Inflation in New Zealand rose to a 32-year high of 7.3 per cent on-year in the second quarter, according to official figures released Monday.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will call on Tuesday for deeper trade ties among allies to fortify their supply chains, combat inflation and thwart China’s  “unfair trade practices” and efforts to dominate key raw materials and technologies markets.

The United States will look for every opportunity to move ahead and enact a global minimum corporate tax agreement despite the opposition of a key Democratic senator, Joe Manchin, to raising corporate taxes, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.

US retail sales shot up in June amid the ongoing surge in prices, according to new data Friday that spelled more bad news for the Federal Reserve as it struggles to rein in rampant inflation.

US inflation surged to a fresh peak of 9.1 per cent in June, further squeezing American families and heaping pressure on President Joe Biden, whose approval ratings have taken a battering from the relentless rise in prices.

The International Monetary Fund should speed up its handling of internal complaints and further strengthen internal safeguards, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday.

By some early estimates, the US economy, as measured by gross domestic product, may have shrunk in the three months from April through June. Add that to the decline from January through March, and that would be a contraction for two quarters in a row.

New Zealand’s business confidence continued to worsen in the second quarter of this year as companies grappled with increased costs and higher interest rates, a private think tank said on Tuesday.

The rapid rise of the US dollar since the start of the year is a double-edged sword for American multinational companies, pushing some of them to decide whether to hedge or reposition their activities abroad to avoid fallout.

American manufacturing growth slowed in June as new orders contracted, even though price increases showed signs of slowing, according to an industry survey released Friday.

General Motors, Toyota and other automakers suffered a hit to US sales in the latest quarter as supply chain woes continued to crimp inventories, according to results released Friday.

A key US inflation measure showed price increases held steady in the 12 months ended in May, while consumer spending growth slowed sharply, a good sign in the battle against soaring prices.

Americans’ feelings about the economy slumped further in June after falling sharply the month before amid concerns over skyrocketing inflation, according to a survey released Tuesday.

US and Taiwanese officials held the first round of trade talks on Monday under an initiative announced earlier this month that drew strong criticism from Beijing.

Oil prices bounced and Wall Street stocks declined Monday, reversing the most recent trends as markets eye the end of a bruising second quarter.

Surging US inflation has eroded consumer confidence, sending a closely-watched measure of how Americans feel about the economy to a record low, according to a survey released Friday.

With inflation rising sharply, and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, the United States is facing an increased risk of a downturn, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Friday.

The US economy remains strong but a series of aggressive rate hikes meant to cool soaring inflation could eventually trigger a recession, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned Wednesday.

Manufacturing growth is slowing from Asia to Europe as China’s Covid-19 curbs and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupt supply chains, while the growing risk of a recession in the United States poses a new threat to the global economy.

US tariffs on Chinese goods offer a key element of leverage over Beijing which Washington should be reluctant to relinquish, the top American trade official said Wednesday.