off In Final Tory Leadership Hustings

Liz Truss to become Britain’s next prime minister, replacing Boris Johnson

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107104921-1660703209363-gettyimages-1242048853-fillon-notitle220721_nptgt-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-419606" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107104921-1660703209363-gettyimages-1242048853-fillon-notitle220721_nptgt-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107104921-1660703209363-gettyimages-1242048853-fillon-notitle220721_nptgt-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107104921-1660703209363-gettyimages-1242048853-fillon-notitle220721_nptgt-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107104921-1660703209363-gettyimages-1242048853-fillon-notitle220721_nptgt-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107104921-1660703209363-gettyimages-1242048853-fillon-notitle220721_nptgt-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107104921-1660703209363-gettyimages-1242048853-fillon-notitle220721_nptgt.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>10 and 5 euro notes. Adrien Fillon | Nurphoto | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The euro has fallen below $0.99 for the first time in 20 years after Russia said it would shut off its main gas supply pipeline to Europe indefinitely.



At 7.30 a.m. London time Monday, the euro was trading at 0.9898 versus the dollar, just off lows of around 0.9881 hit earlier in the morning.



The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, breached a fresh two-decade high as the British pound slid on fears over energy supply and European economic growth.&nbsp;



On Friday, Russian energy supplier Gazprom announced it would not resume its supply of natural gas to Germany through the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline, blaming a malfunctioning turbine.



This is a developing story&#8230;

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Euro slides below $0.99 after Russia halts gas supplies to Europe

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/106988042-1639175621183-gettyimages-1358314993-dscf4912_2021121042023370-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-419581" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/106988042-1639175621183-gettyimages-1358314993-dscf4912_2021121042023370-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/106988042-1639175621183-gettyimages-1358314993-dscf4912_2021121042023370-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/106988042-1639175621183-gettyimages-1358314993-dscf4912_2021121042023370-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/106988042-1639175621183-gettyimages-1358314993-dscf4912_2021121042023370-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/106988042-1639175621183-gettyimages-1358314993-dscf4912_2021121042023370-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/106988042-1639175621183-gettyimages-1358314993-dscf4912_2021121042023370.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



Job growth in August likely slowed from July’s frenzied pace, but it is still expected to have been quite strong, with broad-based hiring across many sectors.



Monthly jobs data is always important, but the August report, released at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday, is particularly key since the state of the labor market will be an important consideration in the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision later this month.



The economy is expected to have added 318,000 jobs in August, less than the surprisingly strong 528,000 jobs added in July, according to Dow Jones. The unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 3.5%, while average hourly wages are forecast to rise 0.4%, or 5.3% on an annualized basis.



“The view from market participants is the employment report is more important than the CPI inflation report in determining whether a 75 basis point or larger hike in September is more appropriate than a 50 basis point hike, and I think that’s the right view,” said Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist at Bank of America.



The other important data central bank officials will consider as they meet Sept. 20 and 21 is the August consumer price index, released Sept. 13. CPI is expected to be high but lower than July’s 8.5% pace, due to falling gasoline prices.



Stocks sold off ahead of the nonfarm payroll report this week on worries about inflation and rising interest rates. Strategists say the jobs report could be perceived as a “bad news is good news” type of report. A strong number could trigger more selling and a move up in bond yields, since investors will assume it will make the Fed more aggressive about raising interest rates.



“A weak number will lead to a rally in bonds,” said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group. “It will lead to weakness in the dollar and that will give us a relief rally in stocks, but I don’t know how long that will last because buying stocks into the teeth of a recession hasn’t been a great strategy. I think it’s going to be a recession for some and maybe not for others.”



Fed Chair Jerome Powell spooked the market last week when he emphasized the central bank is committed to battling inflation with higher rates, and it does not plan to back down. Many market pros expected the Fed to reverse some of its rate increases next year.



Powell used his Jackson Hole speech to bluntly warn that the economy and labor market will likely feel “pain,” as the Fed uses rate hikes to try to bring inflation under control. Investors have been debating whether the Fed will use its September meeting to fire off a third three-quarter point hike, or pare back to half a percentage point.



On Wednesday, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, a voting member of the Fed policy setting committee, said the central bank will have to move it key lending rate above 4% by early 2023 and keep it there.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-focus-of-the-fed"><a></a>Focus of the Fed</h2>



“The labor market situation has been a focus of the Fed,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG. “It’s one thing to say that unemployment is unsustainably low, and it’s another thing to say we’re going to raise unemployment. They mean the same thing. &#8230; Pain in the labor market is raising unemployment.”



Swonk said there is a lot of emphasis on the August jobs report, but it is the one month when economists expect the government’s monthly payroll data to be misleading.



“August tends to be the lowest response rate for the payroll survey of any month of the year, which makes it subject to some of the largest revisions,” she said. “This number is likely to get revised a lot. It’s a number you have to take with a little bit of a grain of salt.”



Swonk said small business hiring has probably been more affected by the pinch of inflation and higher rates than the larger employers. She expects there could be some degree of labor “hoarding,” as companies hold on to workers rather than lay them off because of the difficulties in finding workers.



Leisure and hospitality, for instance, may not see its usual end-of-summer downturn because businesses were already short staffed going into the summer vacation season, she added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-negative-by-early-next-year"><a></a>Negative by early next year</h2>



Both Swonk and Gapen expect the job market to begin turning out negative monthly numbers by early next year, as the Fed’s tightening takes a toll on the labor market.



Yet the jobs market remains surprisingly resilient so far. The Bureau of Labor Statistics this week reported a stunning 11.2 million job openings in July, 1 million more than expected.



Tom Gimbel, founder of LaSalle Networks, a recruiting firm, said he is not really seeing a slowdown despite high-profile announcements of layoffs in the technology sector.



“We’re seeing a big uptick in technology&#8230;It continues to grow. The biggest numbers tend to be in cybersecurity. I’m seeing a 20% increase year over year in the number of job openings,” he said. “I’m seeing an increase of 15% in project management. Companies are still doing special projects within the tech space.” He said sales jobs are also up by 10% since last year.



“We just heard the message again from Jackson Hole, the Fed is serious and we’re going to get inflation under control. The labor market is clearly out of balance,” said Gapen. “The stronger it is across the board, the more Fed tightening it’s going to bring.”

106988042-1639175621183-gettyimages-1358314993-dscf4912_2021121042023370

Critical August jobs report expected to run hot and that could lead to a more aggressive Fed

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DLULD7LDGFJCNKWJJUQTBTLYLI-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419555" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DLULD7LDGFJCNKWJJUQTBTLYLI-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DLULD7LDGFJCNKWJJUQTBTLYLI-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DLULD7LDGFJCNKWJJUQTBTLYLI-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DLULD7LDGFJCNKWJJUQTBTLYLI-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DLULD7LDGFJCNKWJJUQTBTLYLI.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>A World Meteorological Organization (WMO) headquarter is pictured before a news conference to launch state of global climate report at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 18, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse</figcaption></figure>



GENEVA, Aug 31 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The La Nina weather pattern will last until at least the end of the year, becoming the first time this century it will have spanned three consecutive northern winters, the World Meteorological Organization predicted on Wednesday.



