WASHINGTON-Resilient demand, easing inflation and China's reopening should allow the global economy to grow a bit faster than previously expected, the International Monetary Fund said.
In its latest World Economic Outlook, released Monday Washington time, the IMF sees the global economy growing 2.9% this year, up from its October projection of 2.7%. The IMF expects growth to accelerate to 3.1.% in 2024, still less than last year's 3.4%.
Blinken Set to Meet Palestinian Leader Abbas as Tensions Flare
RAMALLAH, West Bank-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday to press for calm after a surge in violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
"We have a lot on our hands in this moment," Mr. Blinken said Tuesday morning before a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
GLOBAL NEWS
Labor Report to Give Fed Look at Wage Inflation
Worker-pay and benefits data set for release Tuesday will shed light on whether the Federal Reserve is successfully cooling fast wage growth as officials meet to consider further increases in interest rates.
Other recent data has shown that rapid wage growth has begun to slow, putting less pressure on prices. The Fed has aggressively raised interest rates in the past year with the aim of tamping down on the economy to tame inflation. Central-bank officials are starting a two-day meeting Tuesday.
Private Equity Taps Insurers' Cash to Speed Up Growth
Investment firms that play on the cutting edge of finance are turning to one of the oldest businesses on Wall Street to turbocharge their growth: insurance.
Private-credit fund managers such as Blackstone Inc., Carlyle Group Inc. and Centerbridge Partners are increasingly forming partnerships with insurers, or buying them outright. Call it the merger of slow money and fast money.
Pro Take: Construction Sector Strength Could Undermine Fed's Effort to Cool Inflation
The Federal Reserve has started to see some progress in its nearly yearlong campaign to cool inflation, but there is one area that could prove problematic: construction.
While the single-family housing market has slowed as mortgage rates have surged, particularly pinching first-time buyers, other segments of the construction industry are still fueling inflation.
U.S. Pushes for Military Sites in Philippines to Counter China
WASHINGTON-The U.S. is hoping to reach an agreement this week to open as many as four U.S. military sites at Philippine bases in Washington's latest push to expand its strategic footprint across the region to counter threats from China, U.S. officials said.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is meeting later this week with recently elected Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila and hopes to secure the deal, which would rotate groups of U.S. forces to sites in the country, U.S. officials said.
Joe Biden to End Covid-19 Emergency Declarations on May 11, White House Says
President Biden will end a national emergency and public-health emergency declaration for Covid-19 on May 11, the White House said Monday, signaling a shift in the nation's approach to a pandemic that has claimed more than 1.1 million lives in the U.S.
The public-health emergency was first declared in January 2020, under the Trump administration, and has been renewed by 90 days every time it was due to expire. The national health emergency and the public-health emergency are now set to expire on March 1 and April 11, respectively, but the White House said the administration planned to extend the declarations to May 11 and then "end both emergencies on that date."
DOJ Closes Investigation Into Former Gen. John Allen Without Bringing Charges
The Justice Department dropped an investigation into whether retired Marine Gen. John Allen allegedly lobbied for the Qatari government, with federal prosecutors declining to bring criminal charges, Gen. Allen's defense lawyer said.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment but a person familiar with the matter confirmed that federal prosecutors have closed the investigation.
Australia's Nuclear Safety Agency Joins the Hunt for Missing Radioactive Capsule
ADELAIDE, Australia-Authorities intensified their search for a missing capsule containing radioactive material in Australia's far west, deploying car-mounted detection equipment for the first time as they began to retrace a truck's nearly 900-mile journey across the Outback.
The capsule, which is less than a third of an inch long and contains Cesium-137, is believed to have fallen from a truck somewhere between Rio Tinto PLC's Gudai-Darri mine and Perth, the capital of Western Australia. An initial search using hand-held radiation monitors failed to find the capsule, which was discovered to be missing on Jan. 25, prompting a public health alert.
Biden Administration Considers Cutting Off Huawei From U.S. Suppliers
WASHINGTON-The Biden administration is considering entirely cutting off Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. from U.S. suppliers over national-security concerns by tightening export controls targeting the firm, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move-should the administration move forward-would mark the latest salvo in the high-stakes clash between the world's two largest economies as U.S. policy makers seek to counter China's industrial policy they say threatens Western interests.
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-31-23 0623ET
