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This week in business: Fed minutes, services sector and employment updates

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:Watching the FedThe Federal Reserve on Wednesday releases the minutes from its interest rate policy meeting in June.At the meeting, the central bank held is benchmark short-term rate steady. It had been raising rates at a feverish pace since 2022 to fight inflation, which has shown signs of cooling. The central bank is trying to gauge the ongoing impact to inflation and the economy from its rate increases and has signaled that it will likely raise rates twice more this year.Services statusThe Institute for Supply Management on Thursday releases its latest report on the services sector, which employs most Americans.Economists expect the monthly index from the Institute for Supply Management to remain relatively steady in June after slipping for several months. The sector has remained resilient despite pressure from inflation, with readings above 50 signaling growth. The sector is being watched closel...

REMA on the brain

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

Presented by SSE By CHARLIE COOPER and ABBY WALLACE PRESENTED BY View in your browser or listen to audioSNEAK PEEK— The clock is ticking for clean energy investment as the government continues its Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA).— We were supposed to get a biomass strategy over the weekend — but ministers have missed their own deadline.— Zac Goldsmith, one of the leading Tory ministers backing climate and nature policies, resigned on Friday. We dissect the fallout. Happy Monday, Happy July — and a warm welcome back to POLITICO Pro Morning Energy and Climate UK. Here’s your first update of the week.As always, please send all your thoughts, musings, tips and critique to [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected]. Or talk to us on Twitter: @hargraver; @charliecooper8; @abby_wallace3. If you are not already a Pro subscriber and would like a free trial of this newsletter, sign up here.DRIVING TH...

4 Palestinians killed as Israel stages large-scale raid in West Bank militant stronghold

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli drones struck targets in a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank early Monday and hundreds of troops were deployed in the area, an incursion that resembled the wide-scale military operations carried out during the second Palestinian uprising two decades ago. Palestinian health officials said at least four Palestinians were killed.Troops remained inside the Jenin refugee camp early Monday, pushing ahead with the largest operation in the area during more than a year of fighting. It came at a time of growing domestic pressure for a tough response to a series of attacks on Israeli settlers – including a shooting attack last week that killed four people.Black smoke rose from the crowded streets of the camp as the military pressed on. According to Palestinian media reports, the operation disrupted life for local residents, with electricity cut off in some parts and a military bulldozer seen driving through narrow streets – another reminder of Israel&...

Car crashes into a New Hampshire restaurant and injures several customers, fire department says

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

LACONIA, N.H. (AP) — A car crashed into a busy restaurant and injured several patrons in a lakeside town in New Hampshire Sunday afternoon, emergency officials said.The vehicle struck the Looney Bin Bar & Grill a little after 12:40 p.m. Firefighters who arrived on the scene found the car inside the restaurant, the Laconia Fire Department said in a statement. Emergency responders treated several customers at the scene and transported 14 people to area hospitals with non-life-threating medical issues including significant lower leg injuries, lacerations and contusions, the fire department said. Another 20 people were evaluated at the scene by emergency personnel but did not require transport to hospitals from the community about 27 miles (43 kilometers) north of Concord on Lake Winnipesaukee.“There were a lot of people inside due to it being lunchtime and a holiday weekend,” Laconia Fire Capt. Chad Vaillancourt said in the statement.The building sustained significant damage.The fi...

2 soldiers killed in shootout when militants ambush troops in southwest Pakistan, military says

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A group of militants ambushed troops during a search operation against insurgents in a remote area in southwestern Pakistan, triggering a shootout that left an army major and a junior officer dead, the military said Monday.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday’s ambush near Balor in Baluchistan province, but Pakistani Taliban and small separatist groups have claimed similar attacks in the past. The military identified the two killed as Saqib Hussain and Naik Baqir Ali. Another soldier was injured, the statement said. Small separatist groups in oil-rich Baluchistan have waged a low-level insurgency for more than two decades. Baluch nationalists initially wanted a bigger share of the provincial resources, but later their insurgency morphed into a fight for independence from the government in Islamabad. Though Pakistani authorities say they have quelled the insurgency, the violence has continued. The previous day, three policemen and a ...

