Bhinneka News Online: Thursday Briefing: Bank of England raises rates as inflation pressures mount

Thursday 16 December 2021

Thursday Briefing: Bank of England raises rates as inflation pressures mount

Thursday, December 16, 2021

by Linda Noakes

Hello

Here's what you need to know.

The Bank of England raises rates while Turkey's central bank cuts, Reddit jumps on the IPO bandwagon, and Typhoon Rai slams the Philippines

Today's biggest stories

People walk across Westminster Bridge in London, December 15, 2021

BUSINESS

The Bank of England raised its main interest rate to 0.25% as inflation pressures mounted in Britain, becoming the first major central bank in the world to raise borrowing costs since the pandemic hit last year.

The Turkish lira plunged as much as 5.6% to a record low against the dollar after the central bank slashed its policy rate in line with an unorthodox economic program set out by President Tayyip Erdogan.

Investors are asking a key question after the U.S. Federal Reserve accelerated its taper of bond purchases and unveiled more aggressive rate hike projections: When could the central bank eventually start to shrink its massive balance sheet?

Reddit, known for its message boards that became the go-to destination for day traders during this year's meme stock frenzy, said it had confidentially filed for an initial public offering with U.S. securities regulators. Founded in 2005 by Steve Huffman and entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian, Reddit was valued at $10 billion in a private fundraising round earlier this year.

French power giant EDF said it had found faults on pipes in a safety system at its Civaux nuclear power station, and it would shut down another plant because it used the same kind of reactors. The setback comes as France plans a major nuclear power station building program, diverging from neighbor Germany which retreated from nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

Australia's Qantas Airways said it has chosen Airbus as the preferred supplier to replace its domestic fleet, switching from Boeing in a major win for the European planemaker. We take a look at how airlines are looking past the pandemic to renew their fleets.

A dust storm in Niwot, Colorado, December 15, 2021

U.S.

President Joe Biden walked through the battered remains of two Kentucky cities to get a first-hand view of the destruction wrought by one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in recent U.S. history. Less than a week after the tornadoes, a freakish wind storm brought 'Dust Bowl' conditions and gusts of more than 100 mph to parts of the Great Plains and Upper Midwest.

Universities canceled events, the National Football League reported a record number of cases, and long lines formed at New York City testing clinics as a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases and concern over the Omicron variant disrupted American life anew.

Senate Democrats were struggling to find a path forward on Biden's $1.75 trillion domestic investment bill, with moderate Joe Manchin objecting to parts of the program, a person familiar with their negotiations said.

Ghislaine Maxwell's defense is set to start making its case in the British socialite's sex abuse trial, after the jury heard testimony from four women who said she groomed them for abuse by Jeffrey Epstein when they were teenagers.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty in a federal court to charges he violated George Floyd's civil rights, likely extending his prison sentence by several years after his earlier conviction for the Black man's murder.

Philippine Coast Guard personnel rescue residents amid floods caused by Typhoon Rai in Cagayan De Oro City, December 16, 2021

WORLD

Typhoon Rai rapidly intensified to a Category 5 storm before making landfall in the southern Philippines, forcing mass evacuations and flight cancellations as floodwaters reached chest-high in low-lying communities.

England's chief medical officer warned people not to mix with others unless they have to in the run-up to Christmas after Britain recorded its most daily coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic. France announced that only designated categories of people would be allowed to travel between the two countries, and anyone arriving from Britain would have to self-isolate.

U.S. military commanders in the Pacific have built a software tool to predict how the Chinese government will react to U.S. actions in the region like military sales, U.S.-backed military activity and even congressional visits to hotspots like Taiwan. The tool looks at data since early 2020 and evaluates significant activities that had impacted U.S.-Sino relations.

Lithuania is to ask European leaders for help against Chinese pressure after the Vilnius delegation and its dependents left China in a hasty departure and amid denials from Beijing there were concerns for Lithuanian diplomats' safety.

Ten years after Kim Jong Un assumed power North Korea is better armed but deeply isolated and more dependent on China, despite actions by the young leader that raised - and dashed - hopes of economic transformation or international opening.

Quote of the day

"We are probably facing the most dangerous situation in the last 30 years, I am talking about not only Ukraine but the eastern flank of NATO"

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda

EU leaders consider new sanctions against Russia

Video of the day

NASA's Webb telescope promises an 'amazing journey' for astronomy

The telescope, due for launch next week, could usher in a new era in astronomy as it gathers information on the universe's earliest stages and whether planets beyond our solar system may be suitable for life.

And finally…

Inside La Palma's volcano

The Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma fell silent for a second day, giving scientists the first chance to study the main crater from its brink as the eruption appeared to be nearing its end after three months.