La Nina conditions in the tropical Pacific strengthened as trade winds intensified in mid-July to mid-August, affecting temperatures and precipitation patterns and exacerbating drought and flooding in different parts of the world.



The WMO&#8217;s El Nino/La Nina Update foresaw the current La Nina &#8211; which started in September 2020 &#8211; continuing over the next six months, with a 70% chance in September-November 2022 and decreasing to 55% in December-February 2022-2023.



La Nina refers to the cooling of ocean surface temperatures coupled with winds and rainfall. It usually has the opposite impact on weather and climate as El Nino, which is the warm phase of the so-called El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO).&#8221;It is exceptional to have three consecutive years with a La Nina event. Its cooling influence is temporarily slowing the rise in global temperatures – but it will not halt or reverse the long-term warming trend,&#8221; WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement.



He said the worsening drought in the Horn of Africa and southern South America bore the hallmarks of La Nina, as did above-average rainfall in southeast Asia and Australasia.



&#8220;The new La Nina Update unfortunately confirms regional climate projections that the devastating drought in the Horn of Africa will worsen and affect millions of people,&#8221; he added.



(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

DLULD7LDGFJCNKWJJUQTBTLYLI

WMO forecasts first ‘triple-dip’ La Nina of the century

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107111800-1661935577906-GettyImages-1241892086-820x462.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419549" width="820" height="462" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107111800-1661935577906-GettyImages-1241892086-820x462.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107111800-1661935577906-GettyImages-1241892086-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107111800-1661935577906-GettyImages-1241892086-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107111800-1661935577906-GettyImages-1241892086-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107111800-1661935577906-GettyImages-1241892086.jpg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo via: CNBC</figcaption></figure>



Euro zone inflation hit a new record high in August of 9.1%, according to flash figures from Europe’s statistics office Eurostat, with high energy prices the main driving force.



The rate was above expectations, with a Reuters poll of economists anticipating a rate of 9%. It is the ninth consecutive record for consumer price rises in the region, with the climb starting back in November 2021. Headline inflation in the euro zone hit 8.9% (year-on-year) in July.



Energy had the highest annual inflation rate at 38.3%, Eurostat said Wednesday, down slightly from 39.6% in July. Food, alcohol and tobacco were up 10.6% compared to 9.8% in July, with the knock-on effects of recent heatwaves across the continent contributing to increases.



Non-energy industrial goods, such as clothing, household appliances and cars were up 5% compared to last year, a 0.5 percentage point increase on last month, while services were up by 3.8% in price year-on-year, 0.1 percentage points more than in July.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-french-and-spanish-inflation-slows"><a></a>French and Spanish inflation slows</h2>



Drilling down into national figures, the French inflation rate decreased to 6.5% in August, down from 6.8% in July. The rate was lower than expectations, with economists polled by Reuters having anticipated a drop to 6.7%.



Spain also released slowing inflation figures for August, at 10.3% year-on-year compared to 10.7% for July, according to the Eurostat flash estimate.



Meanwhile, the region’s largest economy, Germany, saw inflation reach its highest level in almost half a century at 8.8% year-on-year in August.



Estonia currently has the highest inflation rate in the euro zone at 25.2%, followed by Lithuania (21.1%) and Latvia (20.8%). Malta and Finland follow France with the lowest inflation rates, at 7.1% and 7.6% respectively.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-ecb-has-some-catching-up-to-do">The ECB ‘has some catching up to do’</h3>



Inflation continues to hit new records just as the European Central Bank mulls another large interest rate hike for next month.



The ECB increased interest rates by 50 basis points to zero on July 21 – its first rate hike in 11 years – and a similar, or larger, hike is now expected on Sept. 8.



“Some members are inclined to advocate a 75 basis points interest rate increase,” Peter Schaffrik, global macro strategist at RBC Capital Markets, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday.



“Despite the slowdown in the economy that we will almost certainly be getting, the central banks won’t let up on their hiking path,” he said.



The outlook for Europe’s economy is “pretty bleak,” Kenneth Wattret, head of economics at S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence, told CNBC’s “Street Signs Europe” on Aug. 23.



“It looks inevitable that the euro area is headed for a recession. The question is only how deep it will be and how long it will last,” he said. The ECB “has some catching up to do,” according to the economist.



“The ECB is way behind the curve, inflation is exceptionally elevated and likely remain that way for at least the next seven months,” Wattret said.



France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told CNBC’s Charlotte Reed Tuesday that inflation is a main focus for the nations of Europe in the short term. “The key challenge that we all have to face for the next weeks and the next months, is to reduce the level of inflation everywhere in Europe,” Le Maire said.



“So it’s up to the ECB to take the right decisions, and we fully trust the ECB to take the right decisions, but the key point is to have a decrease in the level of inflation everywhere in Europe,” he said.

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Euro zone inflation hits another record of 9.1% as food and energy prices soar

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="546" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107111594-1661891333246-gorb-820x546.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419545" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107111594-1661891333246-gorb-820x546.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107111594-1661891333246-gorb-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107111594-1661891333246-gorb-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107111594-1661891333246-gorb-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107111594-1661891333246-gorb-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107111594-1661891333246-gorb-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



Mikhail Gorbachev, the final leader of the Soviet Union and a reformer who helped end the Cold War and lead his country from communism to capitalism, died Tuesday at 91, according to the Gorbachev Foundation.



“Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev died this evening after a serious and long illness,” the Central Clinical Hospital reported, according to the Interfax news agency.



He&nbsp;will be buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow next to his wife, Raisa Gorbachev, according to the agency.



Born in the village of Privolnoye, Gorbachev grew up a committed communist during World War II. After he graduated from Moscow State University with a law degree in 1955, he rose through the ranks of the Communist Party and ascended to its top position — general secretary — in March 1985.



Gorbachev ushered in sweeping changes like “perestroika” and “glasnost,” reforms that sought to restructure the Soviet Union’s lagging economy and make its government more transparent.



Gorbachev and his wife <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1985/03/16/wow-a-soviet-first-lady/65148ba4-bbba-4eec-8e88-dfa98873786c/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">were also known</a> for a stylish charm at odds with the images of their predecessors. The Daily Mail dubbed them “the Gucci couple.”



When pro-democracy rallies began in Poland and swept across the Soviet bloc in 1989, Gorbachev did not send in Soviet tanks to crush the uprisings. The following year, he won the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1990/gorbachev/facts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nobel Peace Prize</a>&nbsp;for helping end the Cold War.



The Soviet Union quickly began to disintegrate as the captive Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia peeled away and other nations that had long been under Moscow’s yoke, including Ukraine, sought independence.



Months after an attempted coup, Gorbachev resigned on Dec. 25, 1991. The Soviet Union was dissolved a day later.



“I see myself as a man who started the reforms that were necessary for the country and for Europe and the world,” Gorbachev&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-mikhail-gorbachev-obituaries-5cb7a604243668f08dfaed953c09559e" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told The Associated Press</a>&nbsp;in 1992 shortly after he left office.



