Rapper Milton Powell, stage name Big Pokey, has died aged 45 after collapsing during a performance in Beaumont, Texas. His cause of death is yet to be confirmed. Powell was a member of the Screwed Up Click hip-hop collective and released several albums, including his debut "Hardest Pit in the Litter" in 1999. The group was led by DJ Screw until his death from a codeine overdose in 2000. Powell's death was announced on his Instagram page, with tributes from fellow rappers including Bun B.
US rapper Big Pokey, whose real name was Milton Powell, has died at the age of 48 after collapsing during a performance in Texas. The rapper fell backwards on stage and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he passed away the following day. Powell was a founding member of the Screwed Up Click, a hip-hop collective in Houston known for pioneering the city's "chopped-and-screwed" sound. He had chart success with the Paul Wall single "Sittin Sidewayz" in 2005 and featured on Megan Thee Stallion's "Southside Royalty Freestyle" last year. Tributes have poured in from fellow artists.
Mortgage rates are likely to remain between 6% and 7% in 2023, according to George Ratiu, chief economist at Keeping Current Matters. Rates have been driven up by the Federal Reserve's series of interest rate hikes, with the average 30-year fixed rate rising to above 7% by November. Rates have since settled but still hover above 6%. Meanwhile, inflation data shows that housing costs are driving inflation, with prices 8% higher than a year ago. However, rental costs are cooling, with asking rents dropping across the country.
India's Nifty 50 and Sensex stock indexes opened lower on Tuesday, following the trend of other Asian markets. This comes as investors exercise caution ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony. The Nifty index fell by 0.10% to 18,739.10, while the Sensex lost 0.07% to 63,123.17.
US stock index futures dropped on Tuesday due to hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials and a smaller-than-expected rate cut in China. Fed Governor Christopher Waller warned on Friday that "core inflation is not coming down like I thought it would." Traders see a 74% chance of a single 25 basis point rate hike this year, expected in July. Meanwhile, China's benchmark lending rates were cut by a smaller-than-expected 10 basis points. Shares of US-listed Chinese firms including Alibaba, JD.com, and PDD Holdings fell between 1% and 6% in premarket trading.
Special counsel John Durham will testify before Congress twice this week on his recently released report investigating the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election: today before the House Intelligence Committee in a closed session and Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee. His testimony will cap a four-year investigation launched by Attorney General William P. Barr in 2019 that former president Donald Trump and his supporters hoped would find crimes and show Trump was unfairly targeted by federal law enforcement officials biased against him. Durham’s report was highly critical of the FBI, arguing the agency showed confirmation bias when investigating the former president and rushed to investigate him. But it did not find the type of widespread abuse or criminal activity inside the bureau that Trump and his allies alleged.
The US dollar was firm in Asia trade on 15 July after strong US housing data, while the yuan and Aussie dollar nursed losses and focus turned to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's appearance before Congress. Single-family housing starts surged 21.7% in May against expectations they would be more or less flat. The greenback was marginally stronger at $1.0916 per euro overnight and steady early in the Asia session. The yuan fell about 0.3% overnight and in offshore trade early on Wednesday the currency was pinned at 7.1826 per dollar, near a seven-month low.
Houston rapper Big Pokey, an original member of the Screwed Up Click, has died at the age of 48. Pokey collapsed while performing at a bar in Beaumont, Texas, and videos of the incident circulated on social media. Pokey was known for his contributions to the Texas rap scene, and his verse on DJ Screw’s “June 27th” is regarded as influential in the chopped and screwed style. Pokey’s last album was 2021’s “Sensei,” and he leaves behind a wife and three children.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to begin two days of hearings before Congress, during which the focus is expected to be on the central bank's interest rate policy. The hearings come after a Federal Reserve meeting last week produced a somewhat confused picture of the bank's intentions, with policymakers predicting two further interest rate hikes in 2022 when analysts had only expected one. However, the Fed has said that it will not raise rates in July, although most economists believe that a hike next month is virtually certain.
The Indian rupee is expected to open slightly higher against the US dollar on Wednesday, despite a decline in other Asian currencies. Non-deliverable forwards (NDF) suggest that the rupee will open at 82.06-82.08, up slightly from the previous session. The USD/INR NDF has not reacted to losses in the Chinese yuan and the overall strengthening of the US dollar against Asian currencies. The rupee had declined on Tuesday, potentially due to dollar outflows.