Flooding displaces 10,000 around China as Beijing gets a slight respite from an extreme heat wave

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Heavy flooding has displaced thousands of people around China as the capital had a brief respite from sweltering heat.Beijing reported 9.8 straight days when the temperature exceeded 35 C (95 F), the National Climate Center said Monday. Such a streak was last recorded in 1961 — decades before most Beijing residents had air conditioning or even fans. A lack of rainfall may be contributing to the heat, with the typically dry capital receiving even less than usual this year. While temperatures have since moderated — Monday’s temperature at midday was 33 C (91 F) — they are expected to rise again this week to as high as 39.6 Celsius (103 Fahrenheit) in Beijing and other parts of the country, authorities said. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 people were urgently moved to safety due to flooding in the central province of Hunan, the Xiang’xi Emergency Management Bureau on Sunday.Around 70 houses collapsed, 2,283 were damaged and farm fields were flooded. Losses so far have...

France's Macron to hold new crisis meeting after third night of riots

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

French President Emmanuel Macron held a new government emergency meeting later on Friday (30 June) after riots erupted for the third night in a row across the country in protest over the deadly shooting of a teen by police earlier in the week, reported BFM TV, citing the Elysee palace.Some 421 people were arrested throughout France on Thursday evening (29 June), several French media said, citing Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who had deployed 40,000 police officers on Thursday night in a bid to quell the widespread unrest.In Nanterre, the working-class town on the western outskirts of Paris where the 17-year-old - identified as Nahel M - was shot dead on Tuesday (27 June), protesters torched cars, barricaded streets and hurled projectiles at police following an earlier peaceful vigil held to pay tribute to the youth.In central Paris, a Nike shoe store was broken into, and several people were arrested after store windows were smashed along the Rue de Rivoli shopping street, Paris...

Israel targets West Bank militant stronghold with drones, hundreds of troops, killing 5 Palestinians

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli drones struck targets in a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank early Monday and hundreds of troops were deployed in the area, an incursion that resembled the wide-scale military operations carried out during the second Palestinian uprising two decades ago. Palestinian health officials said at least five Palestinians were killed.Troops remained inside the Jenin refugee camp Monday, pushing ahead with the largest operation in the area during more than a year of fighting. It came at a time of growing domestic pressure for a tough response to a series of attacks on Israeli settlers – including a shooting attack last week that killed four people.Black smoke rose from the crowded streets of the camp as the military pressed on. Electricity was cut off in some parts and military bulldozers were plowing through narrow streets — another reminder of Israel’s incursions during the last uprising. The Palestinians and neighboring Jordan condemned the viole...

Flooding displaces 10,000 around China as Beijing gets a relative respite from sweltering heat

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Heavy flooding has displaced thousands of people around China as the capital had a relative respite from sweltering heat.Beijing reported 9.8 straight days when the temperature exceeded 35 C (95 F), the National Climate Center said Monday. Such a streak was last recorded in 1961 — decades before most Beijing residents had air conditioning or even fans. A lack of rainfall may be contributing to the heat, with the typically dry capital receiving even less than usual this year. While temperatures have since moderated — Monday’s temperature at midday was 33 C (91 F) — they are expected to rise again this week to as high as 39.6 Celsius (103 Fahrenheit) in Beijing and other parts of the country, authorities said. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 people were urgently moved to safety due to flooding in the central province of Hunan, the Xiang’xi Emergency Management Bureau on Sunday.Around 70 houses collapsed, 2,283 were damaged and farm fields were flooded. Losses so far h...

French rioting appears to slow 6 days after teen’s death in Paris suburbs

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Unrest across France sparked by the police shooting of a 17-year-old appeared to slow overnight after six nights.In all, according to the Interior Ministry, there were 157 arrests overnight, down from a peak of 3,880 arrests during the fiery night of June 30, and two law enforcement stations were attacked, among other damage.Around 45,000 officers were deployed nationwide to counter violence fuelled by anger over discrimination against people who trace their roots to former French colonies and live in low-income neighborhoods. Nahel, the teenager killed last Tuesday, was of Algerian descent and was shot in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.Across France, 297 vehicles were torched overnight along with 34 buildings. A burning car stuck the home of the mayor of the Paris suburb L’Hay-les-Roses over the weekend, an unusually personal attack amid the backdrop of fires and vandalism targeting police stations and town halls.French President Emmanuel Macros has blamed social media f...