“I am often asked, would I have started it all again if I had to repeat it? Yes, indeed. And with more persistence and determination,” he told the AP.



A journalist and close friend of Gorbachev’s,&nbsp;Alexey Venediktov,&nbsp;<a href="https://odessa-journal.com/mikhail-gorbachev-he-destroyed-my-lifes-work/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told Forbes Russia</a>&nbsp;this year that Gorbachev was “disappointed” by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.



“It was his life’s work,” Venediktov said, recalling perestroika and glasnost. “Freedom is Gorbachev’s business.”



Venediktov told the outlet he believed Gorbachev’s legacy was being destroyed.



On Tuesday, Putin expressed “deep condolences” over his death, the Russian state news agency Tass reported.



U.N. Secretary-General&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/antonioguterres/status/1564739704284651526" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">António Guterres</a>, European Union Commission President&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1564726250358317061" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ursula von der Leyen</a>&nbsp;and other officials praised Gorbachev’s leadership Tuesday, saying he changed the course of history and paved the way for a free Europe.



“The world has lost a towering global leader, committed multilateralist, and tireless advocate for peace,” he said. “I’m deeply saddened by his passing.”



U.S. President Joe Biden said that Gorbachev was a rare leader because he had the “imagination to see that a different future was possible and the courage to risk his entire career to achieve it.”



“After decades of brutal political repression, he embraced democratic reforms. He believed in glasnost and perestroika — openness and restructuring — not as mere slogans, but as the path forward for the people of the Soviet Union after so many years of isolation and deprivation,” Biden said in a statement Tuesday night.

107111594-1661891333246-gorb

Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet leader who helped end the Cold War, has died

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="396" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107110541-1661769241421-gettyimages-1415035764-l1002592-2_ee1b7a90-eac5-4799-8c3e-f45c21b73c55.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-419509" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107110541-1661769241421-gettyimages-1415035764-l1002592-2_ee1b7a90-eac5-4799-8c3e-f45c21b73c55.jpeg 594w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107110541-1661769241421-gettyimages-1415035764-l1002592-2_ee1b7a90-eac5-4799-8c3e-f45c21b73c55-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107110541-1661769241421-gettyimages-1415035764-l1002592-2_ee1b7a90-eac5-4799-8c3e-f45c21b73c55-135x90.jpeg 135w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption>Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



Market watchers use the broad M2 measure as an indicator of total money supply and future inflation. M2 includes cash, checking and savings deposits and money market securities.



In recent months, money supply has stagnated and that’s likely to lead to an economic slowdown, Hanke warned.



“We’re going to have one whopper of a recession in 2023,” he said.



Meanwhile, inflation is going to remain high because of “unprecedented growth” in money supply in the United States, Hanke said.



Historically, there has never been “sustained inflation” that isn’t the result of excess growth in money supply, and pointed out that money supply in the U.S. saw “unprecedented growth” when Covid began two years ago, he said.



“That is why we are having inflation now, and that’s why, by the way, we will continue to have inflation through 2023 going into probably 2024,” he added.



In 2020, CNBC reported that the growth in money supply could lead to high inflation.



“The bottom line is we’re going to have stagflation — we’re going to have the inflation because of this excess that’s now coming into the system,” he added.



“The problem we have is that the [Fed Chair Jerome Powell] does not understand, even at this point, what the causes of inflation are and were,” Hanke said.



“He’s still going on about supply-side glitches,” he said, adding that “he has failed to tell us that inflation is always caused by excess growth in the money supply, turning the printing presses on.”



Powell, in his policy speech at the annual Jackson Hole economic symposium on Friday, said he views the high inflation in the U.S. as a “product of strong demand and constrained supply, and that the Fed’s tools work principally on aggregate demand.”



CNBC has reached out to the Federal Reserve for comment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sacrificial-lamb"><a></a>‘Sacrificial lamb’</h2>



David Rosenberg, president of Rosenberg Research, also expressed skepticism over the Fed’s direction, but in other respects. He said the Fed is now “more than happy” to overtighten to get inflation down quickly.



“Overtighten means that if the economy slips into a recession, you know — so be it,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Monday, adding that Powell said this is short-term pain for long-term gain.



He said he’s “a little disappointed” that the central bank is chasing lagging indicators like the unemployment rate and inflation, but that the Fed is “not going to take any chances” after being “thoroughly embarrassed” for calling inflation transitory.



″[Powell] basically said the economy will be, near term, a sacrificial lamb,” Rosenberg said.



“I think this Fed, after being on the wrong side of the call for the past say 12 to 15 months, are going to need to see probably at least six months of intense disinflation in the price data before they call it quits,” he added.

107110541-1661769241421-gettyimages-1415035764-l1002592-2_ee1b7a90-eac5-4799-8c3e-f45c21b73c55

Steve Hanke says we’re going to have one ‘whopper’ of a recession in 2023

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/42753534974_9afb2d746d_b-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-407618" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/42753534974_9afb2d746d_b-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/42753534974_9afb2d746d_b-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/42753534974_9afb2d746d_b-120x80.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/42753534974_9afb2d746d_b-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/42753534974_9afb2d746d_b.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivered a stern commitment Friday to halting inflation, warning that he expects the central bank to continue raising interest rates in a way that will cause “some pain” to the U.S. economy.



In his much-anticipated annual policy speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell affirmed that the Fed will “use our tools forcefully” to attack inflation that is still running near its highest level in more than 40 years.



Even with a series of four consecutive interest rate increases totaling 2.25 percentage points, Powell said this is “no place to stop or pause” even though benchmark rates are probably around an area considered neither stimulative nor restrictive to growth.



“While higher interest rates, slower growth, and softer labor market conditions will bring down inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses,” he said in prepared remarks. “These are the unfortunate costs of reducing inflation. But a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain.”



Stocks fell after the Powell speech, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average off more than 500 points. Treasury yields were off their highs of the session.



The remarks come amid signs that inflation may have peaked but is not showing any marked signs of decline.



Two closely watched gauges, the consumer price index and the personal consumption expenditures price index, showed prices little changed in July, owing largely to a steep drop in energy costs.



At the same time, other areas of the economy are slowing. Housing in particular is falling off rapidly, and economists expect that the huge surge in hiring over the past year and a half is likely to cool.



However, Powell cautioned that the Fed’s focus is broader than a month or two of data, and it will continue pushing ahead until inflation moves down closer to its 2% long-range goal.



“We are moving our policy stance purposefully to a level that will be sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to 2%,” he said. Looking into the future, the central bank leader added that “restoring price stability will likely require maintaining a restrictive policy stance for some time. The historical record cautions strongly against prematurely loosening policy.”



The economy is coming off consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, a commonly held definition of a recession. However, Powell and most other economists see the underlying economy as strong if slowing.



“In essence, Powell is clearly stating that right now, fighting inflation is more important than supporting growth,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-to-the-point"><a></a>To the point</h2>



The speech was unusually brief.



Whereas Fed leaders, including Powell, often have used the Jackson Hole symposium as an opportunity to outline broad policy shifts, Powell’s remarks Friday clocked in at just about eight minutes.



