In Brief Fed's rate hikes likely to cause a recession, research says

NEW YORK - Can the Federal Reserve keep raising interest rates and defeat the nation's worst bout of inflation in 40 years without causing a recession? Not according to a new research paper that concludes that such an "immaculate disinflation" has never happened before. The paper was produced by a group of leading economists, and two Fed officials addressed its conclusions in their own remarks Friday. When inflation soars, as it has for the past two years, the Fed typically responds by raising interest rates, often aggressively, to try to cool the economy and slow price increases. The Fed's higher rates, in turn, make mortgages, auto loans, credit card borrowing, and business lending more expensive.

- Associated Press

Key U.S. inflation measure surges at fastest rate since June

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reser ve's preferred inflation gauge rose last month at its fastest pace since June, an alarming sign that price pressures remain entrenched in the U.S. economy and could lead the Fed to keep raising interest rates well into this year.

Consumer prices rose 0.6% from December to January, up sharply from a 0.2% increase from November to December. On a year-over-year basis, prices rose 5.4%, up from a 5.3% annual increase in December. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, socalled core inflation rose 0.6% from December, up from a 0.4% rise the previous month.

- Associated Press

U.S. announces sweeping new Russia sanctions 1 year into war

WASHINGTON - The United States has announced a new round of sanctions on Russian firms, banks, manufacturers and people. The package is aimed at entities that helped Russia evade sanctions earlier in the year-old war against Ukraine. Russia's metals and mining sector is among those targeted in what the U.S. Treasury Department calls one of the "most significant sanctions actions to date."

The action was taken Friday in coordination with Group of Seven allies and seeks to punish 250 people and firms. The action puts financial blocks on banks, arms dealers and technology companies tied to weapons production and goes after alleged sanctions evaders in countries from the United Arab Emirates to Switzerland.

- Associated Press

Netflix cuts prices in some markets to lure more subscribers

Netflix is cutting its prices in several of its smaller markets. It's the latest twist on the video streaming service's efforts to keep its recently revived subscriber growth rolling amid stiffer competition and inflation pressures that are pushing more households to curb their discretionary spending.

The lower prices that began to roll out earlier this week affect more than 30 of the roughly 190 countries where Netflix's steaming service is available.

Netflix isn't changing its prices in any of its largest markets, including the U.S. That means most of Netflix's 231 million subscribers won't be affected by the price cuts.

- Associated Press

German court rejects farmer's climate suit vs Volkswagen

BERLIN - A German court has rejected a farmer's bid to force automaker Volkswagen to end the sale of vehicles with combustion engines by 2030. The farmer said in the case at the state court in the western town of Detmold that drier soil and heavier rains due to climate change are harming his fields, cattle and commercial forests. He argued that Volkswagen is partly to blame for that as the mass production of vehicles running on gasoline contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. The court ruled Friday that the suit was unfounded. It said that it c ou l d n't establish that the alleged damage to the plaintiff's property, health and rights could be remedied by the measures he demanded alone.

- Associated Press

German economy shrank by 0.4% in Q4, worse than 1st reported

BERLIN - Germany's national statistics office says that the country's economy shrank by 0.4% in last year's fourth quarter. That's a sharp downward revision from its initial report that gross domestic product declined by 0.2%.

The quarter-on-quarter contraction in the October-December period was the first since the first quarter of 2021. Consumer spending, which propped up growth in the first nine months of last year, dropped by 1% in the final three months of 2022. The Federal Statistical Office said Friday that investment in construction and machinery showed bigger drops in the final quarter.

- Associated Press