Nor’easter storm brings widespread flooding to New Jersey
A nor’easter bringing heavy rain and strong winds has caused widespread flooding across New Jersey....
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday cautioned his economic team against overcooling the national economy through overly tight monetary policies ahead of the central bank's impending rate decision.
Speaking to a congress of a prominent Russian business lobby during a so-called “silence week” – when the central bank refrains from public comment on its upcoming decision – Putin warned that excessive cooling could stifle economic activity, likening such a scenario to freezing the economy in a "cryotherapy chamber."
All 29 economists polled by Reuters expect the central bank to keep its key interest rate on hold at 21%, the highest level in over 20 years, in an effort to rein in inflation. However, several experts and advisors have noted that aside from the defense sector, much of the Russian economy is already stagnating, with critics arguing that the central bank's stringent policies are choking off investment.
"It is clear that this (cooling) is inevitable. Both the government and the central bank have generally talked about it. Overall, there seems to be an agreement," Putin said, acknowledging the challenges of maintaining economic stability under current measures. He further stressed, "It's essential that everything proceeds as planned in practice, avoiding excessive cooling like in a cryotherapy chamber," drawing an analogy to a wellness treatment where individuals are exposed to extreme cold, sometimes as low as -140 degrees Celsius.
The central bank's recent decisions have sparked debate among economists and business leaders alike. Last December, it surprised analysts by unexpectedly keeping rates unchanged after Putin had called for a “balanced” approach just one day prior to the board meeting. Rates were held steady again in February, reinforcing the administration’s cautious stance.
Looking ahead, the central bank forecasts that Russia's economic growth will slow to between 0.5% and 1.5% in 2025 as a result of its restrictive monetary policy, while the government is projecting growth of around 2.5%. Critics argue that the tight policy is stifling investment without effectively lowering inflation. "Today, investment programs have practically come to a standstill," said Sergei Chemezov, head of the defense and industrial conglomerate Rostech and a longtime friend of Putin.
As the central bank prepares to announce its decision on Friday, the balancing act between curbing inflation and avoiding further economic stagnation remains a key challenge for Russian policymakers.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
A shooting in Nice, southeastern France, left two people dead and five injured on Friday, authorities said.
A nor’easter bringing heavy rain and strong winds has caused widespread flooding across New Jersey.
Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina postponed a planned national address on Monday after a group of soldiers threatened to seize the headquarters of the state broadcaster, according to the presidency.
The European Union’s next wave of eastward enlargement, particularly involving candidate countries in Central and Eastern Europe, could prove decisive for Europe’s energy security and competitiveness.
Venezuela has closed its embassy in Oslo, Norway’s foreign ministry confirmed on Monday, days after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
NATO is reinforcing its eastern flank as Italy deploys Eurofighter Typhoons to Estonia, Finland opens a new Northern Land Forces Command, and European allies push for a continent-wide “Drone Wall” following Russian drone incursions that exposed gaps in the alliance’s air defences.
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