He introduced the speech by noting that his “remarks will be shorter, my focus narrower, and my message more direct.”



“Price stability is the responsibility of the Federal Reserve and serves as the bedrock of our economy,” Powell said. “Without price stability, the economy does not work for anyone.”



Markets are awaiting the Fed’s next meeting in September to see if the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee will enact a third consecutive 0.75 percentage point increase. Powell said the decision “will depend on the totality of the incoming data and the evolving outlook. At some point, as the stance of monetary policy tightens further, it likely will become appropriate to slow the pace of increases.”



Traders are currently pricing a close call between a half-point and three-quarter point increase. As of Friday morning after Powell’s speech, the probability for a 0.75 point move was at 54.5%, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch measure.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-to-history"><a></a>Looking to history</h2>



The Fed is using a lesson from the past as its guidepost for current policy.



Specifically, Powell said the inflation of 40 years ago provides the current Fed with three lessons: That central banks like the Fed are responsible for managing inflation, that expectations are critical and that “we must keep at it until the job is done.”



Powell noted that the Fed’s failure to act forcefully in the 1970s caused a perpetuation of high inflation expectations that led to the draconian rate hikes of the early 1980s. In that case, then-Fed Chairman Paul Volcker pulled the economy into recession to tame inflation.



While stating repeatedly that he doesn’t think recession is an inevitable outcome for the U.S. economy, Powell noted that managing expectations is critical if the Fed is going to avoid a Volcker-like outcome.



In the early 1980s, “a lengthy period of very restrictive monetary policy was ultimately needed to stem the high inflation and start the process of getting inflation down to the low and stable levels that were the norm until the spring of last year,” Powell said. “Our aim is to avoid that outcome by acting with resolve now.”



One concept molding Powell’s thinking is “rational inattention.” Essentially, that means people pay less attention to inflation when it is low and more when it is high.



“Of course, inflation has just about everyone’s attention right now, which highlights a particular risk today: The longer the current bout of high inflation continues, the greater the chance that expectations of higher inflation will become entrenched,” he said.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell Photo: via Flickr

Powell warns of ‘some pain’ ahead as the Fed fights to bring down inflation

Investors are looking for new guidance in Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole, Wyoming, speech Friday, but he could instead deliver the same inflation fighting message, just with a much tougher edge.



Powell is expected to emphasize that the central bank will use all the fire power it needs in the form of interest rate hikes to snuff out inflation. He is also likely to point out that after the Fed finishes raising rates, it is likely to hold them there, contrary to market expectations that it will actually start to cut interest rates next year.



Fed watchers say Powell is also unlikely to provide any substantive clues to resolve the market debate about whether the central bank will raise rates by a half point or three-quarters of a point at its next policy meeting on Sept. 21. Instead, Powell will likely reiterate that the Fed is highly dependent on incoming economic data. Before the Fed meets in September, there is another major employment report next Friday and the August consumer price index on Sept. 13.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107094976-16589499762022-07-27t184707z_1210647843_rc2ikv998avt_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-419452" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107094976-16589499762022-07-27t184707z_1210647843_rc2ikv998avt_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107094976-16589499762022-07-27t184707z_1210647843_rc2ikv998avt_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107094976-16589499762022-07-27t184707z_1210647843_rc2ikv998avt_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in Washington, July 27, 2022. Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



The futures market has been betting that a three-quarter point hike — or 0.75 of a percent — is more likely at the September meeting. The central bank raised rates by 0.75 of a point in both June and July. The fed funds rate is now in a range of 2.25% to 2.5%, and the Fed is targeting an end rate, or terminal rate, of 3.50% to 3.75% by the first quarter of next year.



“The challenge for Powell is going to be the tone he adopts. I think he came across as slightly too dovish, not hawkish enough in July,” said David Page, head of macroeconomic research at AXA Investment Managers. “I think he wants to avoid that now, with markets expecting him to be relatively hawkish. &#8230; It’s a very difficult game. It’s a game of expectations. &#8230; It becomes a fine tune issue.”



Stocks rallied after Powell’s comments following the July meeting and bond yields fell, signaling that markets perceived the chairman to be more dovish, or easy when it comes to interest rate expectations. But in the last week, bond yields have risen on a chorus of hawkish comments from other Fed officials.



Page said Powell is trying to avoid another big stock market rally and lower rates, which mean that financial conditions are loosening. The Fed is trying the difficult maneuver of cooling inflation by tightening financial conditions as it slows the economy and job market without causing a recession.



“The difficulty he will have is there’s already quite an expectation that he’s going to be quite hawkish, so he has to be at least quite hawkish for that rally not to happen,” said Page.



The message from last year’s Jackson Hole symposium was far different. Powell was still characterizing inflation as “transitory” and Fed expectations for rate hikes were much lower.



“It was a lower for longer policy stance,” said Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist at Bank of America. “Compared to that, this is going to sound super hawkish.” But the environment has changed dramatically since then, too, as inflation showed itself to be persistent rather than passing. Consumer inflation topped out at 9.1% in June, and it may have just peaked — months after the Fed had first expected.



“I think that will be the message &#8211; we’re going to slow down at some point. We’re tightening, but don’t expect a quick shift to cuts,” said Gapen.



Powell said after the July Fed meeting that the central bank could downsize the rate cuts at some point, but he did not mention reversing them, Gapen said.



“As monetary policy was premised lower for longer and needing a hot labor market, this is higher for longer and not needing a hot labor market in order to achieve price stability,” said Gapen.



Fed watchers say Powell may have confused market expectations when he said after July’s Fed meeting that the central bank was close to the neutral rate. The neutral rate is the level where the Fed does not have to raise or lower rates, and it had long been considered by central bank Fed officials to be 2.5%.

107094976-16589499762022-07-27t184707z_1210647843_rc2ikv998avt_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed

Powell is not likely to tell investors what they want to hear in Jackson Hole speech

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107107699-1661220858934-photo_2022-08-23_101338.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-419426" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107107699-1661220858934-photo_2022-08-23_101338.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107107699-1661220858934-photo_2022-08-23_101338-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107107699-1661220858934-photo_2022-08-23_101338-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Hunter Jarratt was a frequent buyer of Quaker’s apple oats bars — until he realized the size of his favorite snack has decreased in size, even though the packaging looks the same. Hunter Jarratt</figcaption></figure>



Hunter Jarratt was a frequent buyer of Quaker’s apple oats bars — until he realized the size of his favorite snack was decreasing in size, even though the packaging looked the same.&nbsp;



In his TikTok video, he pointed out that an old bar weighed 26 grams and costs $1.90 normally. But an oat bar now costs “well over $2,” at 24 grams, he claimed.



That means each gram in the 26-gram bar costs $0.073 while it costs slightly more — at least $0.083 per gram — for the smaller 24-gram bar, according to CNBC’s calculations.



“What it does have — is more air,” he said tongue-in-cheek.



That’s when Jarratt realized “shrinkflation” was at work — where some companies are reducing the contents of their packaging without raising the sticker price, and in so doing, charging consumers more.