Indian shares are expected to open lower today as global equities decline due to a modest rate cut from China and caution ahead of US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony. The Nifty and Sensex reversed losses in the final hour of trading on Tuesday, nearing all-time highs. The near-term uptrend in the Nifty remains intact, according to a technical research analyst at HDFC Securities. Foreign institutional investors sold INR 19.43 billion ($236.8 million) worth of Indian equities on Tuesday, while domestic investors bought INR 19.73 billion of shares.
LGBTQ refugees in Canada are sharing their stories to raise awareness about the persecution faced by the community around the world. At least 70 countries criminalize same-sex intimacy, and Uganda recently passed an anti-gay bill with harsh penalties, including the death penalty in some cases. The number of LGBTQ refugees has been growing as the number of displaced people worldwide continues to rise. LGBTQ refugees face unique challenges in Canada, including potential encounters with people from their home countries who may pose a threat to their safety.
Most Federal Reserve officials expect to raise interest rates further this year, despite keeping interest rates unchanged last week, according to Chair Jerome Powell. Powell said that inflation pressures continue to run high and it is a long way to go to get inflation back down to 2%. The Fed is expected to raise rates twice more this year, but may not follow through on this if economic data suggests that inflation is falling quickly back to their 2% target.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has said that the fight to lower inflation back to its 2% target "has a long way to go." While inflation has moderated somewhat since last year, recent progress has been slow and inflation pressures continue to run high. Powell noted that the Fed is committed to bringing inflation back down to its 2% goal. He also mentioned that the full impact of rapid rate increases likely has not been felt on the economy as a whole. Powell's comments were made in testimony prepared for delivery to the House Financial Services Committee.
British art design group Hipgnosis, co-founded by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey "Po" Powell, created more than 250 album covers for rock bands between 1968 and 1983. The duo were responsible for Pink Floyd's artwork and created covers for Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, 10cc, and the Alan Parsons Project. The group was founded during Pink Floyd's experimental phase and their album "A Saucerful of Secrets" was the first that Hipgnosis designed. Although the duo experimented with LSD, they insist that it was not necessary for their creativity. They also refused to work with record companies, instead preferring to work directly for the artists they created the covers for. The duo's work cost between £50,000 and £100,000 per cover.
Opposition MPs in Canada have called for an overhaul of the federal access-to-information system. The House committee on access to information, privacy and ethics published a report proposing changes to the regime’s law and policy, while Liberal MPs on the committee provided a dissenting opinion. The recommendations include bringing ministers’ offices under federal access law, limiting time extensions on access requests to 60 days, increasing the powers of the Information Commissioner of Canada, and establishing the automatic release of historical documents after 25 years. The Globe and Mail recently launched its Secret Canada project, which includes a database similar to the one proposed by the committee.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to testify before Congress over two days this week, with discussions likely to focus on the future of interest rate hikes. Following last week's Federal Reserve meeting, in which policymakers predicted two more rate hikes this year, Powell has said that no decisions have yet been made regarding the next meeting in July. However, most economists have inferred that a rate hike next month is almost certain. Powell has emphasised that the Fed wants to weaken the economy enough to control inflation without causing a deep recession.
Halfords has warned that drivers are postponing replacing their tyres until they are in a "critical" condition due to financial pressures caused by the pandemic. The combination of reduced driving post-Covid and cost-of-living pressures has extended the lifespan of tyres and forced consumers to delay replacements. However, the AA has warned that leaving tyres on cars for too long can lead to vehicle damage and pose risks to drivers and other road users. Worn and defective tyres are one of the leading causes of road accidents and deaths in the UK.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has stated that more interest rate increases are likely until further progress is made in bringing down inflation. He emphasized the importance of price stability in achieving a sustained period of strong labor market conditions. Powell's remarks were made as part of his semiannual monetary policy testimony to the US House financial services committee.
The Australian sharemarket is expected to open lower as Wall Street extended its sell-off overnight. The decline came after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the fight against inflation still had a "long way to go". The Nasdaq Composite fell the most, weighed down by interest rate sensitive momentum stocks such as Tesla, Microsoft, and Nvidia. In Australia, ASX futures were down 0.1% at 7276. Powell reiterated the central bank's commitment to bringing inflation back down to its 2% goal, suggesting that future interest rate hikes may be likely.