PepsiCo — which owns Quaker and other household names, such as beverages like Gatorade and Lipton Tea, as well as Lays potato chips — did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.



Not only are consumers spending more on everyday goods, they’re also getting less than what they used to — and young people like Jarratt are not happy.



Like Jarratt, many are now taking to TikTok to call out companies that have reduced the size of products.



There were more than 261 million views of short videos related to “shrinkflation” on TikTok as of Thursday, according to the social media platform.



In July, PepsiCo raised its revenue outlook for the year as inflation pushed up prices and consumers paid more for its products. 



Expecting costs to rise even higher in the second half of the year, the global food and drink giant said at that time it plans to keep shrinking product sizes and deploying other ways to manage rising expenses.



How has shrinkflation impacted young people and are there ways to overcome it? CNBC Make It finds out.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-is-shrinkflation-happening"><a></a>Why is ‘shrinkflation’ happening?</h2>



In times of rising inflation, companies have to grapple with rising costs for ingredients, packaging, labor and transportation.



Even fast food chains like McDonald’s and Domino’s Pizza are shrinking their value meals and increasing prices to protect their margins. 



For Krishnan Kara, 23, it was Cadbury’s chocolate bars.



“They used to be 200g for £2 and are now 180g for £2. A 10% drop in size but the price is still the same,” the digital marketer from London said.



“I was annoyed &#8230; Instead of openly increasing the prices of goods with inflation, these big brands chose to make the amount of product less.”



In an email response to CNBC Make It, a Mondelez International spokesperson said that “significantly increased production costs” have made it much more expensive to produce its goods.



Mondelez International owns Cadbury and other snacks like Oreo, Ritz and Toblerone.



“We understand that consumers are faced with rising costs too, which is why we look to absorb costs wherever we can,” Mondelez International said, without elaborating.



The spokesperson added that it is the first time since 2012 that the size of medium Cadbury Dairy Milk bars have been reduced.



Drew Lee, 31, acknowledged that it’s as important as ever for companies to “do whatever they need to do to maintain their profit levels.”



“As a consumer, I don’t like [shrinkflation].&nbsp;But I get why companies are doing it. Everyone has to make money,” said the industrial engineer.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Food ‘not lasting as long’</h2>



Even so, individuals whom CNBC Make It spoke to remain adamant that shrinkflation will hurt consumers.



“Inflation and shrinkflation are really having a huge impact on groceries and the bottom line of just about everyone,” said Lee.&nbsp;



Lee added that he noticed shrinkflation was at work because he would typically pour his packaged oatmeal from Target’s private-label brand Good &amp; Gather into a different storage container. 



“I noticed that it did not fill up the entire container like it normally would. If I didn’t pour the oatmeal into a different container, I definitely would not have noticed this,” he said.



CNBC Make It reached out to Target for comment and a spokesperson said the company has not made any changes to its oatmeal packaging or product since its release in 2020.



“Shrinkflation is an attempt to trick customers into thinking they are paying the same price for an item when in reality they are paying a higher cost per unit for that item,” insisted Lee, the engineer.



Claudia Valladares, a financial advisor, said that shrinkflation is a cause for concern especially for “individuals who are on a tight budget.”&nbsp;



“It’s difficult enough to keep up with the rising cost of living already, and when businesses start reducing the sizes of their items, it makes things worse.” 



Jarratt agreed, saying that that food is “not lasting as long” now that inflation and shrinkflation have become more intense.



“I am a university student on student loans … I have an allocated amount of money for food,” the 22-year-old added. 



“Either I am choosing alternative products or unfortunately, having to spend more money on food … that is just adding more debt in the long-run.”&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Here’s what you can do&nbsp;</h2>



Jarratt’s personal experiences with rising costs of living and shrinkflation propelled him to create a TikTok video — even though he admitted it’s not his “usual content” as an environmental educator.



“It is hard to truly be a conscientious consumer at the grocery store when most products are owned only by a handful of companies. But when you do spot a change, it’s important to speak up,” he said.



“People are definitely starting to catch on. A slight package change isn’t going to fool anyone.”&nbsp;



Other than creating awareness, here’s what some are doing to get by:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>1. Pay close attention to prices and quantities&nbsp;</h2>



It is more important now than ever to pay attention to prices and make comparisons between stores when doing grocery shopping, said Lee.&nbsp;



“You could be throwing away a dollar here and there which will have a huge impact over time.”



Kara added that he is now paying more attention to the price per gram of food items.&nbsp;



“Something may look cheaper but the price per gram is higher than the same product that’s more expensive,” he pointed out.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>2. No shame in ‘no-name’&nbsp;</h2>



Another way to tackle shrinkflation could be to abandon your loyalty to particular brands.&nbsp;



Jarratt said when he notices an item has shrunk, he would switch to another brand.&nbsp;



“For example, instead of buying Quaker’s oats bars, I would rather buy Nature Valley’s bars by General Mills, which at least still leave me feeling like I ate something,” he said. 



“I may also buy a ‘no-name’ brand granola bar which is cheaper than other brands, and still somewhat filling as a snack.



He observed that smaller, lesser-known companies may have increased their prices but the sizes of products seem to have stayed the same.



“I would purchase from companies like that, and where possible and affordable, local businesses too.”&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>3. Consider buying in bulk&nbsp;</h2>



Valladares, the financial advisor, said that buying in bulk would typically allow you to “get a discount on the overall purchase.”



“This is because retailers know that they will be selling a larger quantity of the product and are willing to give a price break,” she explained.&nbsp;



“It also allows you to take advantage of economies of scale – the per-unit cost of the product decreases as the quantity increases.”



Stocking up on sale items may also help you save in the long-run, but there are a few things to keep in mind when buying in bulk, said Valladares.&nbsp;



For example, you should check the expiry dates of non-perishable items, and not assume they’re always cheaper.



“Sometimes, retailers charge more per unit when selling in larger quantities. It’s always a good idea to compare the price per unit before making your purchase,” Valladares added.

107107699-1661220858934-photo_2022-08-23_101338

Tired of paying more for less, shoppers take to TikTok to call out companies for ‘shrinkflation’

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107104066-1660587702448-nys1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419382" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107104066-1660587702448-nys1.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107104066-1660587702448-nys1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107104066-1660587702448-nys1-160x90.jpg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Traders work the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on August 15, 2022 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The euro traded at a two-decade low of 0.9903 against the U.S. dollar Tuesday morning, with analysts predicting the single currency will continue to slide.



“Our outlook and our trades and our position on the strategist side are definitely biased towards further euro depreciation from where we are now,” Luis Costa, head of CEEMEA strategy at Citibank, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday.



“This is the primary point of euro vulnerability now,” Costa said.&nbsp;



There are multiple factors at play when comparing the euro and the dollar, working in tandem with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and mounting inflation across both regions.



Wholesale gas prices in Europe rose sharply on Monday after Russia announced unscheduled maintenance on its main pipeline to Germany, Nord Stream 1, while heat waves have put additional strain on energy supplies.



For the full picture, you also have to look beyond Europe and the United States, says Costa.



“Let’s not forget there is an additional layer of complexity here from the China slowdown which obviously hits Europe with a much higher magnitude when compared to the impact in the States,” he said.



China missed GDP expectations with growth of just 0.4% in the second quarter. The world second-largest economy has struggled with the aftermath of the country’s worst Covid-19 outbreak since the start of 2020.



Until May, markets were “considering hawkish flight paths” for the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, according to Costa, but those plans have “imploded” in recent months.&nbsp;



“Talking about ECB liftoff… It’s absolutely glaring that ECB room to lift rates will be minimal,” he said.



Global finance institution ING’s Roelof-Jan Van den Akker made similar predictions on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” last week, suggesting a widening in the interest rate differential between the U.S. dollar and the euro, as well as a further weakening of the single currency.



″[The dollar] broke below the 103.60 support level. That’s a very crucial horizontal support … And I suggest that there’s further downside potential to go. Longer-term target of between $0.80 to $0.75 in the coming months,” Van den Akker said.



“It confirms there is dollar strength as well as euro weakness,” he told CNBC.



The predictions echo concerns that inflation will continue to rise and that a recession in Europe is now unavoidable.



The dollar’s strength may not last though, according to Societe Generale Macro Strategist Kit Juckes.



“Maybe, all in all, the dollar rally has run about as far as it can on the current news,” he wrote in an email Tuesday morning.



“That’s not to say Europe’s energy woes, China’s economic weakness and policy easing, and US jobs/inflation data can’t send it further, but when I read that buying the dollar is ‘the easiest trade in FX’ the hairs on the back of my neck warn me to be careful,” Juckes wrote.



And Europe should be able to recover from those “woes,” according to the strategist.



“I still can’t see how it can rally much on anything other than short covering, but if risk markets don’t interfere, the euro can find a base here,” he wrote.

107104066-1660587702448-nys1

Euro trades at two-decade low against the dollar. And some think it could slide much further

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107091224-1658291324652-gettyimages-1398315006-vcg111383372885.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-419344" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107091224-1658291324652-gettyimages-1398315006-vcg111383372885.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107091224-1658291324652-gettyimages-1398315006-vcg111383372885-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107091224-1658291324652-gettyimages-1398315006-vcg111383372885-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A man looks at his smartphone as he walks past the People’s Bank of China building on May 20, 2022 in Beijing. Jiang Qiming | China News Service | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



China trimmed its key lending rates again on Monday, one week after it cut two interest rates in a surprise move.



The moves are seen as an attempt to revive credit demand and fire up the economy hurt by extended Covid lockdowns and property debt problems.



The People’s Bank of China cut its five-year loan prime rate by 15 basis points to 4.30% from 4.45%, and lowered its one-year loan prime rate by 5 basis points to 3.65%.



Most new loans in China are based on the one-year LPR.



Last week, the Chinese central bank lowered the rate of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans to some financial institutions by 10 basis points. It also cut the the seven-day reverse repo rate by 10 basis points to 2%.



Positive reactions to last week’s rate changes were short-lived, said analysts such as Navigate Commodities managing director Atilla Widnell.



“Fresh monetary easing/stimulus was seen as futile as ‘flogging a dead horse,’ given that China’s economy desperately needs consumers back on the streets spending money,” he said in a note.



In relation to the latest round of cuts, David Chao, global market strategist for Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) at Invesco said it hinted at the seriousness of the property market downturn.



However, he conceded that these cuts won’t be enough to increase liquidity.



“It sends a strong message that policymakers are willing to take more forceful actions to stabilize the ailing market,” he said in a note.



“Though the LPR cut may provide&nbsp;near-term relief, easing liquidity alone is unlikely to&nbsp;lead to a turnaround to the property market.”



He added that lower mortgage rates haven’t&nbsp;translated into&nbsp;higher property sales so far, “due to the lack of confidence in&nbsp;large&nbsp;developers and&nbsp;the&nbsp;presales&nbsp;model.”



Chao said he doesn’t expect these to be last of the monetary policy fixes to come from the Chinese authorities, especially when “central and local governments have the financial tools to provide an excess of 3 trillion yuan to boost the property sector.”



While today’s rate cuts won’t be a game changer, they are for now an encouraging sign, said asset manager Joshua Crabb, who is head of Asia Pacific equities at Robeco.



A more positive move would be for China to open up through changes to its Covid-19 policies, as that would be the repair the economy needs, he said.



“For now, it’s a positive sign in the right direction … but I think people are looking for something bigger in order to get a bit more excited about the market,” Crabb told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Monday.



While the rate cuts will have “zero impact” on the current trajectory of both the economy and the property sector, China’s slowdown has been inevitable, ACY Securities Chief Economist Clifford Bennett said.



The pandemic and China’s economic reset were a coincidence, he added.



Last week, several economists downgraded their forecasts for China’s growth. Goldman Sachs lowered its 2022 full-year forecast to 3.0% from 3.3% growth, while Nomura cut its full-year growth projections to 2.8% from 3.3%.



“If you will, Covid-19 has masked a far more fundamental and permanent shift in the nature of the China economy. From boom growth period, agrarian, to consumer society,” Bennett said.



“As impressive as all that be, the rapid and far easier growth pace of the past is at an end.”



But even at 2% GDP growth, China would remain a powerhouse as economies in Europe and the U.S. slow, Bennet said.



—&nbsp;Correction: This story has been updated to remove a quote about rate cuts that was wrongly attributed to Joshua Crabb from Robeco.

107091224-1658291324652-gettyimages-1398315006-vcg111383372885

China trims lending rates again, one week after surprise cuts in key rates

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106999520-16419153682022-01-11t153007z_1471999278_rc23xr9k3c5b_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-senate-powell-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-416636" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106999520-16419153682022-01-11t153007z_1471999278_rc23xr9k3c5b_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-senate-powell-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106999520-16419153682022-01-11t153007z_1471999278_rc23xr9k3c5b_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-senate-powell-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106999520-16419153682022-01-11t153007z_1471999278_rc23xr9k3c5b_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-senate-powell-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106999520-16419153682022-01-11t153007z_1471999278_rc23xr9k3c5b_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-senate-powell-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106999520-16419153682022-01-11t153007z_1471999278_rc23xr9k3c5b_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-senate-powell-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106999520-16419153682022-01-11t153007z_1471999278_rc23xr9k3c5b_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-senate-powell-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Powell says taming inflation ‘absolutely essential,’ and a 50 basis point hike possible for May</figcaption></figure>



Federal Reserve officials at their July meeting indicated they likely would not consider pulling back on interest rate hikes until inflation came down substantially, according to minutes from the session released Wednesday.



During a meeting in which the central bank approved a 0.75 percentage point rate hike, policymakers expressed resolve to bring down inflation that is running well above the Fed’s desired 2% level.



They did not provide specific guidance for future increases and said they would be watching data closely before making that decision. Market pricing is for a half-point rate hike at the September meeting, though that remains a close call.



Meeting participants noted that the 2.25%-2.50% range for the federal funds rate was around the “neutral” level that is neither supportive nor restrictive on activity. Some officials said a restrictive stance likely will be appropriate, indicating more rate hikes to come.



“With inflation remaining well above the Committee’s objective, participants judged that moving to a restrictive stance of policy was required to meet the Committee’s legislative mandate to promote maximum employment and price stability,” the minutes said.



The document also reflected the idea that once the Fed gets comfortable with its policy stance and sees it having an impact on inflation, it could start to take its foot off the policy brake. That notion has helped push stocks into a strong summer rally.



“Participants judged that, as the stance of monetary policy tightened further, it likely would become appropriate at some point to slow the pace of policy rate increases while assessing the effects of cumulative policy adjustments on economic activity and inflation,” the minutes said.



However, the summary also stated that some participants said “it likely would be appropriate to maintain that level for some time to ensure that inflation was firmly on a path back to 2 percent.”



Officials noted that future rate decisions would be based on incoming data. But they also said there were few signs that inflation was abating, and the minutes repeatedly stressed the Fed’s resolve to bring down inflation.



They further noted that it likely would “take some time” before policy kicked in enough to have a meaningful impact.



The consumer price index was flat for July but was up 8.5% from a year ago. A separate measure the Fed follows, the personal consumption expenditures price index, rose 1% in June and was up 6.8% year over year.



Policymakers worried that any signs of wavering from the Fed would make the situation worse.



“Participants judged that a significant risk facing the Committee was that elevated inflation could become entrenched if the public began to question the Committee’s resolve to adjust the stance of policy sufficiently,” the minutes said. “If this risk materialized, it would complicate the task of returning inflation to 2 percent and could raise substantially the economic costs of doing so.”



Though the Fed took the unprecedented steps of hiking three-quarters of a point at successive meetings, markets have been in rally mode lately on hopes that the central bank might soften the pace of increases heading into the fall.



Since the recent bottom in mid-June, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 14%.



The minutes noted that some members worried the Fed could overdo it with rate hikes, underscoring the importance of not being tied to forward guidance on moves and instead following the data.

106999520-16419153682022-01-11t153007z_1471999278_rc23xr9k3c5b_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-senate-powell

Fed sees interest rate hikes continuing until inflation eases substantially, minutes show

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107094137-1658856244649-gettyimages-1242123750-68053336.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-419256" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107094137-1658856244649-gettyimages-1242123750-68053336.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107094137-1658856244649-gettyimages-1242123750-68053336-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107094137-1658856244649-gettyimages-1242123750-68053336-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Liz Truss and Rushi Sunak during The Sun’s Showdown: The Fight for No10, the latest head-to-head debate for the Conservative Party leader candidates. The next prime minister will be forced to confront a historic cost of living crisis as food and energy prices soar and real income shrinks. Dominic Lipinski | Pa Images | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



LONDON — U.K. inflation rose to another 40-year high in July as spiraling food and energy prices continued to intensify the country’s historic squeeze on households.



The consumer price index rose 10.1% annually, according to estimates published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday, above a Reuters consensus forecast of 9.8% and up from 9.4% in June.



Core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, came in at 6.2% in the year to July 2022, rising from 5.8% in June and ahead of projections of 5.9%.



Rising food prices made the largest upward contribution to annual inflation rates between June and July, the ONS said in its report.



The ONS repeated that its indicative modelled consumer price inflation estimates “suggest that the CPI rate would last have been higher around 1982, where estimates range from nearly 11% in January down to approximately 6.5% in December.”



The&nbsp;Bank of England&nbsp;has implemented six consecutive hikes to interest rates as it looks to rein in inflation, and earlier this month&nbsp;launched its largest single increase since 1995&nbsp;while projecting that the U.K. will enter its longest recession since the global financial crisis in the fourth quarter of the year.



The Bank expects inflation to top out at 13.3% in October. Conservative Party leadership candidates Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, one of whom will succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister on Sept. 5 after a poll of party members, are under increasing pressure to offer radical solutions to the country’s historic cost-of-living crisis.



The latest forecasts suggest the U.K.’s energy price cap could rise to £4,266 ($5,170) annually early next year from its current £1,971, with many households already choosing between heating and eating. The cap is expected to rise to more than £3,000 in October following the next review.



Real wages in the U.K. fell by an annual 3%&nbsp;in the second quarter of 2022, according to ONS data published Tuesday, the sharpest decline on record.



Despite average pay excluding bonuses increasing by 4.7%, the cost of living is far outpacing wage growth and squeezing household incomes.



“Today’s inflation figures serve as a further reminder to many UK households that they are facing a period of considerable financial hardship,” said Dan Howe, head of investment trusts at Janus Henderson.



“Consumers are already grappling with rising energy costs and surging household prices, all compounded by a lack of decisive action at the political level. Amid talks of strikes and energy blackouts, there is no doubt that tough decisions lie ahead of U.K. families.”



Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at Quilter Cheviot, predicted that the Bank of England will likely respond at its next monetary policy meeting with yet another 50 basis point interest rate hike in a bid to combat inflation, and said there is no doubt that the cost-of-living crisis is going to get worse before it gets better.



“As such, there will no doubt be a lot of pressure on the next Prime Minister to help soften the blow and the Bank of England will continue to have a very difficult job on its hands,” he added.

107094137-1658856244649-gettyimages-1242123750-68053336

UK inflation hits new 40-year high of 10.1% as food and energy price surge continues

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107104804-1660680828602-bid3-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419252" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107104804-1660680828602-bid3-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107104804-1660680828602-bid3-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107104804-1660680828602-bid3-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107104804-1660680828602-bid3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107104804-1660680828602-bid3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107104804-1660680828602-bid3-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



After more than a year of debate over costs, taxes, tax credits and regulations, President&nbsp;Joe Biden&nbsp;finally signed his sweeping tax, health and climate bill&nbsp;into law — albeit a significantly reduced version of the $1.75 trillion&nbsp;Build Back Better plan&nbsp;he was pushing for last year.



The president signed the newly renamed Inflation Reduction Act into law flanked by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va.; and Reps. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C. and Kathy Castor, D-Fl.



“With this law, the American people won and the special interests lost,” Biden said in remarks before he signed the bill.



The new law includes a $369 billion investment in climate and energy policies, $64 billion to extend a policy under the Affordable Care Act to reduce health insurance costs, and a 15% corporate minimum tax aimed at companies that earn more than $1 billion a year.



The $437 billion spending package is expected to raise $737 billion in revenue over the next decade, the biggest share coming from reductions in drug prices for Medicare recipients and tax hikes on corporations. Roughly $124 billion is expected to come from increased IRS enforcement, meaning tougher and more frequent audits for the wealthy. It’s projected to reduce the deficit by more than $300 billion over a decade.



To get a deal done, Biden had to give up some of his favorite pieces of his original&nbsp;Build Back Better&nbsp;bill, including universal child care and tax cuts for the middle class. Manchin, a conservative Democrat,&nbsp;was also a late Democratic holdout until&nbsp;he and Schumer&nbsp;struck a deal moving the bill forward earlier this month.



Freshman Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., held up passage in the evenly divided Senate at the last minute over a provision that would have closed the so-called carried interest loophole that allows private equity managers and hedge fund executives to pay significantly lower tax rates than most taxpayers.



While introducing the president, Schumer thanked Manchin along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and the White House staff “who gave it their all to finishing this bill.”



The bill narrowly passed the U.S. Senate 51-50 on Aug. 7 with no Republican votes. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tiebreaking vote, giving Democrats a win.



The U.S. House passed the bill Friday by a&nbsp;220-207 margin.



In remarks, Biden noted that every Republican in Congress voted against the measure.



“Let’s be clear. In this historic moment, Democrats sided with the American people and every single Republican in the Congress sided with a special interest in this vote,” he said. “Every single one.”

107104804-1660680828602-bid3

Biden signs Inflation Reduction Act into law, setting 15% minimum corporate tax rate

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="556" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-1242534232-820x556.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419208" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-1242534232-820x556.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-1242534232-300x203.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-1242534232-133x90.jpg 133w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-1242534232-768x521.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-1242534232-1536x1042.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-1242534232-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>ODESSA REGION, UKRAINE &#8211; AUGUST 16: The Lebanese-flagged bulk carrier Brave Commander grain ship carrying humanitarian food aid cargo of wheat for Ethiopia, departs from Yuzhne in Odessa region, Ukraine, on August 16, 2022. Turkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal on July 22 to reopen three Ukrainian ports &#8212; Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny &#8212; for grain that has been stuck for months because of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which is now in its sixth month. (Photo by Vladimir Shtanko/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



KYIV/ISTANBUL, Aug 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The ship Brave Commander has left the Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi, carrying the first cargo of humanitarian food aid bound for Africa from Ukraine since Russia&#8217;s invasion, Refinitiv Eikon data showed on Tuesday.



Ukraine&#8217;s grain exports have slumped since the start of the war because of the closure of its Black Sea ports, driving up global food prices and sparking fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East.



Moscow calls its action in Ukraine a &#8220;special military operation&#8221;.



Three Black Sea ports were unblocked last month under a deal between Moscow and Kyiv, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, making it possible to send hundreds of thousands of tonnes of Ukrainian grain to buyers.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2ZH0AX&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The Brave Commander, carrying 23,000 tonnes of wheat, left for Djibouti with supplies destined for consumers in Ethiopia, Ukraine&#8217;s infrastructure ministry said.



&#8220;The ministry and the United Nations are working on ways to increase food supplies for the socially vulnerable sections of the African population,&#8221; it said in a statement.



World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley said the most important step in combating hunger globally is the opening of Ukraine&#8217;s Black Sea ports.



&#8220;It will take more than grain ships out of Ukraine to stop world hunger, but with Ukrainian grain back on global markets we have a chance to stop this global food crisis from spiraling even further,&#8221; he said in a statement.



The WFP&#8217;s deputy emergency co-ordinator in Ukraine, Marianne Ward, told Reuters the ship was expected to reach its destination in two weeks and the humanitarian agency had procured 60,000 metric tonnes of wheat thus far.



Further cargoes are likely to deliver food aid to countries in the Middle East and Horn of Africa, she said, adding that WFP was looking at all options to transport food out of Ukraine.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-food-crisis">FOOD CRISIS</h2>



&#8220;While we totally focused on the Odesa ports because that is most efficient and can get out the most tonnage, we are still pursuing taking commodities out through alternative routes,&#8221;



Despite the latest developments, the world still faces an unprecedented food crisis, the WFP said, adding that up to 50 million people in 45 countries are on the edge of famine.



Ukraine can export 3 million tonnes of grain from its ports in September and be able in the future to export 4 million tonnes a month, said Deputy Infrastructure Minister Yuriy Vaskov.



He said that Ukraine had received applications for 30 ships to come to Ukraine in the next two weeks to export grain while the total export volume so far was about 600,000 tonnes.



Turkey&#8217;s defence ministry said that five ships, including the Brave Commander, left Ukrainian ports on Tuesday carrying corn and wheat, three from Chornomorsk and two from Pivdennyi. That lifts the total number of ships to leave under the deal to 21.



Four more ships bound for Ukraine were to be inspected on Tuesday by the joint co-ordination centre set up in Istanbul by Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations.



Despite the unblocking of ports, Ukraine&#8217;s grain exports are down 46% year on year at 2.65 million tonnes so far in the 2022/23 season, the agriculture ministry said this week.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2ZR0EE&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Ukraine exported 948,000 tonnes of grain in the first half of August, down from 1.88 million tonnes in the same period a year earlier.



(Reporting by Daren Butler in Istanbul and Pavel Polityuk in KyivAdditional reporting by Andrea Shalal in Kyiv and Wendell Roelf in Cape TownEditing by Clarence Fernandez, Jason Neely and David Goodman)

International

European Central Bank raises rates by 75 basis points to tackle soaring inflation

Liz Truss to become Britain’s next prime minister, replacing Boris Johnson

Euro slides below $0.99 after Russia halts gas supplies to Europe

Critical August jobs report expected to run hot and that could lead to a more aggressive Fed

WMO forecasts first ‘triple-dip’ La Nina of the century

Euro zone inflation hits another record of 9.1% as food and energy prices soar

Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet leader who helped end the Cold War, has died

Steve Hanke says we’re going to have one ‘whopper’ of a recession in 2023

Powell warns of ‘some pain’ ahead as the Fed fights to bring down inflation

Powell is not likely to tell investors what they want to hear in Jackson Hole speech

Tired of paying more for less, shoppers take to TikTok to call out companies for ‘shrinkflation’

Euro trades at two-decade low against the dollar. And some think it could slide much further

China trims lending rates again, one week after surprise cuts in key rates

Fed sees interest rate hikes continuing until inflation eases substantially, minutes show

UK inflation hits new 40-year high of 10.1% as food and energy price surge continues

Biden signs Inflation Reduction Act into law, setting 15% minimum corporate tax rate

First post-blockade food aid ship leaves Ukraine for Africa

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International

European Central Bank raises rates by 75 basis points to tackle soaring inflation

Liz Truss to become Britain’s next prime minister, replacing Boris Johnson

Euro slides below $0.99 after Russia halts gas supplies to Europe

Critical August jobs report expected to run hot and that could lead to a more aggressive Fed

WMO forecasts first ‘triple-dip’ La Nina of the century

Euro zone inflation hits another record of 9.1% as food and energy prices soar

Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet leader who helped end the Cold War, has died

Steve Hanke says we’re going to have one ‘whopper’ of a recession in 2023

Powell warns of ‘some pain’ ahead as the Fed fights to bring down inflation

Powell is not likely to tell investors what they want to hear in Jackson Hole speech

Tired of paying more for less, shoppers take to TikTok to call out companies for ‘shrinkflation’

Euro trades at two-decade low against the dollar. And some think it could slide much further

China trims lending rates again, one week after surprise cuts in key rates

Fed sees interest rate hikes continuing until inflation eases substantially, minutes show

UK inflation hits new 40-year high of 10.1% as food and energy price surge continues

Biden signs Inflation Reduction Act into law, setting 15% minimum corporate tax rate

First post-blockade food aid ship leaves Ukraine for Africa

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